VZCZCXYZ0002
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHJL #0592/01 3340817
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 300817Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY BANJUL
TO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7914
INFO RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0179

UNCLAS BANJUL 000592 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER AND DRL/IL FOR TU DANG 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI USAID GA
SUBJECT: THE GAMBIA: UPDATE OF WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
INFORMATION FOR MANDATORY REPORTING REQUIREMENTS 
 
REFTEL(S): A: SECSTATE 158223 
B: 06 BANJUL 0755 
 
¶1.  Embassy Banjul hereby submits its update for reporting 
requirements on the worst forms of child labor. 
 
A)  Laws and regulations proscribing the worst forms of child 
labor: 
 
The government of The Gambia ratified ILO Convention 128 in 
September 2000 and ILO Convention 182 in July 2001.  The government 
in June 2005 passed the Children's Act, which took effect in July 
¶2005.  The Act embodies the key tenets of the United Nations 
Convention on the Rights of the Child and contains detailed 
provisions specifically dealing with the worst forms of child labor, 
and mandates stiff penalties for offenders, including life 
imprisonment.  The 2007 revised Labor Act incorporates those 
provisions of the Children's Act pertaining to child labor, though 
it exempts work that is in a vocational or technical school or other 
training institution if the work is either approved and supervised 
by a public authority or is part of the school or institution's 
educational or vocational training program. 
 
The Children's Act defines a child as someone under the age of 
eighteen.  As such, it is prohibited to recruit a child into any 
branch of the armed forces or security agencies. 
 
Though The Gambia is a party to the ILO Minimum Age Convention which 
sets the minimum age for employment at 14, the Children's Act does 
not set a statutory minimum age covering all types of work.  It 
does, however, contain provisions that, inter alia, set the minimum 
age for "light work" at 16, prohibit night work, prohibit hazardous 
work (defined as that which "poses a danger to the health, safety or 
morals of a child," and includes: going to sea, mining and 
quarrying, carrying of heavy loads, work in manufacturing industries 
where chemicals are produced or used, work in places where machines 
are used, and work in places such as bars, hotels and places of 
entertainment where a child may be exposed to immoral behavior), and 
outlaw any exploitative work (defined as that which "deprives the 
child of his or her health, education or development"). 
 
Guidelines for apprenticeships in the informal sector are also laid 
out in the Children's Act, which sets the minimum age for an 
apprentice at 12, or upon completion of basic education. 
Furthermore, the act requires any employed child to be registered 
with the Labor Department, and mandates that employers in industrial 
undertakings must keep a register of employed children, including 
their dates of birth or apparent age. 
 
The 2005 Children's Act also entails the establishment of a 
Children's Court in each of the five divisions of The Gambia.  The 
first Children's Court was set up in the most urban area, the 
Western Division, in February 2006.  The court has jurisdiction to 
hear all criminal cases affecting children, apart from the offense 
of treason where the child is jointly charged with adults.  The 
Children's Act also provides for a special police force that will be 
specially trained to protect the interests of children. 
 
In addition to the detailed provisions of the Children's Act 
prohibiting child prostitution, trafficking and pornography, the 
Tourism Offences Act of 2003 also prohibits these actions.  The 
Criminal Code prohibits procuring a girl under 21 years of age for 
the purposes of prostitution, either in The Gambia or outside of the 
country. 
 
B) Regulations for implementation and enforcement of 
proscriptions against the worst forms of child labor: 
 
The Department of Labor is mandated to handle all labor matters 
including child labor.  Their inspectors are empowered to enter all 
workplaces to investigate any suspicions or allegations of child 
labor or other violations of the Labor Act. The government has also 
set up two Industrial Tribunals in Banjul and Kanifing to hear all 
labor-related cases, including incidents of child labor.  The 
Children's Court established under the Children's Act is given broad 
authority to deal with all issues concerning the care and treatment 
of children, including exploitative child labor.  The special 
children's security forces mandated by the Children's Act are also 
available to deal with any suspected cases of sexual exploitation of 
children, pornography or trafficking, though further training is 
necessary. 
 
The Department of Labor, through its Inspectorate Unit, attempts to 
ensure compliance with child labor standards, though it faces 
serious resource constraints.  Employee labor cards list employee 
ages with the Labor Commissioner, but enforcement inspections rarely 
take place.  Gambian authorities are also taking steps to deal with 
sex tourism involving both boys and girls in the country after the 
publication in 2003 of a joint study conducted by the Child 
 
Protection Alliance (CPA) of The Gambia and a Dutch NGO, Terre des 
Hommes, revealed disturbing evidence of child sex tourism in The 
Gambia practiced by tourists from a variety of European countries, 
including the Netherlands.  A joint UNICEF/Gambian government study 
published in December 2003, noted universal agreement that children 
engaged in prostitution in the main tourist resort areas are 
predominantly underage, with some as young as 12.  The report also 
revealed that The Gambia has become an attraction for suspected or 
convicted European pedophiles that enter the country as tourists and 
"commit their crimes against children silently and with impunity." 
The study found no overt coercion of children into prostitution. 
These findings led to the increased monitoring of tourist areas and 
awareness-raising campaigns targeted at tourists. 
 
While the government has taken actions to combat such crimes, and 
offenders have been convicted in court, the problem has not been 
eliminated.  Pedophiles sometimes exploit the weakness of 
poverty-stricken families by offering to adopt their children. 
However, with the enactment of the Children's Act, adoption of 
Gambian children by non-Gambians is now subject to serious scrutiny 
by the Department of Social Welfare and the Children's Court, which 
has heard several cases regarding adoption since its inception in 
February 2006.  Under the Act, there is also a supervision period of 
thirty-six months by a Social Welfare officer before an adoption 
will be granted.  Furthermore, no order will be made in favor of a 
sole male applicant with respect to a female or vice versa. 
Additionally, applicants are now required to submit a criminal 
record check from their home country as well as a home-study 
conducted by the foster licensing agency in their country of 
residence, before an adoption order can be granted. 
 
In addition to adoption cases, the Children's Court has also heard 
cases involving custody, maintenance, parentage, and criminal and 
"special" matters.  The court meets in camera on a weekly basis. 
 
The Tourism Security Unit (TSU), which was set up by the government 
in 2003 to provide security in the tourist resort areas, has been 
very effective in dealing with cases related to child labor and 
sexual exploitation of children who roam the hotel areas. 
 
In early 2005, the tourism authorities announced a ban on unattended 
children under 18 visiting the tourism resort areas and ordered 
hotel managers not to allow any minors on the premises. Those 
children found in the resort area unaccompanied are remitted to the 
custody of the Department of Social Welfare. 
 
The tourism authorities, the Child Protection Alliance and other 
NGOs regularly organize workshops to sensitize workers in the 
tourism industry to problems of child sex tourism. 
 
In the greater Banjul area there are a significant number of child 
street traders who sell a variety of household goods and food items. 
This practice makes them vulnerable to exploitation.  The Department 
of Social Welfare collaborates with UNICEF and the Christian 
Children's Fund (CCF) to conduct an ongoing in-depth assessment of 
child street traders and orphan street children, in an effort to 
provide them better support.  They monitor over 350 street children 
and conduct sensitizations with the police, market vendors, and 
others who come into contact with street vendors.  A January 2006 
report found that most of the children in the study sample were not 
from the Greater Banjul Area, and 38 percent were from other 
countries in the sub-region, particularly neighboring Senegal.  This 
indicates the need for a regional approach for the combating the 
problem of child labor. 
 
C)  Whether there are social programs specifically deigned to 
prevent and withdraw children from the worst forms of child labor: 
 
The Gambia's Constitution mandates free and compulsory primary 
education for 9 years, but a lack of resources and educational 
infrastructure has made implementation difficult. 
 
Government statistics show that for the 2006-07 academic year for 
grades 1-6 (lower basic education), the gross enrollment rate was 92 
percent and the net enrollment rate was 75 percent.  For grades 7-9 
(upper basic education, the gross enrollment rate was 61 percent 
while the net enrollment rate was 38 percent.  The combined basic 
education gross primary enrollment rate was 82 percent for grades 
1-9, and the net primary enrollment rate was 63 percent. Enrollment 
of girls is low in rural areas where cultural factors and poverty 
dissuade parents from sending girls to school. 
 
Accurate primary school attendance rates are unavailable for The 
Gambia.  While enrollment rates indicate a level of commitment to 
education, they do not always reflect children's participation in 
school.  In 1998, 69.2 percent of children enrolled in primary 
school reached grade 5. The primary education completion rate was 
53.7 percent, based on 1999 country data.  Approximately 15 percent 
of school-age children attend Qu'ranic schools called "madrasas," 
 
which usually have a restricted curriculum. 
 
Through its education program, the government has a definite policy 
to develop young people and empower them with knowledge and skills 
that will reduce their risk of becoming victims of exploitation. 
The new Children's Act, the 2007 revised Labor Law, and other 
existing legislation provide the legal framework to combat the worst 
forms of child labor. 
 
The government began implementing an education initiative in 1998, 
with USD 20 million in loan support from the World Bank.  The 
project lasted until April 2005 and was intended to increase the 
gross enrollment rate to 90 percent, improve educational 
opportunities for girls, strengthen basic education curricula, and 
improve teacher training.  The authorities report that they 
surpassed their target, achieving a 91 percent enrollment rate a 
year ahead of the project's completion. 
 
The government's education efforts are also supported through a 
continuing joint project with UNICEF, which began in 2002. 
 
In 2002 the government initiated a program that paid the school fees 
for girls enrolled in grades 7 through 12 in public schools.  The 
program now covers girls around the country, including those in 
private schools. 
 
The government also implements the President's Empowerment of Girls 
Education project in the Banjul, Western and North Bank regions of 
the country.  In June 2002, the Government of The Gambia 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 by the year 
¶2015.  The Angels Trust Fund, which is sponsored by friends of The 
Gambia in Switzerland, was launched in 2003 to assist needy students 
from lower basic to senior secondary schools.  Initially intended 
exclusively for girls, the Trust Fund has been extended to include 
boys.  A number of university students have also benefited. 
 
The U.S. Embassy in Banjul contributes funds to girl's education 
through the Education for Development and Democracy Initiative and 
the Ambassador's Girls Scholarship Fund. 
 
In March 2006, the Department of Social Welfare with support from 
UNICEF and the NGO SOS Kinderdorf launched a certificate and diploma 
program in social work at the University of The Gambia, the first of 
its kind in the country.  This will allow social workers with local 
cultural and linguistic knowledge to operate in The Gambia. 
 
In July 2006 the Department of Social Welfare opened a shelter for 
orphans and vulnerable children (OVCs) in an effort to protect them 
from being trafficked, though its resources are constrained and a 
limited number of OVCs can be housed at a given time.  In 2007, for 
example, the shelter took in 15 children who were found attempting 
to migrate to Spain in a boat.  After the department investigated 
whether they were trafficking victims, the children were returned to 
their families for reintegration, and Social Welfare continued to 
monitor them.  Nine children currently are using the shelter's 
facilities, though it can accommodate approximately 100 at a time. 
A hotline for children's issues is also being used to report cases 
of suspected abuse. 
 
The continuing collaboration on the street children project among 
the Department of Social Welfare, UNICEF, and CCF also uses the 
child protection center to provide a range of services to OVCs, such 
as non-formal and formal education, medical care, counseling 
services, recreational activities, health education, reunification 
and reintegration, and outreach services.  The program has also 
established a data system to monitor and track sexual exploitation, 
and UNICEF has funded the training of data collectors, who will 
begin their work in November or December 2007.  The next phase of 
the project is to train data collectors in data entry to develop a 
cohesive database. 
 
UNICEF reports that child abuse, neglect, sexual exploitation, and 
instances of juvenile delinquency--children in conflict with the 
law--are increasing areas of concern.  In an effort to combat these 
ills, it has included a Rights Promotion and Protection component in 
its current program of cooperation with the Government of The 
Gambia. 
 
D) Does the country have a comprehensive policy aimed at the 
elimination of the worst forms of child labor? 
 
The Gambia's 2007-2009 Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper includes 
provisions for children's health and basic education, but does not 
address child labor specifically. 
 
The Department of Social Welfare is working to target and assist 
OVCs, the primary source of child labor.  Through a partnership with 
 
the CPA, the department has established two child protection 
committees to take a community monitoring and policing approach to 
combating child labor and trafficking.  Using a local execution 
plan, the committees will target children in vulnerable situations 
and raise awareness of the dangers of child exploitation. 
 
In April 2007, the GOTG, led by the Department of Social Welfare, 
launched The Gambia National Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) 
Plan of Action 2007-2015, which will involve collaboration between 
government departments and agencies, civil society, and 
international donors such as UNICEF.  This comprehensive plan 
includes several goals with milestones to be reached by December 
2008, including: the development of a policy and legislative 
framework for the Gambian OVC program; the improvement of the 
nutritional status of OVCs; the improvement of the health status of 
OVCs; ensuring access to birth registration and certification for 
all OVCs; the provision of access to free basic education for all 
OVCs by 2015; and the provision of psycho-social support services to 
all OVCs. Implementation of the plan is underway. 
 
The government of The Gambia, international donors and agencies, and 
civil society and youth groups are involved in sensitization 
programs to alert the public to the dangers of the worst forms of 
child labor.  Child trafficking has been the primary focus of these 
efforts.  For example, the National Trafficking in Persons Taskforce 
made up of representatives from several government departments and 
civil society groups, is a government-established group committed to 
combating human trafficking; however, its effectiveness to date has 
been hampered by limited resources. 
 
In July 2005 the government, in collaboration with foreign donors, 
organized a Conference on Best Practices to Combat the Trafficking 
of Children in The Gambia. The one-day conference brought together 
representatives of international organizations, policy makers, and 
civil society to analyze the extent of child trafficking in the 
country and to develop measures to eradicate the violation of 
children's rights. 
 
From August 2006 to June 2007, the Child Protection Alliance, an 
NGO, broadcast public awareness messages about child trafficking on 
radio and television as part of an outreach campaign. In November 
2006 a UNICEF-funded conference and workshop on trafficking was 
organized by the Child Rights Unit of the Department of State for 
Justice. 
 
It appears that the amount of attention paid to child trafficking 
has often exceeded that given to child labor issues in general. 
 
E) Is the country making continual progress toward eliminating the 
worst forms of child labor? 
 
No recent child labor data sets are available from the Gambian 
statistics bureau. 
 
The Gambia is making progress toward eliminating the worst forms of 
child labor, and the government recognizes that further efforts are 
needed.  At the ceremony for the "official launch" of the 2005 
Children's Act in December 2006 (though the Act was effective as of 
July 2005), co-sponsored by UNICEF and the Department of State for 
Justice, high-level speakers discussed the need for publicizing and 
popularizing the provisions of the Act. 
 
In 2005, UNICEF estimated that 22 percent of children in The Gambia 
between the ages of 5 and 14 years were working.  Children in rural 
areas primarily work on family farms and assist with housework while 
many children in urban areas work as street vendors or taxi and bus 
assistants.  Other sectors where children between the ages of 14 and 
17 are known to work include: carpentry, sewing, masonry, plumbing, 
tailoring, and auto mechanics.  Many girls in rural areas leave 
school to work, with some migrating to urban areas seeking domestic 
or other employment.  For cultural and socio-economic reasons, these 
forms of child labor will be very difficult to eliminate.  Any 
effort at elimination will require sustained government efforts to 
tackle the root causes of these problems which include, inter alia, 
poverty, unsustainably large family compositions, lack of easily 
accessible competitive education facilities and the devaluation of 
girls' education. 
 
The government of The Gambia passed a new Labor Act in October 2007 
that was critically examined at validation workshops attended by 
various stakeholders before being presented to the National Assembly 
for passage. 
 
In 2007, the Department of Social Welfare conducted a comprehensive 
review of all child-related laws in The Gambia to be used to promote 
child rights.  The department plans to launch a vigorous campaign to 
reinforce these laws and discuss sexual exploitation and child labor 
throughout the country. 
BACHMAN