ECUADOR: Children's Rights in the country report by the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences

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Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the report by the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, including its causes and consequences.

Please note that the language may have been edited in places for the purpose of clarity.

(A/HRC/15/20/Add.3)

Country visit: 25 January - 25 November 2010
Report published: 5 July 2010

 

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Legislation prohibiting forms of child slavery

  •  Ecuador holds an important record of ratification of international treaties adopted within the framework of the UN system that upholds children’s rights, including the Convention on the Rights of the Child and its two optional protocols.  (para. 16 -- p. 7) 

  • Article 46 of the Ecuadorian Constitution recognises the State’s obligation to adopt special protection measures against any kind of labour exploitation or economic exploitation of children and adolescents, and also prohibits the worst forms of child labour; while Article 66 of said constitution recognises the State’s obligation to adopt the necessary measures to prevent, suppress and punish all forms of slavery, especially against persons in a disadvantaged or vulnerable situation, including children and adolescents.  (paras. 26, 32 and 35 -- pp. 9-11)

  • Accordingly, Article 138 of the country’s Labour code prohibits 1) slavery and slavery-like practices, which include the sale and trafficking of children; debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict; 2) the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances; 3) the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs as defined in the relevant international treaties; 4) all work that, by its nature or the conditions under which it is performed, may harm the health, safety and morals of the children involved; and 5) the employment of person below the age of 18 in industries or activities deemed to be dangerous or unhealthy, including work in tunnels or quarries and work constituting a serious danger, morally or for the physical development of women and men under the age indicated.  (paras. 27 and 36 -- pp. 9 and 11)

  • Additionally, the 2008 Constitution sets the minimum age for employment at 15 years. However, children involved in formative cultural or ancestral practices are excluded from the minimum age provisions as long as they are not exposed to physical or psychological harm.  The law also prohibits adolescents between the ages of 15 to 18 from working more than six hours a day and more than five days a week.  A Ministerial Directive (No. 016 of 2008) prohibits children under 15 years from work in 93 economic activities, including livestock raising, fishing, extraction of salt, the textile industry, logging, and quarrying.  (para. 33 -- p. 10)

National plans to combat forms of child slavery

  • In 1998, Ecuador drew up a National Human Rights Plan, which prioritised the establishment of policies oriented towards the elimination of forced and child labour. However, the implementation of this plan was limited, according to an evaluation undertaken at the request of the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.  (para. 30 -- p. 10)

  • In August 2006, the Ecuadorian President adopted and put into effect the "National Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons, Smuggling of Migrants, sexual exploitation and other forms of labour exploitation and prostitution of women, children and adolescents, child pornography and corruption of minors”, which is being implemented through inter-ministerial and inter-institutional cooperation arrangements.  (para. 31 -- p. 10)

  • The Ministry of Tourism, the Ministry of Social and Economic Inclusion and the Federation of Provincial Tourism Boards jointly worked to prevent child commercial sexual exploitation in the tourism industry by adopting a manual for sustainable tourism for tourist providers, aimed at preventing sex tourism, and by launching awareness-raising campaigns, organising workshops for the tourism industry, parents and high school students, and publishing informational materials.  (para. 34 -- p. 10)

  • The national plan for the prevention and eradication of child labour (2008-2013) was adopted to implement Article 46 of the Constitution that prohibits the worst forms of child labour.  This objective was also incorporated into other national action plans, including the Social Agenda for the child and the youth (2007-2010), Ecuador's Social Agenda, and the National Development Plan (2009-2013).  (para. 35 -- pp.10-11) 

Institutional system to eradicate forms of child slavery (paras. 39-44 and 67-68 - pp. 11 and 16-17)

  • The Ministry of Labour Relations has 27 child labour inspectors that investigate cases of child labour throughout the country, ten of which are exclusively dedicated to eradicate child labour in mining.  The Ministry has also established a specific unit devoted to the elimination of child labour (UPETI), which leads programmes that ensure compliance with the rights of children and adolescents exposed to exploitation at work.  (para. 39 -- p. 11)

  • Furthermore, the Labour Inspectorate and municipalities oversee labour contracts and work permits for adolescents of age 15 and older.  And the law prescribes that those found to be in violation of child labour laws are sanctioned with monetary fines and the closing of establishments where child labour occurs.  (para. 39 -- p. 11)

  • Most ministries cooperate through collegiate bodies in charge of policy-making for targeted groups, including children and adolescents.  This is the case of the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CNNA), which is the body responsible for defining, monitoring and implementing policies aimed at the protection of the rights of children and adolescents in Ecuador.  (para. 40 -- pp. 11-12)

  • Other institutional efforts include:  

1) the National Committee for the Progressive Elimination of Child Labour (CONEPTI), established in 1997, which oversees the implementation of the national policy on the prevention, control and monitoring of child labour, and which has made efforts to regularise the work of children between the ages of 15 and 17 in the flower industry, including by providing technical and vocational training for child labourers in that range of age;

2) the Metropolitan Council for Comprehensive Protection of Children and Adolescents (COMPINA), which is responsible for the formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies aimed at ensuring the protection, and enforcement of the rights of children and adolescents in the metropolitan district of Quito; the Rights Protection Committees of the Comprehensive System of Protection of Children and Adolescents, which are responsible for monitoring the individual and collective rights of children and adolescents of Quito and undertaking administrative measures (not judicial) to protect children and adolescents, from the threat or the actual violation to their rights; 

3) the Institute for Children and Family (INFA), which guarantees the rights of children and adolescents, by implementing plans, policies and measures on the integral protection for children and their families, and has also developed a Plan for the Elimination of Child Labour in dump wastes, and has raised awareness on child begging.  (paras. 41-44 and 67-68 -- pp. 12 and 16-17)

  • Partnerships have been created between UNICEF, the Ministry of Labour Relations, INFA, the Center for Development and Self-Development and the Telefonica Foundation for the implementation of the National Programme to Eradicate Child Labour in Dump Wastes (Programa Nacional de Erradicación del Trabajo Infantil en Basurales).  The outcomes of these partnerships include the eradication of child labour of over 1,900 children and adolescents out of 2,014 cases detected, who have left work in garbage dumps.  The Special Rapporteur welcomes the consolidation of such partnerships for the full eradication of child labour in Dump Wastes, which is expected to be achieved by 2010.  (para. 68 -- p.17)

Contemporary forms of child slavery in Ecuador today (paragraphs 45-50 and 85 -- pp. 12-13 and 20)

  • Official figures estimate that there are 662,665 child labourers aged 5 to 18 in Ecuador. Children are found working primarily in the banana, flowers and mining industries; yet they were also found to be sexually exploited, and to be working in dump wastes and in the informal sector of the economy. (para. 46 -- pp. 12-13) 

  • The Second national child labour survey (2006) released in 2008, estimated that the worst forms of child labour, mostly including hazardous labour, affected 231,752 children aged 15 to 17, which represent 88 per cent of the total child labourers population. (para. 46 -- pp. 12-13)

  • However, the same survey showed that the number of child labourers aged five to 17 decreased from 720,450 in 2001 to 662,650 in 2006, and that school attendance increased from 84.2 per cent to 87.9 per cent over the same period.  (paragraph 46 -- pp. 12-13)

  • While in situ, the Special Rapporteur observed that child labourers in the streets of the cities she visited worked mostly in the informal sector as street vendors, shoe shiners, waitresses, and in shops.  (para 47 -- p. 13)

  • During her visit, the Special Rapporteur heard from children working in the informal sector who spoke of their exposure to situations that harm their safety and morals, including abusive practices and sexual violence.  They also reported being placed as farm workers, maids and cleaners in the houses or farms of close family friends, as well as being recruited and transported from rural areas to urban centres for different forms of labour under exploitative conditions.  This form of 'labour placement' was reported to increase during the holiday seasons.  A gendered division of child labour was also detected, as household work was reported mostly to be undertaken by girls.  (paragraphs 47 and 48 -- p. 13)

  • The Special Rapporteur also received information about the 'lend or rent of children' for small amounts of money ranging from 30 to 80 dollars to 'help' those to whom they have been lent, during which time the children are left at the full mercy of their ‘tenants’ while their parents are unaware of the whereabouts or occupation.  In some instances children have been reported to be ‘used’ as street vendors and farm workers, while in others they have been reported to be in domestic servitude or smuggled to neighbouring countries (including Chile, Colombia, Peru and Venezuela) for forced labour activities, sexual exploitation and mendicity. (para. 49 -- p. 13)

  • Also during her visit, the Special Rapporteur heard allegations on the use of children, particularly those of indigenous or afro-descendent origin, in the northern Ecuador-Colombia border area for dangerous work and transnational organised crime, including smuggling of gas, wood, arm munitions and narcotics. She also received information on child labour in the flowers, banana, and palm oil industry, where children often use chemicals and sharp tools, and lift heavy loads, which are considered hazardous. (para. 50 -- p. 13)

  • The Special Rapporteur also received information that the children of domestic workers living in their employers’ houses were victims of threats and intimidation, physical and gender-based violence, while the domestic workers themselves encountered various forms of abuse, including forced labour, sexual aggression and excessive working hours, among others. (paras. 51 and 52 -- pp. 13)

  • The Special Rapporteur also received information regarding the health risks faced by children working in the fruit packing industry in which plastic bags coated with neurotoxic pesticides are used to cover the maturing fruit and protect it from insect damage.   The methods of disposal of these bags are allegedly uncontrolled and therefore potentially hazardous to the health of children and risk causing malformations affecting the workers’ future generations, as it was reported that girls are preparing these bags and washing them after use and boys are putting them on bananas.  (para. 85 -- p. 20) 

Initiatives of cooperation to address the worst forms of child labour (paragraphs 59–64 -- pp. 15-16) 

  • The Government has taken efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour, such as with the National Programme for the Eradication of Child Labour in Dump Wastes since 2004, and with the establishment of the goal to declare "Ecuador free from child work in dump wastes in 2010".  She also welcomes the pilot project for the eradication of child labour in the mine industry, according to which, the Government expects to have intervened in at least 1,000 cases of child labour in mining between 2009 and 2010.  (para. 59 -- p. 15)

  • The Special Rapporteur commends efforts undertaken to eradicate child labour in the banana industry, whose outcomes indicate that in a two-year period 500 cases have been addressed, and that in 2010 the authorities expect to address 500 more cases.  (para. 60 - p. 15) 

  • In 2009, there was a proposal presented to prevent child labour in domestic households to be launched in geographic areas considered to be of high risk.  Although child labour, including its worst forms, is perceived in some rural areas as a culturally rooted practice, actions should be taken to raise awareness of it as a worst form of child labour and therefore, a contemporary form of slavery.  (para. 60 - p. 15)

  • The State has undertaken efforts to eliminate child begging through raising awareness and building community resilience to this phenomenon through recreational and vocational activities.  Accomplishments of this strategy include the reduction of child begging in 90 per cent in the provinces of Bolivar, Chimborazo, Cotopaxi, Imbabura, Pichincha, Santa Elena and Tungurahua.  (para. 61 -- p. 15)

  • There has also been private sector initiatives of cooperation to combat child labour in Ecuador, namely the Proniño programme, which was first piloted in 1998, and has since been extended to 13 other countries in Latin America.  Its work centres on providing quality education and strengthening socio-institutional capacity by offering a system of scholarships targeting child labourers affected by poverty who require financial support to re-enter the educational system and the provision of technical equipment and academic tools.  In Ecuador it now counts 11,667 beneficiaries.  (para. 62-64 -- pp. 15-16)

Addressing poverty as a major root cause of the worst forms of child labour (paras. 65-66 -- p. 16)

  • The Government has made efforts to address the root causes of the worst forms of child labour and provide alternatives to the alleviation of poverty, especially cash transfer programmes such as the Human Development Bond Programme (Bono de Desarrollo Humano – BDH), which has shown its positive impact in the elimination of child labour, particularly of its worst forms, among the poorest of the poor.  (para. 65 -- p. 16)

  • An evaluation of the BDH in light of its impact on child labour revealed in 2006 that children in the programme were less likely to be sent to work than if they had not benefitted from it.  Children from households receiving the BDH were 6.2 per cent less likely to be working than those not receiving the bond.  And children in households receiving the BDH worked 2.5 hours less than those who did not receive it.  Furthermore, the evaluation found that the BDH contributed to a 10 per cent increase in school enrollment and a 17 per cent decrease in child labour.  (para. 66 -- p. 16)

Recommendations (paras. 86-87, 89-92, 96 and 101 -- pp. 20-24)

  • The Special Rapporteur acknowledges the Ecuadorian State’s capacity and proactive approach to combat child slavery in its contemporary forms.  However, despite progress made, she also holds that contemporary forms of slavery persist in Ecuador today, that their causes are directly related to pervasive instances of discrimination, social exclusion and poverty, and that they affect sectors of the population that have faced historical wrongdoings, such as afro-descents and indigenous peoples, as well as those whose conditions make them an easy pray of exploitation, such as children of impoverished families, asylum-seekers, refugees and irregular and smuggled migrants and women. These people are generally unaware of circumstances at work that amount to forced labour and/or bonded labour and about their rights. They are frequently uninformed or misinformed about the health risks of their job. And in some instances, they might also be lured into lending their children for small amounts of money, exposing them to slavery-like situations. (paras. 86-87 -- p. 20)

  • Regarding the worst forms of child labour, the Special Rapporteur wishes to draw the Government’s attention to ILO Convention 182 and its accompanying Recommendation 190 concerning the prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (1999), in relation to which she makes the following recommendations (para. 89 -- pp. 20-21):

- Consider child work in the streets as one of the worst forms of child labour as the Special Rapporteur gathered evidence according to which, the circumstances in which this work is carried out by children, harm their safety and morals, exposing them to abusive practices, including sexual violence;

- Take all necessary steps to implement the recommendations made by the Committee of the Rights of the Child in its 2010 Concluding observations, particularly those relating to the economic exploitation of children, children in street situations and sexual exploitation and abuse of children; and to develop a mechanism to enhance the impact and coverage of existing programs on prevention and protection of children from exploitation and slavery;

- Implement the recommendations of the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations (CEACR) and implement the National Plan to combat the trafficking of persons and commercial sexual exploitation, and the plans to combat the commercial exploitation of children and the trafficking of children in Cuenca and Machala;

- Increase resource allocation to build the capacity of labour inspectors as well as their number so that they can effectively monitor labour practices in the entire territory of the country;

- Introduce assessments on health and environmental impact of labour practices in the country within the system of labour inspectorates.

  • The Special Rapporteur welcomes the Government initiative to undertake a national census in 2010 and strongly recommends that statistical information on child labour be included as a special chapter in this endeavour in a gender disaggregated manner.  (para. 90 -- p. 21)

  • The Special Rapporteur recommends to the Ministry of Labour Relations to develop a nation-wide policy to: raise awareness on the rights of the child and on the worst forms of child labour, and monitor the compliance with the prohibition of the worst forms of child labour in all sectors of the economy.  (para. 91 -- p. 21)

  • The Special Rapporteur recommends to the Institute for Children and Family (INFA) to undertake an evaluation of the programme of scholarships as a measure to prevent child labour, including its worst forms, as information received suggests it only has 40,000 beneficiaries.  (para. 92 -- p. 21)

  • For recommendations by the Special Rapporteur on the protection of domestic workers agaisnt slavery-like practices, see pages 22-23 of the attached report.

  • The Special Rapporteur recommends to the Ministry of Coordination for Social Development:

- to elaborate policies to effectively coordinate activities among public institutions in connection with educational needs of child workers;

- to increase efforts of coordination of policies aimed at bringing children up to the appropriate level of education (nivelacion educativa);

- to develop mechanisms to enforce legislation and monitor effective implementation of plans and programmes.  (para. 101 -- p. 24)

    pdf: http://www.crin.org/docs/A.HRC.15.20.Add.3_en.pdf

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