Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2017, published 107th ILC session (2018)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Sao Tome and Principe (Ratification: 2005)

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee previously noted that the new Penal Code Law No. 6 of 2012 was adopted. It noted that section 172 of the Penal Code prohibits the transporting of persons to a foreign country for prostitution and that section 181(2) provides that enticing, transporting, harbouring or receiving a minor below the age of 18 years for prostitution shall be punished. The Committee requested the Government to indicate the provisions of the Penal Code that prohibit the trafficking of minors for labour exploitation.

The Committee takes due note of the Government’s indication in its report that section 160(1) of the Penal Code prohibits trafficking in persons for labour exploitation with a penalty ranging from two to eight years of imprisonment and that under section 160(3) this penalty increases to three to ten years when the crime involves children under the age of 16 years. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the sections of the Penal Code that prohibit the sale and trafficking of children under the age of 18 years for sexual or labour exploitation, including the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and nature of the penalties imposed.

Article 4(1). Determination of hazardous work. With regard to the adoption of the list of hazardous types of work prohibited to children under the age of 18 years, the Committee requests the Government to refer to its detailed comments under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138).

Article 6. Programmes of action. The Committee previously noted that the Government, in cooperation with the ILO and UNICEF, had approved a National Plan on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, under which several training and awareness-raising seminars on child labour and its worst forms has been organized for teachers, employers and young businessmen.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Plan has helped raise awareness about child labour and the importance of prevention at all levels of society, including in schools and in the media. The Government states that the National Plan has rendered many results, including the complete disappearance of “helpers” under 18 years of age in offices. Moreover, the Committee notes that in 2012 the Government, in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, implemented the “Awareness Raising and Support for the Implementation of the Global Action Plan on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour by 2016”. The project’s objectives were to provide support to tripartite constituents to fight child labour and eradicate its worst forms through the elaboration and implementation of an action plan, the strengthening of competent institutions and the elaboration of a list of hazardous types of work prohibited to children. The Committee requests the Government to provide further information on any measures taken or envisaged within the framework of the National Plan on the worst forms of child labour and the ILO–IPEC project. Please also provide information on the impact of such programmes with regard to the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, particularly the number of children reached through these initiatives.

Article 7(1). Penalties. The Committee notes the absence of information provided with regard to the practical application of the penalties laid down under Act No. 6/92 for imposing hazardous work on minors or under the Penal Code for offences under Article 3(a)–(c) of the Convention. The Committee recalls that information on the number and nature of the infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties applied serves both to measure the number of child victims of the worst forms of child labour and the effective implementation and enforcement of the national provisions giving effect to the Convention (see General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, 2012, paragraph 644). Therefore, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the practical application of the penalties laid down under Act No. 6/92 and under the Penal Code for violation of the rights protected under the Convention.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee previously noted that the Government, in partnership with some civil society organizations and donors, has implemented specific assistance programmes for facilitating access to school for children belonging to poor communities, through free uniforms, concession of school passes on school buses, and the distribution of school grants to low-income families to keep children in school. Moreover, the Government indicated that in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme and the Government of Brazil, the Government introduced the provision of one hot meal per day to students in order to reduce school drop-outs. Finally, the Committee noted that the Fast-Track Project instituted within the Structural Adjustment Programme (PASS) undertook the construction and renovation of classrooms to reach the objective of universalizing the free and compulsory six-year elementary school programme for children in the country.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it has adopted the National Poverty Reduction Strategy (2012–16) in which the objective in terms of education was to develop strategies to improve the quality of instruction and to create genuine equality of opportunity in initial and continuing school enrolment. The Government further indicates that it has built schools at the community level in order to ensure that most, if not all, school-age children meet the compulsory education requirement. Considering that the National Poverty Reduction Strategy ended in 2016, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the strategies that are being developed or envisaged to improve access to free basic compulsory education and the results achieved. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system, by taking measures to ensure access to free basic, quality education for all children, particularly children from poor communities, including by taking measures to increase the school enrolment and completion rates, both at the primary and secondary levels. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved. To the extent possible, this information should be disaggregated by age and by gender.

Clause (b). Providing the necessary and appropriate assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Street children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s information that the reception centres established in the country play an important role in removing children, especially street children, from the worst forms of child labour.

The Government indicates that underage children found to be working are automatically removed from the workplace, taken to reception centres and, later, returned to their families. Additionally, the Committee notes the Government’s statement from its report under the application of the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), that the Ministry of Employment and Social Affairs and the Department of Social Protection and Solidarity are working on a Street Children Support Project which, once implemented, will mitigate this problem. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to remove street children from the worst forms of child labour. It requests, once again, the Government to provide information on the number of children removed from the street and received in the reception centres. Please also provide a copy of the Street Children Support Project.

Article 7(3). Designation of a competent authority. The Committee notes from the concluding observations formulated by the Committee on the Rights of the Child dated 29 October 2013 that the National Child Rights Committee ceased to operate in November 2012 and that no appropriate body was created or named to replace it (CRC/C/STP/CO/2-4, paragraph 10). Recalling the importance of the existence of a competent authority to properly supervise the application of the Convention, the Committee requests the Government to designate a competent authority responsible for the implementation of the provisions giving effect to this Convention.

Article 8. International cooperation. The Committee previously noted that Sao Tome and Principe was one of the 24 countries to adopt the Multilateral Cooperative Agreement to Combat Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children in West and Central Africa, which, among others, aims to develop a common front to prevent, fight and suppress trafficking in persons and to protect, rehabilitate and reintegrate victims of trafficking.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that in the framework of the Multilateral Cooperative Agreement, it has ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. It has also signed an agreement on cooperation between Central African criminal police agencies aimed at ensuring cooperation between the national police authorities on matters relating to trafficking in persons. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact these cooperation agreements have had in combating trafficking in children.

Application of the Convention in practice. The Government indicates that it has implemented various activities in partnership with public and private institutions and non-governmental organizations, with a view to give effect, in practice, to the Convention such as a Rapid Survey on Child Labour (2014), the National Plan on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, and the Sao Tome and Principe Campaign against Child Labour. The Committee takes due note of the efforts made and requests the Government to provide detailed information on the current situation regarding the worst forms of child labour, including information on the nature, extent and trends of these forms of child labour, the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention, the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied.