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

Prevalence, Abuse & Exploitation of Street Children

Republic of Mauritius [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Republic of Mauritius is part of the Mascarene Island group in the SW Indian Ocean [map]. It is located 500 mi (800 km) E of Madagascar. The island of Rodriguez and two groups of small islands, Agalega and Cargados Carajos, are dependencies of Mauritius. The capital is Port Louis. Mauritius has achieved rapid economic growth and made marked improvements in the well being of its children and young people. Since independence in 1968, Mauritius has developed from a low-income, agriculturally based economy to a middle-income diversified economy with growing industrial, financial, and tourist sectors. For most of the period, annual growth has been in the order of 5% to 6%. This remarkable achievement has been reflected in more equitable income distribution, increased life expectancy, lowered infant mortality, and a much-improved infrastructure.

CAUTION:  The following links and accompanying text have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Mauritius. 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.

UNICEF - The Big Picture

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

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - The ILO estimated that 1.4 percent of children ages 10 to 14 years in Mauritius were working in 2002. As of 2000, 99.3 percent of children who started primary school were likely to reach grade 5.

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

CHILDREN - The government placed strong emphasis on the health and welfare of children and displayed a commitment to expand educational opportunities for children. The Ombudsman for Children's Issues ensured that the rights, needs, and interests of children were given full consideration by government, private authorities, individuals, and associations.

During the year the Education Act increased the age of free, universal, and compulsory education from age 12 to age 16. Authorities treated girls and boys equally at the primary, secondary, and post-secondary levels. The majority of children finished secondary education. More than 90 percent of primary students attended school.

The government provided full medical care for both boys and girls

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 1996

[11] The Committee is concerned at the insufficient attention paid, at both national and local levels, to the need for an efficient monitoring mechanism that could provide a systematic and comprehensive compilation of data and indicators on all areas covered by the Convention and in relation to all groups of children, especially those who are victims of child abuse, ill-treatment or child labor or the administration of juvenile justice, as well as the girl child, children of single-parent families and those born out of wedlock, abandoned, institutionalized and disabled children, and children who, in order to survive, are living and/or working in the streets.

[12] With regard to the implementation of article 4 of the Convention, the Committee notes with concern the inadequacy of measures taken to ensure the implementation of children's economic, social and cultural rights to the maximum extent of available resources. The Committee is particularly concerned at the insufficient measures and programs for the protection of the rights of the most vulnerable children, especially children who are victims of abuse, children of single parents, children born out of wedlock, abandoned children, disabled children, children living in poverty and children who, in order to survive, are living and/or working in the streets. The Committee is also concerned at the lack of disaggregated data in relation to budgetary allocations for children.

Consortium for Street Children

In 2003, UNICEF ended their programs in Mauritius so it would be able to add programs in places more in need. The government and people have shown a great interest in creating programs for children, and the overall commitment to children is very strong. This does not mean that there are no longer problems for street children in Mauritius.

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