Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified Convention 138 |
|
| Ratified Convention 182 |
|
| ILO-IPEC Member |
|
| National Plan for Children |
|
| National Child Labor Action Plan |
|
| Sector Action Plan |
|
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
The ILO estimated that 23.8 percent of children ages 10 to 14 years in Afghanistan were working in 2002.[65] Child workers are reported to be numerous in rural areas, particularly in animal herding, and collecting paper and firewood. Children are also found working in the urban informal sector engaged in activities such as shining shoes, begging, or rummaging for scrap metal in the streets.[66] There are reports that children continue to join or be forcibly recruited into armed insurgent groups.[67] Afghanistan is a country of origin and transit for children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced marriage, labor, domestic servitude, slavery, crime, and the removal of body organs.[68] Since early 2003, there have been increasing reports of children reported as missing throughout the country.[69] It is also reported that impoverished Afghan families have sold their children into forced sexual exploitation, marriage, and labor.[70]
In January 2004, the Constitutional Loya Jirga (Grand Assembly) approved the new Constitution of Afghanistan,[71] which provides for free education for all citizens up to the secondary level.[72] However, continued violence and instability in the country have seriously hampered educational reconstruction efforts.[73] In 2001, the gross primary enrollment rate was 22.7 percent.[74] Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. Recent primary school attendance statistics are not available for Afghanistan. Since the downfall of the Taliban in 2001, efforts have been made to improve enrollment, particularly for girls. According to UNICEF, 4.2 million children are enrolled in school at the primary level and about 37 percent of these are girls. However, there are still 1.5 million girls of primary school age who are not enrolled in school.[75] In some regions, the enrollment rate of girls is as low as 3 percent.[76] As a means of comparison, in 2001, the gross primary enrollment rate for boys was 43.8 percent.[77] Access to education problems are exacerbated by a resurgence in religious extremist attacks on schools, teachers, and students. According to information from the Ministry of Education, approximately 40 attacks on girls' schools were reported in Afghanistan in 2003 and continued violence against schools was reported in 2004.[78] Some refugee children who have returned from neighboring countries, particularly Iran and Pakistan, are reported to have limited opportunity for education, often because their labor is needed to supplement the meager incomes of their families.[79]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
The Labor Code prohibits children under the age of 15 from working more than 30 hours per week.[80] The new Constitution prohibits forced labor, including that of children.[81] However, in 2003 there was no evidence that child labor laws were enforced in the country.[82] In May 2003, Afghan President Karzai issued a presidential decree prohibiting the recruitment of children and young people under the age of 22 into the Afghan National Army.[83] The Afghan Judicial Reform Commission within the Ministry of Justice has been charged with drafting and revising laws to prevent and prosecute trafficking crimes.[84] Until new civil and penal codes are enacted, trafficking crimes may be prosecuted under laws dealing with kidnapping, rape, forced labor, transportation of minors, child endangerment, and hostage-taking. Prison sentences for such offenses are longer for cases involving minors and girls.[85] During the year, the government has arrested several suspected traffickers and rescued many victims, including 50 child trafficking victims en route to Saudi Arabia. By March 2004, more than 200 child trafficking victims had been repatriated from Saudi Arabia.[86]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Afghanistan, with considerable international assistance, is working to address child soldiering, child trafficking, and the commercial sexual exploitation of children. USDOL is supporting a USD 3 million, 4-year project with UNICEF to rehabilitate former child soldiers. The project provides community-based rehabilitative, psychosocial, and non-formal education services to 8,000 child soldiers.[87] More than 1,900 former child soldiers have been demobilized through the services of 8 local demobilization and reintegration committees in the northeast, eastern, and central highlands regions since the program began in February 2004.[88]
In November 2003, President Karzai instituted an inter-ministerial Commission for the Prevention of Child Trafficking, Child Smuggling, and Movement of Children without Proper Legal Documents. The Commission began work on a National Action Plan to combat child trafficking; however, the ministries’ lack of institutional capacity and financial resources limited their ability to effectively address the problem or aid victims.[89] The Ministry of Hajj and Religious Affairs has engaged in spreading counter-trafficking messages and conducting workshops to raise awareness among Islamic clergy. The Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) has designed posters on child trafficking and distributed them to schools, government departments, and the police; and the International Rescue Committee conducts monthly child protection meetings to help promote awareness at the community level.[90] IOM, UNICEF, and AIHRC also conducted workshops on child trafficking for law enforcement personnel from all 32 provinces, border officials, and ministry officials.[91]
The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) together with UNICEF initiated a Working Group on Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children. As a result, counter-trafficking committees in all provinces were established and specific measures to stop child trafficking have been put in place.[92] IOM is partnering with the Ministries of Interior, Justice, and Women’s Affairs on an anti-trafficking project to increase the capacity of the Afghan government to effectively address trafficking in the country through awareness-raising and other counter-trafficking activities.[93] With funding from the U.S. Department of State and support from the Ministries of Interior and Women’s Affairs, IOM released the results of a study conducted in 2003 to assess the trends in and responses to trafficking in Afghanistan.[94] UNICEF and UNHCR are supporting a program with MOLSA to repatriate and reintegrate children who have been trafficked to other countries for child labor.[95]
The Government of Afghanistan has also undertaken steps to rebuild the country’s education system, particularly within the context of the reconstruction of Afghanistan initiated in 2002.[96] The government is implementing a USD 15 million World Bank project that, among other activities, aims to promote learning and skills development among disadvantaged girls and former combatants.[97] The World Bank is also funding a USD 35 million Education Quality Improvement Program in Afghanistan, which aims to improve education through investment in personnel, physical facilities, capacity building, and the promotion of girls’ education.[98] The Afghan Ministry of Religious Affairs is partnering with UNICEF to hold regional workshops to unite religious leaders around the campaign for girls’ education and other children’s rights and to harness their support and local influence in the communities.[99]
UNICEF is working to increase access to education for one million Afghan children and to increase girls’ enrollment by one million by 2005[100] through the development of community-based schools for 500,000 out-of-school girls, improved teacher training for 50,000 primary school teachers, and accelerated learning programs for girls who fell behind in their education during the Taliban regime.[101] The Asian Development Bank, Islamic Development Bank, and other donors are funding the construction of new schools as well as the repair of existing schools.[102] UNESCO is supporting the Ministry of Education through three projects totaling approximately USD 17 million. These projects focus on strengthening the capacity of the national system of education, technical and vocational education, and non-formal education.[103] In March 2004, the U.S. Government announced its commitment to build 152 new schools and refurbish 255 more throughout Afghanistan by September 2004.[104] The U.S. Department of Agriculture is working with the government as part of a global effort to provide meals for schoolchildren.[105]
|
