Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

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

The Committee notes the communication of 31 August 2011 from the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), and the Government’s reply, dated 17 November 2011.

Articles 3, clause (a), and 7(1) of the Convention. Sale and trafficking of children for economic exploitation; forced labour and penalties. Begging. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations on the second periodic report of Senegal of October 2006 (CRC/C/SEN/CO/2, paragraphs 60 and 61), expressed concern at the practices in Koranic schools run by marabouts who use talibé children on a large scale for economic gain by sending them to agricultural fields or to the streets for begging and other illicit work to earn money, thereby preventing them from having access to health, education and good living conditions. It noted the comments of the National Federation of Independent Trade Unions of Senegal (UNSAS) indicating that the situation of street children is more worrying than ever because begging is on the rise, particularly in the country’s large urban areas. It observed that, according to the joint report of November 2007 of ILO–IPEC, UNICEF and the World Bank entitled “Child begging in the Dakar region”, in Dakar alone around 7,600 children are affected by the widespread phenomenon of begging. Talibés account for most of the child beggars (90 per cent). The Committee expressed its deep concern at the extent of the phenomenon of the use of talibé children for purely economic purposes in Senegal.

The Committee notes the comments of the ITUC indicating that the number of talibé children compelled to beg, consisting mainly of boys between the ages of 4 and 12 years, was estimated at 50,000 in 2010. The ITUC observes that most of these children live in isolated rural areas of Senegal or are victims of trafficking from neighbouring countries, including Mali and Guinea-Bissau. It emphasizes that these children in practice receive very little education and are extremely vulnerable, because they depend totally on their Koranic teacher or marabout. They live in unhealthy conditions and in poverty, and are the victims of physical and psychological abuse if they do not succeed in earning their financial quota through begging. With regard to the causes of the phenomenon, the ITUC explains that poverty alone cannot explain this form of exploitation, as the evidence tends to show that certain marabouts earn more through children begging than the income necessary to maintain their daaras (Koranic schools). The ITUC adds that there are no records of arrests, prosecutions or convictions of marabouts for compelling talibés to beg up to August 2010, when the Prime Minister announced the adoption of a Decree prohibiting begging in public places. Following this measure, seven Koranic teachers are reported to have been arrested and convicted to prison sentences under Act No. 02/2005 of 29 April 2005 to combat the trafficking of persons and similar practices and to protect victims. Nevertheless, these sentences are reported never to have been imposed. Indeed, the ITUC indicates that branch associations of Koranic teachers are reported to have condemned the application of Act No. 02/2005 and threatened to withdraw their support from the President in the elections in February 2012. In October 2010, the President therefore reversed the decision of the Government. Finally, the ITUC emphasizes the existence of ambiguity in the national legislation in Senegal in relation to the prohibition of begging, as section 245 of the Penal Code does not prohibit “the act of seeking alms on days, in places and under conditions established by religious traditions”.

The Committee notes that, in its reply to the ITUC’s allegations, the Government indicates that the Penal Code does not contain any ambiguity concerning the prohibition of begging in general, and particularly by children, and that Act No. 02/2005 is an integral part of the Penal Code. With regard to the application of the Act, the Government indicates that the issue of the publication of information on the prosecutions initiated will be examined with the Ministry of Justice with a view to determining its feasibility.

The Committee nevertheless notes with concern that, although section 3 of Act No. 02/2005 prohibits the organization, for economic gain, of begging by others or the employment, procuring or deceiving of someone with a view to causing that person to beg, or the exertion of pressure on a person to beg or to continue begging, section 245 of the Penal Code provides that “the act of seeking alms on days, in places and under conditions established by religious traditions does not constitute the act of begging”. It also observes that, from an initial reading of these two provisions in conjunction, it would appear that the act of organizing begging by talibé children cannot be criminalized as it does not constitute an act of begging according to section 245 of the Penal Code. The Committee further notes that the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, in her report of 28 December 2010 submitted to the Human Rights Council following her mission to Senegal (A/HRC/16/57/Add.3), noted the inconsistency between section 3 of Act No. 02/2005 and section 245 of the Penal Code (paragraph 31). The Committee also notes that the Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Family, in its concluding observations of 3 December 2010 (CMW/C/SEN/CO/1, paragraph 26), noted with concern that more than half of the children who are forced to beg in the Dakar region come from neighbouring countries and that the Government of Senegal has not taken any practical steps to end regional trafficking in children for the purpose of begging.

The Committee must once again express its deep concern at the large number of talibé children used for purely economic ends and the failure to give effect to Act No. 02/2005 in respect of Koranic teachers who make use of begging by talibé children for economic purposes, a situation which has led to the release of the seven marabouts convicted in 2010. The Committee reminds the Government that, under the terms of Article 1 of the Convention, immediate and effective measures shall be taken as a matter of urgency to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour and that, in accordance with Article 7(1) of the Convention, all the necessary measures shall be taken to ensure the effective implementation and enforcement of the provisions giving effect to the Convention, including the provision and application of sufficiently effective and dissuasive penal sanctions. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take immediate and effective measures, in law and practice, to ensure that persons engaged in the sale and trafficking of talibé children under 18 years of age for the purposes of economic exploitation, or who make use of these children for begging for purely economic purposes, are prosecuted effectively and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are applied to them. In this respect, the Committee requests 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 will be criminalized under section 245 of the Penal Code and under Act No. 02/2005. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted in this respect, and on the number of investigations conducted, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions imposed on such persons.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (d). Children at special risk. Talibé children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the comments by UNSAS indicating that the measures taken in respect of talibé children were still inadequate. The Committee also noted that a partnership for the removal and reintegration of street children (PARRER) had been established in February 2007 and is made up of members of the Senegalese Administration, NGOs, the private sector, development partners, religious organizations, civil society and the media.

The Committee notes the ITUC’s comments indicating that the Government has adopted measures to promote a programme of modern daaras administered or regulated by the State. It further notes that the Government established the Inspectorate for daaras in 2008 to undertake the programme for the modernization of daaras and the integration of modern daaras into the public education system. It further notes that the Ministry of Education signed an agreement with PARRER for the development of a harmonized school programme for Koranic schools. This programme, financed by the PARRER, was launched in January 2011. Furthermore, at the beginning of the 2000s, the Government began to recruit specialized inspectors with the function of inspecting modern daaras.

In its reply to the ITUC’s comments, the Government indicates that it is engaged in improving the management and framework for the system of teaching in daaras. It adds that, within the framework of the Inspectorate of daaras, a number of actions are envisaged, particularly with a view to training Koranic teachers and talibés in the occupation of their choosing. It also plans to include certain actions in its strategy for the prevention of begging by children, such as the implementation of social protection measures in the areas of origin of migrant children, the establishment of programmes of conditional transfers for vulnerable families, support for the creation of income-generating activities for marabouts and the broadening of the teaching curriculum in Koranic schools with a view to facilitating the reintegration of young talibés into active life.

The Committee notes that, according to the information contained in the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur of 28 December 2010, the Care, Information and Counselling Centre for Children in Difficulties (the GINDDI Centre) in the Ministry of Education, has been responsible since 2003 for taking children off the streets and reintegrating them, and for providing psychological support and social assistance to girls and boys who are victims of trafficking (paragraph 68). Accordingly, in 2009, some 896 street children and child talibés were given refuge in the GINDDI Centre. However, the United Nations Special Rapporteur noted the absence of formal, harmonized procedures for assisting and supporting at-risk children, and a lack of social services at the community level (paragraph 67). The Committee requests the Government to intensify its efforts to protect talibé children under 18 years of age from forced or compulsory labour, such as begging. It requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted, particularly in the context of the programme financed by PARRER, and the results achieved, with an indication of the number of talibé children who have been removed from the worst forms of child labour and who have benefited from rehabilitation and social integration measures in the GINDDI Centre. It also requests the Government to continue providing information on the measures adopted or envisaged in the context of the process of the modernization of the daaras system.

The Committee is raising other points in a request addressed directly to the Government.

[The Government is asked to supply full particulars to the Conference at its 101st Session and to reply in detail to the present comments in 2012.]