4 4.8 Child Labour The 2008 Constitution reaffirms the State’s responsibility to provide free basic education and health care for children. 558 The majority of children attend primary school, but the net completion rate is only 54%. Of these, only 58% go on to secondary school. 559 Due to widespread poverty and the unstable economic situation, many children drop out of school and work for low pay to help earn money for their families. 560 Child labour is widespread and visible throughout Myanmar in various sectors (see census data in Chapter 4.6 on Labour). Children also end up as beggars on the streets, bus and railway stations and at tourist attractions. One survey found that one third of child labourers worked as street vendors. 561 The Government is working with the ILO and UNICEF to reform laws and end the worst forms of child labour. The minimum age for the employment of children is set at 13 years, which is in line with international standards for light work, but not in line with the international standard of 15 years for regular work. 562 The 1993 Child Law classifies children between the age of 14 and 17 as youths, and allows them to engage in “light duties”. However, the term “light duties” is not defined. 563 Children are frequently victims of economic exploitation, as employers generally pay them less despite their high contribution of labour. 564 Child Sexual Abuse Images Online The increasing use of ICTs to distribute and access child abuse images 565 has given rise to numerous global coalitions and initiatives to identify and protect child victims and disrupt posting of and access to such images. 566 Distribution and accessing child abuse images are violations of children’s rights and are a crime under international law. As noted by one of the leading NGOs working on disrupting the availability of child sexual abuse content hosted anywhere in the world, many legitimate online services are misused by those wishing to distribute child sexual abuse imagery. 567 Given the relatively low penetration of ICTs in Myanmar to date, 568 this has not been a major concern for children protection groups, but this is changing as the country opens further. 569 558 Ibid, pg. 4-5 UNICEF, “Situation Analysis Myanmar“ (July 2012) pg. 76 and 83. 560 Democracy for Burma, “Child labour continues in Burma” (4 February 2011). 561 UNICEF, “Situation Analysis of Children” (2012), p 116. 562 Freedom House, “The Global State of Workers' Rights – Burma” (31 August 2010). 563 US Department of State, “2013 Country reports on Human Rights practices, Burma 2013 Human Rights report” (2013). 564 Child Rights Forum of Burma, “CRC Shadow Report Burma” (29 April 2011). 565 A note on terminology: although the Optional Protocol to the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child uses what was the common term at the time to protocol was adopted “child pornography”, the terminology has shifted to using the term “child abuse images” in order to convey more cleary the concept that any involvement with such images is a crime. 566 See for example: European Commission, “A Global Alliance against Child Sexual Abuse Online” (last accessed August 2015). 567 Internet Watch Foundation, “New tactics mean 137% increase in identified child sexual abuse imagery” (13 April 2015) 568 See for example UNICEF, “Situation Analysis Myanmar“ (July 2012), which highlighted many other existing child protection concerns in the country, but as of the 2012 date, there would have been little significant data or practice available about online exploitation. See also, Myanmar Centre for Responsible Business, 559 228 PAGE CHAPTER 4.8: GROUPS AT RISK