Observation (CEACR) - adoptée 2024, publiée 113ème session CIT (2025)

Convention (n° 138) sur l'âge minimum, 1973 - Cameroun (Ratification: 2001)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee notes, from the Government’s report, that in the context of the implementation of the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour (PANETEC), the Government refers to: (1) a campaign to make the legal instruments promoting and protecting children’s rights widely available to 3,700,000 people throughout the country; (2) awareness-raising activities for 30 communities on child labour by district delegates and heads of agricultural stations, more specifically in the locality of Mvangan, in the departments of Méfou-et-Afamba and Lekié. The Committee recalls that it previously noted that a large number of children were engaged in some form of economic activity, including under hazardous conditions, particularly in the informal sector. The Committee therefore requests the Government to redouble its efforts to ensure the effective elimination of child labour, including in hazardous work, including by continuing to take measures to implement the PANETEC. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide more detailed information on the activities undertaken and results obtained, including on the impact of the measures taken on the elimination of child labour. Lastly, the Committee requests the Government to provide updated statistical data on the nature, extent and trends of child labour.

Article 2(1). Scope of application and labour inspection. Children working in the informal economy. The Committee noted previously that: (1) children are essentially engaged in activities in the informal economy; (2) the Labour Code, which was undergoing revision, would include a new definition of “worker” so that workers in the formal and informal economy would be afforded the same protections; (3) the resources allocated to the labour inspectorate were insufficient to conduct effective investigations and the labour inspectorate did not carry out inspections in the informal economy; and (4) the reinforcement of the means of action of labour inspectors and the widening of the scope of their intervention was a priority for action under the PANETEC.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a Child Labour Observation and Monitoring System in Cameroon (SOSTECAM) has been established, with the aim of identifying children involved in child labour, removing them and referring them to rehabilitation services. This system should also enable communities (village heads, community leaders, teachers or spiritual guides) to regularly observe and monitor child labour and report these practices to local Ministry of Labour and Social Security (MINTSS) officials.

The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that there have been no court decisions concerning the application of the Convention. Considering the large number of children engaged in child labour, particularly in the informal economy, the Committee notes with regret the absence of court decisions and the absence of information on cases detected by the labour inspectorate. The Committee therefore once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures, within the framework of the PANETEC or otherwise, to reinforce the capacities of the labour inspectorate and widen the scope of its intervention to fully and adequately address participation in informal economic activity by children. In this regard, it requests the Government to provide detailed information on: (i) the number of violations detected, in both the formal and the informal economy, and extracts from the inspection reports; (ii) the results achieved by the SOSTECAM in identifying children involved in child labour, removing them and referring them to rehabilitation services; and (iii) progress on the revision of the Labour Code, in particular so that children working in the informal economy enjoy the protection provided by the Convention.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. The Committee notes with regret that the Government does not provide information on the measures taken or envisaged to raise the age of completion of compulsory schooling (12 years, pursuant to Act No. 98/004 of 14 April 1998 governing education in Cameroon) to coincide with the minimum age for admission to work or employment (14 years according to the Labour Code). It recalls once again: (1) that if compulsory schooling comes to an end before children are legally authorized to work, there may arise a vacuum which regrettably opens the door for the economic exploitation of children (2012 General Survey on the fundamental Conventions, paragraph 371); and (2) that it is therefore desirable to raise the age of completion of compulsory schooling to coincide with the minimum age for admission to employment. Recalling that compulsory education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, the Committee once again urges the Government to take the necessary measures to make education compulsory up to the minimum age for admission to employment, namely, 14 years. It requests the Government to provide information on progress achieved in this regard.