Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified Convention 138 11/19/1999 |
X |
| Ratified Convention 182 11/19/1999 |
X |
| ILO-IPEC Associated 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 Malawi National Statistics Office estimated that 35.5 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years were working in Malawi in 2002.[2502] Children work mainly in farming and domestic service.[2503] To a lesser extent, children also work in other informal sector jobs, such as street-side welding, bicycle repair, furniture making, and brick kilns.[2504] A 1999 study estimated the number of children on the streets of three major cities to be roughly 2,000.[2505] Children in the agricultural sector work alongside their parents in fields where their parents work as tenant farmers.[2506] Children work in crop production on tea estates and on commercial tobacco farms, where the incidence of working children has traditionally been high.[2507] Bonded labor has historically been common among tobacco tenants and their families, including children.[2508] There are also reports that young girls have been traded or sold among tribal chiefs along the border with Tanzania.[2509] Over the past 2 years, the practice of poor families exchanging daughters for cattle or money has reportedly re-emerged, though not in large numbers.[2510]
Malawi is a source country for children trafficked regionally and internationally for menial labor or commercial sexual exploitation.[2511] There are also unconfirmed reports of small numbers of children trafficked internally to resort areas around Lake Malawi for sex tourism.[2512] In Malawi, the HIV/AIDS epidemic has left close to half a million children orphaned. Many of these children rely on informal work to supplement lost family income, and some work as caregivers for sick adults.[2513] The epidemic has also increased the demand for younger prostitutes who are perceived as healthier by their exploiters.[2514]
Primary education is free and guaranteed by the Constitution, although it is not compulsory.[2515] In 2001-2002, the gross primary enrollment rate was 146 percent and the net primary enrollment rate was 81 percent.[2516] 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 attendance rate was 109.7 percent, and the net primary attendance rate was 78.2 percent.[2517] The rate of repetition in 2001-2002 was 14 percent.[2518] According to a study carried out in 2003, 10.5 percent of girls who enrolled in school each year dropped out compared to 8.4 percent of boys. Approximately 22 percent of primary school age girls were not in school, and another 60 percent of those enrolled were found not to attend school regularly.[2519] Indirect costs of education, family illnesses, and lack of interest in education are lowering school attendance.[2520] The sexual abuse of female students has also had a negative impact on girls’ attendance.[2521] Insufficient finances, lack of teachers and teaching materials, poor sanitation, poor teaching methods, and inadequate classrooms have contributed to the government’s inability to consistently provide quality education.[2522]
Child Labor Law and Enforcement
The Employment Act of 2000 sets the minimum age of employment at 14 years. Exceptions are made for work done under certain conditions in vocational technical schools, other training institutions, and in homes.[2523] The Act prohibits children between the ages of 14 and 18 from performing hazardous work or work that interferes with their attendance at school or any vocational or training program.[2524] The Constitution of Malawi protects children against economic exploitation as well as treatment, work or punishment that is hazardous; interferes with their education; or is harmful to their health or physical, mental or spiritual and social development.[2525] There is no specific legal restriction on the number of hours children may work.[2526] Employers are required to keep a register of all employees under the age of 18 years, and violation of the law can result in a fine of Malawi Kwacha (MK) 20,000 (USD 186) and 5 years imprisonment.[2527] Both the Constitution and the Employment Act prohibit forced and compulsory labor. Violators are liable for penalties of MK 10,000 (USD 93) and 2 years imprisonment under the Employment Act.[2528]
Although there are no specific protections against the sexual exploitation of children, the age of consent is 14 years.[2529] Trafficking in persons is not specifically prohibited by law, but the penal code contains several provisions which may be used to prosecute human traffickers.[2530] Specifically, it prohibits the procurement of any girl under the age of 21 years to have unlawful sexual relations, either in Malawi or elsewhere.[2531] The procurement, promotion, management, and transporting of a person for prostitution carries a 14-year sentence.[2532]
The Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training (MOLVT) and the police are charged with enforcing child labor laws, and recent efforts to strengthen enforcement are ongoing.[2533] There were three prosecutions or convictions in the past year.[2534] The Labor Commissioner reports that the government has trained 120 out of 150 labor officers in child labor monitoring, reporting and inspection. The Ministry has also organized youth village committees to monitor and report on child labor. The Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare, and Community Services handles trafficking cases.[2535] Interpol and the South African Regional Police Chiefs Organization are working with the Malawian police to identify and investigate traffickers.[2536] The government provides some assistance, commensurate with its limited resources and capacity, to victims of trafficking. In partnership with various NGOs, the government provided counseling, rehabilitation, and reintegration services for abused and exploited children.[2537] According to the U.S. Department of State, enforcement of child labor laws by the police and MOLVT inspectors is limited due to resource and capacity constraints.[2538]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Malawi through its MOLVT chairs a National Steering Committee on Child Labor,[2539] which has developed an action plan against child labor.[2540] A Child Rights Unit within the Human Rights Commission protects children from abuse, violence, and exploitation.[2541] The Ministry of Gender, Child Welfare, and Community Services formulates policy on childcare and protection and relies on the Child Rights Unit and other partners to help carry out those policies.[2542] The Ministry also collaborates with stakeholders to form the National Task Force on Children and Violence, which deals with child labor as well as other threats to children’s health and well-being.[2543] Street children receive assistance through the Department of Social Welfare and the Ministry of gender, Child Welfare, and Community Services.[2544] The government is also carrying out a campaign to raise awareness of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child as part of the National Program of Action for the Survival and Development of Children.[2545] In 2003, the government provided teenage boys that had been sexually exploited in areas around Lake Malawi with counseling, rehabilitation and relocation assistance.[2546]
The government is participating in an ILO-IPEC regional program funded by USDOL to withdraw and rehabilitate children engaged in hazardous work in the commercial agriculture sector in East Africa as well as an ILO-IPEC project to conduct child labor research.[2547] The Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation and UNICEF-Malawi is working with the government, employers, trade unions, donors and civil society to carry out child labor prevention activities.[2548] Tobacco-exporting companies also support programming to combat child labor in the tobacco growing industry.[2549]
The government is implementing a long-term education strategy, called Vision 2020, focusing on improving access, quality and equity in primary, secondary and tertiary education, strengthening the science, technical, vocational and commercial components of school curriculum, improving special education, improving the performance of supporting education institutions, and developing an effective and efficient education management plan.[2550]Several international organizations support the government’s education efforts, including UNICEF, Save the Children-USA, UNESCO, USAID, CIDA and PLAN Malawi.[2551]
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