Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB)

Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor

The National Program of Action for children, implemented in1992, involved the formation of government committees on children’s issues.[4164] The program addressed most articles of the UN Convention on the Rights of theChild except free and compulsory primary education, which the government cannotensure due to financial constraints.[4165] In 2002, the government established a Children’s Unit to promote and protectchild rights. The unit collaborates with law enforcement on child protectionsissues, has developed guidelines for management of child abuse cases and hasestablished professional networks through cooperation with the government’slegal branch and NGOs.[4166] The Government of Swaziland, with a loan from the World Bank, is implementing aproject on the protection of children and orphans, which will make educationand health care more accessible to the most vulnerable children in the country.[4167] The project will also provide rehabilitation and reintegration services tostreet children and provide social protection to orphans and vulnerablechildren.[4168]

UNICEF and Save the Children Swaziland have projectsdesigned to improve the education system in Swaziland. UNICEF’s programfocuses on improving gender equity in schools and generally improving theoverall quality of education.[4169] Save the Children Swaziland has implemented programs to promote inclusiveeducation for disabled children[4170]and also improve awareness of HIV/AIDS.[4171]

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

In 2000, the Government of Swaziland and UNICEF estimatedthat 11.3 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years were working.[4172] Children work in agriculture (particularly in the eastern region), and asdomestics and herders.[4173] There are reports that girls from Mozambique have been involved in childprostitution in Swaziland.[4174]

Education is neither free nor compulsory in Swaziland. Thegovernment pays teacher salaries, while student fees and money raised from thecommunity pay for costs such as building upkeep and teacher housing.[4175] In 2000, the gross primary school enrollment rate was 124.6 percent, and thenet primary school enrollment rate was 93 percent.[4176] In 1999, 84 percent of children enrolled in primary school reached grade 5.[4177]

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The minimum age of employment is set at 15 years forindustrial work, although children may work in the commercial sector beginningat age 13.[4178] Employment of children under 18 years is not permitted in mines, quarries orunderground work, or in any sector that is dangerous to their safety or health.[4179] The law allows children under 15 to work in industrial firms that only employfamily members or in technical schools under supervision, and limits childrento 6 hours of work per day and 33 hours per week.[4180] The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor laws, but itseffectiveness is limited by a lack of personnel.[4181]

The Criminal Code prohibits the procurement of a girl forpurposes of prostitution.[4182] There is no law prohibiting trafficking in persons.[4183]

The Government of Swaziland ratified ILO Convention 138 andILO Convention 182 on October 23, 2002.[4184]

[4164]The Honorable Dr. Phetsile Dlamini, Minister of Health and Social Welfare, Statement at the United Nations Special Session on Children, May 10, 2002; available from http://www.un.org/ga/children/swazilandE.htm. See also UNICEF and Government of Swaziland Ministry of Education, "The National Programme of Action for the Children of Swaziland 1993-2000," in Common Country Assessment- Swaziland, ed. M.D. McDermott Mbabane: Environmental Consulting Services, 1997; available from http://www.ecs.co.sz/cca/cca_4.htm.

[4165]UNICEF and Government of Swaziland Ministry of Education, "The National Programme of Action."

[4166]Dlamini, Statement at the United Nations Special Session on Children.

[4167]Swaziland - Protection of Children and Orphans, World Bank, [online] 2002 [cited June 2, 2003]; available from
http://www-wds.worldbank.org/servlet/WDS/ContentServer/WDSP/IB/2002/05/20/000094946_02051604414058/ Rendered/PDF/multi0page.pdf.

[4168]Ibid.

[4169]Girls' Education in Swaziland, UNICEF, [online] [cited June 2, 2003]; available from http://www.unicef.org/programme/girlseducation/action/ed_profiles/Swazilandfinal.pdf.

[4170]Save the Children, Disability, Save the Children Swaziland, [previously online] April 14, 2003 [cited May 14, 2003]; available from http://www.savethechildren/net/swaziland/update/editor/readnew.asp?id=202 [hard copy on file].

[4171]Save the Children, HIV/AIDS, Save the Children Swaziland, [previously online] April 14, 2003 [cited May 14, 2003]; available from http://www.savethechildren.net/swaziland/update/editor/readnew.asp?id=194 [hard copy on file].

[4172] Government of Swaziland, Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey Model: Full Report, 2000, 25; available from http://www.childinfo.org/MICS2/newreports/swaziland/swaziland.pdf. In 2001, the ILO estimated that 12 percent of children ages 10 to 14 were in the labor force. See World Bank, World Development Indicators 2003 [CD-ROM], Washington, D.C., 2003.

[4173] U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices- 2002: Swaziland, Washington, D.C., March 31, 2003, Section 6d; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18229.htm.

[4174] Ibid., Section 5.

[4175]Ibid.

[4176] World Bank, World Development Indicators 2003. In 1996 the government reported a 90.6 percent primary school attendance rate. See also Government of Swaziland, Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey.

[4177]World Bank, World Development Indicators 2003.

[4178] ILO-IPEC, Report VI (1) Child Labour: Targeting the Intolerable, Geneva, 1998, 77; available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/comp/child/publ/target/target.pdf. The minimum age for light work varies between 13 and 15 years of age depending on the sector.

[4179] Ibid.

[4180] U.S. Department of State, Country Reports- 2002: Swaziland, Section 6d.

[4181] Ibid.

[4182] The Protection Project, "Swaziland," in Human Rights Report on the Trafficking of Persons, Especially Women and Children: A Country-by-Country Report on a Contemporary Form of Slavery, March 2002; available from http://209.190.246.239/ver2/cr/Swaziland.pdf.

[4183] U.S. Department of State, Country Reports- 2002: Swaziland, Section 6f.

[4184]ILO, Ratifications by Country, in ILOLEX, [database online] [cited May 14, 2003]; available from http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/newratframeE.htm.