are forced to attend in the daaras where they are not subjected to school fees
except for the daily quota they should bring by begging. Nevertheless, the children
do not get the necessary education they are entitled to in the daaras. The talibés do
not get education in daaras as they spend more time in begging to fulfill their daily
quota. In addition, the government failed to provide the necessary curriculum and
facilities in which the daaras function in delivering education.
49.The Committee refers to the General Comment of the UN Committee on the Rights
of the Child on the aims of education, which states that education should be
designed to empower the child by developing his or her skills, learning and other
capacities,
human
dignity,
self-esteem
and
self-confidence.*>
Committee also refers to Article 9(b) of the Cairo Declaration on
Islam which states that ‘every human being has a right to receive
worldly education’. Therefore, the Committee holds a view
marabouts in Senegal continue the traditional practice of teaching
Quran,
others
have
twisted
the practice
into a form of economic
| Moreover,
the
exploitation,
as a
Human Rights in
both religious and
that while many
their students the
result a significant number of talibés in Senegal are failing to receive either a
religious education or an education in other basic skills. It is in consideration of this
fact that the International Labour Organization (ILO)'s Committee of Experts
criticized
Senegal
on
March
2, 2012,
for its failure to protect
talibés from
abusive
conditions and dema nded that Senegal do more to prosecute those responsible for
forced begging and to carry out ‘daara modernization’ - ensuring that the schools
meet basic international standards of education and child protection.
50.The government must enforce its own laws to protect talibés from this abuse and
ensure that the education received in daaras equips these children with a rounded
education, and does not allow forced begging. The Senegalese government enacted
legislation in 2005 that criminalized forcing others into begging for personal financial
gain. But the authorities have largely failed to take concrete steps to enforce the law
and
end
the
exploitation
and
abuse
of the talibés.
Therefore,
the
Government
of
Senegal has violated the right to education of the talibés by failing to ensure the
availability, accessibility and acceptability of the education and supervising the
daaras.
D. Alleged violation of Article 14 (health and health services)
51 .The
Charter under Article 14 provides that State Parties should take measures to
ensure ‘the provision of necessary medical assistance and health care to all children
with emphasis on the development of primary health care; and to ensure the provision
of adequate nutrition and safe drinking water’. In Purohit & Moore V The Gambia the
Commission stated that:
°° UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, General Comment No. 1, The Aims of Education, 2, U.N. Doc.
CRC/GC/2001/1
(2001).
14