Request for Information on Efforts by Certain Countries To
Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor [06/30/2003]
Volume 68, Number 125, Page 38722-38724
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DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Bureau of International Labor Affairs
Request for Information on Efforts by Certain Countries To
Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
AGENCY: The Bureau of International Labor Affairs, United States
Department of Labor.
[[Page 38723]]
ACTION: Request for information on efforts by certain countries to
eliminate the worst forms of child labor.
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SUMMARY: This notice is a request for information for use in Department
of Labor research regarding the implementation of international
commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor by countries
seeking benefits under the Generalized System of Preferences (GSP),
and/or eligibility for additional benefits provided for in the
Caribbean Basin Trade Partnership Act (CBTPA) or the African Growth and
Development Act (AGOA).
The Trade and Development Act of 2000 (TDA) established a new
eligibility criterion--concerning efforts to eliminate the worst forms
of child labor--for receipt of these trade benefits. The TDA requires
the Secretary of Labor to make annual findings with respect to
beneficiary countries' implementation of their international
commitments to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The first
annual report under the TDA was published on July 12, 2002. This
information request is for use in producing the third report.
DATES: Submitters of information are requested to provide two (2)
copies of their written submission to the International Child Labor
Program at the address below by 5 p.m., August 1, 2003.
ADDRESSES: Written submissions should be addressed to Tina Faulkner at
the International Child Labor Program, Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, U.S. Department of Labor, 200 Constitution Avenue, NW., Room
S-5307, Washington, DC 20210.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT: Tina Faulkner, Bureau of International
Labor Affairs, International Child Labor Program, at (202)693-4846; fax
(202)693-4830. The Department of Labor's international child labor
reports can be read on the Internet at http://www.dol.gov/ILAB/media/reports/iclp/main.htm
or can be obtained from the International Child
Labor Program.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The Trade and Development Act of 2000 [Pub.
L. 106-200], established new eligibility criteria concerning
beneficiary country efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor
for receipt of trade benefits under the GSP, CBTPA, and AGOA programs.
The TDA amends the GSP reporting requirements of the Trade Act of 1974
(section 504) [19 U.S.C. 2464] to require that the President's annual
report on the status of internationally recognized worker rights
include ``findings by the Secretary of Labor with respect to the
beneficiary country's implementation of its international commitments
to eliminate the worst forms of child labor.''
Title II of the TDA includes as a criteria for receiving benefits
under the CBTPA ``whether the country has implemented its commitments
to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, as defined in section
507(6) of the Trade Act of 1974.'' The TDA Conference Report (Joint
Explanatory Statement of the Committee of Conference, 106th
Cong.2d.sess. (2000)) indicates that ``the conferees intend that the
GSP standard, including the provision with respect to implementation of
obligations to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, apply to
eligibility for those additional benefits'' (provided for in the AGOA.)
Scope of Report
Countries presently eligible under the GSP are: Afghanistan,
Albania, Angola, Anguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia,
Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia
and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, British Virgin Islands, British
Indian Ocean Territory, Bulgaria, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia,
Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, Christmas
Islands, Cocos Islands, Colombia, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo
(Kinshasa), Cook Island, Costa Rica, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Czech
Republic, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El
Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Estonia, Ethiopia, Falkland
Islands, Fiji, Gabon, the Gambia, Gaza Strip, Georgia, Ghana,
Gibraltar, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti,
Heard Island and MacDonald Islands, Honduras, Hungary, India,
Indonesia, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kyrgyzstan,
Latvia, Lebanon, Lesotho, Lithuania, Macedonia (former Yugoslav
Republic of), Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania, Mauritius, Moldova,
Mongolia, Montserrat, Morocco, Mozambique, Namibia, Nepal, Niger,
Nigeria, Niue, Norfolk Island, Oman, Pakistan, Panama, Papua New
Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Pitcairn Island, Poland, Romania,
Russia, Rwanda, Saint Helena, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, Saint
Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal,
Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Slovakia, Solomon Islands, Somalia, South
Africa, Sri Lanka, Suriname, Swaziland, Tanzania, Thailand, Togo,
Tokelau Island, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkey, Turks and
Caicos Islands, Tuvalu, Uganda, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu,
Venezuela, Wallis and Futuna, West Bank, Western Sahara, Republic of
Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Countries eligible or potentially eligible for additional benefits
under the AGOA include: Benin, Botswana, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central
African Republic, Chad, Comoros, Congo (Kinshasa), Cote d'Ivoire,
Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Gabon, the Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea
Bissau, Kenya, Lesotho, Madagascar, Malawi, Mali, Mauritania,
Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Niger, Nigeria, Rwanda, Sao Tome and
Principe, Senegal, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, South Africa, Swaziland,
Tanzania, Uganda, Zambia.
Countries potentially eligible for additional benefits under the
CBTPA are: Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, Jamaica, Nicaragua,
Panama, Saint Lucia, Trinidad and Tobago.
Information Sought
The Department invites interested parties to submit written
information relevant to the findings to be made by the Department of
Labor under the TDA, for all listed countries. Information provided
through public submission will be considered by the Department of Labor
in preparing its findings. Materials submitted should be confined to
the specific topic of the study. In particular, the Department's Bureau
of International Labor Affairs is seeking written submissions on the
following topics:
1. Whether the country has adequate laws and regulations
proscribing the worst forms of child labor;
2. Whether the country has adequate laws and regulations for the
implementation and enforcement of such laws and regulations;
3. Whether the country has established formal institutional
mechanisms to investigate and address complaints relating to
allegations of the worst forms of child labor;
4. Whether social programs exist in the country to prevent the
engagement of children in the worst forms of child labor, and to assist
in the removal of children engaged in the worst forms of child labor;
5. Whether the country has a comprehensive policy for the
elimination of the worst forms of child labor;
6. Whether the country is making continual progress toward
eliminating the worst forms of child labor.
Information relating to the nature and extent of child labor in the
country is also sought.
[[Page 38724]]
Definition of ``Worst Forms of Child Labor''
The term ``Worst Forms of Child Labor'' in the TDA is defined by
International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 182, which
defines a child as all persons under the age of 18, and the worst forms
of child labor as comprising all forms of slavery or practices similar
to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage
and serfdom and forced or compulsory labor, including forced or
compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; the use,
procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production
of pornography or for pornographic performances; the use, procuring or
offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the
production and trafficking of drugs as defined in relevant
international treaties; or any work which, by its nature or the
circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm the health,
safety or morals of children.
The TDA Conference Report noted that the phrase,
* * * work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is
carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of
children * * *
is to be defined as in Article II of Recommendation No. 190, which
accompanies ILO Convention No. 182. This includes work that exposes
children to physical, psychological, or sexual abuse; work underground,
under water, at dangerous heights or in confined spaces; work with
dangerous machinery, equipment or tools, or work under circumstances
which involve the manual handling or transport of heavy loads; work in
an unhealthy environment that exposes children to hazardous substances,
agents or processes, or to temperatures, noise levels, or vibrations
damaging to their health; and work under particularly difficult
conditions such as for long hours, during the night or under conditions
where children are unreasonably confined to the premises of the
employer.
The TDA Conference Report further indicated that the phrase,
* * * work which, by its nature or the circumstances in which it
is carried out, is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of
children * * *
be interpreted in a manner consistent with the intent of Article 4 of
ILO Convention No. 182, which states that such work shall be determined
by national laws or regulations or by the competent authority in the
country involved.
This notice is a general solicitation of comments from the public.
Signed at Washington, DC this 20th day of June, 2003.
Arnold Levine,
Associate Deputy Under Secretary for International Labor Affairs.
[FR Doc. 03-16420 Filed 6-27-03; 8:45 am]
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