Country profile MRT
Context
Context
| Year | Age group | Proportion | Gender | Indicator | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2015 | 5-17 | 14.8 | Male | Proportion of children engaged in economic activity, by sex and age (%) | Source |
| 2015 | 5-17 | 10.4 | Female | Proportion of children engaged in economic activity, by sex and age (%) | Source |
| 2015 | 5-17 | 12.6 | Male & Female | Proportion of children engaged in economic activity, by sex and age (%) | Source |
| 2015 | 5-17 | 15.4 | Male | Proportion of children engaged in economic activity and household chores, by sex and age (%) | Source |
| 2015 | 5-17 | 12.6 | Female | Proportion of children engaged in economic activity and household chores, by sex and age (%) | Source |
| 2015 | 5-17 | 14 | Male & Female | Proportion of children engaged in economic activity and household chores, by sex and age (%) | Source |
National Legal Framework
National Legal Framework
| Provision | Legislation date | Convention | Legislation info | sources | Value | sort_order | Provision description | Legislation description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Is the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs, prohibited? | 1993-07-20 | C182 | Prohibition of Production, Trafficking, and Use of Drugs and Illicit Substances - Sections 3, 4, 5 and 13 | [{"link_name":"Prohibition of Production, Trafficking, and Use of Drugs and Illicit Substances","source_link":"https://sherloc.unodc.org/cld/uploads/res/document/mrt/loi-93-37_html/mauritania-loi_stupefiants.pdf"}] | Yes | 11 | C182 prohibits the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. | Under sections 3, 4 and 5 read in conjunction with section 13 of Act No. 93-37 concerning the suppression of the illicit production, trafficking and use of drugs and psychotropic substances, the use of minors for the production, manufacturing and trafficking of high-risk drugs incurs the penalty of imprisonment of 30 to 60 years and a fine. |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of a child for the purpose of prostitution and for production of pornography prohibited? | 2018-07-21 ; 2015 | C182 | General Child Protection Code - Section 72 ; Ordinance No. 2005-015 - Sections 47, 48, 57, 58, 59 | [{"link_name":"-General Child Protection Code","source_link":"https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/112895/MRT-112895.pdf"},{"link_name":"-Ordinance No. 2005-015","source_link":"https://learningpartnership.org/sites/default/files/resources/pdfs/Mauritania%20-%20Ordonnance%20n%202005-015%20portant%20protection%20pe%CC%81nale%20de%20l%E2%80%99enfant.pdf"}] | Yes | 10 | C182 prohibits the use of a child under the age of 18 for prostitution, regardless of the child's consent. The use, procuring or offering of any person under the age of 18 for commercial sexual exploitation constitutes a worst form of child labour, even if prostitution is a legalised. In regard to the prohibition of child pornography, States need to make sure that national legislation addresses the involvement of a child in the production of pornographic materials, including non-recorded performances. | Section 72 of Act No. 2018-024 of 21 June 2018 issuing the General Child Protection Code refers to the Ordinance for the protection of children under criminal law concerning the penalties for sexual exploitation of children. Sections 57, 58, and 59 of Ordinance No. 2005-015, which punish both the procuring of a child for prostitution and the person identified as the child’s client, 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. |
| Is forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict prohibited? | 1961-06-12 | C182 | Act No. 62.132 - Article 7 | [{"link_name":"Act No. 62.132","source_link":"https://www.refworld.org/docid/53ecaf3a4.html"}] | Yes | 9 | C182 defines forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict as a worst form of child labour. Nevertheless, C182 only prohibits the forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18, and does not cover the voluntary recruitment of children under 18. | According to Article 7, there is no compulsory military service in Mauritania, so enrolment is voluntary. |
| Is the sale and trafficking of children for sexual and labour exploitation prohibited? | 2018-07-21 | C182 | General Child Protection Code - Section 78 | [{"link_name":"General Child Protection Code","source_link":"https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/112895/MRT-112895.pdf"}] | Yes | 8 | C182 defines all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom and forced or compulsory labour as worst forms of child labour. | Section 78 of Act No. 2018-024 of 21 June 2018 issuing the General Child Protection Code, any person who subjects a child to trafficking shall be liable to imprisonment of 10 to 20 years. |
| List of hazardous activities prohibited for children | 7-01-2022 | C138 & C182 | Ordinance No. 0066-2022 - Section 7 | [{"link_name":"Ordinance No. 0066-2022","source_link":"https://wwwex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/r/natlex/fe/details?p3_isn=112174&cs=1ZujSjatHEtJ5m3ihaWoqi5C7P-aNNHiXSRVDGghoOSQyIvJ8QjYDDXTrWFgBued3zlzd6Sn-5FuydZ4e8D0zRg"}] | Yes | 7 | C138 and C182 require the national determination of a list of hazardous work prohibited for children under 18 years of age. The competent authorities should consult with workers' and employers' organizations to determine what types of employment or work are considered to be hazardous. Such a list shall be periodically examined and revised as necessary. | Ordinance No. 0066-2022 of 7 January 2022 concerning the list of hazardous work prohibited for children, which prohibits the employment of children in hazardous work detrimental to their physical or mental health, in any public or private establishment, whether agricultural, commercial or industrial, including where such establishments impart religious or occupational education or are charitable institutions, family enterprises or private households. In this regard, the Ordinance contains a detailed list of the types of hazardous work prohibited to children. Moreover, section 7 provides that the Secretary-General of the Ministry of Labour, the Director-General of Labour, and the labour inspectors, as the case may be, are responsible for the application of the Ordinance. |
| Minimum age for hazardous work | 2018-07-21 | C138 & C182 | General Child Protection Code - Article 76 | [{"link_name":"General Child Protection Code","source_link":"https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/112895/MRT-112895.pdf"}] | 18 | 6 | C138 and C182 set 18 as the minimum age for hazardous work, which is defined as work that, due to its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardize children’s health, safety or morals. C138 and C182 allow countries to permit hazardous work exceptionally as from 16, provided that the health, safety and morals of the young persons concerned are fully protected and that they have received adequate specific instruction or training. | Article 76 concerning hazardous child labour, provides that in establishments of any nature, whether they be agricultural, commercial or industrial, public or private, lay or religious, even when the establishments are concerned with vocational training or charity, and including family enterprises or private homes, it is prohibited to employ children of either sex under 18 years of age in work which is beyond their strength, is a source of danger or, by its nature or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to harm their morals. |
| Minimum age for admission to apprenticeship | 2004-06-07 | C138 | Labour Code - Sections 153, 397-414 | [{"link_name":"Labour Code","source_link":"https://wwwex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/68212/MRT68212.pdf"}] | 14 | 5 | C138 does not apply to work done in school for general, vocational or technical education or in training institutions or work done by children at least 14 years of age in undertakings, where such work is carried out in accordance with conditions prescribed by the competent authority. Such work must be an integral part of: (i) a course of education or training for which a school or training institution is primarily responsible; (ii) a programme of training mainly or entirely in an undertaking, which programme has been approved by the competent authority; or (iii) a programme of guidance or orientation designed to facilitate the choice of an occupation or of a line of training. | Section 153 of the Labour Code states that the age for admission to an apprenticeship is 14 years. Sections 397-414 regulate apprenticeship contracts. |
| Is the minimum age for admission to work not less than the age for completion of compulsory schooling? | 2022-08-17 | C138 | Basic Education Law - Article 3 | [{"link_name":"Basic Education Law","source_link":"https://wwwex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/114231/MRT-114231.pdf"}] | No | 4 | C138 requires member States to align the age of completion of compulsory education with the minimum age for admission to employment or work. | Basic education is compulsory for children of both sexes aged between 6 (six) and 15 (fifteen) according to Article 3, which is above the minimum age for admission to work set to 14 years. |
| Light work - Determination of types and conditions of activities | N/A | C138 | N/A | [{"link_name":"CEACR Direct Request","source_link":"https://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4313086,103075"}] | N/A | 3 | If the country chooses to allow light work, States must determine what activities are considered light work, and the hours and the circumstances under which they may be carried out. | The country has not determined the activities that children from 12-14 can engage in light work. According to the ILO CEACR Direct request on Convention 138, 2022, "Noting with regret the absence of information in this regard in the Government’s report, the Committee expresses the firm hope that the Government will take the necessary measures so that the activities in which the employment or work of children between 12 and 14 years of age is permitted under section 154 of the Labour Code are determined by the competent authority, in conformity with Article 7(3) of the Convention. It once again requests the Government to provide information on progress made in this respect." |
| Minimum age for light work | 2004-06-07 | C138 | Labour Code - Section 154 | [{"link_name":"Labour Code","source_link":"https://wwwex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/68212/MRT68212.pdf"}] | 12 | 2 | C138 defines light work as work that does not interfere with children’s schooling, or their ability to benefit from it, and that is not hazardous. C138 allows countries to permit light work for children younger than the general minimum age. For countries that set the minimum age at 15, this means children aged 13-14, and for those that set it at 14, children aged 12-13 may engage in light work. | The Labour Code permits children between the ages of 12 and 14 to work under certain conditions under section 154. No exceptions to the minimum age for admission to work likely to jeopardize the rules on compulsory schooling may be granted. In addition, children over 12 years of age may be employed in work outside the hours of compulsory schooling provided that such work: is not harmful to their health and normal development; and does not exceed two hours per day on both school days and holidays, the total number of hours per day devoted to both school and light work not exceeding seven hours. |
| Minimum age for admission to work | 2004-06-07 ; 2018 | C138 | Labour Code - Article 154 | [{"link_name":"-Labour Code","source_link":"https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/68212/MRT68212.pdf"},{"link_name":"-CEACR Direct Request","source_link":"https://normlex.ilo.org/dyn/nrmlx_en/f?p=1000:13100:0::NO:13100:P13100_COMMENT_ID,P13100_COUNTRY_ID:4054274,103075"}] | 14 | 1 | C138 establishes 15 as the minimum age for work in general. Developing countries have the option of setting a minimum age of 14 as a transitional measure as they strengthen their education systems and economies. | Article 154 of the labour code sets of 2004 the minimum age for employment at 14 years. In its Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2020, on the Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) The Committee requests the Government to provide information on all progress made regarding the harmonization of the various provisions relating to the minimum age for admission to employment or work. |
International Legal Framework
International Legal Framework
| Ratification status | Convention | Convention description | Date of ratification | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| in-force | C182 | Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) | 03-DEC-2001 | Source |
| in-force | C138 | Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) | 03-DEC-2001 | Source |
Policies and Plans
Policies and Plans
| Description | sources | Period | Policy name | Implementing agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The implementation of PANETE-RIM has resulted in the organization of activities to combat child labour, primarily in the wilayas (regions) of Guidimaka and Trarza: first and foremost, tripartite missions coordinated by the Ministry of Public Service and Labour (MFPT), the Ministry of Livestock and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Children and Family; and also regional workshops related to the second and third strategic axes of PANETE-RIM aimed at strengthening the technical and operational capacities of the actors involved and raising awareness and improving knowledge about child labour and its worst forms, particularly in the livestock sector. | [{"link_name":"PANETE\u2013RIM","source_link":"https://www.ilo.org/ipec/projects/global/map16/mauritania/lang--en/index.htm"}] | 2015–20 | National Plan of Action on the Elimination of Child Labour (PANETE–RIM) | Ministry of Public Service and Labour (MFPT), the Ministry of Livestock and the Ministry of Social Affairs, Children and Family |