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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Mauritania (RATIFICATION: 2001)

The Committee notes the Government’s first report and the communication from the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions (ICFTU), dated 9 September 2002. It also notes with interest the adoption of Act No. 2004-015 establishing the Labour Code. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the following points.

Article 2, paragraphs 1 and 4, of the Convention and Part V of the report form. Minimum age for admission to employment or work and application in practice. In its communication, the ICFTU indicates that the Ministry of Labour authorizes, without exception, children of 13 and 14 years of age to work in both the agricultural and non-agricultural sectors. The ICFTU also indicates that, according to UNICEF statistical data for 2000, the total number of child workers between 10 and 14 years of age was 68,000, a slight decrease compared to previous years. Many children who are unable to complete their education for various reasons end up on the labour market at a very early age. The ICFTU also indicates that children are working in agriculture, fisheries, guarding of livestock and in activities of the unstructured urban sector. Some children also work as apprentices in small undertakings. However, very little information is available regarding the conditions of work and opportunities for training. The ICFTU concludes that, even though there has been a reduction of child labour in Mauritania the problem still exists. Most children work in rural areas or in unstructured urban activities.

The Committee notes the Government’s information to the effect that no reliable statistical data on the employment of children and adolescents and the number and nature of contraventions is available. It indicates, however, that an information campaign conducted by labour inspectors and certain NGOs has shown that child labour is virtually non-existent in Mauritania. The Committee notes, however, that the Government, in its initial report submitted to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in January 2000 (CRC/C/8/Add.42, paragraphs 327 and 328), stated that in the rural sector child labour is often a gradual initiation into parents’ activities in the areas of stock rearing, agriculture and domestic work. These child workers are primarily home helps. Children working in rural families are often sheltered from abuses and benefit from the protection and care of parents and members of the extended family. The Government indicates, however, that excessive demands are sometimes made on the children’s physical capabilities, and their general state of health is affected. In the absence of objective data on the number of children working and on their needs, most experts agree that it is in rural areas, especially in the agricultural sector, that this phenomenon is encountered the most. The Government also indicated that it is in the unstructured urban sector, which is rarely the subject of statistics, that children are employed. During slack periods, rural inhabitants without occupation or income go to the towns and cities in search of employment and means of subsistence. In its concluding observations on the Government’s initial report in November 2001 (CRC/C/15/Add.159, paragraphs 18, 49 and 50), the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed its concern at the high number of children who are working, particularly in agriculture and the unstructured sector. In view of the absence of data enabling evaluation and monitoring of progress made and assessment of the impact of measures adopted for children, the Committee on the Rights of the Child recommended the Government to develop a system of data collection which would include in particular working children. The Committee also recommended that the necessary measures be taken to prevent and combat all forms of economic exploitation of children.

The Committee notes that Mauritania, at the time of ratification of the Convention, specified 14 years as the minimum age for admission to employment or work, in accordance with Article 2, paragraph 4, of the Convention. It also notes that, under section 153 of the new Labour Code, children may not be employed in any enterprise, even as apprentices, before the age of 14 years, or above that age if they are still subject to compulsory education. It reminds the Government that, under Article 2, paragraphs 1 and 4, of the Convention, no person below the age specified at the time of ratification, namely 14 years in the case of Mauritania, may be admitted to employment or work in any occupation. The Committee expresses its deep concern at the situation of children under the age of 14 years who are compelled to work in Mauritania. It therefore strongly encourages the Government to renew its efforts to make gradual improvements to the situation. Hence the Committee, referring to its general observation made at its 2003 session, requests the Government to provide detailed information on the manner in which the Convention is applied in practice, for example by giving the fullest possible statistical data on the nature, extent and trends of the work performed by children and adolescents below the minimum age specified by the Government at the time of ratification, extracts from reports of the inspection services, and information on the number and nature of contraventions reported and on the sanctions applied. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by sex.

The Committee also raises other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.