Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified Convention 138 5/27/1999 |
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| Ratified Convention 182 9/02/2003 |
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| ILO-IPEC Associated Member |
X |
| National Plan for Children |
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| National Child Labor Action Plan |
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| Sector Action Plan |
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Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
The Ethiopian Central Statistics Authority estimated that 49.0 percent of children ages 5 to 14 in Ethiopia were working in 2001.[1568] About 16.4 percent of children 5 to14 years who attend school engage in productive activities.[1569] The largest number of working children are found in agriculture.[1570] According to a child labor study in rural Ethiopia in 1999, children work on coffee, tea, sugarcane, and cotton plantations, and horticultural farms.[1571] In rural areas, children also engage in activities such as washing, cooking, fetching water, and herding animals, as well as work on family farms. These activities may require children to work long hours, involving excessive physical exertion, and interfering with school, particularly in the case of girls.[1572] In urban areas, children work predominantly in the informal sector in activities such as street peddling, messenger service, shoe-shining, portering, assisting taxi drivers, construction, mining, manufacturing, refuse disposal, and shop and market sales work.[1573] Children are found working in domestic service in both rural and urban areas.[1574] Many child domestics in Addis Ababa are orphans.[1575]
According to reports, the commercial sexual exploitation of children is increasing in Ethiopia.[1576] Girls as young as 11 years old have been reportedly recruited to work in brothels. Girls also work as hotel workers, barmaids, and prostitutes in resort towns and rural truck stops.[1577] Ethiopia is a source country for children trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation and forced domestic and commercial labor. Children are also trafficked internally from rural to urban areas for domestic service, prostitution, and forced labor.[1578] Although there were no reports of international trafficking of Ethiopian children in 2004, there have been reports in the past that networks of persons working in tourism and trade have recruited young Ethiopian girls for overseas work and provided them with counterfeit work permits, birth certificates, and travel documents.[1579]
Primary education is compulsory and free, but there are not enough schools to accommodate students.[1580] Students in rural areas often have limited access to education[1581] and girls’ enrollment in school remains lower than that of boys.[1582] In 2002, the gross primary enrollment rate was 61.6 percent, and the net primary enrollment rate in 2001 was 46.2 percent.[1583] 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. In 2000, the gross primary school attendance rate was 59.6 percent and the net primary attendance rate was 30.2 percent children were attending school.[1584] As of 2000, 61.3 percent of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.[1585]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
Ethiopia’s Labor Proclamation sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years.[1586] Under the Proclamation, employers are forbidden to employ “young workers” when the nature of the job or the conditions under which it is carried out may endanger the life or health of the children. Some prohibited activities include: transporting goods by air, land, or sea; working with electric power generation plants; and performing underground work.[1587] Young workers are prohibited from working over 7 hours per day, overtime’ between the hours of 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., during weekly rest days, and on public holidays.[1588] Article 36 of the Constitution also stipulates that children should not be subjected to exploitative work conditions that may be hazardous to their health or well-being.[1589] Ethiopia’s Penal Code specifically prohibits child trafficking, which is punishable by imprisonment of up to 5 years and a fine of up to USD 10,000.[1590] The law also prohibits forced or bonded labor of children.[1591] The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is responsible for enforcement of child labor laws.[1592] However, insufficient resources for law enforcement and the judicial system prevent adequate enforcement.[1593]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Ethiopia through its Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) has held consultations with civil society and children in order to provide them with an opportunity to comment on the draft National Plan of Action for Children.[1594] The Children, Youth, and Family Affairs Department at the Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs chairs the National Steering Committee Against Sexual Exploitation of Children.[1595] A “Kids for Kids” postcard campaign was organized by the ILO, MOLSA, Save the Children-Sweden, ANPPCAN Ethiopian Chapter and various children on the third World Day Against Child Labor. Children wrote their opinions concerning child domestic labor and sent them to the media.[1596]
The Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs collaborated with the IOM to hold a workshop for government officials, NGO’s, the private sector, and civil society on trafficking of women and children.[1597] The IOM is also working with the Ministry of Education on an anti-trafficking and HIV/AIDS project.[1598] With funding from USAID, the Good Samaritan Association opened a rehabilitation and reintegration center in Addis Ababa for victims of trafficking.[1599] Ten police stations in and around Addis Ababa, in coordination with the Forum On Street Children – Ethiopia, a domestic NGO working with disadvantaged children in Ethiopia, have implemented Child Protection Units staffed by two officers who are trained in children’s rights and one social worker.[1600]
The government works with the WFP on a U.S. Department of Agriculture-funded school feeding program aimed at improving school children’s nutrition, attendance and participation in school, and increase parental involvement in school activities.[1601] UNICEF collaborates with the Ethiopian Government on education and child protection activities.[1602] Another UNICEF campaign focuses on improving education for girls by training female teachers and head teachers, broadcasting radio messages on girls’ education, establishing girl-friendly learning environments, development of gender-sensitive instructional materials, and improving school governance and management.[1603]
The Ministry of Education is implementing the World Bank-funded Education Sector Development Project. The project is intended to improve basic and secondary education, link vocational and technical education with the private sector and the job market, expand teacher-training institutes, expand higher education, and improve capacity of the Ministry of Education and other agencies.[1604] USAID is funding a 6-year educational program that focuses on training new teachers, providing in-service training for existing teachers, providing radio instruction opportunities, strengthening community-government partnerships, and improving education management systems.[1605]
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