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Guinea-Bissau
Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor
The Government of Guinea-Bissau has developed a national education plan, which will improve both access to schools and the quality of education, and which relies upon the work of the general population, the private sector, and contributions by NGOs.[1132] The World Bank is assisting the government to achieve these goals through a Basic Education Support loan project. The World Bank Project also has a girls’ schooling component.[1133] In addition, UNICEF is working with the Ministry of Education to operate primary education projects in war-affected areas in order to rebuild houses and to provide teacher training and classroom supplies.[1134]
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor
In 1999, UNICEF estimated that 65.4 percent of children between the ages of 5 and 14 years in Guinea-Bissau were working.[1135] Children work in street trading, farming, and domestic labor.[1136] Reports also indicate that children as young as 14 years of age fought on both sides of the civil conflict in 1998 and 1999.[1137]
Education is compulsory from the age of 7 to 13.[1138] In 1998, the gross primary enrollment rate was 53.5 percent, with higher enrollment ratio for males (67.7 percent) compared to females (40 percent).[1139] Guinea-Bissau is continuing to recover from the civil conflict of 1999, which displaced one-third of the population, destroyed many schools, and prevented most young children from attending school for at least half a year.[1140]
Child Labor Laws and Enforcement
The General Labor Act sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years for factory work and 18 years for heavy or dangerous labor, including work in mines.[1141] The law prohibits forced labor.[1142] Twenty-four months of military service is compulsory for all citizens between 18 and 25 years old.[1143] There are no specific laws protecting children from commercial sexual exploitation.[1144] The Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Civil Service and Labor generally enforce minimum age laws in the formal sector, but do not enforce these requirements in other sectors.[1145] Guinea-Bissau has not ratified ILO Convention 138 or ILO Convention 182.[1146]
[1132] UNESCO, The Education for All (EFA) 2000 Assessment: Country Reports—Guinea-Bissau, at http://www2.unesco.org/wef/countryreports/guinea_bissau/contents.html on 10/17/01.
[1133] Basic Education Support Project, World Bank Project Data, at http://www.worldbank.org/sprojects/project.asp?pid=p001015 on 12/11/01.
[1134] In the past, UNICEF also implemented its Global Girls’ Education Program in Guinea-Bissau, specifically targeting girls’ enrollment, although the country project was recently put on hold. See UNICEF’s Humanitarian Response. See also UNICEF, Global Girls= Education Program, Guinea-Bissau, at http://www.unicefusa.org/girls_ed/global.html#guineabissau on 10/17/01.
[1135] In a 2000 study, it was estimated that 5.1 percent of children between ages 5 and 14 engage in paid work; 9.7 percent participate in unpaid work for someone other than a household member; and, overall, 65.4 percent of children are working in some capacity. Children who are working in some capacity include children who have performed any paid or unpaid work for someone who is not a member of the household, who have performed more than 4 hours of housekeeping chores in the household, or who have performed other family work. See Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) 2, available at Understanding Children’s Work, at http://www.ucw-project.org/resources/index.html on 12/11/01. See also UNICEF, MICS: Guinea-Bissau, December 2000, at http://www.childinfo.org/mics2/gj99306k.htm on 12/11/01.
[1136] Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2000—Guinea-Bissau(Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State, 2001) [hereinafter Country Reports 2000], Section 6d, at http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2000/af/index.cfm?docid=828.
[1137] Amnesty International, Annual Report 2000: Guinea-Bissau, at http;www.web.amnesty.org/web/ar2000web.nsf on 10/16/01.
[1138] Youth at the UN, Country Profiles on the Situation of Youth: Guinea-Bissau, at http://esa.un.org/socdev/unyin/countrya.asp?countrycode=gw on 10/16/01.
[1139] Net enrollment statistics on Guinea-Bissau are not available. See UNESCO, Education for All (EFA): Year 2000 Assessment (Paris, 2000) [hereinafter EFA Assessment] [CD-ROM].
[1140] According to the U.S. Department of State, by the end of 1999, most internally displaced persons had returned to their homes. See UNICEF, UNICEF’s Humanitarian Response to Children, January–December 1999, Guinea-Bissau[hereinafter UNICEF’s Humanitarian Response], at http://www.unicef.org/cap/gbissau.pdf on 10/16/01. For year of conflict, see also Country Reports 2000 at the Introduction.
[1141] Country Reports 2000 at Section 6d.
[1142] Ibid. at Section 6c.
[1143] There is no information available on the minimum age for voluntary recruitment in Guinea-Bissau. See Coalition to End the Use of Child Soldiers, Global Report 2001: Guinea-Bissau, at http://www.child-soldiers.org/report2001/countries/guinea_bissau.html on 11/29/01.
[1144] The specific law prohibiting forced labor is not named. See “CSEC Overview,” ECPAT International Database, at http://www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/projects/monitoring/online/database/ on 0/30/01.
[1145] Country Reports 2000 at Section 6d.
[1146] ILOLEX database: Guinea-Bissau at http://ilolex.ilo.ch:1567/english/ on 10/16/01.
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