UPDATE OF WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR

UNCLAS BUJUMBURA 000806 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/C DEPT FOR DOL/ILAB PLEASE PASS TO TINA MCCARTER DEPT FOR DRL/IL PLEASE PASS TO TU DANG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: EIND ELAB ETRD PHUM SOCI BY SUBJECT: UPDATE OF WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR REF: STATE 149662 ¶1. (U) Per Reftel, included is the update of worst forms of child labor information for Burundi. ¶2. (U) Text of report follows: The Government of Burundi (GOB) has evidenced concern about child labor, but due to a critical lack of resources exacerbated by more than twelve years of civil war, it is hamstrung in its efforts to address the worst forms. According to UNICEF, AIDS and the civil war that ended in 2006 left more than 800,000 orphans, including street orphans. Though the GOB appears genuinely concerned about the problem, the sheer numbers severely tax already-limited government resources. Further, in 2007, political in-fighting in Parliament prevented the government from pursuing more aggressive legislation and enforcement to address the problem of orphans and street children. Burundi also faces the challenge of reintegrating former child soldiers from the civil war. Between 2004 and 2007, Burundi demobilized 3041 children from the armed forces, but the government faces the challenge of educating and finding jobs for these former child soldiers. However, UNICEF numbers indicate that the GOB has worked successfully with NGOs to provide skills and training to some 20 percent of the former child soldiers. Laws and Regulations Proscribing the Worst Forms of Child Labor -------------- -------------- The Burundian Labor Code states that children under the age of 18 cannot be employed by "an enterprise," except for the types of labor the Ministry of Labor determines to be acceptable. Acceptable labor includes light work or apprenticeships that do not damage children's health, interfere with their normal development, or prejudice their schooling. Children are prohibited from working at night. The legal age for performing most types of non-dangerous work is 18, but during the reporting year children under the age 16 in rural areas regularly engaged in manual labor in the daytime during the school year. Under the law the country's minimum age for military recruitment is 16, although the government states that no one under the age of 18 is recruited and no soldiers under 18 are currently in uniform. In 2005 Burundi created the Brigade for the Protection of Women and Children within its National Police. The Brigade uses existing law to protect children against forced prostitution. The GOB and police are aware of the major areas in the capital used for prostitution, but have not begun a survey of the problem, and prevention of child prostitution in these areas has yet to be fully realized. Burundi has ratified several international conventions relating to child labor, including the Convention Relative to the Rights of the Child, the African Charter on the Rights and Well-Being of Children, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child Concerning the Selling of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography. Burundi has ratified Convention 182, but has not developed a list of occupations considered to be the worst forms of child labor existing in Burundi. Regulations for Implementation and Enforcement of Proscriptions -------------- -------------- Government agencies that enforce child labor laws have multiple enforcement tools available to them, including criminal penalties, civil fines and court orders. In theory, these tools provide adequate deterrence to would-be violators of child labor laws and punishment to offenders. In practice, however, the laws are infrequently enforced. Due in part to a lack of labor inspectors, the Ministry of Labor enforced labor laws only when a complaint was filed. In 2007, the government acknowledged no cases of child labor in the formal sector of the economy, and has conducted no child labor investigations. In conjunction with UNICEF, PADCO and other NGOs, the government has provided training for Ministry of Labor officials in the enforcement of child labor laws. Social Programs Specifically Designed to Prevent the Worst Forms of Child Labor -------------- -------------- The GOB has few resources to allocate to social programs designed to prevent or ameliorate the worst forms of child labor. In large part, the government depends on private organizations, such as churches, labor unions, human rights organizations, and NGOs to provide necessary social services. International organizations, several NGOs and labor unions engaged in efforts to combat child labor; efforts included a campaign to demobilize child soldiers. Additionally, through its World Bank-funded Demobilization Department, the GOB carries out follow-up programs with demobilized former child soldiers. Working in partnership with PADCO, the government provides vocational training, conflict resolution training, and income-generating projects to assist the reintegration of former child soldiers into civilian life. As in previous years, the Ministry of Defense instructed its officers to punish soldiers who continue to use children to perform menial tasks, such as carrying water and firewood, cooking and cleaning. According to the army's spokesperson, by 2006 soldiers found to abuse children in this manner were among the first to be forced from service as part of the military's demobilization following the civil war. The regular army no longer uses children to perform tasks, and no specific incidents of reprisals against military or security forces have been reported in 2007. Comprehensive Policies Aimed at Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor -------------- -------------- Burundi does not have a comprehensive policy or national program aimed at addressing the worst forms of child labor. The GOB does not incorporate child labor as a specific issue to be addressed in poverty reduction, education, development, or other social policies. The government does, however, provide free public education. In 2005, the president abolished all school fees. While the initiative made schooling available to hundreds of thousands of new students, it also led to an educational emergency involving overcrowded classrooms and teachers working multiple shifts. Education is compulsory up to age 12; however, in practice this is not enforced. Progress Toward Eliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labor -------------- -------------- Statistics in Burundi are difficult to obtain, and many records were lost during the decade-long war. The most recent UNICEF statistics on child labor cover 1999 - 2005, and indicate that 25 percent of Burundi's children are engaged in some form of labor. This statistic is considered low by most observers. Beyond the capital of Bujumbura, Burundi is overwhelmingly agrarian, and most families are primarily engaged in subsistence agriculture. Children in the rural areas work on small family farms or help neighbors in various work-related activities, generally without pay. Even the few paid activities in rural areas, such as hand-made brick making, children are rarely remunerated for their work. It is viewed by most as "assistance," and the children willingly help in the work. There are no reported examples of children working in slavery or debt bondage. Even though they may work without pay, they generally are not forced to work. At home on rural farmsteads children will often work alongside their parents or older relatives, but this is generally seen as necessary to provide basic food and a livelihood for their families. The government acknowledges that some children have been used in commercial sexual exploitation. It considers the few known cases to be isolated and not an indication of organized trafficking of children. The government views these instances to be acts of despair brought on by extreme poverty, and has made no arrests this year for child commercial sexual trafficking. MOLLER