Child labour in Namibia is not always reported. This involved cases of

child prostitution Child prostitution is prostitution involving a child, and it is a form of commercial sexual exploitation of children. The term normally refers to prostitution of a minor, or person under the legal age of consent. In most jurisdictions, child ...

as well as voluntary and forced agricultural labour, cattle herding and vending.

Background

Namibia ratified both the ILO

Minimum Age Convention The ILO Convention Concerning Minimum Age for Admission to Employment C138, is a convention adopted in 1973 by the International Labour Organization. It requires ratifying states to pursue a national policy designed to ensure the effective abol ...

(C138) and the ILO

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention The Convention Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour, known in short as the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, was adopted by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 1 ...

(C182) in 2000. In addition, the country also ratified the UN

Convention on the Rights of the Child The United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (commonly abbreviated as the CRC or UNCRC) is an international human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children. The Con ...

in 1990. Namibia signed the

African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child The African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (also called the ACRWC or Children's Charter) was adopted by the Organisation of African Unity (OAU) in 1990 (in 2001, the OAU legally became the African Union) and was entered into force i ...

in 1999, but has not ratified it as yet.

Surveys

According to the 1999 ''Namibian Child Activities Survey'' child labour exists in the country, predominantly in the agricultural sector. The results of a follow-up survey conducted in December 2005 have not been made publicly available. A 2013

Food and Agriculture Organization The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO)french: link=no, Organisation des Nations unies pour l'alimentation et l'agriculture; it, Organizzazione delle Nazioni Unite per l'Alimentazione e l'Agricoltura is an intern ...

(FAO) report indicates that particularly in livestock herding, child labour is prevalent in Namibia, and children work from a very young age, although the extent of the work varies per child. Additional hazards that arise from children herding animals are "disrupted physical, mental, moral and social development", the danger of being bitten, extreme weather conditions, and the infection with animal-borne diseases.

Legislative intervention

Between 2006 and 2008 the country has been in the process of formulating the ''Action Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour in Namibia'', which was nationally endorsed in February 2008. This was done with the assistance of the

International Labour Organization The International Labour Organization (ILO) is a United Nations agency whose mandate is to advance social and economic justice by setting international labour standards. Founded in October 1919 under the League of Nations, it is the first and o ...

's (ILO) programme

Towards the Elimination of the worst forms of Child Labour The programme Towards the Elimination of the worst forms of Child Labour (TECL) is a programme on child labour and related issues that is run in all the countries of the Southern African Customs Union (SACU), namely Botswana, Lesotho, Namibia, Sout ...

. A Programme Advisory Committee on Child Labour (PACC), representing government departments, organised labour and business, and civil society guides the development and implementation of the programme.

Background

Surveys

Legislative intervention

References

Notes

Further reading