VZCZCXRO8069
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHTO #1392/01 3321607
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281607Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8249
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON 0084
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0829

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MAPUTO 001392 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI MZ
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR REPORT 
 
REF: A) STATE 149662 B) STATE 158223 
 
Summary 
-------- 
 
¶1. The Government of the Republic of Mozambique (GRM) is party to 
the ILO convention against the worst forms of child labor.  The GRM 
has a regulatory framework in place to monitor and prosecute 
infractions of the labor code, but does not have a regulatory body 
specifically devoted to child labor cases.  The Ministry of Labor 
(MOL), in conjunction with multilateral organizations and 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), continues to develop and 
implement programs to combat the worst forms of child labor, but 
impact remains minimal.  Child labor and forced and bonded labor 
remain common practices, particularly in rural areas.  Major factors 
contributing to child labor include chronic family poverty, lack of 
employment for adults, breakdown of family support mechanisms, an 
inadequate education system, gender inequality, and the increasing 
impact of HIV/AIDS.  End Summary. 
 
Laws Proscribing the Worst Forms of Child Labor 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2.  Law 8/98 sets the minimum age for employment at 15 years, but, 
in exceptional cases, allows for children between the ages of 12 and 
15 to work with the joint approval of the Ministries of Labor (MOL), 
Health, and Education.  The law sets restricted conditions on the 
work that minors between the ages of 15 and 18 may perform, limits 
the number of hours they can work, and establishes training, 
education, and medical exam requirements.  Children between the ages 
of 15 and 18 are prohibited from being employed in unhealthy or 
dangerous occupations or occupations requiring significant physical 
effort, as determined by the MOL.  Article 79 of the Labor Law 
stipulates that employers must provide children between 12 and 15 
with vocational training and offer age-appropriate work conditions. 
For children between 15 and 18 years of age, the employer is 
required to provide for their education and professional training 
and to ensure conditions of work that are not damaging to their 
physical and moral development.  In April the Council of Ministers 
approved a draft Child Protection Law and forwarded the draft to the 
National Assembly for final approval. 
 
¶3.  For minors under 18 years, the maximum workweek is 38 hours and 
the maximum workday is 7 hours.  Children must undergo a medical 
examination before beginning work.  By law, children must be paid at 
least the minimum wage or a minimum of two-thirds of the adult 
salary, whichever is higher.  Children, including those under the 
age of 15, commonly worked on family farms in seasonal harvests or 
commercial plantations, where they were paid on a piecework basis. 
In the urban informal sector children performed such tasks as 
guarding cars, collecting scrap metal, working as vendors, and 
selling trinkets and food in the streets, and presumably are paid on 
a piecework basis.  Children also were employed as poorly paid 
domestic laborers, and this number continues to increase. 
 
¶4.  Mozambican law does not specifically prohibit trafficking in 
persons.  Traffickers can be prosecuted using laws on sexual 
assault, rape, abduction, and child abuse.  Post is unaware of any 
prosecutions or convictions for trafficking cases during the year. 
The government has responded to trafficking-related allegations in 
the press by conducting follow-up investigations, issuing public 
awareness announcements, and holding local workshops.  The police 
conducted general training on vulnerable children, including 
trafficking, in the central provinces of Sofala, Manica and Zambezia 
and the northern province of Nampula.  In July, the Council of 
Ministers approved a comprehensive draft law against trafficking in 
persons, including children, and forwarded the draft to the National 
Assembly for final approval.  Trained police officials continued to 
staff women's shelters at police stations to protect trafficking 
victims in Maputo, Beira, Nampula, and several large towns in Gaza 
Province. 
 
¶5.  The Mozambican NGO Civic Education Forum (FECIV) and Save the 
Children Norway operate the country's only known shelter for 
trafficking victims outside the town of Moamba.  The shelter is 
located half way between Maputo and the South African border post of 
Ressano Garcia, which is a major crossing point for trafficked 
persons.  The shelter serves approximately 15 children.  FECIV also 
works with other NGOs on the border to screen for victims of 
trafficking among the hundreds of illegal Mozambican immigrants 
repatriated each month by South African immigration authorities. 
The Department of Migration maintains an agreement with the 
government of South Africa to share facilities and information, 
including information on trafficking in persons. 
 
¶6.  The government ratified ILO Conventions 29, 138, and 182 in June 
¶2003.  Mozambique ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the 
Child in April 1994, the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention on 
the Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, 
 
MAPUTO 00001392  002 OF 003 
 
 
and Child Pornography in March 2003, and the UN Protocol to Prevent, 
Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons in September 2006. 
Focus on children's rights continues to be a primary focus of the 
government, particularly as it relates to HIV/AIDS, violence against 
children, and trafficking in persons. 
 
Implementation and Enforcement of Labor Laws 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  The MOL regulates child labor in both the informal and formal 
sectors.  Labor inspectors are authorized to obtain court orders and 
use police to enforce compliance with child labor provisions. 
Violations of child labor provisions are punishable with fines 
ranging from 1 to 40 times the monthly minimum wage.  Enforcement 
mechanisms generally are adequate in the formal sector, but remain 
poor in the regulation of informal child labor.  The Labor 
Inspectorate and police force lack adequate staff, funds, and 
training to investigate child labor cases, especially in areas 
outside of the capital, where many cases occur.  Post is unaware of 
any child labor investigations occurring in 2007.  The government 
provides training for police on child prostitution, abuse, 
(including pornography), and trafficking; however, there is no 
specialized child labor training for the Labor Inspectorate. The 
government has disseminated information and provided education about 
the dangers of child labor. 
 
Social Programs to Counter Child Labor 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  The MOL and other organizations have done some work on child 
labor issues, but with little impact.  The MOL has developed an 
action plan for reducing child labor and allocated funds to organize 
seminars to discuss this issue.  The trade union movement in 
Mozambique also has been involved in the eradication of child labor. 
 The Confederation of Trade Unions (OTM) has participated in several 
initiatives against child labor, particularly in rural areas, 
including participation in seminars and workshops as well as in the 
design of the child labor regulations. 
 
¶9.  The U.S. Department of Labor's Bureau of International Labor 
Affairs currently funds one project in Mozambique, which began in 
¶2005.  The project targets children in 18 communities in Tete 
Province for withdrawal and prevention from work in agriculture, as 
domestics, in the streets, and commercial sexual exploitation.  The 
major focus is to withdraw or prevent from exploitive labor 
approximately 2,600 children through the provision of educational 
and non-educational services. 
 
¶10.  The GRM also has programs aimed at supporting children from 
impoverished families to stay in school and away from the labor 
market and the worst forms of child labor.  For example, the GRM has 
established a scholarship program to cover the costs of school 
materials and fees for children.  These programs are targeted 
particularly at vulnerable groups affected by HIV/AIDS such as young 
girls, orphans, and child-headed households. 
 
¶11.  Education is compulsory and free through the age of 12, but 
there is a matriculation fee for each child, and children are 
responsible for purchasing books, uniforms, and school supplies 
(spending on these associated costs often was higher than 
matriculation fees).  Such fees and associated costs represented a 
significant financial burden for many families.  Children who have a 
certificate that testifies that their parents' incomes are below a 
certain poverty level do not pay any matriculation fees. 
Enforcement of compulsory education laws is inconsistent due to the 
lack of resources and the need for additional schools. 
 
National Policy and Plan of Action 
---------------------------------- 
 
¶12. While the Ministry of Education has made significant progress in 
increasing school enrollments at all levels, significant challenges 
remain.  UNICEF estimates that in 2007, 94 percent of children were 
enrolled in primary education in Mozambique.  Completion rates 
remain much lower: in 2006, only 29 percent of girls and 41 percent 
of boys completed primary school.  The government's 2007 economic 
and social plan aims to increase the overall number of students by 
13 percent as well as recruit 9,000 new teachers.  The GRM's Second 
Poverty Reduction Strategy for 2006-2010 also includes an education 
investment component.  Over the next several years the government 
set goals to achieve gender equilibrium in primary schools, and by 
2015 ensure that all children complete the full cycle of primary 
education.  The program also seeks to improve access to and quality 
of education at all levels, by investing in teacher training and 
school equipment (particularly in rural areas), by increasing the 
amount of time children spend at school, by providing additional 
vocational programs, and by  orienting the curriculum to specific 
employment opportunities. 
 
 
MAPUTO 00001392  003 OF 003 
 
 
¶13. The Ministry of Education and Culture and UNICEF are working 
together in Zambezia Province to implement an innovative package of 
school interventions to improve access and quality, known as the 
Child-Friendly School (CFS) initiative.  CFS includes learning and 
teaching material, extracurricular life skills programs on HIV/AIDS 
prevention and girls' empowerment, and access to social services for 
orphaned and vulnerable children. The program will be implemented in 
all primary schools in seven model districts over the next three 
years, with the goal of benefiting some 300,000 children. 
 
¶14.  UNICEF, UNESCO, and national broadcasters Radio Mozambique and 
Television Mozambique continue the Child-to-Child radio and 
television programs.  The radio program involves 233 children 
between the ages of eight and 18 working on more than two dozen 
programs broadcast provincially and nationally in 16 local languages 
and Portuguese.  Discussion topics include themes such as child 
abuse, violence, and trafficking, HIV/AIDS and health awareness, and 
girls' access to education.  To ensure nationwide outreach, the 
programs occasionally are also broadcast live from districts and 
remote communities.  The television program, entitled "Roda Viva" is 
dedicated to children's rights and issues of interest to young 
people and involves 16 children in program design, production, and 
presentation. 
 
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶15.  Although forced and bonded labor by children is prohibited by 
law, it is common in rural areas.  A Labor Force Survey conducted by 
the National Institute of Statistics in 2004-05 revealed that 32 
percent of children between ages 7 and 17 were engaged in some form 
of economic activity.  Of this number, it was estimated that 40 
percent of children in rural areas work, while only 16 percent of 
children in urban areas work.  The same report revealed that the 
provinces with the highest levels of economically active children 
were Tete, Inhambane, Manica, and Nampula (all between 38-51 
percent).  UNICEF estimates that more than one million Mozambican 
children under 14 are subject to exploitative labor.  The most 
common forms of child labor included children working on family 
farms, in commercial agriculture, as domestics, and as prostitutes. 
 
¶16.  The major factors contributing to child labor in Mozambique 
were chronic family poverty, lack of employment for adults, 
breakdown of family support mechanisms, an inadequate education 
system, gender inequality, and the increasing impact of HIV/AIDS. 
Regarding education, UNICEF reports that more than half of primary 
school-aged children leave school before they complete grade five; 
many of these children eventually enter the informal job market, 
where they are subject to abuse and exploitation.  Concerning the 
effect of HIV/AIDS, approximately 99,000 children under the age of 
15 were living with the virus, the majority below the age of five. 
According to UNICEF, of the country's 1.6 million orphans, some 
380,000 have been orphaned due to AIDS, representing more than 20 
percent of the total orphaned population.  Children orphaned by 
HIV/AIDS often are forced to work because they are left without any 
adult family members or with only extended family members who were 
unable to support them. 
 
CHAPMAN