development. It further spells out 4 explicit measures States ought to take
to protect children from child exploitation, which includes slavery and
slavery like practices as discussed above. The measures are to;
A) provide through legislation, minimum age for admission to
every employment;
B) provide for appropriate regulation
employment;
C) provide for appropriate
penalties
of hours and conditions of
or other sanctions
to ensure
the effective enforcement of this article (article 15); and
D) promote the dissemination of information on the hazards
child labour to all sectors of the community.
of
83.It is of course noted that the Government of Mauritania has prohibited
slavery by enacting the 2007 Slavery Act and later on an Anti-Slavery Act
in 2015. While the Committee appreciates this as one step ahead towards
the prohibition of slavery, more effort is required to practically eliminate
slavery and
Charter.
slavery
like
practices
as
outlined
under
article
15
of the
84.In this regard, the Committee finds that the adoption of legislative
measures is not a sufficient effort and that the Respondent State has failed
to take other necessary measures to implement all components of article
15 of the Charter to free Said and Yarg, to ensure that their slave masters
are appropriately penalized, and to ensure that Said and Yarg get a proper
compensation. Therefore, the Committee decides that the Respondent
State is in violation of its obligations under Article 15 (1) and 15(2)(c) of the
Charter
by failing to protect
Said
and
Yarg
from
slavery
or slavery
like
practices and by failing to ensure effective enforcement of prohibition of
slavery or slavery like practices.
Alleged
torture
violation
85.Abuse
of article
16
on
protection
against
child
abuse
and
and torture are among the practices strictly prohibited in the child
protection systems. The African Children’s Charter, under Article 16,
stipulates that State Parties shall take measures to protect children from
all forms of torture, inhumane and degrading treatment and especially
physical and mental injury or abuse, neglect and maltreatment, including
sexual abuse. In this regard, State parties should take specific legislative,
administrative, social and educational measures to protect the child from
abuse and torture. The measures taken by States must include preventive
measures as well as intervention and prosecution in instances where child
abuse
and
protective
torture
are
measures
taking
should
place.
The
include
provision
effective
further
provides
procedures
for
that
the
establishment of special monitoring units to provide necessary support for
the child and for those who have care of the child as well as other forms of
prevention. The Charter also provides for identification, reporting, referral,
investigation,
neglect.
treatment
and
follow-up
of instances
of child
abuse
and
58 QHCHR Abolishing Slavery and its Contemporary Forms HR/PUB/02/4 (2002) p 8.
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