COMMITTEE ON THE RIGHTS OF MIGRANT WORKERS CONSIDERS INITIAL REPORT OF SENEGAL

The Committee on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families has considered the initial report of Senegal on its implementation of the provisions of the International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families.

Presenting the report, Innocence Ntap Ndiaye, Minister of the Ministry of Employment and Professional Organizations of Senegal, said Senegal was a source country as well as a transit and destination country. Migrants not only contributed to their countries of origin, but also to their host countries. The formal acknowledgement of the positive contributions of migrants to the cultural and developmental success of their host countries was important, especially in a time of resurgent racism and xenophobia; this was why Senegal never missed an opportunity to make an appeal for the widest possible adoption of the Convention. The occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the Convention should provide an opportunity for the deep discussion of these issues and to shore up appeals for the ratification of the Convention.

Ms. Ndiaye went on to say that remittances made by Senegalese emigrants were an important source of revenue for various projects, including construction, social and humanitarian projects. According to the World Bank, remittances for 2011 were estimated to be $ 1.2 billion, and in 2009 remittances were the equivalent of 9 per cent of the gross national product, according to the same source. The Senegalese Government believed such funds could contribute to the reduction of poverty if they were properly used and therefore the Government was doing its utmost to reinforce women’s empowerment and encourage the development of savings accounts and the creation of micro-finance programmes.

During the dialogue with the delegation from Senegal, Committee Experts raised questions concerning, among other things: the voting rights of Senegalese nationals abroad, as well as the rights of foreigners within Senegal to vote; the status of unaccompanied minors; trafficking in children for the purpose of forced labour; bilateral agreements with countries concerning migration; the import and export of social security benefits for migrant workers; the right of migrant workers to form and join trade unions; the reliability of statistics on migration; human trafficking as a by-product of clandestine migration; street children in Senegal who were trafficked from neighbouring countries for the purposes of forced labour or sexual exploitation; the right of married women to emigrate without prior authorization from a spouse; and the provision of legal aid for Senegalese nationals working abroad who were detained in connection to migration issues.

In concluding remarks, Committee member Myriam Poussi reiterated that statistics were incredibly important for this Committee and she stressed the need for the State to collect and provide disaggregated data on both immigration and emigration. She also said that the State party should make a greater effort to involve civil society in the preparation of reports and agreements and also increase communication with non-governmental organizations.

The delegation of Senegal included representatives from the Permanent Mission of Senegal to the United Nations Office at Geneva and the Ministry of Employment and Professional Organizations.

When the Committee reconvenes at 3 p.m. this afternoon it will hold a discussion on the draft General Comment on migrant domestic workers.
Report of Senegal

The initial report of Senegal (CMW/C/SEN/) states that the constitutional, legislative, judicial and administrative framework in force in Senegal reflects the existence of a real political will to implement the provisions of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. The Senegalese legal arsenal as a whole grants considerable attention to migrant workers established in Senegal without any discrimination, as well as to nationals of States non-signatories of that Convention where thousands of Senegalese are living, often in difficult conditions. Senegalese abroad, who are fully fledged citizens and important participants in the economic and social development of the country, receive assistance from the State authorities through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Under Senegalese legislation, the admission of any migrant worker to salaried employment is subject to prior administrative authorization constituting a work permit. In granting such permits, the competent authority takes account of the prevailing situation in the job market, and in particular, the possibilities of recruiting nationals who fit the professional profile for the type of job concerned. Once the work permit has been granted, the migrant must apply to the Aliens Police for a foreigner’s identity card equivalent to a residence permit. As of 2 July 2003, Ministry of the Interior statistics put the number of migrants registered in Senegal at 53,966: 29,926 men and 24,040 women.

Foreigners wishing to take up residence in Senegal in order to engage in remunerated activity must produce a regulation employment contract bearing the stamp of approval provided for by the Labour Code. In the case of non-remunerated activities, the applicant must prove his means of support. Article 13 of the implementing Decree expressly states that “the residence or establishment permit is individual. It does, however, extend to children of the alien concerned who are under the age of 15, if he (the applicant) has so requested and provided that his children accompany him at the time of his entry into Senegal.

Foreigners employed in Senegal enjoy a specific legal protection regime. In addition to work and remuneration conditions identical to those of nationals, migrants are entitled, under the provisions of the Labour Code and in particular its article L106, to family reunification and housing at the expense of the employer. Employers meet the travel costs of migrant workers, their spouse and their minor children habitually living with them.

The right to organize and its protection are recognized for all persons exercising their professional activity in Senegal, including migrant workers. All foreign nationals are free to join a trade union.

Migrant workers and members of their families benefit from coverage of social risks, on the same conditions and according to the same rules as apply to Senegalese workers. As regards the payment of retirement pensions, national legislation lays down no restrictions regarding the place of residence of the migrant worker, who may choose to receive his pension in Senegalese territory, in his country of origin or in any other place of his choice. The costs involved in making the pension available are met by the retirement scheme to which the beneficiary belongs.

Presentation of Report

INNOCENCE NTAP NDIAYE, Minister of the Ministry of Employment and Professional Organizations of Senegal, said Senegal was a source country as well as transit and destination country. Migrants not only contributed to their countries of origin, but also to their host countries. The formal acknowledgement of the positive contributions of migrants to the cultural and developmental success of their host countries was important, especially in a time of resurgent racism and xenophobia; this was why Senegal never missed an opportunity to make an appeal for the widest possible adoption of the International Convention on the Protection of All Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families. The occasion of the twentieth anniversary of the Convention should provide an opportunity for the deep discussion of these issues and to shore up appeals for the ratification of the Convention.

Ms. Ndiaye said that a number of different departments were involved in dealing with migration as it was a cross-cutting issue. Senegalese civil society was particularly active in migration issues because it worked to make the public aware of the dangers of clandestine migration and they were joined in this by border control authorities, the national media and migrants who had returned to the country.

Senegalese nationals could be found mainly in the northern hemisphere, but they were also in countries in Asia and around the world and they organized solidarity organizations based on their location or their needs and preoccupations. Senegalese diplomatic missions provided all the assistance and consular protection they could to nationals abroad and this included the possibility of exercising their right to vote outside of the country.

Ms. Ndiaye went on to say that remittances made by Senegalese emigrants were an important source of revenue for various projects, including construction, social and humanitarian projects. Ms. Ndiaye said that according to the World Bank, remittances for 2011 were estimated to be $ 1.2 billion, and in 2009 remittances were the equivalent of 9 per cent of the gross national product, according to the same source. The Senegalese Government believed such funds could contribute to the reduction of poverty if they were properly used and therefore the Government was doing its utmost to reinforce the capacities of women and encourage the development of savings accounts and to create micro-finance programmes.

There was also a department within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs dealing with Senegalese nationals outside of the country and it should be noted that its activities included the creation in 2008 of a support fund for Senegalese investment outside the country.

Ms. Ndiaye said she wanted to conclude her intervention by stressing the importance that Senegalese authorities placed on questions of migration. For these authorities, migrants had an important role to play in the development process of their country of origin. Circular migration allowed countries of origin to benefit from the expertise of returning migrants which could be mobilized and used for addressing multiple development deficits.

Ms. Ndiaye noted that there was a problem of statistics in the country, and the question of social protection of migrants was of particular concern. On the question of portability of pensions, the State had an initiative with a special department devoted to paying pensions abroad to those workers who had sojourned in the country. Ms. Ndiaye closed by saying that Senegal had welcomed the visit of the Special Rapporteur on the rights of migrant workers to the country from 17 to 24 August 2009 and she took the opportunity to reiterate Senegal’s commitment to and engagement in the protection and promotion of the rights of migrant workers and members of their families.

Questions by Experts

A Committee member said that the report of Senegal lacked statistics and this made it difficult to assess in an objective way the situation of migration in the country. The delegation was asked for additional information on the plan for rural development, whether this plan had been implemented and what impact it had had on migration and migrant workers.

The Committee member commented that there had been reports that there were difficulties in implementing the rights of migrants to their pensions and people had been compelled to stay in the country in order to receive their social security benefits. How many people faced this problem and could it be settled through bilateral agreements? Could more information be provided on the bilateral agreements signed with other countries, including France and Spain? Were migrant associations included in the consultations on these agreements?

The Committee Expert said that the information strategy set up for publicizing the Convention seemed based on the web. How many Senegalese had access to the web and how many migrant workers transiting though Senegal had access to this medium?

Were expulsions of migrant workers widespread? Were people detained in detention centres with criminals? What was being done to combat human trafficking and similar crimes? How were the various government bodies that were involved in migration coordinated?

Returning to human trafficking, a plan of action for 2008 to 2013 had been adopted to combat this scourge, especially against women and children. The plan had short, medium and long-term goals using a number of factors such as prevention, protection, prosecution, training, education and rehabilitation. Two years after its adoption, what could the delegation tell the Committee about its implementation and results thus far? What difficulties had been encountered and which items were effective? Concerning children, it was a sad reality that Senegal had been particularly hard hit by the scourge of trafficking in children and 80 per cent of street children, known as talibé, were not Senegalese, but rather came from surrounding countries. Children were exploited by adults who compelled them to work and beg on the street. What activities were undertaken on National Talibé Day and what impact had they had on the problem of street children? What was done to punish the perpetrators of this mal treatment of children and this forced labour and trafficking?

Another Expert asked if there was differentiated treatment between migrants with a regular status and those with an irregular status. Did migrants in an irregular status enjoy the same rights? What happened to those migrant workers without documents; were they expelled or incarcerated?

What had been the result of the Government’s efforts to popularize the existence of the Convention and its provisions? Did the Government have a programme for remittances so that they targeted activities that generated jobs and were not only used for consumption purposes? The delegation was asked for more information on the scope of the bilateral agreements that had been signed with other countries as this would be helpful for the Committee to know. The Committee Expert also asked for information on the relations between Senegal and the bordering countries. Could Senegalese nationals living outside the country vote? The report mentioned something about a “natural” child and a “legitimate” child; were there distinctions drawn between children and what did these categories mean?

Another Committee Expert asked about the migration of young Senegalese people to other countries. The Expert also asked about the import and export of social security benefits and whether it included old age pensions, survivor benefits or disability benefits. Who provided healthcare to a migrant worker: the host country or the country of origin?

The following speaker asked for more details on the assistance available to Senegalese nationals abroad through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. What specific assistance did the Ministry offer? The speaker also expressed concern about the stamp of approval required by the Labour Code. The Expert also wanted more information on the repatriation deposit and taxes as well as the rights of migrant workers to form and join trade unions. The Senegalese electoral code did not give foreigners the right to vote. Was there any plan to change this?

What was Senegal’s global migratory policy? How did Senegal enlist funds transfers and remittances as a development tool? The delegation had mentioned the virtues of circular migration and the benefits for the country of origin, but had it also considered the downside such as the “brain drain” of talented people who left the country to find work elsewhere? The speaker also asked about unaccompanied minors and what was being done to address that issue.

Response by Delegation

The delegation of Senegal said that the Government paid close attention to the living conditions of its nationals, and as to the coordination of policies the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was the focal point for these actions. In fact, the Ministry used to be known as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Senegalese in the Diaspora. In terms of reliable statistics, the State envisaged the establishment of a national monitoring system for migration which would assist in providing the statistics needed to implement effective policies.

Turning to the voting rights of Senegalese nationals living abroad, the delegation said Senegal was one of the first African countries to address the issue of citizens voting outside the country. In principle, Senegalese living abroad could participate in elections, particularly presidential races, and the consular service worked with the electoral commission to figure out the logistics to make this possible. There had to be at least 300 Senegalese nationals living in a country and registered with the consulate; once this threshold was met then voting stations would be opened at embassies and consulates and people could vote. This had been the case since 1996.

In terms of social security benefits, Senegal said that it could not force other States to provide these benefits, but it did have a bilateral agreement with France. There was also a payment agreement between Senegal and Togo and similar agreements were also in place between Senegal and Côte d’Ivoire, Burkina Faso, and Gabon. An agreement was in the works with Spain.

On the question of a legitimate child and a natural child, the delegation said this was an anti-discrimination measure as the State did not want to have any discrimination between children born within marriage and those born outside of marriage. This also helped to ensure that there were no problems with children obtaining citizenship.

The delegation said the social security system did not exclude anyone, but the informal sector was at the margins of the law which meant workers in this sector found it difficult to fulfil the requirements for obtaining a pension because such benefits were based on one’s salary.

Turning to the concerns expressed about Senegal’s relationship with its neighbours, the delegation said that it employed a good neighbour policy and thus enjoyed very cordial relations with neighbouring countries and these countries were linked by history and often by ethnic ties as well. Senegal welcomed thousands of people every year from these other countries and the reverse was also true and migrant workers from neighbouring countries were always welcomed.

Follow-up Questions by Experts

In a round of follow-up questions, an Expert asked what role non-governmental organizations played in the preparation of this report and was the delegation aware of a shadow report that had been submitted and if so, could it respond to some of the issues raised in that report.

Response by Delegation

On the issue of the shadow report, the delegation said that the Government had its mission and the non-governmental organizations had their mandate and this was how it should be so the delegation congratulated them on their work because they had a role to play.

The delegation then turned to questions regarding trafficking in children. There was a law in Senegal dating from 2005 which criminalized the recruitment, transport or lodging of people by threats or by the offer or acceptance of payment for sexual exploitation or other forms of slavery. Jail sentences for these crimes ranged from 5 to 30 years and fines could be as high as 20 million francs. In terms of unaccompanied minors, the law required that all travel documents for people entering the country be checked which meant that an unaccompanied child could not enter the country without proper authorization which had to be shown to authorities.

Turning to bilateral agreements with other countries, the delegation said that it had several agreements with Spain regarding regular migration between countries, migrants performing seasonal work, the protection of unaccompanied minors, and cooperation in the fight against delinquency among other things. They also had an agreement with Spain on cooperation for combating migration via the Canary Islands. In terms of agreements with France, they had signed accords regarding temporary and seasonal workers and with Italy they had signed an agreement on programmes to support the private sector in Senegal via support for small and medium enterprises founded by Senegalese expats living in Italy.

With regards to social security benefits for migrant workers, the delegation told the Committee that since 1976 it had been compulsory to belong to a national pension system. Healthcare was provided by employers and when a worker was sick the work contract was suspended and the employer was responsible for their healthcare. The worker received full wages for one month then half wages for an additional two months. Pensions were exclusively reserved for workers who stayed on the national territory of Senegal and the State did not have any agreements in place with other States to export these benefits. Senegalese workers living abroad were not covered and when they retired they had to stay in the country where they had lived and worked and use the pension system there or return to Senegal and have no pension; it was a long term risk. For migrant workers in Senegal, if they accumulated enough points under the social security system they would be entitled to a pension and this could be sent to the country of origin by bank transfer regardless of whether agreements were concluded with their home country. The State had received instructions to apply the Cyprus Convention and the principle of exportability of pensions.

The delegation said that street children could be rehabilitated and turned over to religious leaders for religious education and a 2006 law made it illegal to mistreat or endanger the life of a child and there had been people tried and convicted under this law.

Regarding remittances to Senegal from abroad, the delegation said that the Ministry of Migrants worked to ensure investment toward productive goals through investment strategies that facilitated the investment of funds from migrant Senegalese living abroad.

The delegation said that an inter-ministerial council had been set up under the supervision of the prime minister to address human trafficking as a by-product of clandestine migration. Senegal had declined to sign agreements with other States that did not take into account the best interests of the Senegalese people.

Follow-up Questions by Experts

A Committee member asked for clarification on healthcare and its place in the social security system.

Another Expert asked if the State had disaggregated data on emigration from Senegal. The Expert also asked whether there was a particular difficulty or barrier to ratifying International Labour Organization Conventions 97 and 143. How did the fund for investments for Senegalese abroad work in practice and how was it financed? The State party report stated that Senegalese citizens abroad had the right to recourse to consular help in cases of detention or expulsion and also access to financial aid for legal assistance. How was this legal aid provided in practice to people who needed it? The Expert also wanted to know whether Senegal required married women who wanted to emigrate to have an authorization signed by their spouse.

Another speaker asked for further clarification on what happened to migrants who were detained and interrogated. What happened to them after they were detained?

Another Committee member returned to the issue of social security and the fact that Senegal did not export old age pensions. What happened to the contributions that were made by migrants while they worked in Senegal? Were they eligible for a lump sum payment when they returned to their country of origin? Also, did the agreements with Spain and France include the ability to export pensions? In terms of the agreements on migration between Senegal and France and Spain, did this lead to a “brain drain” in Senegal or did it foster circular migration?

An Expert asked for clarification on the 2005 law on the trade in people which stated that organized trade in migrants was illegal, but was it only sanctioned when it was organized or were individual migrants also prosecuted under this law?

Another speaker asked for clarification on the agreement with Spain to control migration that was done via the Canary Islands. Also, did judicial authorities acknowledge the supremacy of the Convention over the national laws of the country?

The last speaker in this round of questions asked about Senegal as a transit country and how the State managed land transit by migrants, not just air and sea transit.

Response by Delegation
Responding to the questions raised about social security, the delegation said that Senegal in fact did export pensions to workers who returned to their countries of origin if they accumulated enough points under the system while they worked in Senegal. They paid these pensions abroad via bank transfers or other methods depending on the instructions of the worker. Other countries did not always operate under this principle so there was not always reciprocity.

In terms of adopting International Labour Organization Conventions 97 and 142 there was no difficulty in adopting these, but it took time because there were four obligations that needed to be met: the application of the Convention; the adaptation of domestic law with international law; the provision of information about the application of the standard; and submission to controls of the international organizations that oversaw the implementation and enforcement of such treaties. Senegal was in the process of adopting numerous conventions, but this was a process that took time.

The delegation said that in terms of agreements with other countries on work contracts, this allowed Senegal to better control migration flows and they also provided better statistics on migration. Due to the nature of clandestine migration and the multiplicity of sources, the delegation said it could not provide with certainty the statistical information requested by the Committee. As for the “brain drain”, the delegation said that during the last meeting with the French ambassador in Senegal the numbers showed that not as many skilled workers were leaving Senegal to work in France as were eligible to do so.

The delegation reiterated that international treaties and international laws enjoyed supremacy over domestic laws. In terms of the support fund for Senegalese abroad, the delegation said that it was set up in 2008 with the aim of helping immigrants abroad to maximize investment into the national economy and it was funded by State money. The funds were aimed at agriculture, animal husbandry, construction and small and medium enterprises, sectors that could produce jobs. Civil society organizations were on the board of directors as well as representatives from the government. There were two parts to the fund, the financing side which provided investment money for businesses and the guarantee side which guaranteed bank loans for businesses.

The delegation also clarified article 4 of the 2005 law on human trafficking and the use of the word organized in terms of trading in people, lawmakers wanted to identify those people who were involved in clandestine migration so that people could detain these people and prosecute people who were the carriers or conveyors, not those who were victims. So this really referred to international organized crime which included money laundering and the falsification of visas and other identity papers, not individuals who were coming into the country to seek work. The law made clear that the victims of these violations could not be prosecuted.

Concluding Remarks

MYRIAM POUSSI, Committee Member, said that this had been an opportunity for the delegation to demonstrate how the Convention was applied in Senegal and the final goal of this dialogue was the improvement of the situation of migrant workers to and from Senegal. Ms. Poussi reiterated that statistics were incredibly important for this Committee and she stressed the need for the State to collect and provide disaggregated data on immigration and emigration. She also said that the State party should make a greater effort to involve civil society in the preparation of reports and agreements and also increase communication with non-governmental organizations. The ratification of various International Labour Organization conventions could help strengthen the legal framework for migrants in the country and increased training could also help strengthen the promotion and application of these rights. Ms. Poussi concluded by saying that she did not hear in the delegation’s responses how the rights of migrants transiting through Senegal were protected.

ABDELHAMID EL JAMRI, Committee Chairperson, thanked the delegation for its participation, but said he regretted that Senegal had not replied in time to a list of written questions sent by the Committee several months ago. He encouraged the delegation to carry on its work and said they had been given a good idea of the challenges facing migrant workers in Senegal and abroad and the State was invited to take legal measures to strengthen the rights of these workers and the Committee stood willing to help in this regard.

INNOCENCE NTAP NDIAYE, Minister of the Ministry of Employment and Professional Organizations of Senegal, in concluding remarks, said that the delegation was delighted to see the interest shown by Committee members in the application of the Convention in Senegal. The delegation regretted the delay in the response to the written questions and they would transmit this to the appropriate authorities in Senegal. Ms. Ndiaye said she hoped that the delegation had demonstrated Senegal’s commitment to the rights of migrant workers and she thanked the Committee for all its recommendations and comments.

For use of the information media; not an official record

CMW10/010E