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Measures Taken Against Child Labour
Efforts made so far to combat child labour in Cameroon cannot be overlooked. The Cameroon government has developed revisions to its family code. This development has raised the minimum age for marriage from 15-18years. This is in a bit to forestall a situation where a child, especially the girl child would be engaged into very tedious domestic exercises in the name of a house wife. To raise awareness to combat expectative child labour, the government has participated in various child labour awareness raising activities in conjunction with the ILO’s world day against child labour and Red Card Against Child Labour Initiative and the UN’s day of the African Child.
Government has developed an education for all plan for 2000-2009 that recognise child labour as a barrier to education and that proposes strategies to ensure educational opportunities for children.
In April 2004, the Cameroon government launched Education for all week and in June that same year, government officials participated in a forum with other African Ministers of Education and technical experts to discuss how to expand girls’ education in sub Saharan African. In that same year, the government collaborated with NGO’s to launch several initiatives to issue birth certificates to children for school enrolment in the northern and central provinces. The Northern provinces is where child literacy is particularly low, but with a rather alarming rate of child labour. UNICEF recently announced in 2004 its decision to make the Adamawa province its focal point area for child and female literacy programs in Cameroon. In that same year of 2004, the government also sign a protocol of Agreement to eradicate Child labour with the International Labour Organisation.
Despite these many conventions signed by the government of Cameroon, the Ministry of Labour has enforce the child labour laws through sites inspections of registered businesses. There is also the ministry of Social Affairs responsible for coordinating and implementing governments’ anti-child labour efforts. At the level of the mass media, there has been a number of anti-child labour campaigns especially those of Red Card Against Child Labour Initiative and the UN’s Day of the African Child as could be witnesses over state audio-visual media outfit, the Cameroon Radio and Television (CRTV). CRTV, in collaboration with the Central African Regional Office of the International Labour Organisation has also broadcast a documentary exposing child labour in Yaoundé and River Sanaga.
The Fon of Bali Nyonga recently expressed in a press conference in Yaoundé how he has been combating the plague of child labour in his community. He went further to explain that he is working with the “NKU’UN Fed Fed”, an NGO in Bali to sensitize parents on family planning, So as to prevent them from giving birth to many children whom they would not be able to take care of.
Limitation
Although National Legislations are available to protect the interest of working children, regulation and enforcement are usually exploited. The major set back to the struggle against child labour is the insufficiency of resources. Reports on child labour in Cameroon holds that there are only 58 general inspectors from the Ministry of Labour, responsible for investigating child labour cases in Cameroon.
Another problem is the issue of availability of data on child labour in Cameroon. Reports from the International Community reveals that in many instances, Cameroon does not either have at all, or has incomplete data on the subject of child labour and trafficking.
Child labour experts in Cameroon and the government have explained that data collection process is too expensive. They further explained that the collection, analysis and interpretation takes quite some money which is not available. With such date wanting, the gravity of the problem remains concealed. It becomes difficult to actually estimate the amount of effort and strategy needed to enforce in a bid to obtain satisfactory outcome.
Lastly, there is also the problem of culture. Besides the economic hardship hitting the country, parents, especially in enclave and conservative areas, still believe in education for the male child, while the female could serve as domestic aid or be given into marriage. In the Rey Bouba Division of the North Province, parents offer their young girls to the Lamido (Chief) of the division as gifts. Such attitude (culture) can only encourage child labour. This goes to confirm that the girl child is more exploited in such places.
Recommendations And Way Forward
Experience shows that it is possible to improve the situation of domestic child labour in Cameroon with a close involvement of the Parties Directly concerned like children, Parents and the Communities and country at large.
NGO’s concerned with human rights protection in general and particularly those fighting against child labour. Should organise seminars, educational forums and to sensitize parents and community leaders, with emphasis on rural areas on the harsh realities that children, especially the girl child who are under the custody of a guardian or wards.
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Akwalla Johanness
I am a young development activist who believes that for youths to be successful, we need to come together and share ideas that are beneficial to the whole of humanity.
I strongly believe that for Africa to come out of the political hostage its finds itself, our leaders must stop to consider themselves as traditional rulers. We all know that traditional rulers rule for life, and power is passed on to their descendant. And I think that once our leaders stop to think of themselves as such and concentrate on development by investing into the education and basic health care and social services, then can we say we are on the right path to human development.
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