Legal Review of national laws and regulations related to child labour in light of international standards 2020

Myanmar has made legal advancements, ratifying 25 ILO Conventions and enacting the 2019 Child Rights Law, which defines children as individuals under 18. Additional legislative changes, such as amendments to the Factories Act and the introduction of the Shops and Establishments Act, aim to enhance protections for young workers. Despite these efforts, legal inconsistencies, outdated policies, and the socioeconomic impact of COVID-19 continue to pose challenges, leaving many children at risk of exploitation, particularly in informal sectors.

To address these issues, the report emphasizes the need for sustained efforts to improve legal protections for children and to ensure effective implementation of existing laws.  Main priority areas which were identified for further actions, include:

• the finalization and adoption of the list of “hazardous work” prohibited to children under 18, including examining the inclusion of child domestic work in such a list;
• the elaboration of the rules and procedures for the effective implementation of the Child Rights Law; 
• the harmonization of the provisions contained in labour laws and other laws with the provisions of the Child Rights Law of 2019 for legal certainty, in order to ensure a consistent national legal framework, in line with international standards;
• the strengthening of awareness-raising activities on child labour and relevant national provisions, in particular of the Child Rights Law and labour laws, for law enforcement authorities, employers, workers, communities, parents and children; 
• the strengthening of law enforcement mechanisms, while ensuring a better access to justice, and the establishment of systematic labour inspections in all sectors; and the effective prosecution of perpetrators of child labour, in particular in its worst forms as well as the imposition and enforcement of dissuasive penalties.