Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2009, published 99th ILC session (2010)

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour: Clause (b). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that section 229 of the Penal Code, under which inciting a girl or a woman, even with her consent, to debauchery or forcing her to engage in prostitution are punishable offences, applies only to female children. The Committee noted the Government’s indication that it undertook an examination of the question of bringing the legislation into conformity with the Convention and protecting boys from sexual exploitation, particularly prostitution. The Government now indicates that the measures taken in this respect consist of the adoption of Act No. 01-081 of 24 August 2001, concerning crimes related to minors and the appointment of magistrates to hear cases involving minors (Act 01-081). The Committee observes that not only do these provisions fail to prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, but they appear to punish the children concerned, making them criminally liable for their involvement in prostitution or illicit activities. The Committee observes that children who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are therefore not treated as victims and receive neither support nor protection. It reminds the Government that, under the terms of Article 3(b) of the Convention, the use, procuring or offering of a child under 18 years of age for prostitution is considered to be one of the worst forms of child labour and that, by virtue of Article 1 of the Convention, immediate and effective measures have to be taken to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the national legislation prohibits the use, procuring or offering of boys under 18 years of age for prostitution.

Clause (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities. The Committee previously noted that Act No. 1986/18 on the punishment of offences involving poisonous substances and narcotics prohibits the cultivation, production, offering and sale of drugs, but not the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. It noted the Government’s indication that it would give consideration to the question of prohibiting this worst form of child labour. The Government now indicates that the measures taken in this respect consist of the adoption of Act No. 01-081. The Committee observes that these provisions do not prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production and trafficking of drugs. It reminds the Government that under Article 1 of the Convention, immediate and effective measures have to be taken to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. The Committee therefore requests the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the national legislation prohibits the use, procuring or offering of children under 18 years of age for illicit activities, in particular for the production, offering and sale of drugs.

Article 4, paragraph 1. Determination of hazardous types of work. Further to its previous comments, the Committee notes with interest that Order
No. 09-0151/MTFPRE-SG, supplementing the list of hazardous types of work prohibited for children under 18 years of age in the agricultural, stock raising, fishing, forestry, mining, quarries and traditional gold-panning, tourism and informal sectors, was adopted on 4 February 2009.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. 1. Labour inspection. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes that in the report submitted under the Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), the Government provides detailed information on the inspections carried out by labour inspectors and the violations reported, particularly in relation to dismissals, employment accidents and violations of labour contracts. However, the Committee notes that the Government has not provided any information on the violations reported by labour inspectors relating to the worst forms of child labour. It therefore urges the Government to provide extracts from labour inspection reports concerning the worst forms of child labour in the very near future.

2. System for the observation and monitoring of child labour in Mali (SOSTEM). The Committee notes that, in the context of the Time-bound Programme (TBP) launched in Mali in 2006, SOSTEM was established in support of the initiatives already being implemented by ILO–IPEC in support of the Government and the social partners to achieve a better understanding of the phenomenon of child labour and its worst forms. The main emphasis of SOSTEM is placed on the monitoring of the conditions and places in which hazardous types of work are performed, the removal of children involved in hazardous types of work and the elimination of the dangers to which they are exposed. The Committee notes that, according to the technical progress report of 1 September 2009 on the ILO–IPEC support project for the TBP, focal structures, which play a transitional role between the local and national levels, have been established in the framework of SOSTEM. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities carried out by SOSTEM in relation to children engaged in the worst forms of child labour. It requests it to indicate the number of children engaged in the worst forms of child labour who have been identified, rehabilitated and reintegrated as a result of these activities.

Article 6. Programmes of action. National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Mali (PANETEM). The Committee notes that, in the context of the TBP, a programme of action for the formulation and design of the PANETEM was launched in 2009. The PANETEM, which will reinforce the progress achieved in over a decade of combating child labour and will address the difficulties encountered, will be implemented by the National Cell to Combat Child Labour (CNLTE), established in 2007, with the support of ILO–IPEC, with a view to eliminating child labour in the country by 2025 and compiling information on the activities carried out by children. The Committee notes that the implementation of the PANETEM will be divided into two main stages, the elimination of the worst forms of child labour from 2010 to 2015 and the prohibition of hazardous types of work from 2016 to 2025. The Committee requests the Government to provide information in its next report on the results achieved through the implementation of the PANETEM in relation to the removal of children engaged in the worst forms of child labour and their rehabilitation and social integration, and on the activities of the CNLTE for this purpose.

Article 7, paragraph 2. Effective and time-bound measures. Clauses (a) and (b). Preventing the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and assistance for their removal from the worst forms of child labour. TBP. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that Mali had launched the TBP on the worst forms of child labour in collaboration with ILO–IPEC. The main sectors for TBP intervention are mines and quarries, agriculture and craft industries, sexual exploitation of children, the urban informal economy and domestic work. The trafficking of children and HIV/AIDS will also be taken into account as cross-cutting issues. The Committee notes with interest that, according to the technical progress report of 1 September 2009 of the ILO–IPEC support project for the TBP, 6,499 children (3,602 girls and 2,897 boys) at risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour were prevented from doing so, and 2,471 children (1,384 girls and 1,087 boys) have been removed from the worst forms of child labour. All of these children have received formal or informal education, as well as apprenticeships or vocational training, provided by qualified craft workers or in vocational training centres. The Committee strongly encourages the Government to pursue its efforts and requests it to continue providing information on the time-bound measures adopted in the context of the TBP to provide the necessary and appropriate direct assistance to prevent the engagement of children in the worst forms of child labour and to remove persons under 18 years of age from the worst forms of child labour and ensure their rehabilitation and social integration. The Committee requests the Government to continue providing information on this subject, including the number of children benefiting from the measures adopted in the context of the TBP.

Clause (d). Identifying and reaching out to children at special risk. Orphans of HIV/AIDS. The Committee previously 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, around 94,000 children in Mali are HIV/AIDS orphans. It also noted that, according to a UNAIDS report of December 2006, the epidemic seems to be growing in Mali. The Committee notes that, according to the 2008 UNGASS National Report of the Higher National Council to Combat AIDS, Mali has already implemented three short and medium‑term strategic plans and a National Strategic Plan for the years 2001–05. It notes that the new National Strategic Framework 2006–10 (CSN), which has been adopted and validated, proposes multiple methods of intervention, associating measures to combat AIDS with democratic and sustainable development and emphasizing, in particular, an integrated strategic approach. The CSN also includes the implementation of programmes of action to reduce the vulnerability of persons affected by the HIV/AIDS epidemic, with particular reference to children orphaned by the disease. However, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that it has no information on the specific measures taken to protect HIV/AIDS orphans from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. The Committee reminds the Government that HIV/AIDS has negative consequences on orphans, who are at greater risk of being engaged in the worst forms of child labour. It therefore requests the Government to take specific time‑bound measures, particularly in the context of the CSN, to protect child HIV/AIDS orphans from the worst forms of child labour and to provide information on the results achieved.

Clause (e). Special situation of girls. With reference to its previous comments, the Committee notes the Government’s indication that, in the context of the TBP, over 900 domestic helpers now have access to literacy and over 3,000 of them have participated in additional training. The Committee further notes that the activities carried out in the context of the TBP have benefited 4,986 girls in total (compared with 3,984 boys), who have accordingly been prevented from being engaged in, or removed from, the worst forms of child labour. The Committee also notes that, according to the technical progress report of 1 September 2009, of the ILO–IPEC support project for the TBP, the PANETEM will offer the Government a good opportunity to determine time-bound objectives while taking into account the special situation of girls. The Committee once again observes that young girls, particularly those engaged as domestic workers, often fall prey to exploitation, which can take many forms, and that it is difficult to supervise their working conditions due to the clandestine nature of the work. It therefore requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted within the context of the PANETEM to protect these children, particularly against economic and sexual exploitation, and to take into account the special situation of girls.

Part V of the report form. Application of the Convention in practice. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the national survey report on child labour of 2005, around two out of three children between the ages of 5 and 17 years are economically active in Mali, or just over 3 million girls and boys throughout the country, with the phenomenon affecting both girls (60 per cent) and boys (65 per cent) in rural areas (71 per cent of children between the ages of 5 and 17 years) and urban areas (63 per cent of children between 5 and 17 years of age). The Committee notes the Government’s indication that 35,000 people have been targeted by awareness-raising activities concerning the trafficking of children in the agricultural and mining and quarries sectors, the informal economy and girls in urban areas. The Government adds that 10,000 children have been removed from or prevented from being engaged in the worst forms of child labour through NGO action financed for that purpose. Furthermore, the Committee notes that, according to the technical progress report of 1 September 2009 of the ILO–IPEC support project for the TBP, three studies are currently being prepared:

(a)   a study on the exploitation of child beggars in Mali;

(b)   a study on gender-related issues affecting children, child labour and the worst forms of child labour in mines and quarries: the case of Mali; and

(c)   a subregional study on child labour in the gold panning sector in Mali, Niger and Burkina Faso.

While noting the measures adopted by the Government to combat the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests it to redouble its efforts to eliminate these worst forms of child labour, which are still a cause for concern in Mali. The Committee also requests the Government to provide the three studies on the worst forms of child labour referred to above once they have been finalized.