Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2007, published 97th ILC session (2008)

The Committee notes the Government’s report.

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). Sale and traffic of children for commercial sexual exploitation. 1. Federal legislation. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the observations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) reporting the trafficking of young girls within the country and abroad for the purposes of sexual exploitation, including forced prostitution. The Committee noted that, according to a study carried out in six Mexican cities with the support of UNICEF, around 16,000 boys and girls were victims of commercial sexual exploitation. It noted that a study carried out by ILO/IPEC, the Secretariat for Labour and Social Assistance and the National Social Sciences Institute corroborated the figures referred to above and added that around 5,000 children were the victims of this form of exploitation solely in the Federal District of Mexico. The Committee noted that reforms of the legislation were in progress and requested the Government to provide information in this respect.

The Committee notes with satisfaction the Decree of 27 March 2007 which amends, supplements and repeals certain provisions of the Federal Penal Code, the Code of Penal Procedure and the Federal Act to Combat Organized Crime in relation to the sexual exploitation of children. In particular, it notes that sections 205 and 205bis of the Penal Code penalize the trafficking of persons under 18 years of age for sexual and economic exploitation. The Committee also notes that the Government is participating in the ILO/IPEC project entitled “Support for the Prevention and Elimination of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) and the Protection of CSEC Victims in Mexico” and that progress has been achieved in the context of its implementation. It however observes that, although the Government has taken several measures to combat the sale and trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation, the problem still exists in practice. In this respect, it refers to the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child on the third periodic report of Mexico of June 2006 (CRC/C/MEX/CO/3, paragraph 64), in which it indicated that it remained concerned about the extent of the sexual exploitation, trafficking and abduction of children in the country. The Committee of Experts, however, notes a communication of the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, who visited the country from 4 to 14 May 2007, indicating that there is a consensus between the public authorities and civil society organizations that the sexual exploitation of children and the trafficking of minors for this purpose constitute a serious problem which has to be addressed. The Committee appreciates the measures adopted by the Government to prohibit and eliminate this worst form of child labour and it considers these measures as an affirmation of the political will to develop strategies to combat this problem. It strongly encourages the Government to redouble its efforts to ensure the protection of children under 18 years of age against sale and trafficking for sexual exploitation, including prostitution. Furthermore, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the effect given in practice to the new provisions, including statistics on the number and nature of the infringements reported, the investigations undertaken, prosecutions, convictions and the penal sanctions applied.

2. State legislation. The Committee notes the studies provided by the Government on the penal legislation respecting the commercial sexual exploitation of children. It notes that, according to the information contained in the ILO/IPEC activity reports for 2007 on the project “Support for the Prevention and Elimination of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) and the Protection of CSEC Victims in Mexico”, draft amendments to the Penal Codes in the states of Baja California, Guerrero and Chihuahua have been approved. The Committee hopes that the draft amendments to the Penal Codes will be adopted in the near future and requests the Government to provide information on any progress achieved in this respect.

Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee notes with interest that the Decree of 27 March 2007 contains provisions penalizing the following crimes: acting as an intermediary for the prostitution of persons under 18 years of age (sections 206 and 206bis); pornography involving persons under 18 years of age (sections 202 and 202bis); and sexual tourism involving persons under 18 years of age (sections 203 and 203bis). It requests the Government to provide information on the effect given to these provisions in practice, including statistics on the number and nature of the violations reported, investigations undertaken, prosecutions, convictions and the penal sanctions applied.

Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities. The Committee noted previously the ITUC’s indication that children were engaged in begging. It requested the Government to provide information on the effect given to section 201 of the Federal Penal Code which penalizes the incitement of persons to engage in begging. Noting the absence of information, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information in this respect, particularly with regard to the application of sanctions in practice, and to provide, among other information, reports on the number of convictions.

Article 7, paragraph 1. Sanctions. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government concerning the Internet Police Unit. It notes in particular that, between January 2005 and June 2007, over 2,500 sites containing child pornography were deactivated. It encourages the Government to pursue its efforts in this respect.

Article 7, paragraph 2. Effective and time-bound measures. The Committee notes the detailed information provided by the Government in its report on the measures taken to combat the sexual commercial exploitation of children. It notes in particular the training activities for officials of the public authorities (labour inspection, police forces, immigration service), the awareness-raising campaigns for the population and the publication of educational materials.

Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour and assistance for the removal of children from these worst forms. 1. Commercial sexual exploitation. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that, according to the information contained in the ILO/IPEC activity reports for 2007 on the project “Support for the Prevention and Elimination of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) and the Protection of CSEC Victims in Mexico”, measures have been taken to prevent 245 children from being engaged in this worst form of child labour or to remove them from this activity since 2005. It also notes that around 90 children have been reintegrated into the school system and over 980 children have benefited from the project since the beginning of its activities. Furthermore, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the measures taken for the rehabilitation and social integration of child victims, the assistance provided to their families and the number and location of reception centres in the various states of the country. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures adopted in the context of the implementation of the ILO/IPEC project with a view to: (1) preventing children under 18 years of age from becoming victims of commercial sexual exploitation; and (2) providing the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the removal of children from this worst form of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Furthermore, it requests the Government to provide information on the specific medical and social follow-up programmes formulated and implemented for the victims of this worst form of child labour.

2. Education. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the indication by the ITUC that 1.7 million children of school age are unable to receive education as poverty makes it imperative for them to work. The ITUC added that, in the case of indigenous children, access to education is difficult as teaching is normally provided only in Spanish and many indigenous families only speak their mother tongue. The Committee noted the efforts made by the Government, particularly in the context of the implementation of the “Opportunities” programme developed by the Ministry of Social Development, which provides children and young persons living in poverty with full and free access to education and to health services.

The Committee takes due note of the information provided by the Government that over 5,290,000 children benefited from the “Opportunities” programme in 2005 and 2006 and that it hopes to increase the number of grants provided at the secondary and higher levels to cover 1.24 million girls and 1.18 million boys for the school year 2006–07. The Committee however notes that, in its concluding observations of June 2006 (CRC/C/MEX/CO/3, paragraph 56), the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern at continuing low school enrolment rates, especially among migrants and indigenous children, and at the high drop-out rates, especially among rural, indigenous and migrant children. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to redouble its efforts to increase the school enrolment rate and to reduce the drop-out rate, particularly for rural, indigenous and migrant children. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.

3. Tourism. The Committee notes the information contained in the 2007 activities report of ILO/IPEC on the project “Support for the Prevention and Elimination of the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children (CSEC) and the Protection of the CSEC Victims in Mexico” that over 800 professionals in tourism have been covered by awareness raising concerning the commercial sexual exploitation of children, including sexual tourism. As the country benefits from a certain level of tourism, the Committee encourages the Government to continue its awareness-raising activities for actors directly linked to the tourist industry.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. 1. Children in agricultural work and marginal urban activities. The Committee previously noted the ITUC’s indication that the majority of children who work are engaged in agriculture or informal urban activities. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government on the results achieved in the context of the implementation of the programme to prevent and eliminate child labour in the marginal urban sector and the Programme to promote the rights of girls and boys, daily child workers in the agricultural sector and the prevention of child labour (PROCEDER) in 2005 and 2006. In particular, it notes that, in the context of the Programme on marginal urban activities, over 132,000 child workers and 162,700 children at risk have benefited from the programme, of whom 10,976 have received an educational grant from the System for the Integral Development of the Family (DIF), and 1,121 have received a DIF training grant. It further notes that, in the context of the PROCEDER programme, over 557,475 children have benefited directly from the programme, 2,873 children have received an education grant and 24 schools and a rehabilitation centre have been constructed. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to protect these children from the worst forms of child labour.

2. Street children. The Committee previously noted the study of the DIF, which showed that 114,497 children under 17 years of age worked and lived in the streets and that, solely in the city of Mexico, which was not covered by the study, there are 140,000 young persons working in the streets. The study added that 90 per cent of the children working in the streets did so on their own account and provided for the subsistence of their families. The Committee notes the information provided by the Government relating to the results obtained in the context of the implementation of the Programme of Prevention and Assistance to girls, boys and young persons living in the streets. It notes that, between 2001 and 2007, around 189,620 children have benefited from this programme. However, it notes that, according to the concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child in June 2006 (CRC/C/MEX/CO/3, paragraph 68), although the number of street children has fallen in recent years, it remains high and the measures adopted to prevent this phenomenon and protect the children involved are inadequate. The Committee therefore requests the Government to redouble its efforts to ensure that young persons under 18 years of age working on their own account, such as street children, are not engaged in hazardous types of work. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the impact of this programme and the results achieved.

Article 8. International cooperation. 1. “Programme OASIS”. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government concerning the cooperation between the United States and Mexico in the context of the “Programme OASIS”, it notes that a “Programme OASIS” conference was held in San Antonio, Texas, in August 2007 and that the authorities of the two countries have agreed to strengthen their cooperation to punish those responsible for the unlawful trafficking of persons, particularly children, and to extend the programme to other frontier points. The Committee requests the Government to indicate (1) the number of persons who are charged and found guilty as a result of the implementation of this programme; and (2) the number of child victims of trafficking intercepted in frontier areas.

2. Border between Mexico and Guatemala. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the information provided by the Government that the National Institute for Migration (INM) in 2006 made over 1,522 complaints concerning the unlawful trafficking and smuggling of persons. Between January and March 2007, the INM made over 353 complaints, of which 39 were referred to the courts; of these, 26 have been set aside and 462 are under examination. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on convictions and the penalties imposed as a result of the complaints made by the INM against persons working in networks engaged in the unlawful trafficking and smuggling of children.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.