2005 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Montserrat (territory of the United Kingdom)

There is limited information regarding the extent and nature of child labor and the quality and provision of education in non-independent countries and territories eligible for GSP, AGOA, and CBTPA benefits. These countries and territories generally are not eligible to become members of the ILO, so ILO Conventions 138 and 182 do not apply to any of them.⁵¹³² Territories are subject to laws of the sovereign country.

Statistics on the number of working children under age 15 in Montserrat are unavailable.⁵¹⁷¹ Information is also unavailable on the incidence and nature of child labor. However, the Foreign Office of the United Kingdom received no reports or complaints of child labor violations in 2004, the most recent date such information was available.⁵¹⁷² The government has yet to establish an independent mechanism to review complaints from children concerning violations of their rights under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.⁵¹⁷³ Education is compulsory for children between the ages of 5 and 16, and free up to the age of 17.⁵¹⁷⁴ In 2002, the gross primary enrollment rate was 118 percent.⁵¹⁷⁵ Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. Primary school attendance rates are unavailable for Montserrat. However, the incidence of truancy and the number of drop-outs from school is increasing.⁵¹⁷⁶

5132 ILO official, e-mail communication to USDOL official, January 31, 2002. Most of the areas covered in this summary report are considered by the ILO to be non-metropolitan territories and therefore, are ineligible to become members of the ILO. An ILO member can submit a declaration to the ILO requesting that these conventions apply to their non-metropolitan territories. See ILO, Constitution; available from http://www.ilo.org/public/english/about/iloconst.htm.

5171 This statistic is not available from the data sources that are used in this report. Please see the "Data Sources and Definitions" section for information about sources used.

5172 U.S. Department of State official, e-mail communication, May 24, 2005.

5173 Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations, para. 15.

5174 U.S. Department of State official, e-mail communication, March 16, 2004. See also Alex Ackie, Clerical Officer, Governor's Office, e-mail communication to USDOL official, January 23, 2001.

5175 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, (Gross and Net Enrolment Ratios, Primary; accessed December 2005). For an explanation of gross primary enrollment rates that are greater than 100 percent, please see the definition of gross primary enrollment rates in the glossary of this report.

5176 Committee on the Rights of the Child, Concluding Observations, para. 43.