Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified Convention 138 7/15/1987 |
X |
| Ratified Convention 182 |
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| ILO-IPEC Member |
X |
| National Plan for Children |
X |
| National Child Labor Action Plan |
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| Sector Action Plan |
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Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
UNICEF estimated that 9.9 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years in Venezuela were working in 2000.[4212] Children work in agriculture, street vending, artisanry, office work, and services.[4213] Children are also involved in begging, petty theft on the streets, prostitution, and drug trafficking.[4214] Venezuela is a destination, transit, and source country for children trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation.[4215] Children are trafficked internally for labor and sexual exploitation,[4216] as well as from other South American countries, especially Ecuador, to work in the capital city of Caracas as street vendors and domestics. [4217] There are also reports that children from Venezuela have been abducted and used as soldiers by the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia.[4218]
The Constitution mandates free and compulsory education up to the university preparatory level (15 or 16 years of age).[4219] The Organic Law for Child and Adolescent Protection defines the state’s responsibility to guarantee flexible education schedules and programs designed for working children and adolescents.[4220] In 2001, the gross primary enrollment rate was 105.9 percent, and the net primary enrollment rate was 92.4 percent.[4221] 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, UNICEF estimated that 92 percent of children ages 5 to 12 attended primary school.[4222] In that same year, the repetition rate for primary school students was 7.7 percent (5.9 percent for girls and 9.3 percent for boys).[4223] As of 1999, 84.7 percent of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.[4224] Basic education suffers from chronic under funding and the economic turmoil in the country during 2002 led to further drops in education spending.[4225] There is an insufficient number of well-trained teachers in some areas.[4226] Approximately 1 million children were not eligible to receive government assistance, including public education, because their births were not legally documented.[4227]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
The Organic Law for Child and Adolescent Protection defines labor laws for children and adolescents.[4228] This law sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years, but the executive branch reserves the right to adjust the age for dangerous or harmful work.[4229] In special circumstances, the Child and Adolescent Protection Councils may authorize work for adolescents younger than 14 years of age, provided that the activity is not dangerous to their health or well being and does not obstruct their right to education.[4230] Adolescents ages 12 and above are not permitted to work more than 6 hours a day (in 2 shifts of no more than 4 hours each) and 30 hours a week.[4231] Children under the age of 18 cannot work at night.[4232] In addition, the Organic Law defines the state’s responsibility to protect minors from sexual exploitation, slavery, forced labor, and internal and external trafficking.[4233] Perpetrators are subject to prison sentences from 6 months to 8 years in duration.[4234]
The Ministry of Labor and the National Institute for Minors enforce child labor laws. These laws are enforced effectively in the formal sector, but less so in the informal sector.[4235] Insufficient resources, a weak legal system, and corruption hamper efforts to combat trafficking. There is no evidence that the government prosecuted any cases of trafficking in 2003.[4236]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The National Institute for Minors has made efforts to address the commercial sexual exploitation of children by establishing Local Social Protection networks for children and adolescents who are at high risk.[4237] These networks are comprised of public and private institutions and organizations that contribute toward the development of a coordinated local plan in regions of the country where children are most vulnerable.[4238]
The Ministry of Education, Culture and Sports[4239] has a plan for a national literacy campaign (2003-2005) whose objectives, in part, include reaching out-of-school youth.[4240] The Ministry also provides a public school feeding program that contributes to academic achievement, school access, and the increased likelihood that children and adolescents will reach the high school level.[4241] In addition, the Ministry, in conjunction with NGOs and civil society organizations, provides children and adolescents who have dropped out of school with a flexible alternative school program to help them re-enter the formal school system.[4242]
The Public Defenders Office works with UNICEF to strengthen the Child and Adolescent Defenders Offices throughout the country, as outlined in the Ministry of Planning and Development’s Master Plan of Operations 2002-2007.[4243] The Ministry of Health and Social Development’s Social Investment Fund supports actions that guarantee the rights of children and adolescents.[4244]
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