Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified Convention 138 6/11/1976 |
X |
| Ratified Convention 182 9/10/2001 |
X |
| ILO-IPEC Member |
X |
| National Plan for Children |
X |
| National Child Labor Action Plan |
X |
| Sector Action Plan |
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Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
The Costa Rican National Institute of Statistics and Censuses estimated that 5.9 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years were working in Costa Rica in 2002.[1131] More children work in rural than urban areas.[1132] In rural areas, children work in agriculture, primarily on family‑owned farms. Costa Rican children traditionally help harvest coffee beans. Nicaraguan immigrants, including children, are also found working on Costa Rican farms.[1133] Some children work as domestic servants, and others may be involved in street vending, construction, fixing cars, family businesses, and the small‑scale production of handicrafts.[1134] The banana industry did not employ youths under 18 years.[1135]
The commercial sexual exploitation of children is a continuing problem in Costa Rica,[1136] and is often associated with the country’s sex tourism industry.[1137] Costa Rica is a transit and destination point for children trafficked for purposes of commercial sexual exploitation, including prostitution.[1138] Most trafficking victims originate from Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Panama, as well as from Russia, the Philippines, Romania, Eastern Europe, and Ecuador. Although most foreign victims remain in Costa Rica, traffickers also attempt to transport them onward to the U.S. and Canada. [1139]
Education is compulsory and free for 6 years at the primary level and 3 years at the secondary level.[1140] In 2001, the gross primary enrollment rate was 108.4 percent and the net primary enrollment rate was 90.6 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 Costa Rica. As of 2000, 93.7 percent of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.[1141] The proportion of children who drop out of school is higher in rural areas than in urban areas.[1142] Schools where there are high concentrations of immigrants are often over-crowded and many students are over-age for their grade or have lower skill levels.[1143] There are reports that the quality of education has suffered due to a lack of pre-school and secondary coverage, a high percentage of unlicensed teachers, infrastructure problems, and outdated curriculum materials.[1144]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
The Labor Code and the Children and Adolescence Code set the minimum age for employment at 15 years.[1145] The Children and Adolescence Code prohibits minors under the age of 18 from working in mines, bars and other businesses that sell alcohol, in unsafe and unhealthy places, in activities where they are responsible for their own safety and the safety of other minors, and where they are required to work with dangerous equipment, contaminated substances or excessive noise.[1146] Also under the Children and Adolescence Code, children of legal working age are not allowed to work at night or more than 6 hours a day or 36 hours a week.[1147] An industry adopted code of ethics prohibits children under the age of 18 from working in the banana industry.[1148]
Forced and bonded labor is prohibited under the law. The U.S. Department of State reported that these laws are enforced effectively.[1149] The Children’s Bill of Rights states that all children and adolescents have the right to protection from all forms of exploitation, including prostitution and pornography.[1150] The Law Against the Sexual Exploitation of Underage Persons, approved in 1999, established penalties for those engaged in the commercial sexual exploitation of children.[1151] The Penal Code provides for a prison sentence of 4 to 10 years if the victim of prostitution is under the age of 18. The Penal Code also prohibits the entry or exit of women and minors into and out of the country for prostitution, and provides for 5 to 10 years imprisonment for those convicted of violating the law.[1152] In 2004, in order to protect children from being exposed to pornography, a decree was published on the regulation and use of establishments offering Internet services.[1153]
The Ministry of Labor and Social Security is responsible for detecting and investigating labor violations, while the National Board for Children and the judiciary branch, which includes the Judicial Investigative Police and the Special Prosecutor on Sex Crimes, are responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases of child sexual exploitation. The Ministry of Labor carries out these responsibilities through the Office of Eradication of Child Labor and Protection of Adolescent Workers, and through the Office of Labor Inspection.[1154] The Ministry of Labor houses the Office of Eradication of Child Labor and Protection of Adolescent Workers, which is responsible for coordinating all direct action programs, maintaining a database on all workers under the age of 18, coordinating the implementation of the National Plan and public policy, and training labor inspectors on child labor.[1155] All labor inspectors are reportedly trained to identify and investigate child labor abuses.[1156] To deal with child labor on a local level, a labor inspector is appointed in each Regional Office of the National Directorate of Labor Inspection.[1157] Child labor investigations can be initiated after an inspection, or in response to complaints filed by government or NGO representatives, or members of civil society, including children and adolescents who are subject to exploitation.[1158] In 2003, the Ministry of Labor registered and investigated 638 child labor cases. From January to August 2004, the Office of Eradication of Child Labor reported that it registered 740 child labor cases in its child labor database, of which 350 were children working under the legal employment age of 15 years. The Ministry provided assistance in reinserting the children into education institutions.[1159] Due to limited resources, child labor regulations are not always enforced outside the formal economy.[1160]
The government has been enforcing its prohibitions against the sexual exploitation of minors by raiding brothels and arresting pedophiles.[1161] According to the government, in 2003, authorities made 14 trafficking-related arrests; all those arrested were detained on charges of child sexual exploitation.[1162] A number of sexual exploiters were sentenced in 2004, including two U.S. citizens.[1163] The National Institute for Children, in coordination with the Ministry of Security, carries out investigations aimed at capturing abusers and removing child victims of commercial sexual exploitation.[1164] Although the Government has been making efforts to raise awareness on commercial sexual exploitation and trafficking, and augment enforcement, a lack of resources has also hampered these efforts.[1165]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The “National Agenda for Children and Adolescents, 2000-2010,” aims to prevent and eliminate the worst forms of child labor and achieve 100 percent retention of children in basic education by the year 2010.[1166] In addition, the Government of Costa Rica is implementing a national plan to eliminate child labor.[1167] The Government is also providing small loans to families with children at-risk of working.[1168] The Government supports a radio campaign aimed at raising awareness on the plight of street children, and stay-in-school programs are offered to child victims of trafficking.[1169] In April 2004, the government and Save the Children-Sweden launched an awareness-raising campaign against trafficking and exploitation at Costa Rica’s Juan Santamaria International Airport.[1170]
The commercial sexual exploitation of children is recognized as a problem in Costa Rica and it is on the political and public agenda through discussion in presidential discourses, political debates, newspaper reports, editorials, studies, and other fora.[1171] During the past year, an Executive Decree established the Technical Secretariat General of the National Directive Committee on Child Labor, and its functions were outlined in Decree No. 31461.[1172] The government also approved a Master Plan on Children and Adolescents, which included a chapter on the commercial sexual exploitation of children.[1173] The Commission Against the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children established a sub-commission to specifically work on legal and enforcement issues.[1174]
The Government of Costa Rica is participating in several ILO-IPEC projects funded by USDOL. These projects include a project to combat child labor in the coffee sector,[1175] a regional project to combat child labor in commercial agriculture,[1176] and a regional project aimed at combating commercial sexual exploitation.[1177] The Government of Costa Rica is also participating in a USDOL-funded regional Child Labor Education Initiative Program aimed at strengthening government and civil society’s capacity to address the educational needs of working children.[1178] With funding from the Government of Canada, ILO-IPEC is collaborating with the Government of Costa Rica to implement a Timebound Program. The Timebound Program focuses on creating an enabling environment at the national level to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, as well as direct action activities to withdraw children from work in the Brunca Region.[1179] ILO-IPEC is also carrying out a project aimed at raising awareness, collecting information, and providing direct attention to children involved in domestic work in the homes of third parties.[1180] In August 2004, in collaboration with the Costa Rican Soccer Association and the Costa Rican Union of Private Business Chambers and Associations, ILO-IPEC launched a national “Red Card Against Child Labor” awareness-raising campaign.[1181] The United States is supporting the Costa Rican Supreme Court of Justice with funds to establish an investigative and prosecutorial team specifically mandated to combat the commercial sexual exploitation of children in Costa Rica.[1182]
In the area of education, programs have focused on the reintegration of child laborers into the education system. The Ministry of Education has been supporting ongoing efforts by providing scholarships for poor families in order for them to cover the indirect costs of attending school.[1183] Costa Rica is involved in an IDB program aimed at improving pre-school and secondary education.[1184] Costa Rica’s Education Plan 2002-2006 includes strategies aimed at providing universal access to pre-school; improving the quality of primary school, especially in disadvantaged communities; increasing the coverage and quality of secondary school; and, strengthening open and flexible education opportunities for adolescents and adults who combine school and work.[1185] In April 2004, the Ministry of Education sponsored an “Education for All Week” in Costa Rica, in commemoration of the IV Anniversary of the Global Education for All forum in Dakar, where one of the issues discussed was the relationship between child labor and education.[1186]
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