VZCZCXRO3543
PP RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHDK #2999/01 3600755
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 260755Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7148
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION
INFO RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0799
RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DAKAR 002999 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR DRL/IL - TDANG, G/TIP, AF/EPS AND AF/W 
DOL/ILAB FOR TMCARTER 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB PHUM SOCI KCRM SG
SUBJECT: UPDATE FOR SENEGAL: WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
 
REF: A. STATE 184972 
¶B. 05 DAKAR 2137 
 
DAKAR 00002999  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
¶1.  On August 11, 2006, post provided comments on the final draft 
text of the U.S. Department of Labor's 2005 Worst Forms of Child 
Labor Report for Senegal, which included earlier Post input (Ref B). 
 The situation in Senegal has changed little since August.  The 
following information is keyed to Ref A request to update the 2005 
report. 
 
A) LAWS AND REGULATIONS PROSCRIBING THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
 
¶2.  Since the publication of the DOL's 2005 Worst Forms of Child 
Labor Report for Senegal, the Government of President Abdoulaye Wade 
has not passed additional laws or regulations governing child labor. 
 In 2005, Senegal's National Assembly passed a law against 
trafficking.  Senegal, therefore, has in place adequate legal 
authority to enforce child labor laws and to monitor and prosecute 
abusers.  Traffickers, who are facilitating illegal immigration to 
Europe, are being prosecuted under this legislation.  On December 6, 
Ambassador John Miller (G/TIP) participated in a Digital Video 
Conference that concluded a day-long public awareness program on the 
new law and trafficking in and through Senegal. 
 
B) REGULATIONS FOR IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF 
PROSCRIPTIONS AGAINST THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
 
¶3.  Senegal's laws and regulations continue to require additional 
harmonization to effectively combat the worst forms of child labor. 
For example, education is compulsory until the age of sixteen for 
all children, however, at age 15, children are legally allowed to 
work. 
 
¶4.  The Ministry of Labor implements and enforces child labor laws 
and regulations.  Its Labor Inspectors are responsible for 
investigating and initiating lawsuits in child labor cases.  They 
have the authority to visit any factory or shop to verify and 
investigate compliance with labor laws.  However, this office is 
understaffed and under-funded, and monitoring, especially in the 
informal sector, continues to be weak.  The majority of 
investigations initiated by Labor Inspectors are initiated after 
reports of violations raised by unions or after denunciations by 
other companies. 
 
¶5.  Overall, the level of resources the GOS devotes to investigating 
child labor cases is insufficient.  Sources from the Ministry of 
Labor indicated that there are an estimated 50 Labor Inspectors in 
Senegal of who only 5 to 10 deal with child labor issues.  Post 
knows of no cases in which criminal penalties or civil fines have 
actually been imposed for child labor violations in Senegal. 
 
C) WHETHER THERE ARE SOCIAL PROGRAMS TO PREVENT AND WITHDRAW 
CHILDREN FROM THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
 
¶6.  On October 10, 2006, a special "Presidential Council on Street 
Children" recommended the creation of an ambitious new partnership 
("One Child, One Family") that includes the Government, the World 
Bank, NGOs, religious leaders, and donors to protect and withdraw 
children from the street.  The goal is to provide the children with 
a foster family environment and confirm they are actually receiving 
an education.  The Council also asked for improvements in law 
enforcement and in the educational system to help remove children 
from the streets.  In a December 2006 publication, the World Bank 
estimated that more than 100,000 children (from ages 2 to 15) beg on 
the streets of Dakar.  [NOTE: the World Bank has proposed a 
comprehensive survey of child beggars but the program is not yet 
funded.  END NOTE.] 
 
D) DOES THE COUNTRY HAVE A COMPREHENSIVE POLICY AIMED AT THE 
ELIMINATION OF THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR? 
 
¶7.  Following the recommendations of the World Summit for Children 
in 1989 Senegal established a National Committee, "National 
Committee for Children" to coordinate with NGOs fighting child 
labor.  However, activities for most of these NGOs, except Plan 
International, are dependent on GOS funds, which are inadequate.  An 
inter-ministerial committee, which includes the Ministry of Labor 
and the Ministry of Women, Family, Social Development and Women's 
Entrepreneurship, is in place to coordinate this program, which, at 
this time, covers only 6 of Senegal's 11 regions.  Some regions like 
Ziguinchor, Kolda and Tambacounda, with significant levels of child 
trafficking and sexual exploitation are not included. 
 
E) IS THE COUNTRY MAKING CONTINUAL PROGRESS TOWARD ELIMINATING THE 
WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR? 
 
¶8.  Senegal continues to make incremental progress in addressing the 
 
DAKAR 00002999  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
worst forms of child labor, but the problem persists.  The GOS 
includes the elimination of the worst forms of child labor by 2015 
as a policy priority in its overarching Poverty Reduction Strategy. 
Senegal's Department of Statistics and Economic Study, in 
conjunction with the ILO's Department of Statistics, is finalizing a 
major survey on the worst forms of child labor in Senegal. 
Scheduled to be released in early 2007, this report is designed to 
provide, for the first time in Senegal, comprehensive data on the 
child labor situation and how it has changed over the past year. 
[NOTE:  Post will forward to the Department and DOL the results of 
this study as soon as they are available.  END NOTE.] 
 
¶9.  Mr. Aliou Seck, ILO-IPEC coordinator for Senegal, told us that, 
as in FY 06, Senegal's FY 07 budget will include approximately USD 
18 million for "child welfare" programs, including additional 
measures to address child labor issues in particular street children 
and beggars.  At least some of this money should be available to 
examine fraudulent religious schools that are often a front for 
child begging, and to fund programs for the street children, 
underage domestic workers, and the sexual exploitation of children. 
 
 
¶10.  Seck is also pursuing a 2007 GOS-IPEC program to reinforce 
capacity building of judges and Labor Inspectors, improve Senegal's 
legal framework (such as the discrepancy between the legal age for 
ending school and beginning work), reinforce the campaign against 
exploiting child beggars, and improve the public awareness effort, 
particularly among Senegal's opinion leaders. 
 
COMMENT 
------- 
¶11.  Despite the enhanced attention paid to child labor and 
trafficking, with an annual population growth rate of 2.5 percent, 
increasing demands on an already over-burdened education system 
(public, private, and religious), and a stagnant economy, there will 
be no quick solution for Senegal's child labor problems.  The ILO's 
Seck told us recently that the establishing even a minimal program 
to monitor the vast problem of child domestic workers is not even on 
the GOS's radar screen.  END COMMENT. 
 
Jackson