Country profile MUS
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? | 2001-12-05 | C182 | Dangerous Drugs Act - Section 30.(1), Section 38.(a), Section 41.(1)(f) and Section 41.(2) | [{"link_name":"Dangerous Drugs Act","source_link":"https://health.govmu.org/health/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/DANGEROUS-DRUGS-ACT-2000-1.pdf"}] | Yes | 11 | C182 prohibits the use, procuring or offering of children for illicit activities in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. | Article 30(1) of the Act defines as offences the import, export or obtaining of any dangerous drug, and the possession, purchase or offer to purchase any dangerous drug. Article 38(a) prohibits anyone from directly or indirectly inciting others to commit any of these offences. Article 41 considers it as an aggravating circumstance if a person has involved another person under the age of 18 or a mentally handicap person or a person undergoing treatment involving withdrawal from drug abuse. |
| Is the use, procuring or offering of a child for the purpose of prostitution and for production of pornography prohibited? | 2009-07-30 | C182 | Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act 2009 - Sections 2 and 11 | [{"link_name":"-Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act 2009","source_link":"https://mauritiuslii.org/akn/mu/act/2009/2/eng@2017-06-30/source.pdf"},{"link_name":"-Combating of Trafficking in Persons (Amendement) Act 2023","source_link":"https://mauritiusassembly.govmu.org/mauritiusassembly/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/act1723.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 2 of the Act defines trafficking as (a) the recruitment, sale, supply, procurement, capture, removal, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a person— (i) by the use of threat, force, intimidation, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of power or abuse of a position of vulnerability; or (ii) by the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to obtain the consent of a person having control or authority over another person; or (b) the adoption of a person facilitated or secured through illegal means, for the purpose of exploitation. Its stipulates that exploitation includes sexual exploitation while defining sexual exploitation as the obtaining of financial or other benefits through the involvement of another person in prostitution or in other kinds of sexual services, including pornographic acts or the production of pornographic materials, as a result of subjecting another person to one of the means listed in paragraph (a) of the definition of "trafficking". Fort its part, Section 11 of the Act prohibits trafficking in persons and states that it shall not be a defence to a charge under paragraph (a) that a person who is a victim of trafficking or a person having control or authority over a minor who is a victim of trafficking, has consented to the act which was intended to constitute trafficking; thus prohibiting child trafficking and the use of children for the purpose of prostitution and for production of pornography. |
| Is forced or compulsory recruitment of children under 18 for use in armed conflict prohibited? | N/A | C182 | N/A | [{"link_name":"N/A","source_link":"-"}] | No | 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. | Minors can be recruted into armed force in Mauritius. The country has a paramilitary force for defense and officers above the age of 18 are recruited through Discipline Force Service Commission. |
| Is the sale and trafficking of children for sexual and labour exploitation prohibited? | 2020-12-18 ; 2023-11-10 | C182 | Children's Act 2020 - Section 29 (d) ; Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act 2009 - Section 11 | [{"link_name":"-Children's Act 2020","source_link":"https://gender.govmu.org/Documents/2021/children's%20act%202020.pdf"},{"link_name":"-The Combating of Trafficking in Persons (Amendement) Act 2023","source_link":"https://mauritiusassembly.govmu.org/mauritiusassembly/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/act1723.pdf"},{"link_name":"-Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act 2009","source_link":"https://mauritiuslii.org/akn/mu/act/2009/2/eng@2017-06-30/source.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 11 of the Combating of Human Trafficking (Amendment) Act 2023 prohibits trafficking in person and states that "It shall not be a defence to a charge under paragraph (a) that a person who is a victim of trafficking or a person having control or authority over a minor who is a victim of trafficking, has consented to the act which was intended to constitute trafficking". Furthermore, Section 29 (d) of the Children's Act considers as an aggravating circumstance the adoption of a child for the purpose of trafficking. |
| List of hazardous activities prohibited for children | 2007-09-01 | C138 & C182 | Occupational safety and health Act 2005 - Section 8. | [{"link_name":"Occupational safety and health Act 2005","source_link":"https://labour.govmu.org/Documents/Legislations/osha%202005/Act/3.OCCUPATIONAL%20SAFETY%20AND%20HEALTH%20ACT,%20No%2028%20of%202005.pdf"}] | 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. | Section 8. of the Act provides the following list of activities for which an employer should not employ a person below the age of 18 : "(a) work with explosives; (b) exposure to ionising radiation; (c) work with heavy metals, including lead and mercury; (d) work in the forestry and construction sector; (e) work with or exposure to any form of asbestos; (f) exposure to benzene or other harmful organic solvents; (g) exposure to aromatic amines; (h) exposure to prescribed noise or vibration; (i) work in compressed air or in confined spaces; and (j) any work which is harmful to the health and safety of that person.". |
| Minimum age for hazardous work | 2019-08-23 | C138 & C182 | Worker's Rights Act 2019 - Section 2 and Section 9. (1) ; Occupational Safety and Health Act 2005 - Section 8 | [{"link_name":"-Worker's Rights Act 2019","source_link":"https://ert.govmu.org/Documents/Legislation%20ERT/Workers'%20Rights%20Act%202019%20as%20at%207%20September%202020.pdf"},{"link_name":"-Occupational Safety and Health Act 2005","source_link":"https://www.cidb.mu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1.-OCCUPATIONAL-SAFETY-AND-HEALTH-ACT-2005-updated-as-at-2013-latest.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. | Section 8 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act 2005 provides a list of hazardous work prohibited for children under 18 years of age. For its part, Section 2 of the Workers’ Rights Act 2019 defines a young person as a person, other than a child, who is under the age of 18. In addition, Section 9(1) of the Workers’ Rights Act 2019 prohibits the employment of young person “(a) in work which, by its nature, or the circumstances in which it is carried out, is likely to jeopardise his health, safety, or physical, mental, moral or social development: or (b) after being notified in writing by the supervising officer that the kind of work for which he is employed is unsuitable, or is likely to interfere with his education.” |
| Minimum age for admission to apprenticeship | 1994 | C138 | IVT Regulations 1994 (Amended 2006) - Section 11 | [{"link_name":"-IVT Regulations 1994 (Amended 2006)","source_link":"https://education.govmu.org/Documents/legislations/Documents/Industrial%20and%20Vocational%20Training%20%20Regulations%202006.pdf"},{"link_name":"-Occupational Safety and Health Act","source_link":"https://natlex.ilo.org/dyn/natlex2/natlex2/files/download/72927/MUS72927.pdf"}] | 16 | 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 11, states that “[...] any person who has attained the age of 16 may bind himself as an apprentice in a designated trade as from the end of the academic year in the course of which he has attained the age of 16.” Consequently, the minimum age for admission to apprenticeship at the MITD is 16 years. However, for some trades (Hotel and Tourism and Construction), the MITD abides by the Occupational Safety and Health Act concerning the minimum age for its apprentices. |
| Is the minimum age for admission to work not less than the age for completion of compulsory schooling? | 1957-12-28 | C138 | Education Act - Section 37. | [{"link_name":"Education Act","source_link":"https://old.adapt.it/adapt-indice-a-z/wp-content/uploads/2015/01/mauritius-edu-act.pdf"}] | Yes | 4 | C138 requires that the minimum age for admission to work shall not be less than the age of completion of compulsory schooling and, in any case, shall not be less than 15 years. | Section 37. of the Act sets the compulsory education age to 16 years which corresponds to the minimum age for admission to work. |
| Light work - Determination of types and conditions of activities | 2020-09-07 ; 2007-09-01 | C138 | Workers' Rights Act 2019 - Section 8 ; Occupational Safety and Health Act 2005 – Section 8 | [{"link_name":"-Workers' Rights Act 2019","source_link":"https://ert.govmu.org/Documents/Legislation%20ERT/Workers'%20Rights%20Act%202019%20as%20at%207%20September%202020.pdf"},{"link_name":"-Occupational Safety and Health Act 2005","source_link":"https://www.cidb.mu/wp-content/uploads/2019/04/1.-OCCUPATIONAL-SAFETY-AND-HEALTH-ACT-2005-updated-as-at-2013-latest.pdf"}] | 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. | Child employment is prohibited in Mauritius. The Workers’ Rights Act, does in no manner, stipulate that children are allowed to do light jobs in family businesses. Instead, sub-section 8(2) of the Workers' Rights Act stipulates that “a child shall not be considered to be employed for employment or work, where during school holidays or outside school hours, the child remains at the place of work of his parents or assist his parents in a family business in a light job which is not harmful to his health or his development or prejudicial to his participation in a vocational orientation or training programme.” The Act does not introduce an exception for child employment in the form of “light work.” Instead, it clarifies that a child shall not be considered employed merely because he or she is present at a parent’s workplace or assists the parent in a family activity. Such assistance is permissible only if it is not harmful to the child’s health or development and does not interfere with schooling or vocational training. In addition, no law, except for section 8 of the Occupational Safety and Health Act can restrain the presence of a child with his parents in their family business. |
| Minimum age for light work | 2019-08-23 | C138 | Worker's Rights Act 2019 - Section 2. and Section 8. (2) | [{"link_name":"Worker's Rights Act","source_link":"https://trb.govmu.org/Documents/Legislations/A%20Consolidated%20Version%20of%20the%20Workers%27%20Rights%20Act%202019%20as%20at%202%20August%202023.pdf"}] | N/A | 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. | Mauritius legal framework does not set a minimum age for light work. |
| Minimum age for admission to work | 2019-08-23 | C138 | Worker's Rights Act 2019 - Section 2. and Section 8. (1) | [{"link_name":"Worker's Rights Act 2019","source_link":"https://ert.govmu.org/Documents/Legislation%20ERT/Workers'%20Rights%20Act%202019%20as%20at%207%20September%202020.pdf"}] | 16 | 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. | Section 2 of the text defines a child as a person under the age of 16. Section 8. (1) stipulates that "no person shall employ a child for employment or work in any occupation.". |
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) | 08-JUN-2000 | Source |
| in-force | C138 | Minimum Age Convention, 1973 (No. 138) | 30-JUL-1990 | Source |
Policies and Plans
Policies and Plans
| Description | sources | Period | Policy name | Implementing agency |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Social Integration and Empowerment Act 2016 (Act No. 26 of 2016) establishes the statutory framework for Mauritius to fight against absolute poverty. The key mechanisms provided under the Act 2016 are the Social Register of Mauritius, the absolute poverty thresholds as eligibility criteria, and the Social Contract, which provides support in return for fulfilling agreed conditionalities. | [{"link_name":"Social Integration and Empowerment Act 2016 (Act No. 26 of 2016)","source_link":"https://mauritiusassembly.govmu.org/mauritiusassembly/wp-content/uploads/2023/03/act2616.pdf"}] | 2016 | Social Integration and Empowerment Act 2016 (Act No. 26 of 2016) | Mauritian governement |
| The Government Programme Achieving Meaningful Change has pursued a series of reforms aimed at enhancing social inclusion, child protection, and early childhood development. A central priority has been to strengthen the protection, wellbeing, and educational opportunities of children across Mauritius. To reinforce the child protection framework, the government introduced new legislation to provide greater security for children. This included the creation of an electronic register of paedophiles and child sex offenders, operationalised as the Child Sex Offenders Register (CSO Register) under the Child Sex Offender Register Act 2020. Complementing this, the Children’s Act 2020 replaced the older Child Protection Act with a more comprehensive rights-based framework, and the Children’s Court Act 2020 established dedicated judicial structures for child protection and criminal matters involving minors. These reforms introduced clearer offences such as grooming, pornography, and ill-treatment, alongside mechanisms for care and emergency protection orders. Mandatory reporting obligations for registrable offenders are now in place under the CSO Register. In the field of education, the government strengthened social inclusion through improved access to health and nutrition. One concrete measure was to ensure that all primary school pupils receive a free hot meal, supporting both health outcomes and learning readiness. In disadvantaged communities, ZEP (Zones d'Éducation Prioritaires) schools, including pre-primary units, continued to benefit from supplementary school feeding programmes. Pupils receive bread, butter, cheese, fruit, biscuits, and water, with hot meals provided where infrastructure permits. Plans are underway to construct kitchens in selected ZEP schools—one per zone—to expand hot meal provision. Significant reforms have also been undertaken in early childhood care and education (ECCE). The ECCEA Act 2007 remains the governing legislation for the pre-primary sector, but amendments adopted in 2023 substantially strengthened the powers of the Early Childhood Care and Education Authority (ECCEA). The Authority now holds clearer and more robust mandates to register, supervise, inspect, and audit pre-primary schools and their staff, marking a shift toward stronger regulation, standardisation, and accountability across the sector. Mauritius is currently in a transition phase in ECCE: stronger legal structures now exist, but effective implementation remains a central challenge. Ensuring equitable roll-out of the revised curriculum across urban, rural, and disadvantaged settings will require sustained training, monitoring, and supervision. Likewise, the ECCEA’s capacity—its staffing, budget, and inspection coverage—must be reinforced to meet its expanded responsibilities. Greater practical coordination is also needed between ECCEA and sectors such as Health, Social Welfare, and Child Protection. Overall, the Government Programme Achieving Meaningful Change has laid important foundations for a more inclusive and protective environment for children. Strengthened legislation, enhanced early childhood regulation, and improved educational and nutritional support collectively contribute to advancing child rights, safeguarding wellbeing, and promoting equitable opportunities across Mauritius. | [{"link_name":"Government programme - Achieving meaningful change","source_link":"https://www.greenpolicyplatform.org/sites/default/files/downloads/policy-database//MAURITIUS%29%20Achieving%20Meaningful%20Change.pdf"}] | 2015-2019 | Government programme - Achieving meaningful change | Ministry of Education and Human Resource ; Ministry of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity (Social Integration Division) ; Ministry of Gender Equality and Family Welfare ; Mauritius Police Force |
| The plan was part of a broader objective to restructure the country's education and human resource development system. It aimed to establish inclusive educational structures encompassing both the education and training sectors. Some key objectives of the plan included ensuring that all children aged 3 to 5 have access to preschool education, and revising curricula to enhance primary school readiness, while also developing proactive measures for the early detection of children with special needs, strengthening student performance assessments with a greater focus on learning quality, and improving the management and efficiency of the Ministry of Education through enhanced governance, accountability, and performance structures. The objective of ensuring universal access to preschool education for children aged 3 to 5 is foundational to building an inclusive educational structure. Achieving this relies on a multi-pronged approach focusing on supply, quality, and inclusiveness. In terms of supply, government investment has focused on the enhancement of public pre-school classrooms, thereby increasing capacity in a systematic manner. To reinforce quality assurance, a Monitoring and Quality Assurance Unit is currently being established to ensure that standards are consistently maintained across all pre-primary institutions. To support this vision, the Ministry of Education and Human Resources has implemented concrete measures to enhance access and quality in pre-primary education. Since January 2024, pre-primary education has been free, enabling 27,495 children to attend one of the 801 pre-primary schools recorded in 2025. Gross enrolment rates stand at 105.9% for 3–4 year olds and 103% for 4–5 year olds, with a gender parity index of 0.99, reflecting near-equal participation between boys and girls. The objective of revising curricula to enhance primary school readiness involves ensuring a smooth, developmentally appropriate transition from pre-school to Grade 1, thereby reducing the common “readiness gap.” A key component of this effort is ensuring that the pre-school curriculum is seamlessly linked with the Grade 1 curriculum, avoiding abrupt shifts in teaching methodology and expectations. The pre-school curriculum has been revised to prioritize the development of pre-literacy skills (such as phonological awareness and print concepts), pre-numeracy skills (including counting and spatial awareness), and socio-emotional competencies (such as self-regulation, cooperation, and curiosity), rather than focusing solely on academic content. A major pedagogical shift has been mandated towards child-centered, play-based learning, recognizing play as a primary medium for cognitive and social development. Practical, hands-on, and inquiry-based activities have been introduced to foster critical thinking and problem-solving skills, which are essential for future learning. To support teachers, formative assessment tools that are non-intrusive and developmentally appropriate have been developed and disseminated. These tools help monitor children's progress across key readiness domains, cognitive, physical, social, and emotional, reflecting a shift toward a more holistic measure of preparedness. The National Curriculum Framework for pre-primary education, revised in April 2024, is now in use across all pre-primary schools, following comprehensive training provided by the Early Childhood Care and Education Authority (ECCEA) for all staff. Additionally, to strengthen student performance assessments at the primary level, learners who do not meet the required standards in the Primary School Achievement Certificate join the Foundation Programme in Literacy, Numeracy, and Skills (FPLNS), where continuous assessment and portfolio development are emphasized. | [{"link_name":"Education and Human Resources Strategy Plan","source_link":"https://www.uil.unesco.org/sites/default/files/medias/fichiers/2023/05/mauritius-education-and-human-resources-strategy-plan-2008-2020.pdf"}] | 2008-2020 | Education and Human Resources Strategy Plan | Ministry of Education, Culture and Human Resource |
| The government program aims to achieve several key objectives by 2029, including the reconstruction of an inclusive education system to tackle the dropout rate among students. As part of this initiative, the government plans to increase per capita funding for special needs students, ensuring greater support and accessibility within the education system. This planned increase is also consistent with the strategic direction under “A Bridge to the Future” to strengthen support and accessibility for students with Special Education Needs (SEN) across all subsectors, starting from pre-primary education. In line with this reform agenda, the Free Pre-Primary Education Scheme has been revised. As from January 2026, private pre-primary schools will no longer have all their operational costs reimbursed by the government. Instead, they will receive a Grant-in-Aid (GIA) of Rs 2,750 per child per month, with any school fees beyond that grant being borne by parents. To benefit from this revised scheme, schools must be registered under the Early Childhood Care and Education Authority (ECCEA), and will be required to adhere to established eligibility criteria, standards, and staffing requirements. As part of the Government Programme “A Bridge to the Future,” research by the Ministry of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity (Social Integration Division) will be undertaken on the root causes of absolute and relative poverty. In respect of social integration, the Government will review the conceptual framework of the National Empowerment Foundation (NEF) and the National Social Integration Foundation (NSIF) to strengthen their role in empowerment. This initiative is consistent with the Social Integration and Empowerment (SIE) Act 2016, which mandates the setting up of empowerment programmes to combat poverty and encourage integration into mainstream society (Section 3), and provides for the assignment of responsibilities to the NEF or other bodies for programme design, implementation, and monitoring (Section 5). The objective is to ensure that beneficiaries are actively engaged in participatory and inclusive programmes, while also promoting innovative, artistic, socio-ecological, and food security projects. In the Budget 2025–2026, the Government has reaffirmed its commitment to these goals through the reconstruction of an inclusive education system to reduce the dropout rate among students and by increasing per capita funding for special needs students, with the budget for Special Education Needs continuing to rise steadily. | [{"link_name":"A bridge to the future Programme","source_link":"https://govmu.org/EN/Documents/Government-Programme-2025-2029.pdf#search=child%20labour"}] | 2025-2029 | A bridge to the future Programme | Ministry of Education and Human Resource ; Ministry of Gender and Family Welfare ; Ministry of Social Integration, Social Security and National Solidarity (Social Security Division and Social Integration Division) |