Cablegate: Zimbabwe: 2005 Update of Worst Forms of Child Labor

This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

201508Z Sep 05

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
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

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