CRC/C/ECU/CO/4 groups who, inter alia, recruit and abduct children and sexually abuse them; lack of services; and the disruption of normal commercial and other economic, social and cultural activities. The impact on children’s development and exercise of rights is evidenced by reports of low school attendance and completion rates, the high incidence of mortality and morbidity, accidents, etc. 69. The Committee urges the State party and the international community to provide Northern border local communities affected by conflict and the presence of non-State armed groups, with secure access to quality services, especially those for children and adolescents, and ensure their means of maintaining a safe and protected environment. Economic exploitation including child labour 70. The Committee welcomes the amendment to the Labour Code which sets the minimum age for employment at 15 years and the National Action Plan for the Prevention and Progressive Eradication of Child Labour, both from 2005. It is, however, concerned that many young children still perform harmful work, such as domestic work with characteristics of slavery, and hazardous work in garbage dumps, banana plantations and the mining industry, including forced labour, and that many of these children do not attend school. 71. The Committee recommends that the State party: (a) Continue and strengthen efforts to eliminate child labour and its worst forms by, inter alia, enforcing the Labour Code and International Labour Organization (ILO) Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour, ensuring effective monitoring and imposing effective penalties in case of violations of the provisions related to child labour; (b) Ensure that children are enrolled in school and are protected from the harmful effects of child labour; (c) Collect reliable data on working children disaggregated by, inter alia, age, sex, ethnic, socio-economic background and geographical/administrative location, including those who work in the informal sector, inter alia, as domestic workers, and monitor their condition; (d) Respect the right of the child to be heard while measures are being developed and applied to eliminate child labour in all its forms; and (e) Continue to seek assistance from the ILO/International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour programme. Children in street situations 72. While welcoming measures taken by the State party to eradicate children begging in the streets at Christmas time and sustaining it throughout the year, the Committee is concerned at the high number of children in street situations, exposed to violence, sexual and economic exploitation and discrimination. 73. The Committee recommends that the root causes of children in street situations be addressed with a view to ensuring their return to a caring and protective family environment and exercise their rights as children. In doing this, children should be duly heard. The Committee recommends that the State party raise public awareness of the situation of children living in the streets and combat misconceptions and prejudices against them. 15