ARGENTINA: UPDATE ON WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR INFORMATION

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 002288 SIPDIS DOL FOR ILAB: TINA MCCARTER DEPT FOR DRL/IL: TU DANG SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB EINV ETRD PHUM SOCI AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: UPDATE ON WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR INFORMATION FOR MANDATORY CONGRESSIONAL REPORTING REQUIREMENT REF: STATE 149662 ¶1. Per reftel instructions, below please find post's update on the worst forms of child labor in Argentina. Our response is keyed to points found in reftel. ¶A. (SBU) Laws and regulations proscribing the worst forms of child labor -- Law 20.774 sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years; in rare cases the Ministry of Education may authorize a younger child to work as part of a family unit. Children between the ages of 14 and 18 may work in a limited number of job categories and for limited hours if they have completed compulsory schooling, which normally ends at age 15. Special laws on rural and domestic work also prohibit the employment of children under 14. Legal penalties for employing underage workers range from 1,000 to 5,000 pesos ($350 to $1,750 ) for each child employed. Provincial governments and the city government of Buenos Aires are responsible for labor law enforcement. Labor authorities may grant special authorizations to children under 14 on a case-to-case basis to perform artistic work. -- Argentina has not yet passed special legislation on child prostitution, pornography or trafficking. However, the Criminal Code imposes prison terms for these crimes. At the local level, the Buenos Aires City Legislature passed legislation in mid-September that increases penalties for those facilitating child exploitation and compels tourist operators to abide by a code of ethics to prevent minors from being sexually exploited. Penalties range from USD 1,600 to USD 32,000 for individuals or companies charged with 'the promotion, publication, or provision of help, websites or services to third parties so as to force children or teenagers to participate in sexual activities, even when [the activities] do not materialize.' Fines may be accompanied by 90-day arrest and companies may face closure. -- Argentina's minimum age for military recruitment is 18, and enrollment is voluntary. -- Argentina signed and ratified ILO Convention 138 on the Minimum Age for Employment in 1996, and ILO Convention 182 on the Eradication of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in 2001. In June 2006, the National Commission to Eradicate Child Labor (CONAETI) formulated a list of hazardous jobs for children that is still waiting approval from the Ministry of Labor (MOL). One of CONAETI's ten sub-committees is dedicated to eradicating the worst forms of child labor. B) (SBU) Regulations for implementation and enforcement of proscriptions against the worst forms of child labor -- Legal penalties for employing underage workers ranged from 1,000 to 5,000 pesos ($350 to $1,750) for each child employed. Provincial governments and the city government of Buenos Aires are responsible for labor law enforcement. -- Child labor complaints are made to judicial authorities or provincial labor authorities, which may file charges before the appropriate courts if the complaints involve the worst forms of child labor. -- The Ministry of Labor has hundreds of labor inspectors who have been trained on child labor issues. However, none are specifically assigned to conducting child labor inspections. Neither CONAETI nor the 19 provincial Commissions for the Eradication of Child Labor (COPRETIS) keep statistics on the number of child labor investigations that are conducted in a given year or whether these investigations have resulted in fines, penalties, or convictions. -- Established in 2000, CONAETI falls under the purview of the Ministry of Labor but is composed of representatives from all the national Ministries, the Argentine Industrial Chamber (UIA),the General Workers' Confederation (CGT) and the Catholic Church. CONAETI has primary responsibility for developing action plans for the gradual eradication of child labor. Argentina's federal system delegates authority over labor issues to provincial labor authorities, and many provinces have similar provincial commissions. CONAETI works with the COPRETIs to coordinate national and provincial efforts to eradicate child labor, but does not have authority over the COPRETIs. In 2007, CONAETI organized two national seminars with COPRETIs to provide training to provincial authorities charged with enforcing child labor laws and raise awareness regarding the 'worst forms of child labor'. During the first meeting, there was a special panel on the worst forms of child labor, and the COPRETIs were tasked with conducting informal research to assess the extent of the problem in their territories. The COPRETIs submitted their findings during the second meeting held later this year. C) (SBU) Whether there are social programs specifically designed to prevent and withdraw children from the worst forms of child labor. -- The Ministry of Education has a national scholarship program designed to reintegrate children who have dropped out of school in order to work. In 2007, the Ministry of Labor, CONAETI, and the Federal Labor Council, and the Ministry of Education (MOE) signed an agreement to expand this program for the 2008 school year to include children who attend school and work at the same time. As a part of the agreement, the Ministry of Labor provides the children's parents with job training and job search assistance. D) (SBU) Does the country have a comprehensive policy aimed at the elimination of the worst forms of child labor? -- Argentina developed a National Plan for the Eradication of Child Labor in 2006, and all Ministries have committed to incorporating the plan's objectives into their own operational plans and programs. The provinces have also committed themselves to implementing the plan. In June, CONAETI, together with UNDP, ILO and UNICEF, signed a "Memorandum of Understanding and Cooperation" to eradicate and prevent child labor. The agreement aims to strengthen the family group, prevent school desertion, and provide psychological and health assistance to children. According to a 2007 ILO study entitled 'Chil labor in Argentina: analysis and challenges for public policies', Argentina has made significant progress in developing policies aimed at the eradication of child labor, in accordance with the ILO Program for Decent Work in the Americas. In addition to CONAETI's plan and the MOU mentioned above, the study cites the 2003 creation of an Observatory on Child Labor in the Ministry of Labor, a 2004 survey on children and adolescents work activities, the signing of a "Declaration of Argentine Companies Against Child Labor", and national training of labor inspectors on the issue as meaningful developments. The study also lists a variety of programs the Argentine government has undertaken since 1997 to eradicate child labor in brick factories (1997),the recycling industry (2002-03),agriculture (2002-04),and commercial sexual exploitation (2003-05). In addition, the Argentine government has worked with unions to develop strategies to prevent and eradicate child labor (2003-05). The ILO report also notes Argentina's leadership in developing a regional plan for Mercosur and Chile to combat child labor, which identified the need for policy consistency throughout the region and the need to develop a national network to monitor and compile statistics on child labor cases. In October, CONAETI, the ILO, IOM, UNICEF, and the Telefonica Foundation launched a seminar to prevent and eliminate child labor in the recycling business. In August and September, the GOA also worked with the IOM and provincial authorities in the tri-border area with Brazil and Paraguay to address child sexual exploitation. -- In law and in practice, the GOA provides free and compulsory education for 13 years, beginning at age five. Still, attendance rates were lowest among children from low-income households, and access to schooling is limited in some rural areas of the country. E) Is the country making continual progress toward eliminating the worst forms of child labor? -- According to CONAETI, child labor occurs primarily in the agricultural, domestic service, textile, and recycling industries. There is no information on the specific goods children produce, or on the age and gender of working children, disaggregated by industry, work, activity, or good. -- Anecdotal evidence suggests that most children who work do so for economic survival and are not subject to slavery, debt bondage, or serfdom. -- The press and local NGOs report that children were involved in sexual exploitation, sex tourism, and drug trafficking, but there are no reliable statistics to determine the extent of their involvement. According to local NGOs, some Argentine children have been trafficked within borders for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Paraguayan and Bolivian children have been trafficked into Argentina for the purposes of labor and sexual exploitation. WAYNE