Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2022, published 111st ILC session (2023)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Nigeria (Ratification: 2002)

Articles 3(a) and 7(2)(b) of the Convention. All forms of slavery and practices similar to slavery and effective and time-bound measures. Compulsory recruitment of children for armed conflict and providing the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour, and for their rehabilitation and social integration. In its previous comments, the Committee noted from the Report of the Secretary-General on Children and Armed Conflict that an action plan was signed between the Civilian Joint Task Force (CJTF) and the United Nations to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children and a standing order was issued by the CJTF in this regard. However, it noted that although there was a decline in the total number of verified cases of recruitment and use of children for armed conflict, the Report of the Secretary-General indicated that grave violations and abuses committed by Boko Haram against children remained gravely disturbing, in particular the use of children as carriers of person-borne improvised explosive devices as well as the large number of abductions.

In response to its previous comments the Committee notes the Government’s statement in its report that it has been identified that persons who forcefully recruit children in armed conflicts are members of the Boko Haram terrorist group. In order to put a stop to this practice, the Government through the Ministry of Defence is carrying out regular sensitization workshops and ensuring the registration of members of vigilante groups that are closely monitored by the Nigerian Security and Civil Defence Corps. The Government also indicates that child victims who have been released from the enclaves of Boko Haram are adequately rehabilitated through the Operation Safe Corridor carried out by the Ministry of Humanitarian, Disaster Management and Social Development and the Ministry of Defence.

The Committee also notes from the Report of the Special Representative to the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict of July 2022, that the Governor of the State of Borno, (which has remained the epicentre of protracted armed conflict for more than 12 years) has signed the Child Rights Bill into law, which provides for the protection of children against recruitment and use for armed conflict and other forms of violence and exploitation (paragraph 22). The Committee further notes that the Secretary-General for Children and Armed Conflict, in her Report of June 2022, commended the CJTF for sustaining the progress on the 2017 action plan to end and prevent the recruitment and use of children, including through a child protection training plan and the establishment of child protection units in CJTF formations in Borno State, in collaboration with the United Nations (paragraph 271). However, the Report of the Secretary-General indicates that the United Nations verified 444 grave violations against 356 children in north-east Nigeria. A total of 63 children (9 boys and 54 girls), some as young as 6 years of age, were recruited and used by Boko Haram-affiliated and splinter groups: Jama’atu Ahlis Sunna Lidda’Awati Wal-Jihad (JAS) (45) and Islamic State West Africa Province (ISWAP) (18) in Borno State, mostly following abductions (paragraphs 263, 264).

While noting certain measures taken by the Government on the use of children in armed conflict, the Committee must once again deeply deplore the persistence of this practice, especially as it entails other violations of the rights of the child, such as abductions, murders and sexual violence. While acknowledging the complexity of the situation on the ground and the presence of armed groups in the north-east of the country, the Committee strongly urges the Government to continue to take measures, using all available means, to ensure the full and immediate demobilization of all children and to put a stop, in practice, to the forced recruitment or use of children under 18 years of age into armed groups. It also urges the Government to take immediate and effective measures to ensure that thorough investigations and prosecutions of all persons, who forcibly recruit children under 18 years of age for use in armed conflict, are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice. It requests the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to provide for their rehabilitation and social integration and to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved.

Articles 5 and 7(1). Monitoring mechanisms and penalties. In reply to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP) is undertaking systematic efforts to fight trafficking in persons including through conducting awareness-raising and capacity building programmes for the judiciary and law enforcement bodies on investigation and appropriate punishment for the offences under the Act on Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Law Enforcement, 2015. The Government also indicates that the investigation of child trafficking cases have led to the rescue of 2,966 child victims of trafficking. The Committee also notes that the United Nations Special Rapporteur for Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children, in her End of visit Statement of September 2018, commended the efforts of NAPTIP both at federal and state level, as well as the recent initiative of the Governor of Edo State to put in place the ‘Edo State Task Force against Human Trafficking’ chaired by the Edo State Attorney General.

However, this document states that Nigeria remains a source, transit and destination country for victims of trafficking and that internal trafficking of girls for the purpose of domestic servitude and sexual exploitation and boys for the purpose of child begging are rampant. Furthermore, the Committee notes with concern from the UNICEF Situation Analysis of Children in Nigeria, 2022 that the International Organization for Migration (IOM) reports that 18 per cent of trafficking victims in Nigeria are girls under the age of 18. Thousands of children from poor homes, mostly aged 15–17, are involved in domestic labour (page 17). The Committee requests the Government to strengthen its efforts to combat child trafficking by ensuring that the perpetrators of these acts are identified and prosecuted, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard, including by the NAPTIP. The Committee further requests the Government to continue to provide statistical information on identified cases of trafficking in children under 18 years, the prosecutions brought, the convictions obtained and the penalties imposed.

Article 7(2)(a) and (e). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education and special situation of girls. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the various measures and policies implemented in Nigeria for improving access to education, such as the National Policy on Inclusive Education; Safe School Initiative launched in the Northeast for students affected by the conflict; the Students Tutoring, Mentoring and Counselling Programme; and the School enrolment campaign. The Committee however, noted from the 2018 UNICEF report on education in Nigeria, that although primary school enrolment had increased in the recent years, the net attendance was still low at about 70 per cent. Nigeria still had 10.5 million out-of-school children, which was the highest in the world, with 60 per cent of them in northern Nigeria, where the conflict had deprived many children of access to education. The Committee had also noted that about 60 per cent of out-of-school children are girls, many of those who do enrol and then drop out.

The Committee notes that the Government report does not contain any information on this matter. The Committee notes from a Press Release of June 2022 of the UNICEF that the Katsina State Government, in partnership with UNICEF launched a cash transfer programme in June 2022, which will provide learning opportunities for over 20,000 out of school children in the state and improve the socio-economic wellbeing of beneficiaries and their households. This Press Release also states that there are currently 536,132 out of school children in Katsina State. The UNICEF Press Release of January 2022 further states that a full one-third of Nigerian children are not in school and one in five out-of-school children in the world is Nigerian. Millions of Nigerian children have never been to a classroom. It is estimated that 35 per cent of Nigerian children who attend primary school do not attend secondary school. In March 2021, around 618 schools were closed in six northern states over the fear of attacks and abductions of pupils and staff. According to the UNICEF Situation Analysis of Children in Nigeria, 2022 the proportion of out-of-school children at primary school level was 27.2 per cent (26.5 per cent male and 27.9 per cent female) and 25.8 per cent at the secondary school level (24.4 per cent male and 27.3 per cent female). The highest rate of out-of- school children was reported in the North-East (39.8 per cent at the primary and 37.3 per cent at the secondary). The Committee further notes that according to the UNESCO estimates, the gross enrolment rates in 2018 at the primary and secondary level were 87.45 per cent and 43.51 per cent, respectively.

While noting certain measures taken by the Government, the Committee must express its deep concern at the significant number of children who are deprived of basic education. The Committee thereforeurges the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system and to facilitate access for all children to free basic education, in particular for girls and children in the war-affected areas of north-eastern Nigeria. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures, to increase the school enrolment and attendance rates at the primary and secondary levels and to decrease the school drop-out rates. It requests the Government to continue to provide information on the concrete measures taken in this regard and to provide updated statistical information on the results obtained, particularly with regard to reducing the number of out-of-school children at the primary and secondary levels.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk.Street children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted an increase in the number of children in street situations, including almajiri children (children in Islamic schools who are also sent out to beg). It also noted the Government’s information concerning the establishment of the Almajiri Special Education Project with the aim to integrate basic education into Koranic schools.

The Committee notes an absence of information in the Government’s report on this matter. The Committee notes with concernfrom the UNICEF Situation Analysis of Children in Nigeria, 2022, that 62 per cent of the over 10.1 million out of school children in Nigeria are boys, of which the majority, especially in the north, are made up of Almajiri children who are denied the right to education (page 55). Considering that street children are at a higher risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee once again requests the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to protect all street children, including almajiris from the worst forms of child labour and to provide for their rehabilitation and reintegration. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard as well as on the results achieved. It also requests the Government to provide information on the number of almajiri children who have been integrated through the Almajiri Special Education Project.

In light of the situation described above, the Committee deplores the continued recruitment and use of children in armed conflict by armed groups, especially as it entails other violations of children’s rights, such as abductions, murders and sexual violence. The Committee also observes with concern the large number of boys and girls under 18 who are victims of both cross-border and internal trafficking for labour and sexual exploitation. Lastly, the Committee must express its deep concern at the significant number of children deprived of basic education in the country, including Almajiri children (children in Islamic schools who are also sent out to beg). The Committee considers that this case meets the criteria set out in paragraph 114 of its General Report to be asked to come before the Conference.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.

[The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 111th Session and to reply in full to the present comments in 2023.]