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

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

Articles 3(a) and 7(1) of the Convention. Sale and trafficking of children and sanctions. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the broad extent of internal and trans-border trafficking of children for the exploitation of their labour. The Committee also noted with interest the adoption of Decree No. 2008 332/PRES of 19 June 2008 issuing Act No. 29-2008/AN of 15 May 2008 to combat trafficking in persons and similar practices (Act to combat trafficking in persons and similar practices). The Committee took due note that sections 3 and 4 of the Act to combat trafficking in persons and similar practices provides for terms of imprisonment ranging from five to 20 years. The Committee noted several decisions handed down by the High Court between 2004 and 2007. The Committee also noted that individuals who had been prosecuted for trafficking in children had been found guilty and sentenced to terms of imprisonment ranging from two to 24 months, sometimes accompanied by a fine, and were ordered to pay costs. The Committee, however, observed that, of the seven prison sentences handed down, six were suspended; one person had been sentenced to two months’ imprisonment and another to a fine of 50,000 CFA francs.

The Committee notes the Government’s indications that, in total, 349 cases of the abduction of children and 44 prosecutions for trafficking in children have been recorded by the national courts over the past four years. The Government adds that in 2010 a police operation in the Cascades region resulted in the arrest of 17 traffickers in two days, who were then referred to the judicial authorities. The Government also conducted, with Interpol support, a police operation involving around 100 police officers and around 20 child protection workers, as a result of which, within two days, 173 children were intercepted and protected and 15 traffickers arrested. However, the Committee observes that the Government has not provided any information on the imposition of penalties on those responsible for violations relating to trafficking in children. The Committee also notes that, according to the examination of the reports submitted in accordance with the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (examination of the reports submitted to the CRC/OPSC) of 7 May 2012 (CRC/C/OPSC/BFA/1, paragraphs 47–48), the available data on the cases of trafficking in children registered by the courts are not sufficient to indicate whether prosecutions have been opened in all of the presumed cases of trafficking.

The Committee once again reminds the Government that trafficking in children is a serious crime and that, under Article 7(1) of the Convention, the Government is obliged to take the necessary measures to ensure the effective implementation and enforcement of the provisions giving effect to the Convention, including the application of sufficiently effective and dissuasive penal sanctions. The Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that the penalties imposed on individuals found guilty of trafficking in children are sufficiently effective and dissuasive and that they are applied in practice. It once again requests the Government to provide information in this respect. The Committee further requests the Government to continue providing information on the application in practice of the Act to combat trafficking in persons and similar practices, particularly by providing statistics on the number and nature of the violations reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions imposed.

Article 4(1). Determination of hazardous types of work. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Ministry of Labour and Social Security had sponsored a study in 2008 to assess the situation with regard to hazardous work and to propose draft legislation prohibiting the performance of these types of work by children. The Committee expressed the firm hope that the draft legislation prohibiting the performance of these types of work by children under 18 years of age and determining these types of work would be drawn up in the near future.

The Committee notes with satisfaction that the Government, in collaboration with the employers’ and workers’ organizations concerned, prepared and adopted Decree No. 2009-365/PRES/PM/MTSS/MS/MASSN of 28 May 2009 to determine the list of hazardous types of work prohibited for children in Burkina Faso. This Decree, which defines a child as any person under 18 years of age, determines the list of hazardous types of work that are prohibited for children. The Committee notes that section 5 of the Decree contains a detailed list of hazardous types of work prohibited for children by sector, including agriculture, stock-raising, fishing, agro-forestry and hunting, industry, mines, quarries and gold-washing sites, construction and public works, the informal economy, artisanal work, arts and theatrical representations, transport, and the human and animal health sector.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. National Multi-Sectoral Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that a National Multi-Sectoral Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons and Assimilated Practices, chaired by the Department of Social Action, was established by Joint Decree No. 2009-529/PRES/PM/MASSN/MATD/SECU of 17 July 2009. The Multi-Sectoral Committee meets annually in its ordinary session to review action to combat trafficking in persons, identify trends and make recommendations. During the 2011 session the need was identified to train actors in the field, and the necessity to disseminate widely certain papers on trafficking. The Committee requests the Government to continue its efforts to combat trafficking in children by reinforcing the capacity of the bodies responsible for law enforcement, including through the action of the National Multi-Sectoral Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons. It requests the Government to provide information on the progress achieved in this respect.

Article 6. Plan of action. The Committee notes that, according to the examination of the reports submitted to the CRC/OPSC on 7 May 2012 (CRC/C/OPSC/BFA/1, paragraph 76), national action plans are being prepared, including the National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking and Sexual Violence against Children in Burkina Faso, which sets out clear strategies for combating child trafficking and the sexual exploitation of children. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the specific measures adopted or envisaged in the context of the National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking and Sexual Violence against Children in Burkina Faso, and the results achieved as a result of the implementation of these measures. It also requests the Government to provide a copy of the Plan of Action with its next report.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour. Sale and trafficking of children. The Committee notes the Government’s indications concerning its initiatives and prevention measures to combat trafficking, particularly of children. Through the Ministry of Social Action and National Solidarity (MASSN), the Government is undertaking awareness-raising activities with the principal stakeholders. Between 2008 and 2009, over 15,000 copies of the Act to combat trafficking in persons and similar practices were made available. These measures are combined with awareness-raising campaigns conducted among at-risk categories of the population through informal talks, cinema discussions and theatrical forums. The Government indicates that its awareness-raising activities as a whole have directly reached out to 70,834 people, including 18,815 men, 19,679 women and 32,340 children. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to prevent children under 18 years of age from becoming victims of trafficking for economic or sexual exploitation. It requests the Government to provide information on the results achieved following the implementation of the MASSN’s awareness-raising activities.

Clause (b). Direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour. 1. Sale and trafficking of children. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indications that victims of trafficking in Burkina Faso are put up in transit centres, where boys are separated from girls. These victims are provided with food, medical and psychosocial care and clothing, as well as psychological support for those suffering from trauma, in accordance with the UNICEF guiding principles. The Government adds that victims of trafficking, without distinction as to nationality, benefit from reintegration measures on the basis of projects formulated with their participation with a view to facilitating their integration into the community. The repatriation of foreign victims of trafficking is not compulsory, particularly where victims are likely to be subject to reprisals in their country of origin. The Committee notes that there are now 23 transit centres and that the Government is continuing the construction and equipment of such transit centres in various regions, cities and departments of the country. The Committee notes with interest the Government’s indications that, during the years 2009–11, some 2,299 child victims of internal trafficking (742 girls and 1,557 boys) and 329 child victims of trans-border trafficking (72 girls and 257 boys) were intercepted. The Committee takes due note of the measures adopted by the Government for the removal of children from sale and trafficking and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration, and it considers these measures to be a demonstration of its political will to eliminate this worst form of child labour. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts and requests it to continue providing information on the time-bound measures taken for the removal of child victims of sale and trafficking and their rehabilitation and social integration, and the results achieved. It requests the Government to provide information on the number of child victims of trafficking, both internal and trans-border, who have benefited from rehabilitation and social integration measures in transit centres.

2. Project for small-scale gold mines in West Africa. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indications that it has been undertaking, in partnership with UNICEF, the project “Child labour in artisanal mines and quarries”, launched in 2009 under the coordination of a technical guidance committee chaired by the MASSN. The project activities cover 23 artisanal mines and quarries in five regions of Burkina Faso. The Committee notes that, since the inception of the project in 2009, it has led to the removal of 11,123 children (6,021 boys and 5,012 girls), who benefit from support for their rehabilitation in the education and economic systems. Accordingly, 3,062 children between the ages of 3 and 6 years benefited from pre-school care in bisongos; 6,216 children between 6 and 12 years have been registered in primary school; 897 children between 13 and 17 years of age have been placed in income-generating activities; 948 children between 15 and 17 years of age have been enrolled in vocational training in various sectors in partnership with the National Employment Agency; and 1,000 mothers of children working in mines have benefited from support for income-earning activities with a view to increasing their capacity to protect their children from the worst forms of child labour.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, with a view to guiding the project activities more effectively, it undertook a study in 2010 on child labour in gold-washing sites and artisanal quarries in five regions of the country. This study shows that around one third of the population on the 86 artisanal gold-washing sites are children, or a total of 19,881 children, of whom 51.4 per cent were boys and 48.6 per cent girls. The study also reveals the use of children at all levels in the production of minerals, work in mine galleries, dynamiting rocks, rock breaking, crushing and sieving, the sale of food and water and hauling minerals to sheds. On mine and quarry sites, it is generally children who act as intermediaries for access to illicit products (the sale of drugs) or who procure prostitutes. While noting the considerable efforts made by the Government, the Committee is bound to express concern at the number of children engaged in the worst forms of child labour in gold-washing sites and artisanal quarries in Burkina Faso. The Committee, therefore, requests the Government to intensify its efforts to remove children from the worst forms of child labour in artisanal gold mines and to ensure their rehabilitation and social integration in the context of the UNICEF project “Child labour in artisanal mines and quarries” and through any other time-bound measures. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the results achieved.

Article 8. International cooperation and assistance. Regional cooperation. The Committee noted previously that the Government has signed bilateral cooperation agreements on the cross-border trafficking of children with the Republic of Mali and multilateral cooperation agreements on combating the trafficking of children in West Africa.

The Government indicates in its report that Burkina Faso generally enjoys good cooperation with countries in the region, which facilitates the processing of cross-border trafficking cases. For example, solely during the first half of 2012, cooperation with the police in Benin resulted in the interception and repatriation of nine children, all boys, and the arrest of one trafficker. Cooperation with Côte d’Ivoire led to the removal of 14 boys from trafficking and their reintegration into their families. The Committee also notes the Government’s indication that the conclusion of a cooperation agreement with Côte d’Ivoire is envisaged for 2012 and that Burkina Faso is in the process of addressing a specific problem of the trafficking of young girls to Lebanon through the intervention of several ministries of justice, including that of the United States. The Committee encourages the Government to continue its efforts to reinforce international cooperation and assistance for the elimination of the trafficking of children for economic and sexual exploitation and requests it to continue providing information on the results achieved in this respect.

Parts IV and V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. The Committee noted previously that a national study on child labour had been conducted in the country and requested the Government to provide a copy of it.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that Burkina Faso conducted a National Survey of Child Labour (ENTE) in 2006 with the support of ILO/IPEC/SIMPOC. The findings of the survey were published in 2008 and are currently the most recent data on child labour. The Committee notes that, according to the ENTE, child labour affects 41.1 per cent of children between 5 and 17 years of age in Burkina Faso, or 1,658,869 child workers. The ENTE also indicates that 1,447,146 children are engaged in hazardous types of work in Burkina Faso, or 35.8 per cent of all children between the ages of 5 and 17 years. Children engaged in hazardous activities are found more in rural than in urban areas (38.5 per cent compared with 19.9 per cent), and boys are more affected than girls (41.4 per cent compared with 29.9 per cent). The sector which employs the largest number of children between the ages of 15 and 17 years in hazardous work is agriculture, fishing and hunting, in which 85.8 per cent (or 774,041 children) of the children involved in the sector are engaged in hazardous types of work. The figures are 88 per cent (219,883 children) in domestic work, 79.7 per cent (58,263 children) in commerce and repairs, 91.5 per cent (27,268 children) in mineral extraction, 84.8 per cent (20,909 children) in manufacturing, water, electricity and gas, 94.4 per cent (10,941 children) in construction and 75.8 per cent (9,909 children) in other services. Expressing concern at the situation and number of children under 18 years of age engaged in hazardous forms of work, the Committee requests the Government to intensify its efforts for the elimination of these worst forms of child labour. It requests the Government to continue providing information on any progress achieved in this respect and on the results obtained. The Committee further asks the Government to continue providing information on the nature, extent and trends of the worst forms of child labour, the number of children covered by the measures giving effect to the Convention and the number and nature of infringements reported, investigations, prosecutions, convictions and penal sanctions applied. To the extent possible, the information provided should be disaggregated by age and sex.

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