1. Child Labor in Benin

In 1998, the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that 27 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 14 in Benin were working.¹⁶³ Most working children in Benin are found in rural areas where they work on family farms, in small businesses, and in commercial agriculture, particularly in the cotton sector.¹⁶⁴ Children also work in the construction industry, as domestic servants, and as street vendors.¹⁶⁵ Anti-Slavery International estimated that in 1998, approximately 150,000 children worked as domestic servants in Benin.¹⁶⁶ According to a 1998 UNICEF report, approximately 19 percent of the children it surveyed who worked as domestic servants were under 10 years old, approximately 72 percent were between the ages of 10 and 14, and approximately 8 percent were older than 14 years of age.¹⁶⁷

Trafficking of children for exploitative labor also occurs in Benin. The country is reportedly a supplier, a recipient, and a country of transit for trafficked children. In 1998, Benin’s police force intercepted 1,058 children being trafficked from Benin, and in 1999, intercepted another 670 children being trafficked.¹⁶⁸ According to press reports, in some villages targeted by organized child traffickers, up to 51 percent of the children in the 6 to 16 age group had been trafficked.¹⁶⁹ In one village, 72 percent of households had at least one child working abroad.¹⁷⁰ Children are trafficked from Benin primarily to work in agriculture or as domestic servants.¹⁷¹

In many cases, domestic trafficking of children involves poor rural families placing a child (typically a daughter) in the home of a wealthier family, a practice known as vidomegon.¹⁷² While the traditional practice of vidomegon is not abusive, the custom often degenerates into exploitation of these children.¹⁷³ More than 20 percent of the children involved in this practice are less than 10 years of age and more than 90 percent have never been in school.¹⁷⁴

In 1996, the gross primary attendance rate was 67.1 percent, and the net primary attendance rate was 43.6 percent.¹⁷⁵ For the same year, the gross primary enrollment rate was 77.6 percent, and the net primary enrollment rate was 67.6 percent.¹⁷⁶ There are differences in both attendance and enrollment rates between boys and girls. In 1996, the gross primary attendance rate for boys was 83.7 percent compared to 49.8 percent for girls, and the net primary attendance rate for boys was 52.5 percent compared to 34.4 percent for girls.¹⁷⁷ The primary gross and net enrollment rates in 1996 were also much higher for boys than for girls.¹⁷⁸ Since 1990 primary school enrollment rates have increased. The increase in enrollment since 1990 has coincided with a rise in the student-teachers ratio from 36 in 1990 to 53 in 1997.¹⁷⁹ Repetition rates in Benin are also high. In 1997, 25 percent of children in primary school were enrolled in the same grade as they had been in the previous year.¹⁸⁰

In 1990, the Government of Benin conducted a nationwide survey of educational efficiency and found a shortage of qualified teachers, insufficient teaching materials, teacher support and training, and incomplete, outmoded and poorly organized curricula.¹⁸¹

Benin’s Labor Code prohibits employment or apprenticeship of children younger than 14 years of age in any enterprise.¹⁸² The Government of Benin has also taken steps to address trafficking of children. In 1995, the Government of Benin passed Decree No 95-191 that established several regulations for issuing authorizations for minors (anyone under the age of 18) to leave the country. Under this decree, any adult wishing to exit the country with a minor must request permission in writing from the regional authority and must have a recommendation from the chief of a village or the mayor of a community.¹⁸³

Generally, the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs is responsible for the protection of labor rights, including enforcement of child labor laws.¹⁸⁴ Laws against trafficking are reportedly enforced sporadically in Benin. Access to courts and police, and the imposition of penalties against traffickers, tend to vary by district.¹⁸⁵

Benin ratified International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention No. 138 on Minimum Age for Employment in June 2001, and ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor on November 6, 2001.¹⁸⁶

In 1994, the Government of Benin implemented a national study on child labor and exploitation, and in 1996 signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the International Labor Organization’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC).¹⁸⁷ With ILO-IPEC support, Benin launched a national program of action to prevent children from entering the labor market; improve the conditions of work for some children as a first step toward the elimination of child labor; raise awareness among children, parents, employers and the public at large about the dangers of child labor; and abolish child labor in hazardous activities.¹⁸⁸

In January 1997, Benin’s Ministry of Justice created a program for the Judicial Protection of the Child to monitor juvenile justice cases and carry out research on how to draft legislation that protects children’s rights. The program has been involved in creating a national databank on trafficking in children, monitoring legal cases that involve trafficking in children, and revising legislation on trafficking. The program receives financial support and resources from nongovernmental and international organizations such as UNICEF.¹⁸⁹

Since October 1984, there has been an agreement between Ghana, Benin, Nigeria and Togo, to facilitate the return of children being trafficked and the extradition of traffickers.¹⁹⁰ In December 1999, Benin’s Ministry of Social Protection and Family established a unit for Family and Childhood to combat displacement and trafficking in children. The unit is supported in part by UNICEF within the framework of the program of social development aid. The effort aims to create regional crisis centers to assist children throughout the country.¹⁹¹

In 1982, Benin’s Ministry of the Interior and Public Security established the Task Force on the Protection of Minors (Brigade de Protection des Mineurs) to prevent the “maladjustment” of minors and to conduct research on criminal offenses committed by children under 18.¹⁹² The task force works with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to reintegrate intercepted victims of trafficking into their families and operates a telephone hotline for reporting violations of children’s rights.¹⁹³

In August 1999, Benin joined eight other countries involved in the first phase of the ILO- IPEC regional project to combat trafficking of children for exploitative labor in West and Central Africa, funded by the U.S. Department of Labor. The project included assessments of the trafficking problem in the nine countries, including Benin, and a subregional report synthesizing the main findings. Efforts were also made to channel identified children to NGOs providing social protection and support services for victims of trafficking. A second phase of this project, also funded by the U.S. Department of Labor, began in July 2001 and provides rehabilitation services for children who are victims of trafficking, awareness-raising about trafficking, local capacity-building efforts to address the problem, and initiatives to enhance regional cooperation to address trafficking among the nine participating countries.¹⁹⁴

A UNICEF-supported project, entitled the “Project on Children in Need of Special Protection,” seeks to raise awareness about trafficking of children and the hazards faced by children who are trafficked. In addition to advocating for children’s rights as defined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, the project has established eight education centers for girls involved in domestic service and provided assistance to help women access loans for income-generating activities.¹⁹⁵ UNICEF programs to address trafficking of children have also established local committees in rural areas to address trafficking, have used radio and television broadcasts to raise awareness and have supported NGOs that facilitate the reintegration of trafficking children.¹⁹⁶

Many NGOs also conduct programs to combat child trafficking. Some of their activities include providing training material for teachers on child trafficking and on awareness-raising methods they can use in the community; follow-up on children arrested by the police; reintegration and monitoring of victims of trafficking; and sensitization for parents about trafficking.¹⁹⁷

According to Article 13 of the Constitution of Benin, education is free and compulsory for children between the ages of 6 and 11.¹⁹⁸

The Government of Benin has been working with the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), and other international organizations to reform its education sector since 1991.¹⁹⁹ The reform initiatives have allocated increased public spending for primary education and improved institutional capacity for educational planning, management, and accountability. Education decision-making is being decentralized to communities and local governments.²⁰⁰ UNICEF is also active, through its “Project on Children in Need of Special Protection,” in promoting girls’ access to education in Benin.²⁰¹

Benin’s Ministry of National Education has supported in-service teacher training to improve teacher capacity, while institutional reforms have allowed teachers to be paid regularly since 1990. Between 1990 and 1994, the number of teachers with professional qualifications rose by 10 percent, teacher training was revamped, and new curricula were developed and tested.²⁰² The Ministry of National Education has also undertaken efforts to define standards for the provision of basic quality schooling and educational budget management.²⁰³

In 1995, total government spending on education as a percentage of gross national product (GNP) was 3.2 percent.²⁰⁴ In the years from 1994 to 1997, government spending on primary education as a percentage of GNP has ranged from between 1.23 and 1.35 percent.²⁰⁵ In 1997, government expenditure on education comprised approximately 15 percent of total government expenditures.²⁰⁶

The following bar chart presents selected government expenditures expressed as a percentage of GNP. The chart considers government expenditures on education, the military, health care, and debt service. Where figures are available, the portion of government spending on education that is specifically dedicated to primary education is also shown. 207

While it is difficult to draw conclusions or discern clear correlations between areas of government expenditure as a percentage of GNP and the incidence of child labor in a country, this chart and the related tables presented in Appendix B (Tables 14 through 19) offer the reader a basis for considering the relative emphasis placed on each spending area by the governments in each of the 33 countries profiled in the report.

207 See Chapter 1, Section C, 5 for a fuller discussion of the information presented in the box. See also Appendix B for further discussion, and Tables 14 through 19 for figures on government expenditure over a range of years.

¹⁶³ World Bank, World Development Indicators 2000 [CD-ROM] (Washington, D.C., 2000) [hereinafter World Development Indicators 2000].

¹⁶⁴ Internationally Recognized Core Labor Standards in Benin: Report for the WTO [World Trade Organization] General Council Review of the Trade Policies of Benin (Geneva: International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, September 15, 1997), 2. See also U.S. Embassy-Cotonou, unclassified telegram no. 02319, September 15, 2000.

¹⁶⁵ Trade Union World, “Benin: The Cotton Scandal,” no. 3 (November 1997), 7.

¹⁶⁶ SC&D News, Social Change and Development, vol. 10 (Winter): 1 [hereinafter SC&D News ].

¹⁶⁷ UNICEF, “The Issue of Child Domestic Labor and Trafficking in West and Central Africa,” as cited in “The Worst Forms of Child Labor: Country-Wise Data, October 2000,” July 1998 (New Delhi: The Global March Against Child Labour, 2000).

¹⁶⁸ “Combating the Trafficking of Children for Labour Exploitation in West and Central Africa (Phase II): Benin Country Annex” (ILO-IPEC 2000), 2 [hereinafter “Combating the Trafficking of Children”].

¹⁶⁹ “Benin Sourcing Children for Labour, Says Report,” Africa News Service, July 15, 2000 (www.allAfrica.com/ stories/200007170044.html).

¹⁷⁰ Ibid.

¹⁷¹ Ibid.

¹⁷² SC&D News .

¹⁷³ “Combating the Trafficking of Children.”

¹⁷⁴ SC&D News .

¹⁷⁵ USAID, GED 2000: Global Education Database [CD-ROM], Washington, D.C., 2000 [hereinafter Global Education Database 2000 ].

¹⁷⁶ World Development Indicators 2000.

¹⁷⁷ Global Education Database 2000.

¹⁷⁸ In 1996, the primary gross enrollment rate for boys was 98.1 percent compared to 57.1 percent of girls. The net primary enrollment rate in 1996 was 80 percent for boys, and 47.4 percent for girls. See World Development Indicators 2000.

¹⁷⁹ Ibid.

¹⁸⁰ Ibid.

¹⁸¹ USAID Basic Education Programs in Africa—Benin Country Profile (www.usaid.gov/regions/afr/basiced/ mali.html); cited August 14, 2001.

¹⁸² 17 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State, 2000), 6d [hereinafter Country Reports 1999—Benin ].

¹⁸³ This decree also requires that emigrants indicate the motive of their journey, the identity of the person accompanying the minor, as well as the identity of the tutor (who will provide the minor with the requisite level of education) in the country of destination. A security deposit, on a special bank account of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, is also required. This deposit is reimbursed as soon as the child returns to Benin. Otherwise, it can be used for the repatriation of the child.

¹⁸⁴ Country Reports 1999—Benin at Section 5.

¹⁸⁵ Combating the Trafficking of Children for Labour Exploitation in West and Central Africa: Synthesis Report, Benin (Côte d’Ivoire: ILO-IPEC, 2000) [hereinafter Synthesis Report, Benin ].

¹⁸⁶ For a list of which countries profiled in Chapter 3 have ratified ILO Conventions No. 138 and No. 182, see Appendix C.

¹⁸⁷ Synthesis Report, Benin .

¹⁸⁸ Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Benin , U.N. Document No. CRC/C/15/ Add.106 (Geneva: United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child, 1999), 2.

¹⁸⁹ Combating the Trafficking of Children at 3.

¹⁹⁰ According to this agreement, if, for example, the Beninese police intercept a convoy of Togolese children being trafficked through Benin to Nigeria or Gabon, the Togolese police should be informed and the children returned.

¹⁹¹ Combating the Trafficking of Children at 3.

¹⁹² Synthesis Report, Benin .

¹⁹³ Ibid.

¹⁹⁴ Combating the Trafficking of Children at 3-4.

¹⁹⁵ UNICEF, “Background: Protecting Children from Trafficking” (www.unicefusa.org/ct/background_2.html); cited October 30, 2001 [hereinafter “Protecting Children from Trafficking”].

¹⁹⁶ Combating the Trafficking of Children at 3-4.

¹⁹⁷ Ibid at 4.

¹⁹⁸ Synthesis Report, Benin .

¹⁹⁹ USAID Basic Education Programs in Africa—Benin Country Profile (www.usaid.gov/regions/afr/basiced/ mali.html), August 14, 2001 [hereinafter USAID—Benin Country Profile].

²⁰⁰ Ibid.

²⁰¹ “Protecting Children from Trafficking.”

²⁰² USAID—Benin Country Profile.

²⁰³ Ibid.

²⁰⁴ United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Institute for Statistics [CD- ROM], Education for All: Year 2000 Assessment—A Decade of Education, Country Report, Benin (Paris, 2000) [hereinafter Education for All: Year 2000 Assessment—Benin ].

²⁰⁵ Ibid.

²⁰⁶ United Nations Development Program (UNDP), Human Development Report 2000 (New York: Oxford University Press, 2000).