THE United States Department of Labour has found that in 2016, Guyana made “a moderate advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour” and has suggested that several actions be taken to eliminate child labour.

Among the recommendations are that Guyana ensures that the law fully protects all children under age 18 from engaging in hazardous work — including night work; that the law sufficiently prohibits all commercial sexual exploitation of children; the use of children for illicit activities; ensures that the law criminally prohibits the recruitment of children under 18 by non-state armed groups.

Additionally, the U.S. agency suggested that there be an increase in the number of trained labour inspectors, published information on the labour inspectorate’s funding; authorise them to assess penalties; ensure sufficient resources are allocated in a timely manner to facilitate labour inspections, particularly in remote areas along with the dedication of more resources, including judicial personnel to investigate and prosecute court cases related to child labour.

In the report, presented to Minister of Social Protection, Amna Ally, Wednesday by Sandra Zuniga, Eco and Commercial Officer from the U.S. Department of Labor, Guyana has been lauded for its work thus far, but thought much more needs to be done.

In a statement to the media, the Ministry of Social Protection said the report submitted to Minister Ally Wednesday is subsequent to Guyana’s new rank up to “Moderate Advancement.”

“This means that the nation of Guyana is working hard and making successful strides to eradicate the social issues of Child and Forced Labour combined by striving to reach the minimum standards according to International Labour Laws,” the ministry stated.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Task and Development Act (TDA) Report in collaborative effort seeks to serve the agenda of a guide to address global efforts of child labour.

Some of the general findings of the TDA report as it pertains to Guyana are that child labour continues to decrease, but the pace of progress has slowed; the gaps in efforts remain; exploiters are innovating to profit, while evading accountability for their actions and all governments and other stakeholders should work together more effectively to accelerate progress over the coming decade.
According to the report, the Guyana government has reformed the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce on Combating Trafficking in Persons, began developing a National Action Plan and Policy on Child Labour, and finalised the 2017-2018 National Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Persons.
“However, children in Guyana continue to engage in the worst forms of child labour, including in mining and commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking,” the report stated, while noting that law-enforcement agencies have insufficient funding and capacity to enforce laws related to child labour, including its worst forms, and legislation does not fully protect children.
“Moreover, the Government does not have a comprehensive policy to combat child labour or targeted social programmes to fully address the extent of the problem,” the report added.
According to the 2014 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, children living in the interior are more likely to be engaged in child labour than other children, with 37 per cent of children ages five to 17 living in the interior engaged in child labour.

HAZARDOUS WORK
The survey also indicated that 41 per cent of the children living in an Amerindian household engage in child labour, with 34 per cent of these children engaged in hazardous work.
Guyana has ratified all key international conventions concerning child labour and has established laws and regulations related to the subject; however, there remain gaps in the country’s legal framework to adequately protect children.
The report noted that the local law does not sufficiently prohibit all commercial sexual exploitation of children, as laws related to pornography and pornographic performances do not prohibit the use, procuring, and offering of a child for each of these purposes.
“Although Article 50 (1) of the Protection of Children Act prohibits selling or giving drugs to children, the law does not specifically prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for the production and trafficking of drugs,” the report added.
It was noted however that the Guyana government has established institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of laws and regulations on child labour, including its worst forms. “However, gaps in labour law and criminal law enforcement remain and some enforcement information is not available.”
The report acknowledged that in 2016, the labour law enforcement agencies here took action to combat child labour in all forms, but the number of labour inspectors is insufficient for the size of Guyana’s workforce, which includes over 300,000 workers, the report stated.

According to the ILO’s recommendation, of one inspector for every 15,000 workers in developing economies, Guyana should employ approximately 21 inspectors.
“There are insufficient labour inspections conducted in gold-mining areas, and there are sometimes delays in accessing the resources necessary for inspections in remote areas. The government has acknowledged challenges in monitoring and enforcing the provisions established in Articles 41 and 46 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act, which aims to protect children from work that may harm their physical health of [sic] emotional development.”
Additionally, the report said Guyana has acknowledged that there is an insufficient number of staff members within the Trafficking in Persons Unit. In general, the report noted that government’s capacity to carry out prosecutions is limited.
“With only 33 justices and magistrates, the courts have a backlog of cases and more than a two-year waiting period on all legal matters. Furthermore, human- trafficking victims may be charged for crimes occurring as a result of their being exploited if authorities do not identify them as victims of human trafficking,” the report said.
The government, the report found, lacks child-sensitive investigation and prosecution procedures which put children at risk of reprisal.

Meanwhile, it was noted that though the government has established the Inter-Ministerial Task Force on Combating Trafficking in Persons, research has found no evidence of mechanisms to coordinate its efforts to address child labour, including all its worse forms.
As it relates to government policies, the report made it clear that the government has not included child labour elimination and prevention strategies in the five-year strategic plan on the Rights of the Child (2012-2017) or the National Education Policy.
The government does not have a comprehensive, written strategy for combating and responding to child labour, but began developing a National Action Plan and Policy on Child Labour during the reporting period.
As such, it was recommended that there be an integration of the child labour elimination and prevention strategies into the five-year Strategic Plan on the Rights of the Child (2012-2017) and the National Education Policy, along with the establishment of a comprehensive strategy for combating child labour.