Human Trafficking in [Lesotho] [other countries]
Street Children in [Lesotho] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Lesotho] [other countries]
 

Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children

Kingdom of Lesotho [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

Basutoland was renamed the Kingdom of Lesotho [map] upon independence from the UK in 1966. Lesotho, located in S Africa, is an enclave within the Republic of South Africa. Maseru is its capital and largest city. Lesotho’s economy is primarily based on subsistence agriculture, especially livestock, although drought has decreased agricultural activity. The extreme inequality in the distribution of income remains a major drawback.

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Lesotho. Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

Quick Search for Missing Children - Select Gender, Country (Lesotho), and Years Missing

National Plan of Action

U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - A January 2004 study by UNICEF, Save the Children, and the Ministry of Health and Social Welfare estimates the number of HIV/AIDS orphans to be 92,000.  Children in families affected by the disease often drop out of school to become caregivers of sick parents or care for younger siblings. Children also work as domestic workers, car washers, taxi fare collectors, and street vendors.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

CHILDREN - Familial stress, poverty, the spread of HIV/AIDS, and divorce led to a rise in child homelessness and abandonment, creating a growing number of street children and families headed by children. Street children were constrained due to their relative lack of finances from access to government services, such as medical care and school. Street children were not informed about their rights or access to government services. There were no reports of abuse of street children by security forces.

SECTION 6 WORKER RIGHTS – [d] Many urban street children worked in the informal sector. Most jobs performed by children were gender‑specific: boys as young as ages four and five were livestock herders, carried packages for shoppers, washed cars, and collected fares for minibus taxis; girls were domestic servants; teenage girls (and a few boys) were involved in prostitution; and both boys and girls worked as street vendors.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2001

[55] Labor laws regulating child labor do exist in the State party, but the Committee notes with concern the high and increasing number of children, especially boys, employed as animal herders, inter alia, and children employed as street traders, porters and in textile and garment factories. The Committee is concerned, in addition, at the number of children working in potentially dangerous conditions and at the lack of monitoring and supervision of the conditions in which they work.

[59] The Committee notes with concern the increasing number of children living and/or working on the streets in Lesotho.

The Protection Project - Lesotho [DOC]

FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE TRAFFICKING INFRASTRUCTURE – Lesotho has one of the highest HIV/AIDS infection rates in the world, at about 30 to 35 percent. As many as 14,000 children have been orphaned by the disease. The orphans must then provide for themselves and younger siblings. In Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, and Zimbabwe, more than 20 percent of children will be orphaned by 2010. These children often turn to the streets, where they are vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking.

The Protection Project - Zambia [DOC]

TRAFFICKING ROUTES – Zambia is a country of destination for street children from Lesotho’s capital, Maseru.

Aids orphans abandoned on Lesotho's streets to die alone

In Nazareth Haphloane and other districts of Lesotho, perhaps an even worse reality has emerged: very young Aids orphans are being abandoned on the streets. Relatives are either incapable of looking after them or do not want to be "overburdened by someone's HIV-positive child who is going to die anyway"

Consortium for Street Children - Lesotho

The age expectancy in Lesotho is only 36.81 years, primarily because of the impact of the HIV/AIDS virus. Almost twenty-nine percent of the population has the HIV/AIDS virus and it was responsible for over 29,000 deaths last year. Many programs working with street children in Lesotho focus on this crisis in the form of prevention and/or medical care. There are also programs working to promote the rights of street girls and programs working to advance juvenile justice.

Education will tackle HIV/AIDS

Between 70 and 100 people are dying every day in Lesotho as a result of HIV/AIDS and poverty. The numbers of street children and orphans are on the increase, as is lawlessness

Lesotho - Poverty

In Maseru, the capital of Lesotho, a shelter for street children and orphans was struggling to stay open due to insufficient funding and an increase in the number of children living in the shelter. Some of the children living there were driven to stealing to feed themselves. Tzu Chi began to provide monthly food stipends for the children in 1996. Sewing machines and fabrics were donated to the shelter to start a sewing class. The children finally got enough food and began learning to make clothes. Better still, under the guidance of a local mason, the children built a warehouse for the shelter with their own hands.

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Human Trafficking in [Lesotho] [other countries]
Street Children in [Lesotho] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Lesotho] [other countries]