The United States Department of Labor published its 2017 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labour in Côte d’Ivoire. In 2017, Côte d’Ivoire made a significant advancement in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labour. The government adopted a revised Hazardous Work List that includes prohibitions against children using sharp tools and work in mining, as well as new regulations on Light Work. The child labour monitoring system SOSTECI was expanded into 19 new communities and the government launched SOSTECI (2018 – 2020), which aims to expand the system into 33 new departments. The First Lady of Côte d’Ivoire hosted a Conference of First Ladies in October 2017 which brought together First Ladies from 14 African countries to pledge support to their governments’ efforts to prevent child labour, support victims, enhance regional cooperation, and mobilize resources. The Ministry of Justice worked with UNICEF to provide birth certificates to 1,165,325 primary school students. In addition, three World Bank projects trained 24,000 teachers, built or rehabilitated 1,272 classrooms, and provided cash transfers to 5,000 households. However, children in Côte d’Ivoire engage in the worst forms of child labour in the harvesting of cocoa and coffee, sometimes as a result of human trafficking. Gaps remain in resources, personnel, and training for law enforcement, which resulted in victims being arrested for crimes they were forced to commit. Furthermore, the labour inspectorate is not authorized to assess penalties.
