Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2015, published 105th ILC session (2016)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Belarus (Ratification: 2000)

Article 6 of the Convention. Programmes of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. Programmes to combat trafficking and child pornography. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government on the results achieved following the implementation of the National Programme to Combat Trafficking in Persons (NPCTP 2011–13). According to the Government report, the NPCTP 2011–13 implemented several institutional, legislative, awareness-raising, preventive and practical measures as well as measures in the field of international cooperation.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that within the framework of the NPCTP 2011–13, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, the Ministry of Education as well as the Investigative Committee of the Republic of Belarus published and broadcasted more than 3,500 materials on issues related to preventing and combating trafficking in persons in the mass media; disseminated 29 press releases; organized 54 press conferences and briefings; and posted more than 100 information updates on the Internet. Moreover, 222 law enforcement officials working on combating trafficking in persons and 549 employees of internal agencies, public prosecutor’s office, border services, courts and social services received advanced training on combating trafficking in persons and combating child pornography on the Internet and on providing social and psychological assistance for victims of trafficking. Furthermore, during this period, the law enforcement agencies participated in a number of regional and international events and seminars which enabled them to close down several trafficking routes from Belarus to other countries with the assistance of foreign colleagues.

The Committee further notes from the Government’s report that the Republic of Belarus is party to a number of international programmes and projects against trafficking in persons including “the Group of Friends United Against Trafficking”, comprising 22 states from all regions and the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Human Trafficking, 2010. It also notes that Belarus has developed a project on combating human trafficking entitled “Strengthening the national capacity of the Republic of Belarus in the sphere of combating human trafficking, 2013–16” in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved through the implementation of these various initiatives taken by the Government in combating trafficking in persons, including the project on “Strengthening the national capacity of the Republic of Belarus in the sphere of combating human trafficking, 2013–16,” the project on “the Group of Friends United Against Trafficking” and the UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Human Trafficking, particularly in terms of the number of children prevented or removed from trafficking.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (b). Providing the necessary and appropriate assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour, and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s statement that in order to minimize the negative social consequences of trafficking in persons and to reintegrate the victims of trafficking, the law enforcement agencies ensured their referral to state and non-state rehabilitation centres. It also notes from the Government’s report that in 2011, 45 child victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation (40 girls, five boys) were identified; in 2013, 14 child victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation (12 girls, two boys) were identified; and in the first half of 2014, eight child victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation (six girls and two boys) were identified. According to the Government’s report all the child victims identified were referred to rehabilitation centres which provide legal, medical, psychological and educational assistance.

Application in practice. The Committee notes the Government’s information that in 2011, 458 criminal offences related to trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation were recorded of which 36 offences were related to the production and dissemination of child pornography and 15 offences were related to the enticement of minors to engage in pornographic activities. Further, out of the 384 criminal offences recorded in 2012, 40 offences were related to the production and dissemination of child pornography and 11 offences for enticing minors to commit such offences. In 2013, 459 criminal offences were recorded, out of which 27 offences were related to the production and dissemination of child pornography and three offences for enticing minors to such offences. A total of 56 persons were remanded in custody for the above offences from 2011 to 2013.

The Government also notes the Government’s indication that in 2013, the activities of one organized group was stopped, three pornographic studios were dismantled and seven pornographic websites were closed down. The Committee further notes from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, 2014 that one of the transnational court cases submitted by Belarus saw the conviction of a couple for trafficking six women to Western and Central Europe for sexual exploitation. Both the perpetrators received five years prison sentences. The same report also refers to another case wherein a man from a foreign national was convicted and sentenced to seven years imprisonment in Belarus for his involvement in trafficking women via his own country to other Western European destination for sexual exploitation.