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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Democratic Republic of the Congo (Ratification: 2001)

Article 6 of the Convention. Programmes of action. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s reference in its report to the sectoral implementation of the “National action plan to combat the worst forms of child labour 2012–20 (PAN)” and its components relating to the legal framework, awareness-raising and social mobilization, education, socio-economic vulnerability, protection, and the financial coverage and management of PAN programmes and actions. The Government indicates that the results achieved include the effective application of basic education free of charge since 2019 and the plan for implementing the “National sectoral strategy to combat child labour in artisanal mines and at artisanal mining sites in the Democratic Republic of the Congo 2017–25”.

The Committee also notes the Government’s reference to Ministerial Order No. CAB.MIN/ETPS/CNM/DOW/FL/061/2022 of 21 February 2022 concerning the structure and operation of the coordinating committee for the Alliance 8.7 global partnership, aimed at taking immediate and effective measures to eradicate forced labour, modern slavery and human trafficking, to prohibit and eliminate the worst forms of child labour, including the recruitment and use of child soldiers, and to put an end to all forms of child labour by 2025.

However, the Committee notes the absence of data on the effective implementation of the PAN from 2012 to 2020. In this regard, the Committee wishes to emphasize the importance of regularly evaluating and monitoring the results recorded in the context of a national action plan to combat the worst forms of child labour so as to review and adjust the measures and strategies deployed, to reveal any deficiency in the coordination of these various measures and strategies and also between the various competent bodies, to rationalize processes and enable the public authorities and social partners to periodically evaluate their real impact. The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to prohibit and eliminate the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide detailed information on the implementation of the PAN from 2012 to 2020 and of the actions linked to the Alliance 8.7 partnership. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved in this regard and their impact on the elimination of child labour.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indications concerning the programme to provide basic education free of charge since 2019, as a strategic component of the elimination of child labour and its worst forms. The Government indicates that a total of 7,730,736 children attended basic education in the first year that it was provided free of charge and a total of 10,037,882 children were enrolled in 2021. It also indicates that, according to information from the Ministry of Secondary and Technical Education, the free schooling strategy has led to a 6.75 per cent increase in the average annual school enrolment rate.

The Committee notes the preparation in 2021 of the third “State report of the national education system (RESEN)” by the UNESCO, in partnership with UNICEF, the General Secretariat for Primary, Secondary and Technical Education (EPST) and the Permanent Secretariat for the Support and Coordination of Education (SPACE), with a view to updating and extending the “Sectoral strategy for education and training (SSEF) 2016–25” until 2030.

The Committee also notes the indications in the preparatory report of the “SSEF joint sectoral review 2021” that the schooling completion rates in several provinces are below the national average of 31.1 per cent. The situation is particularly worrying in Kasai, where the completion rate for the second secondary cycle stands at 4.6 per cent, while the rate is 5.9 per cent in the province of Tangayinka and 6.7 per cent in the province of Mongala.

Furthermore, the Committee notes that the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR), in its concluding observations on the sixth periodic report in March 2022 (E/C.12/COD/CO/6, paragraph 58), highlights: (1) inequalities in access to education; (2) the poor quality of education, due in part to the lack of sufficient resources; (3) the precariousness of infrastructures and the insufficient number of teachers; (4) the impact of early marriage on girls’ access to education; (5) the growing disparities in access to education; and (6) attacks on schools, and on students and teachers, especially women and girls, in certain provinces of the country. While recognizing the difficult situation prevailing in the country, the Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system in the country and to facilitate access to free basic education for all Congolese children, including girls and in particular in areas of armed conflict. It also requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved, disaggregated by age and gender.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. 1. Street children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in its concluding observations , observed that thousands of children continue to live in the streets and are subjected, inter alia, to violence, rape, arbitrary arrests, disappearance, and recruitment for armed groups, and that the Ministry of Social Affairs had a national strategy for vulnerable groups, including children in difficult situations.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it is not in a position to provide information on street children and that this will be available in the next report following meetings with the Ministry of Social Affairs, Humanitarian Action and National Solidarity responsible for issues relating to street children.

In this regard, the Committee emphasizes that according to the information contained in the “National strategic development plan 2019–23” drawn up in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the rate of reduction in the numbers of street children is one of the indicators of success for the first pillar. Recalling that street children are particularly exposed to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee once again urges the Government to intensify its efforts to ensure the protection of these children and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of actions for the protection, rehabilitation and integration of street children in the context of the strategy of the Ministry of Social Affairs, Humanitarian Action and National Solidarity and the “National strategic development plan 2019–23”.

2. HIV/AIDS orphans (OVCs). The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that it is not in a position to provide information on HIV/AIDS orphans.

In this regard, the Committee notes the information on the “HIV/AIDS national strategic response plan 2018–21”, according to which several types of assistance have been provided for orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs), including: (1) covering the school costs of 8,472 OVCs in the provinces of North Kivu, South Kivu, Maniema, Kinshasa, Eastern Province and Équateur; (2) food assistance for 947 OVCs in North Kivu and East Kasai; (3) HIV/AIDS awareness-raising for 14,903 OVCs in North Kivu, Eastern Province, South Kivu and East Kasai; and (4) the availability of an occupational apprenticeship for 3,724 OVCs.

The Committee also notes Ministerial Order No. 1250/CAB/MIN/S/0016/SECMIN/2018 of 27 June 2018 establishing the structure and operation of the National Coordinating Committee for combating AIDS, tuberculosis and malaria in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (CCM/RDC), which formulates and implements the various strategies and the annual work plan and monitors the implementation of programmes. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to prevent the engagement of HIV/AIDS orphans in the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved in the context of the “HIV/AIDS national strategic response plan” and the CCM/RDC.