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Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children In the early years
of the 21st Century gvnet.com/streetchildren/Gambia.htm
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CAUTION: The following links
and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the
situation in The Gambia. Some of these
links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated
or even false. No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity
or to verify their content. ***
FEATURED ARTICLES *** Gambia deports 64 street children to
Senegal Panapress PANA, 29 February
2008 www.afrik-news.com/news11412.html [accessed 16 May 2011] The Gambian
Immigration Department has deported 64 street children, locally known as
"almudus", who were rounded up in According to Superintendent Olimatou Jammen-Sonko, spokesperson of the Gambian Immigration, the children, who are all boys, aged between 10 and 17, were like vagabonds, noting that they were living by themselves, as most of them slept in the mosques and under verandas. Jammen-Sonko pointed out that some of them were being used as child labourers at the beach-side, paid low wages while most of them were not physically healthy and were causing nuisance within the communities. "From now on,
teenagers travelling to Poverty Drives Children To The Streets Sulayman Makalo,
The www.chss.iup.edu/certj/makalCH.htm [accessed 16 May 2011] There was a
phenomenon of dumping children in the ***
ARCHIVES *** UNICEF
– The www.unicef.org/infobycountry/gambia.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/gambia.htm [accessed 6 February 2011] INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - In urban areas, children are commonly found working
as street vendors or taxi and bus assistants. The number of street
children is growing and has led to increased instances of children
begging. Consequently, their
vulnerability to exploitation has been exacerbated. Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61571.htm [accessed 6 February 2011] SECTION
6 WORKER RIGHTS
– [d] The statutory minimum age for employment is 14 years; however, child
labor was a problem. There was no effective compulsory education, and because
of limited secondary school openings, most children completed formal
education by the age of 14 and then began work. Child labor protection does
not extend to youth performing customary chores on family farms or engaged in
petty trading. In rural areas most children assisted their families in
farming and housework. In urban areas many children worked as street vendors
or taxi and bus assistants. There were a few instances of children begging on
the street. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)
- 2001 UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
12 October 2001 sim.law.uu.nl/SIM/CaseLaw/uncom.nsf/0/591a51d686b9a0dcc1256aed0044ea6a?OpenDocument [accessed 6 February 2011] [54]. The Committee
notes the efforts of the State party to improve the situation of education in
the country, including the recent launching of the Third Education Sector Programme. Nevertheless, the Committee expresses concern
that primary education is not free in practice, which further limits access
to education, especially for girls, children from economically disadvantaged
families and those living in remote rural communities. Concern is also
expressed regarding low enrolment and high drop-out and repetition rates,
insufficient numbers of trained teachers, an insufficient number of schools
and classrooms, lack of relevant learning material, and geographical
disparity in enrolment rates and access to education [58]. The Committee
expresses grave concern at the high and increasing number of street children.
In particular, the Committee notes their limited access to health, education
and other social services as well as their vulnerability to police brutality,
sexual abuse and exploitation and economic exploitation. UN Integrated Regional Information Networks
IRIN, www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=84713 [accessed 16 May 2011] In He said: “For two
days she gave me food. I slept under her stall for a week without her
knowing." Mutarr still carries a can to
collect alms to support himself. He has not seen his parents for three years.
Gambia deports 64 street children to
Senegal Panapress PANA, 29 February
2008 www.afrik-news.com/news11412.html [accessed 16 May 2011] The Gambian
Immigration Department has deported 64 street children, locally known as
"almudus", who were rounded up in According to
Superintendent Olimatou Jammen-Sonko,
spokesperson of the Gambian Immigration, the children, who are all boys, aged
between 10 and 17, were like vagabonds, noting that they were living by
themselves, as most of them slept in the mosques and under verandas. Jammen-Sonko pointed out that some of them were being
used as child labourers at the beach-side, paid low
wages while most of them were not physically healthy and were causing
nuisance within the communities. "From now on,
teenagers travelling to Gambia without parents will not be allowed in and the
department will put up all measures to stop the influx of children into the
Gambia," the spokesperson said. Reports to Treaty Bodies - Committee on the
Elimination of Racial Discrimination UN Committee on the Elimination of Racial
Discrimination At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 16 May 2011] Concern was
expressed about: the fact that primary education is not free in practice; low
enrolment and high drop-out and repetition rates, insufficient numbers of
trained teachers, an insufficient number of schools and classrooms, the lack
of relevant learning material, and the geographical disparity in enrolment
rates and access to education; the high rate of illiteracy, especially among
girls; the quality of education; the inadequate standards, procedures and
policies to guarantee and protect the rights of refugee, asylum-seeking and
unaccompanied children; the high and increasing number of street children and
child beggars, their limited access to health, education and other social
services as well as their vulnerability to police brutality, sexual abuse and
exploitation and economic exploitation; the large number of children engaged
in labor and the lack of information and adequate data on the situation of
child labor and economic exploitation; the absence of a legal minimum age for
employment; the large and increasing number of child victims of commercial
sexual exploitation, including for prostitution and pornography, especially
among child laborers and street children; the insufficient programs for the
physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of child victims
of such abuse and exploitation. Information about Street Children [DOC] This report is taken from “A Civil Society
Forum for Anglophone West Africa on Promoting and Protecting the Rights of
Street Children”, 21-24 October 2003 in At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 16 May 2011] The common factor
among street children in the Committee On Rights Of Child Concludes
Review Of UN Committee On Rights Of Child CRC 28th
session, 5 October 2001, Press Release www.unhchr.ch/huricane/huricane.nsf/0/7A288B086CCAEDAFC1256ADF0026E70D?opendocument [accessed 16 May 2011] RESPONSE OF Poverty Drives Children To The Streets Sulayman Makalo,
The www.chss.iup.edu/certj/makalCH.htm [accessed 16 May 2011] There was a
phenomenon of dumping children in the All material
used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for
noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Street Children – The Gambia", http://gvnet.com/streetchildren/Gambia.htm,
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