AFRICA - House Foreign Affairs Committee Democrats

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The Government mandates occupational health and safety standards. The Labor
Act empowers the President to enforce these standards through inspections and
criminal penalties. Labor laws generally were implemented efficiently, and during
the year, the Ministry of Labor added several inspectors to its payroll; however, it
still lacked an adequate number of trained inspectors to monitor adherence to such
labor regulations as providing overtime pay and social security by some companies,
especially small, family-owned operations. The law requires employers to ensure the
health, safety, and welfare of their employees. It provides employees with the right
to remove themselves from dangerous work situations; however, some workers did
not have this right in practice.
The law accords the same rights to legal foreign workers as it accords to citizens.
f. Trafficking in Persons.—Although the law does not specifically prohibit trafficking
in persons, it does prohibit slavery, kidnaping, forced labor, including forced
prostitution, child labor, and alien smuggling; however, there were reports of trafficking.
There were a few reports of child prostitution. In such cases, police prosecuted
parents as well as the perpetrators. In April the Government signed and ratified
the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child, On the Sale of
Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography.
There also were reports that Namibia was a transit country for persons trafficked
to and from South Africa.
Unlike in previous years, there were no reports that UNITA forces kidnaped citizens
and forced them to serve as combatants and porters in Angola.
During the year, there were no information campaigns specifically devoted to
antitrafficking themes. The Government encouraged its embassies and consulates to
maintain relations with NGOs that followed trafficking issues. In 2001 police and
immigration officials received training in combating trafficking in persons.
NIGER
Niger returned to democracy in 1999, following coups d’etat in 1996 and 1999, and
continued efforts to consolidate a democratic system and a constitutional government.
Tandja Mamadou was elected president in 1999 with 60 percent of the vote
in an election that international observers called generally free and fair. The National
Movement for the Development of Society and the Democratic and Socialist
Convention (MNSD/CDS) coalition, which backed Tandja, won 55 of the 83 seats in
the National Assembly. In 2000 Tandja appointed MNSD member Hama Amadou
as Prime Minister. The Government continued to make some progress toward democratization
and political modernization, including instituting a transparent budget
process and auditing the military budget. In August soldiers stationed in Diffa
mutinied and took several of their commanding officers hostage, and soldiers in
Niamey mutinied briefly, staging an unsuccessful raid on an armory. Both mutinies
ended after loyalist forces intervened and negotiations ensued. The judiciary continued
to show signs of independence; however, family and business ties could influence
lower court decisions.
Security forces consisted of the army, the Republican Guard, the gendarmerie
(paramilitary police), and the national police. The police and gendarmerie traditionally
have primary responsibility for internal security. Civilian authorities generally
maintained effective control of the security forces. In a 2000 statement, the armed
forces publicly pledged to abide by the rules of democracy and stay out of politics,
and during the year, the armed forces abided by their pledge. Some members of the
security forces committed human rights abuses.
The country’s population was approximately 11.2 million. The economy was based
mainly on subsistence farming, herding, small trading, and informal markets. Approximately
15 percent of the economy was in the formal sector, primarily in light
industry and government services. Approximately 63 percent of the population lived
on less than a $1 a day and the country’s per capita income was less than $200
a year. Drought, deforestation, soil degradation, and exceedingly low literacy were
problems. The economy remained severely depressed.
The Government’s human rights record remained poor; although there were some
improvements in a few areas, serious problems remained. Security forces killed one
person while forcibly dispersing a demonstration. There were reports that members
of the security forces tortured, beat, and otherwise abused persons. Prison conditions
remained poor, and arbitrary arrest and detention remained problems. Delays
in trials resulted in long periods of pretrial confinement. The judiciary also was subject
to executive and other influence. The Government limited at times the freedom
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