Democratic+Republic+of+Congo's+position+paper+(1.st+draft)

by Tchela Mbumba.

Commettee: International Labour Organitation. Topic: Child Labour. Country: Democratic Republic of Congo

A peace accord in 2003 ended a vicious civil war that claimed the lives of more than 3 million people. However, armed conflict has continued in pockets of the country, especially in the east. Severe poverty, insecurity, lack of basic social services and sexual violence all continue to take a heavy toll on children. According to Global Witness, children dig holes, wash, sift and transport to pay school fees and support their families. Some of this children are even in armed groups outside of the governmet's control in the easterns Democratic Republic of the Congo, some of them are forced to work as combatants, labourers and sex slaves. The law sets the minimum employment at 15 years, with the permission of a parent or protector they can start at 15 and 18 years, the childrens tahat have less than 16 years may work 4 hours only per day. The law prohibits the worst child labour under the penalty of imprisionment for six months and a fine, the law bans forced labour and the recluitment of some person under the age of 18 at army or recluitment for hostilities. More than a quarter of children ages 5 to 14 are working. At least 80 percent of the Congolese workers struggle in the informal economy. -Age 5-11 years: 1 hour of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work per week. -Age 12-14 years: 14 hours of economic work or 28 hours of domestic work per week. -Age 15-17 years: 43 hours of domestic work per week.
 * Hours of work per age:**

A progressive series of decentralization laws gives shared administrative and political power to the national government and 26 provincial governments (including 15 newly designated ones). The new structure grants each province the power to levy taxes, craft development projects, and control customs taxes. Moreover, 40 percent of national revenues that provinces raise inside their borders are guaranteed to return to the provinces. Although decentralization is aimed at bringing state authority closer to the people being governed and sharing the nation’s revenue more equitably, many observers feel that to ensure success, it must be an open and transparent process, accompanied by intensive capacity-building and training programs, stringent financial management systems, sufficient resources to deliver social services, and rigorous anti-corruption measures. To protect them a National Council was created and to coordinate programmes to protect orphans, child soldiers, survivors of sexual abuse and other vulnerable children. Also UNICEF worked with several local organizations to begin the process of disarming and reinterating nearly 3,000 child soldiers.

[|www.dol.gov/ilab/map/countries/congo_democratic_republic.htm] [|www.unicef.org/infobycountry/drcongo_636.html] [|www.childinfo.org/labour.html] [|www.solidaritycenter.org/content.asp?contentid=883] [|www.unicef.org/infobycountry/drcongo_636.html]
 * Bibliography**: