Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2023, published 112nd ILC session (2024)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Ukraine (Ratification: 2000)

Previous comment

Articles 3 and 5 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour and monitoring mechanisms. Clause (a). Sale and trafficking of children. Following its previous comments, the Committee once again notes the absence of information, in the Government’s report, regarding the investigations and prosecutions of persons who engage in the sale and trafficking of children. The Committee refers to the Government’s report under the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), according to which the new challenges Ukraine is facing as a result of war increase the risk of human trafficking to virtually all segments of the population, but that combating this scourge remains one of the priorities of the National Police. The Government indicates that, in 2022, the National Police of Ukraine detected 134 cases of human trafficking; eight criminal offences under section 149 of the Criminal Code of Ukraine (human trafficking) were detected where the victims were children. Eight such offences were registered in the first five months of 2023. The Committee observes that the number of registered criminal offences for child trafficking remains low, and that information regarding the number of perpetrators of child trafficking who have been prosecuted and convicted remains sparse. The Committee once again urges the Government to ensure that thorough investigations and prosecutions of persons who engage in the sale and trafficking of children are carried out. It requests the Government to provide information in this regard and on the number and nature of penalties imposed in practice.

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. The Committee notes the lack of information in the Government’s report regarding the measures taken to facilitate access to free basic education for all children, particularly children in areas of armed conflict, internally displaced children and Roma children. The Committee notes with concern that that the ongoing war in Ukraine appears to have had serious ramifications on children’s access to free basic education. A UNICEF press release of 24 January 2023 reports that the war has disrupted education for more than 5 million children, and that the impact of 11 months of conflict only compounds the two years of lost learning due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and more than eight years of war for children in eastern Ukraine. According to another UNICEF press release of 29 August 2023, children across Ukraine are showing signs of widespread learning loss as the war, preceded by the COVID-19 pandemic, have left students facing a fourth year of disruption to education. Moreover, according to the UNICEF website, only a third of schoolchildren in Ukraine are fully learning in-person. Two-thirds are struggling to learn online or through a mixture of online and in person classes. UNICEF is therefore working with governments and partners on the ground in Ukraine and countries hosting refugee children and families to help increase access to quality learning. This includes supporting the inclusion of children in national education systems and providing multiple learning pathways for children not currently enrolled. While noting the difficult situation prevailing in the country, the Committee once again strongly encourages the Government to take measures to facilitate access to free basic education for all children and improve the quality of education for all students at the primary and lower secondary levels. It once again requests the Government to provide information on the concrete measures taken and results achieved in this respect.

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