Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Congo (Ratification: 2002)

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to take immediate and effective measures to ensure that section 334 of the Penal Code and sections 65–68 of Act No. 4-2010 of 14 June 2010 are applied effectively in practice.

The Committee notes the Government’s indications in its 2014–20 report to the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child regarding the situation in the Congo that prosecutions have been conducted and penalties imposed with regard to the perpetrators of offences involving the sexual exploitation of children, including eight persons convicted in Pointe-Noire, while judgments are pending with regard to seven other persons. A total of eight child victims have been returned to the Beninese authorities and repatriated. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the application in practice of the Penal Code and Act No. 4-2010 of 14 June 2010 in order to ensure that all persons involved in the sexual exploitation of children for prostitution are investigated and prosecuted, and that penalties constituting an effective deterrent are imposed on them. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the number and nature of offences reported, investigations conducted, prosecutions initiated, convictions handed down and criminal penalties imposed.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indications in the report of the “Workshop on identifying national strategic priorities” in the context of the Alliance 8.7 global partnership to end modern slavery and child labour, according to which one of the priorities is to establish an early warning mechanism and observatory related to cases of trafficking in persons, modern slavery, forced labour and the worst forms of child labour.

However, the Committee notes that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in its concluding observations of March 2024 on the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of the Congo, expresses particular concern at the fact that: (i) children under the age of 16 work in many sectors of the economy and are particularly vulnerable to economic exploitation, in particular being forced to work as street vendors; and (ii) children work in hazardous industries, such as in artisanal gold mining, in quarries, and in garbage and landfill sorting sites (CRC/C/COG/CO/5-6, para. 49). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on progress made in establishing the early warning mechanism and observatory related to cases of human trafficking, modern slavery, forced labour and the worst forms of child labour, as provided for in the national road map regarding this matter.

Article 6. Plans of action. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indications that the strategic framework for strengthening the national child protection system adopted in 2015 provides for establishing a mechanism for coordinating and monitoring children’s rights, bringing together all stakeholders at the central, departmental and community levels. In this regard, the Government indicates that, following the implementation of a pilot project in rural areas in the department of Lékoumou, a second pilot project is being carried out in urban areas, in nine districts of borough 4 (Moungali) in Brazzaville (Memorandum No. 041/DB/CB/MM/CAB of 24 January 2019 setting out the structure for a borough-level child protection coordinating committee). It adds that an evaluation is under way to identify good practices that can be capitalized on for the gradual extension of this integrated child protection system throughout the country.

The Committee also notes the Government’s indications that the objectives of the “Combating the worst forms of child labour” project, established with ILO support, include: (i) raising awareness of child labour among the general public, key actors and authorities, and developing and publicizing regulatory frameworks for combating child labour; (ii) strengthening coordinating structures between the various ministerial entities and stakeholders at national level and in the departments involved in combating child labour; (iii) ensuring access to reliable and transparent data; and (iv) involving stakeholders in the implementation of measures to care for child victims and children at risk. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the specific results achieved in the evaluation of the coordination mechanism for monitoring children’s rights and its possible dissemination at the national level. It also requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved through the “Combating the worst forms of child labour” project.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Children at special risk. 1. Children orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS. The Committee notes the absence of information in the Government’s report on children orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS.

Furthermore, the Committee notes from the June 2024 comprehensive national review of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action that, according to the “National strategic plan for the prevention of HIV/AIDS among young persons 2020–24”, nearly 30 per cent of new HIV/AIDS infections occur in the 15–24 age group and that HIV/AIDS infection remains a cause for concern in the Congo. In this regard, the Committee further notes that, according to UNAIDS estimates for 2023, there are approximately 90,000 HIV/AIDS orphans in the Congo. The Committee once again requests the Government to continue taking effective and time-bound measures to protect HIV/AIDS orphans from the worst forms of child labour. It also requests the Government to supply information on the measures taken and results achieved through the “National strategic plan for the prevention of HIV/AIDS among young persons 2020–24”.

2. Refugees and internally displaced persons. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes that the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), in its concluding observations of March 2024 on the combined fifth and sixth periodic reports of the Congo, notes the adoption of Act No. 41-2021 of 29 September 2021, which creates a legal basis and an appropriate framework for providing international protection to refugees, in particular section 13, which focuses on unaccompanied children or children separated from their families, who benefit from specific guarantees related to their situation (CRC/C/COG/CO/5-6, para. 47). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to fully apply Act No. 41-2021 and improve the living conditions of asylum-seeking or refugee children, in order to prevent the engagement of these children in the worst forms of child labour.

Article 8. International cooperation. Poverty reduction. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes Decree No. 2664, attached to the Government’s report, establishing and defining the powers, composition and functioning of the tripartite committee responsible for monitoring the implementation of the Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) 2023–26, which provides in particular for: (i) implementation of the DWCP 2023–26; (ii) coordination of resource mobilization for execution of the programme; (iii) capacity-building for tripartite constituents and other relevant institutions; (iv) support for economic diversification and the creation of decent jobs; (v) improving social protection and occupational safety and health; and (vi) promoting social dialogue and the application of national and international labour standards. The Committee encourages the Government to continue intensifying its efforts to reduce the incidence of poverty among the population, particularly in rural areas. In this regard, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the DWCP 2023–26, as well as the results achieved.