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Benin - Second periodic reports submitted by States parties under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant [2007] UNCESCRSPR 5; E/C.12/BEN/2 (29 March 2007)



UNITED
NATIONS

E

Economic and Social
Council
Distr.
GENERAL
E/C.12/BEN/2
30 March 2007
ENGLISH
Original: FRENCH

Substantive session of 2007

IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT
ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

Second periodic reports submitted by States parties
under articles 16 and 17 of the Covenant
Addendum
BENIN[*] [**] [***]

[19 December 2006]

CONTENTS

Paragraphs Page

Introduction 1 - 11 3

General information 12 - 21 4

PART I PART OF THE REPORT RELATING TO GENERAL

PROVISIONS OF THE COVENANT 22 - 43 6

Article 1 Peoples’ right to self-determination 22 - 29 6

Article 2 Non-discrimination 30 8

Article 3 Equal rights of men and women 31 - 41 8

Article 4 42 11

Article 5 43 11

PART II PART OF THE REPORT RELATING TO

SPECIFIC RIGHTS 44 - 366 11

Article 6 Right to work 44 - 127 11

Article 7 128 - 142 25

Article 8 Trade union rights 143 - 155 29

Article 9 Right to social security 156 - 168 30

Article 10 Protection of the family, mothers and children 169 - 194 33

Article 11 Right to an adequate standard of living 195 - 242 36

Article 12 Right to physical and mental health 243 - 289 52

Article 13 Right to education 290 - 354 64

Article 14 Free compulsory primary education 355 80

Article 15 Right to take part in cultural life 356 - 366 80

PERIODIC REPORT SUBMITTED BY BENIN TO THE COMMITTEE
ON ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS ON THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE INTERNATIONAL COVENANT ON
ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND CULTURAL RIGHTS

Combined report 2000-2002/2002-2004, October 2005
Introduction

1. In adopting the Constitution of 11 December 1990, the Beninese people opted for a State based on the rule of law and a pluralistic democracy in which the fundamental human rights, public liberties, the dignity of the human being and justice are guaranteed, protected and promoted as the necessary prerequisites for the genuine harmonious development of all Beninese men and women.

2. The Government of the Republic of Benin, in its determination to give concrete expression to the will of the people, spares no effort to comply with its international commitments, particularly in the field of human rights. To that end, it submitted in 1998 its initial report on the implementation of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, adopted on 16 December 1966 by the United Nations General Assembly in its resolution 2200A (XXI), and to which Benin acceded on 12 March 1992.

3. Benin has worked tirelessly to introduce legislative and practical measures to ensure citizens’ effective enjoyment of the rights enshrined in this instrument.

4. To that end it organized in Cotonou in 1997 an international symposium on minimum social standards. The concept of “minimum social standards”, which is open-ended, refers to the satisfaction of the five basic human needs: education, access to primary health services and care, food security, the development of wealth-creating skills and an end to isolation. The outcome of this discussion was reflected at the national level by the adoption in 1998 of a National Community Development Programme, which embodies a new approach involving development planned from the bottom up on the basis of fundamental needs identified as priority needs by the communities themselves. Similarly, a National Policy Plan 1998-2002 focusing on poverty eradication was drawn up and adopted in 1998. The aim of this plan is to achieve sustainable economic growth in order to substantially increase per capita income.

5. On the basis of the Benin 2025 Alafia national long-term outlook studies, which involved broad consultation with the population’s various social groups, a strategic vision was mapped out reflecting the different views expressed. In accordance with the Alafia scenario outlined in the findings of the studies and surveys carried out on the population’s various social groups, the programme is based on the conviction that “peace and prosperity rely on improved governance which enables the State to run the public sector on the basis of the key principles of institutional and economic management, decentralization, transparency and national solidarity, and to establish with the private sector conditions enabling it to flourish and expand for the prosperity of the national economy. This context of prosperity and good governance enables the State to deal with the problems caused by an unfavourable external environment and better contain the crises that arise within families and religions”.

6. This vision prompted the Government to draft a Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper for the period 2002-2004 and the Second Government Programme of Action (2001-2006). The aim is to create a harmonious, peaceful and prosperous socio-economic environment in Benin. This requires specific, consistent multisectoral objectives to be identified and taken into account, and careful planning in time and space. Drawing on national experiences in terms of strategies, the Government intends to consolidate these developments in a process of sustainable human development, centred on the real needs of population groups and community management.

7. A second demographic and health survey was carried out in 2001. It is valuable for the quantifiable data that it assembles on the situation of women and children and its subsequent statistical analysis.

8. In addition to the above-mentioned national policies and strategies, other policies and strategies that also take into consideration efforts to eradicate poverty have been adopted at sector level, including in health, education, rural development, water power and social protection.

9. Like other members of the international community, Benin adopted in September 2000 the Millennium Development Goals, which aim to bring about greater equity and stability in international economic relations. In order to do this, the participants at the Millennium Summit specified a series of quantifiable objectives to combat poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy, environmental damage and discrimination.

10. The present periodic report for the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights flows directly from the Beninese Government’s respect for its commitments under article 16 of the Covenant. It is a consolidated report, which describes the measures taken and the progress made by the State of Benin to guarantee enjoyment of the rights recognized in the Covenant.

11. The report was drawn up in two stages. First, a draft was prepared by a national expert on the basis of relevant information gathered from the institutions of the Republic and international and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). The draft report was then submitted to the National Committee to Monitor the Implementation of International Human Rights Instruments, which, after careful review and amendment, adopted it as a national report.

General information

12. The general information contained in Benin’s initial report is supplemented here by information on recent developments.

13. Benin, which has an area of 114,763 km2, was divided into six departments until 1998: Atacora, Atlantique, Borgou, Mono, Ouémé and Zou. The entry into force of Act No. 97-028 of 15 January 1999 on the organization of territorial administration increased the number of administrative districts to 12, each of the old departments being divided in two. The new departments are: Atacora-Donga, Alibori-Borgou, Zou-Collines, Mono-Couffo, Ouémé-Plateau and Atlantique-Littoral.

14. The old sub-prefectures and urban districts are now decentralized local authorities, in the form of municipalities governed by elected mayors and with legal personality and financial autonomy. The country has a total of 77 municipalities, 3 of which, Cotonou, Porto-Novo and Parakou, have a special status.

15. This new form of territorial administration is the direct result of the first municipal elections, which were held in December 2002 and January 2003.

16. Benin carried out its third national population and housing census in 2002, which enabled population statistics to be updated. According to demographic projections based on the last census, the population of Benin is estimated to be 6,769,914 in 2002 and 7,228,089 in 2004.

17. Generally speaking, women make up 51 per cent of the total population and children under the age of 15, 48 per cent. Children between the ages of 10 and 14 make up 14 per cent of the population, and approximately 26 per cent of the population are aged between 10 and 19.

18. Benin’s population is unevenly distributed across the country, with nearly 70 per cent of the population living in rural areas. The average population density is 54 inhabitants per square kilometre.

19. According to estimates by the National Institute of Statistics and Economic Analysis (INSAE), Benin’s population will continue to grow fairly quickly (see table below), assuming developments in the main indicators between now and 2025 do not have a major impact on the population’s age structure.

Table 1
Demographic projections 2010-2025, by (old) department and city

Administrative division
Year
2010
2015
2020
2025
Benin
8 355 606
9 736 736
11 290 299
12 966 517
Atacora
1 144 528
1 396 170
1 705 412
2 072 760
Atlantique
1 680 943
1 879 329
2 081 096
2 277 822
Borgou
1 622 019
1 983 830
2 419 212
2 929 845
Mono
1 103 984
1 278 774
1 469 375
1 659 932
Ouémé
1 436 989
1 632 756
1 836 612
2 033 943
Zou
1 367 143
1 565 877
1 778 592
1 992 215
Cotonou
1 030 264
1 193 155
1 375 812
1 603 806
Porto-Novo
315 686
362 955
410 333
466 345
Parakou
215 731
263 083
321 853
397 940

Source: National Institute of Statistics and Economic Analysis, Demographic Studies Department. Table based on a compilation of population projections for the 12 departments, 1997-2032, Cotonou, October 1999.

20. Within departments, gaps are not widening in terms of age structures. However, the demographic weight of the various departments will shift over the years. Three groups of departments can be identified in this regard for the period 2000-2025. Atacora-Donga and Alibori-Borgou will see their demographic weight increase (by almost 2 to 3 points) while Atlantique-Littoral, Ouémé-Plateau, and Zou-Collines will see theirs decrease. The population of Mono-Couffo will remain stable over the period, at around 14 per cent of the total.

21. Cotonou’s population will pass 1 million towards 2010. The commuter towns for Cotonou’s workers, Abomey-Calavi and Sèmè-Podji, Cotonou, will grow. Porto-Novo will reach 500,000 inhabitants only towards 2025.

PART I: PART OF THE REPORT RELATING TO GENERAL
PROVISIONS OF THE COVENANT

1. Article 1 of the Covenant: Peoples’ right to self-determination

1.0

22. The right to self-determination has been implemented through general and specific measures taken by the Beninese people and their Government, as described in the initial report.

23. It is important to mention the introduction of decentralization, or local community government, the grass-roots democracy that must flow from the system of pluralist democracy chosen by the Beninese people in adopting the Constitution of 11 December 1990.

24. The fact is that, from colonial times onwards, Benin’s territorial administration was characterized by a strong tendency for power to be concentrated in the hands of the State. Such excessive centralization is not only an obstacle to sustainable local democracy but also a serious impediment to the empowerment of communities and the freeing of local energies. The 1990 Constitution therefore attached great importance to the principle of the freedom of territorial units to administer themselves, elevating that freedom to constitutional rank (11 December 1990, Constitution, arts. 150-153).

25. These provisions of the Constitution enabled the Beninese people and their Government to take legislative, regulatory and practical measures to bring about decentralization.

1.1 The legislative and regulatory measures include five laws on decentralization enacted by the National Assembly, and implementing decrees issued by the Government. The laws on decentralization are to be distinguished from the implementing decrees.

1.1.1 The legislation is as follows:

(a) Act No. 97-028 of 15 January 1999 on the organization of territorial administration in the Republic of Benin, which establishes the names and territorial jurisdiction of the departments and municipalities and the rules governing the powers of the various bodies and those responsible for them;

(b) Act No. 97-029 of 15 January 1999 on the organization of municipalities in the Republic of Benin, which apportions the competences of the State and the municipalities and defines their new relationship;

(c) Act No. 98-005 of 15 January 1999 on the organization of municipalities with special status, which covers matters relating specifically to the administration of the three cities of Cotonou, Porto-Novo and Parakou and grants them greater powers than ordinary municipalities;

(d) Act No. 98-006 of 9 March 1999 on municipal elections in the Republic of Benin, which sets forth general and particular rules applying to local elections;

(e) Act No. 98-007 of 15 January 1999 on the financial regime of municipalities in the Republic of Benin, which contains provisions relating to the various elements of the municipal budget (income and expenditure), and to its preparation, adoption, execution and monitoring.

These acts are supplemented by 12 implementing decrees.

1.1.2 The implementing decrees are as follows:

(a) Decree No. 2001-409 of 15 October 2001 on the membership, powers and operation of the departmental administration conference;

(b) Decree No. 2001-410 of 15 October 2001 on arrangements for the implementation of Act No. 98-006 of 9 March 1999 on local elections in the Republic of Benin;

(c) Decree No. 2001-411 of 15 October 2001 on the membership, powers and operation of the Departmental Coordinating Council, which also establishes the rates for members’ meeting allowances and travel expenses;

(d) Decree No. 2001-412 of 15 October 2001 on the office of municipal secretarygeneral;

(e) Decree No. 2001-413 of 15 October 2001 on arrangements for credit advances to municipalities in the Republic of Benin;

(f) Decree No. 2001-414 of 15 October 2001 establishing the general framework for the rules of procedure of local councils;

(g) Decree No. 2001-415 of 15 October 2001 establishing the appearance and colour of the local councillor’s badge;

(h) Decree No. 2002-293 of 5 July 2002 establishing the form and conditions of representation of the municipality by the mayor;

(i) Decree No. 2002-365 of 22 August 2002 on the establishment of the National Commission on Local Finance;

(j) Decree No. 2002-366 of 22 August 2002 establishing a lump-sum payment for electoral campaign expenses, to be paid by the State to candidates elected in local elections;

(k) Decree No. 2002-367 of 22 August 2002 establishing the amount of the nonrefundable deposit to be paid by candidates in local elections;

(l) Decree No. 2002-376 of 22 August 2002 on the organization and operation of departmental administration.

1.2 With regard to practical measures, in December 2002 and January 2003 the National Independent Electoral Commission organized local elections, thereby launching the active phase of decentralization in Benin. The elections effectively inaugurated the new territorial structure.

26. Having been granted the freedom to administer themselves, territorial units now have a free hand in establishing priorities, carrying out their work, managing their areas of competence and choosing appropriate resources for the effective and efficient administration of local affairs.

27. The local assemblies are made up of local councillors.

28. Moreover, the State was not slow to provide financial aid to the municipalities. In 2003, for example, it set aside 1,237,450,000 CFA francs for the municipal solidarity fund, the grant now paid in lieu of local tax, and the local authority support grant. The State’s contribution increased in 2004 by CFAF 548 million, to make a total contribution of CFAF 1,875,450,000.

29. The State has in fact already paid out a total of CFAF 3,200,900,000 in support to the municipalities for 2003 and 2004.

2. Article 2 of the Covenant: Non-discrimination

30. As mentioned in the initial report, under the 11 December 1990 Constitution foreigners resident in Benin enjoy the same rights and freedoms as nationals.

3. Article 3 of the Covenant: Equal rights of men and women

31. Benin’s commitment to ensuring the equal right of men and women to the enjoyment of all economic, social and cultural rights set forth in the Covenant is demonstrated, inter alia, by the legislative and practical measures it has implemented.

32. The most recent legislative development in this regard is the Personal and Family Code, adopted by the National Assembly in June 2002 and brought into line with the Constitution on 14 June 2004 following Constitutional Court judgements finding a number of provisions incompatible with the Constitution. The Code was promulgated on 24 August 2004 and reflects Benin’s international commitments with regard to the observance and promotion of human rights, and specifically the principles of equality and non-discrimination.

33. The Personal and Family Code has harmonized family law with a consolidated body of law based essentially on the principles of equality and non-discrimination. Some relevant provisions are as follows:

(a) Marriageable age is 18 for both members of the couple (art. 123);

(b) Polygamy (i.e., polygyny) has been abolished (arts. 125 ff.);

(c) Dowries are now token payments (art. 142);

(d) Family and household affairs are managed jointly (art. 155);

(e) Parental authority is exercised jointly by both parents (art. 417);

(f) The family’s place of residence may be chosen jointly (art. 156);

(g) Women are free to follow an occupation (art. 157);

(h) The marital property system under ordinary law is the separation of property regime (art. 184);

(i) It is also possible to choose a contractual regime, which may subsequently be modified (arts. 190 ff.);

(j) Parental authority is shared equally (art. 411);

(k) Inheritances are distributed on an equal basis (art. 619);

(l) The surviving spouse inherits in full title regardless of the origin or nature of the inheritance and even where the descendants inherit concurrently (arts. 630 ff.).

34. The principle of the protection of legitimate children is maintained. However, the two types of filiation are treated as similarly as possible, both in establishing descent and in respect of the implications of descent.

35. With regard to establishing descent, the Code abolishes, to the extent possible, the distinction between legitimate and illegitimate children in terms of the ways this can be done. It allows natural maternity to be established simply by entering the mother’s name on the birth certificate, without any need to demonstrate possession of status. A birth certificate giving the mother’s name therefore implies recognition.

36. It is now possible to establish filiation for illegitimate children, either through recognition or through paternity proceedings, where the child does not have possession of status consistent with the birth certificate (art. 315) or where the mother contests the child’s paternity in order to have the child recognized by the real father, married after the dissolution of her marriage.

37. Only children born of incest remain barred from double filiation, unless the child has putative legitimacy (art. 318, para. 3).

38. With regard to the implications of descent, the Code establishes equality in principle between the two filiations in terms of legal effect. Illegitimate children, when recognized, have the same rights and obligations as legitimate children. However, the very circumstances of their birth entail certain restrictions. For example, an illegitimate child who has been recognized can invoke inheritance rights against the surviving spouse only if the child was notified of that recognition in writing by the deceased parent.

39. In general there is an improvement in the situation of women with regard to inheritance rights. One of the criticisms frequently levelled at customary law, and indeed at modern law, is that, particularly in the area of inheritance, they include rules of a highly discriminatory nature in respect of girls, who are generally excluded from certain kinds of inheritance such as land. Little importance is attached to these rules, moreover, by virtue of so-called male privilege. In providing that the law shall take no account of either the origin or the nature of property in dividing the estate, article 605 of the Code does away with these old customs. In this way the Code reasserts the principle of equal shares. In the same vein, the principles of primogeniture, whereby the eldest child takes precedence in the division of an estate, and of male privilege, whereby the male children take precedence, have likewise been abolished.

40. On a practical level, Benin’s commitment to the advancement of women is demonstrated by its adoption in 2000 of the National Policy for the Advancement of Women. This is a baseline document, drawn up with the help of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), which defines the legal and conceptual framework for action for the advancement of women in Benin.

41. A National Commission for the Advancement of Women was established by Decree No. 2002-464 of 28 October 2002. Under article 3 of this decree, the Commission’s mandate is to:

(a) Ensure implementation of the national plan by all bodies working in the area of advancement and protection of women;

(b) Ensure due consideration of the strategic and practical needs of men and women in the preparation, implementation, follow-up and evaluation of development programmes and projects;

(c) Ensure improved coordination of all action for the advancement of women;

(d) Encourage and promote the adoption of legislative and regulatory measures to improve women’s legal, socio-economic and cultural status;

(e) Draw up strategies for the implementation of the Plan of Action of the National Policy for the Advancement of Women.

4. Article 4 of the Covenant

42. Since submission of the initial report there have been no changes regarding the implementation of this article.

5. Article 5 of the Covenant

43. Since submission of the initial report there have been no changes regarding the implementation of this article.

PART II. PART OF THE REPORT RELATING TO SPECIFIC RIGHTS

6. Article 6 of the Covenant: Right to work

6.1

44. The Republic of Benin has not yet ratified the ILO Employment Policy Convention, 1964 (No. 122). However, as described in the initial report, the Government is taking practical measures which are expected to lead to its ratification.

45. The ILO Convention concerning Discrimination in Respect of Employment and Occupation, 1958 (No. 111), was ratified in 1961. The results of its implementation are described in the initial report.

46. Unlike this Convention, the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (1965) and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (1979), to which Benin has been a party since 2001 and 1992, respectively, have not been the subject of periodic reports to the respective monitoring bodies.

6.2
(a) Situation, level and trends in employment, unemployment and underemployment
Overview

47. Many domestic and external factors described in the initial report have affected the Beninese economy, leading to the current unemployment crisis.

48. The measures advocated in structural adjustment programmes have adversely affected the employment sector in Benin. These measures, which include a recruitment freeze and targeted or voluntary redundancies in the civil service, and moves to restrict demand for labour in the private sector, are described in the initial report.

49. In addition, it must be said, many of the victims of this situation of insecurity - recent graduates and unskilled youngsters from towns and rural areas - have turned to the informal sector, as vendors of petroleum products, for example, or motorbike taxi (zémidjan) drivers. The

informal sector has already grown to considerable proportions. The rural population continues to shrink while towns grow. The increased demand for new jobs is a keen reminder of the need to reduce unemployment and counter the scarcity of stable employment.

50. Overall, in comparison to the situation prevailing at the time of the initial report, some changes can be noted as a result of a number of measures taken by the various stakeholders. The number of public-sector jobs has gone up, thanks not only to the scheme for recruiting permanent State employees but also to the scheme for hiring of fixed-term and indefinite term staff; and there has been an improvement in the situation in the private sector and a reduction in unemployment and underemployment.

Employment

Public-sector employment

51. According to the data shown in the 2006 Civil Service staffing table, drawn up by the Ministry of the Civil Service, Labour and Administrative Reform, the situation of State employees as at 31 December 2004 was as follows:

(a) A large number of contract staff: 3,361 fixed-term staff and 4,941 on indefinite contracts in December 2004, giving a total of 4,941, as against zero 10 years earlier (1994), recruitment of contract staff having begun only in 1996;

(b) Increased recruitment of permanent State employees, who numbered around 29,863 in December 2004, including 832 in special posts, as against 28,550 five years earlier (1999);

(c) A total of 38,165 public-sector employees in service as at 31 December 2004.

Table 2
State employees, 31 December 2004

Description
Number
In service
29 031
In special posts
832
Total permanent civil servants
29 863
Fixed-term contract staff
3 361
Indefinite contract staff
4 941
Total contract staff (fixed-term + indefinite)
8 302
Total public-sector employees in service
37 333
Total public-sector employees
38 165

Source: Ministry of the Civil Service, Labour and Administrative Reform, Civil Service staffing table, 2004.

52. Developments in civil service recruitment are shown in table 3 below.

Table 3
Permanent State employees: recruitment 1993-2004

Category
Year
A
B
C
D
E
Total
1993
52
17
62
-
176
255
1994
-
-
-
-
-
-
1995
11
14
47
79
59
210
1996
144
280
82
152
96
753
1997
193
268
85
80
25
651
1998
199
269
151
40
09
668
1999
80
92
120
17
04
313
2000
175
65
174
83
-
497
2001
129
102
143
49
-
553
2002
229
177
236
95
-
737
2003
393
169
272
111
-
945
2004
200
95
157
106
-
558

Permanent State employees, all categories, ignoring quotas
342
Overall total

6 482

Source: Ministry of the Civil Service, Labour and Administrative Reform, Civil Service staffing table, 2004.

53. The same data also show that primary education and health are sectors with huge numbers of State employees, far outstripping other sectors, because they are given such high priority by the State. Out of a total of 29,031 permanent State employees in December 2004, a total of 15,392 are employed by the department of primary and secondary education and 3,005 by the department of health. In addition, it was partly the needs of these sectors that prompted the recruitment of contract staff, 78.46 per cent of whom are employed in the primary and secondary education sector and 11.84 per cent in the health sector.

54. In public-sector employment young people aged between 18 and 44 are particularly disadvantaged. As at December 2004 they represented 38.51 per cent of the total number of permanent State employees, as against 62.08 per cent for those aged 45 and over.

55. The staff of the Beninese civil service is thus gradually ageing. In less than 5 years 5,792 employees will retire, and another 10,378 in less than 10 years.

56. The most favoured regions, as shown in table 4, appear to be the departments in the south and south-east, owing to the high concentration of public services there. In Atlantique-Littoral,

for example, there are 10,451 State employees, or 36.01 per cent of the total. Ouémé-Plateau comes second, with 4,790 employees (16.5 per cent), followed by the other departments, in order: Zou-Collines, 3,484 (12 per cent); Alibori-Borgou, 2,897 (9.98 per cent); AtacoraDonga, 2,694 (9.28 per cent); and Mono-Couffo, 2,670 (9.2 per cent).

Table 4
Permanent State employees by department

Department
No.
%
Atakora-Donga
2 694
9.28
Atlantique-Littoral
10 451
36.01
Alibori-Borgou
2 897
9.98
Mono-Couffo
2 670
9.20
Ouémé-Plateau
4 790
16.50
Zou-Collines
3 484
12
Not specified
2 045
7.03
Total
29 031
100

Source: Ministry of the Civil Service, Labour and Administrative Reform, Civil Service staffing table, 2004.

Private-sector employment

57. As already stated, in terms of private-sector jobs, the informal sector is the largest provider of employment in Benin and the agricultural sector is the largest in terms of volume of jobs.

58. The informal sector accounts for 95 per cent of the employed labour force, and the formal sector for only 5 per cent, divided almost equally between the public sector (2.6 per cent) and the private sector (2.4 per cent). The private sector thus accounts for some 97.4 per cent of the employed labour force.

59. This sector accounts for 88 per cent of the labour force in urban areas and 98 per cent in rural areas.

60. The third national population and housing census showed that, out of a total employed labour force of 2,703,389, 1,274,379 (47.1 per cent) are employed in the agricultural sector (including hunting and fishing); 99.4 per cent of this sector is informal. The retail and catering trades come after the agricultural sector, accounting for 784,930 (29 per cent) of those in work, 97.9 per cent of this sector is informal. The other employment sectors, in descending order, are manufacturing (244,312), transport and telecommunications (92,012), construction and civil engineering (68,881), mining and quarrying (37,017), banking and insurance (3,632), water, electricity and gas (1,832), and other services (196,394).

Trends in employment

61. If the total labour force is considered to be the number of people requiring work, then between 1992 and 2002 the number of people requiring work rose by 745,430, giving a yearly average increase of 74,543.

62. The employed labour force is the number of people no longer seeking work. Between 1992 and 2002 the employed labour force expanded from 2,053,130 to 2,811,753, thus showing a yearly average increase of 75,862.

Table 5
Employed labour force by sector, 1992 and 2002

Employment sector
2002
1992
Variation
Variation
(a)
(b)
(a-b)
(%)
Total
2 703 389
2 014 632
688 757
100
Agriculture, hunting, fishing
1 274 379
1 147 746
126 633
18.4
Mining/quarrying
37 017
661
36 356
05.3
Manufacturing
244 312
160 406
83 906
12.2
Water, electricity, gas
1 832
1 176
656
00.1
Construction, civil engineering
68 881
51 655
17 226
02.5
Retail, hotel and catering
784 930
432 501
352 429
51.2
Transport and communications
92 012
52 837
39 175
05.7
Banks and insurance
3 632
3 106
526
00.1
Other services
196 394
164 544
31 850
04.6
All activities
2 811 753
2 053 128
758 625

Not defined
108 364
38 496
69 868

Source: National Institute of Statistics and Economic Analysis (INSAE), Demographic Studies Department, Third national population and housing census, vol. 3, October 2003.

63. Table 5 shows that most of the new jobs taken up were in the agricultural (18.4 per cent), retail (51.2 per cent) and crafts (12.2 per cent) sectors. This explains the increase in the number of independent workers in the employed labour force. The conclusion can be drawn that most of the new demand for employment between 1992 and 2002 was absorbed by the informal sector.

Trends in unemployment

64. The latest census shows that there is a jobless population in addition to the employed labour force, and that in 2002 those looking for work numbered 19,123. Of these, 56 per cent were first-time job-seekers and 44 per cent had had one job previously (referred to as “other unemployed” below). Men are the most affected by unemployment (68 per cent men; 32 per cent women). A lower standard of education, combined with jobs crisis, tends to keep women out of the formal job market which explains their lower unemployment figures.

65. While in 1992 a total of 20,687 people were looking for their first job and 11,631 were considered as “other unemployed”, in 2002 only 10,717 people were looking for their first job and 8,406 were considered as “other unemployed”.

66. Young people are more affected than older people by unemployment. While the under35s account for 61 per cent of the labour force, they account for 72 per cent of the unemployed. In addition, unemployment remains an urban phenomenon, with 74.6 per cent of the unemployed living in urban areas.

Special categories

Women

67. Women work mainly in the informal sector. While in the country as a whole there are 102 working men for every 100 women, in the informal sector there are 95 men to 100 women, in the formal State sector 300 and in the private formal sector 243. Formal permanent employment requires a higher standard of education and better qualifications and thus tends to be reserved for men, whose educational standard is higher than women’s. Waged employment of women is therefore not widespread.

68. In December 2004, according to the 2004 Civil Service staffing table, out of a total of 29,031 permanent State employees, 7,927 (27.3 per cent) were women, compared to 21,104 men.

69. As always, women are not well represented in the professions.

70. Given their close ties to the informal sector, women entrepreneurs finance 59.4 per cent of their business activities through informal channels. The popularity of informal finance institutions with women is mainly due to the ease of access to credit, and in particular their community-based and mutually supportive nature, as well as and the lack of restrictive legal and administrative barriers.

71. In this way informal finance mechanisms enhance women’s ability, and their opportunities, to participate in human development. As members of informal associations such as tontines or other organizations, women are able to save and invest in various areas that help improve their standard of living and raise their status within the community.

72. It should be added that the Government, through the ministry responsible for solidarity, grants microcredits to rural women in income-generating associations, in order to alleviate their working conditions and promote their fulfilment by developing their economic activities.

Young people

73. As described in the initial report, a high proportion of young people work in the informal sector, especially in agriculture. This has repercussions on their schooling and future.

74. As stated above, they are less well represented in the civil service. In December 2004 young people aged between 18 and 44 accounted for 38.51 per cent of the total number of permanent State employees, as against 62.08 per cent for the over-45s.

Disabled persons

75. The Beninese State has taken steps to help this category of workers, in particular legislative measures. Articles 31 ff. of Act No. 98-004 of 27 January 1998 provide for measures for the advancement of disabled persons. Under these provisions disabled persons as defined in the Act may not be discriminated against in any way, and their employers are granted special conditions.

76. Disabled persons make up 3.3 per cent of the labour force, with a total of 92,364 persons, 54.7 per cent of them men and 45.3 per cent women.

77. The employment rates for disabled persons (overall 60.5 per cent, men 67 per cent and women 53.9 per cent) are lower than the averages for the general population. The rate for those living in urban areas (54.4 per cent) is lower than for those in rural areas.

78. The following table shows the distribution of people who have been disabled for 10 years or more, giving the total labour force, the employed labour force, the unemployed who are firsttime job-seekers, and other unemployed, by sex and urban or rural area.

Table 6
Persons disabled for 10 years or more


Sex
Area
Total
Male
Female
Urban
Rural
Labour force
92 364
50 506
41 858
30 545
61 819
Employed labour force
91 459
49 849
41 610
29 903
61 556
First-time job-seekers
344
244
100
243
101
Other unemployed
561
413
148
399
162
Non-working population
60 369
24 830
35 539
25 610
34 756

Source: National Institute of Statistics and Economic Analysis (INSAE), Demographic Studies Department, Third national population and housing census, vol. 3, October 2003.

(b) Main policies and measures adopted

79. The policies and measures adopted with the aim of providing work for all those available and looking for work, as described in the initial report, are still in effect. The new measures adopted that are described in the present report are recent developments.

80. For nearly two decades, an ongoing concern for Benin’s biggest employer, the State, has been to control civil service staffing levels and payroll in a global and systemic manner.

81. To that end various censuses of State employees have been carried out, enabling a central reference file to be built up - a reliable database that can be used to provide information for ministries, State institutions and development partners.

82. The advantages of this integrated information system include the following:

− Automatic management operations;

− Forward planning of human resources;

− Payroll management;

− Retirement management;

− Effective assessment of the budgetary implications of measures benefiting State employees;

− Accurate, up-to-date, realtime information on the administrative situation of each employee.

83. The Civil Service staffing table is an analytical instrument and decision-making aid that will undoubtedly allow the Beninese State to get the civil service moving towards a robust, modern and highly efficient structure capable of guiding economic, social and political development and meeting the challenges of competitiveness that modernization and economic globalization force all States to face.

84. Moreover, in the current economic situation, characterized as it is by an unremitting jobs crisis, the search for solutions requires that socio-economic actors (including the State, companies, training institutions, educators, and the unemployed) have at their disposal the information they need to guide them in their decisions concerning the employment and training nexus. It was for that reason that the Employment and Training Observatory was set up, with the task of improving information about the labour market.

85. Under Decree No. 2003-224 of 7 July 2003 on the constitution of the National Employment Service, the Observatory became a department of that Service. The mission of the new department is virtually the same as before: to prepare and publish information on the employment and training situation; draw up opinions and proposals designed to guide decisionmakers in their choices on employment and training policy; and arrange for the various actors to exchange and compare ideas on employment and training issues.

86. Tables of employment indicators are drawn up and published within this framework, as part of the implementation of the Government’s second Programme of Action, 2001-2006, which provides for the regular publication of labour-market indicators as one of its strategies to combat unemployment and underemployment.

87. The ongoing compilation of information on employment by the National Employment Service, through its Employment and Training Observatory, provides the various socioeconomic actors with the information they need for a better understanding of the employment crisis as they make decisions concerning the employment and training nexus.

88. The aim is to publish a twice-yearly table of employment indicators.

89. Employment tables help monitor trends in the labour market by providing a set of indicators on the employment situation. The February 2003 table, for example, contains the findings of the survey carried out in 2001. The four main aims of this survey were:

− To record labour-market indicators, in particular job offers and job-seekers recorded for the first and second halves of 2001;

− To analyse the dynamics of employment (recruitment and placements, jobs created and jobs lost);

− To study the direct repercussions on employment of the continued implementation of the structural adjustment programme (cutbacks, reintegration policies, and creation of small and medium-sized businesses); and

− To present employment prospects announced by company chiefs.

90. The main findings of the survey were as follows:

− A total of 130,722 new jobs were noted in 2001, 43.1 per cent of them permanent and 56.9 per cent casual;

− However, there were also 2,135 job cuts, including 1,350 in the civil service, 411 in new businesses and 374 in older businesses in the modern sector. A net total of 129,587 new jobs were created in 2001.

91. With regard to the policy to help create small and medium-sized businesses, the various strategies implemented enabled 119,695 jobs to be created.

92. As to employmentpromotion policies, a total of 223 jobs were created.

93. Moreover, the employment prospects announced by businesses set up in 2001 are, on the whole, optimistic:

− Staffing increases were planned by 46.4 per cent of businesses surveyed;

− Very few businesses (4.5 per cent) said they would be cutting jobs;

− No change in staff numbers was foreseen by 49.1 per cent of businesses.

94. In general, job-creation measures have mainly been taken by the State, in the form of mechanisms to support and promote employment.

95. The table below shows the various agencies’ share in job creation in 2001.

Table 7
Agencies’ share in job creation, 2001


Agency
Hirings
Share (%)
Total
%
State institutions
Ministries
10 375
7.88
127 840
97.05
Ministry of Health
298
0.23
Ministry of Mining, Energy and Water Resources (SBEEE)
17
0.01
Ministry of Industry, Trade and Employment Promotion
3 780
2.87
Ministry of the Civil Service, Labour and Administrative Reform (Administrative Reform Department)
6 280
4.77
Office of Urban Public Works
1 550
1.18

Job-creation and employmentpromotion mechanisms (CIPEN, PAPME, CAMPUSBenin, FSNE, CEPEPE)
115 915
88


Various projects (GTZ)
20
0.02
20
0.02
Businesses in the modern sector
3 862
2.93
3 862
2.93
Total
131 722
100
130 722
100

Source: Ministry of the Civil Service, Labour and Administrative Reform, 2001 employment indicators, March 2003.

96. From 16 to 22 August 2000 the Government organized a National Employment Solidarity Week, thereby demonstrating its commitment, as a matter of priority, to seeking solutions to the thorny problem of employment as part of its development work. Indeed, it is this commitment that informs the employment component of the second Programme of Action, 2001-2006, which sets three basic goals: reducing employment and underemployment, improving the labour-market information system and reinforcing employment-promotion agencies and developing synergy between them. The overall aim of the ministry responsible for employment, in organizing the National Employment Solidarity Week, was to unite all social actors - the State, civil society, trade unions and employers - in a contract of solidarity to combat unemployment and underemployment in Benin. The conclusion of such a contract involves a series of actions, including: updating of the national employment policy drawn up and approved in December 2000; consideration of preliminary draft terms of reference of the future National Employment Service; the harnessing of expertise and the involvement of socio-economic actors, with the aim of creating synergy between the various employment-promotion agencies.

97. It should be mentioned that the National Employment Service established by the abovementioned decree is a State agency with a social mission, and has legal personality and financial autonomy. Accountable to the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Employment Promotion, its main task is to help implement Benin’s employment policy. This involves the following specific tasks:

− Brokering job supply and demand;

− Producing and monitoring labour-market indicators;

− Using the media to promote employment;

− Basic training, further training and retraining for employment;

− Drawing up and implementing employment support programmes;

− Harnessing and managing funds to finance various employmentpromotion programmes.

98. To ensure optimal coverage nationwide, the National Employment Service has offices in Benin’s major towns (Cotonou, Porto-Novo, Lokossa, Bohicon, Parakou and Natitingou) and a pilot “job desk” following signature of the first partnership agreement between the National Employment Service and the International Development Research Centre (IDRC). A second Employment Service pilot job desk is planned. These offices perform the full range of National Employment Service functions as a decentralized service.

(c) Measures adopted to ensure that work is as productive as possible

99. In describing developments in this area, reference is made to the mechanisms still in operation that were mentioned in the initial report.

100. A number of these measures, some taken by the State, others by the private sector, have helped alleviate the persistent problems of unemployment and underemployment in Benin. Some mechanisms - which are for the most part projects - are still in place, others have changed tack and still others have come to an end.

State mechanisms

101. The following list is not exhaustive, but certain measures should be noted.

Project to support small and medium-sized enterprises

102. As mentioned in the initial report, this project aims to promote private enterprise.

Project to support the development of micro-enterprises

103. This project aims to support the creation of new businesses and facilitate access to bank credit for businesses in the informal sector. It finances micro-enterprises in a range of sectors, including the commercial, manufacturing, stockraising, catering, craft and other sectors.

Management Agency for the Social Dimension of Development (now the Office of Public Works)

104. This agency’s aims (see initial report) remain the same; it has only changed name, to become the Office of Public Works. The change of name was a result of the agency’s being brought into line with the provisions of Act No. 2001-07 of 9 May 2001, on the control of public works in Benin.

Employment Solidarity Fund

105. The Fund has done everything possible to boost and expand the promotion of employment and job creation. With the establishment of the National Employment Service the Fund became a department within that service, the Department for the Promotion of Employment, which has taken over the role the Fund played previously.

Office for the Coordination of Job-Creation Initiatives and Projects

106. This agency was in operation until 2003 but ceased to exist with the creation of the National Employment Service. The task the Office was charged with is now one of those undertaken by the National Employment Service: helping promote private employment initiatives by reinforcing job-seekers’ technical and business skills and supporting youngsters’ efforts to create sustainable self-employment.

Office of Urban Public Works

107. The principal aim of this agency is to rehabilitate urban infrastructure through a programme of labour-intensive projects as a means of temporarily alleviating urban unemployment.

Private or cooperative mechanisms

108. The list is long and growing, thanks to the constant efforts of all involved to find ways of promoting employment. Some of the mechanisms described in the initial report are still functioning, others are no longer operational for various reasons, and still other, new ones, have been put in place.

(d) Provisions to ensure that there is freedom of choice of employment and that conditions of employment do not infringe upon fundamental political and economic freedoms of the individual

109. The initial report referred to these provisions, which are basically contained in the 11 December 1990 Constitution and Act No. 98-004 of 27 January 1998, on the Labour Code.

(e) Technical and vocational training programmes, their effective mode of operation and their practical availability

110. Technical and vocational training means everything involved in the acquisition of technical and vocational attitudes and aptitudes, as well as social and political behaviours that facilitate employment.

111. Teaching programmes currently offer four main technical and vocational training options:

− Administration and management;

− Industrial science and technology;

− Agricultural science and technology;

− Biological and social sciences.

112. Each option comprises several specialities or tracks. There are 110 technical and vocational training institutions, 94 of them private and 16 State-run.

113. The State-run institutions comprise:

− 1 vocational training centre;

− 1 school for the deaf (primary) and 14 secondary schools, including:

− 3 industrial and management schools;

− 4 agricultural schools;

− 2 health-care schools;

− 1 family, social and catering school;

− 1 industrial and catering school.

114. The private institutions, as well as offering all the above options, also offer certain other non-academic options, though not health care.

115. Student numbers are estimated at 28,867, with 17,335 (60.05 per cent of the national total) in private institutions.

116. Students are not evenly represented among the options. Administration and management is by far the most important, accounting for 61.25 per cent of the overall total; industry comes second, with 19.7 per cent.

117. The Ministry for Technical and Vocational Education was created in 2001. Its mission includes:

− Provision of comprehensive training for self-employment;

− Training large numbers of technicians;

− Developing synergy between the formal and informal sectors based on local and regional socio-economic conditions.

118. To that end the Ministry plans to expand available capacity by establishing in each of the 12 departments two technical and vocational training institutes, one industrial training institute and one agricultural training institute.

119. In a recent initiative, the Government of Benin, with technical and financial support from the World Bank, set up a distance-learning centre, CED-Benin, which began operations in

June 2000. CED-Benin is a member of the Global Development Learning Network (GDLN), whose 10 pilot centres were officially launched on 21 June 2000 by the President of the World Bank. GDLN hopes to have some 100 centres worldwide and sees itself as an innovative mechanism for narrowing the North-South digital divide.

120. As a development-training institution equipped with state-of-the-art technology, CEDBenin aims to narrow the digital divide in the fight against poverty by offering advanced courses. Its aim in promoting distance learning is to ensure that the knowledge necessary for development can be shared and to enhance the impact of development through mastery of modern communications technologies. It also hopes to encourage partnership between educational communities inside and outside Benin and to strengthen the management skills of the directors of small and medium-sized enterprises.

121. Constituted as an association, CED-Benin serves political and economic decision-makers, senior managers, academic and State institutions, civil society, students and the private sector, among others.

122. Since its inception the Centre has trained several hundred managers from ministries, State and private enterprises, NGOs, projects and civil society. Notwithstanding the innovative nature of this concept of education, the Centre, as an instrument of policy and development in Benin, has promoted:

− Better use of new information and communications technologies;

− Real-time access to advanced knowledge through basic and further training;

− Substantial reductions in the cost of training;

− Better understanding of distance learning through new information technologies;

− Improved access to Internet and consequently a proper grasp of international information and ongoing updates for political and economic decision-makers. The high participation rates testify to the appropriateness of Benin’s choice of this form of training, i.e., distance learning.

123. By 2002, only two years after its establishment, CED-Benin had already provided training as follows:

− More than 6,900 person-days in all fields, including 2,900 person-days by videoconference;

− More than 930 managers from all ministries, State agencies and enterprises, and NGOs;

− 515 managers, educators and political and economic decision-makers, in new information and communications technologies and related subjects;

− Some 40 IT network managers, CISCO programs (United States).

124. Lastly, mention should be made of the development fund for in-service vocational training and apprenticeship, established in partnership with the World Bank.

(f) Difficulties encountered in attaining full, productive employment, and measures taken to overcome them

125. The particular difficulties encountered in applying the measures to ensure full productive employment, i.e., the employment-promotion mechanisms, were described in the initial report, together with the means used to overcome them.

126. There is no change to report in this regard. The State continues to seek ways and means of ensuring positive progress.

6.3, 6.4, 6.5, 6.6 (Guidelines, paras. 10, 11, 12 and 13)

127. There are no developments to report in respect of the other guidelines on article 6 of the Convention (paras. 10-13). These points, on Benin’s constitutional and legislative provisions and on praxis of various kinds, were discussed in the initial report.

7. Article 7 of the Covenant

7.1

128. In addition to the conventions ratified by Benin that were mentioned in the initial report, the ILO Labour Inspection Convention, 1947 (No. 81), was ratified on 11 July 2001.

7.2

(a) The main methods used for setting wages were described in the initial report.

(b) Benin has a general minimum wage regime known as the guaranteed minimum interoccupational wage (SMIG) and there is also a minimum wage regime for different groups of workers.

129. By law there are no workers who are not covered by the minimum wage regime. Under article 210 of Act No. 98-004 of 27 January 1998 (Labour Code), no wage may be lower than the SMIG, which is set by decree of the Council of Ministers on the basis of a report by the Ministry of Labour and a reasoned opinion from the National Labour Council. The SMIG is applicable to every worker whose work requires no prior training.

130. Points (i), (ii) and (iii) on the minimum wage were dealt with in the initial report.

(iv) Trends in the SMIG

131. Under Act No. 98-004 of 27 January 1998 (Labour Code), the SMIG may be reviewed every three years or as necessary (art. 210, para. 2).

132. The SMIG was set at CFAF 20,300 in January 1994 and stood at CFAF 21,501 in 1997, CFAF 25,000 in 2000 and CFAF 27,500 in 2003.

133. Trends in average wages by occupational group from 2000 (average wage = average of minimum and maximum wages), in CFA francs:

Commerce, legal consultancies and similar services:

(25,000 + 134,909) / 2 = 79,954.50

Vehicle drivers:

− Passenger vehicles or goods vehicles below 3 tonnes laden:

(34,466 + 44,565) / 2 = 39,515.50

− Heavy goods vehicles (HGV), 3-5 tonnes:

(37,117 + 48,839) / 2 = 42,918

− HGVs (5 tonnes +) or towing vehicles with trailer (payload = vehicle + trailer combined):

(38,117 + 49,839) / 2 = 43,478

− Public transport:

(39,117 + 50,685) / 2 = 44,901

− HGV (12 tonnes and over, with or without trailer):

(51,046 + 60,195) / 2 = 55,620.50

Banks and financial establishments or similar (workers, supervisors and managers):

(27,098 + 164,998) / 2 = 96,048

Catering (workers, supervisors, managers and similar):

(25,000 + 134,909) / 2 = 79,954.50

Chemical industry (workers, supervisors, managers and similar):

(25,000 + 135,280) / 2 = 80,640

Food industries (workers, supervisors, managers and similar):

(26,000 + 167,871) / 2 = 96,935.50

Construction and public works (workers, supervisors, managers and similar):

(25,000 + 184,084) / 2 = 104,542

General mechanical (workers, supervisors, managers and similar):

(25,000 + 184,084) / 2 = 104,542

Domestic service:

(25,000 + 44,353) / 2 = 34,676.50

Point (v), on supervision of the minimum wage system, was dealt with in the initial report. No changes have been noted to date.

(c) The initial report addressed this concern. There is no legal discrimination in respect of remuneration. “Equal pay for work of equal value, for all workers, regardless of origin, sex, age, status or religious denomination, in accordance with the provisions of this Code”: these provisions of the Labour Code preclude all inequality in remuneration for work of equal value.

134. In addition, victims of violations of these provisions may complain to labour offices or the competent courts in order to claim their rights.

135. The informal sector is more complex, and de facto discrimination can be observed there. The labour offices are responsible for rectifying situations of non-compliance with the law.

(d) The income of employees in the State sector (State employees) and the private sector (wage-earners in the private and parastatal sectors) breaks down in both cases into items that remain unchanged from the initial report.

7.3

136. The legal, administrative and other provisions prescribing minimum conditions of occupational health and safety, and their implementation, were listed and described in the detail required in the initial report.

137. Recent developments are as follows:

− Decree No. 2001-567 of 28 December 2001, establishing a training centre for health and safety committee members. The centre is intended as “a forum for exchange of experiences and advanced and refresher training for members of the Health and Safety Committees” (art. 2). The centre’s headquarters is in Cotonou.

138. The health and safety committees should help to prevent work-related accident and illness. There are now 45 companies with health and safety committees:

− Decree No. 2000-178 of 11 April 2000, on the organization and operation of the National Health and Safety at Work Commission. At its first session of October 2005, having previously devoted one session to the regulation of workplace noise, the Commission is expected to give an opinion on a draft text regulating specific hazards, based on consideration of two documents:

− A draft decree on general safety measures in construction work, public works and other construction-related work;

− A draft decree regulating construction lifting equipment and practical work.

139. Other regulatory measures to further ensure workers’ safety include:

− Decree No. 008/MFPTRA/DC/SGM/DT/SST of 10 February 2000, on the powers of medical labour inspectors;

− Decree No. 54/MFPTRA/DC/SGM/DT/SST of 6 November 1998, setting forth the conditions for the conduct of pre-employment medical examinations, regular checkups, return-to-work examinations and individual consultations;

− Ministerial Decree No. 132/MFPTRA/DC/SGM/DT/SST of 22 November 2000, establishing types of work and categories of activity barred to women, pregnant women and young people, and the age up to which the ban applies.

(a) The health and safety at work regulations cover all groups of workers without exception. It is nevertheless true that their application in the informal sector is patchy and difficult to monitor.

(b) The following table gives an overview of work-related accident and illness over the past six years.

Table 8

Year
Work-related accident
Work-related illness
1999
750
04
2000
878
00
2001
694
03
2002
703
00
2003
792
00

Source: Social Security Fund, Workplace Hazard Prevention Service.

140. Owing to gaps in the data on workplace accidents, such as the number of employees in companies, rates of partial permanent invalidity and number of days lost, it has not been possible to calculate some of the main indicators such as rates and indices of occurrence and seriousness.

141. Overall there are many cases of workplace accidents and, particularly, work-related illness, that are not reported by employers.

7.4, 7.5, 7.6 (Guidelines 17, 18 and 19, on article 7 of the Covenant)

142. These points were dealt with in detail in the initial report.

8. Article 8 of the Covenant: Trade union rights

8.1

143. The State of Benin became a party to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights in March 1992; and also to the ILO Convention concerning Freedom of Association and Protection of the Right to Organise (No. 87) and the ILO Convention concerning the Application of the Principles of the Right to Organise and to Bargain Collectively (No. 98).

144. Benin’s implementation of ILO Convention No. 87 prompted comments from the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions and Recommendations, in respect of Ordinance No. 69-14, on the exercise of the right to strike, the provisions of which were not consistent with ILO Convention No. 87 or with the ILO Convention concerning Forced or Compulsory Labour (No. 29).

145. The ILO Committee’s comments were taken into account in the new law (Act No. 2001-09 of 21 June 2002, on the exercise of the right to strike) and in the regulations adopted later.

8.2

146. The substantive and formal requirements to be met in creating a trade union or joining the union of one’s choice were described in detail in the initial report. There is no change to report.

147. As to the number of trade unions, at the time of writing Benin has seven trade union confederations and a National Employers Council:

− Confederation of Autonomous Trade Unions of Benin;

− Confederation of Beninese Workers’ Trade Unions;

− General Confederation of Beninese Workers;

− Confederation of Independent Trade Unions;

− Union of Beninese Workers’ Trade Unions;

− Confederation of United Trade Unions;

− Confederation of Private and Informal Sector Trade Unions.

148. Each confederation is a grouping of trade unions and trade union federations, with a membership that cannot always be precisely estimated.

149. These confederations are in turn affiliated to international confederations as described in the initial report.

8.3

150. As mentioned in the initial report, the right to strike is recognized to workers under the Constitution and the law. The initial report dealt with nearly all the issues relating to guideline 23.

151. It should be noted, however, that the restrictions imposed by Ordinance No. 69-14 of 19 June 1969, which were denounced by workers in all sectors and mentioned in the comments of the ILO Committee of Experts, were rectified by the new law enacted in 2002.

152. Under article 1 of the new law (Act No. 2001-09 of 21 June 2002, on the exercise of the right to strike), “the State recognizes and guarantees the right to strike. Any worker may defend their rights and interests, either individually or collectively or through trade union action, in accordance with the law ... ”.

153. Other legislative and regulatory measures taken in recent years to guarantee the effective enjoyment of trade union rights include the following:

− Decree No. 97-617 of 18 December 1997, defining the various forms of trade union associations and the standards of representativity. Under article 1, “workers’ representative associations shall comprise trade unions, trade union federations and trade union confederations”;

− Decree No. 98-125 of 3 April 1998, on release of trade union representatives in private and parastatal enterprises. Under article 1, “representatives of duly constituted trade unions shall be authorized to absent themselves from work to take part in statutory assemblies of their association, meetings of joint bodies in the workplace and professional gatherings. The same applies to workers’ representatives who are required to serve as assessors in the labour court”;

− Decree No. 002/MFPTRA/DC/SGM/DT/SRT of 4 January 2000, on implementation of the Labour Code, chapter II, on staff representatives. Under article 1, “staff representatives shall be appointed in enterprises with at least 11 employees or in other establishments with at least 11 employees”.

8.4

154. Military personnel in the armed forces and police may not exercise the right to strike.

155. However, a police association, the National Police Union, was formed for the first time in Benin on 22 October 2002.

9. Article 9 of the Covenant: Right to social security

9.1

156. Benin has not signed any of the ILO conventions concerning social security (Nos. 102, 121, 128, 130 and 168).

9.2, 9.3 (Guidelines 27 and 28)

157. The various social security benefits available in Benin and the main features of the social security scheme were described in the initial report.

9.4

158. Benin has not yet calculated this percentage.

9.5

159. Informal arrangements such as the tontines and the mutual aid clubs were described in the initial report.

9.6

160. The social security system in Benin used to cover only workers in the formal sector, who represent no more than around 15 per cent of the total population. The remainder, in the informal sector (85 per cent), were not entitled to any benefits from the social security schemes in place.

161. No discrimination against women has been noted in this respect.

162. (a), (b) In order to meet the special social security needs of the informal sector, in cooperation with the various trade associations (representing craft workers, artists, farmers, stock breeders, fishermen, merchants and all self-employed workers) and with the support of the International Labour Office and Belgian cooperation, the State has created a mutual association, the Mutual Social Security Association for the Informal Sector. The purpose of the Association is to offer insurance and mutual aid schemes for members and their families in the following areas:

− Retirement insurance, comprising three kinds of benefit:

− Regular retirement pension, for which it is necessary to have paid at least 180 months’ contributions and have reached 60 years of age;

− Disability pension, for which it is necessary to have paid contributions. The member’s illness must be one that impairs their physical or mental faculties such as to render them unable to earn more than one third of their previous income;

− Survivors’ pension, which is paid only to the survivors of a member who, at the time of death, met the requirements for a regular retirement pension or a disability pension;

− Health insurance: this scheme, which provides coverage in case of illness, is open to all members of professional associations or groups recognized by the administrative authorities. The premium is CFAF 200 per family of four, with an increment of 25 per cent per additional person. Individuals may be admitted to the scheme following consideration of their application by the Board of Directors;

− Such other benefits as may be introduced by the Board of Directors on recommendation of the Annual General Meeting (AGM).

163. The Mutual Association is run by various bodies:

− The AGM, which represents all member associations or groups; this is the Association’s sovereign body;

− A nine-member Board of Directors, which functions as the executive body;

− A five-member Supervisory Board, which oversees the management of the Association;

− A permanent secretariat providing the staff.

164. Membership of the Association is open to:

− Honorary members, i.e., governmental and non-governmental organizations which pay a contribution, offer a subsidy or make donations, or by otherwise providing equivalent services help keep the Association in good financial health but do not claim any benefits;

− Active members, i.e., any occupational or professional association, organization or grouping which acquires or gives entitlement to the social benefits offered by the Association in exchange for regular payment of contributions;

− Individuals not belonging to any association, who may make voluntary contributions towards a retirement pension.

(c) So far the Association has commenced operations only in Benin’s three main cities, Cotonou (2000), Parakou (2002) and Porto-Novo (2004). Membership in Cotonou is around 1,005.

165. These mechanisms have only recently been put in place and no evaluation has yet been possible. In the absence of any evaluation no comment can be made on the strengths and weaknesses of a system of this kind.

9.7

166. Since the adoption of Act No. 98-019 of 21 March 2003, on the Social Security Code, the social security system has been run by the National Social Security Fund. The Act ties social security to the status of working person, that is, only those who are in work are entitled to social security. This is a change from Ordinance No. 73-3 of 17 January 1973, on the establishment and organization of the Beninese Social Security Office, which tied social security to the status of employee subject to the Labour Code and thus excluded other private-sector workers such as farmers, entrepreneurs and craft workers from the protection of the social security system.

167. Thus Act No. 98-019 of 21 March 2003 establishes a general social security scheme for workers in the formal sector who are covered by the Labour Code and a special regime for the self-employed, farmers and those working in the informal sector (Code, art. 1).

9.8

168. International assistance is an invaluable aid in the implementation of government policies on social security, a prime example being the Belgian cooperation mentioned above, which supported the establishment of the Mutual Social Security Association for the Informal Sector.

10. Article 10: Protection of the family, mothers and children

10.1

169. In addition to the other treaties relevant to article 10 of the Covenant and to which Benin is a party (see initial report), the State of Benin ratified ILO Convention concerning the minimum age for admission to employment, 1973 (No. 138), on 11 June 2001. It is not yet a party to the ILO Maternity Protection Convention (Revised), 1952 (No. 103).

10.2

170. The definition of the family was provided in the initial report.

10.3

171. The Personal and Family Code, adopted in 2002, represents a unification of family law and a break with the plethora of legal norms applicable in family law in the broad sense, i.e., including matrimonial regimes and inheritance law.

172. One change in the Code since the initial report is the lowering of the age of majority from 21 to 18 (art. 459).

10.4

173. This question was answered in the initial report, which referred to the provisions of the 11 December 1990 Constitution and of the law (Labour Code) on the subject. Where there are changes, they relate to the Personal and Family Code.

174. (a), (b) Each member of the couple to be married, even if a minor, must give their personal consent to the marriage (art. 119). Minors aged under 18 may not marry without the consent of the person in parental authority over them. This consent must include the couple’s names, and may either be given by a declaration to a registry officer or notary before the marriage ceremony, or may be validly given during the ceremony itself (art. 120).

175. In 2001 the Government established the rules of entitlement to the widower’s pension (Decree No. 2001-129 of 4 April 2001, on the rules of entitlement to the widower’s pension). Where the father dies or forfeits the right to his deceased wife’s pension, his rights pass to the first child of the wife to qualify for the orphan’s pension.

176. There are very few situations in which children can request social security benefits.

10.5

177. As indicated in the initial report, maternity is protected under the Labour Code.

10.6

178. The State has set up several centres for the rehabilitation and reintegration of children in difficult situations, including the National Child and Adolescent Protection Centre in Agblangandan, the Regional Centre in Parakou and two centres for children with disabilities in Akassato and Pépériakou. Numerous NGOs and associations also care for children in difficult situations, including Terre des Hommes, Fondation Regard d’Amour, Equilibre Bénin, Handicap International, as well as orphanages run by nuns.

179. Benin has taken significant steps to combat child trafficking, which is a major problem in the subregion. To that end it has ratified:

− The two additional protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child adopted by the United Nations on 25 May 2000, i.e., the Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography and the Optional Protocol on the involvement of children in armed conflict;

− The United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and its protocols, i.e., the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, and the Protocol against the Smuggling of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air. All these instruments were ratified by Decree No. 2003-453 of 6 November 2003.

180. Following the presentation of Benin’s initial report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, steps were taken to publicize the Committee’s concluding observations. Pursuant to these observations, a process was set in motion to create a National Commission on the Rights of the Child, and this was established by Decree No. 99-559 of 22 November 1999. Chaired by the Minister of Justice, Legislation and Human Rights, the Commission’s terms of reference include coordination of all national efforts to implement the Convention on the Rights of the Child. In 2001 arrangements were made to establish six departmental children’s rights committees, and these were set up in the departmental capitals in 2002. Support for the establishment of the National Commission on the Rights of the Child and its local offices has been forthcoming from the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the national budget.

181. Action plans have already been prepared by the National Commission and the departmental committees. With the help of UNICEF the Commission has had the Convention on the Rights of the Child translated into the national languages Fon and Dendi.

182. Since 2002 the Commission’s activities and operation have been funded from the national budget via a special allocation.

183. In parallel with these initiatives, the Ministry of Family Affairs, Social Welfare and Solidarity and the UNICEF-supported unit for children with special protection needs have been very active in arranging for the establishment of local committees to prevent child trafficking, together with partners such as DANIDA (2002) and USAID (2004).

184. The Ministry has also run joint campaigns with Togo (2002) to raise awareness of the fight against child trafficking; and a cooperation agreement to prevent, suppress and punish trafficking in persons, especially women and children, was signed with Nigeria in 2004.

185. The National Commission on the Rights of the Child and the departmental and local committees mainly do preventive, awareness-raising and educational work.

186. The Child Protection Squad, the police and the gendarmerie are all involved in combating child trafficking and significant progress has been made in countering illicit transfer and nonreturn (see table 9).

Table 9
Children intercepted at the Benin border

Year
Children intercepted
1998
1 059
1999
678
2000
224
2001
No data
2002
106
2003
406

Source: MCPPG-UNICEF, Mid-term review of BeninUNICEF cooperation programme 19992003,

Revues sectorielles, Cotonou, June 2001.

187. These figures show that the number of children intercepted at the border has declined since 1998, a year when there was an enormous increase, although the 2003 figures seem to belie the downward trend.

188. A study carried out in 2002 by the Ministry of Family Affairs, Social Welfare and Solidarity in various child-providing localities (Zogbodomey, Ouinhi, Bopa and Djidja) indicated that 4,215 children (2,419 girls and 1,795 boys) migrated in the period 1997-2002. In the same period, child departures occurred in 62 per cent of households in Zou department.

189. The problems encountered in tackling child trafficking are chiefly economic and social in nature. The situation in the child-providing regions is one of great deprivation and the forthcoming enactment of a bill to regulate the transfer of children and punish child smuggling and trafficking in Benin will therefore need to be accompanied by a drive to improve the living standards of residents in those regions.

190. From 22 to 24 February 2000, the UNICEF Regional Office for West and Central Africa and ILO jointly organized a subregional consultation in Libreville, Gabon, on strategies to fight child trafficking for purposes of labour exploitation in West and Central Africa. They published a document on the economic exploitation of children through labour and trafficking in West and Central Africa in November 2000, following publication in February 2000 of the findings of a subregional study on the issue.

191. UNICEF has set up outreach educational programmes in order to raise awareness and mobilize public opinion on the need to register births, and to ensure that registry office staff are properly trained.

192. The Child Protection Fund piloted by the Agency for Funding Grass-roots Initiatives provided support to the NGOs taking part in the project for populations living in areas affected by child trafficking. One component of the project was the issuance by reconciliation courts of substitute birth rulings to children who have no birth certificate. Participating NGOs included the Association béninoise d’assistance à l’enfance et la famille (Beninese Association for Child and Family Welfare, ABAEF), the Programme d’insertion des enfants déshérités (Programme for the Integration of Disinherited Children, PIED), Conseil des activités éducatives du Bénin (Benin Council for Educational Activities, CAEB) and Équilibre Bénin. Through their various projects, these organizations have helped rural populations to understand the need to register their children at birth.

193. As part of the civil status modernization project funded by the International Association of French-Speaking Mayors (AIMF), 40 officials of the town halls and district offices of PortoNovo, Cotonou and Parakou attended a course on civil status procedures and basic computing. The courses were held from 10 to 23 June 2003 in Parakou and from 18 to 20 June 2003 in Porto-Novo and Cotonou.

194. Other important regulatory measures taken in the area of child protection include:

− Decree No. 26 MCC-PPG/MISAT/CAB/SG/D-CI of 8 December 2000, on the establishment, powers, organization, composition and operation of the national and local video centre inspection committees;

− Decree No. 27 MCC-PPG/MISAT/CAB/SG/D-CI of 8 December 2000, regulating the opening and operation of video centres.

11. Article 11: Right to an adequate standard of living

11.1

195. (a), (b) Several studies have been carried out in rural and urban areas to obtain a clearer picture of the problem of poverty in Benin. The studies showed that the global poverty line, which was set at CFAF 118,227 per year per adult equivalent in 1994/95, rose to CFAF 129,890 in 1999/2000. The poverty line for rural areas rose from CFAF 65,369 to CFAF 74,868 during that period, while the poverty line for urban areas rose from CFAF 144,621 to CFAF 156,990.

196. Benin’s poverty index has held steady since 1995. Between 1999 and 2000, 29.6 per cent of the population were considered to be living below the poverty line, as against 28.9 per cent in 1995. Despite the relative stability of this percentage, the problem has worsened in recent years in comparison with 1995.

197. Based on national statistics, Benin’s human development index (HDI) was 0.463 in 2002, 0.437 in 2001 and 0.426 in 2000. The improvement is due basically to developments in two areas during that period, namely the standard of education and the standard of living.

198. There are still significant inequalities between the sexes in terms of human development. The gap between the HDI and the gender-related development index (GDI), which is 2.7 per cent this year, may be due to the fact that men have better access to financial resources than women.

199. (c) After a period of years in which Benin’s GDP rose by an average of 5 per cent, output declined and GDP in 2004 was 2.7 per cent. This slowdown was attributable in part to measures introduced in Nigeria, where in 2004 the authorities banned overland imports of some products. Two thirds of the goods passing through Cotonou port are for re-export, mainly to Nigeria, so in the wake of this decision the port of Cotonou experienced an 11 per cent drop in its bulk traffic. It is a well-known formula: fewer re-exports, fewer Customs duties, smaller tax revenues for the State budget, less work and income for all involved in trade with Nigeria.

200. It is true that, according to the World Bank, the economy is expected to expand by 4 per cent in 2005, as against 2.7 per cent in 2004, with the upturn in the tertiary sector (notably trade), and the improved competitiveness of the Autonomous Port of Cotonou, but this will not be enough to offset a population growth rate of 3 per cent per year, according to International Monetary Fund (IMF) figures. With GDP growth lagging behind population growth in 2004, there can be no doubt that the Beninese economy created poverty that year. If it is still to achieve the millennium development goals, Benin now needs a growth rate of at least 7 per cent.

11.2 Right to adequate food

201. Overall, crops such as maize, cassava and yam are considered good. Benin’s food prospects in terms of hypothetical mean consumption also seems to be relatively adequate as long as one remains in the theoretical comfort zone offered by the crop balance described in earlier issues of the food security newsletter.

202. However, in 2005 the food and crops market in particular was registering prices that were already too high even before the soudure (“hungry season”), a time when supply and demand are normally in equilibrium (for all foodstuffs in all types of domestic market); they had in many cases gone through the ceilings that had held throughout the soudure of 2004.

203. Several factors may be at work here, including:

(a) Supply/demand ratios, which seem to have declined as a result of ever-growing demand from year to year;

(b) Major drains on reserve stocks and massive outflows of products to neighbouring countries;

(c) A drop in the production of cassava, used in making gari, resulting in a shortfall in supplies to gari producers. This situation is one that in turn restricts the supply of gari and arises after several years of overproduction of cassava and weak markets;

(d) An aversion to destocking - particularly of maize - seen among the majority of producers and even among crop traders: in the first case to ensure their own household food security and in the second for speculative purposes;

(e) Failed attempts by some farmers to combine industrial and food crops, with resulting financial imbalances;

(f) The socio-political situation in neighbouring countries;

(g) Uncontrolled demand from the Federal Republic of Nigeria, which alone can upset all local markets.

204. An analysis of monthly trends in maize prices at Dantokpa market over the past 10 years shows a peak in 2005. Within the current economic cycle specifically, prices began to rise in February 2004, fell back somewhat in August-October, only to take off sharply again in March.

Table 10
Maize: monthly prices at Dantokpa market (Benin’s principal market)
(in CFAF)

Year/Month
1995
1996
1997
1998
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
January
100
120
150
130
125
135
135
185
140
105
170
February
95
120
185
135
120
135
140
185
145
120
185
March
95
135
205
165
130
160
160
195
135
135
255
April
100
150
205
180
135
160
185
205
150
135
275
May
100
170
205
180
135
160
185
215
135
155
275
June
105
175
205
160
135
160
185
205
135
155
330
July
115
170
205
155
130
170
160
205
135
180
-
August
100
130
120
155
110
135
160
170
105
170
-
September
105
115
105
125
105
105
140
145
105
165
-
October
105
140
115
115
120
105
135
135
105
165
-
November
115
140
115
105
135
105
140
135
105
170
-
December
125
120
125
125
135
120
155
145
115
180
-

Source: National Food Security Office, Cotonou, Benin.

Table 11
Food products: overview of prices at regular markets in Benin, June 2005
(in CFAF per kilo)

Market
Maize
Millet/sorgum
Rice
Wheat flour
Yam
Yam sett
Gari
Cassava sett
Beans
Peanut seed
White
Red
Local
Imported
Plain
Pounded
Regular
Fine
Black
Red
White
Dantokpa
330
285
345
ND
345
325
250
350

345
405
ND
ND
405
410
505
Sèhouè
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
Avakpa
265
ND
285
ND
295
ND
230
ND
ND
280
ND
ND
435
430
390
405
Sékou
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
Zinvié
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
Pahou
300
235
265
ND
370
350
230
ND
ND
315
315
ND
ND
440
410
480
Tokpa-Domé
295
ND
ND
ND
320
400
ND
ND
ND
335
ND
ND
ND
405
380
505
Malanville
240
230
ND
320
245
325
ND
170
ND
225
305
115
ND
ND
320
360
Gamia
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
Parakou
335
295
325
350
380
355
135
ND
205
255
345
130
ND
ND
275
590
Nikki
220
ND
220
325
370
350
ND
100
90
215
ND
100
ND
ND
335
420
Banikoara
220
230
230
370
320
350
105
110
ND
260
300
200
ND
ND
285
465
Bembéréré
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
Kalalé
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
Biro
265
ND
205
265
320
ND
ND
110
125
180
ND

ND
ND
380
435
Bouanri
255
255
ND
320
370
ND



215
ND

ND
ND
380
580
Tchatchou
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
N'dali
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
Sinendé
225
195
ND
295
370
300
90
115
ND
180
280

320
ND
300
360
Azové
320
ND
300
ND
370
350
180
230
ND
205
250
ND
ND
535
385
450
Comé
355
ND
325
ND
320
205
205
200
ND
180
190
ND
ND
455
315
540
Dobgo
330
ND
320
ND
370
ND
170
190
ND
220
235
ND
ND
465
415
540
Klékanmé
330
ND
275
345
480
350
195
ND

270
ND
ND
ND
430
415
440
Lobogo
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
Kétou
280
ND
ND
ND
320
300
ND
ND
ND
195
230
190
ND
290
355
475

Table 11 (continued)

Market
Maize
Millet/sorgum
Rice
Wheat flour
Yam
Yam sett
Gari
Cassava sett
Beans
Peanut seed
White
Red
Local
Imported
Plain
Pounded
Regular
Fine
Black
Red
White
Pobé
295
ND
245
ND
320
ND
175
200
ND
200
ND
ND
ND
335
375
455
Ouando
320
ND
235
ND
350
350
ND
240
ND
225
260
ND
ND
240
340
475
Dangbo
300
ND
215
ND
210
310
150
ND
ND
220
ND
ND
ND
445
380
540
Ifangni
335
ND
230
ND
320
300
ND
ND
ND
220
ND
ND
ND
350
380
440
Azowlissé
280
ND
ND
25
310
ND
ND
ND
ND
185
ND
ND
ND
320
325
455
Yoko
305
ND
ND
ND
320
345
150
ND
ND
220
ND
ND
ND
355
340
555
Tagon
315
ND
370
ND
295
ND
ND
ND
ND
195
ND
ND
ND
360
375
475
Avrakou
315
ND
285
ND
320
300
ND
ND
ND
220
235
ND
ND
280
28
505
Agouna
275
ND
290
265
320
325
ND
ND
ND
235
ND
100
ND
295
340
ND
Cohicon
280
260
285
ND
295
315
125
200
350
185
200
100
ND
395
405
430
Cové
260
ND
260
265
320
375
175
225
ND
145
150
ND
ND
335
325
305
Houndjro
280
ND
290
ND
320
305
ND
ND
380
235
260
160
ND
425
435
440
Ouéssé
265
230
230
220
220
350
220
310
380
160
220
175
ND
450
470
365
Cogbodomé
285
ND
285
ND
295
325
115
ND
300
160
ND
ND
ND
335
385
475
Glazoué
270
ND
270
345
320
350
100
160
380
170
180

ND
400
410
300
Oungbégamé
275
ND
285
ND
265
325
ND
ND
ND
220
ND
ND
ND
290
270
405
Ouinhi
270
ND
290
275
320
ND
165
ND
ND
200
ND
ND
ND
395
435
415
Basso
270
ND
170
ND
305
ND
ND
ND
ND
165
ND
ND
ND
ND
360
475
Dassa-zoumé
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
Cavalou
275
ND
235
220
275
350
80
100
400
175
215
160
ND
340
390
290
Aouignan
280
ND
285
295
265
ND
ND
ND
ND
170
ND
ND
ND
325
355
ND
Pédékpo
245
ND
ND
265
320
335
250
ND
ND
150
ND
ND
ND
365
410
430
Savé
280
ND
270
320
320
ND
ND
ND
ND
230
ND
ND
ND
310
365
ND
Ouka
280
285
285
ND
320
300
150
250
400
220
260
150
ND
235
235
440
Assoua
245
250
250
315
295
ND
ND
115
200
235
150
ND
ND
335
460

Djougou
210
205
205
390
320
350
ND
200
200
245
335
110
ND
ND
375
445
Natitingou
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
Anguiéta
220
ND
215
295
370
350
ND
ND
ND
240
ND
ND
ND
ND
215
400

Table 11 (continued)

Market
Maize
Millet/sorgum
Rice
Wheat flour
Yam
Yam sett
Gari
Cassava sett
Beans
Peanut seed
White
Red
Local
Imported
Plain
Pounded
Regular
Fine
Black
Red
White
Ehunco
260
275
275
325
370
350
210
220
295
265
300
120
350
ND
310
455
Cobly
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
Kouandé
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
Anigri
260
ND
220
315
315
ND
200
280
200
240
310

350
ND
405
485
Habi-kouma
235
245
245
310
345
ND
ND
95

260
ND
ND
335
345
360
410
Tobré
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
Copargo
240
ND
215
240
345
350



235
ND

330
ND
ND
310
Oucountouna
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM
NM

Source: National Food Security Office, Cotonou, Benin.

ND = No data

NM = Not monitored

Figure 1

Markets

Maize prices, June 2004 and June 2005

G074105300.wmf


[*] The initial report submitted by the Government of Benin concerning rights covered by articles 1 to 15 (E/1990/5/Add.48) was considered by the Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights at its twenty-eighth session in May 2002 (see documents E/C.12/2002/SR.8-10; E/C.12/1/Add.78).

[**] The information submitted by many in accordance with the guidelines concerning the initial part of reports of States parties is contained in the core document (HRI/CORE/1/Add.85).

[***] In accordance with the information transmitted to States parties regarding the processing of their reports, the present document was not formally edited before being sent to the United Nations translation services.


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