Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2012, published 102nd ILC session (2013)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Burkina Faso (Ratification: 2001)

Article 6 of the Convention. Programmes of action. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest the Government’s indication that on 15 February 2012 it adopted the National Plan of Action to Combat the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Burkina Faso 2011–15 (PAN/PFTE), formulated in collaboration with ILO–IPEC. The general objective of the PAN/PFTE is to reduce the incidence of child labour by 2015 through the adoption of measures and the implementation of political, social, economic and institutional action for the elimination of all of the worst forms of child labour. The Committee notes that the Government of Burkina Faso intends this National Plan of Action to act as the reference for all measures at the national level for the eradication of child labour and its worst forms by 2015. In order to take into account the plans of action already formulated in Burkina Faso and all the measures adopted with those of the PAN/PFTE, a coordination and monitoring committee for the implementation of the PAN will be established under the responsibility of the Ministry of Labour.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Ten-Year Plan for the Development of Basic Education (PDDEB) provided for a progressive increase in school enrolment and attendance rates and improvements in basic education. In this respect, the Committee noted that the gross school enrolment rate for girls rose from 64.9 per cent in 2005–06 to 79.1 per cent in 2007–08, while that of boys rose from 76.4 per cent to 90.5 per cent over the same period. The Committee further noted that, according to the Education for All Global Monitoring Report of 2008, published by UNESCO and entitled Education for all in 2015: Will we make it?, Burkina Faso will probably achieve gender parity by 2025. However, according to this report, although the country has made enormous progress towards achieving universal enrolment at the primary level, it is unlikely that it will achieve the goal of universal primary education for all by 2015. In this regard, while noting the progress made by the Government in improving the education system, particularly with regard to the gross enrolment rate in primary education, the Committee expressed concern at the low net school attendance rates, both at the primary and secondary levels.

The Committee notes that, according to the UNICEF paper of December 2010, analysing the situation of poverty and vulnerability of children and women in Burkina Faso, the gross primary school attendance rate rose from 34.9 per cent in 1997–98 to 74.9 per cent in 2008–09. However, the same paper indicates that there are particular obstacles to school attendance by girls, and that the attendance rate for girls in primary school was 54.5 per cent in 2008–09, compared with 61.3 per cent for boys. The Committee further notes that, according to the PAN/PFTE, school drop-out rates remain high. According to the school statistics of the Ministry of Basic Education and Literacy for 2008, the lowest drop-out rate recorded is 4.8 per cent and the highest is 10.2 per cent. The rates of pupils having to repeat school years varies between 11 and 43 per cent. Finally, the rate of children staying on in primary school is among the lowest in the subregion. Of each 100 children registered in first-year preparatory courses, only 55 per cent go through to the second year.

The Committee notes that, in the context of the PAN/PFTE, education and vocational training are a specific and priority field of education. The intention is for the PAN/PFTE to address the inadequacy and low quality of some school infrastructure, the shortage and regional disparities in the number of teachers and the high drop-out rate. The objectives are to implement measures to promote school attendance by children, and particularly girls, to provide high quality vocational training for children who are not at school or who have left school, and to improve recognition of vocational training in centres through certification. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee strongly requests the Government to intensify its efforts to improve the operation of the educational system in the country. In this respect, it requests the Government to provide information on the time-bound measures adopted in the context of the implementation of the PAN/PFTE to increase the school attendance rate, at both primary and secondary school. It also requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. 1. HIV/AIDS orphans. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the report on the global AIDS epidemic published by the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS) in May 2006, the number of children in Burkina Faso orphaned as a result of the virus was around 120,000. It also noted that the Government had drawn up a Strategic National Framework to combat the virus for 2006–10 (CSLS) in collaboration with UNAIDS. The Committee also took due note of the fact that, according to the United Nations General Assembly Special Session on HIV/AIDS (UNGASS) report of January 2008 of Burkina Faso on the follow-up to the Declaration of Commitment on HIV/AIDS, the national strategic framework for combating the virus for 2006–10 (CSLS) allowed psychosocial, economic or spiritual care to be provided to 18,726 orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in 2007.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that all protection strategies benefit OVCs and that the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity (MASSN) is implementing strategies for the comprehensive care of OVCs. The Government adds that the OVCs placed in school and benefiting from social action numbered 4,321 in total, including 2,270 girls. The Committee further notes that, according to the activity report of UNAIDS of 2012 on the AIDS response of Burkina Faso, the achievements of the CSLS 2006–10 were consolidated in 2011 and that a CSLS is being implemented for the years 2011 15. The general objective of the CSLS 2011–15 is to contribute to reducing the incidence of HIV and the negative impact of HIV on social and economic development in Burkina Faso. In this context, one of the specific objectives of the CSLS 2011–15 is to ensure that at least 90 per cent of the OVCs resulting from AIDS benefit from comprehensive care. In this regard, the Committee observes that 92,437 OVCs were supported in 2011 with a view to providing them with better living conditions. While taking due note of the measures adopted by the Government, the Committee observes that, according to the UNAIDS report issued in 2010, 140,000 children are HIV/AIDS orphans in Burkina Faso. The Committee is, therefore, bound to express concern at the still high number of children who are still affected by the epidemic. It once again observes that HIV/AIDS has negative consequences for orphans, who are at increased risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to intensify its efforts for the protection of child HIV/AIDS orphans and in this respect asks the Government to continue to provide information on the specific time-bound measures adopted in the context of the implementation of the CSLS 2011–15 to prevent these children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour, and the results achieved.

2. Street children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the information provided by the Government in its written replies to the Committee on the Rights of the Child in September 2002 (CRC/C/RESP/18, page 28), 24 per cent of street children were between 7 and 12 years of age, 62 per cent between 13 and 18 years of age, with roughly equal numbers of boys and girls, and 43 per cent of street children engaged in begging. In this respect, the Government indicated that, in collaboration with partners, it had implemented a national action programme for education in an open environment (2005–09), the aims of which included ensuring the support, rehabilitation and socio-economic integration of at least 80 per cent of the children removed from the streets.

The Committee notes the Government’s indications that there are 5,721 street children, of whom 739 are girls and 4,982 are boys. Of the street children, 2,309 are talibé children (11 girls and 2,297 boys). In this respect, the Government indicates that the MASSN prepared over the course of 2010 a document containing protocols for educational interventions in the streets and in the family which allow the various actors in the field of specialized education to have at their disposal reference tools with a view to harmonizing their practices in caring for children living or working in the streets. The Government adds that the MASSN is undertaking various types of preventive action, resulting in 5,075 street children in 2010 benefiting from psychosocial support, 7,558 children receiving medical care, 1,670 children being vaccinated and 610 children being provided with school support. Furthermore, in relation to care for street children, the decentralized services of the MASSN and their partners are intended to meet the basic social protection, health and security needs and to participate in the socio-economic and cultural development of the children concerned. During the course of 2011, a total of 4,276 street children benefited from various services, including family reintegration, installation in a vocational activity or training, accommodation in a centre or reunions with their parents. Finally, the Government indicates that on 28 and 29 July 2011 it organized a national advocacy forum on the problem of street children in Burkina Faso. The objective of the forum was to analyse the various categories and problems faced by children on the streets and to identify appropriate strategies for implementation to take up the challenge of their social integration. At the conclusion of its work, the participants, including various partners such as national and local elected representatives, government representatives, civil society and religious communities, made proposals to reinforce measures to combat the phenomenon and undertook to collaborate with the MASSN to improve the support provided for street children. While welcoming the measures taken by the Government, the Committee encourages it to pursue its efforts and requests it to continue providing information on the number of children in the streets who have been protected against the worst forms of child labour, and rehabilitated and socially integrated through the various measures taken for this purpose.

Clause (e). Taking account of the special situation of girls. The Committee noted previously that internal trafficking, which accounts for 70 per cent of cases of trafficking, mainly concerns girls who are engaged in domestic labour or as street vendors in the country’s major cities. It observed that girls, particularly those engaged in domestic work, are often victims of exploitation, which takes on very diverse forms, and it is difficult to monitor their conditions of employment because of the “clandestine” nature of this work.

The Committee notes the Government’s indications that the MASSN, with the support of German cooperation, has undertaken a baseline study on the situation of child domestic workers in eight communes in the East, Centre-East and South-West of Burkina Faso. The Government indicates that this study, the objective of which was to provide reliable baseline data with a view to establishing a programme to improve the living and working conditions of child domestic workers, and particularly girls, has provided the basis for the preparation of a plan of action which is to be implemented in 2012. The Committee further notes the Government’s indication that it is planned to adopt a code of good practice in relation to girl domestic workers with a view to ensuring respect for their rights in their working environment. Finally, the Government adds that several projects to protect and promote the rights of girl domestic workers have been implemented in the towns of Ouagadougou, Bobo-Dioulasso and Gaoua by the Burkina Faso Red Cross and the NGO Terre des Hommes, and that programmes are being implemented in certain towns to provide girls with training opportunities and prevent their early entry into work. The Committee, therefore, requests the Government to provide information on the number of girls under 18 years of age who have been protected from the worst forms of child labour, with an indication of the number of girl victims of sale and trafficking who have, in practice, been removed from this worst form of child labour in the context of the plan of action on the living and working conditions of child domestic workers, as well as the various projects for the protection, promotion and training of girl domestic workers. The Committee encourages the Government to ratify the Domestic Workers Convention, 2011 (No. 189), which has key provisions for child protection.

Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. Poverty eradication. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that measures to combat poverty are one of its concerns and that many actions are being undertaken with a view to reducing this phenomenon. In this respect, the Committee notes that the National Plan of Action to Combat the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Burkina Faso 2011–15 (PAN/PFTE), formulated in collaboration with ILO–IPEC, forms part of the Strategy for Accelerated Growth and Sustainable Development 2011–15 (SCADD), which replaces the Poverty Reduction Strategy Framework. Noting once again that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, which is essential for the elimination of the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures taken to reduce the incidence of poverty, particularly in the context of the implementation of the SCADD and the PAN/PFTE, especially with regard to the effective reduction of poverty among children who are victims of sale and trafficking and those engaged in hazardous work in mines and quarries. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved.