VZCZCXRO5544
RR RUEHROV
DE RUEHDJ #1039/01 3631252
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 281252Z DEC 08
FM AMEMBASSY DJIBOUTI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9857
INFO RUCNIAD/IGAD COLLECTIVE
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0352

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DJIBOUTI 001039 
 
STATE FOR AF/E AND DRL/ILCSR 
DOL FOR DOL/ILAB 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI DJ
SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI: CHILD LABOR INFORMATION FOR TRADE AND DEVELOPMENT 
ACT REPORT 
 
REF: STATE 127448 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: Child labor in Djibouti is largely limited to informal 
sector activities, including street vending, work in family-owned 
businesses, and begging.  In rural areas, children are often 
involved in caring for their families' livestock.  Agriculture in 
Djibouti is largely limited to nomadic pastoralism, and there is no 
significant manufacturing sector.  A small number of children, 
especially street children, are involved in prostitution.  By 
promulgating a new comprehensive anti-trafficking law and working to 
raise public awareness on this issue, the GODJ is making significant 
efforts to combat child prostitution.  END SUMMARY. 
 
----------------------------------- 
A: LAWS AND REGULATIONS PROSCRIBING 
THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2. The minimum age for employment and apprenticeships in Djibouti is 
16 years.  Young persons 16 to 18 years may not be employed as 
domestic servants or in hotels and bars.  Young persons must receive 
the same payment as adults for similar work.  The Labor Inspector 
can require a medical exam to verify if the work is beyond the 
capabilities of the young person.  Penalties for non-compliance with 
the provisions regarding equal pay and medical exams are punishable 
by fines.  Night work is explicitly forbidden for individuals 
younger than 18 years, with penalties for non-compliance that 
include fines and, on the second infraction, 15 days of 
imprisonment. 
 
¶3. The law prohibits forced and bonded labor.  The law also 
prohibits the procurement of prostitution, with punishments 
including a fine and up to 10 years of imprisonment when a minor is 
involved.  Increased penalties also apply if coercion is used or in 
cases involving the trafficking of persons outside or into the 
country.  The law also provides for penalties against the use of 
children in pornography and in the trafficking of drugs.  In 
December 2007, the President of Djibouti signed a new comprehensive 
anti-trafficking law.  Law 210 "Regarding the Fight Against Human 
Trafficking" covers both internal and transnational trafficking and 
prohibits all forms of trafficking in persons.  It protects victims 
regardless of ethnicity, gender, or nationality, and prescribes 
penalties of up to 30 years' imprisonment for traffickers. 
 
¶4. Djibouti does not have compulsory military service.  The GODJ 
stated in a 1998 report to the UN Committee on the Rights of the 
Child that "as is the case for all civilian and military jobs, young 
people under 18 may not be accepted into the army."  The Government 
has a voluntary national services program for persons ages 17 to 25 
that includes military training, but there were no reports of any 
people under 18 in the armed forces. 
 
--------------------------------- 
B: IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶5. The authority to enforce child labor laws and regulations rests 
with the Police Vice Squad (Brigade des Moeurs) and the local police 
department (Gendarmerie). The Brigade des Moeurs has reportedly 
closed bars where child prostitution may be occurring.  The Labor 
Inspectorate has the authority to sanction businesses that employ 
children.  As of 2008, the Labor Inspectorate had three inspectors 
and six controllers.  Child labor inspections are normally conducted 
during the course of regular preventative inspections, or if a 
problem is reported.  However, in practice the Labor Inspectorate 
did not have sufficient resources to conduct regular preventive 
inspections, or to follow up on the enforcement of previous cases, 
and no child labor inspections occurred during the year. 
 
----------------------------------------- 
C, D, E: PREVENTION, POLICY, AND PROGRESS 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶6. In urban areas of Djibouti, children work in a variety of 
informal sector activities.  Children perform jobs such as shining 
shoes, guarding and washing cars, cleaning storefronts, sorting 
merchandise, selling various items, and changing money.  Children 
work day and night in family-owned businesses such as restaurants 
and small shops.  Some children work as domestic servants and others 
are involved in begging.  Children are also involved in the sale of 
the legal narcotic khat.  Many working children are displaced from 
neighboring countries such as Ethiopia and Somalia, and some live on 
the streets.  In rural areas, children work in agriculture and with 
livestock. 
 
¶7. Large numbers of voluntary economic migrants from Ethiopia and 
Somalia pass illegally through Djibouti en route to the Middle East; 
 
DJIBOUTI 00001039  002 OF 002 
 
 
among this group, a small number of women and girls fall victim to 
domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation after reaching 
Djibouti City or the Ethiopia-Djibouti trucking corridor. A small 
number of girls from impoverished Djiboutian families may also be 
exploited in prostitution as a means of income, in some instances 
under the auspices of traffickers.  There were credible reports of 
child prostitution on the streets and in brothels despite increased 
government efforts to stop it, including keeping children at risk 
off the streets and warning businesses against permitting children 
to enter bars and clubs. 
 
¶8. Increasing school attendance has remained a top priority for the 
GODJ.  The GODJ currently devotes nearly a third of its national 
budget to education, with a particular focus on primary education, 
and has asked international donors to channel assistance to the 
education sector.  Gross enrollment rates increased from 49 percent 
in 2003 to 67 percent in 2007.  Girls' enrollment rates have 
especially increased: whereas in 2003 there were only 75 girls 
enrolled in school for every 100 boys, in 2007 the ratio was 98 
girls enrolled for every 100 boys. 
 
¶9. In March 2007, the Government of Djibouti's Ministry of 
Communication initiated its first anti-trafficking public awareness 
campaign, specifically citing child prostitution.  This campaign 
also included coverage of a Government debate in October 2007 
regarding the recently enacted anti-trafficking law.  Moreover, the 
President of Djibouti and his wife hosted a public education event 
that highlighted putting an end to child trafficking. 
 
SWAN