ILC114 - EU Statement - Committee on Application of Standards - Mali C.182

ILC114 - EU Statement - Committee on Application of Standards - Mali C.182

International Labour Conference

114th session

Geneva, 1-12 June 2026

Committee on Application of Standards

Mali

Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No.182)

Thank you Chair.

I have the honour to speak on behalf of the European Union and its Member States.

The candidate countries North Macedonia, Montenegro, Albania, Ukraine and Republic of Moldova, the EFTA countries Iceland and Norway, members of the European Economic Area, as well as Canada and the United Kingdom align themselves with this statement.

We are committed to the promotion, protection, respect and fulfilment of human rights, including labour rights and the fight against child labour in its worst forms, as enshrined in Convention No.182. We promote universal ratification and effective implementation of fundamental ILO Conventions and support the ILO in developing and promoting international labour standards and supervising their application.

We express our solidarity with the Malian population regarding the terrorist attacks that the country has been suffering for years and that have caused thousands of victims. Mali was granted preferential access to the EU market via the 'Everything but Arms' scheme, which is conditional to the respect of fundamental human and labour rights principles including the fight against child labour and abuse.

We express deep concerns over the Committee's findings regarding Mali over the continued recruitment and use of children under 18 years old by armed groups, including in the armed forces of Mali. We urge the transitional Government to intensify its efforts to bring an end to the forced recruitment of children under 18 years of age by the parties in the conflict, and to ensure their demobilisation, rehabilitation and social integration. We also urge the transitional Government to pursue thorough investigations, prosecutions, and imposition of effective and dissuasive penalties for all perpetrators. We recall the importance of scaling up efforts in this regard and underline our strong commitment thereto.

The situation of talibé children also remains of deep concern. These children remain subjected to practices of forced or compulsory labour, including economic exploitation through organised begging. We urge the transitional Government to eliminate these practices as a matter of urgency, ensure accountability, and effective and dissuasive penalties, and provide detailed information on enforcement and protection measures.

We also note with concern the lack of adequate legislative provisions to prohibit the use, procuring or offering of a child for illicit activities, in particular for the production, supply and sale of drugs. We call on the transitional Government to adopt specific legal prohibitions without delay and ensure their enforcement.

We urge the transitional Government to intensify its efforts in combatting child labour including in hazardous work and implement effective and time-bound measures, in particular with children working in traditional gold panning. We reiterate the Committee's call on the transitional Government to ensure the adoption and implementation of the second National Plan of Action for the Elimination of Child Labour in Mali (PANETEM II), and to provide appropriate rehabilitation and reintegration, and report on progress achieved. We also encourage the transitional Government to continue reinforcing labour inspections services to provide adequate protection to all children.

Noting with concern that a large number of children remain deprived of education due to the armed conflict, we call on the transitional Government in Mali to intensify its efforts to improve the functioning of the education system and access to free basic education, in particular for girls and children living in areas affected by armed conflict. We encourage the transitional Government to continue to provide information on the application in practice of the second generation Ten-Year Programme for the Development of Education and Vocational Training (PRODEC II).

Finally, we call on the transitional Government to intensify its efforts as to guarantee the highest possible protection against any form of child labour or any other form of exploitation so that the children of Mali can enjoy a life conducive to their physical, mental, spiritual, moral and social development.

We took note of the written information, provided by the transitional Government of Mali and we encourage further exchanges between Mali and the ILO with a view to implementing the recommendations of the Committee of Experts and to engage meaningfully with social partners.

Thank you, Chair.

1. ^ North Macedonia, Montenegro and Albania continue to be part of the Stabilisation and Association Process.