Good Practice

Combat child labour in domestic work and the worst forms in Haiti - Final evaluation

Good Practice Description

The project targeted capacity at the policy level and sought to improve the coordination of work between national institutions and social partners. The project’s initial plan involved working with the National Tripartite Committee for the Elimination of Child Labour (NTCECL) to facilitate practical coordination between the Government, employers’ associations and labour unions. However, the National Committee experienced internal issues which prevented it from functioning and severely limited its utility for the project. In order to overcome this obstacle, the project shifted its focus to a more effective approach: the creation of a Child Labour Focal Points Network. The ability and willingness of the project to adapt to the context and come up with a solution to this obstacle is considered a good practice as it allowed for the project activities to continue. This flexibility enabled the project to cultivate a core group of highly sensitized and engaged agents of change representing a range of key actors (government agencies, NGOs and international agencies) with interrelated priorities and work. The project undertook capacity building workshops with these focal points, helping them to define their action plan for their respective departments and institutions. The Focal Points Network was formed to reinforce the impact of the individual focal points.

The project required that the Institute National de Formation Professionnelle (INFP) was involved and implicated in the process of developing training curricula certified by the state. However, it was difficult to secure the support of the INFP in order to certify the training. The project invested resources in exposing targeted INFP officials to actual child labour situations in the regions most affected. These site visits strengthened the understanding of the INFP officials of the issues and helped to persuade them of the need to certify the accelerated training provided by the project.

The project aims to contribute to the elimination of child labour in domestic work and the socio-economic integration of children at risk of child labour by undertaking direct action and institutional strengthening. In terms of institutional strengthening and awareness-raising, the project adopted a multi-level approach to raising awareness amongst Government officials, labour unions, employers’ associations and the general public. This approach is an example of a good practice as it has enabled the project to tackle child labour as a systematic issue requiring a comprehensive response that targets the key institutions and organizations in the system.