Individual Case (CAS) - Discussion: 2022, Publication: 110th ILC session (2022)

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

Written information provided by the Government

The Government has taken several types of action to combat all forms of forced labour and the commercial sexual exploitation of children, particularly vidomégon children.

Examples of this include:

- analysis of the extent to which national legislation is in conformity with the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), with a view to its ratification;

- the establishment and strengthening of communication on the children’s helpline and implementation of the communication plan for the “hello 138” campaign.

As a result of the children’s helpline:

- 28,364 calls were received between 18 March 2020 and 30 November 2021;

- 138 cases of child victims of violence have been dealt with;

- 13,356 calls offered an opportunity to provide advice, guidance and information about the children’s helpline and other toll-free numbers, as well as fun calls with children;

- 186 children, 77 in Ouando, 18 in Parakou and 91 in Dantokpa, were removed from the large markets of Benin in 2017 as a result of inspection missions organized by labour inspectors;

- in 2022, 15 cases of vidomégon children were resolved with the perpetrators and parents appearing before the juvenile court. To date, 3 children have been rehabilitated and the others returned to their families following rulings by the juvenile court.

In the context of the implementation of Act No. 2006-04 of 10 April 2006 establishing conditions for the movement of young persons and the repression of child trafficking in the Republic of Benin, several types of action have been undertaken, including:

- the drafting of the National Policy to Combat Trafficking in Persons 2022–31 and its plan of action 2022–26;

- the workshop on the drafting of plans of action for the implementation of the recommendations resulting from the diagnostic study of the criminal justice system in relation to trafficking in persons;

- the participation of Benin in the 14th Annual Review Meeting of the Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Regional Network of National Focal Institutions against Trafficking in Persons Plus.

In accordance with its mandate, the Central Office for the Protection of Children and the Elimination of Trafficking in Persons (OCPM) intervenes to combat trafficking of children through prevention, and by raising awareness among children, parents and, particularly, vulnerable categories.

In terms of protection, the OCPM intervenes in the system for the repression of trafficking of children, in collaboration with border units, several NGOs and the Office of the Public Prosecutor to identify and punish cases. This action has led to the following results:

- in 2020, the Office recorded 49 cases of trafficking of children, with 34 convictions (20 men and 14 women);

- in 2021, 37 cases were recorded and led to 13 convictions (9 men and 4 women).

In view of its magnitude, the Government is concerned about child labour in mines and quarries. In November 2019, an important meeting was organized in the framework of intersectoral dialogue on combating child labour, at the initiative of the ministry responsible for child labour, with a view to the periodic evaluation of the situation with those responsible for sectors with high levels of child labour.

The conclusions and recommendations of the meeting pointed to the need to organize a joint visit with the various ministries to mining sites in the departments of Mono and Couffo in October 2021.

During this visit, which brought together various political and administrative authorities in the sectors concerned, with participation of Ministers of Labour and Social Affairs, the chief of staff of the Minister of Mines and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) resident representative in Benin, the various authorities had the opportunity to evaluate the situation of children working at those sites and assess the risks related to the work. It was an opportunity for the ministers, the prefects of Mono and Couffo and the UNICEF resident representative to raise awareness among parents, children and site operators of the need to end the exploitation of children in this sector.

Following this visit, the authorities decided to launch a specific study to assess precisely the magnitude of the phenomenon. It is envisaged that the study will be accompanied by a three-year plan of action for targeted and significant intervention in the mining sector over the coming years. This study was launched in March 2022.

The 2019–23 National Plan of Action prepared by Benin is fully in line with the implementation of the Convention and is aimed at the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, while also pursuing the objective of the elimination of all forms of child labour in the long term.

In this regard, several types of action have been undertaken, including:

- analysis of the extent to which the law is in conformity with the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), and the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), with a view to their ratification;

- the review and updating of the list of hazardous types of work;

- the drafting of the list of light types of work in Benin;

- the establishment of services to combat child labour in the 12 departments of Benin;

- the preparation of the procedure and protocol document for the monitoring of child labour.

The labour inspection services carry out monitoring to prevent children becoming victims of trafficking and remove those who are victims of the worst forms of child labour. In this regard, the 2022 annual work plan for departmental labour directorates and the civil service includes inspections throughout the country.

The Ministry of Social Affairs, through social assistants, is setting up and strengthening the capacity of child protection monitoring committees (identification of at-risk children and victims, establishment of local alert and reporting systems).

For this purpose:

- 409 monitoring committees have been established, 197 in Bourgou and Alibori and 212 in Atacora;

- 118 monitoring committees have been strengthened in Bourgou and Alibori.

The following action has been taken to ensure the protection of orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs).

At the institutional level:

- capacity-building for social workers working in social promotion centres; and

- the establishment of a collaboration framework for those working to protect OVCs.

At the technical level:

- the identification and categorization of OVCs according to a vulnerability scale;

- a support kit for school and apprenticeship for highly vulnerable OVCs;

- monitoring of the schooling of OVCs by social promotion centres; and

- advocacy with communal authorities to take account of the needs of OVCs in communal development plans and the inclusion of a budget line to that effect.

In the framework of cooperation efforts with neighbouring countries with a view to bringing an end to the trafficking of children under 18 years of age, the following cross-border bilateral agreements have been signed:

- the Benin–Gabon Agreement, 11 November 2020;

- the Benin–Congo Agreement, 20 September 2011;

- the Benin–Nigeria Agreement, 2013;

- the Benin–Togo–Burkina Faso Agreement, 2020;

- the Benin–Ghana Agreement (ongoing).

Multilateral cooperation agreements to combat child trafficking in West Africa have also been signed. These include the agreement between Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Mali, Niger, Nigeria and Togo signed in 2005.

It should be noted that a national plan of action to combat trafficking has been drawn up, but its implementation has not yet begun.

Discussion by the Committee

Government representative – Our country has always been sensitive to the issue of child labour, and particularly its worst forms. That is why it ratified the Convention, in order to reinforce its legal framework to facilitate the elimination of harmful labour by children. Efforts have been made to limit the phenomenon over the past decade. However, despite these efforts, our country has been included on the list of countries called upon to appear today on the basis of the observations of the Committee of Experts, which find the application of the Convention unsatisfactory.

Taking note of this situation, the Government agrees to submit to the procedure of being called before the Committee, while considering this an opportunity to do better. That is why we are taking this opportunity to provide further explanations of the action undertaken by the Government and to reaffirm our will and our commitments in relation to the issue that we are examining this morning. We dare to hope that following this sometimes complex exercise, Benin will be better understood by the international community in terms of the national policy for the protection of children in general, and in particular to combat child labour.

To do so, let me provide you with an overview of the vidomégon concept, covered by the observations. We will then review the global environment of action to combat the phenomenon through the legislative and institutional framework. I will finish by referring to the prospects and the ILO cooperation and assistance that we are calling for.

With reference to vidomégon children, the concept has evolved greatly since 1960. The Government does not deny the existence and gravity of the problem, but it should be noted that the origins of the vidomégon practice are intimately related to the culture of Benin. Its objective is as a vehicle for the values of solidarity and mutual aid in the community.

The origins of the vidomégon practice have to be seen in relation to the institution of marriage and, more generally, family solidarity. Parents in our culture are not a priori considered to be good at bringing up children, for emotional reasons. That is why children are placed in the households of close relatives, who bring them up with a certain rigour.

Reference should also be made to the fundamental role that urbanization has played for children from villages and their cultural adaptation through the practice of confiage, or the placement of children with other families, in a considerable number of cases in Benin in the achievement of an enviable socio-economic situation. It would not be an exaggeration to say that most middle and higher-level personnel in Benin, such as myself, were vidomégon children placed with aunts or uncles who provided us with a slightly more rigorous upbringing than our own mothers and fathers.

In light of the above, it may be concluded that the practice in question originally displayed no element of perversity. It has been with changes in mentality and customs that it has become corrupted and given way to a universe in which children are exploited and enslaved.

Even now, in view of its magnitude, statistics are limited on the situation of vidomégon children. Nevertheless, there has already been a reduction as a result of laws and regulations adopted by the Government.

With regard to the overall situation, I have to say that, according to recent data, the national incidence of child labour, which was assessed at 52.5 per cent in 2014, fell to 33 per cent in 2018, according to a demography and health survey. That means that the number of children in harmful situations has greatly diminished.

The laws and regulations adopted have enabled us to ratify many international Conventions adopted by the United Nations system, including the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (1989), the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (1984), ILO Convention No. 182 and the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (2004).

At the national level, many laws have been adopted, among which reference may be made to: Act No. 2015-08 of 8 December 2015 issuing the Children’s Code of the Republic of Benin; Act No. 2006-04 of 10 April 2006 establishing conditions governing the movement of children and repressing the trafficking of children in the Republic of Benin; Act No. 2018‑16 of 28 December 2018 issuing the Criminal Code regulating the conditions of repression; and, finally, Act No. 2017‑20 of 20 April 2018 issuing the Numerical Code in the Republic of Benin. Through this latter Code, any crimes related to trafficking committed using information and communication technologies are subject to severe penalties.

In terms of regulations, reference may be made to a recent decree organizing the Ministry of Justice with a view to the preparation and implementation of a criminal policy to protect children against trafficking, sexual exploitation and forced labour, and implementing alternative measures to imprisonment for children in violation of the law and the establishment of a system of restorative justice.

These new measures are inauguring in our country an era of the establishment of a justice system based on the approach of victim protection. They involve institutional organization and measures.

There are three institutional levels, starting at the national level with the coordination of the action and interventions to combat child labour.

At the national level, there is a coordination committee consisting of various ministries, such as the Ministry of Labour, the Ministry of Trade, the Ministry of Finance, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Maternal and Primary Education, the Ministry of Secondary and Technical Education and Vocational Training and the Ministry of Mines, among others. Representatives of the most representative organizations of employers and workers are members of the coordination committee. At the departmental level, interventions are organized by the prefect, that is the administrative authorities. At the communal level, there are coordination units headed by mayors (of whom there are 77).

All the actors intervene within the framework of a programme. For example, in accordance with the programme established by the Government in 2014, Benin adopted its National Child Protection Policy. Following a few years of implementation in practice, its plan of action was reviewed. In 2019, the second National Plan of Action to Combat the Worst Forms of Child Labour emerged. Five strategic priorities formed the backbone of the plan: reinforcement of the legal framework; social mobilization; education; training; control and repression.

Moreover, Benin has developed the National Policy to Combat the Trafficking of Children 2022–31.

The implementation of these policies and strategies has led to certain results of which we would like to inform the Committee.

The Government has undertaken several types of action to combat all forms of forced labour, the commercial sexual exploitation of children and particularly vidomégon children.

By way of illustration, reference may be made to the analysis of the conformity of the national legislation with Convention No. 189 to broaden protection under the Convention, as well as under Convention No. 129 covering, respectively, domestic workers and labour inspection in agriculture with a view to their ratification and the development and strengthening of communication on the children’s helpline.

Through the children’s helpline, 28,364 calls were recorded as of 30 November 2021; 138 cases of child victims of violence were dealt with; advice, guidance and information was provided in response to 13,356 calls on the children’s helpline and other toll-free numbers, as well as fun calls with children; 186 children were removed from the major markets in Benin in 2017 as a result of inspection missions organized by labour inspectors; in 2022, 15 vidomégon children were rescued with the perpetrators and parents appearing before the juvenile court; to date, 3 children have been reintegrated and others have been returned to their families by decision of the juvenile court; a workshop was held on the drafting of plans of action for the implementation of the recommendations resulting from the diagnostic study of the criminal justice system in relation to trafficking in persons; and Benin participated in the 14th Annual Review Meeting of the ECOWAS Regional Network of National Focal Institutions against Trafficking in Children and Persons.

In accordance with its mandate, the OCPM intervenes to combat trafficking of children through prevention, and by raising awareness among children, parents and, particularly, vulnerable categories.

In terms of repression, the OCPM intervenes in the system for the repression of trafficking of children, in collaboration with border units, several NGOs and the Office of the Public Prosecutor, to identify and punish cases.

These actions have led to the following results: in 2020, the Office recorded 49 cases of trafficking of children, with 34 convictions (20 men and 14 women); in 2021, 37 cases were recorded and led to 13 convictions (9 men and 4 women).

In view of its magnitude, the Government is concerned about child labour in mines and quarries.

Visits were therefore organized, in collaboration with the Ministry of Labour, to assess the situation with those responsible for sectors with a high incidence of child labour. In November 2019, a meeting was organized bringing together high-level Ministry officials representing the worst affected sectors, such as agriculture, tourism, commerce, craftwork and mines.

The conclusions and recommendations of that meeting pointed to the need to organize a joint visit with the various ministries.

Following this visit, the authorities decided to launch a specific study to precisely assess the magnitude of the phenomenon. It is envisaged that the study will be accompanied by a three-year plan of action for targeted and significant intervention in the mining sector over the coming years. This study was launched in March 2022.

It should also be emphasized that, in budgetary terms, the overall amount of the direct investments made by the Government every year to combat child labour can be estimated at around 200 million CFA francs.

Clearly, this amount does not include the interventions by civil society organizations, which have an independent budget.

In light of the above, and in order to achieve an ideal situation as planned by the Government in relation to its ambition to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), some challenges need to be outlined.

First, the issue of repression is both a worrying and a complex matter. In practice, when action to remove children gives rise to the prosecution and conviction of those responsible, other social problems immediately arise. For example, in the case of craftworkers, the arrest of a master craftworker in most cases results in the disappearance of the activity and, consequently, the dispersion of the apprentices, leading to other problems for their parents with a view to their reintegration. In such circumstances, the question arises as to how to use the system of repression so that it does not turn against us.

Second, it should be emphasized that, for a large number of the children who are removed, reception centres are often overcrowded and a considerable number of children have nowhere to go and are therefore sent back to their families. This was the case in 2017 with the removal of approximately 100 children from the Dantokpa market, which gave rise to problems in dealing with them.

Moreover, the insufficient numbers of labour inspectors and child protection specialists does not always facilitate the proper organization of controls and care for the children.

In the near future, the Government will continue its action to combat the issue and will focus on the following initiatives: the ratification of Conventions Nos 129 and 189; the preparation of a study in 2022 on the situation of children in mines and quarries, combined with a three-year action plan; the completion of the process of updating the list of hazardous types of work prohibited for children; and the strengthening of the vocational training system with a view to quality apprenticeship.

In terms of future prospects, it should be emphasized that the Government needs to be included in ILO cooperation and technical and financial assistance, as well as with other competent organizations.

The Government already requests the support of the international community, and particularly of the International Labour Standards Department and the Committee of Experts in relation to the multiple challenges arising in particular in relation to: support in updating the compliance studies on Conventions Nos 129 and 189; support for the organization of a tripartite capacity-building workshop for the actors involved in action to combat the worst forms of child labour, and on the drafting of reports on the application of international labour standards; support for the construction and equipping of adapted child reception and protection centres and their geographically balanced distribution throughout the country; support for the development of an appropriate strategy for the repression of the abuse and exploitation of children on the labour market; advocacy for the massive recruitment of labour inspectors and their specialization in protection and related matters to strengthen the staff of monitoring teams through human resources of the appropriate quality and quantity; support for the training of investigators so that they are adapted to technological developments; and support for the interconnectivity of the various databases for the different services that intervene in combating child labour.

This is the additional information that the delegation wished to present to the members of the Committee.

The Government considers that this appearance offers an opportunity and a source of motivation for our country in the sense of accelerating its progress towards the effective elimination of child labour in response to the SDGs.

Employer members – Benin ratified the Convention in 2001 and the Committee of Experts made prior observations in 2014, 2018 and 2021. This is the first time the Committee has discussed Benin’s application of the Convention. We thank the Government of Benin for having submitted relevant information to the Committee regarding the application of this Convention in law and practice. We find this information is very promising as is the strong commitment expressed by the Government representative.

The Committee of Experts’ observations outline persisting gaps in Benin’s compliance with the Convention. First, regarding Article 3(a) of the Convention which prohibits the worst forms of child labour, including forced labour, the Committee of Experts has noted with deep concern the continuing situation of vidomégon children. It is noted that an important number of vidomégon children, that is children who are placed in the home of a third party by their parents or by an intermediary in order to provide them with education and work, still face many forms of exploitation in host families, including forced labour and sexual exploitation. Various United Nations reports highlight the fact that 90 per cent of vidomégon children do not go to school. Instead, they are employed at the local market and in street trade and are often victims of prostitution. At the same time, it is noted that existing legislation establishes the obligation of the child placed in the host family to attend school and prohibits the use of these children as domestic workers. Furthermore, we take note that the Government has adopted specific measures to tackle this phenomenon such as the launch of a child helpline.

The Employer members are of the view that the prevalence of these unacceptable practices illustrates the multiple challenges faced in implementing existing regulations. Therefore, we would like to request the Government to redouble its efforts and take measures to ensure that, in practice, thorough investigations are robust, prosecutions are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed to deter adults from employing and abusing children.

On a related topic, the provisions of Articles 3(a) and 7(1) on the worst forms of child labour and penalties regarding the sale and trafficking of children, the Employer members welcome the Government’s efforts in developing legislative and other administrative measures to identify child trafficking and collect statistical data on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and criminal sanctions. In particular, we welcome the effort put into developing the National Policy Document to Combat Human Trafficking 2022–31 and its Action Plan 2022–26, the Second National Action Plan on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour 2019–23, and the number of bilateral agreements that Benin has concluded with neighbouring countries to combine efforts.

However, we must express deep concern regarding the observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child which established in 2018 that the existing prevention strategies are ineffective, inadequate and inefficient. This issue must be analysed in the context of prevalent practices of child trafficking from and into neighbouring countries as noted in the Committee of Experts’ observations, particularly for domestic servitude and commercial and sexual exploitation in the case of girls, and forced labour in mines, quarries, markets and farms in the case of boys.

The Employer members understand the challenges regarding implementation and early identification of high-risk areas and vulnerable groups, all of which has proven fundamental in order to define priorities to ensure efficient resource allocation. Against this background, we request the Government to continue reporting on the measures taken, as well as the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and criminal sanctions imposed.

At the same time, we encourage the Government to implement as a matter of priority measures concerning child labour awareness and community sensitization, and to continue working in cooperation with the social partners and international development partners in order to build capacity among public officers, as well as employers’ and workers’ organizations.

The Employer members would like to highlight that, while essential, prosecuting and sanctioning adults and removing children from the worst forms of child labour are not stand-alone solutions. As such, the above-mentioned measures cannot be sufficient, effective or sustainable when not implemented in conjunction with strategic policies aiming to address the root causes, risk factors and socio-economic circumstances that either lead to or result in the exploitation of children.

The Committee of Experts takes this into consideration when addressing Article 7(2), paragraphs (a) and (b), on preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and providing assistance for their removal. In particular, the Committee of Experts made observations regarding children working in mines and quarries.

The Committee of Experts took note of the various measures adopted by the Government to prevent child labour in mining sites, including awareness-raising and occupational safety and health training for mining site operators, and alert mechanisms put in place to notify site supervisors of the presence of working children.

The Committee of Experts also noted that committees to monitor child labour in quarries and on granite-crushing sites were established in several communes with UNICEF’s support in 2020 and have revealed several working children at these sites.

The Employer members echo the Committee of Experts’ request that the Government continue taking effective and time-bound measures to protect these children from hazardous work. In particular, we would like to request the Government to intensify its efforts to facilitate access to free basic education for all children and to provide information on the concrete measures taken in this regard, as well as on school attendance, maintenance and drop-out rates.

The Employer members once again thank the Government for the written and oral information submitted to the Committee and want to highlight that the strong commitment expressed by the Government regarding this case is noted.

We reiterate our request to the Government to intensify its efforts regarding implementation of early identification of high-risk areas and vulnerable groups, improve resource allocation regarding the identification of child victims, and continue to report relevant data on the measures taken and the results achieved.

Finally, the Employer members note that the ILO has assisted the Government with regard to its reporting obligations through the International Training Centre of the ILO in 2021 and encourage the Government to continue seeking further assistance to increase the capacity of the tripartite constituents and develop and implement multidimensional sustainable strategies to eradicate the worst forms of child labour, built upon timely and effective consultation with the social partners.

Worker members – We had already emphasized during the examination of a previous case during the course of this session that child labour is a scourge that the world has undertaken to eradicate as soon as possible through the universal ratification of the Convention.

Despite these commitments, in recent years there has been a recrudescence of child labour which is a cause for deep concern following many years of the reduction in its incidence. The crises that we have experienced are threatening to reduce to nothing the efforts made in the past. Today we now have to renew our efforts in order to convert political commitments into tangible reality.

We are today examining the case of Benin, in which the delicate issue arises of the so-called vidomégon children.

These children are placed in the home of a third person by their parents or an intermediary in order to obtain an education and work. According to an article in Le Monde, this practice, which has existed for a long time, enables poor families to offer their children the possibility of benefiting from access to education in exchange for the performance of certain agricultural or household tasks.

It would appear that since the 1990s, this practice has been totally diverted from this purpose and unfortunately now often constitutes an unacceptable form of exploitation of children, sometimes even organized by malicious networks, which only rarely guarantees these children access to education; indeed, quite the contrary.

According to UNICEF, there are approximately 200,000 vidomégon children in West Africa. Although we do not have exact figures for Benin, the NGO Espoirs d’Enfants estimates that there are 5,000 in Dantokpa alone. It would be useful for the Government to establish a system for the collection of data on vidomégon children so that trends in the phenomenon in the country can be monitored.

Alongside its observations on this practice, the Committee of Experts also raises other concerns relating to the trafficking and sale of children, as well as child labour in mines and quarries in Benin.

The first observations of the Committee of Experts on these issues date from 2014, and they have also been the subject of direct requests since 2004.

To come back to the vidomégon children, the Committee of Experts indicates that they are particularly exposed to the various forms of exploitation in the families in which they are placed.

Even though the Children’s Code in Benin establishes the requirement for children who are placed in families to go to school and prohibits their use as domestic workers, the United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child and Human Rights Committee have expressed concern at the persistence of abuses related to the placement of these children, which come close to forced labour and is a source of economic and sometimes sexual exploitation.

The Government reports the adoption of initiatives to combat such abuses. They are clearly welcome but would need to be considerably reinforced.

Although the difficulties referred to by the Government relating to access to the home have to be overcome so that the abuses that are occurring can be identified, the exploitation of these children often happens outside the home, as 90 per cent of vidomégon children do not attend school and work on markets or in street trading. Those are the findings of the 2017 report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, which particularly focuses on the specific risks affecting young girls who, in addition to economic exploitation, are also reported to be victims of prostitution.

The report of the Committee of Experts also points the finger at the problem of the sale and trafficking of children. The Committee on the Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Committee have considered Benin to be a country of origin, transit and destination of trafficking in persons, and particularly women and children, for the purposes of domestic work, subsistence farming and trade, as well as sexual exploitation.

Despite the initiatives taken by the Government to combat this issue, the Committee on the Rights of the Child estimated in 2018 that the initiatives launched to identify child victims of sale and trafficking were inadequate and ineffective.

Finally, the report of the Committee of Experts also refers to the situation of children working in mines and quarries. According to a study carried out within the context of an ILO project over the period 2010–14, some 2,995 children worked in 201 mines, 88 per cent of whom were of school age.

In this regard, we welcome the development by the Government of initiatives such as awareness-raising for people involved in mines, training in occupational safety and health and the establishment of monitoring committees in collaboration with UNICEF. We join the Committee of Experts in encouraging the Government to pursue and reinforce its prevention efforts. We also call on the Government not to overlook enforcement and to impose dissuasive sanctions when abuses are identified in practice.

The situation that we have just described in Benin forces us to conclude that the Convention is not always fully respected in practice, and particularly Articles 3(a) and 7(1) and (2).

We will have the opportunity to further specify our recommendations in our concluding remarks, but it appears to us that, to take action in practice for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, which are still present in Benin, the Government first needs to develop an effective and permanent system for the compilation of data on the placement of vidomégon children, the sale and trafficking of children and the engagement of children in hazardous types of work.

On the basis of the resulting statistical data, the Government will be able to closely follow trends in these various issues and take the necessary measures to actively combat the abuses identified.

It is clear that the destiny of children in Benin closely depends on the socio-economic situation of their parents. It is therefore also essential to ensure that their parents are not faced with the terrible choice of placing their children in the hope of being able to offer them the education to which every child must be entitled. The Government therefore needs to work very hard to create decent jobs for all the citizens of Benin and to develop robust social protection mechanisms that prevent parents from being faced with these terrible choices.

The development of access to education for all children in Benin will also have to be a priority for the Government by reinforcing the education system in the country, an area in which it should be possible to find synergies with other United Nations organizations.

We are aware of the colossal challenges that this raises and we do not doubt the will or capacity of the Government to take up these challenges, with ILO technical assistance.

Employer member, Benin – I first wish to commend the excellent supervisory work carried out by the Committee of Experts. Its work helps countries to better assess the implementation of ILO Conventions and Recommendations, whether or not they have been ratified. The observations of the Committee of Experts are an invitation to improve our strategies.

Employers in Benin take the issue of child labour very seriously. In our view, child labour is a serious violation of human rights, as emphasized by our spokesperson. Early work is prejudicial to the child and a loss in every respect for the enterprise, parents and the nation as a whole. It deprives children of all the potential of their abundant talents.

We wish to recall that Benin has ratified all the ILO fundamental Conventions, including this Convention, with the support of the employers. The employers of Benin thank and support the Government for the information provided in response to the concerns raised by the Committee of Experts to address, prevent and eradicate the phenomenon of vidomégon children. Benin has plentiful legislation on the protection of children. Our organization promotes corporate social responsibility (CSR) and is a signatory to the Benin CSR Charter, for which it has led the whole process. The Charter, in point 2, clearly sets out our vision on the subject under discussion in relation to the Convention by calling for the respect and promotion of human rights under five priority headings reflecting fundamental principles and rights at work, the last of which is entitled “Prohibiting direct or indirect recourse to child labour”.

Employers in Benin have been engaged for decades in the battle to eradicate the worst forms of child labour. With a view to giving effect to the Convention in practice, employers have undertaken various awareness-raising activities in different sectors of the economy in Benin. In 2013, they signed with the workers’ organization, a bipartite declaration on child labour in parallel with the launch of the manual for employers and workers on hazardous types of child labour.

One of the areas in Benin in which social dialogue operates correctly and in which the partners in the world of work most easily reach agreement is on action to combat child labour. And yet, sadly, despite these efforts, the phenomenon persists in the informal economy.

Our organization plays an active role in all consultations on labour legislation, and specifically on the Convention, within the framework of the preparation of various guidance documents (the list of hazardous types of work forbidden for children and its updating, the preparation of the second-generation Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP), the list of light work, the National Plan to Combat Child Labour) and it engages in promoting respect for labour standards in enterprises.

The employers in Benin reiterate to the Committee their determination to continue working at the national level to raise collective awareness of the issue of child labour under the leadership of the newly elected President of the National Employers’ Council of Benin (CNPB), Mr Eustache Kotingan.

The employers of Benin however call on the Government to continue its efforts for the structural transformation of the economy with a view to addressing the deep underlying causes (poverty, informality, inadequate social protection, compulsory schooling), as emphasized by the Employer members.

In conclusion, the employers of Benin encourage the Government to request ILO technical assistance, where necessary, to intensify action to combat child labour, as set out in the National Plan of Action 2019–23.

Worker member, Benin – In our culture and according to our traditions, the child is the property of the community. The education and social integration of children are not the sole responsibility of their physical parents, but more of the community as a whole, and indeed the whole of society. Accordingly, children may be entrusted to a member of the extended family, or even to a friend outside the family circle, to ensure a good family environment for their development. These children are known as vidomégon children, which literally means children entrusted to another person or placed with a third person. It is neither more nor less than a tacit social convention established by tradition and which constitutes an act of solidarity and mutual assistance for children from poor families.

However, in recent years, this practice, which was not bad in itself, has now become deviated, tarnished and used for other purposes which do not contribute to the development of children who are so placed. Poverty, hardship, seeking easy gains at any price have become involved. In practice, poor parents, who are incapable of providing for the needs of their families, are obliged to watch their children leave for unknown destinations with dubious people who are only intent on enriching themselves. This sad scourge is now unfortunately reaching beyond the borders of Benin and is being combined with the trafficking of children, who become migrant workers despite themselves.

In that connection, it may be asked what our Government is doing to ensure the application of the Convention to combat the worst forms of child labour. We have to simply recognize that the Government has the real will to combat child labour and that the legislation exists. Action is being taken and there is also a work plan, which all allows the hope that results will be achieved. However, in practice, it can be seen that, despite all these efforts which, among other decisions, include free schooling and the general availability of school meals, the problem exists, persists and continues. Much therefore remains to be done. We workers believe that for this purpose what is needed is a sacred union bringing together all the related actors, religious circles, the social partners, parents of schoolchildren and all others concerned in a vast campaign.

All this also means that it is necessary to prevent the Government weakening trade unions through the adoption of laws which are in violation of the Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise Convention, 1948 (No. 87), and the Right to Organise and Collective Bargaining Convention, 1949 (No. 98).

It is therefore necessary to engage in real sincere dialogue. Only dialogue of this type will allow Benin to produce standards that are capable of eradicating the worst forms of child labour. Such standards could deal with the root of the evil by giving priority to combating poverty, the structural transformation of the economy and the issue of employment.

The unions consider that it is necessary to bring an end to the precarity of applicant schoolteachers, known as aspirants, who account for over 51 per cent of the staff in secondary education and over 25 per cent in primary education. It is necessary to recruit and motivate teachers in their work.

The unions call on the Government to ratify as soon as possible all the Conventions that can help support action to combat child labour. These include the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), the Migration for Employment Convention (Revised), 1949 (No. 97), the Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122), and the Violence and Harassment Convention, 2019 (No. 190).

In brief, we, the workers of Benin, consider that the Government must once again engage in a process of dialogue in synergy with all the partners. A sacred union is absolutely necessary if the objectives are to be achieved, and the recommendations adopted in Durban at the World Conference on Child Labour must be used as a guide. That is important if progress is to be made.

Government member, France – I have the honour of speaking on behalf of the European Union (EU) and its Member States. The candidate countries, Montenegro and Albania, and the European Free Trade Association country, Norway, Member of the European Economic Area, as well as the Republic of Moldova and Georgia, align themselves with this statement.

The EU and its Member States are committed to the promotion, protection, respect and fulfilment of human rights, including labour rights and the fight against child labour, in particular its worst forms.

We actively promote the universal ratification and implementation of fundamental international labour standards, including the implementation of Convention No. 182. We support the ILO in its indispensable role of developing, promoting and supervising the application of ratified international labour standards, and the fundamental Conventions in particular.

As stated in the recently adopted Durban Call to Action, the universally ratified Convention requires action by ILO Member States to eliminate as a matter of urgency the worst forms of child labour. We recall the importance of scaling up efforts in this regard and underline our strong commitment thereto.

The EU and its Member States are long-term partners of Benin. This partnership is further reinforced in the framework of our cooperation with the African Union (AU) and ECOWAS, as well as the inclusion of Benin among the beneficiaries of the EU’s “Everything but Arms” scheme for least developed countries.

We thank the Government for the information provided ahead of our discussions and take note of the enactment of the 2019–23 National Plan of Action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in Benin.

While noting certain measures taken by the Government, we reiterate the call by the Committee of Experts urging the Government to intensify its efforts to protect children under 18 years of age from all forms of forced labour or commercial sexual exploitation, including vidomégon children exposed to various forms of exploitation by their host families, also taking into account the special situation of girls. We are particularly concerned at the observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child and the United Nations Human Rights Committee in 2015, which drew attention to the persistent nature of this exploitation. We also express deep concern that, based on the reports of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 90 per cent of vidomégon children do not go to school and they are employed in markets and street trading, in addition to performing unpaid domestic tasks.

We also express our great concern at reports of the sale and trafficking of children, including for the purpose of domestic servitude, subsistence farming or trade, or commercial sexual exploitation, predominantly in the case of girls, or forced labour in mines, quarries, markets and farms in the case of boys, especially in diamond-mining districts.

While recognizing the efforts made by the Government, we fully echo the call made by the Committee of Experts urging the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that thorough investigations and prosecutions are conducted of persons subjecting children under 18 years of age to forced labour, commercial sexual exploitation, or engaging in their trafficking, and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties and sanctions in this respect are imposed in practice.

We urge the Government to ensure the immediate removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and to take all necessary measures for their rehabilitation and social integration, including their access to education. We also call on the Government to continue to take effective and time-bound measures to protect children from hazardous work in the mining and quarrying sector.

As compulsory education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, we encourage Benin to step up effective implementation of compulsory education throughout the country. We will continue to support Benin in strengthening its education system through dedicated bilateral development assistance, as well as the Global Partnership for Education.

The EU and its Member States are fully committed to working alongside Benin, and we will continue our engagement for the children of the country. We look forward to continuing joint efforts with the Government and the ILO.

Worker member, Norway – I am speaking on behalf of the trade unions in the Nordic countries. Human trafficking is modern-day slavery, a crime, and a grave violation of human rights. Benin continues to be a source, transit and destination country for trafficking in persons, from and into neighbouring countries. The most serious issues regarding trafficking are nevertheless internal. These cases predominantly involve Beninese children from low-income families exploited in forced labour or sex trafficking.

In Benin, under the practice of vidomégon, poor rural families send their children, usually girls, to the cities with the purpose of receiving education while working as domestic servants. Regrettably, however, too many of these children end up being exploited by means of forced labour.

Although the Republic of Benin prohibits the sale and trafficking of children, thousands of children have been found working under hazardous conditions in various sectors.

The Nordic trade unions are deeply concerned about these violations. We urge the Government to intensify its efforts to protect children from all forms of forced labour or commercial sexual exploitation, concerning vidomégon children in particular. In addition, the Government should take immediate action to ensure their rehabilitation.

We further demand that the Government take genuine and consistent steps to apply existing anti-trafficking legislation laws to rein in offenders. This can be done through investigations, prosecutions and sanctions.

Government member, Central African Republic – I am taking the floor to express the support of the Government of the Central African Republic for the eloquent responses made by the Government to the observations relating to the application of the Convention in law and practice.

Nobody ignores the fact that the worst forms of child labour are a major challenge for the international community. The recent 2021 ILO–UNICEF report truly sets out the complexity of the issue, what is at stake and the challenges faced by many States throughout the world in view of the deterioration in the living conditions of tens of millions of children engaged in hazardous types of work, aggravated by the COVID-19 pandemic.

However, the Government of the Central African Republic notes the strategic action undertaken and carried through, the statistics of which have been provided, which offer sufficient proof of the will of Benin to place action to combat child labour among the priorities that we should, in principle, support within the framework of ILO technical cooperation. In addition to the data provided by Benin, it has established a national integrated school meals programme which is proving to be a model for educational success for the many children removed from the worst forms of child labour, and particularly for the socio-economic integration of basic communities.

Employer member, Colombia – First, I consider it important to emphasize the importance and priority which, as employers, we give to the Convention, with its purpose of protecting children. I wish to emphasize that, in order to achieve target 8.7 of the SDGs of ending child labour in all its forms by 2025, it is necessary for us to work in a coordinated manner through social dialogue and with the social partners.

With reference to this specific case, the Committee of Experts indicated in its report that according to the information provided by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 90 per cent of vidomégon children do not go to school. They are set to work in markets and street trading, as well as performing unpaid domestic tasks. It adds that girls, in addition to being exploited economically, are often victims of prostitution.

We thank the Government for the information provided on the measures taken to prosecute and convict those responsible for the labour exploitation of vidomégon children, although we regret that in practice children continue to be victims of this scourge.

In this regard, it is relevant to recall that, in accordance with Article 1 of the Convention, the Government is required to take the necessary measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour, which include, under the terms of Article 3(a) and (b), all forms of slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, forced labour and their use or procurement for prostitution.

In this regard, we reiterate the call made by the Employer spokesperson to the Government to carry out the necessary investigations to identify and punish those responsible for committing such abuse against boys and girls and to intensify its efforts in coordination with the most representative organizations for the implementation of multi-dimensional strategies and policies with a view to capacity-building for the eradication of child labour.

Worker member, Zimbabwe – The Committee of Experts’ report on Benin exposes serious violations of this Convention. These range from a long-standing practice of placing children in the hands of third parties for work and education known as vidomégons, which exposes them to sexual exploitation, sale and trafficking of children, child work in mines and quarries, among others.

I recall the United Nations SDG 8.7 that seeks to eliminate child labour by 2025 and forced labour by 2030, but I am not sure if other countries like Benin will achieve this goal within the agreed period.

I recall that recently, on 16 to 20 May 2022, the ILO organized a conference on this subject and came up with the Durban Call to Action. This action requires and reiterates the need to:

- make decent work a reality for adults and youth above the minimum age for work by accelerating multi-stakeholder efforts to eliminate child labour, with priority given to the worst forms of child labour;

- end child labour in agriculture; and

- strengthen the prevention and elimination of child labour, including its worst forms, forced labour, modern slavery and trafficking in persons, and the protection of survivors through data-driven and survivor-informed policy and programmatic responses.

I have not even reiterated most of them in the interests of time, but we have already identified what needs to be done and it is now time for meaningful action if we are to totally eliminate this problem. I call upon the Government of Benin to strengthen social dialogue in all processes, including economic planning and budget design.

It is only when concerned parties’ inputs are taken on board that measures will yield results, as there will be ownership of such measures. Such government measures must be complemented by investment in jobs, social protection and the care of economy and education.

However, for social dialogue to provide results, there must be respect for freedom of association and collective bargaining rights.

Lastly, I commend the Government for some of the measures that it is taking to make sure that the issues are addressed, but there is still more that needs to be done. I encourage the Government to accelerate its efforts and seek ILO technical assistance.

Government member, Burkina Faso – The universal ratification of the Convention has succeeded in convincing the world that no effort is too great in the combat to protect the future of our children. In the conviction that it is through respect for fundamental principles and rights at work that the ILO will achieve the objective of social justice, my country reaffirms its commitment to the promotion of these principles, one of the pillars of which is based on action to combat the worst forms of child labour.

We thank the Government for the detailed information that it has been able to provide to the Committee. On the basis of this information, we recognize the affirmed political will, the statistics and the partnerships that demonstrate the efforts made by this fraternal country to give full effect to the Convention under examination.

Burkina Faso welcomes the results obtained by the Government and encourages it to continue this dynamic, while taking into account the relevant observations of the Committee of Experts.

The Committee will therefore have to weigh carefully in its conclusions the effective support of the ILO for government action in Benin for the elimination of child labour.

Employer member, Guatemala – The present and the future depend on the children of the world and it is the responsibility of all of us, governments, workers and employers, to ensure with urgency the prevention and eradication of child labour, with zero tolerance of its worst forms.

Today, we are examining a very serious case which has already been examined, not only by the Committee of Experts, but also by other United Nations treaty organizations, which have noted with concern the evidence of the seriousness of the problem. However, this is the first time the case has been examined by this Committee, which has the responsibility to take exemplary measures to bring an end once and for all to this scourge.

A global approach needs to be taken to child labour and its worst forms, and it is therefore the responsibility of the Government to adopt social protection measures in accordance with such socio-economic circumstances as informality, poverty, the lack of access to education and healthcare, which are the social conditions that lead to families having recourse to child labour. And it will have to pay special attention to traditional solidarity practices which have been distorted, being transformed into child labour and their sexual exploitation, among other worrying situations.

It is therefore necessary to create formal, productive and good-quality jobs for adults, which will help to build a safe environment for children, as well as the promotion of education for all children as a means of preventing child labour. The case of Benin is a clear illustration that promoting the universal ratification of Conventions is not sufficient, as their implementation also has to be ensured, especially in the case of the fundamental Conventions. Although the Government has indicated that it has taken various types of action to combat the worst forms of child labour, it is necessary for social dialogue to be developed through the adoption of tangible measures to reduce without delay the high numbers of children who are suffering, through sustainable, efficient and effective measures adopted with the support of the social partners and relying on ILO technical assistance to achieve this objective.

Worker member, Belgium – In the same way as the Committee of Experts, we are particularly concerned at the persistent exploitation of vidomégon children, trafficking and the use of children in mines and quarries. We note in particular that, according to the 2017 report of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, 90 per cent of vidomégon children do not go to school, and that they work in markets as well as performing domestic tasks.

Certain measures have been taken by the Government, but they are not sufficiently effective in practice. Efforts must be continued on an urgent basis to prosecute those responsible and hand down dissuasive sanctions.

The worst forms of child labour are linked to low incomes, and to the non-financial dimensions of poverty, such as food insecurity and bad health. Child labour also perpetuates the poverty of households over the generations. It prevents social progress, which is dependent on adequate education and schooling, and children who work cannot have access to proper schooling. It is necessary to break the vicious circle by ensuring universal access to education in practice.

It is also essential to adopt tangible measures to combat the poverty and socio-economic vulnerability of workers and their families. These measures must be based on rights and children and workers have to be central to interventions in order to resolve their vulnerability effectively.

The implementation of such measures could enable Benin to respect its commitment to the United Nations to achieve the SDGs, and particularly SDG 8 (decent work) and 16 (peace, justice and strong institutions), which specifically target the worst forms of child labour.

Government member, Switzerland – The eradication of the worst forms of child labour, to which the Convention contributes, is the universal principle applicable to all children under the age of 18 and is one of the most important objectives of the ILO. Switzerland attributes very great importance to this fundamental Convention, which has been universally ratified, but which still requires much effort for its application with a view to eliminating all forms of child labour. The recent Global Conference in Durban made us aware of the urgency of redoubling our efforts.

While recognizing the efforts made by the Government for the elimination of child labour and to combat the ill-treatment and physical violence of which children, including vidomégon children, are the victims, many children continue to be economically and sexually exploited and exposed to the worst forms of child labour, trafficking and forced labour.

Switzerland shares the deep concern of the Committee of Experts and reiterates the call made by the Committee of Experts to the Government to further intensify its efforts to protect children under 18 years of age from all forms of forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation. Switzerland encourages the Government to establish a system for the identification of vidomégon children and ensure their school attendance and good treatment. It also recommends the adoption as rapidly as possible of all the necessary measures to carry out in-depth investigations and prosecute any persons who engage in the trafficking of children under 18 years of age. In cases involving criminal offences, sufficiently dissuasive sanctions must be applied to those responsible in all cases. Action to combat trafficking in persons which involves children must be as robust as possible in all countries.

We also call on the Government to continue to take effective measures rapidly to protect children from hazardous work in the mining and quarries sector, and in agriculture. Finally, in view of the fact that the number of children under the age of 14 engaged in child labour remains high, Switzerland strongly encourages the Government to continue its efforts to prevent and progressively eliminate child labour in the country.

Worker member, Senegal – I am speaking on behalf of the workers’ organizations of West Africa and I wish to commend the quality of the work carried out by the Committee of Experts. We note with interest the information provided by the Government on the action taken to bring an end to child labour in the Republic of Benin.

It is still necessary to emphasize that, despite the efforts made, we note with great concern the persistence of the problem, and indeed its deterioration, as thousands of children, 88 per cent of whom are of school age, are continuing to be used as labour in hazardous types of work, in mines and quarries, in violation of the Convention. We also note the lack of reliable statistics on the number of children who have been protected and removed from hazardous types of work, which would support the Government’s efforts in this regard.

We call on the Government to comply in law and practice with Article 7(2)(a) and (b) of the Convention to prevent children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour and to provide assistance to remove them from these forms of child labour.

In order to combat child labour effectively, it is necessary to take action against poverty and social inequality. To do so, we urge the Government to implement an effective policy to combat poverty and social inequality within the framework of a national social protection strategy, to which everyone has access, and which provides everyone with a minimum guaranteed income, particularly for poor parents who send their children to work to ensure the survival of the household.

This will require the establishment of social security grants which include a financial component, health coverage and school support for children, as well as the implementation of a policy of cash transfers through continuous financial support for the most vulnerable households in relation with technical, financial and social partners, as has been done recently in Senegal, in partnership with the World Bank, through an allocation of 43 billion CFA francs to the 500,000 most vulnerable households.

We also invite the Government to establish a real apprenticeship policy by regulating and supporting apprenticeship centres and ensuring the social security of apprentices.

We call on the Committee to take action with the Government of Benin for the adoption of an effective and inclusive social protection policy for the elimination of child labour.

Government member, Mali – Allow me to begin with a proverb from my country: “the tree must not hide the forest”. While the case for which the Government is before us is undoubtedly important, we should not lose sight of the immense efforts made by the Government to implement the Convention, particularly through the adoption of legislative and institutional measures.

These efforts are readily apparent in the comments made by the Government representative. However, as the Government does not deny the existence and seriousness of the issue, the Government of Mali encourages it to persevere in its efforts to find solutions, particularly in terms of awareness-raising.

In conclusion, my Government asks the ILO to provide support to the Government of Benin so that they can meet their challenges.

Worker member, Canada – Compulsory education is widely recognized as one of the most effective means of combating child labour and governments have an obligation to guarantee it is effectively implemented, which includes ensuring decent work conditions for educators.

Studies indicate that 48 per cent of children complete primary education in Benin. Among the major obstacles to providing stable education are the conditions of work of teachers. Meagre salaries, precarious and insecure contract work, assignments in isolated regions and high student-to-teacher ratios lead to high levels of teacher absenteeism in schools and contribute to an unstable teacher workforce.

It is estimated that almost 25 per cent of primary school teachers in Benin undertake income activities besides their teaching jobs, leading to extreme levels of teacher absenteeism that leave students in classrooms with no teacher. Contract teachers are more frequently absent than those with permanent and pensionable employment.

The student–teacher ratio in Benin as last reported in 2018 was 39 students per teacher, which is considered high compared to a world average of 24 students per teacher.

The 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour calls for improving teacher and learning outcomes by recruiting qualified teachers in sufficient numbers to close the teacher gap and providing them with good conditions of work and supporting teacher unions.

Government expenditure on education as a total percentage of GDP in Benin was reported to be 2.9 per cent in 2019. The Government should do all it can to meet the target of at least 4 to 6 per cent of GDP, as recommended by the UNESCO Education 2030 Framework.

Government member, Cameroon – The Government of Cameroon has taken note of the report of the Committee of Experts and thanks it for the observations made on the implementation of the Convention by the Republic of Benin. The Republic of Cameroon remains very committed to respect for fundamental principles and rights at work and, to this end, thanks the delegation of Benin for the useful information provided to the Committee.

The Government’s presentation shows that, in the context of the implementation of the instrument, it has taken many types of action to combat all forms of forced child labour, as well as the commercial sexual exploitation of children. In addition, the Government is very concerned about child labour in mines and quarries and has developed a national policy document to combat trafficking in persons, together with an action plan.

In order to make these political ambitions a tangible reality, Benin has not confined itself to taking measures, but has put them into practice by intervening decisively in networks engaged in repressing trafficking in children to investigate and punish cases together with the competent authorities and cross-border units. All of this shows the Government’s commitment to eradicating child labour.

The Government of Cameroon therefore congratulates and encourages its sister Government of Benin to press ahead with the efforts already under way, particularly in raising awareness and building the capacities of all actors, drawing on the Durban Call to Action. It welcomes the fact that the Government has requested ILO technical assistance and asks the latter to provide assistance to Benin in order to eradicate this scourge.

Worker member, Italy – I am speaking on behalf of Italian, German and Spanish workers. Despite the adoption of a National Plan of Action 2018–23, the report of the Committee of Experts highlights the persistence and increasing number of children being trafficked within the country and internationally for sexual exploitation and domestic work. Between 2010 and 2014, almost 3,000 children were working at 200 mining sites, 88 per cent of whom were of school age.

The conclusions of the 5th Global Conference on the Elimination of Child Labour held in May 2022 in Durban provide the most relevant framework for the implementation of effective policies in a climate of tripartism and with full respect for trade unions.

In this context, in order to improve the implementation of the National Plan of Action, we emphasize the need to strengthen the national labour inspectorate to ensure that cases of violations are identified and give rise to prosecutions and convictions.

We also reiterate that decent work for all, especially women, an inclusive and quality education system and an adequate social protection system are essential conditions for the elimination of child labour and for protection against poverty, the main cause of child labour.

In order to effectively implement the action set out in the National Plan of Action, the Government should not delay in creating decent and good-quality jobs for adults; ensure the harmonization of the age of compulsory schooling with the minimum age for admission to work; ratify the Labour Inspection (Agriculture) Convention, 1969 (No. 129), and the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189); and, finally, ensure the application of the Penal Code in relation to the exploitation of child labour.

Government member, Senegal – Senegal notes with great interest the written information provided by the Government following its inclusion on the list of individual cases to be examined by the Committee. The delegation of Senegal welcomes the action and measures taken by Benin to combat child trafficking and forced labour. The Government has taken many types of action at both the institutional and technical levels in collaboration with the labour inspection services to combat all forms of forced labour, commercial sexual exploitation of children and, more specifically, the vidomégon system.

We commend the efforts made by the Government and ask it to maintain the same momentum, while strengthening the action already taken. Continuing this action over time in a consistent and ongoing manner will make it possible to eradicate this scourge.

Furthermore, the Government of Senegal urges the Government of Benin to maintain and strengthen cooperation with border countries and other stakeholders to combat more effectively the worst forms of child labour.

In view of all the projects undertaken, the Government of Senegal appreciates the good will expressed by the Government. It invites the Committee to take the various initiatives into account in its conclusions and also asks the Office to assist this Member State in implementing programmes and projects that give full effect to the principles set forth in the Convention, with a view to eradicating child labour, and particularly its worst forms.

Government representative – We welcome the progress in the understanding of the vidomégon system among the members of the Committee following our additional information. We wish to thank all those who took the floor, the Vice-Chairpersons, delegations, representatives of international organizations and institutions for their contributions, guidance and support.

I can confirm that the Government is willing to cooperate transparently with the Committee of Experts, the ILO and representatives of civil society, who are providing incalculable support to our country through their direct interventions. We thank the ILO in particular, the EU and the governments which maintain bilateral relations with our country in relation to compliance with the Convention.

We reaffirm that the Government will continue its efforts in the field of combating forced labour, trafficking of children and work in mines and quarries. In practice, Benin is not a great mining country, but it will take the necessary measures to remove these children, who are being used through constraint, poverty and destitution.

With reference to education, the Government has made school free for young girls and boys at the primary level. The Government has combined that with the development of school meals with a view to supporting poor children and children whose parents do not have the bare necessities to ensure their education.

With regard to the vidomégon system, the Government, through the National Plan of Action to Combat Child Labour, will mobilize the necessary resources to reliably identify the issue in statistical terms.

With reference to repression, the legislative texts exist and we have a legal system which now enables us to make use of the enforcement system. In this context, we are in need of assistance to enable us to take the right measures and alternative measures for the full elimination of harmful work by children.

The extension of social protection is set out in the second-generation DWCP, which will be signed by the Government in the coming months, the priorities of which are women’s employment, youth employment, social protection for children and the promotion of international labour standards.

In this context, as we have said, we reiterate our intention to ratify Conventions Nos 129 and 189, for which we request the relevant support from the International Labour Standards Department to facilitate the compliance assessments.

In light of the above, we request the support of all donors through bilateral and multilateral agreements, so that we can continue our mission and our action effectively.

Extended social dialogue for this purpose is our ambition to achieve definitive success in the path we have taken and to allow children to be removed from the worst forms of child labour.

In conclusion, this is what we can say to you, the members of the Committee. We are willing to cooperate and listen, and we are seeking, requesting and claiming the support of the international community, because the issue of child labour is a global and strategic matter.

Employer members – In our concluding remarks on this case, the Employer members would like to again thank the Government for the additional information submitted to the Committee. As said before, we find this information is promising and we welcome the strong commitment expressed by the social partners. We also thank the delegates for their participation and insight.

Considering the complexity of the situation and the prevalence of many of the worst forms of child labour on the ground, we reiterate our deep concern regarding this case. The Employer members highlight that we cannot turn a blind eye to any form of child labour, even more so when children are victims of abuse, forced labour and hazardous work, and deprived of the right to education.

We must consider that, given the scope and prevalence of the worst forms of child labour practices, this case also has a relevant impact on the economic and social post-pandemic recovery in Benin.

We share the concerns expressed by the Committee of Experts, taking into consideration the role of education in preventing children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour and facilitating labour market transitions towards employment opportunities.

As stated before, we are facing the threat of reversing years of progress against child labour, and the Employer members agree that it is essential to stand against this and combine efforts to prevent and eliminate child labour with the highest priority being given to the worst forms of child labour.

In light of the debate, the Employers members would like to recommend the Government to:

- intensify its efforts in order to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice and to inform on the number of investigations undertaken, prosecutions and convictions applied in compliance with national legislation;

- implement strategies regarding early identification of high-risk areas and vulnerable groups, improve resource allocation regarding the identification of child victims, and continue to report on the measures taken and their results;

- strengthen policies regarding prevention, removal, rehabilitation and social integration of children and to put an end to the described practices, and continue providing information on the measures taken, and the number of children benefiting from these policies;

- ensure access to free basic education for all children and provide information on the measures taken, as well as on school attendance, maintenance and drop-out rates.

We take note of the Government’s request for technical and financial assistance and hope that Benin continues to work with international development partners, including the ILO and UNICEF, in order to build capacity among public officers, as well as employers’ and workers’ organizations to design and implement multidimensional, effective and sustainable strategies to eradicate the worst forms of child labour in Benin, including the promotion of an enabling environment for sustainable enterprises, which create quality jobs for adults to help in building a safe environment for the children. Effective and efficient implementation and sustainability of the recently adopted and developed action plans is of the utmost importance, and the Employer members hope that the Government’s efforts will be equal to the task.

The Employer members also hope that the Government’s commitment will continue to develop in terms of the concrete measures to ensure the protection of the significant number of boys and girls who remain vulnerable to being trafficked and subject to commercial exploitation, and that we can soon witness progress regarding the state of affairs described.

Worker members – We thank the Government representative of Benin for the written and oral information provided. We also thank the other speakers for their contributions.

The placement of vidomégon children, the sale and trafficking of children and work in mines and quarries in Benin are still too widespread today. Despite the initiatives taken by the authorities, the persistence of these practices in the country is a matter of particular concern.

It is certainly an indication that all these initiatives are still inadequate and would need to be reinforced and accompanied by further initiatives with a view to bringing a lasting end to these practices in the country.

We first call on the Government to develop all the necessary statistical tools to monitor trends in the placement of vidomégon children, the sale and trafficking of children and the engagement of children in hazardous types of work.

The Government should then redouble its efforts to protect children under 18 years of age against all forms of forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation, with particular reference to vidomégon children. Particular attention needs to be paid to girls. These additional efforts should focus on: the strengthening of the national legal system through the adoption of the necessary additional legal texts; awareness-raising and education for the population on the appropriate attitudes to be adopted in terms of combating child labour; and the strict application of laws prohibiting and protecting children against the worst forms of child labour.

The authorities will need to increase the resources, particularly for the inspection services, so that robust inspections and prosecutions can be carried out of persons subjecting children under 18 years of age to child labour, commercial or sexual exploitation, trafficking of children and work in mines and quarries. The Government should provide for the effective implementation of sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions.

In this respect, we welcome the indication by the Government of its intention to ratify Convention No. 129. The authorities should also provide the Committee of Experts with full data on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties imposed for forced labour by children, commercial and sexual exploitation, trafficking of children and work in mines and quarries.

The Government should ensure that effective and time-bound measures are taken to protect children against hazardous types of work in the mining and quarries sector. It should also provide statistical data on the number of children who have been protected against and removed from this hazardous type of work. Finally, it should indicate the rehabilitation and social integration measures from which they have benefited.

The creation of decent jobs and the reinforcement of social protection measures in the country should be such as to prevent the risk of parents envisaging placing their children with a third person or having to depend on their children working to cover family needs.

The strengthening of the resources for the education system, including through the improvement of the working conditions of teachers, will also be fundamental in keeping children from the worst forms of child labour.

The authorities should also ensure the adoption of specific measures for the rehabilitation and social integration of children who have been the victims of abuse in the context of their placement, victims of trafficking or taken away from school to engage in hazardous types of work.

The Government should ensure the implementation of all these recommendations in close consultation with the social partners and civil society organizations with a view to achieving the necessary synergies for effective and decisive action against these practices.

With a view to the implementation of all these recommendations, we invite the Government to have recourse to ILO technical assistance. In order to coordinate the necessary action to resolve the problems under examination, synergies will also need to be sought with other United Nations agencies, and particularly with UNICEF, in order to give effect in practice to these recommendations.

We also call on the Government to report in full to the Committee of Experts before its next session on the initiatives taken with a view to giving effect to the Committee’s recommendations.

Conclusions of the Committee

The Committee took note of the written and oral information provided by the Government representative and the discussion that followed.

While noting the initiatives taken by the Government to address issues of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee noted with deep concern the persistent and widespread practices of vidomégon children, the sale and trafficking of children and children working in mines and quarries.

Taking into account the discussion, the Committee urges the Government, in consultation with the social partners, to:

- develop a robust statistical machinery to allow an efficient follow-up of the evolution of the practices of vidomégon children, the sale and trafficking of children and children working in mines and quarries;

- strengthen its efforts in order to protect children under 18 years of age from all forms of forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation, particularly vidomégon children, with specific attention provided to girls. These efforts should reinforce the legal framework by adopting the necessary legal texts, by raising awareness and education related to the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, and by enforcing the provisions that prohibit the worst forms of child labour;

- strengthen the capacity, including of inspections, to conduct investigations and prosecutions of persons subjecting children to the worst forms of child labour, including commercial sexual exploitation, sale and trafficking and dangerous work, especially in mines and quarries, and ensure that sufficiently effective and dissuasive penalties are imposed in practice;

- provide information on the number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penalties imposed for the offence of subjecting children to the worst forms of child labour including commercial sexual exploitation, sale and trafficking of children and dangerous work, especially in mines and quarries;

- take effective and time-bound measures to protect children from hazardous work in the mining and quarrying sector and provide statistical data on the number of children removed from this hazardous work and provide information related to the rehabilitation and social integration measures;

- ensure access to free basic education to all children, particularly from poor and disadvantaged families, particularly girls and children in rural areas;

- strengthen the rehabilitation and social integration measures provided to children victims of the worst forms of child labour, commercial sexual exploitation, the sale and trafficking of children and those in hazardous work; and

- develop a multidisciplinary time-bound action plan, with ILO technical assistance and in close cooperation with the social partners and other relevant civil society organizations with relevant competencies and expertise, including UNICEF.

The Committee urges the Government to avail itself of ILO technical assistance to progress towards the full eradication of the worst forms of child labour in accordance with the Convention.

The Committee requests the Government to submit a report to the Committee of Experts by 1 September 2022 with information on the application of the Convention in law and practice, in consultation with the social partners.

Government representative – The Government of Benin takes note of the conclusions adopted by the Committee.

However, it considers that the vidomégon system will be re-examined by the Government with the participation of the social partners and other social organizations with a view to reaching mutual understanding. As we have said, the vidomégon system has changed very much and we take into account the remarks and observations made in this regard.

With reference to school, as we have emphasized, schooling has already been made free for girls and for boys in primary education. The Government will continue its efforts in this field to rationalize and put into context any misunderstanding that might once again arise in this respect. In this context, the Government is counting on the international community, on ILO cooperation and assistance to achieve its objectives.

We thank you for the assessment made by the Committee with its understanding of the problems of developing countries with limited resources.