Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention#Predefined worst forms of child labour
{{Short description|International Labour Organization Convention}}
{{EngvarB|date=October 2013}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=May 2024}}
{{Infobox treaty
| name = Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999
| long_name = Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour
| image =Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention.svg
| image_width =399
| caption =
{{legend|#ff1111|Convention not in force}}
{{legend|#ff00ff|Convention not applied (dependent territory)}}
{{legend|#b9b9b9|Non ILO-member}}
| type =
| date_drafted =
| date_signed = 17 June 1999
| location_signed = Geneva
| date_sealed =
| date_effective = 19 November 2000
| condition_effective = universal ratification by all 187 members of the UN International Labour Organization (ILO)
| date_expiration =
| signatories =
| ratifiers =
| depositor = Director-General of the International Labour Office
| language =
| languages = English and French (Article 16)
| wikisource =
}}
The Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, known in short as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, was adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1999 as ILO Convention No 182. It is one of eight ILO fundamental conventions.{{cite web|url=http://www.ilo.org/global/standards/introduction-to-international-labour-standards/conventions-and-recommendations/lang--en/index.htm|title=Conventions and ratifications|work=International Labour Organization|date=27 May 2011}}
By ratifying this Convention No. 182, a country commits itself to taking immediate action to prohibit and eliminate the worst forms of child labour, including slavery, child prostitution, use of children in criminal activities, and dangerous labour. The Convention is enjoying the fastest pace of ratifications in the ILO's history since 1919.{{Cite web|title=Convention C001 Hours of Work (Industry) Convention 1919 (No 1)|url=https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C001|website=www.ilo.org|access-date=2020-05-30}}
The ILO's International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC) is responsible for assisting countries in this regard as well as monitoring compliance. One of the methods used by IPEC to assist countries in this regard are Time-bound Programmes.
The ILO also adopted the Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation No 190 in 1999. This recommendation contains, among others, recommendations on the types of hazards that should be considered for inclusion within a country-based definition of Worst Forms of Hazards faced by Children at Work.{{cite web|url=http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO:12100:P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312528:NO|title=R190 - Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999 (No. 190)|work=International Labour Organization|date=17 June 1999}}
Convention No 182 has been signed by all ILO Member States by 4 August 2020. This has become the fastest ratified agreement in the UN's 101-year history.
Purpose of the Convention
The elimination of child labour was one of the main goals of the ILO. According to the UN agency, 152 million children worldwide are affected by the convention, almost half of which do dangerous work. Most child labour is carried out in the agricultural sector, mainly due to poverty and the difficulties faced by parents. The Convention supports the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, including slavery, forced labour and trafficking in human beings. It prohibits the use of children in armed conflicts, prostitution and pornography, illegal activities such as drug trafficking and dangerous work. According to the ILO, the proportion of child labour fell by almost 40 percent between 2000 and 2016 as the ratification rate increased and countries passed laws and policies, including the minimum age of employment.{{Cite web|url=https://news.un.org/en/story/2020/08/1069492|title=Convention on worst forms of child labour receives universal ratification|date=4 August 2020|website=UN News}}
Ratifications
On 4 August 2020, the High Commissioner for {{flag|Tonga}} in the United Kingdom, Hon. Titilupe Fanetupouvava'u Tuita-Tu'ivakanō, formally deposited the ratification instruments for this convention together with ILO Director-General, Guy Ryder. This is a historic event as it is the first time for an International Labor Convention to be ratified by all member states.
The convention has also not been extended to several non-metropolitan territories of states that ratified the convention:{{cite web|url=http://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_norm/---relconf/documents/meetingdocument/wcms_176149.pdf|title=Report IV, Fundamental principles and rights at work: From commitment to action|edition=First|work=International Labour Organization|year=2012}}
| class="wikitable" | |
| State | Non-metropolitan territory |
|---|---|
| {{flagu|Australia}} | {{flagu|Norfolk Island}} |
| {{flagu|Denmark}} | {{flagu|Faroe Islands}}, {{flagu|Greenland}} |
| {{flagu|France}} | {{flagu|French Polynesia}}, {{flagu|New Caledonia}}, French Southern and Antarctic Territories |
| {{flagu|Kingdom of the Netherlands}} | {{flagu|Sint Maarten}} and the Caribbean Netherlands{{cite web|url=https://treatydatabase.overheid.nl/en/Verdrag/Details/009189|title=Treaty Database; Convention concerning the prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour|access-date=29 December 2019|work=Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands)}} |
| {{flagu|New Zealand}} | {{flagu|Tokelau}} |
| {{flagu|United States}} | {{flagu|American Samoa}}, {{flagu|Guam}}, {{flagu|Northern Mariana Islands}}, {{flagu|Puerto Rico}}, {{flagu|United States Virgin Islands}} |
| {{flagu|United Kingdom}} | {{flagu|Anguilla}}, {{flagu|Bermuda}}, {{flagu|British Virgin Islands}}, {{flagu|Gibraltar}}, {{flagu|Isle of Man}}, {{flagu|Jersey}}, {{flagu|Montserrat}} |
Predefined ''worst forms of child labour''
Article 3 of the International Labor Organization's Convention 182 includes forms of child labour, which are predefined as the worst forms of child labour, including the following:.{{Cite web|url=https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C182|title=Convention C182 - Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182)|website=www.ilo.org}} They are also sometimes referred to as automatic worst forms of child labour.
The predefined worst forms of child labour are:
- all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as
- the sale of a child;
- trafficking of children, meaning the recruitment of children to do work far away from home and from the care of their families, in circumstances within which they are exploited;
- debt bondage or any other form of bonded labour or serfdom;
- forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict;
- Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), including the use, procuring or offering of a child for:{{cite web |url= http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C182 |title= C182 Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 |publisher= International Labour Organization |year= 1999 |access-date= 25 April 2012 |archive-date= 26 February 2012 |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120226182912/http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgi-lex/convde.pl?C182 |url-status= dead }}
- prostitution, or
- the production of pornography or for pornographic performances;
- use, procuring or offering of a child by others for illegal activities, also known as children used by adults in the commission of crime (CUBAC), including the trafficking or production of drugs
- work by its nature that is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children
Worst form hazards: To be defined by each ratifying country
The last category of worst form of child labour is work which by its nature or the circumstances is likely to harm the health, safety or morals of children, or Worst Forms of Hazards faced by Children at Work. Here the Convention recommended that the circumstances should be determined in consultation with organisations of employers and workers within a specific country. The Convention recommends that programmes of action should attend specifically to younger children, the girl child, hidden work situation in which girls are at special risk, and other groups of children with special vulnerabilities or needs. Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation No 190 contains recommendations on the types of hazards that should be considered to be included within a country-based definition of worst form hazards. This could lead to many deaths.
The worst forms of child labour that should be prohibited in ILO Recommendation No. 190 are:
- "Any work that exposes children to sexual abuse (physically or psychologically).
- Any work that is done underground, under water, at dangerous heights or in confined spaces.
- Any work that is done with dangerous machinery, equipment and tools.
- Any work that involves the manual handling or transport of heavy loads.
- Any work that is done in an unhealthy environment which may, for example, expose children to hazardous substances, agents or processes, or to temperatures, noise levels, or vibrations damaging to their health.
- Any work that is done under particularly difficult conditions such as work for long hours or during the night or work where the child is unreasonably confined to the premises of the employer."{{Cite web|url=https://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/WorstFormsofChildLabour/lang--en/index.htm|title=Worst forms of child labour (IPEC)|website=www.ilo.org|language=en|access-date=2018-07-25}}
Country programmes on WFCL
Several programs exist (coordinated by the ILO or other UN organisations) to stimulate adherence to the convention:
- Programmes of the International Labour Organization addressing the worst forms of child labour
- Time-Bound Programmes for the Eradication of the Worst forms of Child Labour;
- International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour;
- Country programmes on Commercial sexual exploitation of children.
The Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography plays a role in the co-ordination of activities.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- Text of the [https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_ILO_CODE:C182 Convention] and [https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:12100:0::NO::P12100_INSTRUMENT_ID:312528 Recommendation No 190]
- [http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:11300:0::NO:11300:P11300_INSTRUMENT_ID:312327 ratifications]
- [http://www.ipu.org/PDF/publications/childlabour_en.pdf Handbook for parliamentarians: Eliminating the worst forms of child labour] ILO, Inter-Parliamentary Union, 2002
- [https://www.ilo.org/ipec/facts/WorstFormsofChildLabour/lang--en/index.htm ILO Further documents on Worst Form Hazards]
- [https://web.archive.org/web/20190227075820/https://www.dol.gov/ilab/reports/child-labor/findings/ Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - U.S. Department of Labor]
Category:Child labour treaties
Category:International Labour Organization conventions
Category:Treaties concluded in 1999
Category:Treaties entered into force in 2000
Category:Treaties of Afghanistan
Category:Treaties of Antigua and Barbuda
Category:Treaties of Argentina
Category:Treaties of Australia
Category:Treaties of Azerbaijan
Category:Treaties of the Bahamas
Category:Treaties of Bangladesh
Category:Treaties of Bosnia and Herzegovina
Category:Treaties of Burkina Faso
Category:Treaties of Cape Verde
Category:Treaties of the Central African Republic
Category:Treaties of the People's Republic of China
Category:Treaties of the Comoros
Category:Treaties of the Democratic Republic of the Congo
Category:Treaties of the Republic of the Congo
Category:Treaties of the Cook Islands
Category:Treaties of Costa Rica
Category:Treaties of Ivory Coast
Category:Treaties of the Czech Republic
Category:Treaties of the Dominican Republic
Category:Treaties of Timor-Leste
Category:Treaties of El Salvador
Category:Treaties of Equatorial Guinea
Category:Treaties of the Gambia
Category:Treaties of Georgia (country)
Category:Treaties of Guatemala
Category:Treaties of Guinea-Bissau
Category:Treaties of Indonesia
Category:Treaties of Ba'athist Iraq
Category:Treaties of Kazakhstan
Category:Treaties of South Korea
Category:Treaties of Kyrgyzstan
Category:Treaties of the Libyan Arab Jamahiriya
Category:Treaties of Lithuania
Category:Treaties of Luxembourg
Category:Treaties of North Macedonia
Category:Treaties of Madagascar
Category:Treaties of the Maldives
Category:Treaties of the Marshall Islands
Category:Treaties of Mauritania
Category:Treaties of Mauritius
Category:Treaties of Montenegro
Category:Treaties of Mozambique
Category:Treaties of the Netherlands
Category:Treaties of New Zealand
Category:Treaties of Nicaragua
Category:Treaties of Papua New Guinea
Category:Treaties of the Philippines
Category:Treaties of Saint Kitts and Nevis
Category:Treaties of Saint Lucia
Category:Treaties of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
Category:Treaties of San Marino
Category:Treaties of São Tomé and Príncipe
Category:Treaties of Saudi Arabia
Category:Treaties of Serbia and Montenegro
Category:Treaties of Seychelles
Category:Treaties of Sierra Leone
Category:Treaties of Singapore
Category:Treaties of the Solomon Islands
Category:Treaties of South Africa
Category:Treaties of South Sudan
Category:Treaties of Sri Lanka
Category:Treaties of the Republic of the Sudan (1985–2011)
Category:Treaties of Switzerland
Category:Treaties of Tajikistan
Category:Treaties of Trinidad and Tobago
Category:Treaties of Turkmenistan
Category:Treaties of the United Arab Emirates
Category:Treaties of the United Kingdom
Category:Treaties of the United States
Category:Treaties of Uzbekistan
Category:Treaties of Venezuela
Category:Treaties extended to the Falkland Islands
Category:Treaties extended to Guernsey
Category:Treaties extended to Aruba
Category:Treaties extended to Hong Kong