Selected Child Labor Measures Adopted by Governments
| Ratified ILO Convention 138 3/11/2002 |
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| Ratified ILO Convention 182 7/14/2000 |
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| ILO-IPEC Member |
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| National Plan for Children |
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| National Child Labor Action Plan |
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| Sector Action Plan (trafficking) |
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Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
The ILO estimated that 49.8 percent of children ages 10 to 14 years in Mali were working in 2002.[2552] Children carry out household or field work, including activities such as cleaning, carrying water, and tending to animals starting at a young age.[2553] Children are found working in the agricultural sector, in mining and gold washing, and as domestic servants in urban areas.[2554] In some cases, children work as street beggars under a traditional Koranic educational system in which the children are forced into begging by their religious teachers as part of the learning process.[2555]
Mali is a source of trafficked children, most of whom are sold into forced labor in Côte d'Ivoire to work on coffee, cotton, and cocoa farms, or in domestic labor.[2556] Organized networks of traffickers promise parents that they will provide paid employment for their children, but then sell the children to commercial farm owners for a profit.[2557] Mali is also reported to be a transit country for children trafficked to and from neighboring countries.[2558]
Primary education is compulsory and free through the age of 12. However, students must pay for their own uniforms and school supplies to attend public schools.[2559] The Malian education system is marked by extremely low rates of enrollment, attendance, and completion, particularly among girls. In 2001, the gross primary enrollment rate was 57.1 percent.[2560] Gross and net enrollment ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. In 2001, the gross primary attendance rate was 52.5 percent and the net primary attendance rate was 38.3 percent.[2561] The quality of education services in Mali is also poor due to a lack of adequate infrastructure and trained teachers, as well as the use of curriculum that has little relevance for students’ lives.[2562]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
Article 187 of Labor Code of 1992 sets the general minimum age for employment and apprenticeship at 14 years.[2563] Decree No. 96-178 of 1996 establishes more detailed regulations with regard to children’s work. It allows children from the ages of 12 to 14 to work in certain occupations, including domestic or seasonal work. However, they may not be employed for more than 4.5 hours per day (2 hours a day, if they are in school), or without the authorization of a parent or guardian.[2564] The decree also prohibits children under 16 from working in certain strenuous occupations, including mining.[2565] Finally, children under 18 years are not allowed to engage in work that threatens their safety or morals, work more than 8 hours per day, or work at night.[2566] The Labor Code prohibits forced or obligatory labor.[2567] The Labor Code establishes penalties for violations of the minimum age law, and range from a fine of 20,000 to 200,000 F (USD 35 to 351).[2568]
Legislation passed in 2001 made the trafficking of children punishable by 5 to 20 years of imprisonment.[2569] The government also requires that Malian children under 18 years of age carry travel documents in an attempt to slow cross-border trafficking.[2570] However, a recent study concluded that the legislation is largely ineffective and may result in increased vulnerability of children due to corruption.[2571] Article 183 of the Criminal Code establishes penalties for sexual exploitation and abuse.[2572]
Labor inspectors from the Ministry of Employment and Civil Service conduct surprise and complaint-based inspections in the formal sector, but, according to the U.S. Department of State, lack resources to effectively monitor and enforce child labor.[2573] Labor inspections were also conducted by government monitors when NGOs or the media reported cases of abusive child labor, as part of ILO-IPEC’s work in the country.[2574] The frontier police, INTERPOL, and territorial and security authorities are responsible for enforcing the cooperative agreement to curb cross-border trafficking signed between the Governments of Côte d'Ivoire and Mali.[2575]
Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Mali is one of nine countries participating in the USDOL-funded ILO-IPEC project to combat the trafficking of children for exploitive labor in West and Central Africa.[2576] The government is also participating in a USDOL-funded program to increase access to quality, basic education to children at risk of child trafficking in Mali.[2577]
Several Malian government ministries have collectively developed a program to assist trafficking victims, raise public awareness about the problem, and strengthen the legal system as it applies to the trafficking of minors. As an element of this initiative, the government operates welcome centers in several cities to aid child trafficking victims to return to their families.[2578] In coordination with Malian authorities, UNICEF, IOM, Save the Children/Canada, Save the Children/US, and local NGOs are supporting the anti-trafficking efforts through sensitization, rehabilitation, and reintegration initiatives.[2579]
In March 2004, the IOM hosted a 2-day workshop on child trafficking in Bamako, the capital of Mali, with participation by the Governments of Mali, Senegal and Guinea, as well as European countries and the United States. The workshop aimed to promote regional strategies for combating the problem.[2580] In addition, the Government of Mali maintains a September 2000 agreement with Côte d’Ivoire including provisions for the two countries to develop national plans of action covering the prevention of child trafficking, controlling and monitoring child trafficking, and repatriating and rehabilitating children who have been trafficked.[2581]
The Government of Mali continues to implement a 10-year education sector policy that aims to reach a primary enrollment rate of 75 percent and improve educational quality and outcomes by 2008.[2582] The government is also being supported by a 45 million World Bank loan for ongoing education sector improvements, including measures to improve the quality of schooling, increase access through the construction of new schools, and build the capacity of local government systems and personnel.[2583]
Through a USD 62.5 million bilateral agreement with the Government of Mali signed in 2001, USAID is working with the Ministry of Education to improve the quality of learning by training teachers, improving the national curriculum, and increasing community and parent participation in schooling.[2584] Through the U.S. Government's Africa Education Initiative, USAID will also assist the Ministry of Education to reach teachers in remote rural areas through a radio education program.[2585] UNICEF is supporting an education for life initiative to promote access to quality education and provide life skills to children, particularly girls, who have dropped out or are not enrolled.[2586]
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