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Tonga
Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Tonga has established goals to furtherimprove the educational system through the Ministry of Education’s 1996Strategic Plan. The plan calls for an increase by 2010 in the compulsoryschool age to 17 or “form level” 6, and for the establishment of universalaccess to quality education up to form 6. It also calls for strengthening theMinistry of Education and enhancing training, expanding and developingvocational and distance education and establishing formal pre-school programs.[4341] AusAID provides financial assistance to the Ha’apai Development Fund, whichsupports projects in the Ha’apai islands of Tonga. The fund is overseen by governmentand community representatives and has involved the construction of teacherhousing.[4342] UNICEF works with government agencies and NGOs to address children’s health andyouth development in the country.[4343]
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
Statistics on the number of working children under age 15 inTonga are unavailable. The U.S. Department of State reported that there was nochild labor in the formal economy in 2002.[4344]
The Education Act of 1974 provides for free and compulsoryeducation from age 6 to 14.[4345] In 2000, the gross primary enrollment rate was 112.7 percent, and the netprimary enrollment rate was 91.5 percent.[4346] Primary school attendance rates are unavailable for Tonga. While enrollmentrates indicate a level of commitment to education, they do not always reflectchildren’s participation in school.[4347]Although the quality of schooling in Tonga has been criticized, the country hasbeen recognized as having achieved universal primary education,[4348]and retention rates to secondary school are high.[4349]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
There is no legislation in Tonga that specifically prohibitschild labor.[4350] The Constitution prohibits forced or bonded labor.[4351] Prostitution is prohibited under the Criminal Code. Penalties for offensesrange from imprisonment for 6 months to 2 years. Males convicted a second timeof profiting from prostitution may be subject to whipping.[4352] The Criminal Code prohibits any person from procuring or attempting to procureany girl under the age of 21 for the purposes of trafficking for prostitution. The punishment for this offense is imprisonment for up to 5 years. Theabduction of women and girls is also illegal under the Criminal Code, withpenalties ranging from 5 to 7 years imprisonment.[4353]
The Government of Tonga is not a member of the ILO, and assuch has not ratified ILO Convention 138 or ILO Convention 182.[4354]
[4341]UNESCO, Education for All 2000 Assessment: Country Reports - Tonga, prepared by Ministry of Education, pursuant to UN General Assembly Resolution 52/84, 2000, Part 3, 11.0; available from http://www2.unesco.org/wef/countryreports/tonga/contents.html.
[4342]Australia has also provided support for school rehabilitation after a cyclone struck Tonga in 2001. See AusAID, Country Brief- Tonga, [online] [cited July 10, 2003]; available from http://www.ausaid.gov.au/country/cbrief.cfm?DCon=8494_3966_5283_4961_7927&CountryId=19.
[4343]UNICEF, UNICEF's Programme of Assistance to Pacific Island Countries, [online] [cited July 11, 2003]; available from http://www.undp.org.fj/un/UNICEF/UNICEF_PIC.htm.
[4344]U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices- 2002: Tonga, Washington, D.C., March 31, 2003, Section 6d; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2002/18267pf.htm.
[4345]Government of Tonga, Ministry of Education, [online] [cited July 10, 2003]; available from http://pmo.gov.to/ministry_of_education.htm.
[4346]World Bank, World Development Indicators 2003 [CD-ROM], Washington, DC, 2003.
[4347]For a more detailed discussion on the relationship between education statistics and work, see the preface to this report.
[4348]U.S. Department of State, Country Reports- 2002: Tonga, Section 5. See also UNESCO, EFA Country Report: Tonga, Section 1.2.
[4349]ADB, Millenium Development Goals in the Pacific: Relevance and Progress, Manila, March 2003, 48; available from http://www.adb.org/documents/books/MDG_Pacific/mdg.pdf#page=48.
[4350]U.S. Department of State, Country Reports- 2002: Tonga, Section 6d.
[4351]This does not apply to those being punished under the law. See Constitution of Tonga, Part I, Clause 2; available from http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/paclawmat/Tonga_legislation/Tonga_Constitution.html. There is no evidence that forced or bonded labor occurs in the country. See U.S. Department of State, Country Reports- 2002: Tonga, Section 6c.
[4352]Criminal Code of Tonga, Articles 80-81; available from http://www.vanuatu.usp.ac.fj/Paclawmat/Tonga_legislation/Consolidation_1988/Tonga_Criminal_Offences.html.
[4353]Ibid., Articles 126, 28-29.
[4354]ILO, Alphabetical list of ILO member countries, in ILOLEX, [database online] May 20, 2003 [cited July 10, 2003]; available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/relm/country.htm.