Children in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) are subjected to the worst forms of child labor, including in the forced mining of gold, tin ore (cassiterite), tantalum ore (coltan), and tungsten ore (wolframite), and are used in armed conflict, sometimes as a result of forcible recruitment or abduction by non-state armed groups. (1-7) Table 1 provides key indicators on children’s work and education in the DRC. Data on some of these indicators are not available from the sources used in this report.

Source for primary completion rate: Data from 2015, published by UNESCO Institute for Statistics, 2021. (8)
Source for all other data: International Labor Organization's analysis of statistics from Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey 6 (MICS 6), 2017–2018. (9)

Based on a review of available information, Table 2 provides an overview of children's work by sector and activity.

† Determined by national law or regulation as hazardous and, as such, relevant to Article 3(d) of ILO C. 182.
‡ Child labor understood as the worst forms of child labor per se under Article 3(a)–(c) of ILO C. 182.

Children in the DRC's eastern provinces were particularly vulnerable to recruitment by non-state armed groups, forced labor in artisanal mining, and forced prostitution. (28-30) UNICEF and other international organizations estimate that between 40 and 70 percent of non-state armed groups in central DRC include children, some as young as age 5. (26,31) By the end of the reporting period, the government and international partners had secured commitments from 35 armed groups to end the recruitment and use of children and other grave violations. (27,32) However, some of the 150 non-state armed groups, criminal gangs, and illicit smuggling networks operating in the DRC continued to abduct, recruit, or use children in armed conflict during the reporting period. (3,27,33) Major non-state armed groups included Nyatura, Mai-Mai Mazembe, the Allied Democratic Forces (ADF), Nduma Défense du Congo-Rénové-Guidon (NDC-R Guidon), Kamuina Nsapu, Forces démocratiques de libération du Rwanda-Forces combattantes abacunguzi (FDLR), Raia Mutomboki, Conseil national pour la renaissance et la démocratie, Alliance des patriotes pour un Congo libre et souverain, Union des révolutionnaires pour la défense du peuple Congolais (URDPC/CODECO) and the Armée de libération du Congo (ALC/CODECO). (27,28,34) Armed groups that surrendered to the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (FARDC) submitted to Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration (DDR) programs that separated children from their ranks. A DDR ordinance is imminent but did not pass during the reporting period. (35) In the absence of a coherent national DDR strategy, some factions continued to recruit children. (14,36)

Armed groups subjected children to forced labor in artisanal mines in Ituri, North Kivu, South Kivu, and Maniema, where forced labor, conflict, and mining are often intertwined. (14,37,38) Non-state armed groups in Ituri reportedly seized young children from their homes, forcing them to transport heavy loads or perform domestic work. (13) In eastern Congo's conflict-affected regions, children extract and transport tin (cassiterite), tantalum (coltan), tungsten (wolframite), diamonds, and gold. Thousands of children also work in cobalt and copper mines in the DRC's southern Copperbelt region. (39-41) Prevalence is highest in the country's artisanal and small-scale mining (ASM) sector, which operates with minimal oversight. Child labor has been detected at one in four ASM sites in the DRC, with informal or illegal ASM operations leaving children uniquely exposed to hazardous working conditions and, in some instances, to forced labor. (29,40,42) As many as 35,000 of the DRC’s 255,000 artisanal cobalt miners are children. (43)

During the reporting period, international border closures caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to an uptick in cross-border smuggling of untagged gold, tantalum, and tin from North and South Kivu into Rwanda and Burundi. (28) Lockdowns also prevented mining authorities from accessing artisanal gold-mining sites. (28) Criminal trafficking networks targeted girls in Kinshasa, some of whom were forcibly trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation and forced domestic labor in Lebanon. Children in the Kasai region were also trafficked into forced begging rings that brought them to Kinshasa. (14,37,44) Despite strong evidence that children are subjected to participation in armed conflict, commercial sexual exploitation, and forced labor in mining, the prevalence and nature of child labor in other sectors remains unclear because a comprehensive, stand-alone child labor survey has never been conducted in the DRC. (14)

Tens of thousands of civilians have been displaced in eastern Congo's Ituri Province because of the conflict, making thousands of children vulnerable to sex trafficking, forced labor, or commercial sexual exploitation. In Tanganyika and Ituri, flooding and interethnic conflict destroyed 700 schools, leaving 500,0000 children out of school. In addition, non-state armed groups attacked more than 60 schools in the DRC between January and October 2020, while the FARDC targeted one school. Attacks against schools in 2020 left 45,000 children without access to the classroom. (27,37,45)

UNICEF estimates that only 25 percent of children under age 5 have birth certificates. (46) Low rates of birth registration leave many children vulnerable to child labor because it makes age verification difficult during FARDC recruitment campaigns and hinders efforts to identify and separate children associated with armed groups. (4,47) While Congolese law provides for free, compulsory education, only slightly more than half of the DRC's 51,574 public schools were financed by the state. At public schools that did not receive government funding, parents were asked to pay school fees, which were often prohibitively high, to support teacher salaries. (48,49) In 2019, President Felix Tshisekedi implemented a free primary education initiative to expand funding for public schools, and in 2020, new teachers were hired and plans approved for school construction. (13,50-52) Nevertheless, significant obstacles remain. Nationwide school closures to contain the pandemic led to an increase in working children, particularly in mines. (52,53) Non-state armed groups attacked 52 schools between January and July 2020, while the FARDC targeted one school. (27,36,45,54)

Schools remained overcrowded, understaffed, and geographically dispersed, requiring students to travel long distances. Many have been structurally damaged by conflicts or used as shelters for IDPs. (1,2,24,26,47,55)

The DRC has ratified all key international conventions concerning child labor (Table 3).

The government has established laws and regulations related to child labor (Table 4). However, gaps exist in the DRC’s legal framework to adequately protect children from the worst forms of child labor, including its compulsory education age.

* No conscription (15)
‡ Age calculated based on available information (57,67,68)

In 2019, the Agency for Prevention and the Fight Against Trafficking in Persons (APLTP) drafted and submitted to the National Assembly an aggressive national anti-trafficking law. However, due to the pandemic, the law's scheduled adoption in the 2020 legislative session was postponed. (14,50) The DRC also expanded oversight of and control over its artisanal mining sector in which child labor is prevalent, including in copper- and cobalt-rich areas. (50,69)

Children in the DRC are required to attend school only up to age 12. This standard means children ages 12 through 15 are vulnerable to child labor as they are not required to attend school, but are not legally permitted to work. (57,63,66) Moreover, some implementing decrees for the Child Protection Code have not been adopted. (57,70) Without these decrees, multiple provisions, including the provision on light work, cannot be enforced.

The government has established institutional mechanisms for the enforcement of laws and regulations on child labor (Table 5). However, gaps exist within the authority of enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate enforcement of child labor laws.

The Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity, and Humanitarian Affairs monitors humanitarian programs and coordinates with key actors to promote social services to vulnerable groups, including street children, human trafficking victims, and child soldiers. (15) In April, as part of pandemic-related protection measures, Ministry of the Interior (MOI) officials held a training for Kinshasa police officers emphasizing collateral consequences of mandated quarantines, including acts that can be considered forms of trafficking in persons, such as sexual exploitation and the trafficking of children. (37)

Labor Law Enforcement

In 2020, labor law enforcement agencies in the DRC took actions to combat child labor (Table 6). However, gaps exist within the operations of the Ministry of Employment, Labor, and Social Welfare (MOL) that may hinder adequate labor law enforcement, including financial resource allocation.

The number of labor inspectors is likely insufficient for the size of the DRC's workforce, which includes over 31 million workers. According to the ILO's technical advice of a ratio approaching 1 inspector for every 40,000 workers in less developed economies, the DRC would employ about 784 labor inspectors. (79,80) Moreover, as the government did not directly fund the Central Labor Inspectorate in 2020, MOL relied on provincial labor inspectorates, the mining police, industrial mining companies, and NGOs to conduct inspections and defray the costs. (14) Regional labor inspectorates rely on fees collected from violators to sustain their operations. (14) Despite these challenges, provincial authorities conducted inspections in the formal mining sector in the Katanga region, including in Haut Katanga, Tanganyika, and Lualaba, where child labor is known to occur. (14) Approximately 80 percent of the DRC's labor force is engaged in the informal sector, including subsistence agriculture, which is also the DRC's largest rural employer. (81,82) To support labor inspections in the agricultural sector, the government task force on the Africa Growth and Opportunity Act, in conjunction with MOL, published a roadmap to address child labor in the DRC's agricultural sector. The government also made a commitment to survey child labor prevalence in the rice sector in Kongo-Central Province in 2021. (14,83)

Labor inspectors did not receive child labor law enforcement training in 2020. (14) Mines are inspected by mining and hydrocarbon police, NGOs, industrial mining companies, armed forces, and two specialized divisions within the Minister of Mines. Conflict mineral sites subject to international due diligence requirements are validated as child labor- and conflict-free by local monitoring committees, or CLS. (84) The CLS include territorial administrators, state mining services, state security forces, traditional authorities, and mining operators. (84) With support from the U.S. Department of State, IOM trained 250 mining police in North and South Kivu on inspection and validation techniques. Topics included child labor detection, hazards assessment, and additional compliance measures. (14) Under a USAID program aimed at boosting gender equity in artisanal mining, 20 female mine inspectors were also trained and inducted in South Kivu. Trainers used specific modules designed from the Voluntary Principles for the Security of Human Rights, with a specific focus on child protection in mining areas. (14) In addition, the Congolese National Police (PNC) worked with NGOs to protect children in artisanal gold mining sites in North and South Kivu. At the Omape artisanal mining site near Walikale, PNC, in collaboration with the NGO Caritas, conducted night patrols to check for the presence of children working in the mines at night. (14,37) In 2020, the NGO PACT identified and extricated 18 children working in artisanal mines in the east. (14,37) Separately, the APLTP discovered 100 children working in an artisanal gold mine in South Kivu, and they were also removed. The provincial labor inspectorate in South Kivu was actively investigating the case at the close of the reporting period. (14)

Criminal Law Enforcement

In 2020, criminal law enforcement agencies in the DRC took actions to combat child labor (Table 7). However, gaps exist within the operations of the criminal enforcement agencies that may hinder adequate criminal law enforcement, including the allocation of financial resources.

In August 2020, the National Commissioner of the Congolese National Police adopted a set of regulations, approved through inter-ministerial consensus, that defines for the first time the function and duties of the Mining Police, including the protection and enforcement of human rights in mining areas. In specific cases of human rights abuses, including the worst forms of child labor, the guidelines instruct the mining police to arrest suspects, preserve evidence, and exercise the authorities of the child protection unit in cases in which the specialized services are absent. (14)

Unlike previous years, in 2020, military courts identified and began prosecuting multiple army officers for cases of child trafficking, child soldier recruitment, and sexual slavery. In June 2020, two FARDC soldiers from the 2105th regiment, accused of kidnapping underage girls for sexual enslavement, stood trial before a military tribunal in Kasai. (14,44) The military prosecutor’s office in Tshikapa also uncovered a child trafficking ring run by a FARDC captain and a civilian woman. The captain was arrested and was awaiting trial at the end of the reporting period. (14,44) Military prosecutors planned to request a sentence of 5 years for both the FARDC officer and the civilian. (14,44) In September, military prosecutors in Goma also opened a case against ex-warlord and prolific child soldier recruiter Bahati Kibira Kapasi, leader of the armed group Union of Patriots for the Defense of Congo. The following month, the government secured a landmark conviction against Ntabo Ntaberi Sheka, who was sentenced to life imprisonment for war crimes, including child soldier recruitment. (14,37,86) Sheka, who commanded the Nduma Défense du Congo (NDC) until 2015, created a command-and-control structure based on child soldier recruitment. Jean-Claude "Kamutoto" Lukambo, a co-defendant and former child soldier who rose to command the NDC's child soldier recruitment and training division, was sentenced to 15 years' imprisonment. (14,37,86) The conviction also identified recently ousted NDC-R head Congolese “General” Shimiray Mwissa Guidon, who split from Sheka's NDC in 2015, as complicit in Sheka's crimes; however, Guidon remains at large. Prosecutors also indicted members of the Bana Mura for child sexual enslavement in the Kasai region. (14,37,86,87)

In January 2020, police in Lubumbashi arrested 3 men accused of running a child trafficking ring; 22 child victims were freed during the arrest. (50) Research was unable to verify if the men were prosecuted or to confirm the case's disposition by the end of the reporting period. (14,44) The APLTP also investigated cases of child trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation, and child abuse, and initiated 13 prosecutions for trafficking in persons and commercial sexual exploitation during the reporting period. These included three cases of child recruitment, one case of forced child labor, and seven cases of commercial sexual exploitation. (14,37) In addition, DRC and Republic of the Congo authorities disrupted a cross-border child trafficking ring, and MOI officials opened an investigation into a child trafficking network between the DRC and Zambia. (14,37) Research indicates that 58,305 children, including victims of criminal labor exploitation, were processed through the DRC’s 21 Children’s Tribunals in 2020. However, the closure of civilian criminal courts in March, following national lockdowns to contain the pandemic, resulted in an overall reduction in the volume of criminal hearings. (14,44) Similarly, police and prosecutorial investigations declined significantly. Lockdowns prevented actors from conducting necessary field travel, greatly reducing the number of victims identified. (44) Moreover, poor coordination in conducting investigations, collecting data, and providing services to victims continued to hinder the government’s ability to adequately combat the worst forms of child labor. (3,33) Research indicates that both the military and civilian justice systems lack the capacity and resources to investigate and prosecute child labor violations. (4,22,72)

In 2020, the FARDC made progress compared with prior years in preventing child recruitment within state security forces following an August decree by the Minister of Defense reiterating zero tolerance for child recruitment. (14) There were three cases of the FARDC using children in non-combat capacities in 2020, all of whom, according to the UN Organization Stabilization Mission in the Democratic Republic of the Congo's (MONUSCO) Child Protection Services, were demobilized. (14) The FARDC also separated 2,101 children from armed groups during the reporting period and referred them to UNICEF-run transition centers, which provided them with medical and psychosocial support and livelihood training. (14)

Until July 2020, FARDC elements in North Kivu collaborated with UN- and U.S.-sanctioned Congolese “General” Shimiray Mwissa Guidon's NDC-R, an armed group and occasional proxy for the FARDC that recruits children, sometimes forcibly, into its ranks. (30,87-91) Congolese forces, including senior FARDC commander General Innocent Gahizi, allowed the group to move freely throughout the province and tolerated NDC-R's use of FARDC uniforms. Colonel Yves Kijenge, FARDC commander of the 3411th Regiment, also supplied the group with weapons and ammunition. (50,88,90) Under this arrangement, which allowed the NDC-R to establish illegal taxation schemes and control of lucrative gold mining sites, the group emerged as the dominant non-state group in the Masisi and Walikale regions of the eastern DRC. (50,81,88-90) In June 2019, military prosecutors in North Kivu issued an arrest warrant for Guidon for child recruitment, mass rape, and other crimes committed between 2015 and 2020 as leader of the NDC-R. (50,89,90) They further allege that sanctioned high-ranking FARDC commanders protected Guidon during this period, although these officers have not yet been charged. In July 2020 Guidon was deposed by Gilbert Chuo Bwira, his second-in-command, with FARDC support. (28,92) In August 2020, 584 combatants under Bwira's command, including 29 children, surrendered to the FARDC. The children were removed by MONUSCO's child protection unit and taken to the UNICEF-funded community demobilization center in Goma. (93-95)

Despite efforts to prevent child recruitment by state security forces, children whom the FARDC separated from armed groups were occasionally detained for 2 to 14 days. In 2020, 85 children were detained following separation from armed groups, 78 of whom were released shortly thereafter. However, 7 children were held in detention for periods ranging from 2 to 9 months. (14,44) When children are detained, official procedure requires the government to alert MONUSCO, to whom the children are handed over. Prior to that handover, children may be held in local detention cells, which suffer from overcrowding, lack of food and health services, and poor sanitation. (14,44)

The FARDC, mining police, and private security forces, including those guarding large-scale mining concessions, reportedly subject child laborers on ASM sites to extortion and physical abuse. (96) There is no evidence the government took action to address these abuses. Moreover, some FARDC elements collected illegal fees from traders to transport gold in FARDC trucks on routine operations between Misisi and Bukavu. (28) Members of the 1301st Regiment of the FARDC illegally owned and taxed artisanal gold mines in Mongbwalu, Ituri Province. The pandemic lockdown exacerbated these trends. Research indicates that members of the FARDC's 3407th Regiment facilitated the transport of gold on behalf of non-state armed group Mai-Mai Yakutumba. (28)

Penalties for criminal violations related to the worst forms of child labor—including the use of children in armed conflict—are 1 to 3 years of imprisonment with fines of up to $123 (200,000 Congolese Francs). (13,20,22,56,57,59,70,71)

The government has established mechanisms to coordinate its efforts to address child labor (Table 8). However, gaps exist that hinder the effective coordination of efforts to address child labor, including lack of coordination among agencies.

* Mechanism to coordinate efforts to address child labor was created during the reporting period.

The creation of APLTP in April 2019 addressed a long-standing need to increase coordination among various anti-human trafficking actors within the government. (50) Nevertheless, overlapping objectives and duplication of efforts, combined with a lack of resources and trained personnel, may have impeded the government’s ability to coordinate actions to combat the worst forms of child labor. (24,33) In addition, the Disarmament, Demobilization, and Reintegration Commission is supposed to take the lead on child soldier issues; however, research indicates that, in practice, that role has often been assumed by the Country Task Forces on Monitoring and Reporting. (33)

The government has established policies related to child labor (Table 9). However, policy gaps exist that hinder efforts to address child labor, including whether relevant policies were active.

† Policy was launched during the reporting period.
‡ The government had other policies that may have addressed child labor issues or had an impact on child labor. (21,22,114,115)

Although the DRC has developed a number of action plans to combat child labor, only some received dedicated funding. (19,23,33,40)

In 2020, the government funded and participated in programs that may contribute to preventing child labor (Table 10). However, gaps exist in these social programs, including the adequacy of programs to address the full scope of the problem in all relevant sectors.

* Program was launched during the reporting period.
† Program is funded by the Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
‡ The government had other social programs that may have
included the goal of eliminating or preventing child labor. (130,131)

During the reporting period, the Ministry of Defense (MOD) worked closely with the UN to identify and remove child recruits from the FARDC. (50) However, the scope of child DDR programs remains insufficient. The reintegration process is slow, funding is inadequate, and collaboration between partners is weak. (3,22,47,132,133) Children separated from armed groups remain vulnerable to stigmatization and re-recruitment. Girls, who make up an estimated 30 to 40 percent of children associated with armed groups, often survive prolonged sexual and physical abuse in captivity and face social exclusion upon their return. Because this cycle of rejection increases their risk of re-recruitment, girls should be specifically targeted in the DDR process. (5,47,132-135) Research also indicates that the government needs to strengthen its efforts to assist street children and to implement programs specifically designed to assist children engaged in forced labor in agriculture, domestic work, and commercial sexual exploitation. (4,22,23,47)

Based on the reporting above, suggested actions are identified that would advance the elimination of child labor in the DRC (Table 11).

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