Children’s rights

In line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989) as well as the ILO Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), “and the ILO Minimum Age Convention (No. 138), a child is a person below the age of eighteen years unless under the law applicable to the child, majority is attained earlier”.

While children are one third of the world’s population and, thus, play a significant role in the global economy – as consumers, young workers (see: ILO Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), family members of workers, future workers or employers, as well as members of the communities and environments in which business operates – they are also one of the most vulnerable groups exposed to negative impacts from business. As stated by the former Special Representative of the UN Secretary-General on Business and Human Rights, Professor John Ruggie, “[c]hildren are among the most marginalized and vulnerable members of society and can be disproportionately, severely, and permanently impacted by business activities, operations, and relationships”.

+ Read more

Businesses can impact the rights of children in various ways. Adverse impacts on children’s rights may be linked to, for example, marketing (e.g. advertisements promoting ‘unrealistic body images that can lead to eating disorders; promotion of breast milk substitutes for babies under the age of 6 months), distribution of products (e.g. violent computer games, gender-specific toys that influence perception of male/female roles), environmental and land impacts (affecting the ability of local communities s to sustain themselves, as well as affecting their health and right to food and water, which disproportionately impact on children). Where companies pay insufficient wages to sustain families, the right to education of children may be affected, with children dropping out of school and going to work to help supplement family income.

According to the ILO’s Global Estimates of Child Labour: Results and trends, 2012-2016:

Worldwide 218 million children between 5 and 17 years are in employment.
Among them, 152 million are victims of child labour; almost half of them, 73 million, work in hazardous child labour.
In absolute terms, almost half of child labour (72.1 million) is to be found in Africa; 62.1 million in the Asia and the Pacific; 10.7 million in the Americas; 1.2 million in the Arab States and 5.5 million in Europe and Central Asia.
In terms of prevalence, 1 in 5 children in Africa (19.6%) are in child labour, whilst prevalence in other regions is between 3% and 7%: 2.9% in the Arab States (1 in 35 children); 4.1% in Europe and Central Asia (1 in 25); 5.3%in the Americas (1 in 19) and 7.4% in Asia and the Pacific region (1 in 14).
Almost half of all 152 million children victims of child labour are aged 5-11 years.
42 million (28%) are 12-14 years old; and 37 million (24%) are 15-17 years old.
Hazardous child labour is most prevalent among the 15-17 years old. Nevertheless up to a fourth of all hazardous child labour (19 million) is done by children less than 12 years old.
Among 152 million children in child labour, 88 million are boys and 64 million are girls.
58% of all children in child labour and 62% of all children in hazardous work are boys. Boys appear to face a greater risk of child labour than girls, but this may also be a reflection of an under-reporting of girls’ work, particularly in domestic child labour.
Child labour is concentrated primarily in agriculture (71%), which includes fishing, forestry, livestock herding and aquaculture, and comprises both subsistence and commercial farming; 17% in Services; and 12% in the Industrial sector, including mining.

In 2013, The Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) adopted General Comment 16 on State obligations regarding the impact of the business sector on children’s rights. The General Comment includes guidance on the measures of implementation that are required to prevent and remedy violations of child rights by businesses, and ensure businesses carry out their responsibilities in the realisation of the rights of the child and encourage them to positively contribute to the realisation of these rights. Further guidance material has since been developed to advise governments on how to ensure that all business activities respect children’s rights. A useful guide for States on how to implement UN CRC General Comment 16 was published by the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ) and UNICEF in 2015.

The Danish Institute for Human Rights (DIHR), the International Corporate Accountability Roundtable (ICAR) and UNICEF developed the Children’s Rights in NAPs on Business and Human Rights, as guidance on how children’s rights should be considered in the process of developing NAPs.

An example of government efforts in this area is the US Executive Order 13126 on the “Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor” (1999). This requires federal contractors who supply products on The List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor published by the Department of Labor to certify that they have made good faith efforts to determine whether forced or indentured child labour was used to produce the items listed.

Another example is the Dutch ‘Child Labour Due Diligence Law’, which was adopted by the lower house of the Dutch Parliament in 2017. The law will require companies to determine whether child labour exists in their supply chains and set out a plan of action on how to combat it. This law is awaiting approval by the Senate. If approved, companies covered by the law will have to submit a statement to regulatory authorities declaring that they have carried out due diligence related to child labour in their full supply chains.

Interesting examples of national implementation of the World Health Organization (WHO) International Code of Marketing of Breast-milk Substitutes through legislation regulating a range of marketing practices by the private sector are provided in an annual status report.

For example, Norway are consulting children when developing a national policy on healthy diets.

Children’s Rights relate to the following Sustainable Development Goals

3) Good Health and Well-being

4) Quality Education

8) Decent Work and Economic Growth

16) Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

References

What National Action Plans say on Children’s rights

Belgium

Action Point 19

Promote best practice of SMEs that adopt responsible supply chain management, especially through the « CSR Compass » tool

Promouvoir les bonnes pratiques des PME qui adoptent une gestion de la chaine d’approvisionnement responsable, notamment grâce à l’outil « CSR Compass »

The NAP broadly mentions children’s rights in relation to the CSR Compass: “By highlighting child labor and forced labor as main issues, the portal also addresses human rights.”

Action point 24

Pay special attention to the issue of children’s rights in awareness raising of enterprises

Accorder une attention particulière à la question des droits de l’enfant dans la sensibilisation des entreprises

According to the Belgian federal government, “the area of children’s rights have not been enshrined in the UNGPs to the extent they find necessary to address businesses responsibility to respect human rights.” Belgium wants “to give special attention to this particular issue in its NAP by engaging through several parallel measures:

Systematic reference in international fora and bilaterally to concerned States on the ratification of Conventions Nos. 138 (on minimum age) and 182 (on the worst forms of child labor) of the ILO.
Active support and awareness raising of companies on the Principles governing enterprises in the field of children’s rights, in order to allow Belgian companies to maximize the positive effects of their activities on the lives of children by supporting and respecting their rights and those of their parents or guardians, including the right to a decent wage.
Continued support to UNICEF activities, including the publication of the reading guide for the Committee on the Rights of the Child’s Observation No. 16 and the creation of a platform for businesses that wish to commit to the basis of the Principles governing businesses in the field of children’s rights.
Emphasis on children’s rights in awareness building throughout the network of Belgian diplomacy, particularly through active distribution of the Principles governing businesses in the area of children’s rights in the Toolbox set out in Action Point 1.
Ratification of the Protocol of 2014 to the ILO Convention on Forced Labor.”

The Flemish government added that “with the support of Flemish authorities, UNICEF Belgium aims to raise awareness on how important the role of the business community plays already, and to present a new perspective to better support CEOs, managers and workers on a wider scale, the “Rights of the child and principles governing the enterprises,” developed by UNICEF and Save the Children.” They mention that policy-makers also play a role in this field. As a second objective, the Flemish government “wants to develop networks and partnerships on the theme of these Guidelines. Dissemination is the first step of a long-during process, in which concrete actions and events will be established accordingly, in order to promote of the Guidelines and their implementation in Flanders, Belgium and beyond.”

Action point 33

Import, export and transit of arms, ammunition, military and law enforcement equipment and dual-use goods

Importation, exportation et transit d’armes, de munitions, de matériel militaire et de maintien de l’ordre et de biens à double usage

This states that Flemish regulations explicitly prohibits the export and transit of arms and military equipment to countries that incorporate child soldiers to their regular armies.

Chile

Pillar 1: The State Duty to Protect Human Rights

Strand 3: Inclusion and Non-Discrimination

Action Point 3.2 (page 47)

The Ministry of Social Development will:

Create a board, integrated by representatives of the public and private sector, civil society organisations and academia, to address the work and family conciliation and its impact on children and their careers. The aim is to raise awareness on the impacts of the work and family conciliation in the development of children and adolescents and disseminate best practices on this issue, on the private and public sector.
…
Prepare, through the Division of Social Policy of the Under-Secretariat of Social Evaluation, a statistical report about the socio-economic situation of risk groups including migrants, youth, disabled people, women and indigenous peoples, based on the Socio-Economic Qualification (SEQ) including income generated by work, capital and pensions, contained in the Household Social Register, divided by territory (regional division). This has the purpose of having available information regarding vulnerable groups within certain territory.

Contributions by other actors (page 88)

Although this Plan was prepared by State institutions, it seeks to become a platform collecting the existing efforts for the implementation of the business and human rights agenda in Chile. Therefore, it is an invitation for other institutions that may wish to participate and commit actions within this framework.

In this regard, the following institutions will contribute in the development of this agenda at a national level based on the following commitments:

1. UNICEF Chile will coordinate the development of a baseline to collect the potential negative impacts on the human rights of boys, girls and youths by the activity of business enterprises in Chile, including recommendations. The findings of this baseline and associated recommendations will be publicly available, and delivered to the relevant authority.

…

Colombia

Colombian NAP analysis provided by Sustentia

The plan is said to have a “differential approach” (introduction, page 6):

“Thus, businessmen and social and union organizations are required to be willing to respect the rights of ethnic groups, women, children, adolescents, LGBTI, people with disabilities, union movements and other minorities.”

Section 4 is dedicated to the role of the State in helping businesses to respect Human Rights. It contains two initiatives relating children’s rights:

“4.7 The Ministry of Labor and the Colombian Institution for Family Welfare will strengthen actions intended to provide advice, training and monitoring to enterprises in respect of the integral protection of the children’s rights, as well as the implementation of the children’s rights and business principles in the priority sectors.”

“4.8 The Ministry of Labor will strengthen actions to prevent the commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents, and will create strategies engaging the private sector in the actions to prevent the violation of the children’s and adolescents’ rights.”

Czech Republic

The Czech NAP makes no explicit reference to children’s rights, but does reference child labour.

National Action Plan – production and objectives [page 6-7]

“Respect for human rights is not inherently voluntary – modern-day slavery, child labour, and environmental over-exploitation cannot be dependent on corporate goodwill.”

Supply chains and conflict minerals [page 20]

“Increasing attention is being paid to safety conditions at work (e.g. the use of slave and child labour in mining). Risks of this type are particularly serious in areas plagued by armed conflict, which can be attributed to the absence of state authority here. Raw materials imported from geopolitically unstable regions and flashpoints may be used as a source of funding to reconstruct the country and improve the conditions in which its inhabitants live. On the other hand, various groups may exploit slave or child labour in mining operations or in factories, and the proceeds from sales could then be used to pay for weapons and soldiers.”

Pillar II, Scope and content of the obligation to respect human rights [page 30-31]

“- Do not be associated with violations of human rights: This applies to other parties’ activities about which a business knows, on which it has a bearing, and/or which are closely related to its own business, and may encompass: …

The use of suppliers or subcontractors who exploit child labour or otherwise violate human rights in their activities.”

“What human rights? States bear liability for the full range of human rights. Businesses are required to respect those rights that could be affected by their operations, and must do so to the extent of a definite minimum, generally acknowledged fundamental standard deriving from:

the Universal Declaration of Human Rights;
the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights;
the International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights; and
the International Labour Organisation’s core conventions.

These rights are fleshed out in a series of other specific instruments, such as the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises.

In practice, this concerns matters such as the ban on forced labour, child labour, and life- or health-threatening working conditions”.

“Where does respect come into play? …

The supply chain and business partners: Businesses should have a vested interest in ensuring that the components, raw materials and external services they use are not associated with violations of human rights (e.g. “sullied” by child labour).”

Denmark

Introduction [page 9]:

“Denmark has a long political tradition of supporting and addressing human rights. Changing governments have concentrated on special focus areas such as … children’s rights …”

Appendix 1, GP 3b

Status in Denmark (initiatives implemented before the UN ratification of the Guiding Principles) [page 26]:

“Large parts of Danish national law support compliance with the UNGPs such as legislation on labour issues, the environment, child labour etc. This type of protective legislative framework of Denmark enables business respect for human rights.”

Finland

1 The state obligation to protect human rights

1.1 Human rights in Finnish legislation [page 13]

“According to the equality provision of the Constitution, no one may be treated differently based on sex, age, origin, language, religion, conviction, opinion, health, handicap or other reason related to the individual. In addition, the Constitution states that children should be treated equally as individuals and that it should be possible for them to be involved in matters relating to them in accordance with their development.”

1.2 Activities in international organizations [page 15]

“Finland shall report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child on the implementation of the recommendation by the Committee on Business. In addition, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child General Comment No. 16 on State obligations regarding the impact of the business sector on children’s rights shall be translated into Finnish and Swedish, and a summarised introduction to its contents shall be made for distribution to entities such as companies.”

France

I. The State’s Obligation to Protect Human Rights

The International Framework

5. The International Organisation of la Francophonie (OIF)

Actions to be Implemented [page 16]:

Work to enhance cooperation between the World Trade Organization (WTO) and ILO to better integrate international social standards on responsible production processes and methods (for example, targeting child labour and forced labour), in order to promote a level playing field that takes into account existing frameworks and regulations.

The National Framework

13. The Role of Public Agencies

The Agence Française de Développement (AFD) [page 28-29]

… The AFD considers human rights when selecting the projects it finances. Every year, it produces a corporate social responsibility report which mentions human rights in accordance with the ISO 26000 standard. It also has an exclusion list which prevents it from financing projects that involve forced labour, child labour, …

II – Businesses’ Responsibility to Respect Human Rights

3. Risk Analysis and Impact Assessment

Practical Tools Addressing Specific Issues [page 41]

ILO has created a business helpdesk providing questions and answers, resources and tools on issues connected with … child labour, etc.

III – Access to Remedy

2. Non-Judicial Mechanisms – At the National Level

2.5 The Defender of Rights [page 58]

… Lastly, the Defender of Rights can be called on whenever someone considers that a child’s rights are not being respected…

… This Defender of Rights replaces four previous entities: … the Defender of Children, …

Georgia

Germany

1.1 Basic rules of economic policy

Protection within states’ own territory – challenges within Germany

The current situation [page 15]

“The instruments that are now binding in Germany include … the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child”

“Germany is also bound by EU Directive 2011/36/EU and has ratified both the Council of Europe Convention of 2005 on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings and the Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children.”

Development policy

Measures [page 20]

“The Federal Government will also take specific action to step up its wide-ranging commitment to the protection of human rights defenders when applying the UN Guiding Principles. In the field of business and human rights, as elsewhere, development policy is about standing up for the rights of vulnerable groups, such as indigenous peoples or children and youth or persons with disabilities.”
- Public procurement

The current situation [page 21]

“Germany has fully transformed into domestic law its obligations to protect human rights under international agreements. This applies, for example, to the prohibitions of child labour and forced labour that are imposed by the ILO core conventions.”

Ireland

Section 1: International Context and Domestic Consultative Process

Other international initiatives [page 10]

“The Recommendation elaborates on access to judicial remedy, drawing on Council of Europe expertise and legal standards and puts special emphasis on the additional protection needs of … children …”

Section 3: Actions – Initial priorities for the Business and Human Rights Implementation Group

II. Initial priorities for the Business and Human Rights Implementation Group [page 18]

“The State Duty to Protect Human Rights …

vii. Promote awareness of relevant multi-stakeholder and multilateral initiatives such as the UN Global Compact, the Principles for Responsible Investment and the Children’s Rights and Business Principles among State owned or controlled companies.”

Italy

I. The Statement of Commitment

[page 5]

To protect human rights, Italy undertakes to: [c]ontinue to protect, promote universal respect for, and observance of, all human rights, fundamental freedoms and non-discrimination principles, with special attention to the rights of most vulnerable groups, such as … children…

Children’s Rights

[page 18]

With regard to children, the Ministries for Economics Development and Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation supported the launch in June 2015 of the UNICEF Business Lab Project. The project aimed to help companies identify risks and integrate children rights in their own due diligence and management practices. In line with this approach several actions have been foreseen such as the dissemination of the UNICEF workbook on direct and indirect impact of business activities on children under 18 (Children are everyone’s business) as well as other relevant publications (Children’s Rights in National Action Plans on Business and Human Rights, 2015; Children’s Rights in Sustainability Reporting, 2013; Children’s Rights in Impact Assessment, 2013).

Italy’s Updated NAP

PLANNED MEASURES

[page 25]

Introduction of specific courses on due diligence and children rights to be included in the training programmes for officials of public administration.

Lithuania

Objective 2: promoting corporate responsibility and respect in the field of business and human rights

C. Planned Measures [page 8]

2. “Innovation promotion. … Innovation programme foresees that: …

it is important to promote the creation and development of social innovation in order to provide more effectively services for families, children, socially vulnerable groups by employing the public, private and civil society sectors as well as the potential for cooperation with education institutions;”

Luxembourg

Introduction (pg. 8)

… Regular contacts with, among others, the four national human rights institutions took place in the context [of drafting the NAP]:

the Ombudsman Comittee for the Rights of the Child expresses its opinion on draft laws and regulations on the rights of the child and proposes amendments; it reports on the situation of children and ensures the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child and presents to the Government and the Chamber of Deputies an annual report on its activities and on the children’s rights situation in Luxembourg. The Committee promotes the free expression of children and their active participation in issues that concern them; it examines situations in which the rights of the child are not respected and makes recommendations to remedy them. The Committee receives information, complaints and grievances from children and tries to mediate and give advice to ensure the best possible protection of children;

Part III – NAP

3. Government’s Response

3.2. A joint work program (pg.30)

In order to ensure a concrete follow-up that will allow a real measure of the commitment made by one another, it is proposed to organize training based on the UN Guiding Principles for the staff of signatory companies. To this end, a collaboration between the INDR and House of Training is encouraged in the second half of 2018. The participation of non-governmental actors can be envisaged for the development of specific training modules, for example on the topic … children’s rights …

Netherlands

The Dutch NAP makes no direct reference to children’s rights, but makes reference to child labour in a number of places.

2. Current policy [page 9]

“To prevent abuses in terms of working conditions, child labour, environment, corruption and human rights in their supply chains, the government expects companies to act in accordance with the OECD guidelines wherever possible.”

3.1 An active role for the government

Level playing field [page 15]

“The Netherlands is also committed to universal ratification of the ILO’s fundamental labour standards: the ban on child labour and forced labour, equality of opportunity and treatment, and freedom of association.”

3.2 Policy coherence

Trade and investment agreements [page 20]

“The government is committed to including clear provisions on the relationship between trade, investment and sustainability in trade and investment agreements. Within the EU, the Netherlands urges the inclusion in these agreements of a section on trade and sustainable development, with monitoring and enforcement mechanisms. The aim is for parties to reaffirm their commitment to fulfilling their ILO obligations to eliminate child labour and forced labour and to working together to this end.”

3.3 Clarifying due diligence

CSR Risk Check [page 23]

“Using a grant from the Minister for Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation, CSR Netherlands has developed the CSR Risk Check for companies wishing to apply due diligence. Based on the sector and country in which a company is operating, this internet tool provides an indication of possible social impacts. CSR Netherlands works with the agency responsible for carrying out Sector Risk Analyses to harmonise the information on which the two instruments are based. This information will be used in the course of 2014 to compile sectoral world maps on which colour coding will be used to indicate whether a certain theme (e.g. child labour, discrimination of women) plays a role in a given country or region.”

Norway

2. The State duty to protect human rights

2.3 State ownership and practice for supprting the business sector

Responsible management [page 22]:

Norges Bank has chosen to focus on certain areas in order to achieve the best and most effective risk management and exercise of ownership rights. At present the bank has three focus areas that are directly linked with environmental and social conditions: children’s rights, climate change and water management.

3. The Corporate responsibility to respect human rights,

Principle no. 12 [page 31]:

Internationally recognised human rights are those set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights of 1948, the two 1966 International Covenants, on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights and on Political and Civil Rights, and the ILO core conventions. In some cases, other standards may also be applicable, such as the rights of women, indigenous peoples, national, ethnic or linguistic minorities, children, people with disabilities, or foreign workers and their families.

…

4.2 Non-state-based grievance mechanisms [page 41]:

Norway has a number of well-functioning institutions such as the Labour Inspection Authority, the Ombudsman for Children. (…) There are also complaints mechanisms in connection with the rights of employees, children, women and men.

Poland

Pillar I: The state’s duty to protect human rights

Planned changes in national legislation

Prevention of economic exploitation of children [page 12]

“Article 39 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child states that States Parties to the Convention “recognise the right of the child to be protected from economic exploitation and from performing any work that is likely to be hazardous or to interfere with the child’s education, or to be harmful to the child’s health or physical, mental, spiritual, moral or social development”… In turn, the freedom to employ individuals between the ages of 16 and 18 is limited by the provisions of the Ordinance of the Council of Ministers of 24 August 2004 listing jobs prohibited to young people and conditions of employment for some of these jobs.”

Amendment to the Act on Tourism Services [page 25]

“Plans are in store to undertake work on an amendment of the regulations on the provision of hotel services, with a view to introducing provisions related to the prevention of sexual exploitation of minors in hotel facilities (detailing the requirements for hotel regulations), as provided for in the Council of Europe Convention on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual Abuse.”

Appendix 1: International non-binding mechanisms and international legal framework in force in Poland in relation to business and human rights

International non-binding mechanisms

“(…)4. Children’s Rights and Business Principles: a set of guidelines for the wide-ranging rights of children prepared in 2012 by, among others, UNICEF and the Global Compact”

Slovenia

Slovenia’s priorities

Preventing discrimination involves dedicating special attention to gender equality, women’s empowerment, and the rights of children… (pg. 6)

Principle 3a – Work and employment of persons with disabilities

In accordance with the European Disability Strategy 2010–2020 and the World Programme of Action for Youth, special attention is devoted to measures for the effective development of employment possibilities and opportunities for young people with disabilities. (pg. 14)

South Korea

Spain

Guiding Principle 1

“Spain is party to all of the main treaties on human rights and, specifically, to the following:

The Convention on the Rights of the Child and its three Optional Protocols.”

“Spain has also ratified the eight fundamental Conventions of the International Labor Organization (ILO):

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention. (No 182)”

Guiding Principle 2

Measure 3

“In particular, the Government will develop awareness-raising campaign on actions aimed to protect groups with greater risk of vulnerability. In this sense, and in collaboration with the Spanish and international organizations, the Government will disseminate the UNICEF document, Save the Children and the Global Compact “Children’s Rights and Business Principles” among the business sector and will specifically take into account General Comment No. 16 of 2013 of the Committee on the Rights of the Child.”

Measure 4

“The self-regulation codes will also be promoted, taking as an example relevant sector experiences, such as the Global Code of Ethics for Tourism of the World Tourism Organization (WTO) or the Code of Conduct for the protection of children and adolescents against sexual exploitation in the Tourism and Travel Industry, as well as the relevant labor conventions of the ILO.”

Sweden

2 The corporate responsibility to respect human rights [page 13]

“Internationally recognised instruments provide guidance for companies in their human rights efforts.2 The UN Guiding Principles focus on businesses and human rights. The United Nations Global Compact, the OECD Guidelines for Multinational Enterprises and the Children’s Rights and Business Principles take a broader approach and address not only human rights but also other issues such as the environment, working conditions and anti-corruption. …

The conditions for companies’ efforts to respect human rights vary depending on their size, the countries and regions they operate in and their line of business, but the common goal is to prevent the companies’ activities from leading to human rights abuses, including the exploitation of children. UNICEF, Save the Children and the UN Global Compact have developed the Children’s Rights and Business Principles, which provide guidance for companies in their work”

3 Access to remedy [page 15-17]

“The Ombudsman for Children in Sweden is a government agency whose main task is to represent the rights and interests of children and young people, based on the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. It monitors society’s compliance with the Convention and drives implementation in municipalities, county councils, regions and government agencies. It is responsible for drawing attention to deficiencies in the application of the Convention and proposing amendments to laws and ordinances. The Children’s Ombudsman submits an annual report to the Government, containing analyses and recommendations to improve the situation of children and young people. The Ombudsman does not monitor other government agencies and, by law, is not able to intervene in individual cases.”

Annex: Measures planned [page 27-28]

Regulations and legislation

“The Government has launched an inquiry to examine whether the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child should be incorporated into Swedish law. …
The EU has adopted new procurement directives: a Directive on public procurement, a Directive on procurement by entities operating in the water, energy, transport and postal services sectors, and a Directive on the award of concession contracts. …. the new directives prescribe that the contracting authorities or entities exclude tenderers who have been found guilty in a definitive judgment of crimes including child labour …”

Switzerland

2 National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights 2020-23

2.2 Pillar 2: the corporate responsibility to respect human rights

… as part of the UN Global Impact, a number of Swiss companies … seek to abolish child labour….

2.2.1 Foundational principles

Guiding Principles 11 to 15

The responsibility of business enterprises to respect human rights refers to internationally recognised human rights. … Depending on the circumstances, business enterprises must also observe additional standards concerning particularly vulnerable population groups, including agreements protecting … children …

Guiding Principles 16 to 21

Measure 27: Promote efforts to end all forms of child exploitation in supply chains

The exploitation of children includes child labour, forced labour, sexual exploitation and child trafficking. The federal government works with civil society and the private sector to develop tools and organise events to raise awareness among businesses about the exploitation of children in all its forms.

The federal government will establish partnerships with the private sector and civil society to advance Goal 8.7 of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development: end child labour in all its forms by 2025, eradicate forced labour, and end modern slavery and human trafficking by 2030. It will also evaluate its participation in Global Alliance 8.7, which aims to strengthen international cooperation, coordination and assistance through appropriate multi-stakeholder partnerships.

The federal government also takes action to prevent the exploitation of children in travel and tourism. The ‘Don’t look away’ initiative seeks to raise public awareness of the problem. Tourists and travellers who suspect cases of child sexual exploitation can go to the website, fill out the online report form and send it directly to the Federal Office of Police (fedpol). Increasing numbers of European countries are now joining the campaign. As part of its membership of ECPAT International, which works to end all forms of child sexual exploitation, the federal government launched the ‘Don’t look away’ campaign (ne-detournez-pas-le-regard.ch), regularly attends meetings organised by the network and contributes to discussions.

In accordance with the Federal Council decision of 14 August 2019, the FDJP is mandated to examine the introduction of a mandatory due diligence in the area of “child labour”. In the meantime, on 18 December 2019, the Council of States adopted a regulation on this issue as part of the preparation of an indirect counter-proposal to the popular initiative for responsible businesses. The National Council has not yet commented on this. The Federal Council is of the opinion that it should await the end of the parliamentary debates.

Objective	Indicator	Responsibility
Promote efforts to end all forms of child exploitation	Launch an event/tool to raise companies’ awareness of child exploitation. Federal government efforts to promote the ‘Don’t look away’ campaign. Participation in the ECPAT global network. Swiss participation in Global Alliance 8.7 was evaluated.	EAER [Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research], FDJP [Federal Department of Justice and Police].

Objective

Indicator

Responsibility

Promote efforts to end all forms of child exploitation

Launch an event/tool to raise companies’ awareness of child exploitation.

Federal government efforts to promote the ‘Don’t look away’ campaign.

Participation in the ECPAT global network.

Swiss participation in Global Alliance 8.7 was evaluated.

EAER [Federal Department of Economic Affairs, Education and Research],

FDJP [Federal Department of Justice and Police].

2.2 Pillar 2: the corporate responsibility to respect human rights

2.2.2 Operational principles: human rights due diligence

Measure 29: Public-private partnerships to promote respect for human rights in the value chain

…the federal government, together with the ILO, supports the Better Work programme for the textile industry and the Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) programme to support SMEs in creating decent working conditions. These projects … are focused on compliance with fundamental labour standards, including measures to combat child and forced labour. The tools developed by these programmes are shared with the private sector.

United Kingdom

The UK 2013 NAP states in Section 2. The State’s Duty to Protect Human Rights, New Actions planned that [page 11]:

“The Government will do the following to reinforce its implementation of its commitments under Pillar 1 of the UNGPs: … (vi) Promote new project activity on raising awareness and tackling the negative impacts of business activity, including on the human rights of groups like indigenous peoples, women, national or ethnic minorities, religious and linguistic minorities, children, persons with disabilities, and migrant workers and their families, by tasking our diplomatic missions in countries where these are concerns.

The UK 2016 Updated NAP states in Section 2. The State’s Duty to Protect Human Rights, Government commitments that [page 11]:

“18. The Government will do the following to reinforce its implementation of its commitments under Pillar 1 of the UNGPs: … (vi) Consider new project activity on raising awareness and tackling the negative impacts of business activity, including on the human rights of groups like indigenous peoples, women, national or ethnic minorities, religious and linguistic minorities, children, persons with disabilities, and migrant workers and their families, by tasking our diplomatic missions in countries where these are concerns.”

United States

The U.S. NAP makes reference to children’s rights largely in terms of child labor.

Foreword [page 1]

“Corruption is not only immoral, it diverts public and private resources away from priorities such as feeding children…”

Outcome 1.3: Leverage U.S Government Purchasing Power to Promote High Standards

Ongoing Commitments and Initiatives [page 11]

“Prohibition of Acquisition of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor,” (E.O. 13126), signed on June 12, 1999 and in effect since 2001. This executive order is intended to ensure that U.S. federal agencies do not procure goods made by forced or indentured child labor. The U.S. government will seek to review the status and effectiveness of implementation of these requirements and take steps to improve implementation, as feasible and appropriate.” – Implementing Department or Agency: State, DOD

Outcome 2.1: Enhance the Value of Multi-Stakeholder Initiatives on RBC

Ongoing Commitments and Initiatives [page 15-16]

“Engagement with International Cocoa and Chocolate Industry: As the Secretariat for the Child Labor Cocoa Coordinating Group (CLCCG), DOL plays a leadership role in facilitating coordination among the Governments of Côte d’Ivoire, Ghana, and the United States and the international chocolate and cocoa industry (including six major producing companies) to address the worst forms of child labor in cocoa growing areas of Côte d’Ivoire and Ghana. CLCCG members held their annual meeting in June 2016 at DOL to discuss new project funding and other initiatives.” – Implementing Department or Agency: DOL

“Sustainable Development Goals: The 2030 Agenda for the Sustainable Development and its 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs or Global Goals) establish an ambitious framework to make progress on many of the fundamental social, economic, and environmental challenges facing the world over the next 15 years. The U.S. government encourages uptake and implementation of the SDGs and intends to facilitate dialogue among key actors to discuss best practices, public-private partnership opportunities, lessons learned, and action necessary to ensure the SDGs’ success. As part of this initiative, DOL has been actively engaged in the ILO-led Alliance 8.7, a coalition of business and other stakeholders committed to increasing action to achieve SDG Target 8.7 on the elimination of the worst forms of child labor, forced labor, and human trafficking.” .” – Implementing Department or Agency: State, Treasury, USAID, DOL

Outcome 3.1: U.S. Government Reports

Ongoing Commitments and Initiatives [page 18]

“DOL Child Labor and Forced Labor Reports: DOL publishes and updates three reports on international child labor and forced labor (the Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, the List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or Forced Labor, and the List of Products Produced by Forced or Indentured Child Labor) that serve as valuable resources for government action, civil society advocacy, and private sector due diligence on these issues. Since 2015, DOL releases these three reports through a new mobile application, Sweat & Toil: Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking Around the World, which streamlines this wealth of information and makes it available on mobile devices. DOL regularly engages with companies and industry groups on how they can use these tools to strengthen their social compliance programs.” – Implementing Department or Agency: DOL

“Reducing Child Labor and Forced Labor: A Toolkit for Responsible Businesses: This DOL online resource, launched in December 2012, will continue to provide step-by-step guidance to businesses that seek to develop and improve social compliance systems to address child labor and forced labor in supply chains. The Toolkit is available to the public in English, Spanish, French, and Portuguese and will be regularly updated based on feedback from users.” – Implementing Department or Agency: DOL

Outcome 3.3: Capacity Building and Technical Support to Promote Enabling Environments

Ongoing Commitments and Initiatives [page 20-21]

“Eliminating Child and Forced Labor in Agricultural Supply Chains: In 2011, USDA, DOL, and State released the Guidelines for Eliminating Child and Forced Labor in Agricultural Supply Chains, developed as part of a multi-stakeholder process that included high-level officials of these agencies, representatives of business, civil society, and academics. The Guidelines’ specific elements should be integrated into any agricultural company program to reduce child or forced labor, and include adhering to ILO standards on child USDA, DOL, State -21- labor and forced labor; mapping supply chains and conducting risk assessments; providing communication and monitoring mechanisms; and developing plans and programs for remediating violations. DOL is now funding a four-year pilot project in Turkey to test implementation of the above Guidelines by a leading company.” – Implementing Department or Agency: USDA, DOL, State

Outcome 4.1: Recognize RBC Best Practices

Ongoing Commitments and Initiatives [page 22]

“DOL Iqbal Masih Award for the Elimination of Child Labor: The Iqbal Masih Award is a non-monetary award presented annually by the U.S. Secretary of Labor to recognize the exceptional efforts made by an individual, company, organization, or national government to reduce the worst forms of child labor internationally. DOL will continue to consider outstanding private sector efforts for this award.” – Implementing Department or Agency: DOL