This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 SANAA 003099 
 
SIPDIS 
 
USDOL - PASS TO ILAB TINA MCCARTER. STATE - PASS TO DRL/IL 
LAUREN HOLT. STATE - PASS TO GENEVA. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ECON SOCI SMIG SCUL YM TRAFFICKING PERSONS
SUBJECT: YEMEN UPDATE: WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 2005 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 143552 
     ¶B. 04 SANAA 2015 
 
¶1. Summary.  In Yemen, children augment family incomes by 
working as street vendors and workers in family businesses 
or on the family-owned farm.  While slavery and child 
prostitution are not major issues in Yemen, 
parliamentarians, international observers, and donors over 
the past two years have expressed concern over a possible 
rise in child trafficking.  Over the last year, government 
officials and NGOs have worked together to arrive at a 
joint strategy to eliminate child labor, including the 
employment of children in hazardous jobs.  Since 2003, 
Parliament and the Ministry of Human Rights have raised 
public awareness of the issue of child trafficking.  End 
Summary. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
2005 YEMEN WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR UPDATE 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. Begin update: 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
Indicator A: Laws and Regulations Proscribing the Worst 
Forms of Child Labor 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
(1) What laws and regulations have been promulgated 
on child labor, such requirements as minimum age) for 
employment or hazardous forms of work? If there is a 
minimum age for employment, is that age consistent with the 
age for completing educational requirements? Are there 
exceptions to the minimum age law? 
 
UPDATE: In 2002, the Government of Yemen passed the Yemeni 
Child Rights Law, which set the minimum legal working age 
at 14 years.  Supplementing this minimum age requirement, 
1995 Labor Law No.5, Chapter 2, Section 4 "Systematizing 
Juvenile Labor" set the eligible age for "dangerous" work 
at age 18.  The Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor 
(MOSAL) has instituted additional restrictions regarding 
fixed working hours, holidays, training, medical treatment, 
rest during work time, night shifts and others.  In June 
2004, MOSAL determined  that children under age 14 would be 
forbidden from working in jobs outlined in the 
International Labor Organization (ILO) Convention 138 on 
Minimum Age and Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child 
Labor. 
 
In detail, the labor law prohibits the employment of 
children under the age of 15 in industrial work, although 
they may participate in family-owned enterprises.  The law 
also requires an employer hiring a child under age 15 to 
secure the approval of the child's guardian, provide for 
health benefits and vacations, and notify the Ministry of 
Labor.  Additionally, the law mandates that the workplace 
must be in close proximity to the child's home; children 
are not allowed to work after dark; and, the nature of the 
work must not be dangerous.  Under the Labor Code of 1995, 
the juvenile may work up to seven hours per day and must be 
allowed a 60-minute break after four hours of labor. 
 
 
(2) Do the country's laws define the worst forms of 
child labor or hazardous work as the ILO defines those 
terms?  If the country has ratified Convention 182, has it 
developed a list of occupations considered to be worst 
forms of child labor, as called for in article 4 of the 
Convention? 
 
UPDATE: According to Deputy Minister of Labor Yassin Abdu, 
the government of Yemen has listed all banned forms of 
child labor in the 2002 Child Labor Law.  Yemen has 
ratified the following international child labor 
agreements: 
 
-- ILO Agreement 14 on the minimum work age that allows 
employing children; 
-- ILO Agreement 16 on the compulsory medical check-ups of 
children and juveniles working onboard ships; 
-- ILO Agreement 28 on the minimum age for enforced child 
labor; 
-- ILO Agreement 182 on risks of the worse forms of child 
labor and its recommendation No. 1.190 strengthening the 
applied criteria; and, 
-- ILO Agreement 138 on the minimum age for work, Yemen has 
ratified it by  decree no. 43/2000. 
 
In total, Yemen has signed and ratified the following ILO 
agreements, which include agreements addressing child labor 
issues: 14, 15, 16, 19, 29, 28,128, 59, 165, 65, 81, 86, 
87, 94, 95, 98, 100, 104, 105, 111, 122, 131, 132, 135, 
138, 144, 156, 158, 159. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
Indicator B: Regulations for Implementation and Enforcement 
of Proscriptions Against the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
(3) Has the government designated an authority to 
implement and enforce child labor laws? 
 
UPDATE:  The Yemeni government has designated the Ministry 
of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL) to implement and 
enforce child labor laws.  Each governorate has a local 
MOSAL office, which has implementation authority. 
 
 
(4) What legal remedies are available to government 
agencies that enforce child labor laws (criminal penalties, 
civil fines, court orders), and are they adequate to punish 
and deter violations? 
 
UPDATE:  Labor laws provide for jail terms up to 10 years, 
fines up to 20,000 YR (~105 USD), and court orders.  These 
laws do not appear adequate to punish or deter violations, 
as MOSAL could not cite any instance where a punishment was 
levied against an employer for a child labor violation. 
The local press reported occasionally that child 
traffickers received jail sentences. 
 
 
(5) To what extent are complaints investigated and 
violations addressed? 
 
UPDATE: While there are laws in place to regulate 
employment of children, the government's enforcement of 
these provisions is limited, especially in remote areas. 
Inspectors generally prefer to address the problem through 
informal means.  Also, the government has not enforced laws 
that require nine years of compulsory education for 
children.  In 2004, 365 complaints were filed with MOSAL. 
The Ministry does not classify complaints so it was unable 
to determine if any complaints referenced child labor 
violations.  Of these cases, 128 were transferred to labor 
courts and 237 were resolved through MOSAL arbitration. 
None of the cases resolved by arbitration resulted in 
penalties. 
 
 
(6) What level of resources does the government 
devote to investigating child labor cases throughout the 
country?  How many inspectors does the government employ to 
address child labor issues?  How many child labor 
investigations have been conducted over the past year?  How 
many have resulted in fines, penalties, or convictions? 
 
UPDATE:  In Yemen, surveys on child labor are difficult to 
conduct and often do not capture the full extent of the 
problem.  Based on estimates from discussions with Mona 
Salim, the Director of the Child Labor Division at MOSAL, 
the number of child laborers can be conservatively 
estimated at half-million although it is most likely even 
higher.  The capacity of the government to address this 
problem cannot presently meet this challenge.  Yemeni 
cultural mores regarding working children may exacerbate 
the government's poor focus on this issue. 
 
Deputy Minister Abdu reports that MOSAL regional directors 
in the 21 governorates conduct child labor inspections when 
necessary.  Eleven governorates employ child labor 
specialists although they do not appear to be active. 
 
 
(7) Has the government provided awareness raising 
and/or training activities for officials charged with 
enforcing child labor laws? 
 
UPDATE:  In 2004, the ILO International Program for the 
Elimination of Child Labor conducted training seminars and 
workshops for teachers, parents and children around the 
country. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
Indicator C: Whether there are Social Programs to Prevent 
and Withdraw Children from the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
(8) What initiatives has the government supported to 
prevent children from entering exploitive work situations, 
to withdraw children engaged in such labor, and to advocate 
on behalf of children involved in such employment and their 
families?  (If possible, please provide information on 
funding levels for such initiatives.) 
 
UPDATE: With support from USDOL, in October 2000, the 
Government of Yemen implemented a national program in 
cooperation with ILO-IPEC that aimed to withdraw child 
workers from the worst forms of child labor, redirect them 
into education programs, provide them with pre-vocational 
and vocational training, and offer them counseling, health 
care and recreational activities.  The program targeted 
children working in extremely hazardous or abusive 
conditions, children below the age of 12, and girls. In 
2003, ILO-IPEC opened a rehabilitation center for street 
children who are victims of child labor.  The second phase 
of the program is currently under consideration. 
 
(9) Does the government support programs to promote 
children's access to primary schooling and to enhance the 
quality and relevance of schooling?  (If possible, please 
provide information on funding levels for primary education 
as opposed to secondary and tertiary education.) 
 
UPDATE: The government has taken a number of steps to 
improve education and prevent children from engaging in 
hazardous work.  Yemen has the second lowest literacy rate 
for women in the Middle East and suffers from pronounced 
gender disparity in school enrollment.  The government is 
committed to improving overall basic education and bridging 
the gender gap. The government's abolition of primary 
school fees for girls was designed to eliminate one of the 
main obstacles to education for girls.  In 2000, the 
Government of Yemen and the World Bank developed a 6-year 
Basic Education Expansion Project to give the highest 
priority to primary education, focusing on increased access 
to education for girls in remote rural areas. In June 2002, 
the Government of Yemen 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. 
 
In 2004, the Social Fund for Development, a government 
agency, ran a program that financially support parents who 
send their working children to school.  Per UNICEF, the 
program providing for 400,000 children.  The Ministry of 
Education is taking steps to eliminate child labor by 
developing educational support programs, lowering school 
dropout rates of working children, and raising public 
awareness of the relationship between education and work. 
 
UNICEF has been working with the Yemeni government to 
promote education through a number of programs, including 
support for the government's Community School Project, 
which implements an integrated approach to address gender 
disparity at the primary school level.  Various donor 
governments and the World Bank are collaborating with the 
Ministry of Education to expand access to and quality of 
basic education.  Donors are also developing with Ministry 
of Education's capacity to implement and monitor basic 
education reforms.  USAID is supporting a USD 4.7 million 
project to increase access to and improve the quality of 
basic education at the school level. 
 
 
(10) Do the country's laws/regulations call for 
universal or compulsory education?  Are these requirements 
enforced? 
 
No update necessary. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
Indicator D: Does the Country have a Comprehensive Policy 
Aimed at the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
(11) Does the country have a comprehensive policy or 
national program of action on child labor?  If so, to what 
degree has the country implemented the policy and/or 
program of action and achieved its goals and objectives? 
 
UPDATE: A five-year government-led child and youth issues 
strategy ended in 2003.  A second five-year strategy has 
not been formulated at this time but is under discussion 
with stakeholders such as the World Bank, UNICEF, the 
Ministry of Sports, the Ministry of Education, MOSAL, and 
the Ministry of Vocational Training. 
 
(12) Has the government made a public 
statement/commitment to eradicate the worst forms of child 
labor? 
 
UPDATE: The Yemeni government has committed to policies to 
curb child labor as outlined in its Poverty Reduction 
Strategy Paper, which was developed in cooperation with the 
World Bank. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
Indicator E: Is the Country Making Continual Progress 
Toward Eliminating the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
(13) What is the child labor situation in the 
country (nature and magnitude), and how has it changed over 
the past year?  Please provide source information or copies 
of data, estimates, and reports on the sectors/occupations 
in which child labor is found. 
 
UPDATE: MOSAL Child Labor Director Salim could not provide 
any update, estimate, or report on changes in the child 
labor sector in the past year. 
 
 
----------------------------- 
ADDENDUM ON CHILD TRAFFICKING 
----------------------------- 
 
¶3.  While the incidence of child trafficking appears 
limited, the government acknowledges a possible problem and 
has taken action.  The Yemeni government and UNICEF are 
currently working on a project to examine the nature and 
extent of possible internal and external child smuggling 
but could not provide statistics at this time.  In the past 
year, two child traffickers were prosecuted.  One received 
a three-year prison sentence, a concrete example of the 
Yemeni government's new efforts to combat child 
trafficking.   Nonetheless, the Yemeni government's 
capabilities suffer from serious limitations, including 
extreme poverty, porous borders (with Saudi Arabia and 
along its 1,400 km coastline), lack of training for police 
and security officials, and a cultural acceptance of 
working children. 
 
End Update. 
 
 
 
Krajeski