In 1998, the International Labor Organization (ILO) estimated that 21.3 percent of children between the ages of 10 and 14 in Lesotho were working.¹⁰⁸⁷ A 1997 survey by the Government of Lesotho found that nearly 19,000 children between the ages of 10 and 14 were economically active in the country. Boys make up a disproportionate percentage of this group, accounting for over 16,000 of the economically active children, as compared to slightly over 2,700 girls.¹⁰⁸⁸

There are contested reports that children under the age of 14 have been identified as working in the textile and garment sector. After conducting visits in 1994 of all garment factories in the country, however, the ILO was not able to confirm these allegations.¹⁰⁸⁹ In the footwear sector, homeworking is known to involve children in the stitching of leather footwear.¹⁰⁹⁰

Child labor is most prevalent in rural areas. Over 82 percent of economically active children between the ages of 10 and 14 are employed in rural areas.¹⁰⁹¹ Young boys are involved in herding livestock. This rigorous and occasionally dangerous work has traditionally been considered a right of passage to manhood and important to the welfare of families.¹⁰⁹² One of the reasons why boys participate in herding is because animals represent a traditional form of wealth in the Basotho culture. Parents often hire out boys as a way of earning money or increasing herd stock.¹⁰⁹³

After completing primary schooling, some girls who are unable to afford continuing their education begin work as domestic servants in urban areas.¹⁰⁹⁴ Others are reported to resort to prostitution, placing them at risk of HIV/AIDS infection and unplanned pregnancy.¹⁰⁹⁵ In many instances, girls are expelled from school when it is learned that they are pregnant, limiting their future prospects.¹⁰⁹⁶

The growing number of HIV/AIDS orphans in Lesotho is reportedly placing an increasing number of children at risk of exploitation. There are an estimated 117,000 AIDS orphans in the country. Despite the growing numbers of AIDS orphans, however, little information is available about how they are fairing.¹⁰⁹⁷ According to complaints received by the Women and Law in Southern Africa (WLSA), orphaned children are being hired out to work by their guardians.¹⁰⁹⁸

Primary school attendance rates are unavailable for Lesotho. While enrollment rates indicate a level of commitment to education, they do not always reflect a child’s participation in school.¹⁰⁹⁹ In 1996, the gross primary school enrollment rate was 107.7 percent, and the net primary school enrollment rate was 70.1 percent.¹¹⁰⁰ Statistics from Lesotho’s Ministry of Education indicate that 40 percent of children do not attend primary school.¹¹⁰¹ The problem of school non-attendance affects boys more than girls. Many boys involved in herding forgo even the most basic levels of primary education.¹¹⁰²

A variety of factors are reported to affect children and their families’ ability to access education. Parents may be unable to pay school fees or the costs of school uniforms.¹¹⁰³ This problem is particularly pronounced in rural areas where children contribute to family welfare through work in subsistence activities.¹¹⁰⁴ Another major obstacle in rural areas is the distance and difficult terrain that children often must travel to reach school.¹¹⁰⁵

Attitudes concerning the value of education also affect children’s participation in school. According to some reports, parents and children often do not see the value of education given the large number of persons in Lesotho who are unemployed irrespective of whether they have completed their schooling.¹¹⁰⁶

Most schools in Lesotho are operated by Christian missions under the direction of the Minister of Education. Around 360,000 children attend primary school annually, while about 53,500 pupils attend secondary and vocational schools. There are roughly 1,200 primary schools throughout the country.¹¹⁰⁷

The Constitution of Lesotho prohibits “the employment of children and young persons in work harmful to their morals or health or dangerous to life or likely to hamper their normal development.”¹¹⁰⁸ Lesotho’s Labor Code of 1992 defines a “child” as any person under the age of 15.¹¹⁰⁹ The code prohibits the employment of any child below the age of 15 in any commercial or industrial undertaking.¹¹¹⁰ The law does not apply to agriculture.¹¹¹¹ In general, the use of boys for herding has been outside of the scope of the country’s labor laws. The code provides for exceptions in the case of private undertakings in which only members of the child’s own family, up to five in number, are employed. In addition, children between the ages of 13 and 15 may do light work if the work is done in a technical school or institutions where the labor has been approved by the Department of Education. The penalty for employing a child in violation of the law includes a fine of 300 maloti (US$32), imprisonment for three months, or both. More generally, the code also prohibits the employment of children in any work that would be “injurious to [their] health or morals, dangerous or otherwise unsuitable.”¹¹¹²

The Labor Code further states that persons under the age of 16 years should not be required or permitted to work for more than four consecutive hours without a break period of at least one hour. Moreover, no person under the age of 16 is permitted to work for more than eight hours a day. The penalty for breaking these provisions includes a fine of 600 maloti (US$63) imprisonment for six months, or both. The code prohibits those under the age of 15 years from employment at night in any commercial or industrial undertaking.¹¹¹³ Except for boys over the age of 16 years, children are restricted from employment in mines and quarries.¹¹¹⁴

Lesotho’s Constitution bans slavery and forced labor.¹¹¹⁵ The Labor Code prohibits forced labor and sets forth a fine of 2,000 maloti (US$211) imprisonment not to exceed one year, or both, for violations.¹¹¹⁶ The 1987 Employment Act also prohibits forced and bonded labor, including by children.¹¹¹⁷

Enforcement of prohibitions against the employment of minors in commercial, industrial or non-family enterprises involving hazardous or dangerous working conditions is reportedly lax. The Ministry of Labor and Employment (MOLE) is responsible for conducting inspections of industrial and commercial enterprises to ensure compliance with the Labor Code.¹¹¹⁸ The Ministry’s Inspectorate suffers from understaffing.¹¹¹⁹ According to MOLE, approximately 15 labor inspectors are responsible for monitoring adherence to the full range of labor laws throughout the country.¹¹²⁰

The Government of Lesotho ratified ILO Convention No. 138 on the Minimum Age for Employment on June 14, 2001, and ILO Convention No. 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor on June 14, 2001.¹¹²¹

Efforts to address child labor in Lesotho have thus far mainly involved initiatives to increase children’s access to basic education. The Ministry of Labour and Employment, however, has applied to the ILO’s regional office in Pretoria, South Africa, to become a member of the ILO’s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (ILO-IPEC).¹¹²²

Education is not compulsory in Lesotho.¹¹²³ In the Constitution, “education is not a government obligation, but a principle of state and not a right enforceable by a court of law.”¹¹²⁴ The 1995 Education Bill “provides for the establishment, administration and control of education. It tries to ensure that the child is protected from practices which may foster discrimination or prejudice.”¹¹²⁵

In 2000, the Government of Lesotho introduced free education for children in their first year of primary schooling in those schools complying with the Education Act.¹¹²⁶ In its 2000- 2001 budget, for the first time, the Parliament made its allocation for education the largest share of the budget.¹¹²⁷ Reacting to the access issues of distance and difficult terrain identified by the Bureau of Statistics, the Ministry of Education is supporting a community school initiative.¹¹²⁸

The Government of Lesotho is working on three major projects with UNICEF to promote opportunities for children to attend school. The Non-Formal Education Project, run by the Lesotho Distance Teaching Center (LDTC), promotes non-formal learning opportunities in the country. The LDTC’s Basic Education Unit coordinates literacy and numeracy courses and non- formal education for children and adults. Herdboys represent a large portion of the children that benefit from this program. The Early Childhood Education Project, run by the Ministry of Education’s Early Childhood Unit, monitors all pre-primary schooling in the country. Finally, the Free Primary School Education (FPSE) Program, which began in January 2000, involves all schools in Lesotho, except for private schools that chose not to participate.¹¹²⁹

In 1996, government spending on education as a percentage of gross national product (GNP) was 8.4 percent.¹¹³⁰

The following bar chart presents selected government expenditures expressed as a percentage of GNP. The chart considers government expenditures on education, the military, health care, and debt service. Where figures are available, the portion of government spending on education that is specifically dedicated to primary education is also shown.¹¹³¹

While it is difficult to draw conclusions or discern clear correlations between areas of government expenditure as a percentage of GNP and the incidence of child labor in a country, this chart and the related tables presented in Appendix B (Tables 14 through 19) offer the reader a basis for considering the relative emphasis placed on each spending area by the governments in each of the 33 countries profiled in the report.

¹⁰⁸⁷ World Development Indicators 2000 .

¹⁰⁸⁸ The survey reported that the total population between the ages of 10 and 14 was 224,579 children. “Labour Force Survey 1997” (Maseru: Employment Policy Formulation and Labour Market Analysis (LES/004/94), Ministry of Labour and Employment, Bureau of Statistics, 1998), 32-34.

¹⁰⁸⁹ A 1994 study by a foreign government found that children between the ages of 12 and 15 made up as much as 15 percent of the workforce in Lesotho’s textile sector. This finding was refuted by Lesotho’s Ministry of Labor. Furthermore, in response to a complaint by trade unions in the textile and clothing industry, the ILO visited all 14 of the country’s garment producers in 1994 but could not confirm allegations of illegal child labor. See Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 1999 (Washington, D.C.: U.S. Department of State, 1999) (www.state.gov/ www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp_report) [hereinafter Country Reports 1999—Lesotho ].

¹⁰⁹⁰ Interview with Makatleho Nyabela, Marake Makhetha, and Elliot Ramochela, Lesotho Federation of Democratic Unions, by U.S. Department of Labor official, August 1, 2000. The union representatives noted that they had not identified child labor in Lesotho’s formal sector and that child labor occurred primarily in the informal sector.

¹⁰⁹¹ The survey reported that the total population between the ages of 10 and 14 was 224,579 children. “Labour Force Survey 1997” (Maseru: Employment Policy Formulation and Labour Market Analysis (LES/004/94), Ministry of Labour and Employment, Bureau of Statistics, 1998), 32-34.

¹⁰⁹² Country Reports 1999—Lesotho (www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp_report).

¹⁰⁹³ U.S. Embassy-Maseru, unclassified telegram no. 00422, June 21, 2000 [hereinafter unclassified telegram 00422].

¹⁰⁹⁴ Interview with Esther Sakoane of the Lesotho Association of Non-Formal Education, by U.S. Department of Labor official, August 1, 2000 [hereinafter Sakoane interview].

¹⁰⁹⁵ Interview with Dr. Tibebu Haile-Selassie, program coordinator, UNICEF Country Office for Lesotho by U.S. Department of Labor official, July 31, 2000.

¹⁰⁹⁶ Complementary Report on the Implementation of the U.N. Convention on the Rights of the Child in Lesotho (NGO Coalition on the Rights of the Child/Save the Children U.K., June 2000), 13-14 [hereinafter Complementary Report ].

¹⁰⁹⁷ Ibid. at 25. UNAIDS estimates that there are 117,000 AIDS orphans in Lesotho.

¹⁰⁹⁸ Ibid. at 18.

¹⁰⁹⁹ For a more detailed discussion on the relationship between education statistics and work, See Chapter 1, Introduction.

¹¹⁰⁰ World Development Indicators 2000 .

¹¹⁰¹ Complementary Report at 13, 33. Among the factors this report cited as contributing to the high dropout rate and low completion rate among students were the quality of teaching and a decline in the means of livelihood in the country generally.

¹¹⁰² Ibid. at 11.

¹¹⁰³ Ibid. at 13.

¹¹⁰⁴ Country Reports 1999—Lesotho (www.state.gov/www/global/human_rights/1999_hrp_report).

¹¹⁰⁵ Exposing Geographic Inequity: Lesotho’s Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey, A District-Level Report, Measuring Progress Towards the World Summit, Goals for Children (Maseru: The Bureau of Statistics, 1998), 32- 33 [hereinafter Exposing Geographic Inequity ].

¹¹⁰⁶ Complementary Report at 31.

¹¹⁰⁷ El Barometer, “Human and Trade Union Rights in the Education Sector” (Brussels: Education International, 1998), 61.

¹¹⁰⁸ The Constitution of Lesotho (Maseru: Government Printing Office), 44 [hereinafter Constitution of Lesotho ].

¹¹⁰⁹ Lesotho Government Gazette Extraordinary, vol. 37, no. 118 (Maseru: Government Printer, 1992), 1208 [hereinafter Lesotho Government Gazette Extraordinary ].

¹¹¹⁰ Ibid. at 1303-7.

¹¹¹¹ Unclassified telegram 00422.

¹¹¹² Lesotho Government Gazette Extraordinary at 1303-7.

¹¹¹³ Ibid.

¹¹¹⁴ Ibid.

¹¹¹⁵ The Constitution of Lesotho at 21.

¹¹¹⁶ Lesotho Government Gazette Extraordinary at 1222.

¹¹¹⁷ Country Reports 1999—Lesotho .

¹¹¹⁸ Unclassified telegram 00422.

¹¹¹⁹ Country Reports 1999—Lesotho . See also “Child Labour around the World” (www.globalmarch.org/cl-around- the-world/barometre-africa1.html) and interview with Labor Commissioner L. Mandoro by U.S. Department of Labor official (August 1, 2000) [hereinafter Mandoro interview].

¹¹²⁰ Mandoro interview.

¹¹²¹ For a list of which countries profiled in Chapter 3 have ratified ILO Conventions No. 138 and No. 182, see Appendix C.

¹¹²² Unclassified telegram 00422.

¹¹²³ Country Reports 1999—Lesotho .

¹¹²⁴ Complementary Report at 30.

¹¹²⁵ Ibid. at 31.

¹¹²⁶ Ibid. at 8.

¹¹²⁷ Ibid.

¹¹²⁸ Exposing Geographic Inequity at 32-33.

¹¹²⁹ Unclassified telegram 00422.

¹¹³⁰ World Development Indicators 2000 .

¹¹³¹ See Chapter 1, Section C, 5, for a fuller discussion of the information presented in the box. See also Appendix B for further discussion, and Tables 14 through 19 for figures on government expenditure over a range of years.