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TITLE: COTE D'IVOIRE HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1993
DATE: JANUARY 31, 1994
AUTHOR: U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
COTE D'IVOIRE
Power in Cote d'Ivoire was concentrated in President Felix
Houphouet-Boigny, the country's leader since independence, and
in the political party he founded, the Democratic Party of Cote
d'Ivoire (PDCI). Genuine reforms have resulted in multiple
political parties and opposition groups as well as a vigorous
free press, but Houphouet-Boigny and the PDCI, winners of the
1990 elections, continued to dominate all levels of
government. Houphouet-Boigny's 33-year rule ended with his
death on December 7, but his legacy continued as Henri Konan
Bedie, National Assembly President, PDCI stalwart, and
Houphouet-Boigny's constitutionally designated successor,
assumed the Presidency without incident.
Cote d'Ivoire's security forces include the national police
(Surete) and the Gendarmerie, a branch of the armed forces with
responsibility for general law enforcement. The Gendarmerie is
the primary police organization outside the cities and is under
the Ministry of Defense. The total personnel of the uniformed
services, which includes the military forces and the gendarmes
(but not the police), is 16,000. The armed forces
traditionally have accepted the primacy of civilian authority.
Security forces were responsible for a number of human rights
abuses in 1993, including extrajudicial killing of criminal
suspects.
Agriculture is the keystone of Cote d'Ivoire's economy. During
the 1980's, Cote d'Ivoire was squeezed by a heavy debt burden
and falling prices for its exports, principally cocoa, coffee,
and tropical woods. Per capita annual income slipped in recent
years from well over $1,000 to below $800. After reaching
agreement with the International Monetary Fund and the World
Bank on a stabilization program in 1991, the Government reduced
its budget deficit, instituted changes in the tax and labor
codes, and announced an ambitious program of privatization and
administrative reform. Progress, however, has been slow.
The sometimes heightened political tensions of recent years
were noticeably lower in 1993, with fewer instances of
politically motivated abuses, such as arrests and detentions,
travel restrictions, and harassment. The presence of
opposition groups, other independent organizations, and a
vigorous free press continued to improve both awareness and
observance of human rights on a day-to-day basis.
However, in 1993 there continued to be serious human rights
abuses. Members of the security forces, mainly the police and
forest rangers (an armed unit under the authority of the
Ministry of Agriculture), again carried out extrajudicial
killings of criminal suspects and beat and abused detainees.
They sometimes used beatings to extract confessions or as
punishment. Many of these extrajudicial actions were the
result of the authorities relaxing restrictions in 1992 on the
police to help combat the extremely high crime rate in
Abidjan. Abuse of authority by law enforcement personnel, who
extort money at numerous roadblocks for contrived minor
infractions from people traveling by private or public
conveyance, is an example of the Government's failure to apply
proper discipline to and control over law enforcement
officials. There continued to be serious questions about the
independence of the Ivorian judiciary, which appeared to be
subject to external political influences.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no known political killings by government forces in
1993. However, following the Government's relaxation of
restrictions in 1992 on the use of deadly force by security
forces against armed suspects, there were new incidents in 1993
of the forces killing suspects during apprehension. There were
also repeated reports, including in the media, that the
security forces killed alleged perpetrators after their
arrest. Malefactors in the security forces are punished, and
cases against several persons remained pending in the courts at
the end of the year.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of officially sanctioned abduction or
disappearance.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment
Police sometimes beat detainees in order to punish them or to
extract confessions. Television footage and press photographs
regularly show criminal detainees with swollen or bruised faces
and bodies, possibly indicating police mistreatment during
arrest or detention. Prisoners are often treated in a
degrading or humiliating manner. For example, there were
reports of prisoners held unclothed or clad only in
undershorts, chained in pairs, and kept in cells measuring only
4 square meters without running water or electricity. In
particular, non-Ivorian Africans residing in Cote d'Ivoire (who
represent a third of the total population) are routinely
treated more roughly by police on arrest than are Ivorians. In
1993 there were reported instances of officials being punished
for mistreatment of detainees or prisoners. The Ivorian media
also reported several incidents of poor treatment of prisoners,
including reports of deaths at the hands of security forces.
Sanitary conditions in prisons are abysmal and are responsible
for a high death rate. Common problems include overcrowding,
malnutrition, infectious diseases, and infestation by vermin.
In 1993 the Ivorian media published several reports on prison
conditions, leading to severe public condemnation by human
rights organizations and opposition political figures, many of
whom had spent time in prison in 1992. Following this, the
Government took steps to upgrade prison conditions in selected
facilities. At Maca, the nation's largest detention facility,
the Government rehabilitated the prison's workshop, bakery, and
carpentry shop, and agricultural projects were introduced at
several other prisons, allowing prisoners to grow some of their
own food.
A prison riot in March in Abidjan resulted in 4 prisoners
killed and 19 wounded when police used excessive force in
attempting to quell the riot.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
Under the Code of Penal Procedure, a public prosecutor may
order the detention of a suspect for up to 48 hours without
bringing charges. The Code dictates that longer detention must
be ordered by a magistrate, who may authorize detention for up
to 4 months, but who must also provide the Minister of Justice
a written justification for continued detention on a monthly
basis. However, the law is often violated. Police have held
persons for more than 48 hours without bringing charges.
Defendants are not guaranteed the right to a judicial
determination of the legality of their detention.
In contrast to 1992, when the Government detained large numbers
of political activists who had not used or advocated violence,
no such arrests were known to have occurred in 1993.
The Government does not use exile as a means of political
control.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The modern judicial system is headed by a Supreme Court and
includes the Court of Appeals and lower courts. The judiciary
is theoretically independent of the executive branch in
ordinary criminal cases. In practice, as well as under the
Constitution's separation of powers provisions, the judiciary
follows the lead of the executive in cases concerning perceived
national security or political issues.
There is not a clear separation between the judicial and
executive branches of government. There are credible reports
that the courts give lenient treatment to individuals with
personal ties to the Government. The Government, in turn, has
asserted itself in matters pertaining to the judiciary; for
example, a government official attempted at the last minute to
cancel a long-planned judicial seminar involving both Ivorian
and American jurists. Though a truncated version of the
seminar finally took place a day later than planned, the
resulting controversy greatly reduced attendance.
Ivorian law establishes the right to a public trial, although
key evidence is sometimes given in camera. Defendants have the
right to be present at their trials, and their innocence is
presumed. Those convicted have the right of appeal, though in
practice verdicts are rarely overturned. Defendants accused of
felonies or capital crimes have the right to legal counsel, and
the judicial system provides for court-appointed attorneys for
indigent defendants. In practice, many defendants cannot
afford private counsel, and court-appointed attorneys are not
readily available.
In rural areas, justice is often administered at the village
level through traditional institutions which handle domestic
disputes, minor land questions, and family law. Dispute
resolution is by extended debate, with no known instances of
resort to physical punishment. These traditional courts are
being increasingly superseded by the formal judicial system.
Civilians are not tried by military courts. Although there are
no appellate courts within the military court system, persons
convicted by a military tribunal may petition the Supreme Court
to set aside the tribunal's verdict and order a retrial.
There were no known political detainees or prisoners in 1993.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
In Cote d'Ivoire's multiparty political system, citizens are
free to join, or not join, any political party. However,
public officials and employees of state-owned corporations are
subject to pressure to become members of the PDCI. Party
membership applications are sometimes passed to employees by
their supervisors, and those who fail to sign up are believed
to suffer in terms of promotion.
The Code of Penal Procedure specifies that a police official or
investigative magistrate may conduct searches of homes without
a judicial warrant if there is reason to believe that there is
evidence on the premises concerning a crime. The official must
have the prosecutor's agreement to retain any objects seized in
the search and is required to have witnesses to the search,
which may not take place between the hours of 9 p.m. and 4
a.m. In practice, the police sometimes use a general search
warrant without a name or address. On occasion, the police
have entered homes of non-Ivorian Africans (or rounded them up
on the streets), taken them to local police stations, and
extorted small amounts of money for alleged minor offenses.
Security forces monitor some private telephone conversations,
but the extent of the practice is unknown. There is no
evidence that private correspondence is monitored.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of expression.
Independent newspapers criticized government policies
frequently and also made unfavorable comments concerning the
President of the Republic. The two government-owned daily
newspapers offer some censure of government policy, although,
in general, government-owned radio and television do not. The
opposition press, ordinary citizens, opposition political party
leaders, and student groups voice their disapproval of
government or Presidential actions frequently and loudly.
Although such criticism is tolerated, insults or attacks on the
honor of the country's highest officials are not. It is a
crime, punishable by from 3 months to 2 years in prison, to
offend the President, the Prime Minister, foreign chiefs of
state or government, or their diplomatic representatives, or to
defame institutions of the State. Moreover, a press law
enacted in late 1991 created a new commission to enforce laws
against publishing material "undermining the reputation of the
nation or defaming institutions of the State." Although this
law was not used to prosecute any newspaper publisher or
journalist in 1993, it imposes stiff penalties, including the
seizure of offending newspapers.
The Government owns both television networks--although there is
one private television subscription service, Canal Horizon--and
the major radio station. There are also four independent radio
stations operating in the Cote d'Ivoire. The Government
continues to exercise considerable influence over official
media program content, news coverage, and other matters, using
these media to promote its policies. Much of the news
programming is devoted to coverage of the activities of the
President, the Government, and the PDCI, but the amount of
coverage given to the political opposition continues to
increase. In 1993 the Government granted licenses to operate
five radio stations and one television channel to private
organizations, though none of the applicants with ties to the
political opposition was selected.
Of the five daily newspapers, those with the widest
circulation, Fraternite-Matin and Ivoire Soir, are government
owned, though in 1993 both newspapers ran stories critical of
government policies and increased significantly their coverage
of the political opposition. A third daily, La Voie, with
circulation figures approaching those of the government-owned
dailies, is owned by members of the Ivoirian Popular Front,
Cote d'Ivoire's principal opposition party. The fourth daily,
Bonsoir, devotes most of its space to stories of general
interest, and the fifth only began circulation in September.
Most of the weekly newspapers are affiliated either with the
ruling or opposition political parties. Foreign publications
circulated freely.
Many prominent Ivorian scholars are active in opposition
politics and have not suffered professionally. The Government
insists, however, that teachers separate their political
activity from their work in the classroom. There are reports
that the police have used informers at the University of
Abidjan to provide data on dissident political activity.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly, but in
practice that freedom is restricted when the Government
perceives a danger to public order.
Although opposition parties believe that the Constitution
permits private associations of any sort, the Government
disagrees, and all organizations must register before
commencing activities. There were no reports in the past 2
years of registration being denied. Further, Ivorian law
prohibits the formation of political parties along ethnic or
religious lines. The past several years have seen a
proliferation of nongovernmental organizations (NGO's)
addressing social, political, environmental, and other issues.
In 1991 the Government made an administrative decision to ban
the Federation of Ivorian Students (FESCI). Though the ban
remains in effect, it was not enforced in 1993, allowing the
FESCI to operate openly.
Permits are required for public meetings and are sometimes
denied to the opposition but never to the PDCI. Gatherings
occasionally are prohibited to prevent the expression of
controversial views in public forums. In February 1992, the
Government banned all outdoor public meetings "until further
notice"; that ban has not been rescinded, though it is no
longer strictly enforced.
An "antivandal" law passed by the National Assembly in 1992
holds organizers of a march or demonstration responsible if any
of the participants engage in violence. The law was condemned
by all major opposition parties and by the Ivorian Human Rights
League (LIDHO) as being unduly vague and for imposing
collective punishment for the crimes of a few. The law was not
applied in 1993, although there were several instances when it
could have been utilized, and it had no noticeable effect in
restricting demonstrations.
c. Freedom of Religion
There are no known impediments to religious expression. There
is no dominant religion, and no faith is officially favored by
the Government. The open practice of religion is permitted,
and there are no restrictions on religious ceremonies or
teaching.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The Government exercises minimal control over domestic travel.
However, one of the most pervasive hindrances to freedom of
movement and commerce within the country is the practice of
establishing unauthorized internal roadblocks at which
uniformed law enforcement officials extort small amounts of
money or goods for contrived or minor infractions by motorists
or passengers on public conveyances. This practice affects
both Ivorian and foreign travelers and is a flagrant example of
the misuse of authority and lack of discipline of law
enforcement personnel.
Ivorians normally can travel abroad and emigrate freely, and
they have the right of voluntary repatriation. There are no
known cases of revocation of citizenship. In 1993 the
Government twice denied permission to travel to international
meetings to the head of the LIDHO under the pretext that he was
neglecting his duties as dean of the university law faculty.
For this reason he was unable to attend the World Conference on
Human Rights in Vienna.
Cote d'Ivoire's refugee and asylum practices are liberal. The
Government respects the right to first asylum, and no groups
are denied recognition as refugees, either by law or custom.
Refugees normally receive 1-year renewable resident visas for
their first 5 years in the country, after which they may apply
for permanent residence. Cote d'Ivoire does not offer
permanent resettlement to refugees who have been granted
temporary asylum elsewhere.
Cote d'Ivoire currently hosts some 260,000 refugees from the
Liberian civil war, and the Government was actively involved in
managing Liberian refugee relief, though most resources came
from foreign donors. While the first influx of Liberian
refugees received refugee status on entry, the large numbers
that followed prompted the Government to initiate an
application process, by which each refugee's status is
determined by an interagency committee that includes
representatives of the United Nations High Commissioner for
Refugees. Those not granted refugee status are allowed to
remain in the country but are not allowed to benefit from any
refugee assistance programs. Since the Government expects that
Liberian refugees will repatriate when conditions permit, no
provisions have been made for their attaining permanent
residence in Cote d'Ivoire. No cases of involuntary
repatriation were reported in 1993.
Political exiles from a number of countries have found Cote
d'Ivoire a hospitable safe haven as long as they do not engage
in political activities directed against their home governments.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens
to Change Their Government
Citizens have this right, although many in the ruling PDCI
continue to block needed reforms and to engage in practices
that do not encourage further democratization. Multiple
parties were permitted in the 1990 presidential, legislative,
and municipal elections whose results were generally accepted
as legitimate, despite numerous flaws and fraud. Although
under the Constitution only Ivorian citizens are entitled to
vote, the electoral law, which is promulgated for each
election, has in recent years extended voting rights to
non-Ivorian Africans living in Cote d'Ivoire, who constitute
approximately one-third of the country's population. This
anomaly persists because only the President of the Republic and
the President of the National Assembly have the standing to
challenge the constitutionality of the electoral law, and
neither has chosen to do so. Balloting is done in secret.
The President is both Head of State and president of the PDCI.
An appointed Prime Minister, who serves at the pleasure of the
President, controls day-to-day governmental affairs and
economic policy. With 3 seats vacant, the PDCI holds 162 of
the 175 seats in the National Assembly, which in practice is
subordinate to the executive branch. Effectively, therefore,
the President and the PDCI control all aspects of Ivorian
political life.
There are no restrictions in law or practice on the
participation of women in politics, and they play an active
role in Ivorian society and government. There are two female
Ministers in the Cabinet (Minister of Communications and
Minister of Family and the Protection of Women) as well as a
female director of the social security system. Women play a
limited but noticeable role in the legislature; while only 8 of
the 175 deputies in the National Assembly are women, 5 of the
36 leadership positions in the Assembly are held by females.
Two members of the Supreme Court are women.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
of Human Rights
An internal independent human rights organization, the Ivorian
League of Human Rights (LIDHO), was formed in 1987 and was
recognized by the Government in July 1990. The League has
actively investigated alleged violations of human rights and
issued press releases and reports, some of which have been
critical of the Government. In 1991 the Ivorian Association
for the Promotion of Human Rights was established for the
purpose of improving Ivorians' awareness of their basic rights.
The Government has been cooperative towards international
inquiries into its human rights practices.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
Disability, Language, or Social Status
Discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, sex,
or religion is against the law. Although French is the
official language and the language of instruction in the public
schools, radio and television programs are also broadcast in
major national languages. Social and economic mobility are not
limited by policy or custom on the basis of ethnicity or
religion, although there are pronounced inequalities based on
sex, with males clearly in the preponderant role.
Women
Some Ivorian traditional societies accord women considerable
political and economic power. In rural areas, tribal customs
dictate that menial tasks are performed mostly by women,
although farm work by men is also common. Government policy
encourages full participation by women in social and economic
life, but there is considerable informal resistance among
employers in hiring women, who may be considered undependable
by virtue of potential pregnancy. Women are underrepresented
in some professions and in the managerial sector as a whole.
Women in the formal sector, however, are paid on an equal scale
with men and also enjoy maternity benefits. There are no
reliable figures available on the percentage of women in the
work force. Several Ivorian NGO's address the legal, economic,
and social welfare of women, and there is a government ministry
devoted to women's affairs.
Violence against women, especially wife beating, is neither
widely practiced nor tacitly condoned. However,
representatives of women's organizations state that wife
beating does occur and often leads to divorce. Doctors state
that they rarely see the victims of such violence. A severe
social stigma is attached to such violence; neighbors will
often intervene in a domestic quarrel to protect a woman who is
the object of physical abuse. The courts and police view such
domestic violence as a family problem unless serious bodily
harm is inflicted or the victim lodges a complaint, in which
case criminal proceedings may take place. The Government has
no clear-cut policy regarding spouse abuse beyond the obvious
strictures against violence in the Civil Code.
Children
Cote d'Ivoire is a signatory to the U.N. International Charter
on Human Rights, which contains sections promoting the health
and education of children, and its Penal Code contains sections
protecting children from infanticide and other violence and
abandonment. The Ministries of Social Affairs and of Health
and Social Protection are both charged with safeguarding the
welfare of children, and the Government has also encouraged the
formation of NGO's centered on children's issues, such as the
Abidjan Legal Center for the Defense of Children.
There is a parental preference for educating boys rather than
girls, which is noticeable throughout the country but more
pronounced in rural areas. According to a 1991 U.N. report,
females in Cote d'Ivoire receive only one-third of the
schooling of males. Sexual harassment of female students by
male teachers is commonplace.
Female genital mutilation is illegal in Cote d'Ivoire but is
nevertheless practiced, particularly among the rural population
in the north and west. The operation is usually performed on
young girls or at puberty as part of a rite of passage; it is
generally done outside modern medical facilities and may be
extremely painful and dangerous to health. The Government does
not make strong efforts to prevent the practice, and social
pressures are sufficiently intense that it persists,
particularly in small villages, where the chief is the primary
decisionmaker and village elders hold great influence.
According to an independent expert in the field, the percentage
of Ivorian women who have undergone genital mutilation may be
as high as 60 percent. Excision is becoming less common as the
population becomes urbanized and better educated.
People with Disabilities
There are no laws mandating accessibility for the disabled.
Laws do exist prohibiting the abandonment of the mentally or
physically handicapped, as well as acts of violence directed at
them. Traditional practices, beliefs, and superstitions vary,
but infants with serious disabilities have usually not been
allowed to live, though this has changed since independence in
1960. The above laws were designed to combat this traditional
practice and have resulted in some curtailment in the practice
in recent years. Disabled adults are not the specific targets
of abuse, but it is difficult for them to compete with
able-bodied workers in the tight job market. The Government
supports special schools, associations, and artisans'
cooperatives for the disabled. The Ministry of Health and
Social Protection has been working since 1992 on legislation to
protect the rights of the disabled. The media increasingly
addressed the issue in 1993, citing progress made but calling
for more to be done.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Workers have the right to form unions under the Labor Code of
1964, but union membership is not mandatory. For almost 30
years, the government-sponsored labor confederation, the
General Union of Workers of Cote d'Ivoire (UGTCI), dominated
union activity, except for the independent university
teachers', secondary school teachers', and doctors' unions. In
1991 several formerly UGTCI-affiliated unions, including those
representing transport, media, customs, and bank workers, broke
away and became independent. In 1992 a total of 11 formerly
independent unions joined together to form the Federation of
Autonomous Trade Unions of Cote d'Ivoire (FESCACI). A third
labor federation, Dignite, has attracted few members. The
leader of the UGTCI occupies a senior position in the PDCI
hierarchy.
The UGTCI is a relatively passive coordination mechanism rather
than an active force for worker rights, although it has had
some success in improving working conditions and safety
standards. The UGTCI represents approximately one-third to
one-half of the organizable work force. Non-UGTCI unions tend
to be more activist than those within the UGTCI structure and
to be identified with opposition causes.
The Government's response to its loss of control over the labor
movement has been to create rival unions in important sectors,
such as university faculty, post and telecommunications, public
transport, and radio and television, and to grant these unions
special economic concessions. The World Confederation of Labor
(WCL) charges that the Government sought to prevent a landslide
victory of the WCL's Ivorian affiliate, Dignite, in national
trade union elections in early 1993 by imposing a single
election ticket of UGTCI in major enterprises and the port of
Abidjan. These and other complaints alleging antiunion
discrimination, intimidation, and denial of recognition of
Dignite, as well as the harassment and arrest of leaders of the
independent teachers' union, Synares, during the period
1990-92, continued under investigation by the International
Labor Organization (ILO) Committee on Freedom of Association in
1993. The Government did not repress union activities or
detain any union officials in 1993, but some of the
participants in a 1991 protest march, who were alleged to have
destroyed property, remain in detention. The Government
officially recognized Dignite in 1993.
The right to strike is provided by the Constitution and by
statute. The ILO's Committee of Experts in 1993, however,
reiterated earlier observations that the Labor Code gives the
President excessive power to submit an industrial dispute to
compulsory arbitration in order to bring an end to a strike.
The Labor Code requires a protracted series of negotiations and
a 6-day notification period before a strike may be held,
effectively making legal strikes difficult to organize.
Strikes are seldom called by the UGTCI; however, non-UGTCI
unions freely strike. In 1993 hospital employees,
telecommunications and postal workers, teachers, railroad
employees, and staff at the Presidency and at a scientific
research institute held strikes. Each of these strikes
involved public sector workers. In each instance, the
Government was able to meet some, although not all, of the
demands presented by the unions, and the strikes were called
off. In some cases, these unions went out on strike more than
once during the year to protest arrearages in payment of
salaries or other benefits that had been promised during
earlier negotiations. Strikes in December involved teachers
and electrical and health workers and were called off as a mark
of respect after President Houphouet-Boigny's death was
announced December 7, though agitation by university students
continued.
The UGTCI, which is a member of the Organization of African
Trade Union Unity, formally prohibits its individual trade
unions from forming or maintaining affiliations with other
international organizations in their fields. Non-UGTCI unions
and confederations may freely affiliate with international
bodies, as is the case of Dignite with its WCL affiliation.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The Labor Code grants all Ivorians the right to join unions and
to bargain collectively. Collective bargaining agreements are
in effect in many major business enterprises and sectors of the
civil service. In most cases in which wages are not
established in direct negotiations between unions and
employers, salaries are set by job categories by the Ministry
of Employment and Civil Service. Labor inspectors have the
responsibility to enforce a law which prohibits antiunion
discrimination. Nonetheless, the ILO is reviewing charges that
the Government practices such discrimination.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
There have been no reports of forced labor, which is prohibited
by law. However, the ILO's Committee of Experts in its annual
report questioned a decree that places certain categories of
prisoners at the disposal of private enterprises for work
assignments without their apparent consent.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
In most instances, the legal minimum working age is 16, and the
Ministry of Employment and Civil Service enforces this
provision effectively in the civil service and in large
multinational companies. Ivorian labor law limits the hours of
young workers, defined as those under 18, compared to the
regular work force. However, children often work on family
farms, and in cities some children routinely act as vendors in
the informal sector. There are also reports of children
working in what could be described as sweatshop conditions in
small workshops. Many children leave the formal school system
at an early age; primary education is mandatory but far from
universally enforced, particularly in rural areas.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Cote d'Ivoire has administratively determined monthly minimum
wage rates which were last adjusted in January 1986. A
slightly higher rate applies to construction workers. Minimum
wage rates are enforced only with respect to salaried workers
employed by the Government or registered with the Social
Security Office. Minimum wages vary according to occupation,
with the lowest set at approximately $115 (CFA Francs 33,279)
per month, insufficient to provide a decent standard of living
for a worker and family. The majority of Ivorians work in
agriculture or in the informal sector where the minimum wage
does not apply.
Through the Ministry of Employment and the Civil Service, the
Government enforces a comprehensive Labor Code governing the
terms and conditions of service for wage earners and salaried
workers and providing for occupational safety and health
standards. Those employed in the formal sector are reasonably
protected against unjust compensation, excessive hours, and
arbitrary discharge from employment. The standard legal
workweek is 40 hours. The law requires overtime payment on a
graduated scale for additional hours. The Ivorian Labor Code
provides for at least one 24-hour rest period per week.
Government labor inspectors are empowered to order employers to
improve substandard conditions and, if the employer fails to
comply, fines may be levied by a labor court. In the large
informal sector of the economy, however, involving both urban
and rural workers, the Government's occupational health and
safety regulations are enforced erratically at best. Ivorian
workers in the formal sector have the right, under the Labor
Code, to remove themselves from dangerous work without jeopardy
to continued employment by utilizing the Ministry of Labor
inspection system to document dangerous workplace conditions.
However, workers in the informal sector are unlikely to be able
to remove themselves from such labor without losing their
employment.
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