U.S. Statement at the UPR of Senegal
Universal Periodic Review (UPR) – 17th Session
Intervention for Senegal
As delivered by Miriam Schive
UN Human Rights Council
Geneva,
October 21, 2013
The United States welcomes His Excellency, Mr. Sidiki Kaba and the Senegalese delegation.
We commend Senegal’s commitment to try Hassene Habré for his role in the Chad conflict, and Senegal’s constructive approach to bringing peace and stability to Casamance and Guinea Bissau.
We note Senegal’s efforts to comply with minimum standards to end human trafficking. However, we remain concerned about prolific trafficking of children and women in Senegal, where thousands of talibé children are forced into begging and trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation is increasing.
We are also concerned about respect for the right of freedom of association, specifically the provisions of the Senegalese Labor Code that require prior government authorization to form a trade union and the recurring intervention by security forces during authorized protest marches.
Bearing in mind these concerns, we recommend that Senegal:
1. Take measures to effectively eliminate forced child labor, including forced begging by talibé children, pursuant to the recommendations of ILO supervisory bodies;
2. Continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute other trafficking offenses and punish perpetrators of sex trafficking;
3. Support the amendment of relevant provisions of the Labor Code, curb unwarranted intervention by security forces and end anti-union discriminatory practices.