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

The Committee notes with regret that the Government’s report has not been received. It hopes that a report will be supplied for examination by the Committee at its next session and that it will contain full information on the matters raised in its previous direct request, which read as follows:

Repetition

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities. In its previous comments the Committee noted that, according to the Government, Act No. 025/2003 to suppress the trafficking of persons applies to the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities. It noted, however, that the Act does not appear to prohibit this worst form of child labour in accordance with Article 3(c) of the Convention. Noting with regret that the Government’s report contains no information on this matter, the Committee urges the Government to take the necessary steps to ensure the prohibition and elimination of the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years of age for illicit activities, including the production and trafficking of drugs, as defined in relevant international agreements, in accordance with Article 3(c) of the Convention. It also asks the Government to adopt appropriate sanctions.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. Labour inspection. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that international cooperation projects for the reinforcement of the labour administration had been launched in the country, but that the inadequacy of the human and financial resources of the labour inspectorate constituted a major obstacle to the discharge of its supervisory functions, particularly in such fields as child labour. The Committee noted that the capacities of the labour inspection system had been reinforced in terms of human, material and financial resources and that ten new labour inspectors and ten new labour supervisors had been trained and recruited.

The Committee noted that according to the information sent by the Government under the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138), 40 labour inspectors and supervisors have been trained and a new labour inspectorate was established in 2010 which will contribute to reducing child labour and facilitating the integration of these children in the economic and social fabric of Mauritania. The Committee noted, however, from a report submitted by the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) to the General Council of the World Trade Organization for the review of the trade policies of Guinea and Mauritania on 28 and 30 September 2011, the labour inspection services lack the financial and human resources to enforce the legislation on child labour in Mauritania. Consequently, the Committee asks the Government to redouble its efforts to build the capacity of the labour inspectorate as a matter of urgency. It also asks the Government to provide information on inspections carried out by the labour inspectorate regarding breaches of the national legislation giving effect to the provisions of the Convention, and to provide reports or documents prepared by the labour inspectorate pertaining to the worst forms of child labour.

Article 6. Programmes of action. In its previous comments, the Committee asked the Government to indicate whether action programmes had been prepared with a view to eliminating the worst forms of child labour, and to provide information on their implementation.

The Committee noted with concern the allegation of the General Confederation of Workers of Mauritania (CGTM) that the Government has no coherent and concerted policy for remedying child labour and the worst forms thereof, although Mauritania has ratified the Convention.

The Committee noted the Government’s statement that thanks to its resolve, awareness at both national and local level of the problems related to the situation of children has led to significant mobilization. It observed that in its concluding remarks of 17 June 2009, the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) urged the Government to seek the support of the ILO in developing and implementing a plan of action to prevent and combat child labour (CRC/C/MRT/CO/2, paragraph 76). Consequently, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to develop and implement a national plan of action to eliminate the worst forms of child labour as a priority and as a matter of urgency. It asks the Government to provide information on progress made in this regard.

Article 7(1). Sanctions. In its previous comments, the Committee requested the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the sanctions envisaged in various provisions of Ordinance No. 2005-015 on the protection of children under penal law.

The Committee noted with regret the absence of any such information in the Government’s report. The Committee again asks the Government to provide information on the application in practice of the sanctions established in sections 57, 58 and 59 of Ordinance No. 2005-015, which punish both the procuring of a child for prostitution and the person found to be the child’s customer, and sections 47 and 48 of the Ordinance which punish the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography or for pornographic performances.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Access to free basic education. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that UNICEF was conducting activities in Mauritania, particularly in the area of education, and that, according to UNICEF, the primary school attendance rate was only 44 per cent. UNICEF nonetheless deemed that Mauritania had made progress in a number of areas, including basic education and education for girls. Despite the Government’s efforts, the Committee expressed deep concern at the persistence of these low school attendance rates.

The Committee noted that according to UNICEF’s statistics for 2009, 79 per cent of girls and 74 per cent of boys attend primary school, whereas only 15 per cent of girls and 17 per cent of boys go on to secondary education. Furthermore, the Committee observed that in its concluding observations of 17 June 2009, the CRC remains concerned that free primary education is still not guaranteed for all children, and at the high rate of illiteracy, particularly among girls, and the regional disparities in access to education. It also remained concerned at the low transition rates to secondary school, the large number of school drop-outs, the overcrowding of classrooms, the limited provision for vocational training, the insufficient number of trained teachers and of available school facilities, and the poor quality of education (CRC/C/MRT/CO/2, paragraph 65). Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly encourages the Government to step up its efforts to improve the running of the education system, in particular by increasing the school enrolment rate and lowering the school drop-out rate, particularly among girls. It asks the Government to provide information on results obtained.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. HIV/AIDS orphans. Further to its previous comments, the Committee noted that according to the 2010 UNGASS report for Mauritania, the number of HIV/AIDS orphans rose from 1,740 in 2004 to 3,860 in 2010. The Committee also noted that a National Strategic Framework to combat sexually transmissible infections, HIV and AIDS (STI/HIV/AIDS) was developed in 2009 for the period 2010–14. The Committee observed that HIV/AIDS has negative consequences for orphans since they are at greater risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. The Committee encourages the Government to step up its efforts to protect children who are HIV/AIDS orphans and asks it to provide information on the specific time-bound measures taken, in the course of implementing the National Strategic Framework to combat STI/HIV/AIDS, to prevent these children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour.

Article 8. International cooperation. Poverty reduction. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that according to information in the second periodic report submitted by Mauritania to the CRC in July 2008 (CRC/C/MRT/2, paragraph 243), there is “a perfect correlation between the poverty level and the level of child labour. The four poorest regions have the highest rates of child labour between the ages of 5 and 14 (Guidimakha, Gorgol, Assaba, Hodh Gharbi), while the rates are lower in the richest regions (Nouadhibou – 4.2 per cent; Tiris Zemour – 16.4 per cent; Nouakchott – 25.1 per cent)”. The Government stated that it had included a set of measures for children in its Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP).

The Committee noted the information sent by the Government to the effect that it is building the capacity of the Commissariat for Human Rights, Poverty Reduction and Integration (CDHLPI), which plays a cross-cutting role in the promotion and protection of human rights and in combating poverty. The Committee nonetheless observed with regret that the Government provides no information on the impact of the PRSP and the activities of the CDHLPI in combating poverty while protecting children against the worst forms of child labour. Noting that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, the Committee urges the Government to provide information on the measures taken under the PRSP, and on the activities conducted by the CDHLPI, to eliminate the worst forms of child labour.