HC Deb 26 February 2002 vol 380 cc1228-9W
Mrs. Spelman

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what action she is taking to improve human rights in Burkina Faso. [34652]

Mr. MacShane

I have been asked to reply.

Our ambassador to Burkina Faso raised a number of our concerns when he met President Compaore in September 2001. We reiterated these to the Burkinabe Ambassador to the EU in November 2001. We continue to lobby in the EU and the UN to encourage Burkina Faso to abide by international conventions they have ratified. These include core UN human rights treaties and ILO fundamental conventions (on Forced Labour, freedom of association, discrimination and child labour), we will maintain pressure on Burkina Faso to implement them fully.

Mrs. Spelman

To ask the Secretary of State for International Development if she will make a statement on her assessment of the levels of(a) child labour and (b) child trafficking in Burkina Faso. [34950]

Mr. MacShane

I have been asked to reply.

There is strong evidence that Burkinabe children are trafficked to neighbouring countries. We encourage regional efforts to prevent child trafficking and welcome Burkina Faso's ratification in July 2001 of ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labour. We also welcome efforts by both international and local NGOs and others to combat child trafficking, including the recent adoption of the Global Industry Protocol on addressing the worst forms of child labour in the cocoa industry, signed in Washington. Through the United Nations and European Union, we also contribute to reducing poverty, the root cause of child trafficking and exploitation.