Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2025, published 114th ILC session (2026)

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182) - Mauritania (Ratification: 2001)

Article 3 of the Convention. Worst forms of child labour. Clauses (b) and (c). Use, procuring or offering of a child for prostitution, for the production of pornography of pornographic performances and for illicit purposes. Further to its previous comments, the Committee again requests the Government to communicate information on the application in practice of sections 47, 48, 57, 58 and 59 of Ordinance No. 2005-015 for the protection of children under criminal law, with regard to use, procuring or offering a child under 18 years of age for the purpose of prostitution or pornography. It also requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of sections 3, 4 and 5, read in conjunction with section 13 of Act No. 93-37 concerning the suppression of the production, trafficking and illicit use of drugs and psychotropic substances, including the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions handed down in cases of use, procuring or offering a child under 18 years of age for illicit activities.

Article 7(2). Effective time-bound measures. Clause (b). assistance for the removal of children from the worst forms of child labour and for their rehabilitation and social integration. Child victims of sale or trafficking. The Committee notes, from the information provided by the Government in respect of the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), that a National Referral Mechanism (MNR) has been established by Order of the Prime Minister of 16 January 2024, within the national board to combat trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling. The Government specifies that the MNR: (1) provides a framework for cooperation within which the representatives of the State and of civil society perform their duties of protection and promotion of the basic rights of victims of trafficking and of migrant smuggling, thanks to a partnership between the administrative, judicial and security authorities, civil society actors, national human rights institutions and the international partners concerned; (2) ensures referral, and provides guidance and care of victims of trafficking in persons and migrant smuggling; and (3) covers the protection of the rights provided under Act No. 2020-017 for the prevention and repression of trafficking in persons, including the right to accommodation, to health, to security (protection of the rights of victims, of the families of victims, of witnesses, legal assistants and whistle-blowers), the rights to social support, social rehabilitation and to legal and judicial aid. The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the activities of the National Referral Mechanism as regards the protection of child victims of trafficking. It particularly requests the Government to include precise information on the number of children under 18 years of age that have been removed from sale or trafficking and rehabilitated and integrated through action by the MNR or the national board to combat trafficking of persons and migrant smuggling.

Clause (d). Identify and reach out to children at special risk.HIV/AIDS orphans. Further to its previous comments, the Committee again notes with regret that the Government’s report still contains no information regarding measures taken to protect HIV/AIDS orphans from the worst forms of child labour. It notes from the 2021 UNAIDS data that around 11,000 children under 18 years of age have been orphaned as a result of HIV/AIDS in Mauritania. Recalling that HIV/AIDS orphans are at greater risk of becoming involved in the worst forms of child labour, the Committee again requests the Government to provide information on specific time-bound measures taken to ensure that these children are protected.

Street children. The Committee previously noted the large number of street children and that there were more boys than girls living or working on the streets, but that girls are less visible and more difficult to identify. The Committee again notes with regret that the Government provides no information on this issue in its report. Considering that children living and working on the streets are particularly vulnerable to the worst forms of child labour, the Committee again requests the Government to provide information on the number of children identified, removed and socially rehabilitated through the Centre for the Protection and Social Integration of Children or through any other effective time-bound measure.

Article 8. International and regional cooperation. Reduction of poverty. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that, as part of the efforts to implement the national social protection strategy and to break the cycle of poverty, the General Delegation for National Solidarity and Combating Exclusion (TAAZOUR), in partnership with UNICEF, is putting in place a programme for economic integration and various cash transfer programmes.

The Committee notes, from the UNICEF annual report for 2024, that according to the multidimensional poverty index for 2022, 61.9 per cent of children in Mauritania were in a situation of multidimensional poverty, with 69.9 per cent of them living in rural areas. The Committee also notes, from the 2024 concluding observations of the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) that, despite the efforts made to combat poverty under the Strategy for Accelerated Growth and Shared Prosperity, the CESCR notes that poverty and extreme poverty continue to disproportionately affect inhabitants of rural areas, as well as victims of slavery, descendants of slaves and members of the Haratine and Afro-Mauritanian communities (E/C.12/MRT/CO/2, para. 36). Considering that poverty reduction programmes contribute to breaking the cycle of poverty, which is essential for eliminating the worst forms of child labour, the Committee requests the Government to continue to provide information on the measures taken to reduce the incidence of poverty in the population, including among the most vulnerable communities and those living in rural areas. It also requests the Government to communicate information on the impact of these measures on the elimination of the worst forms of child labour.