Statistics on Working Children and Education

In 2011, Senegal made a minimal advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor. During the reporting period, the Government implemented a national task force to combat trafficking in persons and continued efforts to target street children, particularly those engaged in forced begging. However, Senegal’s laws do not fully protect children from child labor. In particular, laws contain exceptions allowing children to work in underground mines and quarries. Although both the Ministry of Labor and the police force have units dedicated to enforcing laws related to child labor and child protection, these enforcement agencies lack adequate resources and jurisdiction to effectively carry out their work. In addition, redundancy among government agencies and interagency bodies tasked with combating child labor results in confusion about each body’s scope of responsibility and also impedes effective coordination and implementation of the efforts. Children in Senegal continue to engage in the worst forms of child labor, including in dangerous activities in agriculture