US embassy cable - 05GABORONE1179

UNCLAS  GABORONE 001179 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
AF/S FOR MUNCY, DOL/ILAB FOR MCCARTER, DRL/IL FOR HOLT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, EIND, PHUM, ETRD, SOCI, BC, Labor, Human Rights 
SUBJECT: BOTSWANA UPDATE ON CHILD LABOR 
 
REF: STATE 143552 
 
1.  SUMMARY.  No reliable data exists to demonstrate that 
child labor is a significant problem in Botswana, although 
some social workers and child welfare activists fear that it 
might not be uncommon.  The Government of Botswana and ILO 
initiated projects in the year since August 2004 that will 
address this lack of information and lay the basis for a 
national plan of action on child labor.  The GOB has 
established statutory limitations on child labor in line 
with ILO Convention 138 and is considering how to 
incorporate the provisions of Convention 182 into domestic 
law.  Its policy of providing tuition-free education and 
financial support of NGOs that work with orphans and 
vulnerable children protect them from exploitative labor. 
Mission is working with the GOB to expand resources to fund 
such programs as the number of orphans and vulnerable 
children continues to rise in the wake of high HIV/AIDS 
mortality.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  No reliable data exists to demonstrate that child labor 
is a significant problem in Botswana although some social 
workers and child welfare activists fear it might not be 
uncommon.  During the year since August 2004, efforts were 
undertaken to begin to address this fundamental lack of 
information.  Results of these surveys will not be available 
until early 2006.  Contributing to this lack of data is a 
pervasive uncertainty , even among social workers, about 
what constitutes child labor.  Because traditional family 
roles accord to children responsibility for contributing to 
the family welfare by performing chores around the house, in 
the fields, at the cattle post, some Batswana tend to 
dismiss child labor as a foreign and irrelevant concept. 
This has complicated the work of the few NGOs in Botswana 
who actively promote child rights. 
 
3.  Part XI of the Employment Act (Sections 103-111) 
prohibits the employment of children below the age of 14. 
The law allows children between the ages of 15 and 18 to do 
"light work," which is not defined in the law, if approved 
by the Commissioner of Labor.  Such work cannot take place 
at night or involve the risk of harm to the child's health. 
According to the Department of Labor, however, employers 
have yet to make an application for such work. 
 
4.  Botswana's domestic law largely complies with the 
provisions of ILO Convention 138.  While Botswana has 
ratified Convention 182, it has not yet amended its laws 
accordingly.  It is, however, actively considering how best 
to accomplish that goal. 
 
5.  The Department of Labor is tasked with implementing 
labor laws.  It conducts investigations of places of work, 
including private farms, which are suspected to be a likely 
locus of child labor in Botswana.  To date, the Department 
of Labor's investigations have yet to turn up relevant 
violations of the Employment Act.  If convicted, the 
perpetrator would be liable to a fine of up to P1500 
(approximately USD 300) and/or six months in prison.  The 
Department of Labor is reviewing the extant penalties for 
violating child labor laws to ensure that they pose a 
sufficient deterrent. 
 
6.  Although the Department of Labor has received no reports 
of child labor, Childline, a child-welfare NGO, received 
twelve such allegations in 2004 and another twelve in the 
first seven months of 2005.  According to the Director of 
Childline, Pelonomi Letshwiti, the organization directs 
callers to its hotline to the nearest Social Welfare Officer 
to assist the complainant.  Often callers fail to take their 
concerns to the Labor or Social Welfare Officers because 
they are skeptical of receiving assistance or do not 
understand the responsibilities of these officials. 
 
7.  The Government of Botswana, both on its own and in 
cooperation with international organizations, has taken 
steps to try to determine the magnitude of child labor in 
Botswana.  Botswana's Central Statistics Office began 
deploying a labor force survey in mid-2005, the results of 
which are expected by the end of the year.  This survey 
includes a new component addressing child labor. 
ILO/Pretoria, through the USDOL-funded Toward the 
Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor (TECL) 
program, has engaged the Government and civil society in an 
effort to identify and learn more about the aspects of the 
worst forms of child labor most likely to be a problem in 
Botswana.  The Government has participated actively in the 
Project Advisory Committee for this program. 
 
8.  Lacking concrete data about the occurrence and nature of 
child labor in Botswana, the Government has made no direct 
interventions to prevent to child labor or to withdraw 
children from such circumstances.  It has supported NGOs 
whose work with orphans and street kids helps keep 
vulnerable children out of exploitative labor.  Botswana's 
Department of Social Services granted P2.6 million 
(approximately USD 500,000) to organizations doing such work 
in both 2004 and 2005.  Although education was not 
compulsory, there were no tuition fees for attending primary 
or secondary school.  Children of parents registered as 
destitutes and/or Remote Area Dwellers qualified to receive 
school uniforms, books, and meals free of charge. 
 
9.  The Department of Labor hopes that the findings of the 
TECL surveys will lay the foundation for the content of a 
national plan of action on child labor.  The Ministry of 
Local Government, however, has drafted a National Action 
Plan on Children, which includes a component on child labor. 
This section of the Plan outlines activities designed to 
raise awareness, establish a monitoring and evaluation 
system, and regularly collect data on this issue.  The 
Ministry had not finalized the Plan by August 2005 but 
expected to do so by year-end, so as to implement it in 
2006. 
 
COMMENT 
 
10.  According to the 2001 census, there are upwards of 
112,000 orphans in Botswana.  The number of orphans will 
continue to grow due to HIV/AIDS-related mortality. 
Although the GOB, with the assistance of international 
donors, has extended ARV treatment to 45,000 HIV+ persons, 
another 70,000 need to be enrolled.  As access to these life- 
extending drugs expands, growth of the orphan population 
will slow.  Through the President's Emergency Plan for AIDS 
Relief (PEPFAR) and the Office of Defense Cooperation's 
humanitarian assistance programs, Mission is giving the GOB 
increased resources to care for orphans and vulnerable 
children. 
AROIAN 
 
 
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