The United States Department of labor says Zimbabwe has made minimum progress in eliminating worst forms of child labor.
According to the department’s latest report on goods produced by child labor, the government has demonstrated little effort in ending child labor mainly in agriculture which is the mainstay of its economy.
It further alleges that there has been threats by the ruling Zanu PF party supporters in the farms on worker organisations and trade unionists who attempted to lobby against child labor.
“In 2021, Zimbabwe made minimal advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The National Assembly began consideration of amendments to the Labor Act, which would increase penalties for child labor violations. The government, with the United Nations, also launched an updated Sustainable Development Cooperation Assistance Framework, prioritizing increased educational access and social protections for girls and other groups vulnerable to child labor.
“However, Zimbabwe is assessed as having made only minimal advancement because it implemented a practice that delays advancement to eliminate child labor. Evidenced by a pattern of threats and intimidation of worker organizations and trade unionists, high-level officials within the Government of Zimbabwe and the ruling political party interfered with a delegation representing worker and civil society organizations to investigate concerns of child labor occurring at a commercial farm, sending party activists to the farm to threaten and intimidate the delegation,” read the report
The report says the worst forms of child labour in Zimbabwe were prevalent in agriculture and sometimes as a result of human trafficking.
“Children in Zimbabwe are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including in commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking, and forced labor in mines and on farms. Children also engage in child labor in agriculture, including in the harvesting of sugarcane and tobacco. The government did not publicly release information on its labor and criminal law enforcement efforts for inclusion in this report, and law enforcement agencies lack resources to enforce child labor laws. In addition, gaps remain in the country’s legal framework against child labor, including the prohibition of commercial sexual exploitation of children,” said the report
According to the report Zimbabwean children living in border towns are trafficked to South Africa, Mozambique, and Zambia, where they become victims of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor in domestic work adding that some families recruit rural children, especially orphans, to work in cities, often with promises of education or adoption.
