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United Nations Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights - State Party Reports |
UNITED
NATIONS
|
|
E
|
Substantive session of 2007
[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
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
42. Since submission of the initial report there have been no changes regarding the implementation of this article.
43. Since submission of the initial report there have been no changes regarding the implementation of this article.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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).
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.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
|
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.
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.
|
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.
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.
101. The following list is not exhaustive, but certain measures should be noted.
102. As mentioned in the initial report, this project aims to promote private enterprise.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
(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.
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.
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.
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.
142. These points were dealt with in detail in the initial report.
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.
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.
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”.
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.
156. Benin has not signed any of the ILO conventions concerning social security (Nos. 102, 121, 128, 130 and 168).
157. The various social security benefits available in Benin and the main features of the social security scheme were described in the initial report.
158. Benin has not yet calculated this percentage.
159. Informal arrangements such as the tontines and the mutual aid clubs were described in the initial report.
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.
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).
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.
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).
170. The definition of the family was provided in the initial report.
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).
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.
177. As indicated in the initial report, maternity is protected under the Labour Code.
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).
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
|
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
|
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
Markets
Maize prices, June 2004 and June 2005
[*] 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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