R 302046Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BELMOPAN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1655
DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
INFO WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BELMOPAN 000045 
 
 
DEPT FOR DRL/ILCSR (TU DANG), WHA/CEN (CHRISTOPHER ASHE) 
 
LABOR FOR DOL/ILAB (TINA MCCARTER) 
 
GENEVA FOR INTERNATIONAL LABOR ORGANIZATION 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI BH
SUBJECT:  BELIZE: CHILD LABOR INFORMATION FOR TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT 
ACT 
 
REF:  08 STATE 127448 
 
¶1.  Per reftel, Post submits its updated report on child labor 
information for Belize for USDOL's use in preparing its 
congressionally-mandated report on child labor as required by the 
Trade Development Act of 2000. 
 
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Summary 
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¶2.  Child labor does exist in Belize but is not considered prevalent 
in the formal economic structure of Belize.  Ministry of Labor (MOL) 
officials indicate that the supply of cheap, readily-available 
migrant labor reduces the demand for child labor in general.  The 
government's limited human and financial resources are a challenge 
in effectively eliminating the problem entirely.  However, the 
government, NGOs and international organizations are aware of the 
problem and have taken steps to address the worst forms of child 
labor.  End summary. 
 
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Belize Laws and Regulations 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3.  Employment laws, regulations and guidelines are set forth by the 
Labour Act of Belize.  However, many of the regulations contained in 
the Act are unclear.  For example, the minimum age for employment 
varies among sections within the Labour Act.  Section 169, entitled 
"Restrictions on Employment of Children," sets the minimum 
employment age at 12 years.  Other sections state that "no person 
shall employ a child in a public or private industrial undertaking" 
and define a child as anyone under the age of 14 years. 
 
¶4.  Section 169 of the Labour Act also states that children may not 
work: 
 
 - before the close of school hours on any day on which s/he is 
required to attend school; 
 - before 6AM or after 8PM on any day; and 
 - for more than 2 hours on any day on which s/he is required to 
attend school or on Sunday. 
 
In addition, the Act states that a child cannot work in any 
occupation likely to be injurious to his/her life, health, or 
education, with ultimate authority residing with the Minister who 
has the ability to authorize or prohibit all types of work for 
children of all ages within the framework of the law.  The Families 
and Children Act - which defines a child as any person under the age 
of 18 - also prohibits children from employment in activities that 
may be detrimental to the child's health, education, or mental, 
physical, or moral development.  Although there is no law 
establishing a minimum age for conscription into the military, the 
minimum age for voluntary enrollment is 18 years. 
 
¶5.  While the Constitution prohibits forced or bonded labor, and 
various sections and chapters of Belize legislation contain laws 
against organized prostitution and the procurement of a child for 
prostitution or pornography, no section of the law specifically 
describes the worst forms of child labor or hazardous work as 
defined by ILO.  Belize ratified ILO Convention 182 on March 6, 2000 
and drafted a definition of the "worst forms of child labor" that 
mimics that in the ILO Convention 182.  The GoB has also drafted a 
Hazardous Work List to be incorporated into the Occupational, 
Safety, and Health Act.  According to the Labour Department and 
other stakeholders, both the definition of the "worst forms of child 
labor" and hazardous work were reviewed and refined during the year 
but have not yet been adopted legislatively. 
 
¶6.  Data from the Belize Statistical Institute (BSI) indicated that 
as of September 2007, more than one-third of Belize's population 
comprised children under 14 years of age.  24.4 percent of the labor 
force was between the ages of 14 and 24 in 2007.  The BSI did not 
include data on workers under the age of 14. 
 
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Implementation and Enforcement 
------------------------------ 
 
¶7.  The Labour Department has the authority to implement and enforce 
child labor laws in Belize, but has limited resources to investigate 
complaints.  The Department of Labour reported no investigations 
during the year.  The Police Department is responsible for 
investigating the criminal aspect of the violation.  Penalties for 
non-compliance with child labor laws range from USD 10 or two months 
of imprisonment for the first offense, to USD 25 or four months of 
imprisonment for subsequent offenses.  The penalties are inadequate 
punishment to deter child employers.  Ministry of Education 
inspectors investigate truancy and some child labor complaints. 
 
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Social Programs 
--------------- 
 
¶8.  As noted above, the Labour Department and other GoB agencies 
lack sufficient resources to provide extensive social programs to 
prevent and withdraw children from the worst forms of child labor. 
Often, non-governmental organizations must fill in the gaps. The 
National Committee for Families and Children (NCFC) is a 
quasi-governmental organization formed in 1994 as the major advisory 
body to the government of Belize on family and children's issues. 
Representatives from the Ministries of Human Development, Health, 
Education and several NGOs and international organizations are 
members of the Committee. 
 
¶9.  The commercial sexual exploitation of children and adolescents 
(CSEC) is a problem in Belize according to NGOs and governmental 
organizations.  It is often identified as the "sugar daddy" syndrome 
in which young girls and boys develop a relationship with an older 
person in order to pay for school fees, or to provide food, housing, 
or other benefits for their family members.  Youth Enhancement 
Services (YES) is one NGO in Belize that has been engaged in a 
sustained advocacy campaign that has addressed CSEC since 2004.  The 
YES campaign empowers young girls and boys to protect themselves and 
be aware of their rights, raises public awareness about CSEC, and 
advocates for effective legislation to protect children from sexual 
abuse. 
 
¶10.  Education in Belize is compulsory for children between the ages 
of 5 and 14 years.  The Education Act subjects parents to a fine of 
up to USD 50 if their children of compulsory school age fail to 
attend school regularly.  Primary education is free, but related 
expenses, such as uniforms and books, are a financial strain on poor 
families.  And though the Ministry of Education estimates that 21% 
of the government's recurrent expenditures for the 2007/2008 year 
was spent on education, most of the funding pays for teachers' 
salaries. 
 
¶11.  According to the Ministry of Education in 2007/2008 the gross 
primary enrollment rate was 97.0 percent while the net primary 
enrollment rate was 84.6 percent.  For the same time period, the 
gross secondary enrollment rate was 53.5 percent and the net 
secondary enrollment rate was 40.0 percent.  The completion rate is 
48.3% for primary school and 59.8% for secondary school. 
 
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Comprehensive Policy 
--------------------- 
 
¶12.  In 2004, the Government of Belize drafted a National Plan of 
Action (NPA) for Children and Adolescents, the purpose of which is 
to promote the development of children and adolescents through 2015. 
 The NPA outlines objectives, strategies and specific actions in the 
areas of health, education, child protection, family, HIV/AIDS, and 
culture.  Portions of the NPA are relevant to eliminating the worst 
forms of child labor in Belize:  the plan aims to address issues 
such as the affordability and accessibility of education and the 
elimination of child abuse, abandonment and labor. It does not, 
however, provide a definition of the worst forms of child labor. 
 
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Continual Progress 
------------------ 
 
¶13.  The GoB continued to support the NCFC in 2008 by providing a 
subvention and program funds (USD 200,000 equivalent).  NCFC 
continues to implement a project, "Withdrawal and Rehabilitation of 
Child Labourers in Two Mayan Communities in the Toledo District", in 
the San Antonio Village and Big Falls/Dump Area.  The project aimed 
to reintegrate 75 children in the agricultural sector into school, 
prevent 200 children from being drawn into child labor, train 
parents in entrepreneurial skills to enable them to earn extra 
income, train municipal government personnel and NGOs, and monitor 
the area through local stakeholder organizations.  Thirteen children 
still remain in the program and the NCFC is currently looking for 
funding for the monitoring and evaluation phase of this project. 
The NCFC along with ILO also conducted media sensitization training 
for CSEC in 2008.  During the training, they helped to prepare 
guidelines for the media for questioning victims.  The program 
garnered support from the media for combating CSEC. 
 
¶14. In 2008, YES launched another program to reintegrate and prevent 
victims of child labor, specifically CSEC.  YES identified 
approximately 100 at-risk youths for CSEC and provided skills 
training to the youths and their parents in order to provide 
alternative sources of income for the families.  YES also provided 
workshops for high school teachers around the country to educate 
them about CSEC and to urge them to become part of the solution to 
the problem.  YES received USD 30,000 (equivalent) in 2008 from the 
GOB and additional project funds from ILO/IPEC. 
 
¶15. In August 2008, UNICEF along with ILO provided a training 
session for Labor Officers to examine the negative impact of child 
labor and to review child labor indicators. 
 
¶16. In 2007, the previous government announced a free school 
textbook program that continued under the new administration in 
¶2008.  The new Prime Minister pledged during the 2008 elections to 
provide an annual subsidy of USD 150 (equivalent) to first and 
second form (middle school) students to help compensate for 
additional fees charged by schools.  In May 2008, the Minister of 
Education announced the beginning of the implementation of this 
effort. 
 
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Comment 
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¶17. Reports from NGOs and government organizations indicated that 
child labor is not prevalent and not organized in Belize.  Children 
in rural areas did work on family plots and businesses after school, 
on weekends, and during vacations, and were involved in the citrus 
and banana industries at times assisting their parents.  There were 
ambiguities in the legal definition of child labor in relation to 
light work, hazardous work, and artistic performance, which the 
Ministry of Labor in consultation with UNICEF and other stakeholders 
worked to clarify during the year. 
 
¶18.  The YES training programs continue to receive media attention 
and reach hundreds of youths at-risk for CSEC.  The commitment of a 
few individuals in Belize to combat CSEC and other worst forms of 
child labor are indications that the government of Belize, as well 
as civil society and international organizations, are addressing the 
worst forms of child labor in Belize.  However, the country still 
remains resource-challenged.  Public awareness has increased through 
GOB and NGO efforts in the major cities and in the rural, 
agricultural areas of Belize.  Enforcement and prosecution in 
general and in relation to the worst forms of child labor remain 
additional hurdles to eliminating the activity.  End comment. 
 
DIFFILY