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Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Senegal (RATIFICATION: 2000)

The Committee takes note of the communication of 23 March 2010 from the National Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Senegal (UNSAS) and of the Government’s report.

Articles 3(a) and 7(1) of the Convention. 1. Sale and trafficking of children and penalties. The Committee noted previously that according to section 2 of Act No. 02/2005 of 29 April 2005 on measures to combat the trafficking of persons and similar practices and the protection of victims, the maximum sentence is applied when the offence of trafficking is committed against a minor. The Committee nonetheless observed, that although prohibited by law, in practice the trafficking of children for economic or sexual exploitation remains a cause of concern.

The Committee notes the information from the Government to the effect that prosecution and penalties are established in Act No. 02/2005 of 29 April 2005 and Order No. 3749 of 6 June 2003 defining and prohibiting the worse forms of child labour, and constitute measures to combat child trafficking effectively. However, the Committee notes that although the Act to combat human trafficking has been in force since April 2005, according to the Global Report on Trafficking in Persons published in 2009 by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) the number of persons arrested for trafficking in persons and related offences fell from 37 in 2004 to 15 in 2006. It further notes that according to the report entitled “Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 – Senegal”, published on the website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (www.unhcr.org), Act No. 02/2005 of 29 April 2005 has primarily been used to combat the smuggling of migrants to Spain. Furthermore, according to the framework document of the National Action Plan to combat the trafficking of persons, particularly women and children, in Senegal of 24 June 2008, Act
No. 02/2005 of 29 April 2005 has never been used to prosecute the offence of trafficking. According to the abovementioned document, this is largely because those responsible for its enforcement very often have little or no knowledge of Act No. 02/2005 of 29 April 2005 because the texts of laws are not disseminated.

According to the Trafficking in Persons Report 2010, in March 2009 the Senegalese police dismantled a human trafficking network sending girls from Senegal to Morocco for forced domestic work. However, this report indicates that the traffickers were released a few weeks after their arrest and no charges were brought because they were highly placed and influential members of Senegalese society. The Committee expresses its deep concern at the failure to apply Act
No. 02/2005 of 29 April 2005 and the allegations of the impunity of certain traffickers. The Committee urges the Government to take immediate and effective measures to ensure that thorough investigations and the robust prosecution of persons engaging in the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age are carried out, taking particular care to build the capacity of law enforcement bodies by disseminating Act No. 02/2005 of 29 April 2005. It requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied to the persons concerned.

2. Forced or compulsory labour and penalties. Begging. In its previous comments the Committee noted that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations on the second periodic report of Senegal in October 2006 (CRC/C/SEN/CO/2, paragraphs 60 and 61), expressed concern at the large number of working children and in particular at the practices of the Koranic schools run by marabouts who use talibé children on a large scale for economic gain by sending them to agricultural fields or to the streets for begging and other illicit work to earn money, thus preventing them from having access to health, education and good living conditions. It further noted that although section 3(1) of Act No. 02/2005 of 29 April 2005 forbids the organization, for economic gain, of begging by others or the employment, procuring or deceiving of someone with a view to getting that person to beg, or the exertion of pressure on someone to beg or to continue to beg, including where the offence is against a minor, the talibé phenomenon remains a concern in practice.

The Committee takes note of the comments by UNSAS indicating that the situation of street children is more worrying than ever because begging is on the rise, particularly in the country’s large urban areas. It notes the Government’s statement that the necessary measures are being taken to enforce the national legislation on begging. It notes, however, from the framework document the National Action Plan to combat trafficking in persons, particularly women and children, in Senegal of 24 June 2008, that Act No. 02/2005 of 29 April 2005 has never been used to prosecute the offence of begging. Furthermore, according to the Trafficking in Persons Report 2010, there was evidence of some official tolerance on a local and institutional level for the trafficking of talibé children for forced begging.

The Committee notes that according to recent information (of 26 March 2008) from UNICEF, there are an estimated 100,000 street children in Senegal. Furthermore, according to a joint report of November 2007 by ILO–IPEC, UNICEF and the World Bank entitled “Child begging in the Dakar region”, in Dakar alone around 7,600 children are affected by the widespread phenomenon of begging. Talibé account for most of the child beggars (90 per cent). Child beggars are mostly very young, the average age being between 11 and 12, and most of them (95 per cent) come from other regions of Senegal or neighbouring countries such as Guinea–Bissau, Guinea, Mali and the Gambia. The report also reveals that the talibé children spend six hours a day begging on average, which would appear to leave them little time for Koranic study.

The Committee recalls that in its 2006 observation addressed to Niger on the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), it noted that three forms of begging were to be observed: conventional begging, educational begging and begging that uses children for purely economic ends. Conventional begging is the form practiced by indigent people. Educational begging is the form practiced in accordance with the Muslim religion as a means of learning humility for the person practising it and compassion for the alms-giver. Lastly, begging that uses children for purely economic ends makes children a source of business. Expressing its deep concern at the extent to which talibé children are used for purely economic purposes, the Committee urges the Government to take immediate and effective measures to ensure that marabouts who use begging by children under 18 years of age for purely economic purposes are, in practice, prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are applied to them pursuant to Act No. 02/2005 of 29 April 2005. In this connection the Committee asks the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions are carried out. It requests the Government to send information on the measures taken and the results obtained, including the number of investigations held and the number of prosecutions and convictions. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by sex and age.

Article 6. Programmes of action. National Action Plan to combat trafficking in persons. The Committee notes with interest the adoption in June 2008 of a National Action Plan to combat trafficking in persons, particularly women and children (2008–13). According to the framework document of the National Action Plan, the plan focuses inter alia on the following goals: (i) reinforcing and adapting the legal framework for the protection of victims; (ii) applying the legislation effectively; (iii) ensuring free compulsory schooling; (iv) strengthening the system of social protection for the most vulnerable children in the areas that are the main sources of trafficking; (v) providing effective protection for witnesses and victims; and (vi) improving the care and rehabilitation of victims of trafficking. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the implementation of the National Action Plan to combat trafficking in persons, particularly women and children, and on the measures taken and the results obtained under the Plan to eliminate the sale and trafficking of children under 18 years of age.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Children at special risk. Street children and talibé children. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the comments by UNSAS indicating that the measures taken for talibé children, although effective, are still inadequate. It notes in this connection the recommendation made by UNSAS that the social partners should be more closely involved in the search for solutions, particularly as regards fostering, education and social integration. The Committee notes the information from the Government to the effect that a project for education on family life in the daaras (Koranic schools) has been produced by the Ministry of the Family, National Solidarity, Women’s Entrepreneurship and Microfinance. According to the Government, the project aims in particular to contribute to combating begging and the phenomenon of street children, to prepare talibé children for social and professional life by developing projects for educational and vocational activities and to promote the development of income-generating activities. It further notes that a partnership for the withdrawal and reintegration of street children (PARRER) was established in February 2007 and is made up of members of the Senegalese administration, NGOs, the private sector, development partners, religious organizations, civil society and the media. The partnership has set itself the objective of encouraging the public authorities to apply the national legislation effectively while engaging in advocacy at the national, subregional and international level in order to abolish the phenomenon of street children. It further notes the information from the Government to the effect that between 2001 and 2009, 1,080 children were removed from begging. The Committee also notes from the “2008 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labour – Senegal”, a report published on the website of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (www.unhcr.org), that the Ministry of the Family, National Solidarity, Women’s Entrepreneurship and Microfinance runs a programme of support to 48 Koranic schools that have undertaken not to engage talibé children in begging. The Committee is of the view that street children and talibé children are particularly exposed to the worst forms of child labour, and accordingly encourages the Government to redouble its efforts to identify, withdraw and reintegrate street children, particularly child beggars. It requests the Government to provide additional information on the measures taken and the results obtained under the project for education on family life in the daaras and by the partnership for the withdrawal and reintegration of street children.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.