VZCZCXYZ0024
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHYN #2170/01 3331541
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 291541Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY SANAA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8484
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
INFO RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0271

UNCLAS SANAA 002170 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DOL/ILAB FOR TINA MCCARTER, DRL/IL FOR TU DANG 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI YM
SUBJECT: YEMEN UPDATE OF WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
INFORMATION FOR MANDATORY CONGRESSIONAL REPORTING 
REQUIREMENTS 
 
REF: SECSTATE 158223 
 
¶1.  As requested in reftel, Post contacted appropriate 
Republic of Yemen Government (ROYG) government officials and 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs)(including the 
Ministries of Labor, and Education, international 
organizations such as the ILO and UNICEF, and the World Bank) 
for updated information on the nature of child labor in Yemen 
and the extent to which the ROYG is working to eliminate the 
worst forms of child labor (WFCL). Post provides the 
following responses keyed to reftel. Post will also forward 
to DOL all hard copies of information gathered from contacts 
for this report. 
 
¶2.  Section A) ROYG laws and regulations proscribing the 
worst forms of child labor: 
 
- ROYG Ministerial Decree No.56 for 2004 (promulgated in 
accordance with the ILO Conventions No.(182) regarding the 
ban of worst forms of child labor and No.(138) regarding 
classifying work age issued by the International Labor 
Organization) sets the minimum age for any kind of labor that 
might expose "children's health, security or ethics to danger 
due to the nature or circumstances of the work" at age 18. 
The decree goes on to state that the minimum age for work 
that does not expose a child to danger shall not be less than 
the age of finishing compulsory education and shall never be 
under age 18. There are, however, exceptions. Anyone age 18 
who has failed to complete compulsory schooling is permitted 
to work and children between the ages of 13-15 may work if 
the nature of the job is light, if the job is not harmful to 
their health and their physical and mental welfare and if job 
attendance does not interfere with school attendance. There 
are no exceptions for hazardous work and children are 
permitted to work for their parents but not if the work is in 
violation of any of the proscriptions set forth in the 
Decree.  The Decree specifically identifies the worst forms 
of child labor that must be eliminated as:  the use of 
children in prostitution and the production of child 
pornography; the use or conscription of children as 
combatants in armed conflicts and tribal disputes; using, 
procuring, or exposing children to illicit activities such as 
the promotion use and sale of drugs; child trafficking beyond 
the borders of Yemen for any purpose, and labor that by its 
nature or circumstance is likely to harm a child's health, 
safety, morals and behavior. The minimum age for military 
service or recruitment is 18 years. 
 
- The ROYG has ratified Convention 182 and in the 
aforementioned decree, Chapter Three Section One, identifies 
the worst forms of child labor for children under the age of 
18 in accordance with article 4 of the Convention. The list 
includes 74 occupations. 
 
¶3.  Section B) ROYG regulations for implementation and 
enforcement of proscriptions against the worst forms of child 
labor: 
 
- Ministerial decree No.56, Section Two Articles 25 - 29, 
sets forth sanctions available to government agencies that 
enforce child labor laws.  Section Two provides criminal 
penalties for inciting a child to engage in the use of drugs 
or the sale of psychotropic substances, prostitution or 
debauchery, and for the purchase or sale of a male or female 
child. The prison terms range from five to fifteen years. A 
prison term may be doubled for repeat offenders. 
 
- The ROYG Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor (MOSAL), 
Child Labor Unit (CLU), is severely constrained in its 
ability to investigate and document complaints of child labor 
violations. MOSAL's budget is inadequate to fund the 
monitoring and capacity building measures and training 
necessary to empower the CLU to monitor and reduce the 
phenomenon of child labor in Yemen. The CLU has approximately 
20 monitors throughout the country. There is, however, 
considerable apathy among those monitors, who are paid only 4 
thousand Yemeni Rial (YR), the equivalent of less than 20 
USD, per month. The ministry has no database capacity for the 
collection, storage and analysis of information gathered by 
the monitors. Again, this is due to the severe budgetary 
constraints of the MOSAL. 
 
- The CLU has been able, through partnerships and networking 
with NGOs such as the International Labor Organization, 
International Program for the Elimination of Child labor 
(ILO/IPEC) and ACCESS-MENA, to develop programs that target 
at risk communities and responsible government officials 
through awareness training programs as well as rehabilitation 
 
 
and training programs. 
 
¶4.  Section C) Social programs in Yemen specifically designed 
to prevent and withdraw children from the worst forms of 
child labor: 
 
- The Community, Habitat and Finance (CHF) ACCESS-MENA 
program is an 8 million US dollar (USD) US Department of 
Labor (USDOL) funded program covering Lebanon and Yemen. The 
program aims to prevent child labor by improving access to, 
and the quality of, basic education. The program does not 
give the children or their families money to withdraw 
children from the work force. Instead, the program works with 
NGOs and with school and government authorities to conduct 
workshops and public awareness campaigns to create an 
environment that encourages families to withdraw children 
from the work force to attend school. 
 
- The Yemeni government in cooperation with the ILO/IPEC 
established anti-child labor units in a number of government 
institutions throughout the country. The program funded by 
USDOL is a 4 year, 3 million USD program. In 2005, the 
ILO/IPEC established centers for rehabilitation of child 
workers in Sanaa, Seiyoun, and Aden, and Hodeidah. Within 4 
months, these centers were able to rehabilitate 719 street 
children in the Sanaa and Seiyoun centers. In the beginning 
of 2007, ILO/IPEC established an additional center for the 
rehabilitation of child workers in the fishing industry. 
 
¶5.  Section D) Yemen does have a comprehensive policy aimed 
at the elimination of the worst forms of child labor: 
 
- The ROYG has a Country Program Action Plan which 
incorporates the National Policy and Program Framework (NPPF) 
for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor in 
Lebanon and Yemen funded by USDOL with 3 million dollars US. 
Launched in Yemen by ILO/IPEC, the plan is included in the 
ROYG's Third 5 Year Plan under the strategy for poverty 
reduction. The NFFP is designed to achieve 4 objectives: 1) 
Strengthened enforcement mechanisms and harmonization of the 
ROYG legislative framework with international standards for 
the WFCL and strengthened enforcement mechanisms. 2) 
Enhancement of ROYG capacity to implement legislation, 
policies and programs to eliminate the WFCL. 3) Increased 
awareness about the negative consequences of the WFCL in 
Yemen and how to deal with the problem. 4) Withdrawal and 
prevention of the exploitation and engagement of boys and 
girls in the WFCL, through effective intervention models. 
 
- Education is free by law in Yemen, but in practice the cost 
of books and school uniforms raise the cost to about 10 USD 
per student per year. The average Yemeni household has an 
income of between 450 USD and 730 USD per year (approximately 
2 USD per day). With one of the highest population growth 
rates in the world at 3.1 percent per year, the average woman 
in Yemen has six children. School, at 10 USD per year per 
student, becomes cost prohibitive for many families in Yemen. 
Estimates by CHF ACCESS-MENA place the number of children out 
of school in Yemen at more than two million. CHF further 
clarifies this number, stating that 55 percent of the 
children in Yemen between the ages of 6-15 are out of school. 
 
¶6.  Section E) Yemen is making continual progress toward 
eliminating the worst forms of child labor: 
 
- Definite and updated statistics on child labor are not 
available but the issue of child labor in Yemen is high on 
the list of the ROYG's agenda.  The problem is addressed in 
Yemen's five year plan, and National Poverty Reduction and 
Childhood and Youth Strategy (NPRCYS). Child labor is an 
issue also regularly referred to in national media and 
parliamentary discussions. The NFFP is constructed as a 
coherent set of policies, strategies, and objectives, aimed 
at responding to the problem of child labor and the WFCL in 
Yemen. While there is some indication of a rise in child 
labor, the fact that the ROYG is working with NGOs and donors 
to confront the underlying issues of poverty and illiteracy 
illustrates progress toward the elimination of the WFCL in 
Yemen. The programs in place are relatively new and will take 
time to have significant impact on the child labor situation 
but the ROYG appears committed to the fight and to increasing 
its own capacity to ensure sustainability of the reduction in 
child labor and the elimination of the WFCL in Yemen. 
 
- CHF reports that children in Yemen are employed 
predominantly in agriculture and fishing. Estimates claim 
that 82.9 percent of children work for their families 
(including street beggars) and 17.1 percent work outside the 
 
 
family. MOSAL cites that children working outside the family 
are employed in small factories and shops. CHF reports claim 
that that approximately 51.7 percent of male children between 
the ages of 10-14 are in the work force compared to 48.3 
percent of female children in the same age group. 
 
- According to the CLU, Yemen is free from slavery practices 
but the ROYG does acknowledge a high rate of trafficking of 
children into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) for work. CLU 
estimates not less than 10 children per day are trafficked 
into KSA. MOSAL has no reports indicating that children are 
trafficked into KSA for commercial sex. Young girls may, 
however, fall victim to internal trafficking for commercial 
sex. A draft study conducted by ILO/IPEC in three 
governorates, Mahweet, Aden and Taiz, indicates that there is 
evidence that young girls below the age of 15 are  being 
trafficked into the commercial sex trade in those areas. They 
predominately work in hotels, casinos, and bars. 
 
¶7.  COMMENT: Yemen is the poorest country in the Middle East 
and one of the least developed countries in the world. The 
average Yemeni household subsists on an income of less than 2 
USD per day. An exploding population growth rate at 3.1 
percent per year places poor households in the position of 
sending children into the work force instead of to school to 
supplement the family income. The ROYG is to be commended for 
developing plans and partnerships with international donors 
and NGOs to combat the problem that many other countries in 
the region, due to cultural sensitivity, would simply deny or 
ignore. Post hopes that the nascent programs ongoing in Yemen 
will continue to receive adequate funding to ensure that the 
ROYG is able to develop its own capacity to eliminate and 
prevent the WFCL in a sustainable fashion. END COMMENT. 
SECHE