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Summary: This report summarises individual observations and direct requests issued by the ILO Committee of Experts related to child labour conventions. To view the full reports, go to the ILOLEX database (http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/) and click on ‘display all documents related to a specific country’. Scroll to: _____________________________________________________ Individual Observation concerning Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) Angola (ratification: 2001) Published: 2011 Article 3(a) Sale and trafficking of children: Angolan law criminalises kidnapping, forced labour, bonded servitude, and recruiting or receiving persons under 18 for the exercise of prostitution in a foreign country. However, it does not explicitly prohibit trafficking in persons, including children. The Committee noted on September 10, 2009 the statement in a report on the worst forms of child labour in Angola, that children are trafficked internally for the purpose of sexual and labour exploitation (in agriculture and domestic service). The report is available on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (www.unhcr.org) (WFCL Report). On June 14, 2010 the Committee noted the information in a report on trafficking in persons, also available on the website of the Office of the High Commissioner for Refugees (Trafficking Report), that women and children more often become victims of internal rather than transnational sex trafficking. Consequently, the Committee has urged the Government of Angola to take the necessary measures to ensure that provisions prohibiting both the internal trafficking of children under 18 years and their sale and trafficking for the purpose of labour exploitation are included in national legislation, and to establish penalties in this regard as a matter of urgency. Article 3(b) Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances: Section 184(1) of the Angolan Penal Code prohibits anyone from promoting, facilitating, permitting, using or offering a young person under 16 years of age for, among other things, pornographic photography, films or engravings Article 4(1). Determination of hazardous types of employment or work: The Committee observed that while section 284(1) of Act No. 2/00 prohibits the employment of minors in hazardous work, pursuant to section 284(2), this prohibition only includes employment in theatres, cinemas, nightclubs, cabarets, discotheques and other similar establishments, or as traders or in publicity for pharmaceutical products. The prohibition of hazardous work for minors in section 284(2) of Act No. 2/00 appears to encompass only types of work which may harm the morals of children, and does not address types of work which may harm their health or safety. The ILO Committee has noted in the past that according to information in the WFCL Report that children working in agriculture in Benguela are known to apply chemicals, use machinery and dangerous tools, and carry heavy loads. The Committee has therefore requested the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the determination of the types of hazardous work prohibited to minors includes not only a prohibition against types of work that are harmful to a child's morals, but also a prohibition against types of work that are harmful to their health and safety, in conformity with Article 4(1) of the Convention Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms: The Committee has noted in the past that most children are working in the informal economy. The Committee has noted the statement in the WFCL Report that the Government does not have the capacity to regulate the informal sector, where the majority of children work and where most labour law violations occur. The Government has therefore been asked by the Committee to take the necessary measures to strengthen and adapt the capacity of the labour inspection and provincial monitoring units to improve the monitoring of children working in the informal economy. Article 7(2) Clause (a). Effective and time-bound measures on preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour by providing access to free basic education: Close to 44 per cent of all children in Angola do not attend school. However, Angola has been implementing, in collaboration with UNESCO, a National Plan of Action for Education for All (2001-15) (NPA EFA) and measures have been taken within the framework of the reform of the education system. According to ILO reports, the Government has indicated that the number of students attending primary school rose between 2004 and 2006, although, due to the lasting effects of armed conflict, the growth was higher in the inland provinces than in the coastal provinces, and that the gender disparity in enrolment rates persisted (CRC/C/AGO/2-4, paragraphs 338 and 339). The Government has further indicated in this report that there are high drop-out rates in the country, and that due to familial poverty, only 37.2 per cent of all children who start the first grade will finish the sixth grade (CRC/C/AGO/2-4, paragraph 344). Children in remote areas and conflict affected regions, in addition to children from poor families, rural areas and girls however are least likely to benefit from government education efforts. Article 7(2) Clause (b). Removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and their rehabilitation and social integration - Child victims of trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation: The Government has indicated in its report to the CRC in August 2004 (CRC/C/3/Add.66, paragraph 250) that the abduction of children began during the armed conflict. With the end of the conflict, a child protection programme was introduced whereby thousands of children were taken into hostels and camps for displaced persons and refugees, particularly girls who had been victims of sexual exploitation or slavery. According to ILO- IPEC information, the sexual and economic abuse of girls and boys, including the trafficking of children in certain parts of the country, has emerged as a problem. In this regard, the Committee noted that the Government has formulated the National Plan of Action and Intervention against the Sexual and Commercial Exploitation of Children (NPAI SCEC), which includes the objectives of protecting and defending the rights of child victims of sexual and commercial exploitation and rehabilitating and preventing the social exclusion of these child victims. Article 7(2) Clause (d). Identification of children at special risk - Former child soldiers and children displaced as a result of the conflicts: Inadequate attention has been paid to the plight of former child soldiers, particularly girls. The Committee has also noted in the past that the Special Representative of the Secretary- General for Children and Armed Conflict has expressed concern over the large numbers and appalling conditions of internally displaced children. According to ILO-IPEC information, over 100,000 children were separated from their families as a result of war. However, in response to these figures the Government has implemented a programme for the reintegration of demobilised minors in eight provinces and that the Government adopted the Post-war Child Protection Strategy (PWCP), which was implemented from 2002 to 2006. Of the approximately four million displaced persons as a result of the war, 40 per cent were children. Street Children: The Government has set up hostels with the aim of getting children off the streets, in addition to plans to build 600 regional reception centres for children in need of protection. However, the Committee noted a report indicating that least 10,000 children work on the streets in the capital city of Luanda, and noted the Government's indication that street children are also found in other large cities, such as Benguela, Lobito, Lubango and Malang. The Committee has noted that some positive results are beginning to emerge, as according to the Government's statement in its report to the CRC of 26 February 2010, there has been a decrease in the number of children living on the street due to the relative improvement in the lives of the citizens, but there are still a significant number of street children (CRC/C/AGO/2-4, paragraph 397). Child orphans of HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable children: According to ILO figures the number of orphans and other vulnerable children numbered close to 200,000 in 2010. Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice: Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government's statement in its report to the CRC of 26 February 2010 that children in Angola are involved in the worst forms of child labour, particularly in hazardous work (diamond mining and fishing), street labour and commercial sexual exploitation (CRC/C/AGO/2-4, paragraph 432). The Government has stated in the same report that child trafficking is difficult to control due to the vast border and that Angolan children are taken from the capital city of the country and brought to the DRC and that Congolese children are trafficked from Kinshasa into Angola (paragraphs 172-175). The Committee has noted that the use of children for the purpose of illicit activities is also present in the country, as children are forced to act as couriers in illegal cross-border trade between Namibia and Angola as part of a scheme to skirt import fees. _____________________________________________________ CEACR: Individual Direct Request concerning Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) Angola (ratification: 2001) Submitted: 2011 Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling: Following 27 years of civil war, large parts of the Angolan population remained under conditions of extreme vulnerability, which had repercussions on the education system and pushed children to work. The Committee has noted that around 44 per cent of girls and boys do not attend school, but that the Government was implementing, in collaboration with UNESCO, a National Action Plan for Education for All (2001-15) (NAP EFA). According to the Government's own figures, there are high student failure and drop-out rates in the country, and that due to familial poverty, only 37.2 per cent of all children who start the first grade will finish the sixth grade. In a report entitled "Children's work in Angola: An overview", produced jointly in 2007 by the ILO, UNICEF and the World Bank (through the "Understanding Children's Work" project) that approximately 26 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 14 are engaged in economic activity. However, pursuant to Article 7(1) and (4) of the Convention, national laws or regulations may permit the employment of persons only from the age of 12 years in light work which is not likely to be harmful to their health or development and not such as to prejudice their attendance in school. Application of the Convention in practice The Committee of the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations of October 2004 (CRC/C/15/Add.246, paragraphs 64 and 65), expressed concern that many children work below the legal age for admission to employment. Most of them work on family farms and in the informal economy, where their work is not monitored, even though it is well known that children are being exploited. The Committee also noted ILO-IPEC information from 2006 that approximately, 30 per cent of girls and boys are engaged in work in Angola. However, it noted that ILO-IPEC was implementing projects in the country to prevent children from being engaged in child labour and to raise awareness on this topic. The Angolan government has taken various measures to address various concerns. These steps however have achieved mixed results. In particular, the Committee notes the information in the WFCL Report that the Government is participating in a project to combat exploitive child labour, implemented by the NGO "ChildFund International". This project targets 2,653 children for withdrawal and 4,347 children for prevention from exploitative child labour in the capital city of Luanda and the province of Benguela. The Committee also notes the ILO-IPEC information that the Tackling Child Labour through Education (TACKLE) project was launched in 2009. This project aims to contribute to poverty reduction in the least developed countries by providing equitable access to basic education and skills development to the most disadvantaged sections of society. However, the TACKLE project indicates that progress in Angola has been slow due to weak institutional capacity and a lack of experience in addressing child labour issues in the country.