2001 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Angola

Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor

Armed conflict in Angola has severely affected children and limited government spending for social and educational programs.^[32] In 2001, the government initiated a national registration system to document the age of children under 18, which will enable military recruiters to adhere to minimum conscription age laws by verifying age documentation.^[33] In 1994, the Government of Angola and UNITA signed the Lusaka Protocol, which gave UNICEF responsibility for the establishment of rehabilitation programs for former child soldiers. UNICEF locates relatives, arranges transportation and reunites the children with their families. The program also serves to identify appropriate school and job training opportunities, and prepares local communities to accept children who were engaged in armed conflict.^[34]

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

In 1999, the ILO estimated that 26.3 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 14 in Angola were working.^[35] Many children work in subsistence agriculture and as domestic servants.^[36] In 1998, UNICEF estimated that there were approximately 5,000 street children living in Luanda, many of whom work in the commercial sex industry, or as street vendors or beggars.^[37] Both the Government and the rebel militia of National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA) have used children as soldiers, and it there are reportedly nearly 7,000 children currently drafted, some as young as 10 years old.^[38] UNITA drafts or kidnaps children to serve in combat and as laborers.^[39]

Education in Angola is compulsory for eight years,^[40] and it is free of charge, although families are responsible for significant additional fees.^[41] In 1991, gross enrollment in primary school was 88.1 percent.^[42] Primary school attendance rates are unavailable for Angola. While enrollment rates indicate a level of commitment to education, they do not always reflect children's participation in school.^[43]

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The minimum age for employment in Angola is 14 years.^[44] Children between the ages of 14 and 18 are not permitted to work at night, in dangerous conditions, or in occupations requiring great physical effort.^[45] Children under 16 years of age are restricted from working in factories.^[46] Forced or bonded labor is prohibited by law,^[47] and in 1998 the Angolan Council of Ministers established a minimum conscription age for military service of 17 years.^[48] Trafficking is not prohibited in Angola,^[49] and there are no laws specifically dealing with child prostitution or child pornography, although prostitution at any age is prohibited.^[50]

The Inspector General of the Ministry of Public Administration, Employment, and Social Security is responsible for enforcing labor laws. In theory, child labor complaints are filed with the Ministry of Family and Women's Affairs. In addition, the Ministry of Public Administration, Employment, and Social Security maintains employment centers to screen out applicants under age 14. Fines and restitutions are the primary available legal remedies for the enforcement of child labor laws. However, there is no formal procedure for inspections and investigations into child labor, and reports of child labor complaints have been virtually non-existent.^[51] The Government of Angola ratified ILO Convention 138 and ILO Convention 182 on June 13, 2001.^[52]

[32] UNICEF, A Humanitarian Appeal for Children and Women, January-December 2001, Angola [hereinafter Humanitarian Appeal].

[33] U.S. Embassy-Luanda, unclassified telegram no. 3017, September 2001 [hereinafter unclassified telegram 3017].

[34] UNICEF is also working on an emergency education initiative to provide schooling for internally displaced children. See Damien Personnaz, "For Angola's Former Child Soldiers, Peace Brings Uneasy Calm," UNICEF Feature, at http://www.unicef.org/features/feat171.htm. See also Coalition to End the Use of Child Soldiers, Global Report 2001: Angola [hereinafter Global Report 2001], at http://www.child-soldiers.org/embargo/donotpublish/globalreport.html#, and Humanitarian Appeal.

[35] World Development Indicators 2001 (Washington, D.C.: World Bank, 2001) [hereinafter World Development Indicators 2001] [CD-ROM].

[36] Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2000 – Angola (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State, 2001) [hereinafter Country Reports 2000], Section 6d, at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/af/index.cfm?docid=658.

[37] According to a local NGO in Luanda, about 500 to 1,000 children were working as prostitutes in the capital city. See "Angola: Children Survive War as Scavengers, Prostitutes," UN Wire, June 1, 1999, at http://www.unfoundation.org/unwire/archives/search-r.asp?q=angola&qu2=women&ct=UNF_DBase2, and Country Reports 2000 at Section 5.

[38] The use of child soldiers is a significant and ongoing problem in Angola. In March 1996, the UN's Department of Humanitarian Affairs surveyed 17,000 demobilized soldiers in just 4 of 15 demobilization centers and found that more than 1,500 were under age 18. Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers sources report 3,000 children active in the Angolan Armed Forces and another 3,000 active with the National Union for the Total Independence of Angola (UNITA), despite efforts to demobilize 8,500 children following the 1994 peace agreement. The State Department reports that children as young as age 10 are being recruited or forcibly conscripted by UNITA. The Government of Angola does not target children in recruitment and conscription efforts, but because of difficulties in documenting age, it is common to discover children as young as age 16 or 17 on active duty. To enforce laws on mandatory military service, the armed forces and police conducted forced conscription drives in many of the areas under the control of the government, including Luanda, in which some minors may have been recruited. The government denied that forced recruiting was taking place, however. See Country Reports 2000 at Section 5, Global Report 2001, and unclassified telegram 3017.

[39] Unclassified telegram 3017.

[40] UN Commission on Human Rights, Preliminary Report of the Special Rapporteur on the Right to Education, prepared by Katarina Tomasevski, at http://www.right-to-education.org/unreports/unreport1prt3.html#tabel6 on 10/30/01.

[41] Country Reports 2000 at Section 5.

[42] UNESCO, Education for All: Year 2000 Assessment (Paris, 2000) [CD-ROM]. The U.S. State Department reports net enrollment to be dramatically lower and states that only 30 percent of children remain in school after grade 5. Net enrollment of school-age children is 40 percent, and approximately 1 million children are estimated to be out of school, with no prospect of future integration into the education system. See also World Development Indicators 2001 and Country Reports 2000 at Section 5.

[43] For a more detailed discussion on the relationship between education statistics and work, see Introduction to this report.

[44] Country Reports 2000 at Section 6d.

[45] Ibid.

[46] Ibid.

[47] Ibid. at Section 6c.

[48] According to UNICEF, only 5 percent of the births in Angola are registered, which causes problems when verifying children's ages for both military recruitment and school enrollment purposes. See unclassified telegram 3017. See also Humanitarian Appeal.

[49] Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2001 – Angola (U.S. Department of State: Washington, D.C., 2002), Section 6f.

[50] U.S. Embassy-Luanda, unclassified telegram no. 3182, August 2000.

[51] Angola's primary law concerning child labor comes from Articles 29-31 of the Constitutional Law of 1992, which guarantee protection of the family and children. Child labor is thereby considered a family issue, and responsibility for implementation and enforcement of child labor laws is delegated to the Ministry of Family and Women's Affairs. There are no reports that forced labor occurs in government-held areas, but the government does not have the capacity to enforce this legislation in non-government-held areas. See Country Reports 2000 at Section 6c and U.S. Embassy-Luanda, unclassified telegram no. 2685, July 2000.

[52] ILOLEX database: Angola at http://ilolex.ilo.ch:1567/english/ on 10/30/01.