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

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Ethiopia (Ratification: 2003)

Article 6 of the Convention. Programmes of action. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government in relation to: (1) the organization of awareness-raising campaigns on child labour through local media outlets in local languages; (2) the preparation of training manuals and guidelines against child labour, human trafficking and forced labour by the Confederation of Ethiopian Trade Unions (CETU), in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour and other stakeholders; and (3) the development by the CETU of a policy on child labour, forced labour and human trafficking, serving as a road map for intervention from a trade union perspective. The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to progressively eliminate the worst forms of child labour, including through the implementation of the training manuals and guidelines against child labour and the CETU policy on child labour. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard and the results achieved.

Article 7(2)(d). Effective and time-bound measures. Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Children living and working in the streets. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government that, in collaboration with local non-governmental organizations, it provided support to: (1) 9,000 children in street situations in three cities (Addis Ababa, Adama and Dire Dawa), giving outreach services such as feeding, mobile health and counselling services; and (2) over 18,000 street-connected children and youth in Addis Ababa and Hawassa. The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to protect children in street situations and to remove them from such situations, and on the results achieved, including by providing statistical data on the number of children who have been identified, removed from the streets and socially integrated.

Children in difficult circumstances. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, following the signing of the Cessation of Hostilities Agreement (COHA) with the Tigray People’s Liberation Front in November 2022, economic and social conditions are gradually being restored, with efforts undertaken in collaboration with international and local development partners, taking into account the situation of children affected by the conflict.

The Committee observes from the UNICEF Humanitarian Situation Report for Ethiopia of January 2024 that: (1) the country continues to face multiple and overlapping humanitarian crises driven by conflict, climatic shocks and economic challenges, which are negatively impacting food and nutrition, security, healthcare, education, and protection services; (2) although the security situation in Tigray has stabilized, the region continues to experience a severe humanitarian crisis resulting from the combined effects of conflict, droughts and other pre-existing challenges; (3) while the peace agreement has brought some positive changes, food issues remain a major concern, leading to high levels of malnutrition and forcing children to drop out of school and engage in hazardous work; and (4) an estimated 10.8 million children are in need of humanitarian assistance. While noting the difficult situation prevailing in the country, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the effective and time-bound measures taken or envisaged to improve the situation of children in difficult circumstances, particularly in conflict-affected areas, and to protect them from falling victim to the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved in this respect.

Child orphans of HIV/AIDS. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it has continued to collaborate with international partners to implement programmes aimed at improving the health, education, protection and socio-economic outcomes for children and adolescents living with HIV/AIDS.

The Committee observes that, according to UNAIDS estimates for 2024, the number of orphans due to AIDS aged 0 to 17 in Ethiopia stood at 240,000, reflecting a decline from 280,000 in 2021. Recalling that child orphans due to HIV/AIDS are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to ensure that HIV/AIDS orphans are protected from the worst forms of child labour and requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures and results achieved in this regard.