2005 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Dominican Republic

Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
Ratified Convention 138     6/15/1999	✓
Ratified Convention 182     11/15/2000	✓
ILO-IPEC Member	✓
National Plan for Children
National Child Labor Action Plan
Sector Action Plan (Commercial Sexual Exploitation)	✓

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

An estimated 14.5 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years were counted as working in the Dominican Republic in 2000. Approximately 21.6 percent of all boys ages 5 to 14 were working compared to 7.3 percent of girls in the same age group.¹⁴⁶³ A Secretariat of Labor (SET) study estimated that 41 percent of working children ages 5 to 17 worked in services, 21 percent in commerce, 19 percent in agriculture, and 11 percent in manufacturing industries during 2000.¹⁴⁶⁴ Most work performed by children is in the informal sector.¹⁴⁶⁵ In urban areas children work in the streets, markets, garbage dumps, and repair shops. They also perform activities such as washing cars, shining shoes, and carrying heavy loads.¹⁴⁶⁶ Many urban child workers are migrants from other regions.¹⁴⁶⁷ In rural areas children work mostly in agriculture and services.¹⁴⁶⁸ Most child agricultural workers are boys.¹⁴⁶⁹ Child labor is one of many problems associated with poverty. In 1998, the most recent year for which data are available, less than 2 percent of the population in the Dominican Republic were living on less than USD 1 a day.¹⁴⁷⁰

Haitian and Dominican children plant and cut sugarcane in the Dominican Republic. Many Haitians live in sugarcane worker villages referred to as "bateyes" that lack basic services such as water, electricity, and schools. It has been reported that some sugarcane workers, possibly including children, work under conditions of forced labor where they are denied access to their clothing, property, and wages.¹⁴⁷¹

The Dominican Republic is a source, transit, and destination country for children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Dominican children are trafficked to destinations such as Spain, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, Switzerland, Greece, the Netherlands Antilles, Argentina, Costa Rica, and Brazil.¹⁴⁷² An estimated 2,000 Haitian children are trafficked annually to the Dominican Republic for work in the streets, in agriculture, and commercial sexual exploitation.¹⁴⁷³ The commercial sexual exploitation of children is a problem especially in tourist locations such as Boca Chica, Puerto Plata, and Sosúa.¹⁴⁷⁴ Children, particularly Haitian children, are sometimes "adopted" by families who register the child as their own and provide some form of payment to the birthparents. Such children are often not treated as family members and are exploited as domestic workers or as workers in family businesses.¹⁴⁷⁵

The Code for the Protection of Children and Adolescents and the General Education Law establish that education is to be free and compulsory for children ages 7 to 14 years, through the 8th grade.¹⁴⁷⁶ However, school fees continue to be charged.¹⁴⁷⁷ In 2002, the gross primary enrollment rate was 124 percent and the net primary enrollment rate was 96 percent.¹⁴⁷⁸ 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. In 2000, 94.7 percent of children ages 5 to 14 years were attending school.¹⁴⁷⁹ As of 2001, 69 percent of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.¹⁴⁸⁰ In rural areas schools often lack basic furnishings and teaching materials, and schools are far from children's homes. In many cases, school fees and the cost of uniforms, books, meals, and transportation make education prohibitively expensive for poor families.¹⁴⁸¹ Children of Haitian origin are sometimes denied access to education as many are unable to register as Dominican citizens.¹⁴⁸²

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The Code for the Protection of Children and Adolescents sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years.¹⁴⁸³ Work must not interfere with a minor's education.¹⁴⁸⁴ Restrictions are placed on work involving children under 16. Children under 16 years cannot work for more than 6 hours a day and must have a medical certificate certifying their ability to work.¹⁴⁸⁵ Employers are required to pay minors at least the legal minimum salary.¹⁴⁸⁶ Special authorization is needed from the SET for ambulant work.¹⁴⁸⁷ Females ages 14 to 16 are prohibited from working as messengers and delivering merchandise.¹⁴⁸⁸ The employment of minors in pool halls is prohibited and is punishable by 1 to 2 months of deprivation of liberty and fines of 1 to 3 minimum salaries.¹⁴⁸⁹

Additionally, the Labor Code prohibits children under 16 from working in unhealthy and dangerous work and authorizes the SET to prohibit such work.¹⁴⁹⁰ Since 1999, the Government of the Dominican Republic has submitted to the ILO a list or an equivalent document identifying the types of work that it has determined are harmful to the health, safety or morals of children under Convention 182 or Convention 138.¹⁴⁹¹ The SET's "Resolution Regarding 26 Categories of Work Considered To Be Dangerous and Unhealthy for Children" prohibits minors under 18 years of age from work involving dangerous substances, heavy machinery, heavy loads, dangerous machines and tools, alcohol, electricity, loud noise, mines, being underground or at high sea, care giving, construction, confined spaces, explosives, and extreme temperatures. Children are also prohibited from night work, work on the street, work in gambling and gaming establishments, handling cadavers, various tasks involved in the production of sugarcane, and certain work at hotels. Some specific exceptions are made for apprenticeships and job training for those older than 16.¹⁴⁹² Violations of the Labor Code provisions involving protections for minors as well as violations of the SET Resolution are punishable by fines of 7 to 12 minimum salaries, with increased fines in cases of recurrence.¹⁴⁹³

Different statutes may be used to prosecute the worst forms of child labor in the Dominican Republic. The Code for the Protection of Children and Adolescents has a broad provision that could be used to prosecute actions such as trafficking and pimping. This provision establishes punishments ranging from imprisonment for 20 to 30 years and fines for the transfer of a child from one person or group to another in exchange for remuneration, for purposes including sexual exploitation, forced labor, or other degrading activities.¹⁴⁹⁴ Specific punishments for involvement in the commercial sexual exploitation of children range from 3 to 10 years of imprisonment with fines of 10 to 30 minimum salaries. Sexual abuse is punishable by 10 years of imprisonment and a fine of 20 minimum salaries in certain circumstances involving trafficking and pimping.¹⁴⁹⁵

The Code also establishes punishments for permitting minors that are not accompanied by a parent to stay in hotels or motels without written parental or judicial authorization. These punishments range from 1 to 3 years of deprivation of liberty and fines. The establishment may be closed for 15 days for repeated violations.¹⁴⁹⁶ Involvement with the production of child pornography is punishable by 2 to 4 years of incarceration and fines ranging from 3 to 10 minimum salaries.¹⁴⁹⁷ Involvement with the trafficking of a minor outside of the country is punishable by 4 to 6 years of imprisonment and fines of 10 to 30 minimum salaries.¹⁴⁹⁸ The transport of minors unaccompanied by their parent without notarized parental authorization or a certificate from the Child and Adolescent Tribunal is punishable by fines ranging from 3 to 20 minimum salaries, with higher penalties in cases of recurrence.¹⁴⁹⁹ The Law against Trafficking in Persons and Alien Smuggling establishes penalties of 15 to 20 years imprisonment as well as fines for trafficking minors.¹⁵⁰⁰ Forced labor is prohibited by law.¹⁵⁰¹ The minimum recruitment age for military service is 16. Recruitment is voluntary in times of peace; however it may be obligatory in times of war or grave conflict. Recruits must have completed their education.¹⁵⁰²

The SET is responsible for enforcing child labor laws in coordination with the National Council for Children and Adolescents (CONANI).¹⁵⁰³ In 2004 the SET had 220 labor inspectors. According to the U.S. State Department, the inspectors often accept bribes.¹⁵⁰⁴ Protecting children's rights and implementing the Code for Children and Adolescents is the responsibility of CONANI. By law CONANI is to receive a minimum of 2 percent of the national budget, but this requirement is not being met.¹⁵⁰⁵

The anti-trafficking unit of the Office of the Attorney General is responsible for investigating and prosecuting trafficking crimes. The National Police, the Migration Directorate, and the Interagency Committee for the Protection of Migrant Women are also involved in anti-trafficking activities.¹⁵⁰⁶ The Migration Directorate established an anti-trafficking unit in March of 2005.¹⁵⁰⁷ According to the U.S. Department of State, the Dominican Republic lacks effective trafficking law enforcement and victim protection programs due in part to lack of resources. The border with Haiti is not sufficiently monitored.¹⁵⁰⁸ Also according to the U.S. Department of State, certain government officials are involved in trafficking and efforts are made to investigate and prosecute these individuals.¹⁵⁰⁹ For example, Congressman Guillermo Radhames Ramos Garcia was convicted of trafficking-related offences and sentenced to an 18 month prison term but was released on parole after 9 months of incarceration.¹⁵¹⁰ In 2005, a bar owner was convicted and sentenced to 5 years of incarceration, a fine of USD 35,739, and ordered to pay court costs for offenses involving the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Additionally, three individuals were convicted and sentenced to 15 years of incarceration, a fine of USD 6,250, and ordered to pay court costs for crimes involving the commercial sexual exploitation, trafficking, and abuse of children.¹⁵¹¹ The government has shut down several businesses involved with the commercial sexual exploitation of children in cities such as Boca Chica, Santiago, Santo Domingo, and Sosúa.¹⁵¹²

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

The objectives of the Dominican Republic's Action Plan for the Eradication of Abuse and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Boys, Girls, and Adolescents include strengthening families; improving social responsibility and awareness; improving relevant laws, policies, programs, and services; combating poverty; and strengthening the justice system.¹⁵¹³ The Government of the Dominican Republic supported several child labor, trafficking, and commercial sexual exploitation awareness campaigns and workshops in late 2004.¹⁵¹⁴ The SET organized a training workshop on child labor and labor inspections.¹⁵¹⁵ The Armed Forces provide educational programs and recreational activities for working and at-risk children in the Boca Chica area and run a shelter for such children under its General Directorate of Shelters and Residences for the Civic Reeducation of Boys, Girls, and Adolescents program.¹⁵¹⁶ Government officials such as judges, consular officers, and prosecutors received anti-trafficking training.¹⁵¹⁷ The required curriculum of the Diplomatic and Consular School includes antitrafficking training.¹⁵¹⁸

The SET participates in ILO-IPEC projects funded by USDOL to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. This includes a USD 1.3 million, 4-year and 10-month project to improve the understanding of child labor; raise awareness, mobilize actors, and build capacity; improve relevant national policies; and implement pilot interventions including a community-based child labor monitoring system.¹⁵¹⁹ A USD 4.4 million, 3year and 10-month project targets child labor in agriculture (coffee, tomatoes, and rice), commercial sexual exploitation, domestic labor, and urban work. The project also targets trafficked children in areas near the border with Haiti.¹⁵²⁰ In 2005, the government contributed USD 100,000 of its previously made USD 300,000 commitment towards these projects.¹⁵²¹ With ILO support CONANI has opened a referral center for child victims of commercial sexual exploitation in Boca Chica.¹⁵²² The Office of the First Lady administers a program called "Progresando", which works with the ILO to provide income generating opportunities to families of children at-risk for commercial sexual exploitation.¹⁵²³ In 2005 an agreement was signed between the Attorney General's Office and National Institute for Technical Training (INFOTEP) allowing child beneficiaries of the ILO implemented project to enroll in INFOTEP's vocational training programs.¹⁵²⁴ In October of 2004, the Central Bank incorporated child labor indicators developed by the ILO into its labor survey.¹⁵²⁵ The government is participating in USDOL-funded regional projects to eliminate the commercial sexual exploitation of children and hazardous child labor in the agricultural sector in Central America and the Dominican Republic.¹⁵²⁶

The 10-year Strategic Development Plan for Dominican Education (2003-2012) focuses on democratization and equity, educational quality, teacher quality, decentralization, and funding.¹⁵²⁷ An analysis of the effect of child labor on school desertion is included in the plan.¹⁵²⁸ The government provides some stipends for poor families who keep their children in school and out of work.¹⁵²⁹ A national literacy program is conducted through the Secretariat of Education, NGOs, and private universities.¹⁵³⁰

The Government of the Dominican Republic has several sources of external funding to improve educational programs for children. The government participates in USDOL-funded Child Labor Education Initiative projects. This includes a 4-year regional project implemented by CARE whose purpose is to strengthen government and civil society's capacity to address the educational needs of working children, as well as a USD 3 million, 4-year project implemented by DevTech Systems, Inc. to withdraw children from exploitative labor by improving the quality of and access to basic education.¹⁵³¹ During 2005 the DevTech Systems, Inc. project and the Secretariat of Education supported the training of more than 400 educators in a participatory pedagogical method known as "Quantum Learning".¹⁵³² Some students benefit from a government-run school feeding program which receives funding assistance from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.¹⁵³³ The Spanish Cooperation Agency funds a government-operated basic education program, which includes youths 15 years of age and older.¹⁵³⁴ The World Bank is funding a USD 42 million loan to increase the number of pre-schools and provide teacher training.¹⁵³⁵ A USD 89 million IDB loan aims to improve the educational achievement of children in rural and marginal urban areas, enhance the management of schools, and promote initiatives developed under the Educational Development Plan.¹⁵³⁶

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1463 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates, 2005. Reliable data on the worst forms of child labor are especially difficult to collect given the often hidden or illegal nature of the worst forms, such as the use of children in the illegal drug trade, prostitution, pornography, and trafficking. As a result, statistics and information on children's work in general are reported in this section. Such statistics and information may or may not include the worst forms of child labor. For more information on the definition of working children and other indicators used in this report, please see the "Data Sources and Definitions" section of this report.

1464 Secretariat of Labor and ILO-IPEC, Report on the Results of the National Child Labour Survey in the Dominican Republic, San Jose, July 2004, 32; available from http://www.ipec.oit.or.cr/ipec/region/acciones/simpoc/publicaciones/RD/… %20national%20report.pdf.

1465 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2004: Dominican Republic, Washington, DC, February 28, 2005, Section 6d; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41758.htm.

1466 ILO-IPEC, Día Mundial Contra El Trabajo Infantil, [online] June 2005 [cited June 27, 2005]; available from http://www.oit.or.cr/ipec/encuentros/noticia.php?notCodigo=424.

1467 ILO-IPEC, Evaluación rápida sobre niños, niñas, y adolescentes trabajadores/as urbanos/as en República Dominicana, Santo Domingo, December 2002, 34-35.

1468 ILO-IPEC, Report on the Results of the National Child Labour Survey, 33.

1469 ILO-IPEC, Trabajo Infantil en la Agricultura en cifras, San Jose, 2005, 13; available from http://www.oit.org.pe/ipec/pagina.php?seccion=6&pagina=123.

1470 World Bank, World Development Indicators 2005 [CD-ROM], Washington, DC, 2005.

1471 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Dominican Republic, Section 2d, 5, 6c, 6d, and 6e. See also U.S. Embassy – Santo Domingo, reporting, March 4, 2005. See also ILO, Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, Individual Observation Concerning Convention No. 29, Forced Labour, ILO, Geneva, 2005; available from http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/newcountryframeE.htm.

1472 U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report, Washington, DC, June 3, 2005; available from http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2005/46613.htm.

1473 Ibid. See also UNICEF/OIM, Tráfico de Niños Haitianos hacia República Dominicana, July 2002, 8. See also IOM, Press Briefing Notes: Dominican Republic – National Network of Journalists to Cover Trafficking, Smuggling, and Irregular Migration, May 14, 2004.

1474 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Dominican Republic, Section 5. See also ILO-IPEC, Explotación sexual comercial de personas menores de edad en República Dominicana, September 2002, 13-15.

1475 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Dominican Republic, Sections 6c and 6d.

1476 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Dominican Republic, Section 5. See also Government of the Dominican Republic, Código para la protección de los derechos de los Niños, Niñas, y Adolescentes, Ley No. 136-03, (August 7), Article 45. See also Secretariat of Labor and ILO-IPEC, Report on the Results of the National Child Labour Survey, 18.

1477 World Bank Survey, 2002 as cited in UNESCO, EFA Global Monitoring Report 2003/4, [online] n.d. [cited October 1, 2005], Regional Overview for Latin America and the Caribbean, 2; available from http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php- URL_ID=23023&URL_DO=DO_TOPIC&URL_SECTION=201.html.

1478 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, http://stats.uis.unesco.org/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReprotId=51 (Gross and Net Enrolment Rations, 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 "Data Sources and Definitions" section of this report.

1479 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates.

1480 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, "School life expectancy, % of repeaters, survival rates; accessed December 2005," available from http://stats.uis.unesco.org/TableViewer/tableViewaspx?ReportId=55.

1481 ILO-IPEC, Combating the Worst Forms of Child Labour in the Dominican Republic – Supporting the Timebound Program for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in the Dominican Republic, project document, DOM/02/P50/USA, Geneva, September 2002, 13.

1482 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Dominican Republic, Section 5. The Migration and Nationality Law 285-04 does not allow children of temporary Haitian workers to be considered Dominican citizens. See UNDP, Informe Nacional de Desarrollo Humano, 2005, 141-142.

1483 Código para la protección de los derechos de los Niños, Niñas, y Adolescentes, Article 40.

1484 Código de Trabajo de la República Dominicana 1999, Article 254. See also Código para la protección de los derechos de los Niños, Niñas, y Adolescentes, Article 39.

1485 Código de Trabajo 1999, Articles 247-248.

1486 Ibid., Articles 256-257.

1487 Ibid., Article 249.

1488 Ibid., Article 252.

1489 Código para la protección de los derechos de los Niños, Niñas, y Adolescentes, Article 415.

1490 Código de Trabajo 1999, Article 251.

1491 ILO-IPEC official, e-mail communication to USDOL official, November 18, 2005.

1492 Secretariat of Labor, Resolución Sobre Trabajos Peligrosos e Insalubres para Personas Menores de 18 Años, Resolución No. 52/2004; available from http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/SERIAL/69773/68796/F452892919/DOM697….

1493 Código de Trabajo 1999, Articles 720-721. See also Trabajos Peligrosos e Insalubres, Article 6.

1494 Código para la protección de los derechos de los Niños, Niñas, y Adolescentes, Articles 25 and 409.

1495 Ibid., Articles 410 and 396.

1496 Ibid., Articles 24 and 414.

1497 Ibid., Articles 25, 26, and 411.

1498 Ibid., Article 406.

1499 Ibid., Articles 204 and 391.

1500 Government of the Dominican Republic, Ley contra el Tráfico Ilicito de Migrantes y Trata de Personas, (August 2003), Articles 2 and 7.

1501 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Dominican Republic, Section 6c.

1502 Ley Orgánica de las Fuerzas Armadas de la República Dominicana, 873, (1996), Article 30; available from http://www.secffaa.mil.do/Ley1.htm.

1503 Código para la protección de los derechos de los Niños, Niñas, y Adolescentes, Article 34.

1504 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Dominican Republic, Section 6e.

1505 Ibid., Section 5.

1506 Ibid.

1507 U.S. Embassy – Santo Domingo, reporting, November 15, 2005.

1508 U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Report.

1509 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Dominican Republic, Section 5.

1510 U.S. Embassy – Santo Domingo, reporting, November 15, 2005.

1511 Attorney General's Anti-trafficking Office, Detalles de las Sentencias Relativas a ESC de NNA, as cited in ILO-IPEC, Preparatory Activities for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in the Dominican Republic, response to USDOL's comments and request for additional information for the September 2005 technical progress report, Geneva, 2005, 5. See also Attorney General's Antitrafficking Office, Procuraduría Corona un Dos Mil Cinco de Sanciones Contra Tratantes y Traficantes, Dominican Republic, [online] n.d. [cited May 16, 2006]; available from http://www.procuraduria.gov.do/PGR.NET/Dependencias/Trafico/IndexTrafic…. USD amounts based on exchange rates on day of conviction. See FXConverter – 164 Currency Converter Results OANDA Corporation, http://www.oanda.com/convert/classic (accessed December 14, 2005).

1512 U.S. Embassy – Santo Domingo, reporting, November 15, 2005.

1513 Interinstitucional Commission Against the Abuse and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys, and Adolescents, Plan de Acción de la República Dominicana Para Erradicar el Abuso y la Explotación Sexual Comercial de Niñas, Niños y Adolescentes, ILO, Dominican Republic, January 2006, 18-20; available from http://www.oit.org.pe/ipec/documentos/plan_nacional_esc.pdf.

1514 U.S. Embassy – Santo Domingo, reporting, March 4, 2005. See also Secretariat of Labor, Memoria de las acciones realizadas a partir del mes de Septiembre del 2004, [online] n.d. [cited June 27, 2005]; available from http://www.set.gov.do/submenu/trabajoinf/memoria.htm.

1515 ILO-IPEC, Supporting the TBP for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in the Dominican Republic & Trafficking/Smuggling Amendment, technical progress report, Geneva, September 9, 2005, 4-5.

1516 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Dominican Republic, Section 6d. See also U.S. Embassy – Santo Domingo, reporting, March 4, 2005.

1517 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Dominican Republic, Section 5. See also U.S. Embassy – Santo Domingo, reporting, March 4, 2005.

1518 Ibid.

1519 ILO-IPEC, Preparatory Activities for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in the Dominican Republic, project document, DOM/01/P50/USA, Geneva, September 2001, 2-3.

1520 ILO-IPEC, Timebound Program, project document, i and 44. See also ILO-IPEC, Trafficking/Smuggling Amendment to Supporting the TBP for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour in the Dominican Republic, project addendum, Geneva, 2004. See also Secretariat of Labor, Trabajo Infantil, [online] n.d. [cited June 27, 2005]; available from http://www.set.gov.do/submenu/traboinf/programa.htm.

1521 ILO-IPEC official, e-mail communication, November 18, 2005.

1522 ILO-IPEC, Preparatory Activities for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in the Dominican Republic, technical progress report, Geneva, September 9, 2005, 3 and 13.

1523 Ibid., 3 and 11.

1524 ILO-IPEC, Preparatory Activities for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor, response to USDOL request, 1.

1525 ILO-IPEC, Supporting the TBP, technical progress report, September 9, 2005, Annex A: Project/Program Work Plan, 5.

1526 ILO-IPEC, Contribution to the Prevention and Elimination of Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Central America, Panama and the Dominican Republic, project addendum, Geneva, September 2005, 1. See also ILO-IPEC, Prevention and Progressive Elimination of Child Labour in Agriculture in Central America and the Dominican Republic (Phase II), project document, Geneva, 2003.

1527 Secretariat of Education, Plan Estratégico de Desarrollo de la Educación Dominicana 2003-2012, Santo Domingo, April 2003, 16-17; available from http://www.seescyt.gov.do/tic/interfaz/articulo.asp?did=289&Seccion=Rep….

1528 ILO-IPEC, Preparatory Activities for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor, technical progress report, 11.

1529 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Dominican Republic, Sect. 6d.

1530 Secretariat of Labor and ILO-IPEC, Report on the Results of the National Child Labour Survey, 19.

1531 CARE, Combating Exploitive Child Labor through Education in Central America (Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua) and the Dominican Republic, project document, 2004, 3. See also DevTech Systems Inc., Combating Child Labor through Education in the Dominican Republic, project document, Arlington, Virginia, June 2, 2004, 1 and 2.

1532 DevTech Systems Inc., Combating Child Labor Through Education, technical progress report, Arlington, Virginia, September 28, 2005, 3, 6, and 12.

1533 Secretariat of Labor and ILO-IPEC, Report on the Results of the National Child Labour Survey, 19. See also Eric Green, U.S. funds will provide school meals in Latin America, Caribbean, U.S. Department of State: Washington File, [online] August 17, 2004 [cited October 2, 2005]; available from http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/Archive/2004/Aug/18-23606.html.

1534 Secretariat of Labor and ILO-IPEC, Report on the Results of the National Child Labour Survey, 19.

1535 World Bank, Early Childhood Education Project; accessed September 12, 2005, [online] June 29, 2005 [cited June 29, 2005]; available from http://web.worldbank.org/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/PROJECTS/0,menuPK:115635~pageP… 0941,00.html.

1536 IDB, Dominican Republic Multiphase Program for Equity in Basic Education Phase I, loan proposal, 2002, Executive Summary, 1; available from http://www.iadb.org/exr/doc98/apr/dr1429e.pdf.