Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Mauritania (Ratification: 2001)

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It must therefore repeat its previous observation which read as follows:

Repetition

The Committee noted the communication of 22 August 2011 from the General Confederation of Workers of Mauritania (CGTM), and the Government’s report.

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). Slavery or practices similar to slavery. 1. Sale and trafficking of children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the adoption of Act No. 025/2003 of 17 July 2003 to suppress the trafficking of persons. The Committee also noted that, according to a UNICEF report on trafficking in persons with particular reference to women and children in West and Central Africa, in the streets of Dakar there are boy talibés from neighbouring countries, including Mauritania, who have been brought to the city by their Koranic masters (marabouts). According to the same report, there is also child trafficking inside Mauritania in which talibé children from rural areas beg on the streets of Nouakchott. The Committee observed that Mauritania appeared to be a country of origin for the trafficking of children for the purpose of exploiting their labour.

The Committee noted that, in its concluding observations of 17 June 2009, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) expressed concern at reports of children being sold to work as jockeys in the Middle East (CRC/C/MRT/CO/2, paragraph 77). The CRC was also concerned to note that Mauritania’s report contained no information on the extent of the trafficking or the measures taken to prevent such crimes. The Committee noted with regret the lack of information on this subject in the Government’s report. The Committee once again expresses concern at the situation of child victims of trafficking, and requests the Government to step up its efforts to ensure that, in practice, children under 18 years of age are protected against the sale and trafficking of children for the purposes of sexual exploitation or exploitation of their labour. The Committee again requests the Government to provide information on the application of Act No. 025/2003 of 17 July 2003 to suppress the trafficking of persons in practice, including statistics on the number and nature of offences reported, investigations held, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied.

2. Forced or compulsory labour. Begging. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 42(1) of Ordinance No. 2005-015 on the protection of children under penal law provides that the act of causing a child to beg or directly employing a child to beg is punishable by imprisonment of one to six months or a fine of 100,000 ouguiyas. The Committee nonetheless noted that a UNICEF study entitled “Child Labour in Mauritania” indicated that, according to a study of July 2003 by the National Children’s Council (CNE), observations in the field suggested that street children tended to be beggars who give a daily account of their begging activities to their marabouts.

The Committee noted that, according to the CGTM, teachers in religious schools force children onto to the streets to beg, exposing them to crime and the danger of assault on their integrity.

The Committee noted that, in its concluding observations of 17 June 2009, the CRC expressed concern over the lack of protection for talibé children, who are forced by marabouts to beg in slavery-like conditions (CRC/C/MRT/CO/2, paragraph 73). The Committee also noted that, in her report of 24 August 2010 to the Human Rights Council, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery stated that, although she had been informed that the Government was working with religious leaders to put an end to this practice, many did not consider forced begging to be a form of slavery (A/HRC/15/20/Add.2, paragraph 46). The Minister of Families, Children and Social Affairs nonetheless informed the Special Rapporteur of the collaboration between her and the Ministry of the Interior to address the issue of street children, some of whom are talibés in Nouakchott. There appears to be a specialized police force which is trained to work with children, and the services of the Minister of the Interior monitor madrassas to ensure that children are not encouraged to go begging for their religious teachers (paragraph 75).

The Committee nevertheless noted with regret that the Government provides no information on this matter in its report. It again noted with deep concern that children are being used for purely economic purposes, in other words children are being are being exploited for their labour by certain marabouts. The Committee again pointed out to the Government that, according to Article 1 of the Convention, immediate and effective measures must be taken as a matter of urgency to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour and that, in conformity with Article 7(1) of the Convention, the Government must take all necessary steps to ensure the effective implementation and enforcement of the provisions giving effect to the Convention, including the provision and application of effective and sufficiently dissuasive sanctions. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that thorough investigations are carried out and completed and that marabouts who use children under 18 years of age for purely economic purposes are effectively prosecuted and punished by effective and sufficiently dissuasive penalties. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of talibé children identified by the special police unit and the services of the Minister of the Interior, and requests it to take the necessary steps to build the capacity of law enforcement bodies.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (b). Assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour. Forced or compulsory labour. Begging. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to information in the second periodic report submitted by Mauritania in July 2008 to the CRC (CRC/C/MRT/2, paragraph 88), a centre for the protection and social integration of children in difficult situations was established which targets street children, children forced to beg or children subject to economic exploitation.

The Committee noted that, in her report, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery indicates that the Ministry of the Interior informed her that talibé children are offered education or vocational training and provided with shelter (A/HRC/15/20/Add.2, paragraph 75). The Committee nonetheless noted with regret that the Government provides no information on this matter in its report. It also observed that, in its concluding observations of 17 June 2009, the CRC likewise expressed concern at the lack of information on the measures adopted by Mauritania to identify and protect children working or living in the street (CRC/C/MRT/CO/2, paragraph 73). The Committee urges the Government to indicate the number of child victims of begging who have been removed from the street and rehabilitated and integrated into society, particularly by the centre for the protection and social integration of children in difficult situations or by the services of the Ministry of the Interior. The Committee also requests the Government to indicate any other effective time-bound measures taken to prevent children under 18 years of age from falling victim to forced or compulsory labour, such as begging, and to identify talibé children who are forced to beg, and to remove them from such situations, ensuring their rehabilitation and social integration.

Clause (e). Special situation of girls. Domestic work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the Government’s statement that most girls engaged in domestic work received little schooling or no schooling at all. Furthermore, according to the results of a survey on girls in Mauritania which was cited in a UNICEF study entitled “Child Labour in Mauritania”, girls could be recruited as from 8 years of age, and 32 per cent of the girls questioned during the survey were under 12 years of age. The Committee noted that, according to the second periodic report submitted by Mauritania to the CRC in July 2008 (CRC/C/MRT/2, paragraphs 247 and 255), two surveys had been under way for some time on child labour (including girls in domestic service) in Kiffa and Nouakchott “to determine the possibilities of educating and training these young workers and securing their social reintegration”. It noted that the “El Mina Centre for Child Protection” in Nouakchott has been carrying out various activities since 2001 (training, literacy, hygiene, etc.) for girl domestic workers. A basic education pilot programme was also carried out in Dar Naim and a unit for “girls in difficult situations” was established.

The Committee noted that, according to the CGTM, domestic work amounts to a daily workload of heavy chores for children, who are subjected to abuse from a very young age. Furthermore, the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) indicated, in a report it submitted to the General Council of the World Trade Organization for the trade policy reviews of Guinea and Mauritania on 28 and 30 September 2011, that many girls are forced into unpaid domestic service and are particularly vulnerable to exploitation. The Committee also noted that, in its concluding observations of 17 June 2009, the CRC expressed particular concern at the situation of girls who work as domestic servants in exploitative slavery-like conditions (CRC/C/MRT/CO/2, paragraph 75).

The Committee noted with regret that the Government provides no information on this matter in its report. It again pointed out that small girls, particularly those employed as domestic servants, are often the victims of exploitation, which can take many different forms, and that it is difficult to supervise their conditions of employment in view of the clandestine nature of their work. It therefore urges the Government to take measures to ensure that children who are victims of exploitation in domestic work, particularly girls, are removed from this worst form of child labour and are rehabilitated and integrated in society, in particular through the activities of the El Mina Centre for the Protection of Children and the Dar Naim pilot project. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on progress made in this regard. Lastly, it urges the Government to provide information on the development and conclusions of the two surveys under way in the country.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee noted that, according to the report of 24 August 2010 of the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of slavery, children under 13 years of age work in all sectors of activity in Mauritania. In rural areas, enslaved children usually work taking care of livestock, cultivating subsistence crops and performing domestic work and other significant labour in support of their masters’ activities. Children live in slavery-like conditions in urban areas and are often found working in domestic households (A/HRC/15/20/Add.2, paragraphs 42–45). The Committee noted however that, in its concluding observations of 17 June 2009, the CRC expressed particular concern at the lack of comprehensive documentation on the incidence of child labour and effective measures to ensure that children are protected from economic exploitation and the worst forms of child labour and that they can exercise their right to education (CRC/C/MRT/CO/2, paragraph 75). The Committee expresses concern at the situation of children engaged in hazardous work and in slavery-like conditions, and therefore urges the Government to take immediate and effective measures to ensure protection in practice for these children against this worst form of child labour. It also requests the Government to provide statistics of the nature, extent and tendencies of worst forms of child labour, particularly as concerns the sale and trafficking of children begging in the streets. It also requests the Government to provide information on the number and nature of the offences reported, investigations and prosecutions, and convictions and the penal sanctions imposed. To the extent possible, all information provided should be disaggregated by sex and age.

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

The Committee hopes that the Government will make every effort to take the necessary action in the near future.