THE GAMBIA: UPDATE OF WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR

UNCLAS BANJUL 000592 SIPDIS DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER AND DRL/IL FOR TU DANG SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID GA SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: UPDATE OF WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR INFORMATION FOR MANDATORY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS REFTEL(S): A: SECSTATE 158223 B: 06 BANJUL 0755 ¶1. Embassy Banjul hereby submits its update for reporting requirements on the worst forms of child labor. A) Laws and regulations proscribing the worst forms of child labor: The government of The Gambia ratified ILO Convention 128 in September 2000 and ILO Convention 182 in July 2001. The government in June 2005 passed the Children's Act, which took effect in July ¶2005. The Act embodies the key tenets of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child and contains detailed provisions specifically dealing with the worst forms of child labor, and mandates stiff penalties for offenders, including life imprisonment. The 2007 revised Labor Act incorporates those provisions of the Children's Act pertaining to child labor, though it exempts work that is in a vocational or technical school or other training institution if the work is either approved and supervised by a public authority or is part of the school or institution's educational or vocational training program. The Children's Act defines a child as someone under the age of eighteen. As such, it is prohibited to recruit a child into any branch of the armed forces or security agencies. Though The Gambia is a party to the ILO Minimum Age Convention which sets the minimum age for employment at 14, the Children's Act does not set a statutory minimum age covering all types of work. It does, however, contain provisions that, inter alia, set the minimum age for "light work" at 16, prohibit night work, prohibit hazardous work (defined as that which "poses a danger to the health, safety or morals of a child," and includes: going to sea, mining and quarrying, carrying of heavy loads, work in manufacturing industries where chemicals are produced or used, work in places where machines are used, and work in places such as bars, hotels and places of entertainment where a child may be exposed to immoral behavior),and outlaw any exploitative work (defined as that which "deprives the child of his or her health, education or development"). Guidelines for apprenticeships in the informal sector are also laid out in the Children's Act, which sets the minimum age for an apprentice at 12, or upon completion of basic education. Furthermore, the act requires any employed child to be registered with the Labor Department, and mandates that employers in industrial undertakings must keep a register of employed children, including their dates of birth or apparent age. The 2005 Children's Act also entails the establishment of a Children's Court in each of the five divisions of The Gambia. The first Children's Court was set up in the most urban area, the Western Division, in February 2006. The court has jurisdiction to hear all criminal cases affecting children, apart from the offense of treason where the child is jointly charged with adults. The Children's Act also provides for a special police force that will be specially trained to protect the interests of children. In addition to the detailed provisions of the Children's Act prohibiting child prostitution, trafficking and pornography, the Tourism Offences Act of 2003 also prohibits these actions. The Criminal Code prohibits procuring a girl under 21 years of age for the purposes of prostitution, either in The Gambia or outside of the country. B) Regulations for implementation and enforcement of proscriptions against the worst forms of child labor: The Department of Labor is mandated to handle all labor matters including child labor. Their inspectors are empowered to enter all workplaces to investigate any suspicions or allegations of child labor or other violations of the Labor Act. The government has also set up two Industrial Tribunals in Banjul and Kanifing to hear all labor-related cases, including incidents of child labor. The Children's Court established under the Children's Act is given broad authority to deal with all issues concerning the care and treatment of children, including exploitative child labor. The special children's security forces mandated by the Children's Act are also available to deal with any suspected cases of sexual exploitation of children, pornography or trafficking, though further training is necessary. The Department of Labor, through its Inspectorate Unit, attempts to ensure compliance with child labor standards, though it faces serious resource constraints. Employee labor cards list employee ages with the Labor Commissioner, but enforcement inspections rarely take place. Gambian authorities are also taking steps to deal with sex tourism involving both boys and girls in the country after the publication in 2003 of a joint study conducted by the Child Protection Alliance (CPA) of The Gambia and a Dutch NGO, Terre des Hommes, revealed disturbing evidence of child sex tourism in The Gambia practiced by tourists from a variety of European countries, including the Netherlands. A joint UNICEF/Gambian government study published in December 2003, noted universal agreement that children engaged in prostitution in the main tourist resort areas are predominantly underage, with some as young as 12. The report also revealed that The Gambia has become an attraction for suspected or convicted European pedophiles that enter the country as tourists and "commit their crimes against children silently and with impunity." The study found no overt coercion of children into prostitution. These findings led to the increased monitoring of tourist areas and awareness-raising campaigns targeted at tourists. While the government has taken actions to combat such crimes, and offenders have been convicted in court, the problem has not been eliminated. Pedophiles sometimes exploit the weakness of poverty-stricken families by offering to adopt their children. However, with the enactment of the Children's Act, adoption of Gambian children by non-Gambians is now subject to serious scrutiny by the Department of Social Welfare and the Children's Court, which has heard several cases regarding adoption since its inception in February 2006. Under the Act, there is also a supervision period of thirty-six months by a Social Welfare officer before an adoption will be granted. Furthermore, no order will be made in favor of a sole male applicant with respect to a female or vice versa. Additionally, applicants are now required to submit a criminal record check from their home country as well as a home-study conducted by the foster licensing agency in their country of residence, before an adoption order can be granted. In addition to adoption cases, the Children's Court has also heard cases involving custody, maintenance, parentage, and criminal and "special" matters. The court meets in camera on a weekly basis. The Tourism Security Unit (TSU),which was set up by the government in 2003 to provide security in the tourist resort areas, has been very effective in dealing with cases related to child labor and sexual exploitation of children who roam the hotel areas. In early 2005, the tourism authorities announced a ban on unattended children under 18 visiting the tourism resort areas and ordered hotel managers not to allow any minors on the premises. Those children found in the resort area unaccompanied are remitted to the custody of the Department of Social Welfare. The tourism authorities, the Child Protection Alliance and other NGOs regularly organize workshops to sensitize workers in the tourism industry to problems of child sex tourism. In the greater Banjul area there are a significant number of child street traders who sell a variety of household goods and food items. This practice makes them vulnerable to exploitation. The Department of Social Welfare collaborates with UNICEF and the Christian Children's Fund (CCF) to conduct an ongoing in-depth assessment of child street traders and orphan street children, in an effort to provide them better support. They monitor over 350 street children and conduct sensitizations with the police, market vendors, and others who come into contact with street vendors. A January 2006 report found that most of the children in the study sample were not from the Greater Banjul Area, and 38 percent were from other countries in the sub-region, particularly neighboring Senegal. This indicates the need for a regional approach for the combating the problem of child labor. C) Whether there are social programs specifically deigned to prevent and withdraw children from the worst forms of child labor: The Gambia's Constitution mandates free and compulsory primary education for 9 years, but a lack of resources and educational infrastructure has made implementation difficult. Government statistics show that for the 2006-07 academic year for grades 1-6 (lower basic education),the gross enrollment rate was 92 percent and the net enrollment rate was 75 percent. For grades 7-9 (upper basic education, the gross enrollment rate was 61 percent while the net enrollment rate was 38 percent. The combined basic education gross primary enrollment rate was 82 percent for grades 1-9, and the net primary enrollment rate was 63 percent. Enrollment of girls is low in rural areas where cultural factors and poverty dissuade parents from sending girls to school. Accurate primary school attendance rates are unavailable for The Gambia. While enrollment rates indicate a level of commitment to education, they do not always reflect children's participation in school. In 1998, 69.2 percent of children enrolled in primary school reached grade 5. The primary education completion rate was 53.7 percent, based on 1999 country data. Approximately 15 percent of school-age children attend Qu'ranic schools called "madrasas," which usually have a restricted curriculum. Through its education program, the government has a definite policy to develop young people and empower them with knowledge and skills that will reduce their risk of becoming victims of exploitation. The new Children's Act, the 2007 revised Labor Law, and other existing legislation provide the legal framework to combat the worst forms of child labor. The government began implementing an education initiative in 1998, with USD 20 million in loan support from the World Bank. The project lasted until April 2005 and was intended to increase the gross enrollment rate to 90 percent, improve educational opportunities for girls, strengthen basic education curricula, and improve teacher training. The authorities report that they surpassed their target, achieving a 91 percent enrollment rate a year ahead of the project's completion. The government's education efforts are also supported through a continuing joint project with UNICEF, which began in 2002. In 2002 the government initiated a program that paid the school fees for girls enrolled in grades 7 through 12 in public schools. The program now covers girls around the country, including those in private schools. The government also implements the President's Empowerment of Girls Education project in the Banjul, Western and North Bank regions of the country. In June 2002, the Government of The Gambia became eligible to receive funding from the World Bank and other donors under the Education for All Fast Track Initiative, which aims to provide all children with a primary school education by the year ¶2015. The Angels Trust Fund, which is sponsored by friends of The Gambia in Switzerland, was launched in 2003 to assist needy students from lower basic to senior secondary schools. Initially intended exclusively for girls, the Trust Fund has been extended to include boys. A number of university students have also benefited. The U.S. Embassy in Banjul contributes funds to girl's education through the Education for Development and Democracy Initiative and the Ambassador's Girls Scholarship Fund. In March 2006, the Department of Social Welfare with support from UNICEF and the NGO SOS Kinderdorf launched a certificate and diploma program in social work at the University of The Gambia, the first of its kind in the country. This will allow social workers with local cultural and linguistic knowledge to operate in The Gambia. In July 2006 the Department of Social Welfare opened a shelter for orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in an effort to protect them from being trafficked, though its resources are constrained and a limited number of OVCs can be housed at a given time. In 2007, for example, the shelter took in 15 children who were found attempting to migrate to Spain in a boat. After the department investigated whether they were trafficking victims, the children were returned to their families for reintegration, and Social Welfare continued to monitor them. Nine children currently are using the shelter's facilities, though it can accommodate approximately 100 at a time. A hotline for children's issues is also being used to report cases of suspected abuse. The continuing collaboration on the street children project among the Department of Social Welfare, UNICEF, and CCF also uses the child protection center to provide a range of services to OVCs, such as non-formal and formal education, medical care, counseling services, recreational activities, health education, reunification and reintegration, and outreach services. The program has also established a data system to monitor and track sexual exploitation, and UNICEF has funded the training of data collectors, who will begin their work in November or December 2007. The next phase of the project is to train data collectors in data entry to develop a cohesive database. UNICEF reports that child abuse, neglect, sexual exploitation, and instances of juvenile delinquency--children in conflict with the law--are increasing areas of concern. In an effort to combat these ills, it has included a Rights Promotion and Protection component in its current program of cooperation with the Government of The Gambia. D) Does the country have a comprehensive policy aimed at the elimination of the worst forms of child labor? The Gambia's 2007-2009 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper includes provisions for children's health and basic education, but does not address child labor specifically. The Department of Social Welfare is working to target and assist OVCs, the primary source of child labor. Through a partnership with the CPA, the department has established two child protection committees to take a community monitoring and policing approach to combating child labor and trafficking. Using a local execution plan, the committees will target children in vulnerable situations and raise awareness of the dangers of child exploitation. In April 2007, the GOTG, led by the Department of Social Welfare, launched The Gambia National Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) Plan of Action 2007-2015, which will involve collaboration between government departments and agencies, civil society, and international donors such as UNICEF. This comprehensive plan includes several goals with milestones to be reached by December 2008, including: the development of a policy and legislative framework for the Gambian OVC program; the improvement of the nutritional status of OVCs; the improvement of the health status of OVCs; ensuring access to birth registration and certification for all OVCs; the provision of access to free basic education for all OVCs by 2015; and the provision of psycho-social support services to all OVCs. Implementation of the plan is underway. The government of The Gambia, international donors and agencies, and civil society and youth groups are involved in sensitization programs to alert the public to the dangers of the worst forms of child labor. Child trafficking has been the primary focus of these efforts. For example, the National Trafficking in Persons Taskforce made up of representatives from several government departments and civil society groups, is a government-established group committed to combating human trafficking; however, its effectiveness to date has been hampered by limited resources. In July 2005 the government, in collaboration with foreign donors, organized a Conference on Best Practices to Combat the Trafficking of Children in The Gambia. The one-day conference brought together representatives of international organizations, policy makers, and civil society to analyze the extent of child trafficking in the country and to develop measures to eradicate the violation of children's rights. From August 2006 to June 2007, the Child Protection Alliance, an NGO, broadcast public awareness messages about child trafficking on radio and television as part of an outreach campaign. In November 2006 a UNICEF-funded conference and workshop on trafficking was organized by the Child Rights Unit of the Department of State for Justice. It appears that the amount of attention paid to child trafficking has often exceeded that given to child labor issues in general. E) Is the country making continual progress toward eliminating the worst forms of child labor? No recent child labor data sets are available from the Gambian statistics bureau. The Gambia is making progress toward eliminating the worst forms of child labor, and the government recognizes that further efforts are needed. At the ceremony for the "official launch" of the 2005 Children's Act in December 2006 (though the Act was effective as of July 2005),co-sponsored by UNICEF and the Department of State for Justice, high-level speakers discussed the need for publicizing and popularizing the provisions of the Act. In 2005, UNICEF estimated that 22 percent of children in The Gambia between the ages of 5 and 14 years were working. Children in rural areas primarily work on family farms and assist with housework while many children in urban areas work as street vendors or taxi and bus assistants. Other sectors where children between the ages of 14 and 17 are known to work include: carpentry, sewing, masonry, plumbing, tailoring, and auto mechanics. Many girls in rural areas leave school to work, with some migrating to urban areas seeking domestic or other employment. For cultural and socio-economic reasons, these forms of child labor will be very difficult to eliminate. Any effort at elimination will require sustained government efforts to tackle the root causes of these problems which include, inter alia, poverty, unsustainably large family compositions, lack of easily accessible competitive education facilities and the devaluation of girls' education. The government of The Gambia passed a new Labor Act in October 2007 that was critically examined at validation workshops attended by various stakeholders before being presented to the National Assembly for passage. In 2007, the Department of Social Welfare conducted a comprehensive review of all child-related laws in The Gambia to be used to promote child rights. The department plans to launch a vigorous campaign to reinforce these laws and discuss sexual exploitation and child labor throughout the country. BACHMAN