“Off the Backs of the Children” RIGHTS Forced Begging and Other Abuses Against Talibés in Senegal WATCH
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Senegal HUMAN “Off the Backs of the Children” RIGHTS Forced Begging and Other Abuses against Talibés in Senegal WATCH “Off the Backs of the Children” Forced Begging and Other Abuses against Talibés in Senegal Copyright © 2010 Human Rights Watch All rights reserved. Printed in the United States of America ISBN: 1-56432-617-9 Cover design by Rafael Jimenez Human Rights Watch 350 Fifth Avenue, 34th floor New York, NY 10118-3299 USA Tel: +1 212 290 4700, Fax: +1 212 736 1300 [email protected] Poststraße 4-5 10178 Berlin, Germany Tel: +49 30 2593 06-10, Fax: +49 30 2593 0629 [email protected] Avenue des Gaulois, 7 1040 Brussels, Belgium Tel: + 32 (2) 732 2009, Fax: + 32 (2) 732 0471 [email protected] 64-66 Rue de Lausanne 1202 Geneva, Switzerland Tel: +41 22 738 0481, Fax: +41 22 738 1791 [email protected] 2-12 Pentonville Road, 2nd Floor London N1 9HF, UK Tel: +44 20 7713 1995, Fax: +44 20 7713 1800 [email protected] 27 Rue de Lisbonne 75008 Paris, France Tel: +33 (1)43 59 55 35, Fax: +33 (1) 43 59 55 22 [email protected] 1630 Connecticut Avenue, N.W., Suite 500 Washington, DC 20009 USA Tel: +1 202 612 4321, Fax: +1 202 612 4333 [email protected] Web Site Address: http://www.hrw.org April 2010 1-56432-617-9 “Off the Backs of the Children” Forced Begging and Other Abuses against Talibés in Senegal Map of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau ............................................................................................. 1 Summary .................................................................................................................................... 2 Recommendations ...................................................................................................................... 7 To the Government of Senegal ............................................................................................... 7 To the Government of Guinea-Bissau ..................................................................................... 9 To the Governments of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau ............................................................. 10 To Religious Leaders, including Caliphs of the Brotherhoods, Imams, and Grand Marabouts ...... 10 To International and National Humanitarian Organizations .................................................. 10 To the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Slavery .......................11 To the Economic Community of West African States ..............................................................11 To the Organisation of the Islamic Conference ......................................................................11 Methodology ............................................................................................................................ 12 Background............................................................................................................................... 14 Development of Islam in Senegal ........................................................................................ 14 Quranic Education prior to French Rule ................................................................................ 17 Quranic Education under French Rule .................................................................................. 18 Quranic Education Post-Independence: Rising Tide of Forced Begging ................................. 21 Emphasis on Almsgiving ..................................................................................................... 23 Exploitation and Abuses Endured by the Talibés in Senegal ...................................................... 25 Large and Growing Problem ................................................................................................. 25 Profile: Young and Far from Home ........................................................................................ 27 Nature of Forced Begging: Out of the Classroom and onto the Street ................................... 30 Long Hours in Search of Money ..................................................................................... 31 Injury and Death from Car Accidents ............................................................................. 33 Denying the Right to Education ..................................................................................... 35 Severe Physical Abuse ........................................................................................................ 37 Violations of the Rights to Food, Physical Development, and Health .................................... 42 Conditions in the Daara ................................................................................................ 43 Violation of the Rights to Food and Physical Development ............................................. 47 Violation of the Right to Health ..................................................................................... 49 Sexual Abuse ...................................................................................................................... 52 Denying Contact with Family ................................................................................................ 54 Denying the Right to Play ..................................................................................................... 56 On the Run, on the Streets .................................................................................................. 58 Perpetrators and Complicitous Actors ....................................................................................... 64 Marabouts and Religious Leaders........................................................................................ 64 Justifications for Forced Begging: Food, Rent, Humility .................................................. 65 From Ascetic to Affluent ................................................................................................ 67 Silent Acceptance ......................................................................................................... 71 Government of Senegal ....................................................................................................... 73 Lack of Regulation ........................................................................................................ 73 Eschewing Accountability ............................................................................................. 75 Fear of Backlash ........................................................................................................... 77 Assistance for Religious Education ................................................................................ 78 Lack of Coherent Response ........................................................................................... 79 Government of Guinea-Bissau ............................................................................................. 79 Insufficient Action to Address Illegal Cross-Border Migration ........................................ 80 Growing Forced Begging Problem in Guinea-Bissau ....................................................... 82 Denying the Right to Education ..................................................................................... 83 Parents Responsible for Neglect and Abuse ......................................................................... 85 Humanitarian Aid Organizations: Incentivizing Urban Migration, Ignoring Accountability .... 88 Relevant International and National Law ................................................................................... 94 Child Servitude or Slavery ................................................................................................... 94 Worst Form of Child Labor ................................................................................................... 95 Child Trafficking ................................................................................................................. 96 Cairo Declaration on Human Rights in Islam ........................................................................ 97 International Treaties on Children’s Rights ......................................................................... 98 Domestic Legislation Relevant to the Talibés ..................................................................... 100 Anti-Trafficking Law ..................................................................................................... 100 Senegalese Penal Code Provisions .............................................................................. 100 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................. 102 Map of Senegal and Guinea-Bissau © 2010 John Emerson / Human Rights Watch The main routes of talibé migration are well known in Senegal and Guinea-Bissau. The routes shown are based on Human Rights Watch’s interviews with talibés, marabouts, parents, and humanitarian and government officials in Senegal and Guinea-Bissau; a 2007 quantitative study of begging children in Dakar performed by the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), the International Labour Organization, and the World Bank; and detailed records kept by SOS Talibé Children (SOS Crianças Talibés) of children returned to Guinea-Bissau after running away from daaras in Senegal. 1 Human Rights Watch | April 2010 Summary I have to bring money, rice, and sugar each day. When I can’t bring everything, the marabout beats me. He beats me other times too, even when I do bring the sum.... I want to stop this, but I can’t.