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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Madagascar (Ratification: 2001)

Articles 3(a) and 7(1) of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, and sanctions. Sale and trafficking. The Committee notes with regret the continued absence of information in the Government’s report on the number of cases of trafficking of children for labour or sexual exploitation, and on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions. The Committee notes the information contained in the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons 2020 of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), according to which the police reported 39 victims of trafficking between 2017 and 2019, of whom 11 were girls and eight were boys, 23 cases of trafficking and 48 indictments. Moreover, the Ministry of Justice reported that 69 cases of trafficking were brought to the courts in 2017 and 2018 and that there were 38 female victims of trafficking during that period, of whom 16 were girls.

The Committee also notes that, in its report under the Forced Labour Convention, 1931 (No. 29), the Government indicates that a national data system on trafficking was established in 2020. The Committee notes in this regard that, in the annual report of Alliance 8.7 pathfinder countries of Madagascar for May 2020 to April 2021, the Government specifies that the national database, managed by the National Office to Combat Human Trafficking (BNLTEH), will act as a dashboard for assistance to victims, the profiling of victims and investigations and prosecutions of perpetrators of trafficking. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the effect given in practice to Act No. 2014-040 of 20 January 2015 to combat trafficking in persons, including statistics on the number and nature of the offences reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and the penalties imposed in cases involving child victims. It also requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the penalties imposed on persons guilty of trafficking children under 18 years of age are enforced in practice.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Regional Committees to Combat Child Labour. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Regional Child Labour Observatories (ORTEs) are still facing the same problems, with labour inspectors and controllers being unavailable and that no inspections have been carried out. The Government adds that the Regional Committees to Combat Child Labour are responsible for the implementation of all action to combat child labour at the regional level. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the Regional Committees to Combat Child Labour in relation to the identification and elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (c). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and access to free basic education for children removed from the worst forms of child labour. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the Ministry of National Education (MEN) ensures the school attendance of the whole of the population, the prevention of school drop-outs and the reintegration in school of students who have had to leave school. The Committee also notes the Education Sectoral Plan (PSE), adopted for the period 2018–22. The Government also indicates that the establishment of a national system of catch-up courses (CRAN) for the reintegration of children under 16 years of age is one of the measures introduced by the Ministry, with UNICEF support. The objectives and activities of the CRAN are aligned with the strategic priorities of the PSE, particularly in relation to access and quality, targeting children who have dropped out of primary school and seeking the integration and reintegration of vulnerable children and young persons in the education system. The Government adds that the policy of free primary education pursued by the MEN has also been able to lighten the burden of parents and led to an increase in the gross school attendance rate in 2021.

The Committee notes the statistics provided by the Government. Among other trends, it notes that school drop-out rates appear to be decreasing, falling from 18 to 9.4 per cent at primary level between 2016–17 and 2019-20, and from 8.8 to 4 per cent for the first cycle of secondary school and from 1 to 0 per cent for the second cycle of secondary school. However, the Committee notes that the school attendance rates remain more or less the same and that school completion rates are still very low. In 2021, the (gross) school attendance and completion rates were 140.3 and 53.1 per cent, respectively, for primary school, 44 and 33.4 per cent for the first cycle of secondary school and 19.8 and 17 per cent for the second cycle of secondary school.

The Committee also notes the concern expressed by the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child with regard, among other matters, to: the low rates of school enrolment, attendance and completion, with significant gaps between children in the various regions; the mediocre quality of education and the lack of qualified teachers; the limited access to on-line education during school closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic; and the low level of budgetary resources allocated to education. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee requests it to redouble its efforts to improve the operation of the education system in the country by improving the quality of teaching and access to free basic education for all children. In this regard, it requests the Government to continue providing information on the specific measures adopted, within the framework of the PSE, the CRAN or any other project, and on the results achieved, particularly with regard to the increase in school attendance and completion rates.

Clause (d). Vulnerable children at special risk. Child orphans of HIV/AIDS The Committee notes the absence of information in the Government’s report on the subject of child HIV/AIDS orphans. It notes that, according to the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child of 9 March 2022, Madagascar has been making increased efforts to combat HIV/AIDS (CRC/C/MDG//CO/5-6, paragraph 34), and according to the Global AIDS Update 2020 for Madagascar, the country has made significant progress in specific areas of its multisectoral response, including the implementation of the National Strategic Plan 2018–22 of the multisectoral response to STDs, HIV and AIDS.

However, the Committee notes that, according to UNAIDS statistics, around 16,000 children were HIV/AIDS orphans in 2020, which represents a significant increase in relation to the 2,800 orphans recorded in 2010. Once again recalling that HIV/AIDS has negative consequences for orphans, who are greater risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to prevent these children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. It once again requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.

Article 8. International cooperation. 1. Poverty reduction. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Development Plan (PND) envisages a reduction in the social divide and in inequalities between regions, towns and rural areas, as well as action to combat poverty. The Committee also notes that, according to a United Nations press release dated 11 November 2021, a new United Nations Sustainable Development Cooperation Framework (UNSDCF) was launched in November 2021. This Framework constitutes a further commitment to the emergence of Madagascar with a view to achieving the Sustainable Development Goals and optimal reconstruction during the post COVID-19 pandemic period. The UNSDCF is based on four strategic priorities, including the strengthening of good governance, the development of human capital and the promotion of productive work and the creation of productive jobs for decent incomes and a competitive economy. The UNSDCF also targets the strengthening of sustainable environmental management and resilience, as the Grand Sud in Madagascar is seriously affected by the drought caused by climate change. Recalling that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to continue its efforts to reduce the incidence of poverty in Madagascar. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved, particularly in relation to the effective reduction of poverty among vulnerable households and the impact detected on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.

2. Social protection. The Committee notes that the Government is implementing the Madagascar National Social Protection Policy (PNPS) 2015–30, which is designed to determine a global and coherent strategy for social protection with a view to achieving effective coverage of the population. The National Social Protection Strategy (SNPS) 2019–23, developed on the basis of the PNPS 2015-30, has also been brought into line with the major development objectives set out in the Madagascar Emergence Initiative, with a view to reinforcing the resilience of the population in the face of economic and natural difficulties, and to raise up and rehabilitate the most vulnerable categories of the population. In view of the direct correlation between child labour and poverty, the Committee emphasizes that programmes intended to improve the living standards of the population through the provision of social protection contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, which is essential for the eradication of the worst forms of child labour (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, (paragraphs 624–625). The Committee requests the Government to indicate the results achieved through the implementation of the PNPS and the SNPS, particularly in terms of the impact detected on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour through the reduction of poverty for the most vulnerable households.