TIMOR-LESTE: WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 DILI 000041 SIPDIS SIPDIS DOL/ILAB - MCCARTER AND DRL/IL - TU DANG E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI TT SUBJECT: TIMOR-LESTE: WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR UPDATE REF: 07 STATE 00158223 ¶1. Summary. Child labor in Timor-Leste is pervasive but difficult to quantify. Hard data is largely unavailable. All stakeholders agree that it is a problem, but the GOTL, preoccupied with the fundamental tasks of preserving public order, has not yet had sufficient means, capacity, or stability to implement programs to address it. Children work in agriculture, as street and market vendors, and as domestic laborers. Fortunately, the absolute worst forms of child labor such as prostitution, exploitation in pornography, forced conscription, and use in drug trafficking have not taken root to any appreciable extent here. End summary. ¶2. With a population of just under one million, Timor-Leste is a predominantly rural, agrarian society in which child labor has been the norm from time immemorial. It is the poorest country in Asia, with a per capita income of $370 per year in urban areas and $150 per year in rural areas. Unemployment is 50 percent. Subsistence farming remains Timor-Leste's primary form of economic activity, and well over half the population lives or works on farms. The fertility rate, 7.8 percent, may be the highest in the world, and 53 percent of the population is under 19 years of age. Accordingly, children work both to supplement their families' income and to learn livelihoods. Child labor remains widespread in agriculture, fishing, construction, street and market vending, and domestic service. ¶3. After years of civil war, Timor-Leste attained independence in 2002. Its brief post-independence experience has been turbulent; the country has not yet recovered from a political crisis in 2006 that led to a United Nations-led international intervention to restore public order. National elections in June 2007, followed by further unrest in August, led to the installation of a new government. This instability has produced a significant population of 70,000 internally displaced persons (IDPs),which forms a pool of unemployed children and youth who are potentially vulnerable to the worst forms of child labor. ¶4. This instability, combined with the extremely low capacity of Timor-Leste's political leadership and weakness of its administrative and judicial institutions, means that the government is preoccupied with existential priorities and is present poorly equipped to combat the worst forms of child labor. ¶5. However, the picture is not entirely bleak. Affirming the importance of protecting children from exploitation, the GOTL has ratified major conventions upholding the rights of the child and is working with various United Nations agencies to strengthen and implement child protection measures. These should progress given the UN's long-term tutelary relationship with Timor-Leste's fledgling institutions. Also, while child labor itself is widespread, it is encouraging that there is no evidence that some of its worst forms, including production or sale of child pornography and involvement of children in drug trafficking or production, are taking place in Timor-Leste. A: Laws And Regulations Prohibiting The Worst Forms Of Child Labor ¶6. Timor-Leste ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child on April 16, 2003 and has also acceded to the Optional Protocols on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (August 2, 2004) and the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (January 2, 2003). ¶7. Timor-Leste has not yet ratified the two ILO Conventions relating to child labor, number 182 (Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor) and number 138 (Minimum Age For Admission to Employment). According to ILO sources in Dili, the GOTL plans to ratify these conventions in the near future. A tri-partite body on labor issues comprising representatives of labor, employers, and government confirmed to the ILO on December 15 that it has made ratification of these conventions one of its most urgent priorities. ¶8. However, Timor-Leste's existing Labor Code contains provisions consistent with those contained on conventions 138 and 182. Section 11 prohibits work by children between the ages of 15 and 18 which is likely to jeopardize their health, safety on morals. A similar prohibition applies to "light work" legally performed by children between the ages of 12 and 15. The Labor Code does not specify penalties or sanctions for violations of these provisions. A challenge to enforcement is the difficulty in determining the exact age of a child suspected of involvement in proscribed forms of labor. Many births are not registered. For children under the age of five, the ILO estimates this figure may as high as 80 percent. ¶9. Legal minimum age is 15, although Section 2 of the Labor DILI 00000041 002 OF 003 Code explicitly permits "light work" for children as young as 12. ¶10. Timor-Leste's Penal Code is currently under revision. According to international consultants to the Ministry of Social Solidarity, the new code will specify penalties for violations of this code. ¶11. Timor-Leste does not have compulsory military service. The Armed Forces of Timor-Leste (F-FDTL) currently has about 720 active duty personnel. Recruitment age is 18. Post has seen no evidence of underage recruitment. ¶B. Regulations For Implementation And Enforcement of Proscriptions Against WFCL. ¶12. Timor-Leste's Labor Code establishes a National Division of Social Services whose functions include "work and welfare of children" and "labor inspections." The government of Timor-Leste currently has fewer than ten trained labor inspectors, which means that its current capacity for enforcing its labor code is negligible. In 2007, a study of child labor carried out by the ILO found that 80 percent of its respondents entered the workforce before the age of twelve, which suggest rampant disregard for the national labor code. ¶13. Nonetheless, there are isolated instances of enforcement. In what appears to be a unique case, authorities closed a textile shop in late 2007. The concern appeared to be using coerced underage labor to produce cloth weavings. The case remains under investigation. ¶C. Programs Specifically Designed To Prevent And Withdraw Children From WFCL ¶14. The Government of Timor-Leste has no programs specifically aimed at preventing the worst forms of child labor. The National Police has recently established a Vulnerable Persons Unit that could be used to extend protection to any children victimized in prostitution, trafficking, or similar activities. Until the GOTL expands its capacity in this area, a variety of NGOs, international organizations, and faith-based groups are carrying out projects targeting unemployed and displaced youth. While these have a positive impact on children's and youth welfare, their impact on the child labor situation is indirect. ¶D. Comprehensive Policy Aimed At WFCL. ¶15. Primary and secondary education is free but not compulsory. The population as a whole remains poorly educated, and dropping out is common. A 2007 survey of living standards found that 78 percent of children between the ages of seven and sixteen were enrolled in school. Of those who were not in school at that age, only single-digit figures cited "work" as the reason for this. Almost one-third not in school, however, said "no interest," and such respondents are likely in the work force. However, the survey found that in rural areas, almost eighty percent of young people between the ages of five and nineteen were not attending school. The ILO survey of working children found that 70.6 percent of respondents claimed that they combined school with work, and 70.2 percent claim that their work has impacted negatively on their education. ¶E. Progress Toward Eliminating WFCL ¶16. The Government of Timor-Leste does not compile statistics information on child labor. In 2004, the World Bank estimated that 35 percent of children aged 10 - 14 were in the labor force. UNICEF's 2003 Poverty Assessment, however, reported that only ten percent of children in this age group were in the work force. However, the ILO, meeting with unions, government officials, employers, churches, and international organizations in 2007 reported that stakeholders unanimously agreed that child labor is widespread and a significant problem in Timor-Leste. Child labor is most pervasive in the following sectors: street and market vending (sales of fruit, vegetables, drinks, fuel, newspapers, mobile phone cards, DVDs); agriculture; domestic work; construction; and fishing. ¶17. In Timor-Leste, children from rural areas are sometimes informally "adopted" by relatives or others living in Dili, Baucau, or other towns where they are required to perform domestic work in order to earn their keep. The 2007 ILO study of child labor found that 31.5 of working children interviewed were living in such situations. Although there is no hard data available about the total number of children in such situations, NGOs and other stakeholders concerned with the general welfare of children in Timor-Leste consider this practice a serious problem. Inasmuch that this practice separates children from DILI 00000041 003 OF 003 their immediate families for the purposes of labor, it may be regarded as a form of trafficking. The ILO's 2007 report on child labor found that fully 100 percent of children surveyed involved in domestic labor lived apart from their parents. ¶18. Prostitution is not illegal in Timor-Leste, but information on child prostitution is anecdotal and reliable data are unavailable. The ILO report on child labor explicitly exempted prostitution from its scope, however it noted that such prostitution occurred in Dili and Suai, and that "communities in border are at most risk." In its October 2007 report to the Child's Rights Committee Members meeting in Geneva, a coalition of NGOs stated that while trafficking of children in Timor-Leste had not occurred since independence, "reports about the involvement of East Timorese girls in the production of pornographic materials such as DVDs and pictures have raised public concern. Pornography from external media influences is also having an adverse impact on children because they are often used to sell pornographic DVD's and pictures and therefore often become the target of arrest and detention for distribution of illegal materials." ¶19. In terms of gender breakdown, the ILO survey found that in domestic work, 50.8 percent of working children were female, while 49.2 were male. Street vendors were 61.2 percent make and 38.7 percent female. Children working in agriculture were 44.4 percent female and 55.6 percent male. Of the major sectors of child work, agriculture is the most dangerous. An estimated 25 percent of Timor-Leste's population is dependent on income from coffee, and accordingly a large segment of child labor is engaged in its cultivation and processing. Hazards associated with coffee farming are injuries from work implements, falling from trees, and insect bites, which can lead to serious disease. In the ILO survey, 62.9 percent of children working in agriculture reported being ill within the last four weeks, which was twenty percent higher than reported by children employed in other sectors. RECTOR