2006 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Comoros

Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 2006 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Comoros, United States Department of Labor, 31 August 2007, https://www.refworld.org/reference/annualreport/usdol/2007/en/61083 [accessed 24 April 2024]
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Selected Statistics and Indicators on Child Labor
Percent of children 5-14 estimated as working in 2000:35.6%1061
Minimum age for admission to work:151062
Age to which education is compulsory:141063
Free public education:No1064
Gross primary enrollment rate in 2004:85%1065
Net primary enrollment rate in 2000:55%1066
Percent of children 5-14 attending school in 2000:44.2%1067
As of 2003, percent of primary school entrants likely to reach grade 5:63%1068
Ratified Convention 138:3/17/20041069
Ratified Convention 182:3/17/20041070
ILO-IPEC participating country:No1071

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

In 2000, approximately 35 percent of boys and 36.2 percent of girls ages 5 to 14 were working in Comoros.1072 Work performed by children includes subsistence farming and fishing.1073 Some children as young as 7 work as domestic servants in exchange for food, shelter, or educational assistance; these children are often subject to abuse.1074 Children also work on the streets,1075 and some children are not paid for work that they perform.1076

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The law sets the minimum age for employment at 15.1077 Hazardous work, such as that involving explosives or dangerous building sites, is prohibited to children. Inspectors must notify a judge of child labor law violations.1078

Unmarried children under 18 are considered minors; the law protects them from sexual exploitation. Child prostitution and pornography are illegal.1079 Punishments for involvement with the prostitution of a minor range from 2 to 5 years of imprisonment and fines; penalties are doubled in cases of reoccurrence within 10 years. These penalties also apply if the crime was committed in a different country.1080 A juvenile court can impose protective measures for persons under 21 years who engage in prostitution.1081 The law prohibits forced and bonded labor except in instances of obligatory military service, work that is considered a civic duty to the community, and work that is required in times of accidents, fires, and calamities.1082 The law does not contain penalties specific to forced labor by children.1083 According to the U.S. Department of State, the government does not actively enforce child labor laws or consistently enforce minimum age requirements for employment.1084

Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor

Research has not identified any policies or programs by the Government of Comoros to address exploitive child labor.

1061 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates, March 1, 2007, Articles 322, 323, and 324.

1062 U.S. Department of State, "Comoros," in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices – 2006, Washington, DC, March 6, 2007, Section 6d; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/.

1063 UNESCO, EFA Global Monitoring Report: Early Childhood Care and Education, France, 2007; available from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001477/147794E.pdf. See also Angela Melchiorre, At What Age?... Are School-Children Employed, Married, and Taken to Court?, Right to Education, 2004; available from http://www.right-to-education.org/.

1064 UNESCO, EFA Global Monitoring Report: Early Childhood Care and Education, France, 2007; available from http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0014/001477/147794E.pdf.

1065 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Gross Enrolment Ratio. Primary. Total, accessed December 20, 2006; available from http://stats.uis.unesco.org/.

1066 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Net Enrolment Rate. Primary. Total, accessed December 20, 2006; available from http://stats.uis.unesco.org/.

1067 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates.

1068 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Survival Rate to Grade 5. Total, accessed December 18, 2006; available from http://stats.uis.unesco.org.

1069 ILO, Ratifications by Country, accessed October 20, 2006; available from http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/newratframeE.htm.

1070 Ibid.

1071 ILO-IPEC, IPEC Action Against Child Labour; Highlights 2006, Geneva, October 2006; available from http://www.ilo.org/iloroot/docstore/ipec/prod/eng/20070228_Implementati….

1072 UCW analysis of ILO SIMPOC, UNICEF MICS, and World Bank surveys, Child Economic Activity and School Attendance Rates.

1073 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Comoros," Section 6d.

1074 Ibid., Sections 5 and 6d. See also UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Summary Record of the 666th Meeting: Comoros, CDC/C/SR.666, Geneva, June 2001, Para. 3. See also ILO Committee of Experts, Direct Request, Minimum Age (Non-Industrial Employment), 1932 (No. 33) Comoros (ratification: 1978), [online] [cited October 19, 2006]; available from http://www.ilo.org/ilolex/english/newcountryframeE.htm.

1075 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of Reports Submitted by States Parties Under Article 44 of the Convention: Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child, Comoros, CRC/C/15/Add.141, October 2000, Para. 39. See also UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Summary Record, para. 3 and 39.

1076 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Comoros," Section 6d.

1077 Ibid.

1078 Melchiorre, At What Age?, 53.

1079 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Comoros," Section 5.

1080 The Protection Project, Criminal Code of Comoros, [previously online] [cited May 19, 2004], Articles 322, 323, and 324; available from http://www.protectionproject.org [hard copy on file].

1081 Ibid., Article 327.

1082 Government of Comoros, Code du Travail, Loi No. 84 -018/PR portant Code du Travail, (1984); available from http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/WEBTEXT/1515/64795/F84COM01.htm.

1083 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2006: Comoros," Section 6c.

1084 Ibid., Section 6d.

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