VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDG #0206/01 0441800
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131800Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
TO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2262
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
RUEHLP/AMEMBASSY LA PAZ FEB PORT AU PRINCE 4934
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0397

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000206 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER 
DRL/ILCSR FOR TU DANG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID DR
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC - RESPONSE FOR CHILD LABOR 
INFORMATION 
 
REF: A. 08 STATE 127448 
     ¶B. 08 SDO 887 
     ¶C. 07 SDO 2697 
 
¶1. The following information is Post's response to Reftel A 
request for information for the Trade and Development Act 
2008 Report and follows the same question and answer format 
as the original request. 
 
A) Laws and regulations proscribing the worst forms of child 
labor. 
 
What laws have been promulgated on child labor in the country? 
 
RESPONSE: In 2004, the Dominican Republic passed law 136-03, 
which established that children have the right to protection 
from economic exploitation.  This law states that the 
protection falls under the responsibility of the State 
through the National Council for Children and Adolescents 
(CONANI). 
 
What is the country's minimum age for admission to work? 
 
RESPONSE: Labor Code 16-92 prohibits employment of children 
younger than 14 and places restrictions on employment of 
children under age 16.  Labor Code 16-92 Article 245 sets the 
country's minimum age of employment. 
 
Are there exceptions to the minimum age law? 
 
RESPONSE: No, but children between the ages of 14 and 16 can 
only work hours that do not interfere with their schooling. 
 
What is the minimum age for admission to hazardous work, and 
additional provisions has the country enacted regarding 
children's involvement in hazardous work? 
 
RESPONSE: Those under age 18 are prohibited from working in 
hazardous conditions and in establishments serving alcohol. 
They also may only work limited hours in the nighttime. 
 
What laws have been promulgated on the worst forms of child 
labor, such as forced child labor and trafficking or child 
prostitution and pornography? 
 
RESPONSE: Article 25 of the Labor Code prohibits forced 
labor, child prostitution and child pornography.  The 
government passed an additional law in 2007 criminalizing the 
electronic dissemination, sale and/or purchase of child 
pornography. 
 
Please specify what worst forms are prohibited and describe 
penalties for violations. 
 
RESPONSE: Commercial sexual exploitation, dangerous 
agricultural work, urban work, domestic work outside of their 
own home, trafficking in persons and contraband. 
 
What is the country's minimum age for military? 
 
RESPONSE: The minimum age to join the military is 16 years 
old. 
 
If the country has ratified ILO Convention 182 on the Worst 
Forms of Child Labor, has it developed a list of occupations 
considered to be worst forms of child labor, as called for in 
article 4 of the Convention? 
 
RESPONSE: The country has ratified Convention 182.  The 
government passed resolution 52-2004 that lists occupations 
that are considered to be the worst forms of child labor. 
 
B) Regulations for implementation and enforcement of 
proscriptions against the worst forms of child labor. 
 
What legal remedies are available to government agencies that 
enforce child labor and worst forms of child labor laws and 
are they adequate to punish and deter violations? 
 
RESPONSE: The possible imprisonment for commercialization of 
children is between 20 and 30 years and fines from 100 to 150 
times the minimum wage.  In cases of sexual exploitation and 
child pornography, the possible imprisonment is between 3 and 
10 years and fines from 10 to 15 times the officially 
established minimum wage.  The government effectively 
 
enforces these regulations in the formal sector, regulations 
have proved inadequate in deterring child labor in the 
informal sector, which lies beyond regulatory reach. 
 
To what extent are violations investigated and addressed? 
 
RESPONSE: The Secretariat of Labor (SET) investigates 
complaints, and the government actively prosecutes cases it 
receives from these investigations.  Due to lengthy 
investigation and trial procedures, cases almost never see 
sentencing within a year of the investigation's initiation. 
 
What level of resources does the government devote to 
investigating child labor and worst forms of child labor 
cases throughout the country? 
 
RESPONSE: In the implementation of the International Plan to 
Eliminate Child Labor, the International Labor Organization 
(ILO) and the SET have jointly committed to $4.93 million 
dollars annually.  The first phase of this program ran 
between 2002 and 2006.  The second phase runs from 2006 to 
2009 and officially launched in March of 2008.  ILO signed an 
agreement with the government in May 2008 to advise and 
assist the government in its efforts to eliminate the worst 
forms of child labor in a program known as the Solidarity 
Program.  The program aims to implement an intensive and 
permanent campaign to educate children, parents and families 
on the effects of the worst forms of child labor. 
 
How many inspectors does the government employ to address 
child labor issues? 
 
RESPONSE: Within the SET, there are about 20 inspectors 
working directly on this issue within the total of 191 labor 
inspectors. 
 
How many police or other law enforcement officials address 
worst forms of child labor issues? 
 
RESPONSE: In the judicial sector nationally, the Coordinator 
of Children and Adolescents has 33 district attorneys charged 
specifically with addressing issues of the worst forms of 
child labor. 
 
How many child labor investigations have been conducted over 
the past year and how many have resulted in fines, penalties, 
or convictions? 
 
RESPONSE: In the past year, the government has conducted and 
completed about 30 cases, but those cases are still awaiting 
imposition of fines. 
 
How many investigations into worst forms of child labor 
violations have resulted in prosecutions and convictions? 
 
RESPONSE: There are about 10 continuing investigations. 
 
Has the government provided awareness-raising and/or training 
activities for officials charged with enforcing child labor 
laws or worst forms of child labor laws? 
 
RESPONSE: Yes, through CONANI and the programs created 
through the SET, they have conducted activities with various 
NGOs such as Boys and Girls with Don Bosco.  Through the ILO, 
a total of 52 training workshops were held.  Likewise, the 
SET together with the ILO have offered targeted programs to 
combat the sexual exploitation of minors in popular tourist 
destinations.  The government has also posted notices about 
the dangers of the sexual exploitation of minors in airports. 
 
C) Whether there are social programs specifically designed to 
prevent and withdraw children from the worst forms of child 
labor. 
 
What initiatives has the government supported to prevent 
children from entering exploitive work situations, to 
withdraw children engaged in such labor, and to advocate on 
behalf of children involved in such employment and their 
families? 
 
RESPONSE: As a part of the government initiatives generated 
by the ratification of Convention 182, the government created 
the National Directive Committee for the Elimination of Child 
Labor (CDN).  Following a 1997 presidential decree, the CDN 
is to remain a presidential committee within the SET.  The 
 
government has also implemented concentrated campaigns 
together with UNICEF to prevent children from entering 
exploitive work situations.  DevTech systems also recently 
completed a project that removed 3,700 children from 
exploitative working conditions. 
 
D) Does the country have a comprehensive policy aimed at the 
elimination of the worst forms of child labor? 
 
Does the country have a comprehensive policy or national 
program of action on child labor or specific forms of child 
labor? 
 
RESPONSE: Yes, through the SET, they implement the National 
Program for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labor. 
 
Does the country incorporate child labor specifically as an 
issue to be addressed in poverty reduction, development, 
educational or other social policies or programs? 
 
RESPONSE: Yes, through the working policies of CONANI and 
other institutions such as Public Health and NGOs such as the 
ILO and DevTech. 
 
If so, to what degree has the country implemented the policy 
and/or program of action and achieved its goals and 
objectives? 
 
RESPONSE: The policies have been implemented to a high 
degree, and the government continues to work actively with 
civil society and with the media to develop and implement 
prevention campaigns targeting the country's youth. 
 
Is education free in law and practice?  Is education 
compulsory in law and practice? 
 
RESPONSE: Education is free and compulsory through the 8th 
grade.  Regardless, legal mechanisms provide only for primary 
schooling, which was interpreted as extending through the 4th 
grade.  Another concern is the high number of children 
lacking documentation and the government's current practice 
of denying documentation to children whose parents are 
suspected of being foreigners.  Such children without 
documentation can legally attend school only through the 5th 
grade.  In practice, however, such children are limited to 
the 4th grade due to national examinations requiring 
documentation following the 4th grade. 
 
E) Is the country making continual progress toward 
eliminating the worst forms of child labor? 
 
What are the specific sectors/work activities/goods in which 
children work and how has this changed over the past year? 
 
RESPONSE: The country has continuing programs to eliminate 
child labor and the incentives thereto.  Through programs and 
sectors mentioned in previous responses herein, it appears 
that child labor has continued to see a reduction in practice 
both in urban areas and as domestic workers.  These children 
are primarily from poor economic classes, with ages between 5 
and 14, and with hardly a basic education.  Please also note 
Reftel B, which contains Post's detailed response regarding 
goods which may have been produced with child or forced 
labor.  As noted in last year's report, there has not been a 
comprehensive, focused study on the number of child laborers 
in the Dominican Republic since 2000.  The Central Bank 
statistics department has semi-annual reports available 
through the following link. 
 
http://www.bancentral.gov.do/estadisticas.asp ?a=Mercado de 
Trabajo 
 
According to the 2000 National Survey of the Labor Force 
(ENTI) 41 percent of working children can be found in 
services, following by trade (21), agriculture (19), 
manufacturing industries (11) and other (8).  Post has not 
encountered cases of children working in slavery, practices 
similar to slavery, debt bondage, serfdom or forced 
compulsory labor.  Government and non-governmental 
organizations state that minors are likely trafficked 
internally for sexual exploitation, but neither the 
government nor NGOs have been able to demonstrate concrete 
cases of trafficking. 
BULLEN