Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, the production of pornography or pornographic performances. The Committee notes with regret the absence of information in the Government’s report on the effect given in practice to sections 226bis (offence against morals and incitement to paedophilia), 232 (incitement to prostitution) and 233 (prison sentences of between three and five years if the offence is committed against a minor) of the Penal Code. The Committee urges the Government to provide information in its next report on the effect given to the above provisions, with an indication of the violations reported, the grounds for prosecution and the penalties imposed on the perpetrators.

Article 4(3). Revisions of the list of types of hazardous work. The Committee notes with interest that the order of the Ministry of Social Affairs determining the types of work in which the employment of children is prohibited was promulgated on 1 April 2020. This order repeals the provisions of the previous order of 19 January 2000 and includes a list of types of work in which it is prohibited to employ children under 18 years of age.

Article 7(2)(a). Access to free basic education. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the measures taken to address the increase in school failures and drop-outs, including: (1) the launching of the “second chance” programme with the objective of reducing by 70 per cent early school drop-outs related to learning failures; (2) the national programme for the prevention of school failures and the promotion of a safe learning environment, in collaboration with UNICEF; and (3) the opening of three second chance schools in Kairouan, Gabès and Siliana.

The Committee also notes the sectoral analysis undertaken within the framework of the support provided by the Global Partnership for Education (GPE) and UNICEF to the Ministry of Education, which refers to the persistence of the issue of repeating years of schooling, particularly in the preparatory cycle and secondary school, and the fact that the continued average or mediocre performance of the system in terms of internal effectiveness is likely to lead to a persistence of the problem of children who do not attend school. The Committee notes that the conclusions of the sectoral analysis are intended to serve as a basis to guide the determination of the objectives of the Strategic Education Plan 2023–35, which is currently under preparation. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to reduce the number of repeated years and school dropouts. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard, particularly in the context of the preparation and adoption of the Strategic Education Plan 2023–35. It also requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved, and particularly the impact of these measures on the reduction of the rate of repeated years and school dropouts, disaggregated by gender and age.