VZCZCXRO6666
OO RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHDK #0688 1631423
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 111423Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY DAKAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0648
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLMC/MCC WASHDC

UNCLAS DAKAR 000688 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR AF/W, AF/RSA, DRL/AE AND INR/AA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD SOCI PHUM PGOV PINS KDEM SG
SUBJECT: SENEGAL: INFORMATION ON FORCED LABOR AND CHILD LABOR IN THE 
PRODUCTION OF GOODS 
 
REFS:  STATE 43120 
 
¶1. (U) The majority of working children can be found in agriculture, 
livestock herding, hunting, fishing, domestic service, sewing and 
weaving activities, transportation, construction, as well as in 
automobile repair shops, restaurants, and hotels.  Children also 
work in hazardous conditions in rock quarrying and mining.  Children 
are exploited in such activities as begging, forced labor, 
prostitution, drug trafficking and other illegal activities, 
recycling of waste and garbage, and slaughtering of animals. 
 
¶2. (U) Senegal's main agricultural products which are generally 
grown for internal consumption are: peanuts, millet, corn, cassava, 
beans, melons, rice, cotton, fruit (depending on the season: 
mangoes, oranges, and mandarins), vegetables (onions, potatoes, 
tomatoes, yucca, and lettuce) and livestock.  The use of talibes 
(Koranic school students) in the gathering of cashew, mango and 
orange harvests is widespread in the Casamance region of Senegal. 
Talibes work all day long for about two dollars in harvesting these 
products.  The adults who employ them in such tasks not only subject 
them to long hours of work but expose them to the dangers of land 
mines in the areas of Kandialan near Ziguinchor or Niaguis. 
 
¶3. (U) Children working in the fishing industry mostly come from the 
Lebou traditional families; however, many fishermen now come from 
the interior of Senegal and other surrounding countries to fish. 
Catches include: shark, broadbill, blue martin, catfish, mackerel, 
tuna, eagle ray, sole, sweetlips, mullet, herring, squid and 
shellfish, etc.  Some inland fishing techniques potentially expose 
children to explosives. 
 
¶4. (U) Children also work in the collection of steel scraps which 
they sell them for about six cents a kilo.  In the city of Thies it 
is common to use talibes to collect garbage from homes for a very 
small fee.  These young children often collapse under the heavy 
loads they carry. 
 
¶5. (U) Child labor in the production of goods is not a major problem 
in Senegal.  Children do work in mechanic garages and fish markets 
but not in the manufacturing sector where child labor laws are 
enforced.  Children are, however, employed in Senegal's thousands of 
small tailoring shops and also in small-scale weaving activities, 
both with yarn and natural fibers.  There are also significant 
problems related to begging by talibs and the use of underage 
maids. 
SMITH