VZCZCXYZ0001
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBO #3000/01 2601948
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171948Z SEP 09
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0682
INFO RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 9161
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 2933
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 0108
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 4380
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 0106
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHINGTON DC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUCNFB/FBI WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/CDR USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL

UNCLAS BOGOTA 003000 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USTR FOR EISSENSTAT AND HARMAN; DOL FOR STROTKAMP, ZOLLNER 
AND QUINTANA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EAID ETRD PGOV PREL PTER USTR CO
SUBJECT: GOC RESPONSE TO TVPRA LIST OF GOODS PRODUCED WITH 
CHILD LABOR 
 
REF: STATE 92560 
 
SUMMARY 
-------- 
¶1. (U) Post delivered reftel demarche to GOC officials on 
September 9 concerning the release of the U.S. Department of 
Labor's (DOL) "List of Goods Produced by Child Labor or 
Forced Labor."  Only the Ministry of Social Protection (MPS) 
responded to the demarche, providing the embassy with a 
detailed report enumerating GOC advances on child labor. 
While the GOC recognizes that more work needs to be done, 
Colombian authorities believe they have made considerable 
progress in combating child labor.  End Summary. 
 
DEMARCHE RECIPIENTS 
------------------- 
¶2. (U) EmbOffs demarched the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, 
Labor, Trade, Agriculture, Mines and Energy, Finance, the 
Colombian Institute of Geology and Mines, and the 
Presidential Program on Human Rights.  EconOffs also 
discussed the report with the private sector and major 
industry associations. 
RESPONSE: GOC TAKING ACTION AGAINST CHILD LABOR 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶3. (U) The MPS took the lead in responding with a report on 
recent GOC advances in combating child labor (forwarded to 
WHA, DRL, and DOL/ELAB).  Legislative actions include 
ratification of the ILO Minimum Age Convention (Convention 
138) in February, 2001, and the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
Convention (Convention 182) in January, 2005.  The GOC also 
incorporated a "List of Prohibited Jobs" for minors into MPS 
Resolution 1677 of 2008, which specifically prohibits minors 
from working in certain activities, including those cited in 
the DOL list: clay bricks, coca, coffee, mining (coal, 
emeralds, and gold), pornography, and sugar cane.  Resolution 
1677 is viewable at: 
http://www.minproteccionsocial.gov.co/VBeCont ent/ 
library/documents/DocNewsNo17429DocumentNo689 3.PDF. 
 
¶4. (U) The MPS report highlights GOC,s "National Strategy 
for the Prevention and Eradication of the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor and the Protection of Young Workers."  Released 
in February 2008, it aims to reduce the percentage of 
children and adolescents ages 10 to 17 in the economically 
active population to 5% (from a base measure of 6.5% in 2004) 
by 2010, and to 2.5% by 2019.  The GOC has invested $7 
billion over the last two years to guarantee and reinforce 
the rights of at-risk children and adolescents.  The national 
strategy is viewable at: 
http://www.minproteccionsocial.gov.co/vbecont ent/ 
VerImp.asp?ID=17113&IDCompany=3. 
 
¶5. (U) The MPS notes that an inter-institutional "Committee 
for the Eradication of Child Labor" is implementing the 
national strategy.  Members include the MPS, the Ministry of 
Education, the Colombian Family Welfare Institute, the 
Department of National Planning (DNP), private sector groups, 
and NGOs.  Its objectives are to develop measurement and 
monitoring tools; inform public policy; build institutional 
capacity; transform cultural perceptions; and intervene 
directly in cases of the worst forms of child labor.  In 2009 
the committee has assisted 73,637 Colombian children and 
adolescents. 
 
¶6. (U) The Office of the Attorney General (Fiscalia) has also 
designed and begun to implement a program for organizing and 
educating provincial and municipal authorities to assist in 
preventing and ending child labor. 
 
RAISING AWARENESS 
----------------- 
¶7. (U) The GOC has launched a public awareness campaign 
designed to change cultural practices among the principal 
actors (parents, teachers, and employers) involved in child 
labor. The campaign consists of periodic television 
commercials broadcast by the National Commission of 
Television, and the distribution of pedagogical tools for 
 
teachers. 
 
POLLS SHOW DECLINING INCIDENCE 
------------------------------ 
¶8. (U) Since 2001, the GOC has included a child labor module 
in its biennial household surveys to help measure the extent 
of the problem.  The latest three polls show a declining 
incidence of child labor as reported by Colombian households: 
12.8% (2003), 10.4% (2005), and 8.9% (2007).  Still, the GOC 
recognizes that a significant number of children continue to 
be linked to prohibited economic activity, and it remains 
pledged to further reducing these incidences. 
 
Brownfield