US embassy cable - 05HARARE1310

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HARARE 001310 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
AF FOR DAS T. WOODS 
AF/S FOR B. NEULING 
OVP FOR NULAND 
NSC FOR DNSA ABRAMS, SENIOR AFRICA DIRECTOR C. COURVILLE 
USDOC FOR ROBERT TELCHIN 
TREASURY FOR J. RALYEA 
PASS USTR FOR FLORIZELLE LISER 
STATE PASS USAID FOR MARJORIE COPSON 
USDOL FOR ROBERT YOUNG 
USMISSION GENEVA FOR JOHN CHAMBERLAIN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, PHUM, ECON, PGOV, ZI, Other Mandatory Reports 
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE: 2005 UPDATE OF WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
 
REF: SECSTATE 143552 
 
1. (SBU) Summary. The GOZ made no changes to child labor laws 
or regulations in the past year.  The ongoing economic and 
social crisis in Zimbabwe impedes additional efforts to 
address child labor problems.  The country's high HIV 
infection rate continues to contribute to the number of 
child-headed households.  The GOZ,s capacity to finance 
social spending is contracting sharply.  While the 
humanitarian consequences of Operation Restore Order are 
clearly enormous, a conclusive assessment of its effect on 
child labor is not yet available.  A recently completed rapid 
assessment of Operation Restore Order (septel) found a school 
dropout rate of 22 percent due to the operation and 40 
percent of surveyed households experienced some separation of 
family members.  These disruptions to family life increase 
the likelihood of exploitative forms of child labor, but we 
are unaware of specific evidence at this time that the 
incidence of the worst forms of child labor is increasing. 
End Summary 
 
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Child Labor Laws Unchanged, Safety Net Inadequate 
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2. (SBU) There were no changes to Zimbabwe,s child labor 
laws or enforcement mechanisms in the past year. 
 
3. (SBU) The Ministry of Public Service, Labor, and Social 
Welfare continues to provide school fees and books through 
its Basic Education Assistance Module (BEAM) and Children in 
Difficult Circumstances (CDC) programs for children unable to 
afford them.  President Mugabe announced at the national 
launch of Zimbabwe,s Millennium Development Goals (MDG) 2004 
Progress Report on September 8 that BEAM provided school fee 
assistance to over 800,000 vulnerable children.  The 
quickening pace of economic deterioration, however, has 
significantly eroded the GOZ,s capacity to fund assistance 
at a time of sharply rising demands on social spending. 
(N.B. The IMF projects a widening of the budget deficit in 
2005 to 11.3 percent of GDP from 3 percent in 2004.) 
Illustrative of the fiscal crisis, resource constraints have 
held up release of a child labor survey completed by the GOZ 
in December 2004. 
 
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No Comprehensive Policy 
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4. (SBU) We are unaware of any evidence of significantly 
increased incidence of the worst forms of child labor in the 
country.  NGOs consulted for last year,s report indicated 
that the patterns and concerns identified last year remain 
and that they have undertaken no new programs in this area. 
Representatives of labor, employers, and the GOZ recognize 
the need to eliminate the worst forms of child labor but, 
absorbed with other aspects of Zimbabwe's multi-faceted 
crises, they have not collaborated on a comprehensive policy 
to address the problem.  UNICEF's State of The World,s 
Children 2005 Report noted that 26 percent of Zimbabwe,s 
children aged 5-14 were engaged in some type of work before 
the GOZ undertook Operation Restore Order. 
 
5. (SBU) Conclusive assessments of the effects of Operation 
Restore Order on child labor have yet to be done, but the 
Operation has certainly exacerbated conditions that would 
impel child labor.  UN Special Envoy Anna Tibaijuka reported 
in July that the government destroyed the homes and 
livelihoods of approximately 700,000 people with another 2.4 
million indirectly affected.  According to ActionAid 
International,s Zimbabwe Demolitions report in August 
(septel), 70 percent of respondents lost their shelters and 
76 percent lost their livelihoods.  ActionAid,s report also 
stated that the 1.5 million child orphans in the country were 
now more exposed to crime, prostitution, and mass poverty due 
to the loss of access to school, shelter, and social safety 
nets.  The report found that the operation resulted in 22 
percent of children dropping out of school with another 44 
percent potentially lacking resources for school fees.  The 
report also found that 40 percent of surveyed households had 
experienced some separation of family members, a disruption 
that increases the likelihood of exploitative forms of child 
labor. 
DELL