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

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

Articles 5, 6 and 7(2)(a) and (b). Monitoring mechanisms, programmes of action and effective and time-bound measures to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour. National Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons (NPA TIP) 2017–22. The Committee notes the Government’s information that it continues to put in place measures to combat trafficking in all its forms. It notes with interest that the Government has reviewed the NPA TIP for the period 2023–28, which takes a multisectoral approach to deal with prevention, identification and prosecution of traffickers. In this regard, the Government has undertaken measures to strengthen the capacity of the relevant officers to detect and investigate cases of trafficking in persons, such as the institutionalization of training on trafficking in persons within police academies, cross-border cooperation with Zambia and Mozambique, and training of magistrates on the trafficking in persons to equip them with knowledge and practical guidance on handling cases in line with national legislation and international standards. The Committee also notes that, in the framework of the Malawi National Alliance 8.7 Strategic Roadmap (2022–30), several interventions are planned to strengthen access to quality education, improve the capacity-building of law enforcement officers on trafficking in persons, and provide services to victims of trafficking, including robust after-care for withdrawn child victims.

The Committee notes that, in its concluding observations of November 2023 (CEDAW/C/MWI/CO/8), the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW), expressed concern about the continued prevalence of internal and cross-border trafficking of girls and the lack of shelters for victims of trafficking. The Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to combat trafficking, including child trafficking, and requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard, particularly by building the capacity of law enforcement officers, preventing child trafficking, and providing for appropriate services and assistance to child victims of trafficking, and on the results achieved.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Access to free basic education. The Committee notes, from the UNICEF website, that while free primary education has led to 88 per cent net enrolment in primary school, the completion rate for primary school is just 33 per cent. In this regard, according to a country brief of January by UNESCO, referring to the World Bank and UNESCO Institute of Statistics, the primary school completion rate was at 76 per cent in 2019 for boys and 85 per cent for girls. The lower secondary completion rate was at 24 per cent for boys and 22 per cent for girls in 2018. According to the 2024 Malawi annual report by UNICEF, the primary-to-lower secondary school transition rate improved, from 42.2 per cent in 2022–2023 to 49.7 per cent in 2023–2024, as did the Gender Parity Index for secondary education, from 0.92 to 0.99 in the same period. According to the report, Malawi is taking measures to improve learning outcomes and equitable access to inclusive education, such as the development of the Malawi Partnership Compact (2023–2027), supported by UNICEF, through a Global Partnership for Education (GPE) system capacity grant. Consideringthat education is key in preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to provide access to free basic and quality education for all children. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved, including by up-to-date data on school enrolment and drop-out rates, disaggregated by age and sex.

Clause (d). Identifying children at special risk. Child orphans of HIV/AIDS and other vulnerable children (OVCs). The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it has implemented a wide range of interventions to protect child victims and orphans of HIV/AIDS from the worst forms of child labour, particularly through the National Plan of Action against Child Labour (NPA) 2020–25. Other initiatives include the expansion of the Social Cash Transfer Programme (SCTP) to support over 300,000 poor and labour-constrained households, including those caring for HIV/AIDS orphans, the training of Community Child Protection Workers and District Social Welfare Officers to monitor and support OVCs, and the strengthening of case management systems and community-based care services to provide holistic protection. The Government indicates that these initiatives and more have strengthened community resilience, extended support to OVCs, and reduced their vulnerability to the worst forms of child labour and exploitation. The Government nonetheless acknowledges that challenges remain and that it continues to prioritize social protection, community empowerment, and education-focused interventions to ensure that all OVCs access the care, support, and opportunities they need. The Government observes that, since it last took note of the estimated 540,000 children under the age of 17 years orphaned due to HIV/AIDS in 2021, this number has decreased to an estimated 360,000 in 2024, according to the latest statistics from UNAIDS. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts to protect child victims and orphans of HIV/AIDS from the worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures taken in this regard and on the results achieved, in particular in terms of the number of OVCs who have been reached through such initiatives.

Street children. Following its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s information that it is addressing the plight of street children by tackling both their economic exploitation and their protection needs. While the Ministry of Labour focuses on preventing and responding to economic exploitation, the Ministry of Gender, Community Development and Social Welfare works to withdraw children from the streets and provide safety and rehabilitation through centres such as safe spaces, which also serve as temporary housing for children removed from child labour. Social protection measures – such as victim support services, shelters, access to vocational education and training, strengthening cash transfers, and more – are also being implemented by Malawi as a Pathfinder Country under Alliance 8.7. The Government states that such interventions are designed to ensure the effective reintegration of former child labourers, including street children, who often lack safe homes to return to. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the impact of the measures taken to protect children in from street situations, including in terms of the number of children in street situations who have been withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour and rehabilitated and socially reintegrated.