UPDATE OF WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR INFORMATION IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PARAMARIBO 000798

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR WHA/CAR - LLUFTIG
DOL/ILAB FOR TINA McCARTER
DRL/IL FOR TU DANG

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID
SUBJECT: UPDATE OF WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR INFORMATION IN
SURINAME

REF: (A) STATE 143552 (B) 05 PARAMARIBO 564

PARAMARIBO 00000798 001.2 OF 002



1. (U) In response to ref. A Post provides the following updated
information on Suriname's commitment to eliminate the worst forms of
child labor, previously submitted in
Ref. B.


A. (U) Since Post reported on the labor situation in Suriname in
2005, the country has ratified ILO Convention 182 regarding the
worst forms of child labor. However, ILO Convention 138, the Minimum
Age Convention, still awaits ratification. In Suriname there is a
discrepancy between the minimum age for labor, which is 14 years,
and the compulsory education age, which is 12 years. Convention 138
can only be ratified if the compulsory education age is at least 15
years, thereby conforming with the ILO norm.

Suriname's labor laws do not define the worst forms of child labor
or hazardous work. In December 2006 the Government installed a
National Commission on child labor, consisting of officials from the
Ministries of Labor, Social Affairs, and Education, and
representatives from the labor unions, the private sector, and NGOs.
This commission is tasked with establishing an authority on child
labor as provided for in Article 4 of Convention 182. Once
established, the authority will advise the Government on the issues
of child labor, review labor legislation and make suggestions for
change, and develop a list of occupations considered to be the worst
forms of child labor.


B. (U) The Ministry of Labor's Department of Labor Inspection's
approximately 40 inspectors have responsibility to implement and
enforce labor laws, including those pertaining to the worst forms of
child labor. The labor law prohibits child labor and imposes fines
if violated. The fines are however not adequate to punish and deter
violations. There is no information available regarding the number
of child labor investigations that were conducted over the past
year. The government did not provide awareness raising and/or
training activities for officials charged with enforcing child labor
laws in the last year.

Officials at the Ministry of Labor are in close consultation with
the International Labor Organization. A seminar was held in May 2006
that dealt with the prevention of child labor in indigenous
communities, among other issues. Surinamese government officials and
businesspeople also attended a seminar abroad on the ILO child labor
project in the Caribbean.


C. (U) Since Post reported in 2005, the government has not developed
social programs to prevent and withdraw children from the worst
forms of child labor. The Government provides support to vocational
programs for dropouts and older children, which can serve as an
alternative to work.

Schooling is compulsory until 12 years of age. However, due to a
lack of transportation, building facilities, and teachers, some
school-age children, particularly in the interior, do not have
access to education. School attendance is nominally free through
the university level; however, most public schools impose a nominal
enrollment fee, ranging from 25 to 115 Surinamese dollars (U.S. $9
to $40) per year to cover costs.


D. (U) The country does not have a comprehensive policy or national
program of action on child labor. However, the Ministries of Labor
and Social Affairs make reference to combating child labor in their
annual policy documents. Government officials have on numerous
occasions stressed the importance of combating child labor. The
Minister of Labor, Technological Development and Environment
stressed recently that even though there is no comprehensive policy
regarding the child labor problem, the government is fighting
poverty, preventing child abuse, and promoting child rights to
combat the conditions conducive to the problem.



E. (U) Suriname is making limited progress with the child labor
problem. The country lacks statistical data regarding the labor
environment, more specifically about the child labor market in
Suriname. There are however indications of child labor in the
western district of Nickerie, and children being put to work in the
gold mining and the agriculture sectors, in sawmills, as street
vendors, and in the commercial sex industry. Government action to
combat child labor should be focused on non-urban as well as urban
areas, and the necessary resources will need to be allocated to
investigate child labor cases outside of the capital. Suriname needs
to ratify ILO Convention 138.


PARAMARIBO 00000798 002.2 OF 002


Schreiber Hughes