2006 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Belize

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

In 2001, approximately 8.1 percent of boys and 4.6 percent of girls ages 5 to 14 years were working in Belize.³⁹⁵ The majority of working children are found in the agricultural sector (55.3 percent), followed by services (38.8 percent), and manufacturing (3.6 percent).³⁹⁶

Most working children are found in rural regions,³⁹⁷ where they work on family plots and in family businesses after school, on weekends, and during vacations.³⁹⁸ They also work in citrus, banana, and sugar fields.³⁹⁹ In urban areas, children shine shoes, sell food, crafts, and other small items; they also work in markets.⁴⁰⁰ The practice of minors engaging in prostitution with older men in exchange for clothing, jewelry, or school fees and books is reported to occur throughout the country.⁴⁰¹

Belize is a transit and destination country for children trafficked for labor exploitation.⁴⁰² Girls in particular are trafficked within the country for sexual exploitation.⁴⁰³ There have been reports of instances where child sexual exploitation and trafficking are arranged by family members.⁴⁰⁴

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The Labor Act of Belize sets the minimum age for work as 12, 14, and 16 years in different sections of the text; thus, it has been criticized as being unclear.⁴⁰⁵ According to the Labor Act, children 12 to 14 years may participate only in light work after school hours and for a total of 2 hours on a school day or a Sunday, and only between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m.⁴⁰⁶ The minimum age for employment near hazardous machinery is 17 years.⁴⁰⁷ The Labor Act sets penalties for noncompliance with minimum age standards that include fines and imprisonment up to 2 months, and up to 4 months in the case of a second or subsequent offense.⁴⁰⁸

The law prohibits persons under 18 years from engaging in any forms of harmful employment.⁴⁰⁹ Forced and bonded labor are prohibited.⁴¹⁰ Although there is no law establishing a minimum age for conscription into the military, the minimum age for voluntary enrollment is 18 years.⁴¹¹ The law punishes trafficking offenses with imprisonment of up to 5 years and fines.⁴¹² The law also prohibits sex with a female younger than 14 years and provides for a penalty of 12 years to life imprisonment. The sentence for the same act with a girl 14 to 16 years is 5 to 10 years.⁴¹³

Inspectors from the Departments of Labor and Education are responsible for enforcing child labor regulations.⁴¹⁴ The Department of Human Services of the Ministry of Human Development and Housing is responsible for the protection of child labor victims.⁴¹⁵ The Anti-Trafficking in Persons Committee has linked a number of government agencies to fight trafficking, including the police; public prosecutors; the Department of Immigration; the Ministries of Home Affairs, Foreign Affairs, and Human Development; the National Committee for Families and Children; and the Government's Press Office. A tripartite team of police, immigration, and social workers from the Ministry of Human Development conducted raids in 2006, identifying seven trafficking victims.⁴¹⁶

Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor

The National Committee for Families and Children (NCFC) provides nationwide training programs for front line police and immigration officials on trafficking.⁴¹⁷ With funds from the IDB and in collaboration with UNICEF, the Ministry of Human Development is engaging in a program to strengthen the government's capacity to combat human trafficking.⁴¹⁸

The Government of Belize continues to participate in a USD 8.8 million regional project funded by USDOL and implemented by ILO-IPEC aimed at combating commercial sexual exploitation of children.⁴¹⁹ The project aims to withdraw 713 children and prevent 657 children from commercial sexual exploitation in the region.⁴²⁰

384 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates, March 1, 2007.

385 Government of Belize, Labour Act (Revised), (December 31, 2000); available from http://www.belizelaw.org/lawadmin/index2.html. Chapter 297, Sections 1, 2, 164, and 169. See also SIMPOC and the Central Statistical Office of the Government of Belize, Child Labour in Belize: A Qualitative Study, ILO, February 2003; available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/simpoc/belize/report/b….

386 Government of Belize, Education Act, Chapter 36, (Revised Edition 2000); available from http://www.belizelaw.org/lawadmin/PDF%20files/cap036.pdf.

387 U.S. Department of State, "Belize," in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2006, Washington, DC, March 6, 2007, Section 5; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78880.htm. See also UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations: Belize, March 31, 2005, para 60; available from http://www.unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/0/15d955c522246114c125702100421174/$FI….

388 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Gross Enrollment Ratios, Primary; accessed December 20, 2006; available from http://stats.uis.unesco.org.

389 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Net Enrolment Rates. Primary. , December 20, 2006; available from http://stats.uis.unesco.org.

390 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates, October 7, 2005.

391 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Survival Rate to Grade 5. Total, accessed December 18, 2006; available from http://stats.uis.unesco.org.

392 ILO, Ratifications by Country, [cited October 18, 2006]; available from http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/cgilex/ratifce.pl?Belize.

393 Ibid.

394 ILO-IPEC, All About IPEC: Programme Countries, [online] 2001 [cited March 7, 2007]; available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/about/countries/t_coun….

395 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates.

396 UNICEF MICS UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates, March 1, 2007.

397 Statistical Information and Monitoring Programme on Child Labor (SIMPOC) and the Central Statistical Office of the Government of Belize, Child Labour in Belize: A Statistical Report, ILO, 2003, xix; available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/simpoc/belize/report/b…. See also ILO-IPEC SIMPOC, Child Labour and Education in Belize: A Situational Assessment and In-depth Analysis, ILO, June 2003, ix; available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/standards/ipec/simpoc/belize/report/b….

398 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Belize," Section 6d.

399 Ibid.

400 Ibid.

401 Ibid., Section 5.

402 U.S. Embassy – Belmopan, Reporting, March 2, 2007.

403 U.S. Department of State, "Belize (Tier 3 Watch List)," in Trafficking in Persons Report – 2006, Washington, D.C., June 5, 2006; available from http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2006/65988.htm.

404 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Belize." See also, U.S. Department of State, "Trafficking in Persons Report – 2006: Belize."

405 Labour Act (Revised). Chapter 297, Sections 1, 164, and 169. See also, SIMPOC and the Central Statistical Office of the Government of Belize, Child Labour in Belize: A Qualitative Study., 11. See also, U.S. Embassy – Belmopan, reporting, December 22, 2006.

406 Labour Act (Revised)., Section 169.

407 U.S. Department of State, "Belize," in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2005, Washington, DC, March 8, 2006, Section 6d; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61716.htm.

408 Labour Act (Revised), Section 172(1).

409 Government of Belize, Families and Children Act, Revised Edition (December 31, 2000), Part I, Articles 2(1) and 7; available from http://www.belizelaw.org/lawadmin/PDF%20files/cap173.pdf.

410 Constitution of Belize; available from http://www.georgetown.edu/LatAmerPolitical/Constitutions/Belize/belize…. See also U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Belize," Section 6c.

411 Coalition to Stop the Use of Child Soldiers, "Belize," in Global Report 2004; available from http://www.child-soldiers.org/document_get.php?id=810.

412 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Belize." Section 5.

413 Criminal Code, Chapter 101, (Amended May 31, 2003); available from http://www.belizelaw.org/lawadmin/index2.html.

414 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Belize," Section 6d.

415 Belize Labour Commissioner, Electronic communication to USDOL official, August 26, 2005.

416 U.S. Embassy – Belmopan, U.S. Embassy -Reporting, March 2, 2007.

417 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Belize," Section 5.

418 Inter-American Development Bank, Projects, [cited September 25, 2006]; available from http://www.iadb.org/projects/Project.cfm?project=BL-T1004$Language=Engl….

419 ILO-IPEC, Contribution to the Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic, project document, RLA/02/P51/USA, 2002, 2005.

420 Ibid.