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Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children In the early
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FEATURED ARTICLE *** Information about Street Children - Gabon [DOC] www.streetchildren.org.uk/reports/Information%20about%20Street%20Children%20in%20Gabon.doc [Last access date unavailable] DEFINITIONS AND
STATISTICS
- In TESTIMONY FROM A
STREET CHILD IN GABON
- I have been on the streets since 1997. My father was cruel to me – he would
hit me and never let me leave the house, and this lack of freedom is why I
left home… The older children in the street often bully the younger ones and
steal our money. The police also harass and beat us, particularly when
someone has reported a theft or when they catch us smoking marijuana. They
often put us in prison cells where we are kept for 2 days and sometimes
longer. Many children contract diseases such as scabies and sometimes malaria
inside the dirty cells, but when we are released, we face further verbal
abuse from the public. ***
ARCHIVES *** UNICEF
– www.unicef.org/infobycountry/gabon.html [accessed 16 May 2011] The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/gabon.htm [accessed 6 February 2011] INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - According to the government, over 40 percent of
students drop out before they complete the last year of primary school. CHILD
LABOR LAWS AND ENFORCEMENT - Minimum age laws were strictly enforced in urban
areas among citizen children, but rarely enforced in rural areas. While the Labor Code is intended to cover
all children, in practice it is enforced only in situations involving
Gabonese children, and not those who are foreign-born, many of whom work in
domestic service or in marketplaces. Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61570.htm [accessed 6 February 2011] CHILDREN
- The
government publicly expressed its commitment to youth, provided 4 thousand
academic scholarships during the year, and used oil revenues to build
schools, pay teacher salaries, and promote education, even in rural areas.
Nonetheless, the upkeep of schools and payment of teachers continued to
decline. Education is compulsory until age 16 and generally was available
through sixth grade. Approximately 78 percent of primary school-age children
attended school, and less than half of secondary school‑age children
attended school. Secondary school attendance rates for immigrant children
were lower, although public schools accepted immigrant children, and the
government encouraged them to attend. Students were required to pay for
books, uniforms, and other school supplies, which precluded numerous children
from attending school. SECTION
6 WORKER RIGHTS
– [d] An unknown number of children‑‑primarily foreign‑‑worked
in marketplaces or performed domestic duties; many of these children were
reportedly the victims of child trafficking. Such children generally did not
attend school, received only limited medical attention, and often were exploited
by employers or foster families. Laws forbidding child labor theoretically
extended protection to these children, but abuses often were not reported. A
2001 ILO study estimated that the number of economically active children
between the ages of 10 and 14 years was 19 thousand to 20 thousand, but the
actual number was probably considerably higher since most children worked in
the informal sector. Concluding Observations of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1
February 2002 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/gabon2002.html [accessed 6 February 2011] [62] The Committee
expresses its concerns at the increasing number of street children and at the
lack of specific mechanisms and measures to address this situation and to
provide those children with adequate assistance. War is Boring: David Axe, World Politics Review, [partially accessed 6 February 2011 -
access restricted] It's a crisis that
intersects with another. Across Africa, but especially in the central part of
the continent, boys are sold, coerced or kidnapped into military service in
both government and rebel armies. Many of these child soldiers also flee
their captors, especially during combat, and end up homeless on the streets
of major cities, where aid groups struggle to find and care for them. Children represent a major commodity in a
dark economy of violence and exploitation that is perhaps most prominent in
West and Central Africa. Escudero described Gabon as an importer of child slaves,
"either for cheap manual labor or to work in people's homes or
factories. Often these kids win up on streets, if they've been abused at home
or mistreated where they're working." Gabonese students found NGO to cater for
street children Xinhua News Agency, May 22, 2007 english.people.com.cn/200705/22/eng20070522_376627.html [accessed 16 May 2011] Gabonese primary
and secondary school students have launched a non-governmental organization,
the Movement of the Young People for Social Welfare (MJBES) to primarily
cater for street children, their education but more so their reintegration
into the society, the local press reported Sunday. In Gabon, the
number of street children has reached worrying proportions. Very early in the
morning, one can meet street children milling around the large markets where
they generally spend the night. During the day, they beg in front of
department stores and at bus stops. Information about Street Children - www.streetchildren.org.uk/reports/Information%20about%20Street%20Children%20in%20Gabon.doc [Last access date unavailable] DEFINITIONS AND
STATISTICS
- In TESTIMONY FROM A
STREET CHILD IN GABON
- I have been on the streets since 1997. My father was cruel to me – he would
hit me and never let me leave the house, and this lack of freedom is why I
left home… The older children in the street often bully the younger ones and
steal our money. The police also harass and beat us, particularly when
someone has reported a theft or when they catch us smoking marijuana. They
often put us in prison cells where we are kept for 2 days and sometimes
longer. Many children contract diseases such as scabies and sometimes malaria
inside the dirty cells, but when we are released, we face further verbal
abuse from the public. Reports to Treaty Bodies - Committee on the
Rights of the Child UN Committee on the Rights of the Child,
January/February 2002 session At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 16 May 2011] The Committee
recommended that the government ensure that street children are provided with
adequate nutrition, clothing, housing, health care and educational
opportunities in support of their full development; ensure that these
children are provided with recovery and reintegration services when victims
of physical, sexual and substance abuse; ensure their protection against
police brutality; provide services for reconciliation with their families and
community; establish a comprehensive strategy to address the high and
increasing number of street children with the aim of preventing and reducing
this phenomenon. Youth
Is More Afraid Of Unemployment Than AIDS UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
IRIN PlusNews www.irinnews.org/report.aspx?reportid=48625 [accessed 16 May 2011] A survey of 15 to
26 year-olds showed that unemployment was their main concern in life, with
catching AIDS in second place and poverty in third. Meanwhile the state is faced with the
challenge of looking after an estimated 9,000 orphans of people who have died
from AIDS. Government policy is to
encourage extended families to take these children under their wing. The Protection Project - The www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/gabon.doc [accessed 2009] FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Children are
trafficked primarily for domestic labor, as
well as for work as street and market vendors. The majority of children
trafficked from All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
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