Individual Case (CAS) - Discussion: 2013, Publication: 102nd ILC session (2013)

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



A Government representative recalled the international Conventions ratified by Senegal concerning the protection of children’s rights and also recalled the existing national framework in that regard. Referring to the request of the Committee of Experts regarding the steps taken against begging and the trafficking of persons, she emphasized the adoption by the Council of Ministers on 29 November 2012 of the National Framework Plan for the Prevention and Elimination of Child Labour (PCNPETE), together with an action plan up to 2016 for combating child labour; and the holding of an inter-ministerial council on 8 February 2013, chaired by the Prime Minister, on the ways and means of eradicating the practice of begging. The Steering Committee responsible for the follow-up and implementation of recommendations from the inter-ministerial council had drawn up a National Framework Plan for the Eradication of Begging (PNEMI) 2013–15. The Plan, adopted in April 2013, contained a set of short-term measures involving, inter alia, the following priority areas of action: provision of care for children; the eligibility of Koranic schools that followed norms and standards; the return of foreign children to their families; and an information campaign for both the public and the authorities. During his address to the nation on 3 April 2013, the President of the Republic had announced important measures for basic education, including some specifically for pupils in Koranic schools. Regarding the application of Articles 3(a) and 7(1) of the Convention, the Government representative referred to the report of 28 December 2010 submitted to the Human Rights Council further to the mission to Senegal, and indicated that her Government had presented further information at the 16th session of the Human Rights Council in February–March 2011 to clarify the inconsistency noted between the provisions of section 245 of the Penal Code and those of Act No. 2005-06. She reiterated the remarks made by her Government at the 16th session of the Human Rights Council, explaining that section 3 of the aforementioned Act penalized all forms of exploitation of begging undertaken by others, and section 245 of the Penal Code made the distinction between prohibited begging, which was punished, and tolerated begging, namely begging undertaken on days and in places established by religious traditions. Both Acts coincided in condemning persons who allowed begging by young people under their authority. Consequently, her Government considered that there was no ambiguity between the provisions of section 245 of the Penal Code and those of Act No. 2005–06. Furthermore, the Government was contemplating strengthening the child protection system by establishing a children’s code, which was being finalized. Describing the existing legal framework, she stated that the statistics compiled from the prosecution services showed many prosecutions and convictions of perpetrators of trafficking. The Ministry of Justice had addressed Circular No. 4131 in August 2010 to the authorities responsible for prosecution and judgment, requesting them to be rigorous in handling cases relating to the trafficking of persons in general and the economic exploitation of children through begging in particular.

With regard to the application of Article 7(2) of the Convention, the Government representative reported on government action in the context of the partnership for the removal and reintegration of street children (PARRER), namely: the identification of 1,129 families likely to entrust their children to Koranic teachers in at-risk regions; the identification of 5,160 children thus entrusted; the identification of 759 daaras (Koranic schools) in 200 villages in Senegal; the establishment of 146 committees for the protection of talibé children; the drawing up and provision to the Ministry of Education of a harmonized curriculum for Koranic teaching, and also of quality standards for Koranic teaching; and the national campaign for the application of a law developed in 2010 by PARRER and the child protection support unit (CAPE). Moreover, the Care, Information and Counselling Centre for Children in Difficulties (the GINDDI centre), under the Ministry of Family Affairs, had a free 24-hour helpline for children in distress. A total of 13,521 calls had been recorded by the helpline in 2011 and 2012. In accordance with the Government’s policy of pursuing the daara programme, the Government representative also highlighted the signature of a framework agreement between the Ministry of Education and the federations of Koranic schools in Senegal. In this agreement, accredited daaras undertook to refrain from any form of begging. Furthermore, in partnership with the Islamic Development Bank for the next four years, a pilot project had been set up to support the modernization of daaras which would make for significant improvements in living and learning conditions in 64 daaras. The Government representative indicated that with the emergence of modern daaras, Senegal was acquiring the means to stimulate the gross enrolment rate with a view to achieving education for all by 2015.

The Worker members recalled that in August 2009 and 2013, following the painful events that had taken place in March, and after a fire in which students at a Koranic school had burnt to death, the Government had planned to implement the national plan to eradicate child begging in the streets. Article 3 of Act No. 2005-06 prohibited organizing the begging activities of others with a view to profiting therefrom and recruiting, coercing or misleading another person with a view to forcing them into begging or exerting pressure on them to beg or continue doing so. Those measures were currently suspended owing to pressure from lobby groups that encouraged illegal and dangerous practices to the detriment of society. Those lobby groups exploited vulnerable children and women in conditions that were degrading and morally depraved. The Worker members underlined the fact that the Government had delayed the strict application of enforcement measures that were grounded in the existing legal instruments, particularly Act No. 2005–06. The report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, submitted to the Human Rights Council on 28 December 2010, noted with concern that more than half of the children who were forced to beg in the Dakar region came from neighbouring countries. If begging was a cultural and educational practice that aimed at the outset to foster humanity and compassion in adults, it had to be acknowledged that the situation of street children was more worrying than ever given that it was on the increase, and becoming particularly widespread throughout the country.

The Worker members also indicated that the measures the Government had taken were not effective and that all the work mentioned in Article 3(d) of the Convention should be prohibited under Article 4(1), by domestic legislation or the competent authority, after consultation with the relevant employers’ and workers’ organizations, taking account of the relevant international standards, particularly Paragraphs 3 and 4 of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Recommendation, 1999 (No. 190). The social partners should be more involved in finding solutions to problems arising, particularly in the field of education. Begging could never be eradicated without universal education, and, conversely, the aim of universal education would never be achieved if child labour was not eliminated. Education must be made a public priority even in countries that were not rich. The impact of programmes implemented by the Government with support from technical and financial partners had been felt to a small extent in the Saint Louis, Tambacounda, Matam, Kaffrine, Kolda and Louga regions. The programmes were based on sectoral policies in the following areas: bringing social protection for vulnerable groups into line with the minimum social protection floor; and education policy that included universal education and eradicating illiteracy. A survey carried out in 2010 by ILO–IPEC and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) had revealed that 50,000 children aged between 4 and 12 lived on the streets. In a 2010 report, the Government had pointed to 9,269 children who had been withdrawn from the worst forms of child labour, on the one hand, and 1,020 vulnerable children who had benefited from social assistance, on the other. Although the Government had made efforts to improve the situation, it must do more, and quickly. The Worker members said that it was necessary, first and foremost, to punish violations of the Convention by using all the means provided for in criminal law. There was a wide disparity between the Act on protecting the rights of the child and effective application thereof in the country. They also emphasized that the key provision of the Convention, Article 8, was unique in stipulating that member States should take appropriate steps to assist one another in giving effect to the provisions of the Convention through enhanced international cooperation and/or assistance.

The Employer members declared that the Convention, adopted in 1999 and ratified by Senegal in 2000, was one of the last generation of fundamental Conventions. The marabouts’ practice of using talibé children in Koranic schools to make money, by sending them out to work in the fields or beg in the streets or to engage in other lucrative forms of illegal work was a major cause for concern, as it denied them access to health, education and decent living conditions. ILO–IPEC’s effort to eradicate child labour in Africa was also directed at combating the worst forms of child labour such as these. A few marabouts had been arrested in 2010, but none of them had been convicted. Member States should take all necessary steps to guarantee the application of the Convention and respect for its provisions, including the establishment and imposition of sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions. There were serious doubts that people in Senegal were taken to court for such crimes as well as for trafficking. Given the seriousness of the problem, the coverage of PARRER that was set up in February 2007 to save children from the streets and return them to society was insufficient. What was needed to eradicate poverty was to implement programmes that were wider in scope.

The Worker member of Senegal recalled that the Committee of Experts had expressed its concern at the large number of working children under 15 years of age in Senegal and at their long working hours. The Committee had also noted with regret that the amendment of section L.145 of the Labour Code, which permitted the Ministry of Labour to issue decrees derogating from the minimum age for admission to employment, was still being examined and strongly urged the Government to amend its legislation. The Committee had requested the Government to ensure that, both in law and in practice, children under the age of 16 could not be employed in underground mines and quarries, given that order No. 3750/MFPTEOP/DTSS of 6 June 2003, determining the nature of dangerous work that children were prohibited from engaging in, stated that male children under the age of 16 were authorized to accept light jobs in underground mines and quarries. Notwithstanding that section 2 of the Act of 2005, to combat the trafficking of persons and similar practices and to protect victims, provided for the maximum penalty to be imposed in the case of violations involving minors, the Committee of Experts had observed that in practice the trafficking of children was still a cause for concern. The Committee had also expressed its profound concern at the failure to apply the Act of 2005, and especially at the allegations of impunity of certain traffickers. The Committee of Experts had made a special point of voicing its profound concern at the exploitation of talibé children. In 2010 there were an estimated 50,000 of these children. Virtually all talibé children were boys attending Koranic schools (daaras) and living under the authority of their Koranic teachers, or marabouts. Although generally speaking the students did not have to pay for their studies, their meals or their lodging, they were obliged to beg for five hours a day on average to earn money. Children who were unable to earn money were physically abused, tied up or chained. Those who tried to escape were severely punished. The children were very vulnerable as they were entirely dependent on daaras and their Koranic teachers. And although most urban daaras had sufficient resources, the marabouts tended to neglect the children’s vital needs – for food, housing and health. For example, nine children died in a daara fire in Dakar in March 2013 and around 45 talibés were unable to escape from a small wooden room in Dakar’s medina. Ninety per cent of beggar children in Dakar were talibés, and 95 per cent of these were from outside the capital; over half came from other parts of Senegal and the remainder from Guinea-Bissau, Guinea, Mali and the Gambia. The employment of a large number of children in agriculture and fishing inevitably exposed them to occupational hazards in the use of machines and dangerous tools. In fishing especially, children had to handle explosives that were used to kill large quantities of fish. Children employed as domestic help (some of them girls as young as 6 years old) worked long hours and were vulnerable to physical and sexual aggression by their employers.

The speaker emphasized the State’s lack of commitment of adequate resources. Although under the 2005 Act to combat the trafficking of persons and similar practices and to protect victims, forcing children to beg was a criminal offence incurring the maximum penalty, section 245 of the Penal Code unfortunately provided that “begging on the days, in the places and in circumstances consecrated by religious tradition” did not constitute begging. The police brigade for minors attached to the Ministry of the Interior and the local and national police were mandated to prevent sexual tourism, but the minors’ brigade only existed in the capital whereas the sexual exploitation of children was particularly prevalent in tourist areas outside Dakar. The labour inspectorate did not have enough transport resources to carry out its inspections, and only rarely were violators of the law sanctioned for a first offence. Consequently, employers were never really dissuaded from employing children. Apart from a few modern daaras, the school curricula of Koranic schools in Senegal, the living conditions and health of the children and the qualifications of the teachers were not subject to any kind of regulation. Although a daara inspectorate had been set up in the Ministry of Labour to implement the daara modernization programme and to integrate the talibé schools into the State education system, it did not cover all the daaras, which continued to proliferate without any kind of supervision. Finally, it was unfortunate that legal proceedings against forced begging had been initiated only in a few rare instances in recent years and that the marabouts involved had not been convicted. Senegal’s legislation provided for compulsory schooling up to the age of 12, while according to the Labour Code, the minimum age for employment was 15. Consequently, because they were not in school and were not legally old enough to work, children aged from 13 to 15 years of age were particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour.

The Worker member of France recalled that the Government had ratified the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), Convention No. 182 of the ILO, the United Nations (UN) 1989 Convention on the Rights of the Child, the UN Protocol on Trafficking, as well as the 1990 African Charter on the Rights of the Child. Yet the Government appeared on the list of double footnoted cases, meaning an obvious failure to apply the ratified Conventions and Charters. The Government bore a heavy responsibility for child victims and the problem was even more worrying that Senegal was not the poorest country on the continent. Talibé children, some of whom were just 5 years old, were part of the urban landscape tourism. Only boys studied in koranic schools under the authority of Koranic teachers or marabouts. In exchange for free education, food and housing these children spent five hours a day begging. Meeting their own needs, enhancing the ability to cope independently contributed to the solidarity of the village community and was not in itself reprehensible and was part of the value of humility that the cultural context wanted to pass on to the children; many parents were attached to these values. However in this case, it was no longer a question of cultural tradition, but of manipulation of this tradition for profit. It was no longer a cultural context in question but a mafia exploitation of children subjected to brutal slavery that could leave almost irreparable consequences. The fact that those responsible could hide behind values of a cultural heritage and continue to allow such horrors was becoming unbearable. The impact on health and the physical and mental integrity of these children was enormous. Child beggars were undernourished for most. Fever, fatigue, abdominal pain, diarrhoea, dermatitis, and periodically malaria were the most frequently reported diseases. The Government must take measures to eradicate such practices, work to provide a controlled education system, ensure an active fight against poverty through allocation programmes that would allow poor families, even those in extreme poverty, not to use their children to meet their own needs. Senegal had national policies and a comprehensive legal framework needed to halt child begging; the use of these instruments needed to be intensified in order to achieve the desired results.

The Worker member of the United Kingdom stated that talibé children suffered gross exploitation by being forced into begging for the benefit of their marabouts through extreme psychological and physical abuse. Boys who were sent to daara residential schools in urban centres far from home became victim to the most cynical distortion of the religious duty to offer alms. The practice was a long-standing one and twisted and contorted into a false justification for a widespread abuse of the vulnerable. This abuse continued despite legislative provisions which could be invoked to stop it. The 2005 Act to combat the trafficking of persons and similar practices and to protect victims, criminalized forced begging and provided for sentences of fines and imprisonment. This should have been used to tackle the practice, but this legislation was undermined by another legal provision about the collection of religious alms. Those who forced children into begging had used this law as a screen to hide behind. As a result, very few prosecutions had been brought. Figures were unclear, but Anti-Slavery International reported that there had been only two arrests for physical abuse in 2005 and three in 2006. The speaker recalled that an estimated 50,000 talibé lived in a situation of daily beatings and punishments and this was widespread and openly known. In 2007, a marabout who had beaten a talibé child to death had been sentenced to a mere four years in prison. In August 2010, the Prime Minister’s announcement of a decree to clarify the prohibition of begging in public places was immediately undermined. Sentences which had been imposed on seven marabouts had not been enforced and they had walked free. The President had bowed to pressure from branch associations of Koranic teachers to reverse the small steps that had been taken towards the criminal enforcement. The Government had failed to provide any further information to support its assertion that the Penal Code would be enforced through the investigation, arrest and conviction of marabouts involved in forced begging. She called for an integrated programme which would require the Government to enforce the Penal Code to protect talibé children and include other means to tackle poverty and barriers to access state education.

The Government member of Kenya noted the progress made by Senegal in domesticating the principles enshrined in the Convention and the Government’s commitment and willingness to eradicate child labour. The Government had developed a National Plan of Action and a number of prosecutions had taken place. This indicated that the Government was playing a leading role in addressing the matters by punishing those responsible. A sustained technical cooperation was needed. His Government urged the Government to continue implementing measures aimed at eliminating the worst forms of child labour in particular, through the labour inspectorate in collaboration with the judicial and extra-judicial bodies.

The Worker member of Swaziland stated that, as serious violations of human dignity and personal development, forced labour and child labour contributed to the persistence of the cycle of poverty. Child labour could have severe consequences on the education, health and the development of its victims. The harmful effects of child labour prejudiced the opportunities for children, seriously arrested their social and psychological development and eroded their chance to a better future. In Senegal, child begging was a threat. Empirical evidence showed that forced labour, child labour and discrimination were major obstacles to economic development and contributed to the persistence of poverty. In 2004, the ILO–IPEC study had demonstrated that the economic benefits of eliminating child labour would be nearly seven times higher than the costs required for its elimination. The Senegalese authorities had largely failed to enforce the existing regulations prohibiting the engagement of underaged persons to work. This failure was responsible in part for the ever growing numbers of street child beggars and their abuses. Only a few isolated cases of extreme violence and abuses perpetrated against talibés had been prosecuted under the Penal Code. Until 2010, no marabout had been arrested, prosecuted or convicted expressly for forcing talibés to beg. In Senegal, it was not a question of the absence of the legislation, but rather of the failure to enforce it. The Government had demonstrated fable political commitment to protect and promote the rights of these children. It was paramount to ensure that there were specific bodies responsible and capable of addressing the issue. The current legislation relating to forced child begging should be brought in full compliance with the Convention and labour inspection would need to be involved. Social partners had a collective duty to end the worst forms of child labour whereas the Government should develop programmes, in consultation with the social partners and civil society organizations, to address the plight of the talibés.

The Government member of Morocco thanked the Government for the rich and exhaustive information on the application of the Convention provided to the Committee. The Government’s commitment appeared to be ensured by both normative and social policies and by adherence to international instruments relating to child labour. The Government’s action was not limited to the adoption of legislation but also to its implementation and the creation of important social infrastructure which aimed at reducing child begging. However, there could have been a gap between available resources and the social reality, because the practice of talibés concerned many people. Strengthening the programmes put in place by the Office and the contribution by the national non-governmental organizations would support the Government in its efforts to protect a particularly vulnerable category of children and help to meet the expectations of the international community.

The Government representative expressed her Government’s appreciation for the contributions during the discussion of the case and the interventions which had highlighted the efforts of the Government. The question of the rights of children, particularly of those in Koranic schools, was a concern for the highest authorities of the State. While the legal framework provided basic protection against begging by children and trafficking in persons, the Government recognized that eradicating child begging was a huge undertaking, and action from governmental bodies together with support from civil society was therefore vital. National action needed to be matched with subregional action given the trans-border nature of the problem. Bilateral cooperation was essential and, in that respect, the National Action Plan, signed in April 2013, provided for the signing of an agreement with border countries in order to help child victims of trafficking return to their country of origin. Furthermore, the project for the modernization of Koranic schools and the involvement of Koranic teachers should help to better meet children’s health and food needs. The Government wished to reiterate that prosecutions had been effectively initiated and penalties imposed against Koranic teachers for reported incidents that had caused the death of talibé children. The Government was also keen to specify that only voluntary begging by adults in religious places at certain times was tolerated, but that in all cases begging by children was prohibited and punished by the Penal Code. Government action included a framework plan to combat trafficking in persons which had just been approved by the Council of Ministers and would shortly be implemented; and the Inter-ministerial Council of February 2013, which had called upon all stakeholders, had adopted a plan to eradicate child begging by 2015. However, in order to ensure that those plans produced results, decisions had to be made jointly with all stakeholders. Education, including in daaras, was a priority action to which the Government allocated 40 per cent of its budget.

The Worker members took note of the explanations provided by the Government as well as its indicated willingness to fight the worst forms of child labour. They asked the Government to take the following actions needed to achieve its stated intention: to implement the plan of action approved in July 2012; to reactivate the regional committees to fight against child labour; to establish a system of labour inspection and effective enforcement mechanisms; to strengthen the monitoring and evaluation; to adopt concrete measures to put an end to regional child trafficking; to apply the Convention both in law and in practice, and in particular its Article 1 on the immediate measures to secure the prohibition and elimination of begging as a worst form of child labour; to adopt concrete measures to bring to an end to trafficking in the region for the purpose of begging; to engage in tripartite collaboration to identify and implement concrete measures; to seek technical assistance of the Office to establish a roadmap; and finally, to give prominence to the social partners and not just to the partnership for the removal and reintegration of street children (PARRER).

The Employer members appreciated that the Government had recognized the difficulties in implementing the Convention and was committed to finding solutions. They considered that tripartite dialogue was essential. In this regard, they submitted that there was no evidence that the social partners had been consulted with regard to the programme of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour and therefore suggested that the programme be reviewed in consultation with the Senegalese employers and workers. The implementation of the programme and monitoring mechanisms should also be carried out in consultation with the social partners, in accordance with the provisions of the Convention. The Government should seek international assistance to progress in the eradication of practices contrary to the Convention. Education also played a role and the Government had made progress in this regard. It needed to take further measures to eradicate poverty. The Government should complete the initiated survey to determine the extent of the problem in the country.

Conclusions

The Committee took note of the oral information provided by the Government representative and the discussion that followed concerning the use of children in begging for purely economic ends, as well as the trafficking of children for this purpose.

The Committee noted the Government’s statement that continuous begging in the streets of the city was a penal offence under Senegalese law, while asking for alms was tolerated in light of socio-cultural beliefs. The Committee noted the several measures adopted by the Government in the framework of the partnership for the removal and reintegration of street children (PARRER), including advocacy visits to major religious leaders and Koranic masters, measures of prevention and of removal of children from the streets, and the development of broad awareness-raising campaigns. The Committee also noted the Government’s indication that it had adopted action plans to combat trafficking and child begging, and that, in the context of the modernization of the daaras system, it had taken a number of measures to train Koranic masters and talibé children on the rights of children and their protection, and to improve the living conditions and education of child talibés in daaras.

While noting the policies and programmes adopted by the Government to address begging by talibé children, the Committee shared the deep concern expressed by several speakers regarding the persistence of the economic exploitation of a large number of children in begging, and at the fact that children continued to be trafficked for this purpose, especially from neighbouring countries. The Committee reminded the Government that, while the issue of seeking alms as an educational tool fell outside the scope of the Committee’s mandate, it was clear that the use of children for begging for purely economic ends could not be accepted under the Convention. The Committee emphasized the seriousness of such violations of Convention No. 182. It urged the Government to take immediate and effective measures to eliminate, as a matter of urgency, the use of children in begging for purely economic ends, as well as trafficking of children for this purpose. In this regard, the Committee encouraged the Government to ensure the implementation of the recently validated Framework Plan to combat trafficking, and of the National Plan of Action adopted in February 2013 to eradicate child begging by 2015.

The Committee noted that, although Law No. 2005-06 of 29 April 2005 prohibited the organization of begging for economic gains, the Penal Code appeared to permit the organization of begging by talibé children. Moreover, the Committee expressed its serious concern that Law No. 2005-06 was not applied in practice. In this regard, the Committee deeply regretted that a very low number of marabouts had been prosecuted and given prison sentences, which amounted in practice to a climate of impunity. The Committee therefore strongly urged the Government to take the necessary measures to harmonize the national legislation so as to guarantee that the use of begging by talibé children for economic exploitation was clearly prohibited, and to ensure that this legislation was applied in practice. In this regard, the Committee strongly urged the Government to take immediate and effective measures to strengthen the capacity of the relevant public authorities, in particular the labour inspectorate which would be dedicated to identifying talibé children with a view to removing them from their situation of exploitation. It also urged the Government to strengthen the capacity of law enforcement officials, particularly the police and the judiciary, in order to ensure that the perpetrators were prosecuted and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions were imposed.

Noting the information highlighted by several speakers that the worst forms of child labour were the result of poverty and underdevelopment in Senegal, the Committee welcomed the decision of the Government to continue to avail itself of ILO technical assistance in order to achieve tangible progress in the application of the Convention, and requested the Office to provide such assistance.

Finally, the Committee requested the Government to provide a detailed report to the Committee of Experts addressing all the issues raised by this Committee and the Committee of Experts for examination at its next meeting.