Child Labor and Forced Labor Reports
Cabo Verde
Moderate Advancement
In 2024, Cabo Verde made moderate advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The government provided training on human trafficking to 97 stakeholders encompassing various sectors, including judicial and public prosecution magistrates, police and immigration officers, tourism agents, social workers, community leaders, psychologists, and labor inspectors. The purpose of these trainings was to enhance the knowledge and skills of stakeholders to more effectively identify, prevent, and respond to human trafficking cases. In addition, the National Committee for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor, led by the Cabo Verdean Institute for Children and Adolescents, evaluated the effectiveness of existing national child labor tools, completed evaluations on proposals to update the hazardous work list to ensure that it meets international standards, and collaborated with several non-governmental organizations and public and private institutions on the creation of a support network for the protection of children. Furthermore, the government, in collaboration with the United Nations Children's Fund, completed drafting the Second National Action Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor, with the aim of finalizing its approval by the end of the first quarter of 2025. The National Statistics Institute published results from the recently conducted National Survey on Child Labor, providing updated data on the current child labor situation in the country. Lastly, in January 2025, the government enacted the new Child and Adolescent Statute, which strengthens guidelines for the protection of children's rights and establishes a National Council, an Observatory, and Municipal Committees for the Defense of Children's and Adolescents' Rights. Although the government made meaningful efforts in all relevant areas during the reporting period, it does not meet the international standard for forced labor. Cabo Verde's laws prohibiting forced labor are not sufficient because while they criminalize slavery, they do not specifically criminalize practices similar to slavery, including debt bondage and forced or compulsory labor. In addition, there is limited information sharing on ongoing investigations between law enforcement agencies, hampering enforcement efforts, and social programs to assist children involved in agriculture and domestic work are not sufficient to address the scope of the problem.
| Children | Age | Percent and Population |
|---|---|---|
| Working | 10 to 14 | 3.2% (2,392) |
| Hazardous Work by Children | 15 to 17 | Unavailable |
| Attending School | 5 to 14 | 90.1% |
| Combining Work and School | 10 to 14 | 1.7% |
| Sector/Industry | Percent of Population |
|---|---|
| Agriculture | 79.2% |
| Industry | 7.2% |
| Services | 13.7% |
| Sector/Industry | Activity |
|---|---|
| Agriculture | Farming, including carrying heavy loads,† raising livestock, and artisanal fishing in small boats.† |
| Industry | Construction. |
| Services | Street work, including vending, garbage scavenging,† car washing, and begging. Domestic work. |
| Categorical Worst Forms of Child Labor‡ | Commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking. Use in illicit activities, including drug trafficking. |
† Determined by national law or regulation as hazardous and, as such, relevant to Article 3(d) of ILO C. 182.
‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.
Children at Higher Risk
Limited reporting indicates that traffickers exploit Cabo Verdean and foreign national girls and, to a lesser extent, boys in sex trafficking. According to a study by an NGO, in some cases, parents encourage girls as young as 14 years old to engage in commercial sex with older Cabo Verdean men or tourists for financial gain; traffickers use this opportunity to exploit girls in child sex trafficking. Some hotel employees and taxi drivers may facilitate tourists' participation in child commercial sexual exploitation. In 2024, the commercial sexual exploitation of boys and girls continued in Cabo Verde, including online child sexual abuse and exploitation.
Barriers to Education Access
According to the Cabo Verdean Institute for Children and Adolescents (ICCA), not all students with special needs or children in remote areas of Cabo Verde have equal access to education. In some remote areas, mountainous topography can make it difficult for some children to commute to school.
| Standard | Age | Meets International Standards | Legislation |
|---|---|---|---|
| Minimum Age for Work | 15 | ✓ | Article 261 of the Labor Code |
| Minimum Age for Hazardous Work | 18 | ✓ | Article 264 of the Labor Code; Article 133 of the Civil Code |
| Identification of Hazardous Occupations or Activities Prohibited for Children | ✗ | National List of Dangerous Work for Children | |
| Prohibition of Slavery, Debt Bondage, and Forced Labor | ✗ | Article 14 of Chapter 3 of the Labor Code; Articles 271 and 271-A of the Penal Code | |
| Prohibition of Child Trafficking | ✓ | Articles 149 and 271-A of the Penal Code | |
| Prohibition of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children | ✓ | Articles 144, 145, 148–150, and 271-A of the Penal Code | |
| Prohibition of Using Children in Illicit Activities | ✓ | Article 8 of the Drug Trafficking Law | |
| Minimum Age for Voluntary State Military Recruitment | 17 | ✗ | Article 31 of the Military Service Law |
| Prohibition of Compulsory Recruitment of Children by (State) Military | ✓ | Article 2 of the Military Service Law | |
| Prohibition of Military Recruitment by Non-state Armed Groups | ✓ | Article 268-C of the Penal Code | |
| Compulsory Education Age | 15‡ | ✓ | Articles 13 and 20 of the Education Law |
| Free Public Education | ✓ | Article 14 of the Education Law |
‡ Age calculated based on available information
In January 2025, the national assembly approved the new Child and Adolescent Statute, which strengthens guidelines for the protection of children's rights. The Child and Adolescent Statute also includes provisions for the establishment of a National Council, an Observatory, and Municipal Committees for the Defense of Children's and Adolescents' Rights (CMDDCA), aimed at overseeing, monitoring, and implementing relevant policies and laws related to protection of children, including ones addressing child labor.
Laws prohibiting forced labor are not sufficient because while they criminalize slavery, they do not specifically criminalize practices similar to slavery, including debt bondage and forced or compulsory labor. In addition, the National List of Dangerous Work for Children does not meet international standards since it only applies to children under age 16, and while the Civil Code includes a list of light work activities that children aged 14 are allowed to perform, the law does not prescribe the number of hours per week permissible for light work, nor does it specify the conditions under which light work may be performed. Lastly, Cabo Verde does not meet the Minimum Age for Voluntary State Military Recruitment international standard because the law permit children aged 17 to voluntarily join the military without safeguards for voluntariness.
| Organization/Agency | Role & Activities |
|---|
| Inspectorate General of Labor: Monitors and enforces child labor laws, working closely with the ICCA. Overseen by the Ministry of Family, Inclusion, and Social Development. |
| Attorney General's Office: Determines whether reported complaints or violations, which the National Police initially receive and the Judicial Police further investigate, should be prosecuted and prepares cases for trial, including cases of the worst forms of child labor. |
| Overview of Enforcement Efforts | 2024 |
|---|---|
| Has a Labor Inspectorate | Yes |
| Able to Assess Civil Penalties | Yes |
| Routinely Conducted Worksite Inspections | Yes |
| Unannounced Inspections Permitted | Yes |
| Has a Complaint Mechanism | Yes |
| Imposed Penalties for Child Labor Violations | Yes |
| Conducted Criminal Investigations for Worst Forms of Child Labor Crimes | N/A |
| Imposed Penalties for Worst Forms of Child Labor Crimes | N/A |
In 2024, 18 labor inspectors conducted 1,091 worksite inspections, finding an unknown number of child labor violations. There were 0 criminal investigations into suspected worst forms of child labor crimes conducted, with 0 prosecutions initiated and 0 perpetrators convicted.
| Coordinating Body | Role & Activities |
|---|
| National Committee for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor: Oversees the implementation of the National Action Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor and helps coordinate referrals of child labor cases between law enforcement and social services. Led by ICCA, with support from the Ministry of Family, Inclusion, and Social Development. During the reporting period, the committee evaluated the effectiveness of existing national child labor tools, completed evaluations on proposals aimed at updating the hazardous work list to ensure that it meets international standards, and collaborated with several NGOs and public and private institutions on the creation of a support network for the protection of children. |
| Policy | Description & Activities |
|---|
| National Action Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor: Prioritizes the eradication of child labor. Outlines specific objectives, including data collection, institutional capacity building, and enhancement of measures to prevent, protect, and remove children from involvement in child labor. During the reporting period, the Second National Plan for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor was completed with UNICEF support and submitted for validation and public presentation. The approval of the document is expected in the first quarter of 2025. |
| Policies to Combat Sexual Violence: Include the National Plan to Prevent and Combat Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents (2022–2024), which aims to prevent and eliminate the sexual exploitation of children by building on lessons learned from the previous plan, while ensuring coordination among institutions and organizations that work to prevent and address sexual violence against children and adolescents. Establishes five goals: (1) the active participation of children and adolescents; (2) the development of preventive actions against sexual violence; (3) a network of specialized care by trained professionals; (4) combating impunity; and (5) strengthening of the national, regional, and local entities focused on combating and eliminating sexual violence against children and adolescents, including commercial sexual exploitation. The National Communication Strategy for the Prevention and Combat of Sexual Violence aims to coordinate public policies to protect children and adolescents from sexual violence, including commercial sexual exploitation. In 2024, the government, in partnership with UNICEF, conducted capacity-building training for 63 tourism agents and 100 other relevant actors on the islands of Boa Vista, Maio, and Santiago on the prevention of commercial sexual exploitation of children. |
| National Strategy and Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons: Aims to address human trafficking through the strengthening of the Observatory Against Human Trafficking, establishing a data collection and analysis system, and increasing training and awareness-raising activities. The Observatory was officially launched in November 2024, with the aim of developing, coordinating, implementing, and evaluating anti-trafficking policies; assembling statistics, data, and studies on human trafficking; harmonizing victim protection and assistance strategies; and standardizing actions to ensure that human trafficking cases abide by international standards, including the Palermo Protocol. |
| Program | Description & Activities |
|---|
| Child Labor Awareness Campaigns:‡ Government program implemented by ICCA and the National Committee for the Prevention and Eradication of Child Labor that conducts national awareness-raising campaigns on the worst forms of child labor. In 2024, the government conducted awareness-raising campaigns focused on protecting children from sexual violence. |
| Help for At-Risk Children and Social Protection and Reintegration Centers:‡ ICCA-implemented program centers providing education, health services, and professional training to vulnerable children and their families, including seven day centers for street children vulnerable to sexual and labor exploitation, including sex trafficking; three centers for street children operated by the Nôs Kaza center; and five long-term social protection and reintegration centers that provide support and educational integration services to children who have experienced long-term trauma, including child trafficking. During the reporting period, the government opened three additional day centers on the Island of São Vicente and renovated a juvenile center. |
| Child Emergency Centers:‡ ICCA-implemented program that operates three emergency centers for child victims of abuse and sexual exploitation on Santiago, São Vicente, and Sal islands, operating 24/7. During the reporting period, the government renovated an emergency center. |
‡ Program is funded by the Government of Cabo Verde.
| Area | Suggested Action |
|---|---|
| Legal Framework | Ensure that laws prohibiting forced labor criminalize not just slavery but also practices similar to slavery, including debt bondage and forced or compulsory labor. |
| Ensure that the law establishes safeguards for voluntariness for voluntary recruitment by the state military. | |
| Prescribe by law the number of hours per week and conditions under which light work may be undertaken by children. | |
| Ensure that the National List of Dangerous Work for Children is extended to protect all children under age 18. | |
| Enforcement | Adequately increase the number of labor inspectors to address the scope of the labor force throughout all nine inhabited islands. |
| Provide sufficient financial and human resources to increase criminal investigators' capacity to conduct thorough investigations, including of the worst forms of child labor. | |
| Continue to develop and refine a system to compile and share comprehensive anti-trafficking in persons and victim identification data, and increase criminal enforcement agencies' case-sharing capabilities to improve overall law enforcement coordination efforts. | |
| Provide adequate resources and personnel to the judiciary to allow the worst forms of child labor cases to be prosecuted in a timely manner and to safeguard child victims, including children subjected to commercial sexual exploitation. | |
| Establish a digital tracking system for civil worst forms of child labor. | |
| Social Programs | Provide adequate transportation for students with special needs and children in remote areas to ensure equal access to education. |
| Build upon and expand awareness-raising activities on human trafficking, including child trafficking. | |
| Increase programming to address child labor in agriculture and domestic work. |