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
Although instability in the country complicates the gathering of statistics, UNICEF estimated that 41.9 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years were working in Somalia in 1999.[3652] Formal employment of children is rare, with the vast majority of working children engaged in herding, agriculture, and domestic service.[3653] A 2002 World Bank study observed urban-rural differences in working children’s employment relationships. Self-employment and casual labor were more often observed in urban areas, while unpaid farm labor was the primary form observed in rural areas.[3654] Children are also conscripted by armed Somali militias and used for forced labor or sexual exploitation.[3655] Boys as young as 14 or 15 have participated in combat and many belong to gangs who raid indiscriminately.[3656] Trafficking networks exist that transport children to South Africa and promote their commercial sexual exploitation. The Middle East and Europe are also trafficking destinations.[3657]
Somalia has no government to provide free or compulsory education. Results from the UNICEF Primary Schools’ Survey of 1998-1999 indicate that 62 percent of primary schools in Somalia required families to pay fees. Another study estimated that the fees were approximately USD 15.60 per year for each child.[3658] In addition, many schools lack textbooks and running water.[3659] Gross and net enrollment rates are not available for Somalia. In 1999 UNICEF estimated that 58.4 percent of primary school-age children attended school, and that 72.5 percent of children who had started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.[3660] Many students attend Koranic schools, though these schools do not provide broad-based education.[3661]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
Somalia has no national government and no means of enforcing labor laws.[3662]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
With no national government, Somalia has no national education policies or programs on child labor or education.[3663] Since 1996, the international effort to improve education in Somalia has been coordinated by the Education Sectoral Committee of the Somalia Aid Coordination Body (SACB), made up of UN agencies, donors, and international NGOs.[3664] The major goals of the SACB include improving access to education, improving learning conditions, enhancing teacher training, and establishing a viable financial management system.[3665] UNICEF, in concert with other partners and local authorities, is working on projects to reform the education system, develop curriculum, train teachers, develop and distribute standardized textbooks, establish educational standards, and develop management information systems.[3666] UNICEF, UNESCO-PEER and some NGOs have also distributed textbooks and other instructional materials to a small number of Koranic schools in Somalia and have created a program under which Koranic schools supplement or substitute for formal primary education.[3667]
|
