VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #2261/01 1721658
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 201658Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3302
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 8254
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS PRIORITY 0588
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ JUN 9508
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA PRIORITY 6284
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA PRIORITY 1892
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO PRIORITY 6950
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL PRIORITY 4466

UNCLAS BOGOTA 002261 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOL FOR ILAB RACHEL RIGBY 
DEPT FOR DRL/ILCSR MARK MITTELHAUSER 
DEPT ALSO FOR G/TIP STEVE STEINER AND WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON PGOV PREL SOCI CO
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA: INFORMATION ON CHILD/FORCED LABOR IN THE 
PRODUCTION OF GOODS 
 
REF: STATE 043120 
 
SUMMARY 
------- 
¶1. The following is information on forced labor and 
exploitative child labor in the production of goods in 
Colombia, as requested per reftel.  Post obtained the 
information from Colombian government agencies, human rights 
groups, and the International Labor Organization (ILO) for 
use in preparing a list of goods produced with child labor, 
forced labor, or forced child labor, as mandated by the 
Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005. 
Copies of source materials will be sent separately per 
reftel.  Colombia's agricultural and mining sectors do not 
appear to have significant child labor issues, but a lack of 
solid data indicates further research may be warranted. END 
SUMMARY 
 
 
COFFEE, SUGAR CANE, BANANAS AND PLANTAINS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶2. Type: Exploitative child labor 
Source/year of information: National Administrative 
Department of Statistics (DANE - 2005), ILO/IPEC 
Representative in Colombia (2008), Colombian Human Rights 
Ombudsman (2006) 
 
¶3. Description: DANE reports that 393,058 children work in 
the agricultural sector in Colombia, the majority of whom 
work on illicit crops. The Colombian Human Rights Ombudsman 
reports that 200,000 children work in the cultivation of 
illegal coca.  National Coordinator for the International 
Program to Eliminate Child Labor (IPEC/ILO) Liliana Obregon 
says that in rural areas it is difficult to determine how 
many children work in the informal agricultural sector.  She 
says that in rural areas, and especially in 
indigenous-dominated areas of Colombia, it is culturally 
acceptable for children to help their families cultivate 
agricultural products such as coffee, sugar cane, bananas, 
and plantains.  Obregon tells us there is no evidence of 
significant use of child labor in the formal agricultural 
sector; the large-scale plantations, which produce about 99% 
of Colombia's agricultural exports, are inspected frequently. 
 
¶4. Obregon says the coffee sector merits additional study. 
She notes there is a special program operated by the Ministry 
of Education in some rural areas called "new school" that 
offers education to students at early or late hours in the 
day, allowing them to help with the coffee harvest and still 
study.  She says that although the intention is good (keeping 
children in school), this system often allows children to 
continue to work illegally.  Obregon adds that because coffee 
beans need to be hand picked, this sector could be 
particularly susceptible to child labor.  She notes that 
Colombian law allows for children over 15 to work (for 
limited hours) with proper permits.  Still, only 20,000 
Colombian children have obtained the permits, leaving many in 
the informal and at-risk sectors. 
 
¶5. Incidence: There is not sufficient information to indicate 
that the incidence of exploitative child labor in the 
production of coffee, sugar cane, bananas and plantains is 
significant. Still, continued study and monitoring of the 
 
issue is warranted. 
 
¶6. Action:  The ILO hopes to fund more studies to collect 
information on these specific agricultural sectors. 
Additional information on government and international 
initiatives is included in the final paragraph. 
 
MINING OF COAL, GOLD, CLAY AND EMERALDS 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. Type: Exploitative child labor 
Source/year of information: Ingeominas (2006), ILO/IPEC 
Representative in Colombia (2008), MINERCOL (2001), National 
Administrative Department of Statistics (DANE - 2005) 
 
¶8. Ingeominas, a GOC institute that works with the Ministry 
 
of Mines and the private sector, reports that 200,000-400,000 
children work in the informal sector that surrounds the 
emerald, gold, clay and coal mining industries.  DANE reports 
8,735 children work in the mining industry.  Obregon says 
these children primarily work with their families in the 
artisanal and informal mining sector.  She says the DANE 
numbers are low because they use self-identification to 
produce these statistics. 
 
¶9. Obregon notes that "almost all" of the production of coal, 
gold, clay and emeralds comes from the large mining 
companies, not from the artisanal and informal mining sector. 
 The ILO visited most of the mining companies in Colombia, 
and found that child labor is not used in the formal sector. 
Obregon noted that more boys were employed in the mining 
sector than girls, and that the gold sector is dominated by 
Afro-Colombian families due to geographical reasons (gold is 
found in the Afro-Colombian dominated Choco region). 
 
¶10. MINERCOL reports that child labor in small scale mining 
occurs in the following regions: coal mining principally in 
the Municipality of Sogamoso Boyaca region, gold mining in 
the Municipality of Condoto in Choco, clay mining in the 
Municipality of Nemocon in Cundinamarca, and emerald mining 
in the municipality of Muzo in Boyaca. 
 
¶11. Incidence: It is clear the incidence of the exploitative 
child labor is isolated to the informal sector, which 
accounts for 1-3% of the production of these goods. 
Therefore, although the amount of exploitative child labor 
does not merit a "significant" determination, it does merit 
further study and monitoring in the future.  Another issue is 
that the most recent statistics by mining sector on 
exploitative child labor are from 2001 -- new data is needed. 
 
¶12. Action: The Ministry of Education, Ministry of Social 
Protection, IPEC/ILO, UNICEF, and the Colombian Institute for 
Children and Families (ICBF) work together vis-a-vis the 
Joint Strategy to Eliminate all of the Worst Forms of Child 
Labor in Colombia.  Their efforts include after-school 
programs, work-place inspections, training initiatives, and 
programs that support school outreach programs to locate 
children not attending school.  The ILO hopes to fund more 
studies to gather information on these specific agricultural 
sectors. The new Department of Labor supported "Educate Me 
First" program will provide after-school programs for over 
10,200 at-risk Colombian children by 2011. 
STANFORD