Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2010, published 100th ILC session (2011)

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. The Committee had previously noted that the various measures taken to combat trafficking in persons contributed significantly towards increasing the effectiveness of preventing the slave trade and ensuring the security of the country’s population. The Committee also noted that the need to implement additional effective state policies against trafficking in persons led to the adoption of the new State Programme Against Trafficking in Persons, Illegal Migration and Related Crimes 2008–10 (State Programme Against Trafficking in Persons
2008–10). The basic purpose of the State Programme Against Trafficking in Persons 2008–10 was to plan and coordinate activities of the various state actors in implementing organizational, legal and practical measures to prevent, detect and suppress the abovementioned phenomena. The Committee then noted that the problem of trafficking in persons in Belarus is being tackled comprehensively and that the prevention of child trafficking is not treated as a separate issue, but is seen as a fundamental part of the problem of trafficking in persons.

The Committee notes the information in the Government’s report that in 2009 the Ministry of Internal Affairs drafted the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Bill which will be presented to the Belarus National Assembly in late 2010. The Committee also notes that, following Decree No. 518 of the President of the Republic of Belarus of 2 October 2010, the National Programme to Combat Trafficking in Persons, Illegal Migration and Related Activities 2011–13 (hereinafter National Programme to Combat Trafficking in Persons 2011–13) was approved. The basic objective of the National Programme to Combat Trafficking in Persons 2011–13, is to ensure planned and coordinated activities aimed at the effective prevention, detection and elimination of trafficking in persons. The Committee also notes that the National Programme to Combat Trafficking in Persons 2011–13, builds upon the State Programme Against Trafficking in Persons 2008–10, taking into account the information and the results of the activities carried out by government agencies and organizations.

The Committee also notes the information in the Government’s initial report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) concerning the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography (CRC/OPSC), of 2 July 2010, that in March 2008, the Ministry of Internal Affairs stopped the activities of an organized criminal group that had produced and disseminated child pornography and maintained pornographic websites between 2005 and 2008. In 2008, the law enforcement agencies closed down a total of three pornographic studios and an additional two were closed down in the first half of 2009 (CRC/C/OPSC/BLR/1, paragraph 31). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the progress made in regard to the adoption of the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Bill. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the implementation of the National Programme to Combat Trafficking in Persons, Illegal Migration and Related Activities 2011–13.

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. In its previous comments, the Committee noted in the Government’s report that the problem of child trafficking in Belarus exists but is not severe. The Committee noted that approximately
5–10 per cent of the total numbers of victims are children, the absolute majority of whom are 17 or 18 years old, female, and victims of sexual exploitation. Cases of trafficking of 14–16-year-old children are extremely rare.

The Committee notes that in the Government’s report to the CRC concerning the CRC/OPSC, 26 minors were involved in prostitution in 2005, 35 in 2006, nine in 2007, 96 in 2008 and 18 in the first half of 2009 (CRC/C/OPSC/BLR/1, paragraph 50). In 2008, there was evidence of child pornography, where 71 children were found to be involved and 61 of whom were forced into prostitution. In the first half of 2009, ten children, eight of whom were aged under 14 years, were victims of pornography, most of which was distributed through the Internet (CRC/C/OPSC/BLR/1, paragraphs 54 and 56). The Committee notes from the information in the Government’s report that the mechanism for providing assistance to victims of trafficking in persons, “Prevention of the Consequences of Trafficking in Persons”, was approved by law by Decree No. 362 of the President of the Republic of Belarus on 8 August 2005. The State provides free assistance for the rehabilitation of victims in the form of temporary accommodation, legal, medical and psychological assistance, as well as family reunification searches or placement in the care of foster families for child victims of trafficking. The Committee notes that, in order to minimize the negative social consequences of trafficking in persons, a system has been established to protect the rights of child victims of violence and provide them with timely and skilled assistance. This includes the child protection agencies, social and educational centres, children’s shelters and social, educational and psychological services in educational establishments (CRC/C/OPSC/BLR/1, paragraph 33). Juveniles may undergo rehabilitation in 146 socio-educational establishments operated under the Ministry of Education, including 37 children’s social shelters and 99 centres combined with shelters. The Committee notes that, in 2009, four child victims of trafficking in persons turned to these establishments for help. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the number of children under 18 who have been withdrawn from trafficking and rehabilitated pursuant to its initiatives.

Part V of the report form. Practical application of the Convention. The Committee notes the following statistical data from the Government’s report regarding the number of crimes related to trafficking in persons detected by law enforcement agencies. In particular, the Committee notes that, under section 181 of the Criminal Code relating to “trafficking in persons”, 63 crimes were detected in 2008, 47 in 2009, and seven for the first half of 2010. The Committee also notes that under article 171 of the Criminal Code, which relates to “inducing to prostitution or coercing to engage in prostitution”, in 2008, 2009 and 2010, 34, 39 and 37 persons respectively were convicted for committing this crime. The Committee notes that, in 2008, 99 persons were convicted for crimes relating to trafficking in persons of whom 87 received custodial sentences. In 2009 and 2010 respectively, 112 and 63 persons were convicted for trafficking in persons while 90 and 56 were sentenced respectively in each year. The Committee further notes that, in 2009, 398 victims of trafficking were found, 35 or 8.8 per cent of whom were children and all of whom were victims of sexual exploitation. During the first six months of 2010, 233 victims were identified, of whom 17 or 7.3 per cent were children, all of whom were victims of sexual exploitation. The Committee also notes from the Government’s report that between 2005 and 1 July 2010, 10.9 per cent of all cases of trafficking in persons involved children, meaning 461 child victims of trafficking in persons were identified. The Committee finally notes that since 2005, 454 of the child victims identified were involved in cases of sexual exploitation, whereas seven were victims of labour exploitation. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing statistics and information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number and nature of infringements, investigations, prosecutions and convictions. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by sex and age.