SENEGAL: INFORMATION ON FORCED LABOR AND CHILD LABOR IN THE

UNCLAS DAKAR 000688 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL/AE AND INR/AA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD SOCI PHUM PGOV PINS KDEM SG SUBJECT: SENEGAL: INFORMATION ON FORCED LABOR AND CHILD LABOR IN THE PRODUCTION OF GOODS REFS: STATE 43120 ¶1. (U) The majority of working children can be found in agriculture, livestock herding, hunting, fishing, domestic service, sewing and weaving activities, transportation, construction, as well as in automobile repair shops, restaurants, and hotels. Children also work in hazardous conditions in rock quarrying and mining. Children are exploited in such activities as begging, forced labor, prostitution, drug trafficking and other illegal activities, recycling of waste and garbage, and slaughtering of animals. ¶2. (U) Senegal's main agricultural products which are generally grown for internal consumption are: peanuts, millet, corn, cassava, beans, melons, rice, cotton, fruit (depending on the season: mangoes, oranges, and mandarins),vegetables (onions, potatoes, tomatoes, yucca, and lettuce) and livestock. The use of talibes (Koranic school students) in the gathering of cashew, mango and orange harvests is widespread in the Casamance region of Senegal. Talibes work all day long for about two dollars in harvesting these products. The adults who employ them in such tasks not only subject them to long hours of work but expose them to the dangers of land mines in the areas of Kandialan near Ziguinchor or Niaguis. ¶3. (U) Children working in the fishing industry mostly come from the Lebou traditional families; however, many fishermen now come from the interior of Senegal and other surrounding countries to fish. Catches include: shark, broadbill, blue martin, catfish, mackerel, tuna, eagle ray, sole, sweetlips, mullet, herring, squid and shellfish, etc. Some inland fishing techniques potentially expose children to explosives. ¶4. (U) Children also work in the collection of steel scraps which they sell them for about six cents a kilo. In the city of Thies it is common to use talibes to collect garbage from homes for a very small fee. These young children often collapse under the heavy loads they carry. ¶5. (U) Child labor in the production of goods is not a major problem in Senegal. Children do work in mechanic garages and fish markets but not in the manufacturing sector where child labor laws are enforced. Children are, however, employed in Senegal's thousands of small tailoring shops and also in small-scale weaving activities, both with yarn and natural fibers. There are also significant problems related to begging by talibs and the use of underage maids. SMITH