Child Labor and Forced Labor Reports

Botswana

Botswana
2022 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor:

Moderate Advancement

In 2022, Botswana made moderate advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The government ratified the International Labor Organization's Labor Inspection Convention and the Labor Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, which outline mandates to promote effective labor inspection systems, including in the agricultural sector in which child labor is prevalent in the country. The Ministry of Labor also provided comprehensive information on its labor law enforcement efforts and partnered with a local non-governmental organization to conduct targeted inspections in key districts where there have been reports of child labor on commercial farms and cattle posts. However, children in Botswana are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including in commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking, and forced labor in cattle herding and domestic work. Key gaps remain in the country’s legal framework, including the lack of a minimum age for compulsory education and a list of hazardous work activities for children. The government also did not provide information on its criminal law enforcement efforts for inclusion in this report. In addition, the design and implementation of social programs to address child labor are insufficient to fully address the scope of the problem, especially in commercial sexual exploitation, cattle herding, and domestic work.

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