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Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) - Cameroon (RATIFICATION: 2001)

Article 1 of the Convention. National policy. In its previous comments, the Committee noted a communication from the General Confederation of Labour – Liberty of Cameroon (CGT–Liberté) observing that the National Plan to Combat Child Labour (National Plan) has never been formally adopted. It also noted the information from the Government that inter-ministerial consultations are being held to update and finalize the National Plan.

The Committee notes with regret the information sent by the Government in its report on the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), that the National Plan has still not been drawn up. It also notes that implementation of the Plan is to start after a legal and institutional framework has been set up. Noting that the Government has been referring since 2006 to the elaboration of the National Plan to Combat Child Labour, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the Plan is adopted and implemented at the earliest possible date. It requests the Government to provide information on progress made to this end.

Article 2(1) and Part V of the report form. Minimum age of admission to employment or work and application of the Convention in practice. The Committee noted previously that there are no exemptions for light work to the minimum age of 14 years for admission to work. It also noted that according to UNICEF statistics for the years 2000–06, 31 per cent of children aged between 5 and 14 years in Cameroon are working. It likewise noted that an ILO–IPEC action programme entitled “Survey and development of a database on child labour” started up in March 2007. According to the summary of this programme, the premature entry of children into the labour market remains a worrying phenomenon in Cameroon, among other reasons because the people live in a state of poverty. For example, a basic survey on child labour in commercial agriculture, conducted in 2004 in the major cocoa-producing areas, reveals that 30 per cent of children under 14 years of age are involved in cocoa-production activities. The summary nonetheless indicates that there is a lack of statistical data on child labour problems in Cameroon and that most statistical sources were not designed to deal specifically with child labour. Consequently, in 2007 the Government conducted a modular survey on child labour, through the National Institute of Statistics (INS), the aim being to compile a fuller survey with nationwide coverage.

The Committee notes that the Government has provided some of the statistics compiled by the National Report on Child Labour in Cameroon conducted by the INS in cooperation with ILO–IPEC and published in December 2008. The results of this survey show that in 2007, 41 per cent of children aged from 5–17 years – i.e. 2,441,181 – work in Cameroon. The report indicates that children’s participation in economic activities increases with age and that 51 per cent of the 10–14 age group is engaged in work. Of the economically active 5–17 year-olds, 85.2 per cent are used in agriculture, fisheries, forestry and harvesting, and 4.4 per cent in hazardous work. Furthermore, 79.3 per cent of working children are employed in unpaid jobs as family workers. The Committee notes the information supplied by the Government to the effect that no reports by the inspection services refer to the use of children in enterprises. The Committee again expresses its deep concern at the large number of children under 14 years of age in Cameroon who work and accordingly urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that work by children under the minimum age for admission to employment is effectively abolished, in particular by stepping up labour inspection in the informal economy.

Article 2(3). Age of completion of compulsory schooling. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that there are no legal or regulatory provisions establishing the age for compulsory schooling. It also noted that according to the 2006 Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey conducted by the INS in collaboration with UNICEF, around 44 per cent of children who have reached the statutory age of entry to the first year of primary school, i.e. six years, are actually enrolled. The survey also indicates that the net primary school attendance rate is 64 per cent for 6 year-olds and that it gradually increases with age, reaching 90 per cent for 11 year-olds. Furthermore, 35 per cent of children of secondary school age are still in primary school. The Committee also noted that only 38 per cent of children aged between 12 and 18 attend a secondary or higher education establishment.

The Committee notes the information from the Government to the effect that the age of completion of compulsory education is 14 years and that primary schooling is free. It also notes the information supplied by the Government in the report it submitted to the Committee on the Rights of the Child on 3 April 2008 (CRC/C/CMR/2, paragraph 204), that a sectoral education strategy to help facilitate access to education for young girls was adopted in 2002. Various measures have been taken in this context to promote literacy and increase the enrolment of girls (CRC/C/CMR/2, paragraphs 204–205). The report also indicates that school aid is provided to destitute children and children from indigent families (CRC/C/CMR/2, paragraph 195).

The Committee takes due note of the measures taken by the Government in the field of education. It observes, however, that according to the UNESCO statistics for 2008, the situation remains worrying. For example, 12 per cent of children of compulsory schooling age do not attend school and the primary school repeat rate is 17 per cent. The Committee further notes that according to UNESCO’s Education For All Global Monitoring Report 2009, in Cameroon children who work suffer a 30–67 per cent disadvantage in terms of school attendance. The National Report on Child Labour in Cameroon reveals that up to the age of 14 educational retardation and school dropout rates are higher among children performing work to be abolished than among other children. It also indicates that 39.8 per cent of children between 10 and 14 years of age study and work at the same time. The Committee further notes that in its concluding observations of February 2010 (CRC/C/CMR/CO/2, paragraph 65), the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern at the low budgetary allocation for education and the significant gender and regional disparities in access to education, particularly in the Far North, North, Adamaoua, East and Southern regions. The Committee also notes the concern expressed by the Committee on the Rights of the Child at the insufficient number of trained teachers, the poor quality of education and the lack of learning materials and equipment. Considering that compulsory education is one of the most effective means of combating child labour, the Committee urges the Government to redouble its efforts to improve the running of the education system so as to allow children under 14 years of age access to basic compulsory schooling, particularly in the most affected regions of the country. It also asks the Government to provide information on progress made in this respect and on results obtained, particularly under the sectoral education strategy. The Committee also asks the Government to indicate the provisions of national laws or regulations that prescribe the age of completion of compulsory schooling.