Unpaid Internships Are an Infringement of Human Rights – Belgium Held Responsible by the European Committee of Social Rights

16-02-2022

Manon Picard

International Justice and Human Rights Researcher 

Global Human Rights Defence

Following a complaint submitted by the European Youth Forum in May 2017 to the European Committee of Social Rights (ECSR), an international human rights body, Belgium has been held responsible for its failure to protect young people working as unpaid interns. The ECSR’s decision was published today, 16th February 2022, and found Belgium to have breached human rights protected under the European Social Charter (ESC). Belgium was found to have breached the right to a fair remuneration, under Article 4§1 of the ESC, as well as the right to non-discrimination under Article E of the ESC. The ECSR held that the current legislation in Belgium allowed young workers to be exploited which limited work opportunities to persons with advantaged backgrounds and increased the risks of inequality.

The European Youth Forum believes that this will give Belgium an “incentive to ban unpaid internships.” The Vice President of European Youth Forum has also said: 

“This decision should signal the end of unpaid internships not just in Belgium, but across Europe. The European Youth Forum is committed to fight for the right of all young people, regardless of their socioeconomic background, to have equal access to fair, paid jobs”. 

Although Belgium is legally bound to take action in order to protect young workers from the exploitative practice of unpaid internships, it seems that the government is ready to take action. The Deputy Prime Minister of Belgium, Pierre-Yves Dermagne, stated that “with the help of my colleagues from the federated entities, I am doing all in my power to remedy it”. The decision of the ECSR brings hope that all European countries will follow suit in remedying the problem of unpaid internships. 

Sources and further reading:

Camille Gijs. (2022, February 16). Belgium Violates Charter Over Unpaid Internships, Human Rights Body Says. Politico. Retrieved February 16, 2022, from https://www-politico-eu.cdn.ampproject.org/c/s/www.politico.eu/article/belgium-violates-social-rights-charter-unpaid-internships-human-rights/amp/

Directorate-General for Communication. (2022, February 4). Flash Eurobarometer 378: The experience of traineeships in the EU. https://data.europa.eu/data/datasets/s1091_378?locale=en

European Committee of Social Rights. (2022, February 16). Case of European Youth Forum (YFJ) v. Belgium. https://hudoc.esc.coe.int/fre/?i=cc-150-2017-dmerits-en

European Youth Forum, (2022, February 16). Belgium Must Do More to Stop Unpaid Internships, Rules International Human Rights Body. https://www.youthforum.org/news/belgium-must-do-more-to-stop-unpaid-internships-rules-international-human-rights-body