Report on Child Labor and Forced Labor

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 ABIDJAN 000053 SIPDIS DOL/ILAB FOR LAYLA STROTKAMP, RACHEL RIGBY, AND TINA MCCARTER DRL/ILCSR FOR SARAH MORGAN G/TIP FOR LUIS CDEBACA. E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB EAGR EIND ETRD ECON PHUM SOCI KTIP IV SUBJECT: Report on Child Labor and Forced Labor REF: A) 09 STATE 131997; B) 08 STATE 43120; C) 08 ABIDJAN 366 D) 09 ABIDJAN 36; E) 09 ABIDJAN 457 ¶1. In response to ref A and in accordance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act (TVPRA) of 2005 and the Trade and Development Act (TDA) of 2000, post provides the following information on child labor and forced labor in Cote d'Ivoire. -------------- TVPRA -------------- ¶2. In a June 2008 response to the Department's request for information related to the TVPRA (ref B),post reported on relevant labor issues in the production of a number of commodities: cocoa, coffee, rubber, palm oil, commercial fruit (primarily bananas, pineapples, and papayas),rice, cotton, diamonds, gold, and fish (ref C). Subsequently, post submitted additional information related to labor in gold mining (ref D). ¶3. In September 2009, the Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor Affairs (ILAB) placed Ivoirian cocoa and coffee appear on the TVPRA list. Therefore, per ref A instructions, this cable does not address labor issues in the cocoa or coffee sector as they relate to TVPRA. ¶4. In order to develop more information on other Ivoirian goods that post believes might be produced by forced labor or child labor in violation of international standards, post consulted with representatives of the following organizations: the International Labor Organization's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC),the International Organization for Migration (IOM),Save the Children UK, the International Cocoa Initiative Foundation (ICI),the Ministry of Agriculture, and the Payson Center for International Development at Tulane University (which, under a U.S. Department of Labor contract, researches and reports on child-labor issues in the Ivoirian and Ghanaian cocoa sectors) ¶5. Based on these discussions, post does not believe there have been any significant changes in labor practices or government response to them since post's submission of ref C in June 2008. Additionally, we are unaware of any publications or studies of child labor or forced labor in the production of any Ivoirian commodities--with the exception of cocoa-- since 2007. In fact, there is a general dearth of information on labor practices in any sector of the Ivoirian economy other than cocoa. -------------- TDA -------------- ¶6. In response to ref A, post provides the following information with regard to TDA. Post's responses are keyed to ref A outline. 2A) PREVALENCE AND SECTORAL DISTRIBUTION OF EXPLOITIVE CHILD LABOR: ¶1. In what sectors (not related to the production of goods) were children involved in exploitive labor (such as domestic ABIDJAN 00000053 002 OF 010 service, street vending, and/or child prostitution)? Children worked in the informal sector as apprentices, laborers, shoe shiners, porters, street vendors, and car washers or watchers. Boys were sometimes employed to assist with trash collection and removal, and young girls were commonly employed as domestic servants in private homes. There were reports that some minors engaged in child prostitution for survival. ¶2. Since DOL uses standardized data in its reporting, Posts are not requested to obtain child labor or education statistics. However, Posts are requested to determine if the government collected or published data on exploitive child labor during the period, and, if so, whether the government would provide the data set to DOL for further analysis. The Ministry of Labor is currently compiling data collected by the Ivoirian National Institute of Statistics for a report it will publish on all activities implemented by the government, NGOs, and other partners on child trafficking and child labor for the 2000-2009 period. The report will also feature recommendations for 2010-2013. Ministry of Labor representatives had not yet decided on whether the data set would be shared with outside partners; however, in the past, official reports have been made available to interested parties. 2B) LAWS AND REGULATIONS: Please answer the following questions using the standards provided in paras 27 and 28. Please note that, with the exception of newly enacted laws, DOL is not requesting information on the laws and regulations themselves (in most cases DOL already has these),but rather for post's analysis and evaluation of adequacy, improvement over time, and gaps. This is a key change from DOL taskings in previous years. ¶1. What new laws or regulations were enacted in regard to exploitive child labor over the past year? If applicable, were the changes improvements in the legal and regulatory framework? There were no new laws or regulations enacted in regard to exploitive child labor over the past year. ¶2. Based on the standards in paras 27 and 28, was the country/territory's legal and regulatory framework adequate for addressing exploitive child labor? Examples of indicators of an inadequate framework include instances in which children have been found working in hazardous conditions, but the sector in which they were working is exempted from minimum age laws; cases in which boys are being exploited as prostitutes, but the law only prohibits female prostitution; or cases in which there are prohibitions against exploitive child labor, but penalties are too weak to serve as deterrents. The country's legal and regulatory framework is inadequate for addressing exploitive child labor, as there are no specific laws which prohibit child trafficking or the worst forms of child labor. A draft law intended to prohibit these abuses was submitted to the National Assembly for adoption in April 2002. However, the law was not adopted before a failed coup d'etat-turned-rebellion split the country in half in September 2002. The draft bill continues to remain stalled at the Council of Ministers, which must review it before the National Assembly votes on it; furthermore, the National Assembly's mandate expired in 2005. 2C) INSTITUTIONS AND MECHANISMS FOR ENFORCEMENT- hazardous child labor and forced child labor: Posts are requested to answer the ABIDJAN 00000053 003 OF 010 following questions for both hazardous child labor and forced child labor (see definitions, paras 24 and 25). Posts are requested to respond with two distinct sections (i.e., Post should answer all questions one time for "hazardous child labor" and one time for "forced child labor"). Responses regarding hazardous child labor should be entitled "2C, Section I: Hazardous child labor," with responses numbered 1-14. Responses regarding forced child labor should be entitled "2C, Section II: Forced Child Labor," with responses numbered 1-14. If information about enforcement activities is from a period other than 2009, please indicate the time period to which the data refers. In cases where information is not available, please indicate whether the government does not collect/maintain the information or whether information is maintained but the government was unwilling to provide it. ¶1. What agency or agencies was/were responsible for the enforcement of laws relating to hazardous child/forced child labor? The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior are the two primary ministries responsible for enforcing laws related to hazardous and forced child labor. ¶2. If multiple agencies were responsible for enforcement, were there mechanisms for exchanging information? Assess their effectiveness. Both the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Interior are members of the National Committee against Trafficking and Exploitation of Children, which was created in 2000 and serves as a coordinating body among the nine ministries working on enforcing child protection measures, including protecting children from hazardous labor and forced labor. As many of these ministries have their own cell or office dedicated to combating the worst forms of child labor and child trafficking, they tend to work on projects within their own ministry, rather than taking them to the National Committee for inter-ministry action. The National Committee is currently suffering from a lack of strong leadership: despite its mandate to meet a minimum of three times per calendar year, the committee has not met since June 2008. ¶3. Did the country/territory maintain a mechanism for making complaints about hazardous and forced child labor violations? If so, how many complaints were received in the reporting period? Legally established companies may raise issues of child labor with government inspectors when they visit - usually once per year. There are no labor inspectors solely dedicated to addressing child labor. ¶4. What amount of funding was provided to agencies responsible for inspections? Was this amount adequate? Did inspectors have sufficient office facilities, transportation, fuel, and other necessities to carry out inspections? The Ministry of Labor spent 92 million CFA (approximately $204,000) on inspections in 2009. Ministry of Labor representatives reported that the amount was inadequate: many inspectors did not have a means of transportation they could use to visit inspection sites. Out of 29 inspection offices, only 10 had vehicles. Sometimes, these vehicles could not be used, because no money was budgeted for fuel. Office facilities in the government-controlled south were in disrepair; many offices in the former rebel zone (which is still de facto controlled by the Forces Nouvelles) need to be rebuilt. ¶5. How many inspectors did the government employ? Was the number of inspectors adequate? ABIDJAN 00000053 004 OF 010 The government employs 200 inspectors, all of whom report to the Ministry of Labor. Although regional labor inspectors routinely visit legally established companies at least once a year, no labor inspectors are solely dedicated to addressing child labor. ¶6. How many inspections involving child labor were carried out? If possible, please provide breakdown of complaint-driven versus random, government-initiated inspections. Were inspections carried out in sectors in which children work? Was the number of inspections adequate? In 2009, 1,549 inspections were carried out. With the exception of agro-industry, no inspections were specifically carried out in the agricultural sector, a sector which is reportedly the most likely to employ child labor. In all of these inspections, the child labor aspect was considered. ¶7. How many children were removed/assisted as a result of inspections? Were these children actually provided or referred for services as a result (as opposed to simply fired)? The Ministry of Labor did not have statistics on how many children were removed and/or assisted as a result of labor inspections. Ministry representatives said that some children working as domestic servants were removed from employment by labor inspectors and referred for services. In these cases, the Ministry of Labor reported that these children also received compensation for their work. ¶8. How many child labor cases or "prosecutions" were opened? The Ministry of Justice does not maintain any statistics on legal cases. ¶9. How many child labor cases were closed or resolved? Please see Question 8. ¶10. How many violations were found or "convictions" reached? Please see Question 8. ¶11. What is the average length of time it took to resolve child labor cases? As Cote d'Ivoire has no law penalizing either hazardous or forced child labor, there is no history of cases available to determine an average length of time in which child labor cases were resolved. ¶12. In cases in which violations were found, were penalties actually applied, either through fines paid or jail sentence served? Did such sentences meet penalties established in the law? ABIDJAN 00000053 005 OF 010 Please see Question 11. ¶13. Did the experience regarding questions 7 through 10 above reflect a commitment to combat exploitive child labor? Cote d'Ivoire has prepared a draft law intended to prohibit the worst forms of child labor, including hazardous labor and forced labor, which it submitted to the National Assembly for adoption in April 2002. The draft bill continues to remain stalled at the Council of Ministers. ¶14. Did government offer any training for investigators or others responsible for enforcement? If so, what (if any) impact have these trainings had? Although the Ministry of Family ordinarily works with international NGOs to provide training on trafficking to police, this year, there were no training sessions for law enforcement. The International Cocoa Initiative paired with the Ministry of Justice to train 25 judges on prosecuting traffickers in March of 2009. 2D) INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS FOR EFFECTIVE ENFORCEMENT- child trafficking, commercial sexual exploitation of children, use of children in illicit activities: Because agencies responsible for enforcement of other worst forms of child labor are usually police units, Ministries of Justice or related Ministries rather than labor inspectorates, Posts are requested to answer questions 1-13 below for child trafficking; commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) - such as prostitution, pornography, etc.; and the use of children in illicit activities. Posts are requested to respond with three distinct sections (i.e. Post should answer all questions one time for "child trafficking," one time for "CSEC," and one time for "the use of children in illicit activities (use of children).") Each section should be entitled as follows and include responses to each question: "2D, Section I: Child trafficking," responses 1-13; "2D, Section II: Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children," responses 1-13, and "2D, Section III: Use of Children in Illicit Activities," responses 1-13. Note that all answers below are provided for trafficking cases only. Cote d'Ivoire, which has spotty law enforcement statistics, only keeps some statistics on trafficking cases. CSEC and children in illicit activities are not categories that the government uses or keeps statistics on. ¶1. Did the country/territory have agencies or personnel dedicated to enforcement of child trafficking/CSEC/use of children in illicit activities? How many investigators/social workers/dedicated police officers did the government employ to conduct investigations? If there were no dedicated agencies or personnel, provide an estimate of the number of people who were responsible for such investigations. Was the number of investigators adequate? Cote d'Ivoire's Ministry of Interior operates an Anti-Trafficking Unit within the National Police. There is no cell specifically dedicated to CSEC or children in illicit activities. Within the Anti-Trafficking Unit, there are four full-time police officers and one police chief who investigate cases. The police are assisted by two social workers. The police chief of the Anti-Trafficking Unit said neither the number of investigations, nor the number of personnel is adequate to properly investigate cases. He believes that a minimum of 25 staff members should be dedicated to anti-trafficking efforts. ¶2. How much funding was provided to agencies responsible for investigating child trafficking/CSEC/use of children in illicit ABIDJAN 00000053 006 OF 010 activities? Was this amount adequate? Did investigators have sufficient office facilities, transportation, fuel, and other necessities to carry out investigations? In 2009, the Anti-Trafficking Unit received approximately 8,000 Euros in funding from Interpol to carry out an anti-trafficking raid in the southwest of the country. However, the money barely covered necessities such as transportation arrangements for the police squad and food for the children who were intercepted during the raid. Investigators had no office facilities, computers, printers, cameras, vehicles or fuel to properly conduct the raid. The office received no other funds in 2009. ¶3. Did the country/territory maintain a hotline or other mechanism for reporting child trafficking/CSEC/use of children in illicit activities violations? If so, how many complaints were received in the reporting period? No official government hotline exists to report cases of child trafficking/CSEC/or use of children in illicit activities. Only the Abidjan branch of the International Catholic Office for Children (BICE),an international NGO headquartered in Europe, operates a free hotline the public can call to report cases of child abuse. ¶4. How many investigations were opened in regard to child trafficking/CSEC/use of children in illicit activities? Was the number of investigations adequate? The Anti-Trafficking Unit reported 19 trafficking cases in 2009. Only two of these cases were referred to the Ministry of Justice. Police commonly state that the number of investigations is inadequate, and they could catch more traffickers if more staff and resources were made available. ¶5. How many children were rescued as a result? Four children suspected of being trafficked were intercepted by police in June 2009 and referred to BICE for care and repatriation. Twenty children suspected of being trafficked were rescued in the June 2009 Interpol-funded raid. Fifteen of these children were referred to the German development agency GTZ; five were reunited with their parents. ¶6. How many arrests were made or other kinds of prosecutions carried out? According to the Anti-Trafficking Unit, police arrested 19 persons in conjunction with trafficking-related cases and two people were sentenced to jail. ¶7. How many cases were closed or resolved? Currently, post is not aware of any closed or resolved cases. ¶8. How many convictions? Post was not able to obtain any statistics on convictions before the February 1 deadline for this report, as the Ministry of Justice ABIDJAN 00000053 007 OF 010 must call all 25 legal jurisdictions and ask them to review all 2009 legal case files for trafficking cases. We are following up on the two traffickers reportedly sentenced to jail time. ¶9. Did sentences imposed meet standards established in the legal framework? Not applicable. There is no law prohibiting trafficking or child labor. ¶10. Were sentences imposed actually served? Not applicable. ¶11. What is the average length of time it takes to resolve cases of child trafficking/CSEC/use of children in illicit activities? As Cote d'Ivoire has no law penalizing child trafficking, there is no history of cases available to determine an average length of time in which these cases were resolved. ¶12. Did the government offer any training for investigators or others responsible for enforcement of child trafficking/CSEC/use of children in illicit activities? If so, what was the impact (if any) of these trainings? On June 12 and 13, the government conducted an evaluation workshop on child trafficking and the worst forms of child labor for defense and security forces working at checkpoints in Daloa, Dimbokro, Divo, Gagnoa, Guiglo, San Pedro, and Yamoussoukro. ¶13. If the country/territory experienced armed conflict during the reporting period or in the recent past involving the use of child soldiers, what actions were taken to penalize those responsible? Were these actions adequate or meaningful given the situation? Not applicable. In 2007, Cote d'Ivoire was removed from the list of countries featured in the UN Secretary General's Report on Children in Armed Conflict. 2E) GOVERNMENT POLICIES ON CHILD LABOR: ¶1. Did the government have a policy or plan that specifically addresses exploitive child labor? Please describe. The Ivoirian government adopted the National Action Plan against Child Trafficking and the Worst Forms of Child Labor in September ¶2007. Developed by the Ministry of Family and the Ministry of Labor, the National Action Plan is based on five key objectives: a) reinforcing the judicial and legal mechanisms related to trafficking and the worst forms of child labor; b) conducting a series of studies to determine the extent and nature of the problem; c) reinforcing and improving prevention activities; d) improving the reinsertion and repatriation of child victims; and e) reinforcing human, material, and financial resources dedicated to combating the worst forms of child labor and child trafficking. ABIDJAN 00000053 008 OF 010 ¶2. Did the country/territory incorporate exploitive child labor specifically as an issue to be addressed in poverty reduction, development, educational or other social policies, such as Poverty Reduction Strategy Papers, etc? Please describe. The January 2009 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) for Cote d'Ivoire discusses four priority areas the government needs to address in order to reduce poverty. Under the third priority, "well-being for all," the PRSP recommended improvements in the protection and re-integration of vulnerable children, including those who are victims of child labor, exploitation, and trafficking and encouraged the government to provide the necessary financial resources to implement the National Action Plan. ¶3. Did the government provide funding to the plans described above? Please describe the amount and whether it was sufficient to carry out the planned activities. The National Action Plan calls for 3,490,000,000 FCFA (approximately $7.75 million) in funds to implement its objectives. However, the government has not yet made this money available to implementing partners so that work can begin. ¶4. Did the government provide non-monetary support to child labor plans? Please describe. The government was heavily reliant for NGOs for training and expertise and provided little non-monetary support, with the exception of staff time, to child labor plans. ¶5. Provide any additional information about the status and effectiveness of the government's policies or plans during the reporting period in regard to exploitive child labor. In 2009, the government continued existing programs against exploitive child labor. Additionally, it launched a program to remediate child labor in the cocoa sector (ref E). ¶6. Did the government participate in any commissions or task forces regarding exploitive child labor? Was the commission active and/or effective? In 2009 the GOCI joined with the Government of Ghana to create a joint working group to address child labor in the cocoa sector. The group has made progress in addressing technical and statistical issues with regard to measurement of the problem. ¶7. Did the government sign a bilateral, regional or international agreement to combat trafficking? In July 2005, Cote d'Ivoire signed the Multilateral Cooperation Agreement to Combat Child Trafficking in West Africa with nine other countries in the region. The agreement calls for cross-border cooperation in the investigation of child trafficking networks and the prosecution of traffickers. 2F) SOCIAL PROGRAMS TO ELIMINATE OR PREVENT CHILD LABOR: ABIDJAN 00000053 009 OF 010 ¶1. Did the government implement any programs specifically to address the worst forms of child labor? Please describe. (Please note that DOL will not consider anti-poverty, education or other general child welfare programs to be addressing exploitive child labor unless they have a child labor component.) Yes, the GOCI launched its child-labor remediation program in the cocoa sector. Under this program, the GOCI provides a package of services and infrastructure improvements to targeted villages in the cocoa-growing regions of the country. GOCI officials report that they have begun work in ten cocoa villages and intend to complete work in an additional 20 villages in the near term. ¶2. Did the country/territory incorporate child labor specifically as an issue to be addressed in poverty reduction, development, educational or other social programs, such as conditional cash transfer programs or eligibility for school meals, etc? Please describe. Post is not aware of any such efforts. ¶3. Did the government provide funding to the programs described above? Please describe amount and whether it was sufficient to carry out the planned activities. The GOCI used funding from taxes and fees on cocoa exports to fund the child-labor eradication program in the cocoa sector. The package of services and infrastructure services in each village is valued at approximately USD 60,000. GOCI officials have assured post that funding is available for the 30 villages that have been selected for the program to date. ¶4. Did the government provide non-monetary support to child labor programs? Please describe. The GOCI has devoted a great deal of staff time to the cocoa child-labor issues, in accordance with the Harkin-Engel Protocol. ¶5. Provide any additional information about the status and effectiveness of the government's activities during the reporting period in relation to the programs described above. If the programs involved government provision of social services to children at risk of or involved in exploitive child labor, please describe and assess the effectiveness of these services. Post has no information on the effectiveness of the cocoa child-labor remediation plan. ¶6. If the government signed one or more bilateral, regional or international agreement/s to combat trafficking, what steps did it take to implement such agreement/s? Did the agreement/s result in tangible improvements? If so, please describe. Under the 2005 Multilateral Cooperation Agreement to Combat Child Trafficking in West Africa, the Ivoirian government pledged itself to a number of anti-trafficking resolutions agreed to by all nine signatory West African nations. However, most of the pledges remain unimplemented. As NGOs often point out, the Ivoirian government is quick to ratify agreements, but extremely slow to apply international standards. The resulting gap between international norms and the national reality is a source of serious human rights violations, according to the 2008 Annual Human Rights Report prepared by the National Human Rights Commission of Cote ABIDJAN 00000053 010 OF 010 d'Ivoire. 2G) CONTINUAL PROGRESS: ¶1. Considering the information provided to the questions above, please provide an assessment of whether, overall, the government made progress in regard to combating exploitive child labor during the reporting period. In making this assessment, please indicate whether there has been an increase or decrease from previous years in inspections/investigations, prosecutions, and convictions; funding for child labor elimination policies and programs; and any other relevant indicators of government commitment. The GOCI's new cocoa child-labor remediation program is a significant step forward. It represents a clear plan to address this important, high-visibility issue. Given the GOCI's difficult fiscal situation and the priority the GOCI is placing on holding presidential elections, however, the Government's ability to fund programs for the protection of vulnerable children is limited. However, the GOCI has partnered with GTZ, UNICEF, other international organizations, and the private sector to address child-labor issues and to provide more services for vulnerable children. STANLEY