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

The Committee notes the Government’s report. It also notes the detailed discussion which took place in the Committee on the Application of Standards during the 99th Session (June 2010) of the International Labour Conference.

Article 3 of the Convention and Part V of the report form. Worst forms of child labour and application of the Convention in practice. Clauses (a) and (d). Forced or compulsory labour and hazardous work. Child domestic labour. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the statement from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) to the effect that child domestic labour, performed under conditions of servitude, is common practice in the country, with parents selling their children, sometimes as young as 6 years of age, to work as domestic servants. The ITUC also indicated that some 50,000 children, mainly girls, are employed in domestic work. Of these, about 13,000 young girls under the age of 15 are employed as servants in Casablanca, with 70 per cent of them under 12 years of age and 25 per cent under 10 years of age. The Committee noted that section 10 of the Labour Code prohibits forced labour and that section 467-2 of the Penal Code prohibits the forced labour of children under 15 years of age. It further noted that a Bill on domestic work had been adopted and was in the process of validation. The Bill sets the minimum age for admission to this type of employment at 15 years, lays down conditions of work and establishes supervisory measures and penalties.

The Committee notes the information contained in the Government’s report to the effect that the Bill regulating the conditions of employment and work of domestic workers is in the process of being adopted. It also notes that this Bill has recently been reinforced by the inclusion of more stringent penalties including imprisonment for persons employing children under 15 years of age. The Committee further notes that a specific list determining hazardous types of work prohibited in the domestic work sector will be drawn up and adopted pursuant to the future law on the conditions of employment and work of domestic workers. This list will coexist with the new list determining hazardous types of work prohibited for young persons under 18 years of age revising the Labour Code promulgated by the Royal Decree of 24 December 2004.

The Committee also notes the Government’s indication in its report that an initial qualitative and quantitative survey of girls under 18 years of age engaged in domestic work was undertaken in 2001 in the wilaya of Casablanca. In addition, a second survey was due to be carried out in Greater Casablanca during the second half of 2010, with results and data to be extrapolated at national level. The Committee notes the results of the statistical survey undertaken in 2001 and observes that nearly 23,000 girls under 18 years of age are working in Greater Casablanca as domestic workers, 59.2 per cent of whom are under 15 years of age. The vast majority of these girls (82.2 per cent) are unable to read or write and only 17.8 per cent of them have received school education. The survey also reveals that more than half of the girls engaged in domestic work (55 per cent) are subject to punishment in the course of their work and 10 per cent report being victims of physical assault. As regards the issue of sexual abuse, the report indicates that there is considerable reticence regarding this issue on the part of the girls and that 4.2 percent of the 529 girls interviewed admitted having been subjected to sexual abuse from their employers. In addition, more than half the girls interviewed (55.4 per cent) said that they suffered from some kind of physical ailment. While noting the measures taken by the Government, the Committee expresses its deep concern at the exploitation of young persons under 18 years of age employed in domestic work under conditions similar to slavery or under hazardous conditions. It once again reminds the Government that under Article 3(a) and (d) of the Convention, work done by young persons under 18 years of age under conditions similar to slavery or under hazardous conditions constitutes one of the worst forms of child labour and, under the terms of Article 1, should be eliminated as a matter of urgency. The Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that the Bill on domestic work is adopted as a matter of urgency. The Committee expresses the strong hope that the list determining the hazardous types of work which are prohibited in the domestic sector will take account of the domestic work of children under 18 years of age performed under conditions similar to slavery or under hazardous conditions. With reference to the conclusions of the Committee on the Applications of Standards, it requests the Government to intensify its efforts and take immediate and effective steps to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of persons who subject children under 18 years of age to forced or hazardous domestic labour are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice. Finally, the Committee requests the Government to send a copy of the 2010 survey on the situation of young girls engaged in domestic work in Casablanca.

Article 4(3). Periodic examination and revision of the list of hazardous types of work. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s communication sent to the Office in April 2010, relating to the imminent adoption of the decree applying the Labour Code promulgated by the Royal Decree of
24 December 2004 determining the list of hazardous types of work prohibited for children under 18 years of age. The draft decree was validated during a tripartite seminar in April 2010. Moreover, according to information communicated by the Government representative at the Committee on the Application of Standards in June 2010 and also contained in the Government’s report, the new list increases the number of hazardous types of work from ten to 30. The Committee requests the Government to send a copy of the draft decree determining the list of hazardous types of work prohibited for children under 18 years of age once it is adopted.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and removing them from these worst forms, and ensuring their rehabilitation and social integration. Child prostitution and sex tourism. In its previous comments, the Committee expressed concern at the persistence of child prostitution and sex tourism involving young Moroccans and immigrants, particularly boys, despite an amendment to the Penal Code in 2003 making sex tourism a criminal offence. It noted that, as part of the National Plan of Action for Children (PANE) for 2006–16, a preliminary study on the problem of the sexual exploitation of children was carried out in February 2007 with a view to formulating a national strategy to prevent and combat such exploitation. It also noted that child protection units had been set up in Casablanca and Marrakesh to provide better medical, psychological and legal assistance for children who have been the victims of violence or ill-treatment, including children who have suffered from sexual or economic exploitation.

The Committee notes the indications in the Government’s report that the scourge of the sexual exploitation of children remains unseen and unrecognized in Morocco, and for this reason the Government is making every effort to tackle it. It notes that a freephone number has been made available by the National Observatory for Children’s Rights for use by children who have been subjected to violence. However, the Committee notes with regret that the formulation of the national strategy to prevent and combat the sexual exploitation of children is still at the consultation stage. It also observes that the Government’s report does not supply any information on the results of the preliminary study conducted in February 2007 on the problem of the sexual exploitation of children.

The Committee notes that, according to a study on the sexual exploitation of children, with particular reference to Marrakesh, conducted by UNICEF in 2003 and whose results are based on a sample of 100 children in prostitution (62 boys and 38 girls), most children begin to engage in prostitution after breaking off their school education. In addition, only three out of the 100 children interviewed were attending school and 16 of them had never done so. As regards the latter, most of them are girls who were placed in families at a very young age to work as domestic servants. The results of the survey also reveal that 71 per cent of the children claim to have both foreign and Moroccan clients. Furthermore, many of these minors appear to work on an independent basis, even though the use of pimps appears to be more widespread among girls. According to the testimonies of children in prostitution, the police often accept bribes from the children themselves. However, if the children are arrested, they may be placed in charitable institutions. Nevertheless, given that conditions tend to be poor in such establishments, the children often run away. Expressing its deep concern at the lack of specific measures to prevent children under 18 years of age from becoming the victims of prostitution, to remove them from this worst form of child labour and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration, the Committee urges the Government to take immediate and effective steps to ensure that the national strategy to prevent and combat the sexual exploitation of children is implemented as soon as possible. It requests the Government to supply information on progress made in this respect, in terms of the number of children prevented from engaging in prostitution or withdrawn from it as part of the national strategy. It also requests the Government to send a copy of the preliminary study on the problem of the sexual exploitation of children which was conducted in February 2007 with a view to the formulation of the national strategy.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Child domestic labour. The Committee previously noted the adoption of the national programme to combat the use of young girls as housemaids (INQAD) as part of the PANE. It also noted that, as part of its Strategic Plan 2008–12 and following implementation of the INQAD programme, the Ministry of Social Development, Family Affairs and Solidarity was planning to organize a second nationwide awareness-raising campaign to combat the use of young girls as housemaids and to prepare regional action plans. It also noted that, as part of the Multisectoral Programme, implemented in collaboration with UNDP, to combat gender-based violence by empowering women and girls in Morocco. ILO–IPEC launched an action programme to combat the use of young girls in domestic labour in the
Marrakesh–Tensift–El Haouz region for the period from 1 January 2009 to 31 December 2010.

While noting the measures taken by the Government to combat child domestic labour, the Committee notes the lack of information on the results actually achieved in the context of the INQAD programme and ILO–IPEC programme in terms of the numbers of children under 18 years of age prevented from engaging in or removed from the worst forms of child labour in the domestic sector. With reference to the conclusions of the Conference Committee on the Application of Standards, the Committee urges the Government to step up its efforts with respect to the identification, withdrawal and reintegration of girls under 18 years of age working as domestic servants who are subjected to economic or sexual exploitation. It also requests the Government to supply information on the results achieved in this respect, particularly in the context of the INQAD programme.

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