2007 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Comoros

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

The majority of working children in Comoros are engaged in agriculture and activities in the informal sector.⁸²² The greatest proportion of children work in rural areas, and on the Island of Ndzuwani.⁸²³ Children work in subsistence farming, cultivating cloves, vanilla, and ylang ylang; in animal husbandry; and fishing.⁸²⁴ Children also sell goods along roadsides (such as peanuts, fish, and vegetables), and extract and sell marine sand.⁸²⁵ Some children work as domestic servants in exchange for food, shelter, or educational opportunities; these children are often not paid for their work, are subject to abuse, and carry heavy loads for long distances.⁸²⁶

Some children work under forced labor conditions, including in domestic service and agriculture.⁸²⁷ Some Koranic schools arrange for poor students to receive lessons in exchange for labor, which is sometimes forced.⁸²⁸

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The minimum age for admission to work and apprenticeship in Comoros is 15 years.⁸²⁹ Children in apprenticeships must be paid and the duration cannot be longer than 3 years.⁸³⁰ Children must be at least 17 years of age to enter into a formal professional school.⁸³¹ Enterprises, such as stores and banks, are required to maintain a list of children they employ that are under 18 years. ⁸³² The law requires that children work no more than 40 hours per week, and receive a break of a minimum of 12 consecutive hours per day.⁸³³ A labor inspector can require a medical examination of a child to confirm if the work exceeds their strength.⁸³⁴ The punishment for a third-time offense of employing a child under the age of 15 is imprisonment.⁸³⁵

The law protects children under 18 years from sexual exploitation, and child prostitution and pornography are illegal.⁸³⁶ Punishment for involvement with the prostitution of a minor ranges from 2 to 5 years imprisonment and a fine, and penalties are doubled in cases of reoccurrence within 10 years.⁸³⁷ These penalties also apply if the crime is committed in a different country.⁸³⁸

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.⁸³⁹ The punishment for exacting forced labor is 3 months to 3 years of imprisonment, and a fine.⁸⁴⁰

The Tribunal for Minors at the national level includes several judges who are responsible for protecting children before a court.⁸⁴¹ The Government has three labor inspectors, one for each main island.⁸⁴² One inspector reports averaging 10 labor inspections per year.⁸⁴³ According to USDOS, the Government does not actively enforce child labor laws, or have a sufficient number of labor inspectors to effectively follow up on cases of child labor.⁸⁴⁴

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.

821 For statistical data not cited here, see the Data Sources and Definitions section. For data on ratifications and ILO-IPEC membership, see the Executive Summary. For minimum age for admission to work, age to which education is compulsory, and free public education, see Government of Comoros, Code du Travail, Loi No. 84 – 018/PR portant Code du Travail, (1984), article 123; available from http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/WEBTEXT/1515/64795/F84COM01.htm. See also Government of Comoros, Portant orientation sur l'éducation, Décret de promulongation No. 95-012/PR, Loi No. 94-035/AF, (December 20, 1994), article 1. See also UNESCO, EFA Global Monitoring Report 2008: Education for All by 2015 Will We Make it?, France, 2007, 282; available from http://portal.unesco.org/education/en/ev.php-URL_ID=49591&URL_DO=DO_TOP….

822 Commissariat Général au Plan Union des Comores, Programme des Nations Unies pour le Developpement, Pauvreté, Inégalité et Marché du travail dans l'Union des Comores: Eléments d'analyse Fondés sur l'Enquête Intégrale Auprés des Ménages de 2004, Moroni, December 2005, XX.

823 Ministere du Plan Union des Comores, de l'Amenagement du Territoire, de l'Energie et de l'urbanisme, Enfants et Adolescents aux Comores: Analyse des Données du Recensement Général de la Population et de l'Habitat 2003, Moroni, September 2005, 27.

824 U.S. Department of State, "Comoros," in Country Reports on Human Rights Practices-2007, Washington, DC, March 11, 2008, section 6d; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2007/c25283.htm. See also Ministère de la Sante. Direction Generale de la Condition feminine/Protection de l'enfant official, Interview with USDOL consultant, April 24, 2007. See also Ministère de la Justice de l'ile d'Anjouan official, Interview with USDOL consultant, April 25, 2007. See also Ministère de la Fonction Publique et du Travail de l'Union des Comores official, Interview with USDOL consultant, May 1, 2007.

825 Ministère de l'Economie de l'Union des Comores official, Interview with USDOL consultant, April 21, 2007. See also Ministère de la Justice de l'ile d'Anjouan official, Interview, Ministère de la Justice de l'ile d'Anjouan, April 25, 2007. See also Ministère de l'Economie de l'Union des Comores official, Interview, Ministère de l'Economie, April 21, 2007.

826 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2007: Comoros," section 6d. See also SOS ESPOIR official, Interview with USDOL consultant, April 25, 2007. See also Bureau de Réseau Femme et Développement official, Interview with USDOL consultant, May 1, 2007. See also Ministère de l'Economie de l'Union des Comores official, Interview, Ministère de l'Economie, April 21, 2007.

827 Ministère de l'Economie de l'Union des Comores official, Interview, Ministère de l'Economie, April 21, 2007. See also Ministère de l'Economie de l'Emploi et du travail official, Interview with USDOL consultant, April 21, 2007.

828 Ministere de la Sante. ODEROI, Interview with USDOL consultant, April 26, 2007. See also Union Internationale des Droits de l'Homme official, Interview with USDOL consultant, April 24, 2007.

829 Government of Comoros, Relative à l'apprentissage, Loi No. 88-014/AF (December 10, 1980), articles 5, 10 and 16. See also Government of Comoros, Code du Travail, Loi No. 84 -018/PR portant Code du Travail, (1984), article 123; available from http://www.ilo.org/dyn/natlex/docs/WEBTEXT/1515/64795/F84COM01.htm.

830 Government of Comoros, Loi relative a l'apprentissage, articles 5, 10 and 16. See also Government of Comoros, Code du Travail, article 123.

831 Government of Comoros, Fixant statut de la Formation Professionnelle et précisant ses modalités et son cadre d'exécution, Loi No. 83-010/PR (November 4, 1983), article 2.

832 Le President du Conseil de Gouvernement, Fixant un registre d'employeur pour les jeunes gens de moins de 18 ans qui travaillent dans les entreprises des Comores, Arrete No. 67-18/IT/C, (January 5, 1967), article 1 and 3.

833 Government of Comoros, Code du Travail, article 119. See also République Fédérale Islamique des Comoros, Fixant les modalités d'application de la durée du travail et les majorations de salaire pour les heures effectuées au dela da la durée legale de 40 heures par semaine, Arrete No. 01-386, (December 21, 2001), article 1.

834 Government of Comoros, Code du Travail, article 124.

835 Ibid., article 252.

836 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2007: Comoros," section 5. See also U.S. Embassy – Antananarivo, reporting, December 3, 2007, para 3a.

837 Riziki Djabir, Harmonization of laws relating to children: Comoros, The Africa Policy Forum, Addis Ababa, 27; available from http://www.africanchild.info/documents/Comoros%20report%20Sarah.doc. See also Government of Comoros, Portant Code pénal, Loi No. 82/PAF -Loi 95-012/AF (November 19, 1982), article 323.

838 The Protection Project, Criminal Code of Comoros, [previously online] [cited December 14, 2007], articles 322, 323, and 324; available from http://www.protectionproject.org [hard copy on file].

839 Government of Comoros, Code du Travail, article 2.

840 Ibid., article 237.

841 Union des Comores, Loi Relative à l'Organisation Transitoire des Juridictions pour Mineurs, (December 31, 2005), article 1.

842 Ministère de l'Economie de l'Union des Comores official, Interview, Ministère de l'Economie, April 21, 2007. See also Ministère de la Sante official, Interview with USDOL consultant, April 24, 2007.

843 Ministère de la Fonction Publique et du Travail de l'Union des Comores official, Interview, Ministère de la Fonction Publique et du Travail, May 1, 2007.

844 U.S. Department of State, "Country Reports – 2007: Comoros," section 5 and 6d. See also U.S. Embassy – Antananarivo, reporting, December 3, 2007, para 3b.