US embassy cable - 04MAPUTO1366

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MAPUTO 001366 
 
SIPDIS 
AF/S - HTREGER 
DOL/ILAB FOR FAULKNER 
DRL/IL FOR HARPOLE 
SENSITIVE 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, EAID, PHUM, SOCI, ETRD, MZ 
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: UPDATED CHILD LABOR INFORMATION 
 
REFS: (A) STATE 163967 
 
(B) 2004 Mozambique Human Rights Report 
Draft, Potts 9/22/2004 email 
(C) 03 MAPUTO 000284 (Post draft 2003 
Trafficking in Persons Report) 
 
1. Please handle accordingly. Not for internet distribution. 
 
Summary 
-------- 
2. (SBU) Mozambique is party to the ILO convention 
against the worst forms of child labor. The Government 
of the Republic of Mozambique (GRM) has a regulatory 
framework in place to monitor and prosecute infractions 
of the labor code, but it does not have a regulatory 
body specifically devoted to child labor cases. The 
Ministry of Labor (MOL) has worked to develop programs 
to combat the worst forms of child labor, but impact to 
date has been minimal. The Labor Law regulates child 
labor; however, child labor remains a problem in 
Mozambique. End Summary. 
 
Incidence and Nature of Child Labor 
----------------------------------- 
3. (U) A rapid assessment child labor survey of 
children under 18 conducted between 1998 - 2002 by the 
MOL and UNICEF identified the worst forms of child 
labor prevalent in Mozambique as children working in 
commercial agriculture, domestic labor, and child 
prostitution. The major factors contributing to child 
labor where chronic family poverty, lack of employment 
for adults, breakdown of family support mechanisms, 
changing economic environment, lack of education 
opportunities resulting from inadequate education 
system, gender inequality, and the impact of HIV/AIDS. 
(Note: Children orphaned by HIV/AIDS often are forced 
to work because they are left without any adult family 
members or with only extended family members who were 
unable to support them. End note.) 
 
Laws and Regulations Defining Child Labor 
----------------------------------------- 
4. (U) The government ratified ILO Conventions 182 and 
29 in July 2003, but has not signed nor ratified the 
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the 
Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and 
Child Pornography, nor the Protocol to Prevent, 
Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons. Law 8/98 
sets the minimum age for employment at 15 years, but in 
exceptional cases, allows for children between the ages 
of 12 and 15 to work with the joint approval of the 
Ministries of Labor, Health, and Education. The law 
sets restricted conditions on the work minors between 
the ages of 15 and 18 may perform, limits the number of 
hours they can work, and establishes training, 
education, and medical exam requirements. For children 
between 15 and 18 years of age, the employer is 
required to provide for their education and 
professional training and to ensure conditions of work 
that are not damaging to their physical and moral 
development. 
 
5. (U) For minors under 18 years, the maximum workweek 
is 38 hours and the maximum workday is 7 hours. Minors 
under 18 years of age are not permitted to work in 
unhealthy or dangerous occupations or those requiring 
significant physical effort. Children must undergo a 
medical examination before beginning work. By law, 
children must be paid at least the minimum wage or a 
minimum of two-thirds of the adult salary, whichever is 
higher. The Constitution prohibits forced labor, 
except in the context of penal law. 
 
6. (U) Due to high adult unemployment in the formal 
sector, estimated at around 50 percent, few children 
are employed in regular wage positions; however, 
children, including those under the age of 15, commonly 
work on family farms; independently in seasonal 
harvests or commercial plantations, where they are paid 
on a piecework basis, which principally involves 
picking cotton or tea leaves; or in the urban informal 
sector, where they perform such tasks as guarding cars, 
collecting scrap metal, working as vendors, and selling 
trinkets and/or food in the streets. Regulations are 
not enforced in the informal labor sector. Children 
also are employed as poorly paid domestic laborers, and 
this number appears to be increasing. 
 
7. (U) Mozambican law does not specifically prohibit 
trafficking in persons. Traffickers can be prosecuted 
using laws on sexual assault, rape, abduction, and 
child abuse, but to post's knowledge, few to none of 
such cases have been brought to trial. The government 
has responded to trafficking-related allegations in the 
press by conducting follow-up investigations and 
issuing public awareness announcements. In September 
2003, the government launched a program to enhance its 
child protection laws, including the development of 
legislation to specifically address trafficking in 
children. A pilot program of police stations dedicated 
to dealing with trafficking victims, and staffed with 
trained officers, was implemented in three provincial 
capitals. 
 
Implementation and Enforcement of Labor Laws 
-------------------------------------------- 
8. (SBU) The MOL is authorized to regulate child labor 
in both the informal and formal sectors. Labor 
inspectors are authorized to obtain court orders and 
use police to enforce compliance with child labor 
provisions. Violations of child labor provisions are 
punishable with fines. Enforcement remedies generally 
are adequate in the formal sectors, but remain 
inadequate in the regulation of informal child labor. 
The Labor Inspectorate and police force lack adequate 
staff, funds, and training to investigate child labor 
cases, especially in areas outside of the capital. The 
government provides training for police on child 
prostitution and abuse (including pornography); 
however, there is no specialized child labor training 
for the Labor Inspectorate. The government has 
disseminated information and provided education about 
the dangers of child labor. 
 
9. (SBU) Education is compulsory and free through the 
age of 12, but there is a matriculation fee for each 
child, and children are responsible for purchasing 
books and school supplies. Children who have a 
certificate that testifies that their parents' incomes 
are below a certain poverty level do not pay any 
matriculation fees. Nevertheless, the fees and 
associated costs are a significant financial burden for 
many families. Enforcement of compulsory education 
laws is inconsistent due to the lack of resources and 
the need for additional schools in the upper grades. 
 
Social Programs to Counter Child Labor 
-------------------------------------- 
10. (SBU) The MOL and other organizations have done 
some work on child labor issues, but with little 
impact. Currently, the MOL is developing an action 
plan for reducing child labor and has allocated funds 
to organize a seminar to discuss this issue. The GRM 
also has programs aimed at supporting children from 
impoverished families to stay in school and away from 
the labor market and the worst forms of child labor. 
For example, the GRM has established a scholarship 
program to cover the costs of school materials and fees 
for children. These programs are especially targeted 
at young girls and child-headed households, a 
phenomenon resulting from the high prevalence of 
HIV/AIDS in Mozambique. 
 
11. (U) The GRM's Poverty Reduction Strategy for 2001- 
2005, includes an education investment component. The 
GRM designated approximately 2.41 percent of total 
expenditures for education in 2003. The Ministry of 
Education (MINED) has made significant progress in 
increasing enrollments at all levels, expanding the 
school network, rolling out a new primary education 
curriculum, launching a national in-service teacher 
education program and decentralizing resources for key 
school inputs directly to primary schools (grades 1 - 
5). 
 
12. (U) Key indicators attest to such progress with 
indicators established for 2003 generally reached or 
surpassed. The net admission rate for children aged 6 
in grade 1 was 44 percent, 2 points higher than 
expected. At the middle school level, gross enrollment 
rates were 37 percent and 28 percent for boys and 
girls, respectively. The 2003 target gross enrollment 
of 45 percent for girls at the primary school level was 
achieved. The completion rate, however, is increasing 
more slowly, from 22 percent in 1997 to 37 percent (29 
percent for girls) in 2002, which was 1 point below the 
goal. 
 
National Policy and Plan of Action 
---------------------------------- 
13. (U) Government policies to assist the poor and most 
vulnerable, such as child laborers, include a Poverty 
Alleviation Action Plan (PARPA), decentralized 
planning, and a multi-sectoral approach to HIV/AIDS 
where the disease forces children to drop out of school 
in order to work. The Government of Mozambique and 
UNICEF signed a Master Plan of Operations in 2002 aimed 
at improving the living conditions of the country's 
children through the PARPA. The overall goal of the 
UNICEF Country Program is to support and strengthen 
Mozambique's commitment and capacity to promote, 
protect and fulfill children's rights, meet their basic 
needs, and expand the opportunities of children to 
reach their fullest potential. To achieve this goal, 
UNICEF is working with the GRM on a national, 
provincial and district level, as well as with young 
people and children in the community. With respect to 
trafficking in children, the GRM actively participates 
in The Campaign against Trafficking in Children, and is 
establishing an assistance center at the border post of 
Ressano Garcia for repatriated victims of child 
trafficking. 
 
14. (U) In April 2004, Mozambique's National Assembly 
opened its doors to youth representatives of the Second 
National Child Parliament. During the session, youth 
delegates spoke to the concerns and demands of the more 
than 9 million children in Mozambique. The Child 
Parliament was organized by the Ministry for Women and 
the Coordination of Social Action with the support of 
UNICEF, the Save the Children Alliance and other 
partners. 
DUDLEY