Colombia SIGNIFICANT ADVANCEMENT

In 2013, Colombia made a significant advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. The Government expanded its social protection program, More Families in Action, increasing the number of beneficiary families from 2.6 million to 3 million. The Government updated its list of the prohibited worst forms of child labor and conducted 1,543 inspections to verify labor conditions for adolescents with permits to work. The Government investigated 144 new cases of recruitment of children by illegal, non-state armed groups and convicted six individuals for such crimes. The Government also established an inspection unit within the Ministry of Labor to combat child labor, restructured the National System of Family Well-Being to improve interagency coordination to protect children’s rights, and began to participate in a 4-year, $9 million project to combat child labor and improve workplace health and safety in mining. However, children continue to be forcibly recruited by non-state armed groups and engage in child labor in agriculture and street work. Limited interagency coordination and inadequate resources hinder efforts to combat child labor, including child trafficking. I. PREVALENCE AND SECTORAL DISTRIBUTION OF CHILD LABOR Children in Colombia are engaged in child labor, primarily in agricultural activities and street work.(1, 2) Children are also forcibly recruited by non-state armed groups.(3-7) Table 1 provides key indicators on children’s work and education in Colombia