Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09SANTODOMINGO206
2009-02-13 18:00:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Santo Domingo
Cable title:  

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - RESPONSE FOR CHILD LABOR

Tags:  ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID DR 
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DE RUEHDG #0206/01 0441800
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131800Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
TO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2262
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ FEB PORT AU PRINCE 4934
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0397
UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000206 

SIPDIS

DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER
DRL/ILCSR FOR TU DANG

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID DR
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - RESPONSE FOR CHILD LABOR
INFORMATION

REF: A. 08 STATE 127448

B. 08 SDO 887

C. 07 SDO 2697

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000206

SIPDIS

DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER
DRL/ILCSR FOR TU DANG

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID DR
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - RESPONSE FOR CHILD LABOR
INFORMATION

REF: A. 08 STATE 127448

B. 08 SDO 887

C. 07 SDO 2697


1. The following information is Post's response to Reftel A
request for information for the Trade and Development Act
2008 Report and follows the same question and answer format
as the original request.

A) Laws and regulations proscribing the worst forms of child
labor.

What laws have been promulgated on child labor in the country?

RESPONSE: In 2004, the Dominican Republic passed law 136-03,
which established that children have the right to protection
from economic exploitation. This law states that the
protection falls under the responsibility of the State
through the National Council for Children and Adolescents
(CONANI).

What is the country's minimum age for admission to work?

RESPONSE: Labor Code 16-92 prohibits employment of children
younger than 14 and places restrictions on employment of
children under age 16. Labor Code 16-92 Article 245 sets the
country's minimum age of employment.

Are there exceptions to the minimum age law?

RESPONSE: No, but children between the ages of 14 and 16 can
only work hours that do not interfere with their schooling.

What is the minimum age for admission to hazardous work, and
additional provisions has the country enacted regarding
children's involvement in hazardous work?

RESPONSE: Those under age 18 are prohibited from working in
hazardous conditions and in establishments serving alcohol.
They also may only work limited hours in the nighttime.

What laws have been promulgated on the worst forms of child
labor, such as forced child labor and trafficking or child
prostitution and pornography?

RESPONSE: Article 25 of the Labor Code prohibits forced
labor, child prostitution and child pornography. The
government passed an additional law in 2007 criminalizing the
electronic dissemination, sale and/or purchase of child
pornography.

Please specify what worst forms are prohibited and describe
penalties for violations.

RESPONSE: Commercial sexual exploitation, dangerous

agricultural work, urban work, domestic work outside of their
own home, trafficking in persons and contraband.

What is the country's minimum age for military?

RESPONSE: The minimum age to join the military is 16 years
old.

If the country has ratified ILO Convention 182 on the Worst
Forms of Child Labor, has it developed a list of occupations
considered to be worst forms of child labor, as called for in
article 4 of the Convention?

RESPONSE: The country has ratified Convention 182. The
government passed resolution 52-2004 that lists occupations
that are considered to be the worst forms of child labor.

B) Regulations for implementation and enforcement of
proscriptions against the worst forms of child labor.

What legal remedies are available to government agencies that
enforce child labor and worst forms of child labor laws and
are they adequate to punish and deter violations?

RESPONSE: The possible imprisonment for commercialization of
children is between 20 and 30 years and fines from 100 to 150
times the minimum wage. In cases of sexual exploitation and
child pornography, the possible imprisonment is between 3 and
10 years and fines from 10 to 15 times the officially
established minimum wage. The government effectively

enforces these regulations in the formal sector, regulations
have proved inadequate in deterring child labor in the
informal sector, which lies beyond regulatory reach.

To what extent are violations investigated and addressed?

RESPONSE: The Secretariat of Labor (SET) investigates
complaints, and the government actively prosecutes cases it
receives from these investigations. Due to lengthy
investigation and trial procedures, cases almost never see
sentencing within a year of the investigation's initiation.

What level of resources does the government devote to
investigating child labor and worst forms of child labor
cases throughout the country?

RESPONSE: In the implementation of the International Plan to
Eliminate Child Labor, the International Labor Organization
(ILO) and the SET have jointly committed to $4.93 million
dollars annually. The first phase of this program ran
between 2002 and 2006. The second phase runs from 2006 to
2009 and officially launched in March of 2008. ILO signed an
agreement with the government in May 2008 to advise and
assist the government in its efforts to eliminate the worst
forms of child labor in a program known as the Solidarity
Program. The program aims to implement an intensive and
permanent campaign to educate children, parents and families
on the effects of the worst forms of child labor.

How many inspectors does the government employ to address
child labor issues?

RESPONSE: Within the SET, there are about 20 inspectors
working directly on this issue within the total of 191 labor
inspectors.

How many police or other law enforcement officials address
worst forms of child labor issues?

RESPONSE: In the judicial sector nationally, the Coordinator
of Children and Adolescents has 33 district attorneys charged
specifically with addressing issues of the worst forms of
child labor.

How many child labor investigations have been conducted over
the past year and how many have resulted in fines, penalties,
or convictions?

RESPONSE: In the past year, the government has conducted and
completed about 30 cases, but those cases are still awaiting
imposition of fines.

How many investigations into worst forms of child labor
violations have resulted in prosecutions and convictions?

RESPONSE: There are about 10 continuing investigations.

Has the government provided awareness-raising and/or training
activities for officials charged with enforcing child labor
laws or worst forms of child labor laws?

RESPONSE: Yes, through CONANI and the programs created
through the SET, they have conducted activities with various
NGOs such as Boys and Girls with Don Bosco. Through the ILO,
a total of 52 training workshops were held. Likewise, the
SET together with the ILO have offered targeted programs to
combat the sexual exploitation of minors in popular tourist
destinations. The government has also posted notices about
the dangers of the sexual exploitation of minors in airports.

C) Whether there are social programs specifically designed to
prevent and withdraw children from the worst forms of child
labor.

What initiatives has the government supported to prevent
children from entering exploitive work situations, to
withdraw children engaged in such labor, and to advocate on
behalf of children involved in such employment and their
families?

RESPONSE: As a part of the government initiatives generated
by the ratification of Convention 182, the government created
the National Directive Committee for the Elimination of Child
Labor (CDN). Following a 1997 presidential decree, the CDN
is to remain a presidential committee within the SET. The

government has also implemented concentrated campaigns
together with UNICEF to prevent children from entering
exploitive work situations. DevTech systems also recently
completed a project that removed 3,700 children from
exploitative working conditions.

D) Does the country have a comprehensive policy aimed at the
elimination of the worst forms of child labor?

Does the country have a comprehensive policy or national
program of action on child labor or specific forms of child
labor?

RESPONSE: Yes, through the SET, they implement the National
Program for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labor.

Does the country incorporate child labor specifically as an
issue to be addressed in poverty reduction, development,
educational or other social policies or programs?

RESPONSE: Yes, through the working policies of CONANI and
other institutions such as Public Health and NGOs such as the
ILO and DevTech.

If so, to what degree has the country implemented the policy
and/or program of action and achieved its goals and
objectives?

RESPONSE: The policies have been implemented to a high
degree, and the government continues to work actively with
civil society and with the media to develop and implement
prevention campaigns targeting the country's youth.

Is education free in law and practice? Is education
compulsory in law and practice?

RESPONSE: Education is free and compulsory through the 8th
grade. Regardless, legal mechanisms provide only for primary
schooling, which was interpreted as extending through the 4th
grade. Another concern is the high number of children
lacking documentation and the government's current practice
of denying documentation to children whose parents are
suspected of being foreigners. Such children without
documentation can legally attend school only through the 5th
grade. In practice, however, such children are limited to
the 4th grade due to national examinations requiring
documentation following the 4th grade.

E) Is the country making continual progress toward
eliminating the worst forms of child labor?

What are the specific sectors/work activities/goods in which
children work and how has this changed over the past year?

RESPONSE: The country has continuing programs to eliminate
child labor and the incentives thereto. Through programs and
sectors mentioned in previous responses herein, it appears
that child labor has continued to see a reduction in practice
both in urban areas and as domestic workers. These children
are primarily from poor economic classes, with ages between 5
and 14, and with hardly a basic education. Please also note
Reftel B, which contains Post's detailed response regarding
goods which may have been produced with child or forced
labor. As noted in last year's report, there has not been a
comprehensive, focused study on the number of child laborers
in the Dominican Republic since 2000. The Central Bank
statistics department has semi-annual reports available
through the following link.

http://www.bancentral.gov.do/estadisticas.asp ?a=Mercado de
Trabajo

According to the 2000 National Survey of the Labor Force
(ENTI) 41 percent of working children can be found in
services, following by trade (21),agriculture (19),
manufacturing industries (11) and other (8). Post has not
encountered cases of children working in slavery, practices
similar to slavery, debt bondage, serfdom or forced
compulsory labor. Government and non-governmental
organizations state that minors are likely trafficked
internally for sexual exploitation, but neither the
government nor NGOs have been able to demonstrate concrete
cases of trafficking.
BULLEN