A/HRC/18/30 B. Institutional framework, policies and programmes 97. Governments should establish effective and accessible information and complaints mechanisms for victims such as an ombudsperson for children and allow for third parties to bring forward cases on behalf of children who have been victims of slavery. Governments should also provide victims of child slavery with adequate and unconditional assistance for their protection, rehabilitation and reintegration, including by funding and/or working with relevant international and NGOs. 98. In order to develop national policies against child labour, most States have created multisectoral insitutions to prevent and eradicate child labour, made up of governmental authorities, representatives of the workers’ union, representatives of the employers’ union, NGOs and international organizations, the main task of which is to articulate national action plan for the prevention and eradication of child labour. These institutions should have specific programmes to prevent and eradicate child slavery in the mining and quarrying sector. They should also develop and implement policies and social programmes targeting children working in the mines and quarries. Such policies and programmes need to be translated for use at the local levels. In countries most advanced in terms of decentralization, the regional, municipal and local governments have an increasing role with regard to the education, health and protection of children and youth services. Local governments, policies and programmes, because of their proximity to the reality of children and their families, are essential for the development of sustainable and effective actions for the eradication of child working in the mining and quarrying sector. These plans should have sufficient human and financial resources to ensure that they are fully implemented. 99. Education is widely considered to be the most effective tool for tackling child labour as it keeps children in school and away from work. The Special Rapporteur believes that this tool can also be used to prevent child slavery in mining and quarrying. Primary education should be made accessible and free or affordable for children and training programmes need to be set up for parents. Governments need to assign resources to build schools in artisanal mining and quarrying areas and adequately train teachers to identify children’s problems and needs. The standard of education needs to be improved at all levels and the Government must provide secondary schooling and vocational training which is often absent. Recreational facilities should also be built to occupy children out of school hours, as parents often see mining and quarrying as a way to keep their children busy and out of trouble. The Ministry of Education should be allocated the necessary budget to implement these programmes. 100. Adult literacy or vocational training should also be provided for parents working within the mines so as to increase their access to better paid alternative livelihoods. Increased wages will also enable them to send their children to school. 101. Poverty reduction programmes, such as cash transfer programmes, should be expanded with a specific focus on geographical areas where artisanal mining and quarrying occurs. These programmes should benefit only those whose children attend school and gain regular medical care. This would help improve their wellbeing. 102. Economic alternatives, which provide the same income, need to be offered to working mining and quarrying families. Alongside the provision of economic alternatives, Governments should work with international organizations and CSOs to monitor this sector in order to transform it and ensure better pay and working 21