Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2013, published 103rd ILC session (2014)

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery and practices similar to slavery. Forced recruitment of children for use in armed conflict. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the national legislation in Niger did not appear to prohibit the recruitment of children under 18 years of age in armed conflicts.

The Committee notes with interest that, under the terms of section 107 of Act No. 2012-45 of 25 September 2012 issuing the Labour Code, all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, including the forced or compulsory recruitment of children with a view to their use in armed conflict, shall be considered as being the worst forms of child labour and shall be prohibited.

Article 6. Programmes of action. The Committee noted previously that a National Action Plan (NAP) to Combat Child Labour and a National Action Plan to Combat the Sexual Exploitation of Children had been drawn up. It noted that the NAP was to be implemented between 2010 and 2015 and covered the following areas: agricultural work, work in mines, forced labour, domestic work, the trafficking and exploitation of children, prostitution and begging. However, the Committee noted the Government’s indication that the NAP had still not been adopted. With regard to the National Action Plan to Combat the Sexual Exploitation of Children, the Government indicated that it had been validated in a national workshop and was to be adopted by the Government.

The Committee notes the absence of information on this point in the Government’s report. The Committee therefore once again requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure the adoption of the NAP and the National Action Plan to Combat the Sexual Exploitation of Children, as a matter of urgency. It once again requests the Government to provide copies of these two action plans with its next report.

Article 7(2). Effective and time-bound measures. Clause (a). Preventing children from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. Access to free basic education. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, in the context of the Franco-Arab education support project, measures had been taken for the restructuring of Koranic schools. The Committee also noted that the Ten-year Educational Development Programme (PDDE), drawn up in 2002, aims to achieve an 84 per cent enrolment rate in primary school by 2015, with special emphasis on narrowing the gap between girls and boys.

However, the Committee noted that, according to the National Survey of Child Labour in Niger of 2009 (ENTE), only 39 per cent of girls between the ages of 7 and 17 years who are engaged in a type of work that is to be abolished, attend school, compared with 47 per cent of boys. The ENTE also shows that, among children engaged in types of work that are to be abolished, 57.2 per cent do not attend school. The failure to attend school is of greater concern among children between the ages of 14 and 17 years who are engaged in hazardous types of work, 80.9 per cent of whom do not attend school. With regard to school drop-outs, 21.4 per cent of children between the ages of 7 and 17 years engaged in types of work that are to be abolished have dropped out of school, of whom 36.5 per cent of children between the ages of 14 and 17 years are engaged in hazardous types of work.

The Committee notes the lack of updated information in the Government’s report. It therefore once again expresses its deep concern at the school attendance rates and the school drop-out rates of children who are compelled to work. Considering that education contributes to preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee once again urges the Government to strengthen its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system, taking into account the special situation of girls. In this respect, it also requests the Government to ensure an increase in school enrolment rates and a reduction in school drop-out rates, and to adopt other measures for the integration of Koranic schools into the national education system. The Committee urges the Government to provide updated information in its next report on the results achieved.

Clause (b). Necessary direct assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. In its previous comments, the Committee noted the allegations of the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC) that the use of children in gold, salt and gypsum mines and other forms of extraction persists. The ITUC indicated that these children have to work under deplorable conditions with inadequate ventilation, the risk of rock falls and a lack of light, and that they are exposed to the consumption of alcohol and drugs. The Committee noted the results of the implementation of the ILO–IPEC project for the prevention and elimination of child labour in artisanal gold mining in West Africa, but noted the Government’s indication that the project had come to an end in Niger. The Government added that, despite that, the schools built in the context of the project continue to enrol a significant number of children.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that 1,273 children, including 593 girls, have been enrolled in school in M’Banga and in the surrounding villages; 922 children, including 440 girls, have been enrolled in school in Komabangou and in the surrounding villages; and 69 boys and 46 girls have been removed from gold mines in M’Banga and Komabangou and have been provided with training in dressmaking, carpentry, preparation of snacks and the manufacture of beauty projects and hairdressing. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to continue taking measures to remove children under 18 years of age from these mines and to provide for their rehabilitation and social integration. It requests the Government to continue providing information on the progress achieved in this respect.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Street children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, in its concluding observations of 18 June 2009 (CRC/C/NER/CO/2, paragraph 72), the Committee on the Rights of the Child expressed concern at the number of children begging in the streets. The Committee noted with interest the establishment, by Order No. 09/MPF/PE of 30 April 2007, of a National Committee to Combat the Phenomenon of Street Children under the Ministry for Women’s Promotion and Child Protection, which acts as a framework for reflection and action to combat the phenomenon of street children. The Committee also noted the Government’s indications that awareness-raising action and activities to strengthen capacities have been undertaken by NGOs and associations with the support of development partners with a view to improving the assistance provided to street children and their social integration.

The Committee notes that the Government has not provided any information on this subject in its report. Observing that street children are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee once again urges the Government to intensify its efforts to protect them and to ensure their rehabilitation and integration, particularly through the action of the National Committee to Combat the Phenomenon of Street Children. It once again requests the Government to provide specific information in its next report on the results achieved.

Article 8. Poverty reduction. The Committee previously took due note of the formulation by the Government of a new economic, financial and social policy framework entitled the “Accelerated Development and Poverty Reduction Strategy (2008–12)” (SDARP). The Government indicated that the SDARP, which would be reviewed as from 2012, would make it possible to take into account the Committee’s comments, particularly with regard to the protection of child victims of the worst forms of child labour. Observing the absence of information on this matter in the Government’s report, the Committee once again urges it to provide information in its next report on the impact of the SDARP, particularly with regard to the effective reduction of poverty among victims of the worst forms of child labour.