Child Labor and Forced Labor Reports

Ecuador

Bananas
Bananas
Child Labor Icon
Bricks
Bricks
Child Labor Icon
Flowers
Flowers
Child Labor Icon
Gold
Gold
Child Labor Icon
Bovines
Bovines
Child Labor Icon
Hogs
Hogs
Child Labor Icon
Poultry
Poultry
Child Labor Icon
Rice
Rice
Child Labor Icon
Ecuador
2021 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor:

Significant Advancement

In 2021, Ecuador made significant advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The Attorney General's Office trained over 2,000 prosecutors and administrative staff on sexual crimes against minors and trafficking in persons. The Ministries of Labor and Social and Economic Inclusion also developed inspection plans in the agricultural sector in rural areas, a sector that had previously been lacking in inspections, and worked with their counterparts in Colombia to establish mechanisms to address child labor in the illegal mining sector along the Ecuador-Colombia border. Under the National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons, the government held various anti-trafficking trainings for labor inspectors, prosecutors, and police officers, among others. In addition, the Business Network for a Child Labor Free Ecuador - a public-private partnership helmed by the Ministry of Labor - also continued its work with 73 business entities, focusing on child labor issues in the priority sectors of bananas, flowers, fishing, and mining. However, children in Ecuador are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including in commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking. Children also engage in dangerous tasks in mining. Although the government continued efforts to eradicate child labor, the National Project to Eradicate Child Labor formally ended in December 2021 and a replacement program or institutional body has not been identified.

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