US embassy cable - 04SANAA2015

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANAA 002015 
 
SIPDIS 
 
PLEASE PASS TO DOL/ILAB FOR TINA FAULKNER AND DRL/IL FOR 
MARINDA HARPOLE. 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, EIND, ETRD, PHUM, SOCI, YM, HUMAN RIGHTS, TRAFFICKING PERSONS 
SUBJECT: YEMEN CHILD LABOR UPDATE FOR TDA REPORT 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 163982 
     B. JEDDAH 1340 
     C. SANAA 611 
     D. 03 SANAA 02028 
     E. 02 SANAA 3572 
     F. 00 SANAA 4223 
 
1. Summary.  In Yemen, children augment family and household 
incomes as street vendors and workers in family businesses or 
on the family farm.  Slavery, child prostitution and 
trafficking are not major issues in Yemen.  Some donors 
express concern that child trafficking may be on the rise. 
Government officials and NGOs are working together to provide 
basic education, counseling, vocational training,  and to 
eliminate the employment of children in hazardous jobs and 
arrive at a joint strategy to eliminate child labor 
altogether.  Last year, Parliament and the Ministry of Human 
Rights gave increasing focus and recognition to the issue of 
child trafficking.  End Summary. 
 
----------------------------- 
2004 YEMEN CHILD LABOR UPDATE 
----------------------------- 
 
2. Begin update: 
 
A)   DOES YEMEN HAVE ADEQUATE LAWS AND REGULATIONS 
PROSCRIBING THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR? 
 
Update: Pending donor funding, the ROYG will review all of 
its laws regarding child labor to ensure coordination between 
the different ministries.  The law will clarify the 
ministries' roles and insure that they comply with 
international conventions.  Last year's update noted that the 
ROYG would be completing this effort but international 
funding for such a project was not secured (ref d).  The 
Ministry of Labor (MOL) conducted a baseline survey of child 
labor in Yemen, collecting information from trade unions, 
chambers of commerce and MOL branch offices.  MOL estimates 
that there are close to half a million working children, ages 
6 to 14, and that working children comprise 10 to 15 percent 
of the total work force. 
 
B) DOES YEMEN HAVE ADEQUATE LAWS AND REGULATIONS FOR THE 
IMPLEMENTATION AND ENFORCEMENT OF PROSCRIPTIONS AGAINST THE 
WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR?  ARE THERE ANY RECENT 
GOVERNMENTAL OR JUDICIAL INITIATIVES TO STRENGTHEN CHILD 
LABOR LEGISLATION AND REGULATIONS? 
 
Update: Adequate enforcement of regulations remains weak in 
many government ministries, not only in the MOL.  Due to 
serious resource constraints, the MOL employs less than 
twenty child labor inspectors to investigate crimes 
throughout the entire country and was not able to hire 
additional inspectors as reported last year (ref d). 
 
C) HAS YEMEN ESTABLISHED FORMAL INSTITUTIONAL MECHANISMS TO 
INVESTIGATE AND ADDRESS COMPLAINTS RELATING TO THE WORST 
FORMS OF CHILD LABOR? 
 
No update required. 
 
D) WHETHER SOCIAL PROGRAMS HAVE BEEN IMPLEMENTED TO PREVENT 
THE ENGAGEMENT OF CHILDREN IN THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR, 
AND TO ASSIST IN REMOVING CHILDREN ENGAGED IN THE WORST FORMS 
OF CHILD LABOR? 
 
Update: Under the auspices of the Mayor of Sanaa and 
supported in part by funds from the U.S. Department of Labor 
to the ILO, ILO/IPEC opened a rehabilitation center for 
victims of child labor in 2002.  In the past year, IPEC began 
offering remedial education, vocational training, and some 
counseling in addition to the ongoing effort to re-integrate 
child laborers into mainstream schools. 
 
E) WHETHER THE COUNTRY HAS A COMPREHENSIVE POLICY AIMED AT 
THE ELIMINATION OF THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR? 
 
No update required. 
 
F) WHETHER THE COUNTRY IS MAKING CONTINUAL PROGRESS TOWARD 
ELIMINATING THE WORST FORMS OF CHILD LABOR? 
 
Update: The issue of child labor enjoys the focus and concern 
of the ROYG and several of its ministries, such as the MOL 
and the Ministry of Education.  Nonetheless, the ROYG needs 
increased coordination between child labor officials in its 
ministries and with NGOs and international organizations. 
Progress is slow and child labor remains a significant 
problem for Yemeni society. 
 
----------------------------- 
ADDENDUM ON CHILD TRAFFICKING 
----------------------------- 
 
3.  While the incidence of child trafficking appears limited, 
the ROYG and NGOs report that child smuggling in Yemen needs 
to be more closely examined (ref c).  In recent months, the 
press occasionally reported incidents of child trafficking to 
Saudi Arabia.  The English language weekly, "Yemen Times," 
reported that 40 Yemeni children a month are detained by 
Saudi police for street begging and repatriated.  Jeddah 
reported on this phenomenon in ref b. 
 
4.  The ROYG acknowledges a possible problem and has taken 
action against child smuggling.  The ROYG and UNICEF are 
currently working on a project to examine the nature and 
extent of possible internal and external child smuggling.  In 
the past year, two child traffickers were prosecuted.  One 
received a three-year prison sentence, a concrete example pf 
the ROYG's efforts to combat child trafficking. 
Nonetheless, the ROYG's capabilities suffer from serious 
limitations, including extreme poverty, porous borders with 
Saudi Arabia and along its 1,400 km coastline, lack of 
training for police and security officials in identifying and 
preventing cases of trafficking, and a cultural acceptance of 
working children.  To assist in the outreach against child 
trafficking, Post is currently seeking USG funding to launch 
a trafficking awareness campaign with the cooperation of the 
ROYG. 
 
End Update. 
KRAJESKI