# Combating Exploitive Child Labor Through Education in Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Morocco, the Philippines, Togo, and Uganda

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URL: https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3AE7-11526

## Record

- **Collection:** Federal Register
- **Document type:** Notice
- **Published:** June 14, 2007
- **Citation:** 72 FR 32869

## Text

DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Office of the Secretary
Combating Exploitive Child Labor Through Education in Bolivia, Cambodia, Colombia, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic, Indonesia, Morocco, the Philippines, Togo, and Uganda
June 14, 2007.

AGENCY:

Bureau of International Labor Affairs, Department of Labor.

Announcement Type:
New. Notice of Availability of Funds and Solicitation for Cooperative Agreement Applications.

Funding Opportunity Number:
SGA 07-10.

Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance (CFDA) Number:
Not applicable.

Key Dates:
Deadline for Submission of Application is July 25, 2007.

Executive Summary:
The U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of International Labor Affairs, will award
up to USD 46.494 million
through 10 or more
Cooperative Agreements
to one or more qualifying organizations and/or Associations to combat
exploitive child labor
in the following 10 countries: Bolivia (up to $3.344 million), Cambodia (up to $4 million), Colombia (up to $5.1 million), Democratic Republic of the Congo (up to $5.5 million), the Dominican Republic (up to $4 million), Indonesia (up to $5.55 million), Morocco (up to $3 million), the Philippines (up to $5.5 million), Togo (up to $5 million), and Uganda (up to $5.5 million). Projects funded under this solicitation will seek to sustainably
withdraw
and
prevent children from entering exploitive labor
through the provision of
direct educational services
and
other project interventions
, and ensure
direct beneficiaries
' enrollment,
retention
, and
completion
of the education and/or training program(s) in which they are enrolled. Projects will also seek to
build capacity in target countries to eliminate exploitive child labor
and promote educational alternatives for children. Projects funded aim to complement and expand upon existing projects and programs aimed at eliminating
exploitive child labor
, particularly the
worst forms of child labor
, and improving
basic education
in the target countries. Applicants must respond to the entire Scope of Work outlined in this solicitation for each country for which an application is submitted.

I. Funding Opportunity Description

The U.S. Department of Labor (USDOL), Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB), announces the availability of funds to be awarded by
Cooperative Agreement
to one or more qualifying organizations and/or
Associations
(hereinafter referred to as “Applicant(s)”) for the purpose of promoting the elimination of
exploitive child labor
, particularly the
worst forms of child labor
(for additional information on these key terms, see Appendix A), in target countries. Projects funded under this solicitation will seek to achieve this goal by
withdrawing children from, and preventing children from entering, exploitive child labor
through the provision of
direct educational services
, including education and/or training programs, and
improving the capacity
of target countries to address
exploitive child labor.

ILAB is authorized to award and administer
Cooperative Agreements
for this purpose by Section 20607 of the Revised Continuing Appropriations Resolution, 2007, Pub. L. 110-05, 121 Stat. 8 (2007).
Cooperative Agreements
awarded under this solicitation will be managed by ILAB's Office of Child Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking (OCFT). The duration of the projects funded by this solicitation is three to four years. The start date of program activities will be negotiated upon award of the
Cooperative Agreement
, but will be no later than September 30, 2007.

Please note that Appendix A provides USDOL's definitions for all key terms denoted in
italics
throughout the text of this solicitation. For ease of reference, the term “child(ren)” and “child labor” have not been denoted in
italics
, though definitions of each are included in Appendix A.
Child(ren)
are defined by USDOL as individuals under the age of 18 years. For section I.3.B., Applicants should note that there may be some differences between USDOL definitions of certain key terms and the definitions used by foreign governments. For example, definitions used by USDOL in this solicitation do not necessarily correspond to a foreign government's own definition of terms such as “
youth
” or “
hazardous work.

1. Background: USDOL Support for the Global Elimination of
Exploitive Child Labor

The International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that 218 million children ages 5 to 17 were engaged in child labor around the world in 2004. Children engaged in
exploitive child labor
on a full-time basis are generally unable to attend school, and children engaged in
exploitive child labor
on a part-time basis balance economic

survival with schooling from an early age, often to the detriment of their education.

Since 1995, the U.S. Congress has appropriated $595 million to USDOL for efforts to combat
exploitive child labor
internationally. This funding has been used to support technical cooperation projects to combat
exploitive child labor
in more than 75 countries around the world. Technical cooperation projects funded by USDOL range from targeted action programs in specific sectors of work to more comprehensive programs that support national efforts to eliminate the
worst forms of child labor
as defined by ILO Convention 182. USDOL-funded projects seek to achieve five major goals:

1. Withdrawing or preventing children from involvement in
exploitive child labor
through the provision of
direct educational services
;

2. Strengthening policies on child labor and education, the capacity of national institutions to combat child labor, and formal and transitional education systems that encourage children engaged in or
at-risk
of engaging in
exploitive labor
to attend school;

3. Raising awareness of the importance of education for all children and mobilizing a wide array of actors to improve and expand education infrastructures.

4. Supporting research and the collection of reliable data on child labor; and

5. Ensuring the long-term sustainability of these efforts.

By increasing access to
basic education
, USDOL-funded projects help nurture the development, health, safety, and enhanced future employability of children engaged in or
at-risk
of entering
exploitive labor
in geographic areas or economic sectors with a high incidence of
exploitive child labor.

Projects funded by USDOL-OCFT are subject to the provisions of the Government Performance and Results Act (GPRA), which was passed by Congress in 1993 to establish strategic planning and performance measurement in the federal government to ensure that taxpayers' dollars were being used efficiently and effectively for the public good. GPRA requires federal agencies to develop and submit strategic and annual performance plans that include performance goals and indicators. Each year federal government agencies receiving appropriated funds are required to submit to Congress a performance and accountability report. Congress uses these reports to make informed assessments of program effectiveness for future funding decisions.

For GPRA purposes, ILAB falls under USDOL's Strategic Goal 2: A Competitive Workforce: Meet the competitive labor demands of the worldwide economy by enhancing the effectiveness and efficiency of the workforce development and regulatory systems that assist workers and employers in meeting the challenges of global competition. Specifically, OCFT is required to measure Indicator 2K: Contribute to the elimination of the
worst forms of child labor
internationally. The GPRA indicators that OCFT measures across all of its child labor elimination projects, are: (1) The number of children
withdrawn or prevented from exploitive child labor
and provided education and/or training opportunities as a result of a USDOL-funded child labor elimination project; and (2) The number of countries with
improved capacity to address child labor
as a result of USDOL-funded child labor elimination projects. For more comprehensive definitions of USDOL-OCFT's GPRA Indicators, see Appendix A. For additional information on GPRA, please visit
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/mgmt-gpra/gplaw2m.html.

In addition to its GPRA indicators, OCFT also collects information on two other non-GPRA, common indicators related to
direct beneficiaries
'
retention
in, and
completion
, of education and/or training programs (hereinafter referred to as
“direct educational services;”
for additional information on this key term, see Appendix A).

2. Factors Contributing to
Exploitive Child Labor
and Barriers to Education

There are complex factors contributing to children's involvement in
exploitive labor
, as well as barriers to education for children who are engaged in, or
at-risk
of entering,
exploitive child labor.
These include poverty; education system barriers; infrastructure barriers; legal and policy barriers; resource gaps; institutional barriers; informational gaps; demographic characteristics of children and/or families; cultural and traditional practices; tenuous labor markets; and weak child labor law enforcement. While these factors and barriers tend to exist throughout the world in areas with a high incidence of
exploitive child labor
, they manifest themselves in specific ways in the countries of interest in this solicitation.

Some factors unrelated to education that contribute to children entering
exploitive labor
include their families' need for extra income, children's need to provide a livelihood for themselves and/or their siblings, lack of parent(s) or caregiver(s), cultural practices, and lack of awareness of the hazards associated with
exploitive child labor
, including the
worst forms of child labor.
In addition, children have a variety of educational needs and encounter different barriers depending on their work status (e.g.,
children withdrawn from exploitive labor
, underage children at risk of dropping out of school and joining the labor force, children engaged in
exploitive labor
in a particular sector).

3. Scope of Work

A. General Requirements

Each project must promote the five goals for USDOL-funded projects outlined in section I.1. Applicants should propose an innovative project strategy that will build on existing efforts to
withdraw children from
, or
prevent children from entering, exploitive child labor.
Applicants should identify and address the specific needs of proposed
direct beneficiaries
' to ensure (1) their long-term
withdrawal from
, or
prevention from entering, exploitive child labor
; (2) their involvement in
acceptable work
—for
direct beneficiaries
of legal working age, this may be accomplished through a reduction in the number of hours worked and/or improvement(s) in their working conditions in accordance with national labor laws and international standards, such as ILO Conventions 138 (Minimum Age Convention, 1973) and 182 (Worst Forms of Child Labor Convention, 1999); and (3) their enrollment in,
retention
in, and
completion
of, a
direct educational service.

Note:

For a child to be counted as a
direct beneficiary
for the purposes of USDOL's GPRA reporting requirements (see section I.1 above for more information on the GPRA), the
Cooperative Agreement
awardee (hereafter referred to as “Grantee”) must have completed the following three (3) steps:

(1) Assess the specific needs of each child targeted by the project in order for the child to (a) be
withdrawn from
, or
prevented from entering, exploitive labor
and (b) be enrolled in an educational activity;

(2) Develop and implement an appropriate strategy for the child that provides a
direct educational service
; and

(3) Monitor and report to USDOL on the child's work status (e.g., is the child working in an
exploitive labor
situation?) and educational status (e.g., is the child still attending an educational or training program?).

USDOL considers strengthening legal frameworks and law enforcement practices that prohibit
exploitive child labor
and promoting adherence to national educational requirements that support universal access to
basic education
as critical strategies for achieving long-term impact in

combating
exploitive child labor.
Applicants are encouraged to propose creative ideas that address the nexus between better enforcement of child labor and education laws and the improvement of educational opportunities for children. Applicants are expected to consider the economic, social, and cultural contexts of the target country (ies) when formulating project strategies and to recognize that approaches applicable in one country may not be relevant to others. Applicants must take into account country-specific issues that could affect project results, including those outlined in section I.3.B. for each target country, and meaningfully incorporate them into the proposed strategy, either to increase opportunities for, or reduce obstacles to, successful implementation. Applicants should demonstrate a thorough knowledge of previously piloted interventions and good practices to eliminate child labor in each target county and seek to build upon progress achieved by such past projects.

i. Focus on Action Research and Data Collection

In order to identify gaps, unmet needs and opportunities that could be addressed through a USDOL child labor elimination project, Applicants must conduct a needs assessment in preparing their application(s) to make a preliminary identification of the current working and educational status of the children that the Applicant proposes as
direct beneficiaries
of the project. It is expected that the information gathered during this assessment will be refined after award, although the application should present a clear indication of the criteria that will likely be used to select proposed
direct beneficiaries.
These criteria should be based on the target country's legislation related to child labor, including the
worst forms of child labor;
the minimum age for work; acceptable hours and conditions for children's work; and national policies related to child labor, such as a country-specific list of
hazardous work
for children that has been submitted to the ILO. The assessment, with data sources, must include information on the incidence and nature of
exploitive child labor
, particularly the
worst forms of child labor,
among proposed
direct beneficiaries
, hours and conditions of work, age and sex distribution of the proposed
direct beneficiaries
, educational performance relative to other children, if available, and any research or other data that might indicate correlations between educational performance and child labor. In the proposed strategy, Applicants must consult and make reference to relevant literature and documents relating to child labor and the education of proposed
direct beneficiaries.
Applicants are encouraged to propose strategies for collecting further data on
exploitive child labor
and children's participation in schooling in the early stages of the project's baseline data collection. In addition, Applicants are encouraged to conduct small-scale research projects in support of the project's overall objectives, in particular on the
unconditional worst forms of child labor
where there is often a lack of systematic and reliable data. Applicants are encouraged to disseminate findings from such research and to use this information in formulating more targeted and coordinated responses to
exploitive child labor
, including the
unconditional worst forms of child labor.

ii. Withdrawal or Prevention From Exploitive Child Labor Through Direct Educational Services and Other Project Interventions

Projects funded under this
Cooperative Agreement
solicitation must provide for the long-term
withdrawal of children from
, and
prevention of children from entering, exploitive child labor
through the provision of
direct educational services.
USDOL recognizes that the provision of
direct educational services
alone may in some cases be insufficient to ensure the complete or sustained
withdrawal of children from exploitive child labor.
For this reason, Applicants are also encouraged to propose
other project interventions
as part of a package of services for
direct beneficiaries.
Applicants are encouraged to be creative in proposing comprehensive cost-effective interventions that will have a demonstrable impact in eliminating
exploitive child labor
and promoting
direct beneficiaries
' enrollment,
retention
in, and
completion
of
direct educational services
in the geographic areas and/or sectors in which children are engaged in, or
at-risk
of engaging in,
exploitive child labor.
Applicants should address low rates of school enrollment; availability of and access to
direct educational services
, particularly in rural areas; and the quality of such educational services. Applicants should develop strategies to increase the perceived relevance of education and training for children engaged in, or
at-risk
of engaging in,
exploitive labor
, their families and their communities with an aim toward increasing school enrollment. Applicants should also address the unique barriers to education for girls, particularly in rural areas, and incorporate these into the proposed interventions. Applicants may propose solutions for education delivery, such as non-formal schools, including multi-grade programs in rural areas where formal schools may be unavailable, especially at the secondary level. Projects may also support professional training for teachers and provide incentives to children, such as books and uniforms, in-school feeding programs, school supplies, and transportation assistance to remove educational barriers.

For individual target countries, Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of the school calendar and the requirements of basic, non-formal, and vocational education systems; develop an approach that successfully enrolls children in educational programs with minimal delay and without missing an academic year or program cycle; and address the non-education factors contributing to children's involvement in or risk of entering
exploitive labor.
If cultural traditions and norms impact decisions about schooling, Applicants must show how education programs would be sensitive and responsive to these traditions, particularly as they relate to girls' education.

Please Note:

For the purposes of GPRA, enrollment in a
direct educational service
is not the sole criterion that defines a child as
withdrawn from exploitive child labor.
For example, a child who attends a USDOL-supported non-formal education program in the morning and works under hazardous conditions in mining during the afternoon and evening should not be counted as
withdrawn
or
prevented from exploitive child labor.
That is, if before program intervention, a child is not going to school and is working in a
worst form of child labor
, and, after program intervention, the child is now enrolled in school but continues to work in a
worst form of child labor
, then that child is not, by definition,
withdrawn from exploitive child labor
and should not be counted in the withdrawn/prevented indicator. The process of withdrawing a child from
exploitive child labor
may take some time. Children should only be counted as
withdrawn
at the point at which the child is no longer working in
exploitive child labor
(this includes no longer working at all or working under improved working conditions such as shorter hours and/or safer conditions) and is benefiting from the education and/or training program(s) provided by the USDOL-funded project. For more information on GPRA, see section I.1 Background: USDOL Support for the Global Elimination of
Exploitive Child Labor.

iii. Clear and Specific Outcomes

Within the countries identified in this solicitation, the Applicant must identify

the geographic areas and/or sectors of greatest need, and establish (1) the number of children that the project is targeting for
withdrawal from exploitive child labor
, and (2) the number of children the project is targeting for
prevention from exploitive child labor
through the provision of
direct educational services
and
other project interventions.
Applicants must use the definitions provided in Appendix A when establishing these targets. Applicants' strategies should address the specific and contextual factors that contribute to children engaging in
exploitive labor
and the barriers to education that they face in target countries. Brief background information on these issues for the target countries is provided in section I.3.B. Country-Specific Requirements. Applicants must be able to identify the specific needs of proposed
direct beneficiaries
in order to ensure (1) their long-term
withdrawal
or
prevention from exploitive child labor
; (2) their involvement in
acceptable work
—which for
direct beneficiaries
of legal working age, may be accomplished through a reduction in the number of hours worked and/or improvement(s) in their working conditions in accordance with national labor laws and international standards, such as ILO Conventions 138 and 182; and (3) their enrollment,
retention
in, and
completion
of a relevant
direct educational service.

Expected outcomes/results of the project include: (1) Reducing the number of children engaged in, or
at-risk
of entering,
exploitive child labor
; (2) increasing and/or improving educational opportunities for children who are engaged in, or
at-risk
of entering,
exploitive child labor
, particularly the
worst forms of child labor
; (3) ensuring
direct beneficiaries
' enrollment,
retention
in, and
completion
of
direct educational services
; (4) facilitating the successful transition of
direct beneficiaries
from non-formal education programs into formal schools, vocational programs, or
acceptable work
; and (5) ensuring the sustainable, long-term
withdrawal
and
prevention
of
direct beneficiaries
from
exploitive child labor.

iv. Collaboration and Leveraging Resources

Due to the limited resources available under this award, Applicants are expected to implement programs that complement existing efforts and, where appropriate, replicate or enhance successful models to serve a greater number of children and communities. In order to avoid duplication, enhance collaboration, expand impact, and develop synergies, the Grantee must work cooperatively with national stakeholders in developing project interventions, including the Ministries of Labor, Education, and other relevant ministries or government bodies. Applicants are encouraged to work with other key stakeholders, including international organizations; nongovernmental organizations (NGOs); national steering/advisory committees on child labor and education; faith and community-based organizations; trade unions, employers' and teachers' organizations; and children engaged in
exploitive child labor
and their families. Furthermore, Applicants are strongly encouraged to collaborate with existing projects, particularly those funded by USDOL, including other EI projects, Timebound Projects of Support (TBP) and other projects implemented by ILO-IPEC. For additional information on collaboration, see section VIII.1.

Applicants are encouraged to leverage project resources by collaborating with entities engaged in efforts that could contribute to the elimination of
exploitive child labor
, including efforts that promote children's access to educational and training opportunities and that address poverty—a major factor that increases the likelihood that children will engage in
exploitive child labor.
Applicants are also encouraged to secure concrete commitments from business entities and individual business leaders to engage in partnerships to reduce child labor and increase educational opportunities for
direct beneficiaries.
Ideas for business involvement could include, but are not limited to the following: scholarships, donations of goods, mentoring and volunteering by employees, assistance in awareness raising, provision of internships for children/
youth
and/or teachers during vacation periods that would help them improve leadership and other skills for implementing programs to address
exploitive child labor.
Please note that applications that propose non-U.S. Federal Government resources that significantly expand the dollar amount, size, and scope of the project, in the form of matching funds or other cost sharing arrangements, are eligible for up to five (5) extra points, as discussed in section V.1.F. However, Applicants must not duplicate the activities of existing efforts and/or projects and are expected to work within host government child labor and education frameworks and priorities. Applicants are advised that there are specific requirements associated with proposing matching funds and cost sharing arrangements, outlined in section III.3, which do not apply to leveraged resources.

Note to Applicants:

USDOL has notified host government ministry officials of the proposed project. During the preparation of an application for this Cooperative Agreement solicitation, Applicants are encouraged to discuss proposed interventions, strategies, and activities with host government officials and other key stakeholders noted above.

v. Sustainability

USDOL considers the issue of sustainability to be of paramount importance and recognizes that questions of sustainability must be addressed at all stages, including project design, implementation, and evaluation. From their inception, project strategies should foster sustainability. To USDOL, sustainability is linked to project impact and the ability of individuals, communities, and a nation to ensure that the activities or changes implemented by a project endure. A project's impact is manifested at the level of individuals, organizations, and systems. For individual children and their families, this would mean a positive and enduring change in their life conditions as a result of project interventions. At the level of organizations and systems, sustained impact would involve continued commitment and ability (including financial commitment and policy change) by project partners to continue the actions generated by the project, including enforcement of existing policies that target child labor and schooling. Applicants are encouraged to develop approaches that support child and
youth
participation in project efforts to eliminate the
worst forms of child labor.
Applicants are encouraged to identify local organizations in the target country, including type of local organizations (e.g., NGO, community-based, rural, indigenous), which could potentially implement or contribute to a future project. In addition, as child labor elimination projects tend to be implemented in resource-poor environments where government education and labor inspection systems may be limited, Applicants are encouraged to work with local stakeholders to develop sustainable child labor and education monitoring systems, including community-based systems, that can complement government efforts to monitor children's work and educational status beyond the life of the project and enforce the country's child labor and education laws.

B. Country-Specific Requirements

Combating Exploitive Child Labor Through Education in Bolivia

i. Background

Bolivia is a country with numerous socio-economic disparities and challenges, particularly for members of indigenous groups who, according to the 2001 Census, constitute approximately 62 percent of the population. Bolivia has one of the highest rates of poverty and child labor in the Americas, with over 23 percent of children ages 7 to 14 years working in 2002. Bolivia's socio-economic challenges are made more acute by natural disasters such as the recent severe flooding and resulting humanitarian crisis in the Departments of Santa Cruz, Beni and Cochabamba.

Bolivian children work in agriculture, including in the production of sugar cane and Brazil nuts in Santa Cruz, Beni, and Pando. In cities such as Oruro, Potosi, and La Paz, children are engaged in activities such as begging, street vending, shining shoes, and assisting transport operators. Children work in industry, construction, small businesses, hotels and restaurants, and traditional small-scale mining. In the valleys, children smuggle goods and traffic drugs. The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a problem in Bolivia, particularly in the Chapare region and in urban areas. A study sponsored by the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Organization for American States (OAS) of urban centers in Bolivia found commercial sexual exploitation of girls from Argentina, Paraguay, Brazil, Chile, and Colombia. In some cases, indigenous girls are brought or sent by their parents from rural to urban areas to work as domestic servants for higher-income families in exchange for education, clothing, room, and board. These girls often end up in situations that amount to indentured servitude and/or forced labor. Bolivian children are trafficked internally for the purpose of CSEC, agriculture and mining. In the south of Bolivia, child labor has been observed among debt-bonded, landless families living on haciendas (large farms).

In January and February 2007, unprecedented rainfall totals nearing 3 times the annual average resulted in severe flooding of the highlands and the Amazon River, affecting, in particular, the Departments of Santa Cruz, Beni, and Cochabamba. Rural families working in subsistence farming were particularly hard hit, and it is likely that the number of children
at-risk
of involvement in
exploitive child labor
has risen in these areas as a result of the flooding. This natural disaster caused extreme damage to houses, crops, roads, and other basic infrastructure including schools, many of which closed down or are being used as shelters for the displaced. The disaster has also affected the national debate on land reform and autonomy at the regional, departmental and municipal levels.

Bolivian law sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years, except in the case of apprenticeships. Children ages 14 to 18 years must have the permission of their parents or of government authorities to work. The law requires employers to grant “adolescent” workers time off to attend school during normal school hours. The 1999 Child and Adolescent Code defines “adolescents” as persons ages 12 to 18 years. The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor provisions in the formal sector, but only employs 15 labor inspectors to work throughout the country to enforce child labor regulations and other labor issues.

ii. Relevant Policies, Programs, and Projects

The Government of Bolivia's policy framework to address child labor is the National Plan for the Progressive Eradication of Child Labor (2000-2010). A three-year sub-plan (2006-2008) to combat child labor prioritizes the elimination of the
worst forms of child labor
, the development of national policy against child labor, and inter-institutional and inter-ministerial coordination. Although resources for implementation have been limited, the plan focuses on children working in the mining, sugar cane, and urban sectors of the country. A 2003 Domestic Worker's Law addresses some of the abuses committed towards child domestic workers. In 2005, the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child identified hazardous domestic work, the sugar cane and mining industries, CSEC, and the trafficking of children for CSEC and other purposes, as the child labor sectors in Bolivia that are in greatest need of special attention. The Bolivian Congress has approved reforms to address CSEC, and has criminalized and set penalties for all types of trafficking in persons.

Bolivia also faces challenges in providing education to its children and
youth
under 18, who constitute 45 percent of the country's population. The Constitution of Bolivia establishes free and compulsory primary education for children, yet because of the high rate of child labor and other education and non-education system barriers, many Bolivian children fall behind in their education. In 2002, despite a high rate of enrollment in primary schools, only 81 percent of students were likely to reach grade 5. Although UNESCO estimates a primary to secondary transition rate of 91 percent in Bolivia, UNICEF estimates that only 39 percent of working children continue with their schooling.

In order to facilitate children's access to social services such as health and education, the Government of Bolivia is working with UNICEF to provide free birth and identity documents to the estimated 12 percent of children ages 0-9 years who lack birth certificates. In the past, the government instituted programs to benefit both working children and indigenous children, including the development of a flexible curriculum designed to keep working children and adolescents in school by offering night classes through the Ministry of Education's Vice-Ministry of Alternative Education.

Bolivia's 1994 education reform program led to the creation of special programs to train teachers in bilingual instruction and publication of texts and other teaching materials in indigenous languages. There have been programs, such as those implemented by UNICEF, to improve educational infrastructure and to increase the relevance and learning of indigenous children through intercultural bilingual education. Currently, the Government of Bolivia focuses on universal literacy, improving access to
basic education
in rural areas, and incorporating indigenous languages and cultures into the school curricula. In the past, the government also supported previous USDOL-funded programs to combat child labor in small-scale traditional mining in the Andean region, and to improve access to and quality of
basic education
. Given the high rates of poverty and low levels of involvement in schooling, children in Bolivia, particularly indigenous children, have historically been highly vulnerable to exploitive forms of child labor. The Government of Bolivia has identified the importance of addressing the issues of labor exploitation and education reform. The government has recently proposed an education reform law that entails a curriculum change to address historic exclusion and discrimination of indigenous children, embracing the linguistic diversity of Bolivia's Quechua, Aymara, and Spanish-speaking populations.

The enforcement of these plans and laws is challenging because of limited resources, citizens' lack of faith in the justice system, corruption, a slow judiciary system, and political divisions

and turmoil. The OAS Justice Center of the Americas notes that those who suffer most from this legal situation are the poor indigenous population and workers in the informal economy.

iii. Scope of Work

Taking into account the challenging implementing environment in Bolivia and the current government's attention and priority to the unmet needs of the most disadvantaged sectors of the population, Applicants must propose a creative and innovative approach to address the challenges of reintegrating and educating children who have been engaged in the
worst forms of child labor
. Applicants must also take into account any cross-cutting themes (discussed below) that could affect project results in Bolivia and meaningfully incorporate them into the proposed strategy, either to increase opportunities for, or reduce obstacles to, successful implementation.

1. Specific Target Groups, Sectors, and/or Geographic Focus

In support of the National Plan for the Progressive Eradication of Child Labor (2000-2010), Applicants are encouraged to target children working under hazardous and/or exploitive conditions in urban domestic service, agriculture, mining, and CSEC. Applicants should pay special attention to children who may have been trafficked for
exploitive labor
and/or engaged in forced labor. Applicants may identify other target sectors where children are
at-risk
or involved in other
worst forms of child labor
, but should provide a convincing justification for inclusion of such target sectors. Since indigenous children are the largest population involved in the
worst forms of child labor
, the project should pay special attention to their needs and provide a large share of benefits to these children. Given the recent humanitarian assistance needs in the Departments of Santa Cruz, Beni, and Cochabamba, Applicants may choose to focus on child labor issues that existed prior to, and/or may have been exacerbated by, the severe flooding in these areas.

2. Collaboration With Specific Programs and/or Links to Specific National Policies

Applicants should support the Government of Bolivia's policy framework to address child labor, the National Plan for the Progressive Eradication of Child Labor 2000-2010, and consider the three-year sub-plan (2006-2008) that focuses on children working in the mining, sugar cane, and urban sectors of the country. If focusing on domestic service, or CSEC and trafficking, Applicants should work to strengthen the implementation and enforcement of recent legal reforms in these areas of domestic workers and the commercial sexual exploitation of minors. If working in areas of the recent floods, Applicants should coordinate with other donors providing assistance, and complement rather than duplicate existing efforts.

3. Implementing Environment/Cross-Cutting Themes

Bolivia has experienced recurrent political and economic unrest and instability, which has an impact on the implementation of development projects. The government has committed itself to deep political, economic and social transformations, and the country is engaged in intense debate on themes including cultural identity, education reform, judicial reform, land reform, and decentralization and political autonomy. Furthermore, the severe flooding in January and February 2007 has had a major impact in the highlands and the Amazon River, affecting, in particular, the Departments of Santa Cruz, Beni, and Cochabamba, and rural families working in subsistence farming in these areas. Applicants should consider how these factors might affect the project in the geographic areas where the project would be implemented and propose a design that would contribute to mitigating the effects of these factors.

4. Project-Specific Strategies

Applicants must propose a strategy for strengthening the capacity of Bolivian government and civil society organizations to identify and assist children engaged in or
at-risk
of
exploitive labor
, particularly the
worst forms of child labor
. The complexity of the issue of child labor requires inter-institutional coordination among many public and private agencies and institutions. Applicants should identify how the project will productively engage existing public and private service programs in the intervention area(s) to ensure that project goals will be met, and project efforts will become sustainable. Evaluations of USDOL projects in the Andean region have noted incidents of weak local organizational capacity and recurring social unrest (e.g., strikes, demonstrations, work-stoppages, road closures). Applicants should indicate to what extent these challenges might be significant in the areas where the project would be implemented, how they would be addressed, and how relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous organizations working for the benefit of children, leaders, and groups could be promoted to address the problem of
exploitive child labor
. Given the current debates in Bolivia on decentralization and autonomy at the regional, departmental and municipal levels, Applicants should also consider how this could lead to changes that might affect implementation of the project, and focus on building capacity to promote sustainability.

Since indigenous children represent the largest population involved in
exploitive child labor
, it is likely that they will constitute a significant proportion of the
direct beneficiaries
served by this project. Given the current priorities of the government to provide programs to the benefit of these groups, Applicants should demonstrate considerable knowledge of Bolivian indigenous culture and movements and indigenous values regarding education and child labor. This knowledge should be incorporated into the project design to ensure ownership and involvement of indigenous groups. Applicants must develop a strategy that will increase the relevance of education for indigenous children, their parents, and the urban, rural, and/or peri-urban communities where they live. Applicants should develop a program that can operate in the context of the government's emphasis on the use of indigenous languages and culture as part of the larger education and curricula reform efforts. Applicants should also identify and address additional social, cultural, or other factors that should be taken into account in designing the project. In no way, however, should project strategies exclude or marginalize non-indigenous children who could also qualify as
direct beneficiaries
of this project.

Combating the Worst Forms of Child Labor in Cambodia

i. Background

After decades of violence and armed conflict, the Government of Cambodia has experienced positive economic growth since 1999 due in large part to its resilient garment export sector and growing tourism industry. The long-term development challenges for Cambodia will be to encourage rural development and build basic infrastructure; bridge the income gap among citizens; improve access to and quality of education; and increase economic growth that spurs job creation, in light of the country's demographic transition. At least 50 percent of the population is under 21 years old, with many children and

youth
lacking appropriate education and productive skills.

Key to accomplishing Cambodia's development goals will be to remove and prevent children from the
worst forms of child labor
, especially
hazardous work
in agriculture. Children begin working at a very young age, some as early as age six, with many dropping out of school to work exclusively. According to the Understanding Children's Work (UCW) Project, approximately 45 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years were found working in 2001. The majority of working children were found in the rural agricultural sector (76.5 percent), followed by services (17.7 percent), manufacturing (4.9 percent) and other sectors (0.9 percent). Economically active children in Cambodia work an average of 22 hours per week, which increases to 31 hours when household chores are taken into account. Non-Khmer children, such as Vietnamese migrant children, are more likely to be working than Khmer children.

Child labor is most prevalent and severe in three provinces: Banteay Meanchey, Prey Veng and Siem Reap. However, other provinces such as Otdar Meanchey Cham, Phnom Penh, Kandal, and Takeo also show high prevalence rates. Working children facing the most obstacles to schooling and greatest risk of dropping out are in Kaoh Long, Mondol Kiri, and Preah Vihear. Children most
at-risk
of being trafficked to urban areas in Cambodia or outside the country live in the rural districts of Kompong Cham, Battambang, Svey Rieng, Prey Veng, Kandal, and Takeo.

Hazardous work
by children occurs in both rural and urban areas, and includes work on commercial rubber plantations, in salt production, fish processing, portering, brick-making, and garbage-picking. Children also work in restaurants and in handicrafts and related industries. Street children engage in scavenging, begging, and shoe polishing. Children, primarily girls, also work in domestic service. Most girls working as child domestic workers are 14 to 17 years of age, though it is not uncommon to find girls as young as 8 or 9 years of age. Many child domestic workers typically work 12 to 16 hours a day, 7 days a week, preventing them from going to school and learning productive skills.

Children are also involved in other
worst forms of child labor
. Certain provinces of the country have higher incidence of the
worst forms of child labor
, based on their geographic characteristics, proximity to borders, levels of poverty, etc. Areas designated as Special Economic Zones may attract workers, including child workers, and increase migrant flows and vulnerability. There have been documented patterns of children migrating to large cities for work, only to find themselves in various forms of exploitive or abusive labor. The commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) is a problem in Cambodia. Cambodia is reported to be a country of origin, transit, and destination for trafficking in children for the purposes of CSEC as well as various forms of work, including forced labor and begging. Internationally, Vietnamese children are trafficked into Cambodia for CSEC and forced labor and Cambodian children are trafficked to Thailand and Vietnam.

Although Cambodia abolished school fees in 2001, the prohibitive costs of schooling (i.e., school supplies, uniforms); poor quality and relevance of education (i.e., limited availability of instructional materials, shortage of trained and motivated teachers); and inadequate access to schools (i.e., distance/transportation, primary schools lacking full range of grades, no secondary schools in many communities) contribute to children entering into
exploitive labor
, particularly in rural areas. School enrollment in the rural areas continues to lag behind urban areas. Only about 20 percent of rural children receive education in grades 7-9, and rural girls are 47 percent less likely to receive an education than boys. As of 2003, 60 percent of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade 5. The situation is compounded by a shortage of non-formal schools and literacy programs in rural areas.

ii. Relevant Policies, Programs, and Projects

A number of efforts are currently being undertaken by the Government of Cambodia, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to directly address
exploitive child labor
in Cambodia, as well as the underlying causes of child labor such as poverty and lack of resources. In 2006, the Government of Cambodia ratified both ILO Convention 182 on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor and the United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children. The government has drafted a National Plan of Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor, and has set time-bound targets for reducing the proportion of children engaging in the
worst forms of child labor
by 2015. The National Steering Committee on Child Labor was reconstituted in September 2006 to guide the country's efforts toward eliminating child labor under the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor. Child labor was included as a priority issue in the first two-year Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training for 2007-08. In addition, child labor concerns have been incorporated into the government's major development frameworks, including the National Strategic Development Plan (NSDP) 2006-2010 and the Education Strategic Plan (ESP) 2006-2010.

In addition to the unconditional
worst forms of child labor
identified under ILO Convention 182, the government has drafted a ministerial order, known as a Prakas, identifying 16 other categories of
worst forms of child labor
to be targeted for elimination. They are: Portering; domestic service; waste scavenging/rubbish picking; work in rubber and tobacco plantations; fishing; work in agricultural plantations; brick making; salt production; handicrafts; processing sea products; stone and granite breaking; quarrying; coal mining; restaurant work; and begging. The Ministry of Labour and Vocational Training has the primary responsibility for enforcement of child labor laws and regulations. Cambodia's Labor Law defines 15 as the minimum age for work (18 for
hazardous work
), although children between 12 and 15 may do light, non-hazardous work that does not prevent regular attendance at school or other training programs. Employers who violate the law may be fined 31 to 60 days of the base daily wage. The Labor Law prohibits work that is hazardous to the mental and physical development of children under age 18 and prohibits all forced or compulsory labor, including in agriculture and domestic work. However, the Labor Law currently applies only to the formal sector, while child labor exists mostly in the informal sector.

Addressing trafficking in persons is a priority for the Government of Cambodia, which drafted a National Plan of Action Against Trafficking in Persons and Sexual Exploitation 2005-2009. The National Plan of Action Against Trafficking in Persons and Sexual Exploitation expands the scope of a previous plan to include trafficking for both sexual and labor exploitation purposes. Along with Burma, Laos, the People's Republic of China, Thailand, and Vietnam, Cambodia is signatory to the “Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative against Trafficking (COMMIT).”

Cambodia is currently participating in several USDOL-funded projects designed to combat
exploitive child labor
and provide educational opportunities for children. The “Support to the Cambodian National Plan of Action on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor: A Timebound Approach,” implemented by ILO-IPEC, aims to withdraw 4,260 and prevent 5,650 children from working in exploitive conditions in several sectors: Brick-making (Shanoukville, Siem Riep, Kampong Cham); portering (Banteay Meancheay); rubber-making (Kampong Cham); domestic service (Phnom Penh); salt production (Kampot and Kep); fish processing (Shanoukville, Kampot, Kep); services such as hotel work, restaurant work, and beer promotion (Siem Riep and Phnom Penh); and trafficking (Shanoukville, Banteay Meancheay, Prey Veng). In addition, the project is building a robust enabling environment for the development and implementation of policies and programs on child labor and increasing the knowledge and capacity of the government and stakeholders on child labor.

USDOL is currently funding three child labor and education projects in Cambodia, implemented by Hagar International, World Education, and Winrock International. The Hagar International project assists trafficked women and children by providing temporary shelter, rehabilitative and counseling services, literacy and vocational training classes, and assistance with reintegration into their communities of origin or new communities. The World Education project works in Prey Veng, Kompong Cham, Banteay Meanchay, and Phnom Penh to reduce the number of children trafficked and/or involved in CSEC and domestic labor. As of September 2006, the project had prevented 15,749 children from being trafficked through provision of educational and other services. Cambodia is also part of CIRCLE, a global project implemented by Winrock International and funded by USDOL that aims to reduce the engagement of children in the
worst forms of child labor
by funding small-scale projects carried out by community-based organizations. CIRCLE project strategies in Cambodia have included awareness-raising among children at high risk of dropping out of school, and strengthening education systems to better serve children who have been trafficked and/or involved in CSEC, out-of-school
youth
, and child migrants. In addition, external funding to target poverty reduction, increase access to basic services, and strengthen institutions from partners such as the World Bank, the Asian Development Bank, and several other UN agencies continues to support programs in Cambodia.

iii. Scope of Work

Applicants should design a creative project strategy to build partnerships to combat
exploitive child labor
and improve education for children engaged in, or
at-risk
of entering,
exploitive labor
, taking into account the socio-economic conditions in Cambodia. Applicants must also take any cross-cutting themes (discussed below) into account that could affect project results in Cambodia and meaningfully incorporate them into the proposed strategy, either to increase opportunities for, or to reduce obstacles to, successful implementation.

1. Specific Target Groups, Sectors, and/or Geographic Focus

The Government of Cambodia has identified priority sectors for attention under its draft National Plan of Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor. In line with the draft National Plan of Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor, USDOL has identified hazardous child labor in agriculture as the primary sector of focus for this project. Specifically, Applicants should prioritize children engaged in
hazardous work
on commercial farms and subsistence agriculture, where children's work prevents them from going to school, exposes them to harmful chemicals, and places them at risk of injury from heavy loads, agricultural tools, or machinery. Specific sub-sectors within agriculture should be clearly identified by Applicants. Applicants should also propose additional sectors of focus that are in accordance with the draft National Plan of Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor and can include but are not limited to, mining, CSEC, scavenging/garbage picking, brick making, portering, stone quarrying/breaking, fishing, begging, work in restaurants, hotels, and karaoke bars, and domestic service. A convincing justification must be included for selection of target sectors, and justifications should clearly demonstrate knowledge of existing interventions in those sectors and how the proposed project will build off of or complement existing or past interventions.

In determining provincial targets, Applicants should take into consideration priority areas outlined in the draft National Plan of Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor, as well as the location of current USDOL-funded activities and ensure that efforts are not duplicated and that efforts/resources are leveraged where possible. At a minimum, Applicants should propose four provinces for project interventions and provide a clear justification for choices. Applicants are encouraged to target populations that are particularly disadvantaged, such as girls.

2. Collaboration With Specific Programs and/or Links to Specific National Policies

Applicants should demonstrate a thorough knowledge of ongoing and previously piloted interventions and good practices to eliminate child labor in Cambodia and the Mekong region, at the local, national and regional levels. Proposals should support and/or build upon the efforts of past and existing projects to
withdraw children from
, and
prevent children from entering
, the
worst forms of child labor
in agricultural and other sectors in rural areas; children's involvement in prostitution and begging in urban areas; as well as the trafficking of children for
exploitive labor
, without duplicating ongoing or previous efforts. Interventions and activities should support the government's National Plan of Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor. At minimum, collaborations should take place with the MOLVT; the Ministry of Social Affairs; Veterans and Youth Rehabilitation (MOSAVY); the Ministry of Education, Youth, and Sport (MOEYS); the National Steering Committee; provincial and local-level government officials; ILO-IPEC; World Education; United Nations agencies and other International Organizations working in Cambodia; the Civil Society Network Against Child Labor; and other NGO's and local groups working on child welfare and social service provision.

3. Implementing Environment/Cross-Cutting Themes

Over the past decade, Cambodia's economic growth has improved, but its history of conflict and resulting negative socio-economic effects have left the country with significant development challenges that must be considered when designing project interventions. Applicants should consider the specific challenges of a lack of basic rural infrastructure; low capacity of civil society and governmental institutions; lack of access to quality and relevant

education, especially in rural areas; and the lack of a skilled workforce. In addition, Cambodia is a country of origin, transit, and destination for trafficking in persons. Given children's vulnerability to being trafficked due to lack of economic resources, lack of education, and migration patterns in the region, internal and cross-border trafficking of children should be addressed in the application. However, the primary focus of the project should not be on trafficking; rather, trafficking should be addressed within the overall context or as a project component.

4. Project-Specific Strategies

Applicants must propose a strategy that supports the government's National Plan of Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor and contributes toward Cambodia's targets for reducing the incidence of the
worst forms of child labor
by 2015. In order to address the inadequacies of the current education system, the proposed strategy should assist in increasing the capacity of the Ministry of Education offices nationally and in target provinces to ensure improved service delivery, increased budgetary commitments and management, and awareness of child labor. Service delivery and management should be further enhanced in both the formal and non-formal system through teacher and administrator trainings and other approaches as proposed by the Applicant. Given the lack of alternatives to formal schooling in rural areas, the Applicant must also design a strategy to assist children who are not able or are unwilling to attend formal school, by providing access to non-formal education and vocational training. If cultural traditions and norms impact decisions about schooling, Applicants must show how education programs would be sensitive and responsive to these traditions, particularly as they relate to girls' education.

Enforcement of existing labor laws is inadequate in Cambodia. To address this issue, Applicants should propose a strategy for increasing the capacity of labor inspectors on enforcement of legal provisions relating to child labor in the formal workplace, and contribute to ongoing efforts to expand legislation to cover children working in the informal sector. This strategy should demonstrate how efforts would be coordinated with, and complementary of, existing efforts of the ILO-IPEC-supported Timebound Program and the government's National Plan of Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor. In addition, Applicants should design activities to support the government in its review of its current list of hazardous child labor and finalization of the new list, efforts to raise awareness of the list, and improve compliance and enforcement of regulations surrounding the list.

There is a lack of systematic and reliable data on the
unconditional worst forms of child labor
in Cambodia. These forms of child labor are often culturally sensitive and/or illicit, making information difficult to gather. Applicants are encouraged to conduct small-scale research projects and disseminate findings on the
unconditional worst forms of child labor
in Cambodia, especially on products made from
exploitive child labor
or forced labor. This information should also be used in formulating more targeted and coordinated responses.

Project of Support to the Colombia Timebound Program on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor

i. Background

In Colombia, 10.4 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years were found working in 2001. The majority of working children were found in the services sector (49.9 percent), followed by agriculture (35.6 percent), and manufacturing (12.6 percent). Approximately 14.1 percent of all boys 5 to 14 were working compared to 6.6 percent of girls in the same age group. Children mine and process emeralds, gold, clay, and coal under dangerous conditions. Some work in aspects of the illegal drug trade, such as harvesting coca. Child labor is also a problem in the informal sector, where children work in agriculture, commerce, industry, and services. Many girls work in domestic service.

Child pornography and commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC), including prostitution and sexual tourism, are reported in Cartagena and at resorts on the Caribbean Coast. Colombia is a major source of girls trafficked for the purpose of CSEC. Children are trafficked internally from rural to urban areas for sexual exploitation, and are also trafficked abroad. Children in Colombia are also recruited, sometimes forcibly, by insurgent and paramilitary groups to serve as combatants in the country's ongoing conflict.

ii. Relevant Policies, Programs, and Projects

There are a number of efforts by the Government of Colombia, international organizations, and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to address
exploitive child labor.
The Government of Colombia's policy framework to address child labor has been the National Plan for the Elimination of Child Labor and the Protection of Working Youth (2003-2006). The government and other relevant actors are drafting a new national plan, which has not yet been officially approved.

In November of 2006, a new legal framework was put into effect, the Childhood and Adolescence Code, which replaces most all provisions of the 1989 Minor's Code, and includes provisions related to child labor. The 2006 Code establishes the government's obligation to eliminate the
worst forms of child labor.
The Ministry of Social Protection (MSP) is responsible for enforcing child labor laws in the formal sector and protecting adolescent workers authorized by the government to work. Labor can only be performed by those under the legal working age of 14 under special circumstances. Various legal provisions regulate the conditions under which minors may work to ensure that their education is not compromised. Employers must enroll 12 to 17 year olds who have not completed
basic education
in school and allow them sufficient time to pursue their studies. Schools must report cases to authorities in which children are involved in the
worst forms of child labor.
The National Police is also responsible for detecting and investigating these cases.

Other important policy frameworks and legal instruments that address
exploitive child labor
in Colombia include the National Plan of Action for the Prevention and Eradication of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Girls, and Adolescents Below 18 Years of Age (2006-2011), and Colombia's Ten-Year Plan for Children (2004-2015). A Ministry of Social Protection Resolution prohibiting children under 18 from certain forms of dangerous work was published in December 2005. In compliance with Colombia's ratification in 2005 of ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, the law prohibits those under age 18 from the
worst forms of child labor.

The Government of Colombia participates in several programs to eliminate
exploitive child labor
that are funded by international organizations and foreign governments including the United States. These programs include a USDOL-funded project implemented by World Vision to withdraw and prevent children from
exploitive labor
in the municipalities of Funza and Madrid. Colombia also participates in a regional project in four South American countries to withdraw and prevent

children from CSEC and child domestic labor, and was part of a global project on child soldiers, both funded by USDOL and implemented by ILO-IPEC. Another ILO-IPEC project, funded by the Canadian government, aims to improve national, regional, and municipal government cooperation to address child labor.

Various Colombian government entities carry out activities related to the elimination of
exploitive child labor.
The Colombian Family Welfare Institute administers programs to provide rehabilitation services to children who have been recruited into armed groups, children engaged in CSEC, and children who live on the streets. The Colombian Institute of Geology and Mining implements a project with the United Nations Development Program to eliminate child labor in the mining sector. Other ministries working in this area are the Ministry of Social Protection, the Ministry of Communication, the Inter-institutional Committee against Trafficking in Persons, and the National Police.

The Government of Colombia supports education and other programs that may indirectly contribute to the elimination of
exploitive child labor.
The Ministry of Education's Policy Guide for Vulnerable Populations includes strategies to address child labor, and the Ministry of Defense distributes educational kits to schools in areas where children are
at-risk
for recruitment into armed groups. Through World Bank loans, the Government of Colombia is working to improve education in rural areas, and funds a “Families in Action” conditional cash transfer program to encourage school attendance. The government assists needy families to pay for education costs including books, supplies, transportation, and other fees. The World Food Program and the Colombian government also operate a primary school feeding program. The government participates in, and makes financial contributions to, a project implemented by the International Organization for Migration that provides services to vulnerable groups, including education and job-training for displaced
youth.
This project is funded by the United States Agency for International Development and Italy. All of these programs help to promote the retention of children to grade 5 and beyond, since education is compulsory in Colombia to age 15. As of 2003, however, only 77 percent of students were likely to reach grade 5.

iii. Scope of Work

1. Specific Target Groups, Sectors, and/or Geographic Focus

Applicants should identify target sectors and specific beneficiary groups in line with Colombia's new National Plan for the Elimination of Child Labor and the Protection of Working Youth, with a particular focus on sectors that the government has identified as a priority under a Timebound Program as part of its commitment to implement ILO Convention 182. Applicants may, however, identify other sectors where children are
at-risk
or involved in other
worst forms of child labor,
but must present a compelling reason for such a choice. Since many Colombian children are affected or displaced by conflict, the project should pay special attention to their needs.

2. Collaboration With Specific Programs and/or Links to Specific National Policies

Applicants should support Colombia's new National Plan for the Elimination of Child Labor and the Protection of Working Youth and sectors that the government has identified as a priority under a Timebound Program. Since a Timebound Program is complex, in addition to the Ministry of Labor, the project should include coordination with other ministries working in areas related to combating
exploitive child labor
and child protection, including the Ministry of Social Protection, the Ministry of Communication, the Inter-institutional Committee against Trafficking in Persons, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, and the National Police.

3. Implementing Environment/Cross-Cutting Themes

Colombia has endured more than 35 years of conflict by rival armed groups. This conflict affects the implementing environment in areas such as security and the existence of a high number of internally displaced persons with reduced access to health care, education, or employment. Displaced persons are particularly vulnerable to labor abuse and exploitation, including the
worst forms of child labor.
Armed groups also recruit and use children as soldiers, and there has been a high degree of violence against organized labor. Applicants should consider to what extent these challenges might affect the project's implementation. Project strategies should account for the continued conflict, and the relationship between the armed conflict and
exploitive child labor.
Changes in the political environment, including those at the national, regional, and local level, may also affect project implementation. These changes may be a result of elections or also of changes in policy and personnel in cooperating government agencies. Applicants should design strategies that minimize disruptions when such events occur.

4. Project-Specific Strategies

Applicants must propose approaches that assist Colombia in developing and implementing a Timebound Program to eliminate the
worst forms of child labor.
This program will assist the Government of Colombia in fulfilling its obligations under Articles 1 and 7 of ILO Convention 182. Specifically, the Applicant's strategy should strengthen the capacity of the Colombian government and civil society organizations to take immediate, effective, and timebound measures to: (a) Prevent the engagement of children in the
worst forms of child labor;
(b) provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the
withdrawal of children from the worst forms of child labor
and for their rehabilitation and social integration; (c) ensure access to free
basic education,
and, wherever possible and appropriate, vocational training, for all children removed from the
worst forms of child labor
; (d) identify and reach out to children at special risk; and (e) take account of the special situation of girls. In support of a Timebound Program to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor, the Applicant's proposal must focus both on
withdrawing and preventing children from exploitive child labor
through the provision of
direct educational services,
as well as
improving country capacity to address child labor,
including the policies and capacities of relevant government and civil society institutions. Timebound Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor have been implemented in several countries around the world. Lessons learned from these Timebound Programs should be used to improve the design of a Timebound Program in Colombia.

Applicants must also propose a strategy to strengthen the ability of Colombian government and civil society organizations to improve relevant policies and institutional capacity to eliminate the
worst forms of child labor
. In addition, Applicants should seek to strengthen the capacity for inter-institutional coordination given that the complexity of child labor issues requires the collaboration of many public and private institutions in what are currently often disparate programs. Applicants' proposals should clearly

identify the institutions with which they intend to conduct capacity-building activities; each organization's specific role in relation to the project's strategy of support to the Timebound Program; the expected result of technical assistance to be provided by the Applicant; and the means through which the organizations will receive technical assistance (i.e., specified number of trainings or consultancies). These efforts could involve building organizational capacity in the following areas: To
withdraw children from,
and
prevent children from entering, exploitive child labor;
to plan, implement, and monitor activities to eliminate
exploitive child labor;
and to identify and effectively respond to cases of the
worst forms of child labor
. They could also include improvements to laws and law enforcement in an environment of constrained resources and ongoing armed conflict; to education policies; to quality of service provision to children and social support for families; and to awareness raising. Applicants should identify how the project will productively engage existing institutions such as Inter-institutional Committee for the Eradication of Child Labor and the Protection of Young Workers and the Inter-institutional Committee against Trafficking in Persons in the intervention area(s) to ensure that project goals will be met and project efforts will become sustainable.

In their proposed strategy, Applicants should demonstrate a thorough knowledge of previous and on-going interventions and good practices to eliminate child labor in Colombia, including those funded by USDOL, those occurring as part of National Plans for the Elimination of Child Labor and the Protection of Working Youth, and the National Plan of Action for the Prevention and Eradication of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Girls, and Adolescents Less than 18 Years of age. The proposal should build upon the efforts of past and current efforts to
withdraw
and
prevent
children from engaging in
exploitive labor.
Education strategies should take into account successful existing Colombian educational programs including Accelerated Learning and New Schools (Escuela Nueva). When appropriate, Applicants should identify intervention strategies that link
direct beneficiaries
to these educational services.

Promoting Education and Appropriate Youth Employment in the Dominican Republic Through Public-Private Partnerships

i. Background

An economic crisis in 2003 led to increased poverty rates throughout the Dominican Republic, which has disproportionately affected the poorest segments of society, including children and
youth.
In 2000, approximately 14.5 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 14 years were working in the country, as compared to 5.9 percent in Costa Rica, 9.2 percent in Honduras, 10.2 percent in El Salvador, 10.9 percent in Nicaragua, and 16.1 percent in Guatemala. In the Dominican Republic, approximately 21.6 percent were boys ages 5 to 14 were working as compared to 7.3 percent of girls in the same age group. The Government of the Dominican Republic estimates that 41 percent of working children ages 5 to 17 work in services, 21 percent in commerce, 19 percent in agriculture, and 11 percent in manufacturing industries. Most work performed by children takes place in the informal sector. In urban areas children work in the streets, markets, garbage dumps, and repair shops. They wash cars, shine shoes, and carry heavy loads. Many urban child workers are migrants from other regions. Children also work as domestic servants in third-party homes. In rural areas, children work mostly in agriculture and services, and most child agricultural workers are boys. Haitian and Dominican children plant and cut sugar cane. Child labor has been found to be a problem in Haitian sugar cane worker villages, or “bateyes” that lack basic services such as water, electricity, and schools.

The Dominican Republic is also a source, transit, and destination country for children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC) and forced labor. Children are trafficked internally from rural to urban and tourist areas where CSEC is a problem, especially in Boca Chica, Puerto Plata, and Sosúa. Haitian children are trafficked to the Dominican Republic for work in the streets, in agriculture, and also for the purpose of CSEC. Children, particularly Haitian children, are sometimes “adopted” by families who register the child as their own and provide some form of payment to the birthparents. Such children are often exploited as domestic workers or as workers in family businesses.

Although education is free and compulsory to age 14, nearly half of all Dominican children do not complete school through the primary level, and at the secondary level, 50 percent of students are over age, and up to 20 percent are 3 or more years behind their cohorts. High repetition rates contribute to school abandonment and, in rural areas, barely 50 percent of schools go beyond the fourth grade. More than 50 percent of rural schools operate on a multi-grade system.

The Government of the Dominican Republic defines “
youth
” as individuals between the ages of 15 and 35 years. Article 15 of the General Youth Law focuses on promoting the successful integration of
youth
into the job market and the Ministry of
youth
, under the direction of the Administrative Secretariat of the Presidency, works to promote the development and societal integration of Dominican
youth
to allow them to contribute to national welfare. The economic crisis has contributed to increased school drop-out rates, an increase in the number of
youth
who resort to crime, violence, and gang activity, and high rates of
youth
under- and unemployment. The unemployment rate for
youth
ages 15 through 24 years is 31 percent, nearly double that of the average population (17 percent). Many adolescents of legal working age (14 years) with low school attainment and few marketable skills find work in the informal sector and work under hazardous conditions, receiving much lower pay than work in the formal sector would offer.

In addition, the traditional vocational and skills training institutions have only been partially accessible to low-skilled
youth
with low levels of education, and a significant number of
youth
who do not have official identity documentation are not allowed to participate in national training programs. Many of these
youth
lack the information necessary to help them obtain the required documentation.

ii. Relevant Policies, Programs, and Projects

In 2005, the Dominican Congress signed the Central American Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) which commits the government to labor provisions, including the elimination of the
worst forms of child labor
. In 2006, the government launched a National Plan to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor (2006-2016). The Secretariat of Labor (SET), in coordination with the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI), is responsible for protecting minors against labor exploitation. The SET operates provincial and municipal committees on child labor. The government has been working to increase its efforts to protect children from

exploitive child

labor

, such as by making monthly labor inspections to sugar cane worker villages. It has effectively enforced child labor laws in the formal sector; however, has been less successful in the informal sector. Also, the legal requirement that CONANI receive a minimum of two percent of the national budget is not being met.

Dominican law sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years and provides guidelines for
acceptable work
practices for minors between the ages of 14 and 18. Employers of minors are required to pay them at least the legal minimum wage. Fines have been established for violations of legal provisions involving child labor. National laws establish penalties of imprisonment and fines for assisting in or the trafficking of minors for the purposes of forced labor; CSEC, including prostitution and pornography, or other degrading activities in exchange for compensation; and the making, distributing, or publishing of pornographic photographs of children is also punishable by incarceration and fines. Laws are also in place that prohibit forced labor and the use of children in drug trafficking.

The government is implementing an Action Plan for the Eradication of Abuse and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Girls, and Adolescents. The Armed Forces provides educational and recreational programs for working and
at-risk
children and runs a shelter for such children. The government also supports several child labor, trafficking, and CSEC awareness campaigns, workshops, and trainings, and provides funding to nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) that work with trafficking victims. The anti-trafficking unit of the Office of the Attorney General investigates and prosecutes trafficking crimes. The government has shut down several businesses involved with CSEC, rescued children, and obtained related convictions. However, according to the U.S. Department of State, the Dominican Republic lacks effective trafficking law enforcement and victim protection programs, due in part to a lack of resources. The border with Haiti is not sufficiently monitored, according to the U.S. Department of State. The Technical Institute for Professional Development provides training to individuals who have been trafficked and to children at risk of being trafficked, especially those in the Boca Chica area. The Tourism Police provides counseling services to abused children, including trafficked children. CONANI operates a referral center for children in Boca Chica who have been involved in CSEC, and runs seven shelters for children.

The Government of the Dominican Republic also supports education and other programs that may indirectly contribute to children's withdrawal from, or prevention from entering,
exploitive labor
. In 2005, the government developed an inter-ministerial social sector policy that focuses resources for the poor. The Secretariat of Education (SEE) provides some stipends for poor families who keep their children in school and out of exploitive work. A World Bank USD 23 million loan will be used to expand a SET program that provides job training and internships to individuals age 16 and above, as well as to expand an SEE program that provides school deserters with the opportunity to complete their education.

Several projects funded by USDOL have supported the government's Timebound Program to eliminate the
worst forms of child labor
and were designed to remove or prevent over 22,000 children from exploitive work in agriculture, urban work, CSEC, and trafficking. These projects, implemented by the ILO-IPEC and DevTech Systems, Inc., have several interesting components that include the development of a community-based
child labor monitoring system (CLMS)
and the engagement of the academic and business sectors, including the Dominican foundation EDUCA (previously the recipient of USAID assistance to develop business-education partnerships). These efforts aim to combat child labor and promote better educational opportunities for children involved in child labor. The Office of the First Lady also administers a program to provide income generating opportunities to families of children
at-risk
for CSEC, including beneficiaries of ILO-implemented projects. The government has participated in a USDOL-funded regional project implemented by ILO-IPEC to eliminate CSEC and hazardous agricultural child labor in Central America and the Dominican Republic, and a USDOL-funded regional project implemented by CARE to strengthen government and civil society's capacity to address the educational needs of working children, and improve the quality of, and access to,
basic education.

iii. Scope of Work

Applicants will design a project strategy that involves social partners such as, but not limited to, employers, industry organizations, worker organization, NGOs, community-based organizations (CBOs), and academia, to combat
exploitive child labor
and improve education for children engaged in, or
at-risk
of entering,
exploitive labor
. The project should take into account the socio-economic conditions in the Dominican Republic that include inter-generational poverty; early school desertion, and premature employment by children in the non-formal labor sectors, including in the
worst forms of child labor
; and under- or unemployment of youth in the formal sectors of the economy.

1. Specific Target Groups, Sectors, and/or Geographic Focus

The project should target children engaged in, or
at-risk
of entering,
exploitive child labor
, including the
worst forms of child labor
, and taking into account the priorities identified by the Government of the Dominican Republic in its 2006 National Plan to Eliminate the worst forms of child labor. Applicants will identify priority geographical areas and primary target groups of children: (1) Children under age 14, and (2)
youth
between the ages of 14 and up to 18. Applicants will design different but complementary programs for each target group, providing equal opportunities for both males and females. Each program's design should be developed in part by those who will benefit from its services in the targeted regions.

2. Collaboration With Specific Programs and/or Links to Specific National Policies

The project should support the Dominican Republic's National Plan to Eliminate the worst forms of child labor and build upon other USDOL-funded efforts and projects supporting the Dominican Republic's Timebound Program to Eliminate the worst forms of child labor. It should build links with Secretariat of Education programs to improve the quality of
basic education.
It should also coordinate with the World Bank-financed
youth
job training and internship project, taking into account the spirit and provisions of the country's General Youth Law. The project's job/vocational training component targeted to the older age group should support national policies, but should also be adapted to the specific characteristics of the project's regions.

3. Implementing Environment/Cross-Cutting Themes

Exploitive child labor
in the Dominican Republic is both a consequence and cause of recurring poverty, which is exacerbated by a low-quality education system. While the rate

of child labor for children under 15 is higher in the Dominican Republic than in Central America, the unemployment rate for individuals ages 15 through 24 years is 31 percent, nearly double that of the average population (17 percent). Thus, paradoxically, premature child labor and school desertion, and high “
youth
” unemployment represent two sides of the same coin; the challenge of overcoming economic and social inequalities and of accessing high quality education and employment opportunities.

In addition, the traditional vocational and skills training institutions have only been partially accessible to low-skilled “
youth
” with low levels of education. National training programs also have not necessarily taken into account the specific social and productive contexts in which the knowledge transferred would be applied. The country's opening up to trade and flow of people migrating and returning provide many opportunities to make reforms. The country also has an engaged business and academic sector eager to address these challenges, and is ripe for the development of such social partnerships.

4. Project-Specific Strategies

This project should focus on strengthening sustainable networks, consortiums, or working groups composed of both public and private sector entities in order to implement actions to eliminate
exploitive child labor
in the Dominican Republic. These actions should also promote educational and training opportunities, particularly those leading to improved future employability for
youth
in jobs that are more likely to combat the cycle of poverty that often results in
exploitive child labor.
The project should pay special attention to promoting corporate social responsibility, developing codes of conduct in specific sectors targeted (e.g., agriculture, tourism, or other proposed sectors of project focus), and expanding the emerging role of the business sector in combating
exploitive child labor
.

Applicants should propose demonstration projects that develop partnerships with social partners such as, but not limited to, the following: employers, industry organizations, worker organization, NGOs, CBOs, and academia to (1) improve the quality of
basic education
for target children under age 14, and (2) enhance educational, vocational and job training and job placement opportunities for target
youth
between the ages of 14 and up to 18 years. Each of the two demonstration projects should forge links between education and practical experience, and promote leadership, entrepreneurship, and citizenship relevant to the Dominican context.

Activities of these partnerships may include, but are not limited to, the following: action research designed to inform demonstration projects and proposed policies that would benefit children involved in
exploitive child labor
in the Dominican Republic. These activities would center on expanding awareness of public and private sector entities regarding
exploitive child labor
, improving coordination between the public and private sector to combat
exploitive child labor
, and the adoption of policies and practices by both public and private organizations to improve educational and employment opportunities for
youth
that have low income and low levels of schooling, no technical training, and work experience only in
exploitive child labor
.

The project may also focus on increasing the number and quality of individual private sector initiatives to eliminate and prevent
exploitive child labor
. Examples of these types of initiatives include the provision of
direct educational services
to children, the adoption of policies or development of innovative initiatives by programs by private sector organizations to combat or monitor
exploitive child labor
, and the development of private sector mechanisms to detect and respond to cases of
exploitive child labor
.

Preventing
Exploitive Child Labor
and Reintegrating War-Affected Children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

i. Background

The Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) concluded a brutal civil war in 2003 that lasted 5 years and took the lives of nearly 4 million people. In 2006, for the first time in more than 40 years, the government held parliamentary and presidential elections. Despite these achievements, armed groups operate outside of the government's control, and fighting continues in different regions of the country, particularly in Ituri District, North and South Kivu, and northern Katanga. Violent conflict, widespread poverty, and a lack of basic services contribute to the exploitation of children.

In the DRC, children work in the informal sector and in subsistence agriculture, which constitute the largest parts of the economy. Some parents make their children hunt, fish, engage in prostitution, or beg in the streets to support their families instead of attending school. Children also work in the extraction of natural resources. In Katanga province, children reportedly dig holes and wash, sift, and transport minerals to pay school fees and support their families. While recent child labor statistics are unavailable, the Understanding Children's Work (UCW) Project, an interagency collaboration among the ILO, UNICEF, and World Bank, estimates that approximately 39.8 percent of children ages 5-14 years were found working in 2000. At the height of the 5-year civil war, an estimated 30,000 children were fighting or living with armed groups. While there are no official statistics, reports indicate that 3,000 to 11,000 children still need to be demobilized. Amnesty International (AI) notes that, while girls represent 40 percent of child soldiers, they only represent two percent of the children released by armed groups in some areas of the country. According to AI, this discrepancy has occurred because service providers falsely assume that female child soldiers are the “wives” of adult fighters. Armed groups in the DRC continue to abduct and recruit children to support violent conflict. Children associated with armed groups are used as combatants, laborers, and sexual slaves or forced to mine natural resources. Many children remain vulnerable to recruitment or re-recruitment due to a lack of economic alternatives and inadequate community support.

Children are trafficked within the DRC for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Most trafficking occurs within the eastern provinces of the country where government control is weak and armed groups continue to abduct and forcibly recruit children.

In October 2005, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported that 1.6 million people remained displaced due to violence and instability. According to UNICEF, displaced children are frequently separated from their parents, removed from school, and exposed to disease and malnutrition.

The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a significant problem in the DRC for all children and their families. According to UNAIDS, there are approximately 120,000 children living with HIV/AIDS and an estimated 680,000 children who have been orphaned by AIDS in the DRC. The HIV/AIDS prevalence rate ranges from 1.7 to 7.6 percent, but it is thought to be as high as 20 percent among women in conflict areas due to widespread sexual abuse and violence.

ii. Relevant Policies, Programs, and Projects

There are a number of current efforts by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo, international organizations, and NGOs to combat
exploitive child labor
, including child soldiering, and address the country's lack of resources. With the support of the World Bank, the government is implementing a national plan for the disarmament, demobilization and reintegration (DDR) of adult and child ex-combatants. In 2006, the government created a national committee to combat the
worst forms of child labor
, adopted the National Plan for the Protection of Children, and finalized a poverty reduction strategy paper that addresses the problem of child labor. In collaboration with UN agencies, the World Bank, the European Commission, and other donors, the government also finalized a Country Assistance Framework (CAF) to coordinate strategies for the reform, reconstruction, and development in the DRC from 2007 to 2010.

The government participates in a 4-year, global project, funded by USDOL and implemented by ILO-IPEC to reintegrate war-affected children. Ending in May 2007, this project aimed to withdraw 2,000 children and prevent another 2,000 children in the DRC from child soldiering and other forms of
exploitive labor.
With government support, UNICEF disarms and reintegrates child soldiers, rehabilitates classrooms, trains teachers, and distributes school supplies. USAID promotes community infrastructure projects and micro-credit schemes to facilitate the reintegration of ex-combatants. USAID is also partnering with select international mining firms to reduce the number of child miners in Katanga province.

The Ministry of Labor is responsible for implementing and enforcing child labor laws and regulations. The law provides for legal sanctions against employers who actively recruit children under the age of 15, and employers who are found employing children under 15 may be punished with a fine. Legal remedies to enforce child labor laws include criminal penalties, civil fines, and withdrawal or suspension of one or more civil, national, or family rights, including denial of legal residence in the country for a period of 5 to 10 years. The law also enables inspectors and the police to bring charges against employers of children under age 15 in all sectors, including apprenticed children and family businesses.

iii. Scope of Work

Applicants must take into account cross-cutting themes (discussed below) that could affect project results in the DRC and meaningfully incorporate them into the proposed strategy, either to increase opportunities for, or reduce obstacles to, successful implementation. In the DRC, specific considerations for project strategies and program activities should include the following components:

1. Specific Target Groups, Sectors, and/or Geographic Focus

The proposal should target children who are engaged in
exploitive child labor
, with a focus on children who have been affected by armed conflict. Applicants are encouraged to include war-affected children compelled to work in mining, mining-related activities, or
exploitive labor
in mining areas as a target group of the project. Applicants are also encouraged to identify target other groups for intervention, but must provide convincing reasons as to why they merit funding.

2. Collaboration With Specific Programs and/or Links to Specific National Policies

Applicants must demonstrate that the proposed project activities support the National Plan for DDR and the National Plan for the Protection of Children, and complement existing policies and programs that address the underlying causes of poverty. At a minimum, collaborations should take place with the Ministry of Labor and Social Security; the Ministry of Primary, Secondary, and Professional Education; the Ministry of Mines; the National Commission for Disarmament, Demobilization and Reintegration; ILO-IPEC; and UNICEF. Applicants must also demonstrate that the project will work collaboratively with local, regional, and national institutions and organizations already engaged in addressing
exploitive child labor
and education issues in the DRC. Applicants should also support the efforts begun under the USDOL-funded, ILO-IPEC Child Soldiers project to
withdraw children from
, and
prevent them from entering, exploitive labor
in the DRC. In addition, the project should also collaborate and coordinate with the projects reintegrating ex-child combatants being implemented by USAID and UNICEF, as well as the USAID-funded mining project in Katanga province.

3. Implementing Environment/Cross-Cutting Themes

USDOL seeks to fund a sustainable project that provides for the emerging educational needs of war-affected children
at-risk
of, or engaged in,
exploitive child labor
in the DRC as the country demobilizes. Applicants should take into consideration the fluidity and constantly changing nature of the security situation in the DRC and related migrations flows. Applicants must also address the cross-cutting theme of HIV/AIDS.

4. Project-Specific Strategies

In developing the project strategy, Applicants must provide a definition of “war-affected children” that will be used in identifying potential
direct beneficiaries
under the project and should account for the demographic and social characteristics of such children and
youth.
Applicants should keep in mind interventions for
hazardous work
, particularly for children between 15 and up to 18 years who meet the minimum age requirements for work. If Applicants propose to target children working in agriculture, they must demonstrate knowledge of injury prevention strategies for children who continue to work under the supervision of their parents. In addition, Applicants should incorporate HIV/AIDS awareness activities into their proposed strategy to
withdraw children from
, and
prevent them from entering, exploitive labor.

Project of Support to the Indonesian Timebound Program on the Elimination of the
Worst Forms of Child Labor

i. Background

Indonesia is the world's fourth most populous country, with an approximate population of 245 million, and has the world's largest Islamic population. Indonesia's economy is still recovering from the effects of the 1997-98 Asian financial crisis and the December 2004 earthquake and tsunami, but has regained macroeconomic stability and is achieving modest progress in pursuing poverty reduction and growth strategies. Major development challenges include improving access, efficiency, and quality in the delivery of education and basic social services; strengthening democratic reform after the country's first direct Presidential elections in 2004; increasing the capacity and resources of recently decentralized government agencies; and accelerating employment opportunities for the estimated 2.5 million new entrants into the workforce each year. In addition, Indonesia continues to battle periodic

natural disasters, such as the 2004 earthquake and tsunami.

Key to accomplishing Indonesia's development goals will be to remove and prevent children from the
worst forms of child labor.
Based on a review of available survey information, in 2002 the ILO estimated that 7.5 percent of children age 10 to 14 years, or 1.6 million children, were working in Indonesia. It was also estimated that 3.4 million children age 15-17 were working, for a total of 4.87 million working children in the country. In both age groups, boys represented approximately 60 percent of working children, while girls represented 40 percent. Localized studies and unofficial estimates put the number of working children much higher.

The majority of child work in Indonesia occurs in rural areas. Children work under hazardous conditions in agriculture on palm oil, cacao, tobacco, and sugar plantations. Children also work in fishing, construction, manufacturing, footwear production, food processing, and the small-scale mining sector. Other children work in the informal sector selling newspapers, shining shoes, street vending, scavenging, and working beside their parents in family businesses or cottage industries. There are also large numbers of street children in urban centers. Children, primarily females, are also exploited in domestic service, often under conditions resembling forced labor. Within Indonesia, girls typically enter domestic service between the ages of 12 and 15 and typically work 14 to 18 hours a day, 7 days a week. They do not have access to education, and often employers forbid them from leaving their workplaces or withhold their wages. In addition, in an attempt to migrate to Malaysia and the Middle East to work as domestic servants, many girls end up being trafficked or exploited in a system of debt bondage by traffickers and recruiting agencies. Easy access to illegal documents and poor regulation of employment recruiting agencies exacerbate the problem.

Indonesia is a source, transit, and destination country for individuals trafficked internationally and internally, including children. Children, primarily girls, are trafficked both internally and internationally for commercial sexual exploitation (CSEC) and domestic service. There are also increasing reports of children being trafficked to work in organized begging rings. In addition, children are exploited in the production of pornography and in the international sex industry. Children are also known to be involved in the production, trafficking, and/or sale of drugs. Indonesia's decentralization policy has placed primary responsibility for provision of education services at the district level. This has contributed to the decline in education standards, especially at the secondary levels, as district governments are ill-prepared to manage the decentralized education systems. There are shortages of teachers in many areas, existing teachers are often poorly trained, and school curricula do not include relevant vocational training. Public funding for education in Indonesia is one of the lowest in South East Asia. By law, education is compulsory and free for nine years in Indonesia. Children are required to attend school until age 15. The law provides for government provision of education services, but also stipulates that families are expected to provide financial contributions supporting educational programs, with the exception of children meeting the “impoverished” guidelines determined by district regulations. For both the impoverished children who receive a government education subsidy and the other children, the additional fees and informal levies, plus the cost of books and uniforms, are often more than families can afford. In addition, transportation costs are many times prohibitive for poor families. USAID estimates that only 40 percent of children who enroll in primary school complete 9 years of
basic education.
The lack of access to schools beyond the primary level contributes to low transition rates to, and high drop-out rates from, junior secondary schools. Children, especially girls, in this grade level and age group are particularly vulnerable to dropping out of school and entering the
worst forms of child labor.
For children who drop out of school, the re-entry to the formal school system can be difficult due to the psychological and emotional trauma that children involved in the
worst forms of child labor
have suffered.

ii. Relevant Policies, Programs, and Projects

There are a number of current efforts by the Government of Indonesia, international organizations, and NGOs to address
exploitive child labor
in Indonesia and also the underlying causes of poverty and lack of resources. Recent reform efforts and statements by the government reflect an increased willingness to openly acknowledge and fiscally support programs to tackle child labor. The government is in the process of completing its first phase of activities under its 20-year National Plan of Action to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor, which focuses on five sectors including fishing, mining, footwear production, trafficking, and the drug trade. The government, coordinated through the National Steering Committee on Child Labor, is reviewing progress of the National Plan of Action to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor to identify priority sectors and activities for the second phase. The State Planning Board, with support from the World Bank, is currently piloting a Conditional Cash Transfer program in six provinces with reduction of child labor as one of the targets for the program. The National Plan of Action to Combat the Trafficking of Women and Children and the National Plan of Action to Combat Commercial Sexual Exploitation are in place, aimed at reducing child trafficking and CSEC. In addition, the Government of Indonesia has incorporated eliminating child labor into its national development policy, including child labor-specific targets and goals in its National Medium Term Development Plan (2004-2009), the Poverty Reduction Strategy (2005-2009), and the National Plan of Action of Human Rights in Indonesia (2004-2009).

The law sets the minimum age for work at 15. Employing and involving children under the age of 18 in the
worst forms of child labor
are prohibited under the law and failure to comply can result in criminal sanctions of two to five years imprisonment. The law defines the
worst forms of child labor
as slavery; use of children in prostitution, pornography and gambling; use of children for alcohol, narcotic, and addictive substance production and trade; and all types of work harmful to the health, safety and morals of the child. The law identifies a list of such harmful activities and provides detailed descriptions and examples of these activities, including jobs requiring children to work with machines; jobs where physical, chemical, or biological hazards are present; jobs with inherent hazards such as construction, offshore fishing, and lifting heavy loads; and jobs that harm the morals of the child including in bars, massage parlors, discotheques, or in the promotion of alcohol or drugs. The law contains an exception for employing children ages 13 to 15 years in light work that does not harm their physical, mental, and social development. A set of requirements is outlined for employment of children in this age range, including a maximum of three hours of work per day, parental

permission, and no disruption of schooling.

Additional legal sanctions are laid out for the offenses of CSEC, child trafficking, involving children in the production or distribution of alcohol or narcotics, and involving children in armed conflict. A newly passed anti-trafficking bill criminalizes all types of human trafficking domestically and internationally, prescribes harsh penalties for violators of the bill, and mandates victim services and compensation.

The Government of Indonesia is participating in a USD 4.1 million USDOL-funded ILO-IPEC project in support of the National Plan of Action to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor and Timebound Program to progressively eliminate the
worst forms of child labor
, as well as a USD 1.4 million addendum to address vulnerable children in tsunami-stricken areas. In support of the national Timebound Program, USDOL also funds a USD 6 million Child Labor Education Initiative project implemented by Save the Children to combat child trafficking in Indonesia, and a USD 2.5 million project implemented by Save the Children to prevent children from entering
exploitive labor
in tsunami-affected areas. In 2006, the Government of Indonesia also participated in a regional USDOL-funded anti-trafficking project and a regional awareness-raising project to eliminate the
worst forms of child labor.
In addition, in 2006 a Netherlands-supported USD 1.2 million project to eliminate exploitive child domestic work in Indonesia and 7 other countries in the region was completed. Sweden continues to support a project on child labor and
youth
employment in Indonesia, Pakistan, Tanzania, Egypt, and Guatemala.

iii. Scope of Work

Applicants must propose a creative and innovative approach to address the challenges of educating and assisting children engaged in, or
at-risk
of entering, the
worst forms of child labor.
Strategies must be in alignment with the government's current efforts to design and implement the second phase of its National Plan of Action to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor, and must also build on efforts initiated under the first phase. Applicants must demonstrate knowledge of Phase I National Plan of Action to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor activities and, where applicable, propose strategies to continue or build off those efforts. Applicants must take into account cross-cutting themes (discussed below), specific considerations, and additional activities that could affect project results in Indonesia, and meaningfully incorporate them into the proposed strategy, either to increase opportunities or reduce obstacles to successful implementation.

1. Specific Target Groups, Sectors, and/or Geographic Focus

Proposed
direct beneficiaries
should be children working in sectors identified by the government as priority areas within Phase II of the National Plan of Action to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor. Applicants do not need to propose
direct beneficiaries
for all sectors identified in the National Plan of Action to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor, but at a minimum, children working in domestic service, on plantations, and trafficked for CSEC should be included in the project's target groups. Applicants should also propose strategies for assisting urban street children, as a high risk group for trafficking and involvement in the drug trade. Applicants may identify other sectors where children are engaged in, or
at-risk
of engaging in other
worst forms of child labor
, but should present a compelling reason for this choice. Geographic target areas should also be consistent with Phase II of the National Plan of Action to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor and take into account previous activities or new areas that need urgent attention. Given the recent humanitarian assistance needs as a result of the natural disasters on Java and Sumatra islands, Applicants may choose to focus on child labor issues that already existed or may have been exacerbated in these areas.

2. Collaboration With Specific Programs and/or Links to Specific National Policies

Applicants should support the Government of Indonesia's Timebound Program to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor and its efforts under Phase II of the National Plan of Action to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor. In particular, at the national level, close collaboration with the National Action Committee on Child Labor, chaired by the Ministry of Manpower and Transmigration, is necessary. Since a Timebound Program is complex, in addition to the Ministry of Manpower, the project should include other ministries working in the area of child labor and protection including, but not limited to, the following: The Ministry of National Education, Ministry of Social Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry for Women's Empowerment, the National Development Planning Agency (BAPPENAS), and the National Police. Applicants should also collaborate with other national and international institutions carrying out child labor projects including ILO-IPEC, Save the Children, IOM, and UNICEF. Additionally, due to Indonesia's policy of decentralization, strong collaboration with relevant ministries and action committees at the provincial and district levels is imperative. Applicants should also be involved in the government's efforts to implement the Conditional Cash Transfer program. If working in areas of the recent natural disaster, Applicants should coordinate with other donors providing assistance, and complement rather than duplicate existing efforts. Applicants are also encouraged to demonstrate how their organization's previous efforts to combat child labor or promote education have led to the mainstreaming and sustainability of project initiatives.

3. Implementing Environment/Cross-Cutting Themes

Since the late 1990's, Indonesia has undergone recurrent political and economic unrest and instability, which has an impact on overall country development. The country held its first direct presidential elections in 2004 and recently, the government has committed itself to political, economic and social transformations. The country is engaged in debate on development themes including education reform; economic growth and employment creation; good governance and democracy; and continued strengthening of decentralization. Policy decisions in these areas directly affect many of the factors that lead children to enter
exploitive child labor.
Indonesia is the world's largest Muslim country and while the government is secular, religious traditions, organizations and institutions play an important part in the cultural, political, and societal environment in Indonesia. In addition to Islam, there are a multitude of minority religions and ethnic groups existing within the country and in some areas, there are inter-religious/ethnic conflict and tension.

Furthermore, over the past 3 years, Indonesia has been plagued by a series of large-scale natural disasters in both rural and urban areas, including the December 2004 tsunami, the May 2006 earthquake in central Java, the 2007 earthquake in Yogyakarta and flooding in Jakarta, as well as a series of more localized, small-scale disasters. Indonesia continues to be at high risk for future natural disasters due to its location and geography. The past

disasters have caused extreme damage or destruction of houses, livelihood equipment, crops, roads and other basic infrastructure including schools. Due to families' loss of income, destruction of homes, and deprivation of education opportunities, children in disaster-stricken areas are more vulnerable and
at-risk
of entering the
worst forms of child labor.
Applicants should consider how the above factors of political and economic instability, religion, and natural disasters might affect the project in the geographic areas where the project would be implemented. Applicants should propose a design that would contribute to lessening the effect of macro level instability, minimize disruptions when such events occur, and address responses in any project sites affected by disaster.

4. Project-Specific Strategies

Applicants must propose a strategy to assist the Government of Indonesia to implement Phase II of the National Plan of Action to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor to eliminate the
worst forms of child labor.
Specifically, the Applicant's strategy should strengthen the capacity of the Indonesian government, civil society, employers, and trade unions to take immediate, effective, and time-bound measures to: (a) Provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for the
withdrawal
of children from the
worst forms of child labor
and for their rehabilitation and social integration; (b) provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for
prevention
of the
worst forms of child labor
; (c) ensure access to free
basic education
, and, wherever possible and appropriate, to non-formal and vocational training, for all children
withdrawn from
, or
at-risk
of entering,
exploitive child labor
; (d) identify and reach out to children at special risk; (e) improve design and implementation of relevant policies and programs to
exploitive child labor
; and (f) raise awareness on the dangers of
exploitive child labor
and the importance of education.

In addition to prioritizing provision of
direct educational services
to children engaged in, and
at-risk
of entering,
exploitive child labor,
the proposed strategy should have a strong focus on upstream policy-level work, supporting the appropriate government and non-government agencies in implementing Phase II of the National Plan of Action to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor. Applicants must demonstrate their existing linkages and relationships with the relevant agencies and organizations, or demonstrate how these linkages will be quickly formed, to ensure a smooth transition of activities from Phase I to Phase II of the National Plan of Action to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor. Specific proposed activities can include, but are not limited to, the following: technical support and guidance to the National Action Committee on the elimination of the
worst forms of child labor;
support in the formation and functioning of provincial and district action committees on the elimination of the
worst forms of child labor;
assistance in raising awareness on and implementing the provisions of the new anti-trafficking bill as it relates to children; developing legislation and policy related to child domestic workers; technical assistance in data collection and mapping of
worst forms of child labor;
development of a national or provincial level
child labor monitoring system (CLMS);
increased coordination and involvement of civil society, employers, and trade unions with government efforts to eliminate
exploitive child labor;
capacity building for labor inspectors and law enforcement to improve enforcement of existing law and regulations on child labor; and technical guidance to BAPPENAS as it undertakes the implementation of the conditional cash transfer program to ensure continued attention to child labor concerns.

The lingering effects of the financial crisis and decentralization of education services have caused deterioration in the education system. The proposed strategy should increase the capacity of the local Ministry of Education offices in target district and provinces to ensure improved service delivery, increased budgetary commitments and management, and awareness of
exploitive child labor.
Service delivery and management should be further enhanced in both the formal and non-formal system through teacher and administrator trainings and other approaches. Applicants must also develop a strategy that will improve the relevance of, and access to, education, especially at the junior secondary levels. Applicants must also design a strategy to assist child laborers who are unable or unwilling to attend formal school, by providing access to non-formal education and vocational training through community learning centers or other appropriate service providers.

Applicants should exhibit an understanding of existing efforts to promote
youth
employment in Indonesia and in the South East Asia region and design interventions to support public/private partnerships to promote job training programs and
youth
employment for children of legal working age. Applicants are encouraged to propose interventions to increase vocational training opportunities for
youth
and support alternative income generating activities for parents to reduce their reliance on their children's labor to supplement family income and to encourage school enrollment. Where such programs already exist and are functioning, Applicants are encouraged to demonstrate existing linkages to implementing agencies and to propose strategies for collaboration and coordination of efforts.

Migration

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Source: Frix Law Library, https://www.frixlaw.com/law-library/documents/fr%3AE7-11526. Public record. Not legal advice.