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Title: Cote D'Ivoire Human Rights Practices, 1995
Author: U.S. Department of State
Date: March 1996
COTE D'IVOIRE
From independence in 1960 until 1990, President Felix Houphouet-Boigny
and his Democratic Party of Cote d'Ivoire (PDCI), then the only legal
political party, governed the Republic of Cote d'Ivoire. The PDCI
maintained this political dominance following multiparty presidential
and legislative elections in 1990. On Houphouet's death in 1993,
National Assembly President Henri Konan Bedie became President by
constitutional succession, and served out the remainder of Houphouet's
term. Due to concerns about irregularities concerning the electoral
code and voter registration, Cote d'Ivoire's major opposition parties
boycotted the October 22 presidential election and tried to interfere
with the voting process. Only the ruling PDCI and a single small
opposition party, the Ivorian Workers Party (PIT), fielded candidates.
President Bedie won 96 percent of the vote. On November 6, the major
political parties reached an accord which allowed for full party
participation in the November 26 legislative elections. During the
legislative elections, international and domestic observers noted that
the voting took place in a calm manner, that voters were knowledgeable
about the choice of candidates and that the presence of party
representatives throughout the voting process served to increase public
confidence. Nonetheless, observers noted several areas of concern.
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 a national police charged
with maintenance of public order and territorial security. Designated
as the country's senior service for enforcing public order, it takes
precedence over all other security apparatus components. The armed
forces traditionally have accepted the primacy of civilian authority.
Security forces, including the Special Anticrime Police Brigade (SAVAC),
were responsible for a number of human rights abuses.
The economy, largely market based but heavily dependent on the
agricultural sector, performed poorly in the 1980's and early 1990's.
High population growth coupled with economic decline resulted in a
steady fall in living standards. The economy showed significant
strengthening following the January 1994 currency devaluation and the
beginning of major structural reforms. Gross national product (GNP) per
capita in 1995 was about $525, and the economy expanded by about 5
percent. A majority of the population remains dependent on smallholder
cash crop production. Principal exports are cocoa, coffee, and tropical
woods, for which world market prices rose in 1995.
Despite a peaceful constitutional succession in December 1993 and
multiparty elections in October 1995 - February 1996, the Government's
human rights record was impaired, as serious human rights abuses
continued. Members of the security forces carried out extrajudicial
killings of criminal suspects, and the security forces beat and abused
detainees, using lethal force to disperse protestors, according to press
reports and human rights groups. The Government also used arbitrary
arrest and detention. It failed to bring to justice perpetrators of
many of these abuses. Prison conditions are harsh and life threatening.
The judiciary does not ensure due process and is subject to executive
branch influence; prolonged detention is a problem. The Government
restricts freedom of assembly.
Police arrested and beat demonstrators participating in October
opposition marches and sit-ins, subjecting them to control by tear gas.
The Government places severe restrictions on press freedom and
imprisoned several journalists for breaking the law which makes it a
crime to criticize the Government and Chief of State. In a highly
publicized case, police beat opposition leader Abou Drahamane Sangare in
the Office of the Minister of Security in June. Discrimination against
women remains a problem.
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 politically motivated killings by government forces.
However, as violent civil crime increased, the security forces
frequently resorted to lethal force. Credible reports indicate that
SAVAC continued its policy of shooting to kill in the pursuit of
criminal suspects. According to the press, best estimates suggest that
at least 22 persons were killed by SAVAC and the regular police. The
Government prosecuted no SAVAC or police personnel for these killings.
Police killed four protesters in separate incidents in October, as
antigovernment protests turned violent (see Section 2.a.). There has
been no public official inquiry into these killings. Ten individuals
died as the result of the October election period violence, including
two security force members and eight demonstrators killed during crowd
control efforts. Eight of the deaths occurred during the preelection
demonstrations, and two civilians died on election day in a polling
place melee. In addition, against the backdrop of "active boycott"
violence and a deteriorating security situation, ethnic strife between
the Bete and Baoule claimed 25 lives in October, according to government
figures. Harsh prison conditions were responsible for the death of a
number of prisoners (see Section 1.c.).
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or
Punishment
Despite legal protections for the rights of persons in custody, police
sometimes beat detainees or prisoners as punishment or to extract
confessions, according to local human rights groups. There were no
public reports of government officials being tried for these abuses.
On occasion, the Government punished perpetrators of crimes in the
security forces. In July a judge sentenced a gendarme to 10 years'
imprisonment for raping a teenage girl in a dormitory. However, these
are exceptions to the rule; most offenders are not tried.
A jurists' union official reported that suspects were beaten to obtain
their confessions and were afraid to press charges against the police
officers involved. Press photographs regularly show criminal detainees
with swollen or bruised faces and bodies, a likely indicator of police
mistreatment during arrest or detention.
Police also beat demonstrators. In May five students arrested during a
demonstration at the Abobo-Adjame Campus of the national university were
beaten by police and detained without charge at the National Police
School for 5 days.
In June a government minister ordered police to beat opposition leader
and editor Abou Drahamane Sangare (see Section 2.a.). In April police
also detained and reportedly beat unemployed youth (see Section 1.d.).
Police routinely treat non-Ivorian Africans residing in Cote d'Ivoire
(who represent a third of the total population) more roughly than
Ivorians.
Prison conditions are harsh and life threatening. Problems include
overcrowding, malnutrition, and a high incidence of infectious disease,
conditions responsible for the high prisoner death rate. For example,
Dabre Brahima, a member of the trade union confederation Dignite died in
July of an undisclosed illness while incarcerated in the Abidjan prison.
Several journalists released during the year reported that certain
white-collar prisoners are accorded special treatment. Officials denied
the Ivorian Human Rights League (LIDHO) and other human rights groups
access to the prison at various times this year.
According to a LIDHO report, conditions at the main prison of Abidjan
are especially hazardous for women, with violent and nonviolent
criminals, as well as minors, housed together. There are no health
facilities for women, and a number of women have reportedly given birth
at the prison without medical attention. There are reports of women
prisoners being raped by prison guards.
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. A
magistrate may order detention up to 4 months but must also provide the
Minister of Justice with 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. According
to a representative of the jurists' union, this practice is common, and
often magistrates are not able to verify that those not charged are
released. Defendants are not guaranteed the right to a judicial
determination of the legality of their detention. A judge may release
pretrial detainees on bail if the judge believes that the suspect will
not flee. However, according to LIDHO, many prisoners are detained for
long periods, sometimes years, awaiting trial. While reliable
statistics are lacking, pretrial detainees probably make up 10 percent
of the prison population.
Although the law prohibits it, police restrict access to some prisoners.
Although the Government on December 2 released Guillaume Soro, secretary
general of FESCI, the students' union, and six colleagues, at least one
student remains in jail. On October 10, police arrested "Sorbonne"
leader Bazoumana Dembele and nearly 60 bystanders as Bazomana attempted
to hold a meeting in downtown Abidjan. At year's end, there were
conflicting reports as to whether the bystanders remain incarcerated.
Despite the frequency of arbitrary arrest, there is no accurate total of
suspects held. In April police held in investigative detention over 800
unemployed youth in Abidjan in an attempt to identify criminals.
Several reported that police had beaten them.
The Government does not use forced exile as a means of political
control.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The formal judicial system is headed by a Supreme Court and includes the
Court of Appeals and lower courts.
According to the Constitution, the judiciary is independent of the
executive branch in ordinary criminal cases. In practice, it follows
the lead of the executive in national security or politically sensitive
cases. There are credible reports that those with ties to the
opposition are treated more harshly by the judicial system than those
with ties to the Government. Judges serve at the pleasure of the
executive and are therefore likely to bend to political pressure. One
jurist claims that he was transferred out of Abidjan because of his
public appeals for a more independent judiciary.
The law provides for the right to public trial, although key evidence is
sometimes given in camera. The presumption of innocence, and the right
of defendants to be present at their trials is often not observed.
Those convicted have the right of appeal, although courts rarely
overturn verdicts. 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, traditional institutions often administer justice at the
village level, handling domestic disputes and minor land questions in
accordance with customary law. Dispute resolution is by extended
debate, with no known instance of resort to physical punishment. The
formal court system is increasingly superseding these traditional
mechanisms.
Military courts do not try civilians. 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 reports of political prisoners in civilian jails. At
year's end, there were five military officers in detention, reportedly
as the result of alleged coup-plotting.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
Correspondence
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 evidence seized in the search and
is required to have witnesses to the search, which may not take place
between 9 p.m. and 4 a.m. In practice, police sometimes use a general
search warrant without a name or address. On occasion, police have
entered homes of non-Ivorian Africans (or apprehended them at large),
taken them to local police stations, and extorted small amounts of money
for alleged minor offenses.
Security forces have reportedly monitored some private telephone
conversations, but the extent of the practice is unknown. There is no
evidence that private written correspondence is monitored by
authorities.
Citizens are free to join, or not join, any political party.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Although the Constitution provides for freedom of expression, and
independent newspapers frequently criticized government policies, the
Government imposes significant restrictions. The two government-owned
daily newspapers offer little criticism of government policy, while
government-owned radio and television offer none at all. Moreover,
while independent newspapers (8 daily, 19 weekly), opposition leaders,
and student groups voice their disapproval of government or presidential
actions frequently and sometimes loudly, the Government does not
tolerate what it considers insults or attacks on the honor of the
country's highest officials. It is a crime, punishable by 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 1991 press law created
a commission to enforce laws against publishing material "undermining
the reputation of the nation or defaming institutions of the State." A
British group also expressed concern that the law restricts freedom of
expression. Journalists exercise considerable self-censorship.
In February two journalists for the proopposition newspaper La Patrie
were arrested for publishing articles that alleged that President
Bedie's parentage excluded him from running for president under the
current Electoral Code. They were convicted and sentenced to 12 months'
imprisonment and fined for "complicity in offending the Head of State."
The Government suspended publication of La Patrie for 3 months. The
journalists were released in July. Many privately owned newspapers
criticized the election irregularities.
In February, two editors of the Muslim weekly newspaper Plume Libre were
arrested for writing articles asserting that the Government
discriminated against Muslims in civil service hiring, firing, and
promotion. In March the same two were sentenced to 10 months'
imprisonment for "breach of the peace" and "incitement to violence" for
another article they had written. They were released in August.
Court treatment was more lenient in April for two editors of the
government daily Fraternite Matin. The two received 2-month suspended
sentences and were fined for publishing articles that falsely accused
two opposition leaders of embezzling money from their political party's
funds.
In June Minister of Security Ouassenan Kone ordered the beating of Abou
Drahamane Sangare, an opposition leader and the director of a press
group Nouvel Horizon. Following the publication of a satirical article
in the Nouvel Horizon weekly Bol Kotch, Minister Ouassenan Kone summoned
Sangare to his office and ordered him beaten by police officers on the
spot. President Bedie neither dismissed nor prosecuted Kone for his
actions, despite opposition calls to do so. In September the Government
detained two foreign journalists reporting on an opposition
demonstration in Abidjan. (see Section 4.).
The Government owns both television channels and two major radio
stations; only the primary government radio and television stations are
broadcast nationwide. There are also four independent radio stations
and a private television subscription service, Canal Horizon. While the
independent stations have complete control over their editorial content,
the Government continues to exercise considerable influence over
official media program content, news coverage, and other matters, using
these media to promote government policies. Much of the news
programming was devoted to the activities of the President, the
Government, the PDCI, and pro-Bedie groups.
The National Council of Audiovisual Communication, established in 1991
and formally organized in 1995, is responsible for regulating media
access during the 2-week formal political campaign period and for
resolving complaints about unfair media access. However, members of the
ruling PDCI make up the majority of the membership of the council.
Many prominent scholars are active in opposition politics and are not
known to have suffered professionally, although some teachers and
professors suggest that they have been transferred because of their
political activities. According to press reports and student union
statements, students continue to be used as informants at the University
of Abidjan.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for freedom of assembly. In practice,
however, that freedom is restricted when the Government perceives a
danger to public order, as it did from October onward when it used
lethal force to control antigovernment demonstrations, which it had
banned by decree.
Groups that wish to hold demonstrations or rallies are required to
submit a notice of their intent to do so to the Ministry of Security or
Interior 48 hours before the proposed event. The Government sometimes
denied the opposition permission to meet in public outdoor venues.
Following opposition demonstrations in September, the Government
announced that "all marches and sit-ins would be banned for a 3-month
period in all streets and public places." Nevertheless, Government
officials later insisted that the decree did not represent "an absolute
ban" on public gatherings, and the Prime Minister declared that only
those demonstrations which disrupt public order or block public
thoroughfares would be prohibited. The decree was selectively applied;
only opposition events were affected by the ban. Penalties for
infraction ranged from no action to 12 months' imprisonment. More than
100 individuals awaited trial at year's end.
Opposition groups defied this ban in October. While authorities in some
cities allowed the demonstrations to proceed, others enforced the
decree. In September 10 people were arrested in Abidjan, of whom 6 were
sentenced to 1 year in prison and fined $200 each. In Daloa, two
demonstrators were arrested, with one sentenced to 6 months imprisonment
and the other to 1 year; each was fined $220.
Police used tear gas, batons, and arms to disperse several marches and
sit-ins by opposition party demonstrators who protested the Electoral
Code and alleged irregularities in voter registration in September and
October. Five people (including one gendarme) were killed and 50 people
were injured as a result of these altercations. There has been no
public inquiry.
Police occasionally prohibit gatherings to prevent the expression of
controversial views. An "anti-vandalism" law passed by the National
Assembly in 1992 holds organizers of a march or demonstration
responsible if any of the participants engage in violence. LIDHO and
all major opposition parties condemned the law as unduly vague and as
one which imposed collective punishment for the crimes of a few.
Opposition parties assert that the Constitution permits private
associations to form. The Government rejects this interpretation and
requires all organizations to register before commencing activities.
There were no reports in the past 4 years of denial of registration.
The law prohibits the formation of political parties along ethnic or
religious lines. In 1991 the Government banned the student union FESCI
for failure to register properly. The ban was never rescinded, although
FESCI was allowed to operate openly until May 1994. At that time, the
Government again insisted that the organization was banned, arresting
several members of its executive bureau. FESCI remained banned
throughout the year but was active in demonstrations, ceremonies, and
political party conventions.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and there are no
known impediments to religious expression. There is no dominant
religion, and no faith is officially favored. The
Government permits the open practice of religion, and there are no
restrictions on religious ceremonies or teaching. Nevertheless, some
Muslims feel that their religious or ethnic affiliation makes them
targets of discrimination by the Government with regard to employment
and national identity documentation.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel,
Emigration, and Repatriation
Ivorian law provides for these rights, and the Government respects them
in practice. While the Government does not generally restrict internal
travel, uniformed police regularly extort small amounts of money or
goods for contrived or minor infractions by motorists or passengers on
public conveyances.
Citizens normally may travel abroad and emigrate freely, and have the
right of voluntary repatriation. There are no known cases of revocation
of citizenship. However, the Government sometimes restricts foreign
travel for political reasons.
Cote d'Ivoire's refugee and asylum practices are liberal. The
Government respects the right to first asylum and does not deny
recognition to refugees, either by law or custom. Currently, there are
an estimated 300,000 refugees in the country who have fled the Liberian
civil war. There were no reported cases of involuntary repatriation.
The Government cooperates with the U.N. High Commissioner for Refugees
in monitoring, organizing, and assisting in food distribution and health
care.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to
Change Their Government
Presidential and legislative elections were held in October and
November. The major opposition parties boycotted the October 22
presidential election due to concerns about the Electoral Code's
candidacy requirements and about voter registration irregularities. In
declared defiance of the national laws regarding law and order, the
opposition called for active boycott of the polls during the
presidential election. This action included blocking polling places
from access by voters and preventing delivery of election materials to
the polls. Only the ruling PDCI and a single small opposition party,
the PIT, fielded presidential candidates. President Bedie won 96
percent of the votes cast.
On November 6, the major political parties reached an accord which
ensured full party participation in the November legislative elections.
These elections were, however, suspended in 3 of the 175 districts due
to government concern over Bete-Baoule ethnic violence and voters
displaced as a result of the active boycott. Election results from
another three districts were declared invalid by the Constitutional
Council. The Government has not yet announced when elections in these
six districts will be held.
Two U.S. nongovernmental organizations (NGO's), the National Democratic
Institute (NDI) and the African-American Institute (AAI), observed the
legislative campaign and elections together with international and
national observers. Overall, these observers said that the elections
took place in a calm manner, that voters were knowledgeable about the
choice of candidates, and that the presence of representatives of
parties throughout the voting process served to increase public
confidence. In their preliminary report, NDI and AAI also cited three
problems: voters and party representatives complained about electoral
list accuracy; there were problems with the distribution of voter cards;
and inconsistencies and delays in the implementation of the court-
ordered system for newly registered voters reduced the opportunity to
vote by some eligible voters. The opposition parties also cited these
problems.
Although the Constitution provides citizens with the right to change
their government peacefully through democratic means, the opposition
complained that the Government had used the December 1994 Electoral Code
to place formidable obstacles in the path of political rivals. The
Rassemblement des Republicains held that Alassane Ouattara, a leading
opposition rival to Bedie, had been unfairly excluded from entering the
presidential race due to the Code's parentage, residency, and
citizenship requirements. The opposition also complained of faulty
voter registration procedures and of unfair restrictions on
demonstrations after the Government issued a 3-month ban on marches and
sit-ins in September in an attempt to guarantee public order (see
Section 2.b.).
Nonetheless, the opposition complained of partisan elections preparation
and continued PDCI control of the media throughout the year. The
Government created a number of new institutions charged with elections
administration and oversight of media access. These include a
constitutional council, local and national electoral commissions, and a
national audiovisual council.
Under a multiparty system adopted in 1990, elections are held every 5
years by secret ballot. All citizens over 21 years of age can vote, and
political parties are legally free to organize.
While there are no legal impediments to women assuming political
leadership roles, only 14 of the 169 Deputies elected to the National
Assembly in November are women. Women hold 3 of the 17 leadership
positions in the Assembly. There are 3 women in the 30-member
Presidential Cabinet named in January 1996, and two members of the
Supreme Court are women. There are no impediments to the exercise of
political rights by any one of the over 60 ethnic groups.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
LIDHO, formed in 1987 and recognized by the Government in July 1990, has
actively investigated alleged violations of human rights and issued
press releases and reports, some critical of the Government. Other
groups such as the International Movement of Democratic Women (MIFED)
have held seminars and published press releases critical of government
abuses of human rights.
The Government has cooperated with international inquiries into its
human rights practices. A representative of Article 19, a London-based
press freedom group, visited in June and issued a report in September
entitled, "Silencing the Media: Censorship and the Elections in Cote
d'Ivoire." Article 19 has expressed concern that many provisions of
Ivorian law restrict the right to freedom of expression.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability,
Language, or Social Status
Discrimination based on race, ethnicity, national origin, sex, or
religion is prohibited by law, but in practice women occupy a clearly
subordinate role in society. In other respects, the Government enforces
these provisions.
Women
Representatives of women's organizations state that wife beating--while
not widespread--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, and neighbors 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 they may initiate criminal proceedings. The
Ivorian Association for the Defense of Women (AIDF) and MIFED have
protested the indifference of authorities to female victims of violence
and called attention to domestic violence and female circumcision. The
groups also reported that women who are the subject of rape or domestic
violence are often ignored when they attempt to bring the violence to
the attention of the police. The Government does not collect statistics
on the rape or other physical abuse of women. The Government has no
clearcut policy regarding spouse abuse beyond the strictures against
violence in the Civil Code.
In rural areas, ethnic custom dictates that women perform most menial
tasks, 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, whom they consider less dependable 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.
Children
The Ministries of Social Affairs and of Health and Social Protection
seek to safeguard the welfare of children, and the Government has also
encouraged the formation of NGO's such as the Abidjan Legal Center for
the Defense of Children.
Primary education is compulsory but this is not effectively enforced.
Many children leave school after only a few years. 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 (FGM), which is widely condemned by
international health experts as damaging to both physical and
psychological health, is illegal, but is practiced nevertheless,
particularly among the rural population in the north and west. The
procedure is usually performed on young girls or at puberty as part of a
rite of passage; it is generally done outside modern medical facilities.
The Government does not make strong efforts to prevent the practice, and
traditional authorities continue to uphold it. According to an
independent expert, as many as 35 percent of women have undergone FGM.
The practice 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
disabled, as well as enjoining acts of violence directed at them.
Traditional practices, beliefs, and superstitions vary, but infanticide
in cases of serious birth disabilities is less commonplace. 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.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The law provides workers the right to form unions. For almost 30 years,
the government-sponsored labor confederation, the General Union of
Workers of Cote d'Ivoire (UGTCI), dominated most union activity. The
UGTCI's hold on the labor movement loosened in 1991 when several
formerly UGTCI-affiliated unions broke away and became independent. In
1992 11 formerly independent unions joined together to form the
Federation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Cote d'Ivoire. Unions are free
to join these and other groups and international bodies. Registration
of a new union requires 3 months under the law.
The right to strike is provided by the Constitution and by statute. The
Labor Code requires a protracted series of negotiations and a 6-day
notification period before a strike may take place, effectively making
legal strikes difficult to organize. The UGTCI seldom calls strikes.
Non-UGTCI unions frequently called strikes in the past. In March,
Abidjan bank and insurance employees went on strike to protest the
mandatory radio and television tax, to demand improved social security
and unemployment benefits, and to demand salary increases. The
Government did not meet these demands; the workers returned to their
jobs after a month.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The Labor Code grants all citizens 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.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
There were no reports of forced labor, which is prohibited by law.
However, the International Labor Organization's Committee of Experts in
its 1993 annual report questioned a decree that places certain
categories of prisoners at the disposal of private enterprises for work
assignments without their apparent consent. There has been no change in
this decree.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
In most instances, the legal minimum working age is 16 years, and the
Ministry of Employment and Civil Service enforces this provision
effectively in the civil service and in large multinational companies.
Labor law limits the hours of young workers, defined as those under the
age of 18. However, children often work on family farms, and some
children routinely act as vendors in the informal sector in cities.
There are reliable reports of some use of child labor in informal sector
mining and also of children working in "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
The Government administratively determines monthly minimum wage rates,
which were last adjusted following devaluation of the franc in January
1994. A slightly higher minimum wage rate applies for construction
workers. The Government enforces the minimum wage rates only for
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 $71.49 (cfa 36,607) per month,
which is insufficient to provide a decent standard of living for a
worker and family. The majority of the labor force works 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 Labor Code provides for at least one
24-hour rest period per week.
Government labor inspectors can order employers to improve substandard
conditions, and a labor court can levy fines if the employer fails to
comply. 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. 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 working
conditions. However, workers in the informal sector cannot ordinarily
remove themselves from such labor without losing their employment.
(###)
[end of document]
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