Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2024, published 113rd ILC session (2025)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Cameroon (Ratification: 2002)

Article 3(b) of the Convention. Use, procuring or offering of a child for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances. The Committee previously noted that Act No. 2010/012 of 21 December 2010 prohibits only the production or electronic dissemination of pornographic material involving children, which appears to include the use, but not the procuring or offering, of children for the production of pornographic material. It notes with interest the Government’s indication that Act No. 2023/009 of 28 July 2023 instituting a charter for the protection of children online also strengthens Act No. 2010/012 by: (1) imposing an obligation on search engine providers to inform the competent authorities of any acts that constitute child pornography (section 16); (2) establishing a penalty of up to 5 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 10 million Cameroon francs BEAC for anyone who makes, conveys or disseminates, through electronic media or an information system, a message containing child pornography (section 37); and (3) providing for a penalty ranging from 2 to 6 years’ imprisonment and a fine of 10 million francs BEAC for anyone who offers, produces or makes available child pornography, for himself or a third party, for dissemination or transmission (section 40). The Committee requests the Government to provide information on investigations and prosecutions carried out as well as penalties imposed for violations relating to the use, procuring or offering of children under the age of 18 years for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances, pursuant to the relevant provisions of Act No. 2010/012 of 21 December 2010 and Act No. 2023/009 of 28 July 2023.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the involvement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. The Committee notes the numerous measures adopted by the Government in order to improve the functioning of the education system and ensure that basic education is free of charge, including: (1) in 2022, in collaboration with the World Bank, the Government established an education reform project, with the objective of improving quality basic education, with a focus on disadvantaged areas; (2) in 2024, the signature of two contracts with Japan providing for the construction and equipment of classrooms for children with disabilities and those from internally displaced families; (3) the free distribution of essential textbooks initiative through the Cameroon Education Reform Support Programme (PAREC), the objective of which is to make textbooks available in public schools at level 1 and which will be extended to the other levels of basic education; (4) the school feeding or school canteens initiative, which aims to improve children’s school attendance and learning by providing them with food aid and to combat hunger; and (5) programmes to encourage the enrolment in school of girls have been put in place, giving 880 girls from Adamaoua, 1,873 girls in the Far North and 1,247 girls in the North access to solar school bags so that they can study easily in their villages without electricity.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that according to the “School Map and Literacy Data Analysis Report” published by the National Statistical Institute (INS) in 2021, primary school admission and completion rates were 75 and 71 per cent, respectively, in 2019–20. The Committee, notes, again according to the INS report, that: (1) the primary school repetition rate, which declined sharply between 2006 and 2010, has remained stagnant at around 12 to 13 per cent since 2012; (2) in the Far North, North-West and South-West regions, children face enrolment challenges due to the security crisis, which has been going on since 2010 and has caused the internal displacement of more than one million persons; (3) while the Government has taken measures to encourage the full integration of displaced children in schools, their enrolment remains low and is accentuated by the poverty of families in crisis-affected regions and the absence of a safe learning environment; and (4) only 67 per cent of children displaced following crises go to school.

The Committee notes, from the Government’s report to the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC), that: (1) positive discrimination measures have been strengthened with a view to facilitating the access of vulnerable groups to education, including internally displaced persons, victims of the security crisis in the North-West and South-West, and refugees (including through the provision of scholarships and school supplies); (2) the Government launched the recruitment process for 3,000 new primary school teachers; and (3) the number of classrooms built in Cameroon rose from 9,660 in pre-primary education in 2015 to 12,469 in 2022 (CRC/C/CMR/6–7, 26 September 2023, paragraphs 73, 168 and 169). While recognizing the difficult situation prevailing in the country, the Committee encourages the Government to pursue its efforts and to continue to take all necessary measures to improve the functioning of the education system and ensure that basic education is free of charge, in particular in the most vulnerable Far North, North-West and South-West regions. It requests the Government to continue to provide detailed information on the measures adopted and results achieved, including with regard to school attendance and achievement rates, disaggregated by age and sex.

Clauses (a) and (b) Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and providing the necessary and appropriate direct assistance for their removal from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Children working in artisanal mines. The Committee welcomes the Government’s indication that it signed, on 30 August 2021, the decision prohibiting access by minors to mining sites and that, when cases of child labour in quarries or mining sites are detected, the children concerned are cared for by childcare facilities. It also welcomes the endorsement, by the Minister of Labour, of a 2023 ILO report entitled “Situational assessment on the involvement of children in artisanal mining in the East region”. The Committee notes that, according to this assessment: (1) at least 16,280 children of between 4 and 17 years of age work in artisanal and small-scale gold mines, either directly in the mine or in economic activities related to the mine; (2) the various tasks performed daily, including digging, transporting rock, crushing, washing, amalgamating with mercury and burning amalgam containing mercury, put them at permanent risk; (3) such children are also victims of psychological, physical and sexual violence at mining sites; and (4) numerous recommendations were made, including the establishment of a monitoring committee on child labour at mining sites, the expansion of awareness campaigns in mining communities and the establishment of a warning system to indicate the presence of children at mining sites. The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to implement the decision of 30 August 2021 prohibiting access by minors under 18 years of age to mining sites so as to prevent the engagement of children in and remove them from mining work. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the measures taken to implement the recommendations made in the assessment referred to above; (ii) the results achieved, including in terms of the number of children removed from this worst form of child labour; and (iii) the number of children who received services for their rehabilitation and social reintegration.

Clause (d). Children at special risk. Children in street situations. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that: (1) it still has a National Commission to protect children at risk, juvenile delinquents and abandoned children, responsible for issuing opinions and making suggestions on any matter relating to policy on children and the prevention and treatment of social maladjustment in young people; (2) in 2022, 279 children in street situations were socially reintegrated; (3) in 2023, 843 children in street situations were socially reintegrated; (4) during 2023, the Ministry of Social Affairs (MINAS), with the support of partners such as the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), carried out a project for the reintegration and socio-economic inclusion of children and young people between 15 and 35 years of age in street situations. In its pilot phase, the project resulted in the identification of some 1,822 children in street situations; and (5) four “leading groups” of children in street situations and five “leading groups” of former children in street situations received training and financial support to create and manage income-generating activities with a view to reintegrating them through the Vulnerable Persons Integration and Vocational Reintegration Support Programme (PAIRPEV). The Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on: (i) the measures taken to protect children in street situations and to remove them from such situations, including by the National Commission to Protect Children at Risk, Juvenile Delinquents and Abandoned Children; and (ii) the results achieved, including in terms of the number of children working and living in the street who have been identified, removed and socially integrated.

Children engaged in domestic work. In response to concerns expressed by the Committee in its previous comments, the Government indicates: (1) that it prepared the National Child Protection Policy Paper (2017–26), which identifies gaps in child protection and establishes a system under which children enjoy holistic protection that fosters their development and guarantees their future; (2) through this protection system, children used as domestic workers benefit from the same measures as those dedicated to the comprehensive protection of children; and (3) in possible cases involving child domestic workers, perpetrators will be arrested for questioning and brought before the courts. Recalling that children in domestic service are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the number of cases of children engaged in domestic work reported and the number of arrests following these reports, as well as the number of legal proceedings initiated and penalties applied to the perpetrators; (ii) any other effective and time-bound measures taken to protect these children from hazardous work and ensure their access to education, including through the adoption of the revised list of hazardous types of work prohibited for children under the age of 18 years.

Article 8. International cooperation. Regional cooperation concerning the sale and trafficking of children. The Committee noted previously that trafficking of children in Cameroon has an international dimension involving young persons from Nigeria and the Central African Republic. It notes the Government’s indication that it is involved in and supports all initiatives to conclude regional or subregional agreements on child labour and trafficking. In particular, it promotes the signature of bilateral and multilateral agreements and participated in various forums (Bamako and Libreville I and II) where it contributed to the development and determination of the process for the signature of subregional agreements. To that end, Cameroon adopted the Multilateral Regional Cooperation Agreement against the trafficking of persons, especially women and children, in West and Central Africa. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to continue its efforts to conclude and effectively implement bilateral and multilateral agreements on trafficking in persons with neighbouring countries. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the steps taken in this regard, including through the Multilateral Regional Cooperation Agreement against the trafficking of persons in West and Central Africa; and (ii) the impact of any regional cooperation on the number of child victims of trafficking or sale under 18 years of age intercepted and socially integrated.

Poverty reduction measures. The Committee notes the Government’s indications that: (1) the long-term development vision of 2009 (DSCE) has been replaced by the National Development Strategy 2020–30 (SND30), one of the pillars of which focuses on the development of human capital and well-being; (2) the SND30 informed the development of the new Decent Work Country Programme (DWCP) of Cameroon for the period 2023–2026, which includes a priority on improving social dialogue and respect for labour rights and provides for the fight against child labour; and (3) the establishment of a social cohesion project is envisaged to create income-generating activities for parents and the community in order to tackle poverty.

The Committee notes, from the 2022 UNICEF annual report, that since 2017, the percentage of multidimensional poverty has remained at around 47 per cent. In addition, it notes the many actions undertaken by UNICEF, in collaboration with the Government, to improve the humanitarian situation on the ground including by harmonizing social protection systems. Recalling that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on: (i) the specific measures taken as part of the implementation of the SND30 and the DWCP 2023–26 to reduce poverty; and (ii) the impact of these measures on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour in the country.