Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2011, published 101st ILC session (2012)

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

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clause (a). All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery. 1. Sale and trafficking of children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, although the Government had taken several measures to combat the sale and trafficking of children for the exploitation of their labour, the trafficking of children still constituted a problem in practice, even though it is prohibited by section 244 of the Penal Code and section 63 of the Child Protection Code. It noted that, in the summary prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in accordance with paragraph 15(c) of the Annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1 of 3 April 2008, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) indicated that, even though no statistics are available, Mali is a transit country for the trafficking of women and children, and it therefore recommended that the Malian authorities strictly apply sections 240 et seq. of the Penal Code penalizing the trafficking of children, and that it improve the assistance provided to children who have been victims of trafficking (A/HRC/WG.6/2/MLI/3, paragraphs 13–14). The Committee requested the Government to provide information on the effect given in practice to the provisions respecting the sale and trafficking of children for the exploitation of their labour.

The Committee notes with regret that the Government has not provided any information on this matter in its report. The Committee therefore urges the Government to take immediate measures to ensure in practice the protection of children under 18 years of age against sale and trafficking and to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of offenders are carried out, and that effective and sufficiently dissuasive penalties are imposed. It once again requests the Government to provide information on the effect given in practice to the provisions respecting the sale and trafficking of children for the exploitation of their labour through the provision of statistics on the number of convictions and the penal sanctions imposed.

2. Forced or compulsory labour. Begging. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, according to the 2006 UNICEF report, talibés children originating from neighbouring countries, including Mali, are found on the streets of Dakar, who have been brought to the city by Koranic teachers (marabouts). These children are kept in conditions of servitude and are obliged to beg daily. The Committee also noted that the 2006 UNICEF report refers to the involvement of marabouts in the trafficking of children for the exploitation of young talibé workers from Burkina Faso in the rice fields of Mali. The Committee noted that the Committee on the Rights of the Child, in its concluding observations of May 2007, expressed concern at the vulnerability of children living in the streets or who are engaged in begging, particularly to all forms of violence, sexual abuse and exploitation, as well as economic exploitation (CRC/C/MLI/CO/2, paragraph 62). The Committee noted that section 62 of the Child Protection Code defines begging as a sole or main activity of a dehumanizing nature and an obstacle to the rights of the child. It further noted that section 183 of the Penal Code provides that any person inciting a child to beg shall be liable to a sentence of imprisonment of from three months to one year. However, the Committee noted that, in the report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of Mali of 13 June 2008, the representative of Mali indicated that begging by children in Koranic schools is an infringement of the law (A/HRC/8/50, paragraph 55).

The Committee notes with regret the absence of information on this matter in the Government’s report. The Committee once again observes that, although the legislation is in conformity with the Convention on this point, the phenomenon of child talibés remains a cause for concern in practice. The Committee once again expresses serious concern at the use of these children for purely economic purposes. The Committee once again reminds the Government that, under the terms of Article 1 of the Convention, immediate and effective measures shall be taken to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency and, in accordance with Article 7(1) of the Convention, it shall take all necessary measures to ensure the effective implementation and enforcement of the provisions giving effect to the Convention, including the provision and application of sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions. The Committee urges the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that thorough investigations and robust prosecutions of marabouts who make use of children under 18 years of age for purely economic purposes are carried out and that sufficiently effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed upon them. In this respect, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to reinforce the capacities of the law enforcement agencies. It also requests the Government to take effective and time-bound measures to prevent children under 18 years of age from becoming victims of forced or compulsory labour, such as begging, and to identify child talibés who are compelled to beg and remove them from these situations, while ensuring their rehabilitation and social integration.

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 to examine the question of bringing its legislation into conformity with the Convention and protecting boys from sexual exploitation, and particularly prostitution. The Government indicated 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 No. 01-081). The Committee observed that not only do these provisions fail to prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, but they also appear to punish the children concerned, making them criminally liable for their involvement in prostitution or illicit activities. The Committee observed that children who are used, procured or offered for prostitution are consequently not treated as victims and receive neither support nor protection.

The Committee notes with regret that the Government has not provided any information on this matter in its report. It once again 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 urges 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 noted previously 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. The Government indicated that the measures taken in this respect consisted of the adoption of Act No. 01-081. However, the Committee observed 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.

The Committee notes with regret that the Government has not provided any information on this matter in its report. It once again reminds the Government that, under the terms of Article 1 of the Convention, immediate and effective measures shall be taken to secure the prohibition and elimination of the worst forms of child labour as a matter of urgency. The Committee, therefore, urges the Government to take immediate measures to ensure that the national legislation prohibits the use, procurement or offering of children under 18 years of age for illicit activities, in particular for the production, offering and sale of drugs. It requests the Government to provide information in its next report on any progress achieved in this respect.

Article 5. Monitoring mechanisms. 1. Monitoring committees. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that local monitoring committees (CLV) to combat child labour had been established in the circles of Kangala, Bougouni, Kolondiéba and Koutiala, that 344 monitoring committees are now operational in Mali and that their principal role was to identify potential victims of child trafficking, and to indicate cases in which children are the victims of trafficking and collect and disseminate data on the trafficking of children. Noting the absence of information on this subject in the Government’s report, the Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the number of children who are prevented from becoming victims of trafficking or are removed from trafficking for labour exploitation as a result of the activities of monitoring committees.

2. National Committee to follow-up programmes to combat the trafficking of children. The Committee noted previously the Government’s indications that the National Committee to follow-up programmes to combat the trafficking of children in Mali (CNS) is responsible for evaluating the action taken in the context of the implementation of programmes to combat the trafficking of children, for following the implementation of cooperation agreements signed by Mali to combat the trafficking of children and for learning from the experience acquired in this field in taking responsibility for child victims of trafficking. However, the Government indicated that, since it was established in 2006, the CNS was not operational, thereby creating a gap in the coordination of action to combat the trafficking of children in Mali. To overcome this problem, three meetings had been planned between September and November 2009, during which the programme and action of the CNS were to be determined and the annual work plan for 2010 adopted.

The Committee notes that the Government has not provided any information on this subject in its report. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on the activities carried out by the CNS and their impact on the elimination of the trafficking of children for the exploitation of their labour.

Article 7(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 these worst forms of child labour. Sale and trafficking of children. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that, in the summary prepared by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights in accordance with paragraph 15(c) of the Annex to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1 of 3 April 2008, the FIDH indicated that there are no institutional facilities available in Mali to shelter, offer guidance to or assist young women who have been the victims of trafficking or sexual exploitation (A/HRC/WG.6/2/MLI/3, paragraphs 13–14). It therefore recommended the authorities of Mali to set up care and guidance facilities and to provide assistance for the return of girls who are victims of trafficking.

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that one of the strategic focuses of the National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Mali (PANETEM), adopted in 2010, is the implementation of direct action to combat the worst forms of child labour, including trafficking. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted within the framework of the PANETEM project to prevent children under 18 years of age from becoming victims of sale or trafficking and to remove child victims from this worst form of child labour. It also once again requests the Government to envisage the establishment of care and guidance facilities and the provision of assistance for the return of child victims of trafficking, as recommended by the FIDH, with a view to ensuring their rehabilitation and social integration. The Committee once again requests the Government to provide information on any progress achieved in this regard.

Article 8. Regional cooperation. In its previous comments, the Committee noted that the Government had signed bilateral cooperation agreements on the cross-border trafficking of children with Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea and Senegal. It also noted that, in addition to the Multilateral Cooperation Agreement to Combat Child Trafficking in West Africa, signed in July 2005, Mali had also signed the Abuja Multilateral Cooperation Agreement in 2006. It further noted that, in the context of the ILO–IPEC project to combat the trafficking of children, it was planned to reinforce the application of the bilateral and multilateral treaties signed by Mali. However, the Government indicated that, although the countries which signed agreements with Mali met periodically, they were more dynamic in their activities within the national territory than in terms of mutual international assistance. Indeed, the Committee observed that, in the Report of the Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review of Mali of 13 June 2008, the representative of Mali noted that, with regard to trafficking in children, the main difficulties stemmed from the cross-border nature of the phenomenon (A/HRC/8/50, paragraph 54).

The Committee notes the Government’s indication that the National Cell to Combat Child Labour (CNLTE) represented the Ministry of Labour at the follow up meetings to the Cooperation Agreement to Combat Trans-border Child Trafficking between Mali and Burkina Faso, held in Ouagadougou in March 2009, as well as the meeting between Mali and Guinea, held in Bamako in September 2010. However, it observes that the Government has not provided any information on the number of child victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation or for labour who have been protected through the implementation of the multilateral agreements signed by Mali, or on the arrests that have been made as a result of the concerted action of the national border police. In view of the importance of trans-border trafficking in the country, the Committee urges the Government to take practical and effective measures for the implementation of the multilateral agreements signed in 2005 and 2006, particularly through the establishment of a system for the exchange of information to facilitate the discovery of child trafficking networks and the arrest of persons working in these networks. It also requests the Government to provide information on the outcome of the follow-up meetings held in Ouagadougou in 2009 and Bamako in 2010.

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