Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified Convention 138 6/11/1997 |
X |
| Ratified Convention 182 6/6/2003 |
X |
| ILO-IPEC Member |
X |
| National Plan for Children |
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| National Child Labor Action Plan |
X |
| Sector Action Plan (Sugarcane) |
X |
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
UNICEF estimated that 26.4 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years in Bolivia were working in 2000.[513] Children in rural areas work in subsistence farming[514] and the construction and livestock sectors.[515] A large number of children are found working in sugar cane harvesting and production in Santa Cruz.[516] In urban areas, children shine shoes, sell goods, and assist transport operators.[517] Children also work as small-scale miners,[518] and have been used to sell and traffic drugs.[519]
Some children are known to work as indentured domestic laborers and prostitutes.[520] Children are reportedly trafficked internally to urban or border areas for commercial sexual exploitation.[521] It is also reported that children and adolescents are trafficked internally within Bolivia and to Argentina, Chile, Brazil, and Spain for the purpose of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Women and adolescents from the indigenous areas of the high plains are at the greatest risk of being trafficked.[522]
The Constitution of Bolivia calls for the provision of education as a principal responsibility of the state, and establishes free and compulsory primary education for 8 years for children ages 6 to 14.[523] In 2001, the gross primary enrollment rate was 113.6 percent and the net primary enrollment rate was 94.2 percent. 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 Bolivia. As of 2000, 78.0 percent of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.[524] More than 56 percent of Bolivian children and adolescents, however, do not attend or have abandoned school.[525] Verbal punishment and corporal abuse exist in schools.[526] Inadequate incentives and remuneration for teachers make the teaching profession unattractive.[527] Many children from rural areas lack identity documents and birth certificates necessary to receive social benefits and protection.[528]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
The Child and Adolescent Code sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years.[529] National legislation on hazardous labor prohibits children ages 14 to 17 years from taking part in activities involving danger to health or morals, physically arduous labor, exposure to chemicals and noxious substances, dangerous machinery, and the production and handling of pornographic materials.[530] Under the Code, employers are required to grant adolescent workers time off to attend school during normal school hours.[531] The Constitution prohibits any kind of labor without consent and just compensation.[532] The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor provisions. However, the U.S. Department of State reported that it does not effectively enforce them.[533]
Forcing an individual under 18 years into prostitution carries a maximum penalty of 20 years imprisonment.[534] The 1999 Law for the Protection of the Victims of Crimes Against Sexual Freedom prohibits individuals from benefiting from the corruption or prostitution of a minor, and also outlaws trafficking in persons for the purpose of prostitution. The law calls for a maximum sentence of 12 years imprisonment if the victim is under 14 years of age.[535] The Government of Bolivia has taken steps to address corruption among government officials, including establishing a checks and balances system at borders and airports designed to identify judicial officials authorizing the unaccompanied travel of minors.[536]
In March 2001, the government adopted into law stipulations of the Child and Adolescent Code that allow judges and other authorities of the Ministry of Justice to punish violations of children’s rights within the country.[537] However, a set of fines and penalties has not been standardized for child labor violations.[538] In 1996, the Vice-Ministry of Gender, Generational and Family Affairs created the Municipal Child and Adolescent Defense Offices, which offer free public services to promote, protect, and defend the rights of children and adolescents. As of June 2001, there were 150 such Defense Offices functioning in 135 municipalities.[539]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Bolivia is working to eliminate child labor through funding of its National Plan for the Progressive Eradication of Child Labor 2000-2010. The Plan’s strategic objectives include the reduction of child labor, the protection of adolescent workers, and the elimination of the worst forms of child labor.[540] In addition to the Interinstitutional Commission for the Eradication of Child Labor and sub-commissions on mining, sugar, and sexual exploitation, the Ministry of Labor administers a sub-commission on urban labor, which was established in 2004.[541] In May 2004, a Consensus Agreement for the Sugar Cane sector was signed establishing a Tripartite Dialogue group that will address the business and socio-labor situation of workers, as well as the prohibition of child labor.[542] The government is participating in two USDOL-funded programs. These projects include an ILO-IPEC regional project to eliminate child labor in small-scale mining in the Andean region,[543] and a USD 1.5 million project to improve the access to and quality of basic education for working children in the Potosí mines.[544] With U.S. government funding, the Organization of American States and the IOM are also working together with the Government of Bolivia to raise awareness and build capacity to combat child trafficking.[545]
The Government of Bolivia is working with UNICEF to provide free birth and identity documents to citizens, facilitating their access to social services including health and education.[546] The Office of the First Lady is currently spearheading this project.[547] The Ministry of Education’s Vice-Ministry of Alternative Education has developed a flexible curriculum designed to keep working children and adolescents in school by offering night classes.[548]
The IDB continues to finance a 3-year program to strengthen technical and technological training for young school dropouts, and includes a gender focused approach.[549] The IDB has also approved a loan to fund the second phase of the Education Reform, which focuses on improving the quality of teaching training and the curriculum of compulsory education.[550]
In February 2004, the World Bank announced its Country Assistance Strategy in Bolivia, which includes a project to reduce disparities in basic services such as education,[551] and in June 2004, the World Bank announced its Social Sectors Programmatic Structural Adjustment Credit, which supports the development of the Bolivian Education Strategy including increased primary completion rates.[552]
In August 2004, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced it will provide funds for agricultural commodities for school meals in Bolivia.[553] The WFP’s strategies in its 2003-2007 country plan for Bolivia were integrated into Bolivia’s poverty reduction strategy to provide food aid to schools and shelters for street children, as well as stabilizing primary school attendance rates, decreasing dropout rates and increasing grade promotion, particularly among street children and girls. The target numbers for the program are 42,000 primary school students and 7,000 street children.[554]
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