2005 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor - Algeria

Incidence and Nature of Child Labor

Statistics on the number of working children under age 15 in Algeria are unavailable.¹¹⁶ In 2004, the Ministry of Labor's National Labor Institute conducted a survey on child labor with technical assistance from the ILO. Preliminary survey results indicated that low family income and unemployed parents are two primary factors contributing to child employment in Algeria.¹¹⁷ Children are found working a variety of hours in small workshops, on family farms, and in informal trade.¹¹⁸ Child labor is one of many problems associated with poverty. In 1995, the most recent year for which data are available, less than 2 percent of the population in Algeria were living on less than USD 1 a day.¹¹⁹

Commercial sexual exploitation of children occurs in Algeria, but the extent of the problem in not clear. Algeria is a transit country for trafficking of children from Central and Western Africa to Europe for the purposes of labor and sexual exploitation.¹²⁰

Under the Ordinance of April 16, 1976, education is compulsory in Algeria between the ages of 6 and 16 and free at all levels.¹²¹ In 2002, the gross primary enrollment rate was 109 percent and the net primary school enrollment rate was 95 percent.¹²² Gross and net enrollments ratios are based on the number of students formally registered in primary school and therefore do not necessarily reflect actual school attendance. Primary school attendance statistics are not available for Algeria.¹²³ As of 2001, 97 percent of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.¹²⁴ In rural areas, girls are slightly more likely to drop out than boys due to financial reasons.¹²⁵

Child Labor Laws and Enforcement

The Algerian Labor Code sets the minimum age for employment at 16, unless participating in an apprenticeship.¹²⁶ To participate in an apprenticeship, minors must have the permission of a legal guardian, and they cannot participate in dangerous, unhealthy, or harmful work or work that may jeopardize their morality.¹²⁷ Article 28 of the Labor Code prohibits night work for youth under the age of 19.¹²⁸ Article 182 of Ordinance No. 75-31 of April 1975 requires children to request the permission of the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare in cases of fixed-term temporary jobs.¹²⁹

The worst forms of child labor may be prosecuted under different statutes in Algeria. The Penal Code prohibits compulsory labor, including forced or bonded labor by children.¹³⁰ Ordinance 75-47 of June 1975 and Law No. 82-04 of February 1982 prohibit the corruption and debauchery of minors younger than age 19,¹³¹ while Article 343 and 344 of the penal code prohibit the use and recruitment of minors in prostitution.¹³² Although there is no law specifically prohibiting trafficking in persons, the Penal Code prohibits the removal, arbitrary detention, and kidnapping of a person.¹³³ In addition, the laws against immigration, prostitution, and forced labor are used to enforce anti-trafficking standards.¹³⁴ Ordinance 74103 of November 1974 establishes 19 as the minimum age for recruitment into military service.¹³⁵

The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing minimum age laws and its Labor Inspection Department is charged with enforcing the law through regular inspections throughout the country. The Department of State reports that the Ministry of Labor supposedly enforces minimum age laws through surprise inspections to public sector enterprises, but that it does not enforce the law in the agricultural or private sectors.¹³⁶

Current Government Policies and Programs to Eliminate the Worst Forms of Child Labor

The Government of Algeria is collaborating with UNICEF on programs to promote access to universal education, child protection, and economic growth. In the latter area, the government has implemented a national plan for economic development aimed at improving the situation of women and children, especially in rural provinces, where girls face barriers to education.¹³⁷

116 This statistic is not available from the data sources that are used in this report. Please see the "Data Sources and Definitions" section of this report for information about sources used. Reliable data on the worst forms of child labor are especially difficult to collect given the often hidden or illegal nature of the worst forms, such as the use of children in the illegal drug trade, prostitution, pornography, and trafficking. As a result, statistics and information on children's work in general are reported in this section. Such statistics and information may or may not include the worst forms of child labor. For more information on the definition of working children and other indicators used in this report, please see the "Data Sources and Definitions" section.

117 U.S. Embassy – Algiers official, email communication to USDOL official, June 1, 2005.

118 U.S. Department of State, Country Report on Human Rights Practices – 2004: Algeria, Washington, D.C., February 28, 2005 2004; available from http://www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41718.htm.

119 World Bank, World Development Indicators 2005 [CD-ROM], Washington, D.C., 2005.

120 U.S. Department of State, Trafficking in Persons: Algeria, Washington, D.C., June, 2005; available from http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2005/46613.htm.

121 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Rapports initiaux attendus des Etats parties pour 1995: Algeria, CRC/C/28/Add.4, prepared by Government of Algeria, pursuant to Article 44 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, February 23, 1996, Section 104; available from http://unhchr.ch/tbs/doc.nsf/(Symbol)/CRC.C.28.Add.4.FR?opendocument. See also U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Algeria, Section 5.

122 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, http://stats.uis.unesco.org/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=51 (Gross and Net Enrollment Ratios, Primary; accessed December 2005). For an explanation of gross primary enrollment rates that are greater than 100 percent, please see the definition of gross primary enrollment rates in the "Data Sources and Definitions" section of this report.

123 This statistic is not available from the data sources that are used in this report. Please see the "Data Sources and Definitions" section for information about sources used.

124 UNESCO Institute for Statistics, http://stats.uis.unesco.org/TableViewer/tableView.aspx?ReportId=55 (School life expectancy, % of repeaters, survival rates; accessed December 2005).

125 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Algeria, Section 5.

126 Labor Code, Article 15; available from http://trans.voila.fr/ano?anolg=65544&anourl=http%3A//www.lexalgeria.net.

127 Ibid.

128 Ibid., Article 28.

129 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Initial Report of States Parties: Algeria, Section 94e.

130 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Algeria, Section 6c.

131 Code Penal, Article 342; available from http://www.lexalgeria.net/penal3.htm.

132 Ibid.

133 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Initial Report of States Parties: Algeria, Section 232.

134 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Algeria, Section 5.

135 Algeria Criminal Code, Section 2, Article 74.

136 U.S. Department of State, Country Reports – 2004: Algeria.

137 UNICEF, At a glance: Algeria, in UNICEF, n.d. [cited April 9, 2004]; available from http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/algeria_statistics.html.