Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 1992
DJIBOUTI
In 1992 Djibouti remained a de facto one-party state ruled since independence in
1977 by President Hassan Gouled Aptidon and the People's Assembly lor Progress
(RPP). Djibouti is comprised of two main ethnic groups, the politically predominant
Issa (the Somali origin tribe of the President) and the Afar (who are also numerous
in Ethiopia). The Afars comprise the largest single tribe in Djibouti but are outnumbered
by the combination of the Issa and other Somali ethnic elements (Issak
and Gadaboursi). Starting in late 1991, a large-scale Afar insurgency began in the
northern part of the countiy, led by the Front for the Restoration of Unity and Democracy
(FRUD), which demands the formation of a transitional government and
regional autonomy for the Afar in Djibouti. In addition, the FRUD is demanding the
release of Ali Aref Bourhan, ex-president of Djibouti prior to independence, who remains
a political prisoner of the current regime. The fighting continued intermit72
tently throughout 1992, despite a unilateral FRUD cease-fire announced February
28, which was later terminated.
Largely in response to the insurgency, the President announced on Djibouti's national
day, June 27, a series of measures intended to institute 'Reasonable
multipartyism" and a new democratic constitution. In a national referendum on September
4, the proposed constitutional changes were accepted in the three lar:^ely Somali
districts, but most Afar in Djibouti-ville and in the two northern districts did
not participate. By late December, the Government had legalized, in addition to the
ruling RPP, two opposition parties and carried out legislative elections in December,
again without Afar participation. Meaningful dialog between the Government and
the FRUD did not occur in 1992. French attempts to bring the two sides together
on November 20 failed when the FRUD refused to release its prisoners of war
(POWs), a government precondition for talks. At President Gouleas insistence, the
French army recalled its troops who were performing humanitarian assistance missions
in territory controlled by the FRUD. The situation at year's end resulted in
the de facto partition of Djibouti.
Also in response to the insurgency, the size of the combined Djiboutian National
Army (AND) and police agencies tripled, totaling nearly 15,000 men (with 8,000 in
the AND alone.) The National Security Force (FNS) and the National Police are
both under the Ministry of the Interior; the Gendarmerie (military police) are under
the Ministry of Defense. There were no data available from the U.S. Anns Control
and Disarmament Agency on Djibouti's total annual military expenditures. However,
defense spending is likely to increase in the near term as a result of the fighting
with the FRUD. Kou^ estimates of expenditures for militaiy salaries alone
amount to over $1 million a month. With the increased buildup of security forces,
there were numerous credible reports in 1992 of their mistreating civilians, including
gang-raping of women, often young girls brought in from neighboring Ethiopia.
Djibouti's arid soil is unproductive, and there is virtually no industry; farmers
who have not settled in Djibouti-viUe eke out a living from animal husbandry. Commerce
and services for the 10,0(X) expatriate residents (mostly French, including
3,800 military) and operation of the seaport and airport account for most of the
gross domestic product. Although the State is the largest employer, people are free
to pursue private business interests and to hold personal and real property.
Human rights remained circumscribed in 1992, despite the introduction of the
new Constitution and a multiparty political system. Many of the new Constitution's
guarantees of personal liberties are conditioned on subsequent legislation that may
circumscribe the scope of such freedoms. The Government carefully orchestrated the
changes to preserve political power and, by forcing the constitutional referendum
and legislative elections with little Afar participation, further exacerbated ethnic divisions.
Both government forces and the firmed opposition FRUD committed serious
human rights abuses during the sporadic fighting in 1992. In addition, the (Jovemment
used arbitrary detention ana unfair trials against political and labor officials,
while continuing tight restrictions on freedoms of speech and press. Women and
children are routinely neglected in Djiboutian society, where rape is a common occurrence,
rarely punished and frequently pardoned. The Government's amnesty in
June released a number of political detainees and prisoners.
RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS
Section 1. Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing.
There were no reports of political or
extrajudicial killing in Djibouti. However, a grenade attack on the headquarters of
the United Opposition Front seriously wounded a party official and led to claims of
government targeting. Also, the fighting between the army and the FRUD produced
civilian casualties and other violations of humanitarian law (see Section l.g.).
The Government did not initiate an investigation in 1992 into the December 18,
1991, massacre of civilians in the AFAR quarter of Arhiba. A total of 47 civilians
were killed outright or later died from wounds infiicted during this encounter with
security forces.
b. Disappearance.
There were no known incidents of permanent disappearances
in Djibouti during 1992, although government security forces detached along the
Djibouti/Ethiopia border in the region of Ali Sabieh kidnaped Ethiopian women and
held them forcibly in their camps where most were raped. Accordijig to the AFAR
spokesman, 12 AFAR remain missing following the December 18, 1991, incident.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment.
The new Constitution afiirms that "no one shall be subjected to torture, nor to other
inhuman, cruel, degrading, or humiliating punishments." However, security forces
continued to abuse detainees, mainly Afar and criminal suspects. In the past, inter73
rogation techniques included use of "the swing," by whidi victims are tied by their
wrists and ankles to a horizonteil pole and beaten all over the body. No action has
been taken to pursue or prosecute those accused of torture in the past.
In Obock, according to a rejwrt by the Association for the Respect of Human
Rights and Liberties (ADDHL), the security forces first detained, then raped and
tortured a woman, Mrs. Hasna Mohamed Ali, who returned to her home in early
March in a state of "mental disorder," according to government military officers.
One or more members of the security forces sprayed her with gasoUne and set her
afire. She later died in Djibouti's public hospital where witnesses among medical
personnel affirmed the accusations of torture and immolation, noting in particular
marks on the hands and feet where she had been tied by her captors. Army Colonel
Omar Barreh denied the accusations but reported to the press that the sergeant
charged with monitoring Hasna during her incarceration in Obock was "sanctioned."
Political prisoners reported mistreatment in 1992. AU Aref Bourhan, a former prime
minister and Djibouti's most notable political prisoner, was moved from his remote
detention site in Ali Adde to the central prison in Djibouti-ville, but 3 months after
his July 5 trial, the authorities temporarily denied him family visits, and he accused
the Grovemment of inhuman treatment. Ali Aref and several others of the group of
12 political prisoners who remain incarcerated in Djibouti's central prison went on
a hunger strike in early December to protest cruel treatment. According to Ali Arefs
nephew, Aref Mohamed Aref, a human ri^ts lawyer who was acquitted in July,
prison guards fired a rifle in the direction of political prisoners while they were
standing in the prison grounds. Several of those implicated in the Aref affair were
taken to the hospital as a result of the hunger strike. In an apparent attempt to
intimidate them, the Government on more than one occasion confined for a period
FRUD spokesman Dr. Abbatte Ebo and another Afar political prisoner, Hassan Ali
Mohamed Dalga, either in the central prison's crowded cell for common criminals
or in cells for political prisoners.
The Government permitted representatives of the International Committee of the
Red Cross (ICRC) regular access to all security prisoners, whether civilian or military.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Ministry of Interior regularly ignores
criminal procedures which stipulate that the State may not detain a person for more
than 48 hours without an examining magistrate's formal charge. In particular, people
who express views critical of the Government and the President of the Republic
are frequently subjected to arbitrary arrest and detention. Ultimately, political detainees,
such as in 1992 the President of ADDHL, Mohamed Houmed Souleh, are
almost always accused of "offending the President of the Republic," a general charge
used by government authorities to keep political opponents m detention.
The Government continued in 1992 to detain Afar opponents. Hassan Mohamed
Ali Dalga, an Afar Intellectual who published regular bulletins as head of a "support
committee for the civilian victims of the north," was arrested four times during
1992. On April 27, he was fined approximately $600 for "defaming the president.
Dalga was arrested on June 8 and detained until the end of the month in the "Brigade
Du Nord" for publishing a document on the army's pillaging of the northern
town of Obock. The tjovemment judged Dalga's tract on the incident to be offensive.
Meanwhile, Mohamed Houmed Souleh was arrested on June 15, along with Abdi
Moumin Ardeh, the editor of a political tract Le Marginale, following a demonstration
during which they demanded the release of Hassan Dalga. Dalga was arrested
again in late July foUowing his release on July 13 at the conclusion of the Aref
Trial.
On December 20, the FNS dispersed a political rally organized by an opposition
party, the Democratic Renewal Party (PRD), led by Mohamed Djama Elabe. At least
10 civilians were wounded severely when the FNS fired tear gas cannisters directly
into the crowd. The FNS detained nearly 50 PRD supporters but released them on
December 23. At year's end, other than the Aref group, there were no known politicalprisoners.
The Government announced a general amnesty on June 23 for members of the
FRUD or those otherwise participating in the insurrection (see Section l.g.). On
July 9, the President pardoned five political opponents who had been exiled, including
Aden Robleh Awaleh, a former minister who left Djibouti in 1986. Aden Robleh
Awaleh returned to Djibouti in September and subsequently received permission to
form a political party, the National Democratic Party (PND).
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
Djibouti's legal system is a mixture of Djiboutian
legislation and executive decrees, French codified law adopted at independence,
Shari'a (Islamic law), traditions of the native nomadic peoples, and the new Constitution
modeled on the French Constitution of the Fifth Republic. Crimes in urban
areas are dealt with according to French-inspired law and judicial practice in the
regular courts. Civil actions may be brought in the regular courts, or in traditional
court according to tribal customs.
The new Constitution states that "all individuals have the right to life, liberty,
and the security and integrity of person." It also declares that the accused is innocent
until proven guilty, has the right to legal counsel, and the right to be examined
by a doctor if imprisoned. Imprisonment can occur only if an arrest decree is presented
by a judicial magistrate. In practice, however, security forces tend to arrest
pMiple without warrants during demonstrations or other political events.
The judiciary is not independent of the executive. The State Security Court tries
those accused of crimes with political implications and whom the President of the
Republic judges to be a menace to the security of the State. On July 5, one of the
best known of Djibouti's political prisoners, Ali Aref Bourhan, and his 48
codefendents were tried in the Security Court. Only 15 of the accused were actually
present for the trial, however. The proceedings were open to the public, and all defendants
were represented by legal counsel. Indeed, Aref was accorded a postponement
in order to better prepare his defense. There were troubling circumstances related
to the trial, however. The defense claimed that most of the Grovemment's evidence
vias obtained through torture or other forms of coersion, including illegal detention
and nonstop interrogations without legal counsel. Defense attorneys were
denied access to government evidence and the presiding judge, who is a political appointee,
ruled corroborating testimony about evidence being extracted under duress
to be inadmissable. Ali Aref Bourhan was convicted of conspiring to overthrow the
State and given a 10-year sentence. The Court acquitted Ali Ajrefs nephew, Aref
Mohamed Aref, a lawyer and member of the Djiboutian bar, but sentenced nine others
to 10 years' imprisonment. The Court's decisions may now be appealed to the
Supreme Court. In November Ali Arefs brother and a nephew were arrested on
charges of conspiring to overthrow the Government by force. They had not been
brought to trial by year's end.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
There
were no reported incidents of such interference outside areas of conflict. The new
Constitution provides for the inviolability of the family, home, correspondence, and
communications. Telephone service to opponents of the regime , including legal opposition
parties and Aiar leaders, is routinely cut without explanation.
g. Use of Excessive Force and Violations of Humanitarian Law in Internal Conflicts.—
The conflict between government armed forces and the Afar-led insurgency
began in the fall of 1991 when the FRUD attacked an army outpost in the northern
town of Randa. Fighting continued sporadically throughout 1992 despite a unilateral
cease-fire announced by the FRUD on February 28, 1992, and later retracted. In the
course of fighting for control of the northern towns of Tadjoura, Obock, and Yoboki,
the National Army maintained the offensive, but in the process killed several persons
and forced the civilian populations to flee from these towns.
In the conflict, the FRUD cut water supplies to the towns of Obock and Tadjoura
(where a sizable civilian population remains). The Grovemment, in turn, blockaded
the north by refusing to allow nomads from the interior to provision themselves
from coastal ports. Following the FRUD cease-fire, the Government opened Tadjoura
to camel traffic from the interior and welcomed the French military as cease-fire observers
and liaison between the two sides. The French military also provided food
aid and medical assistance to the civilians in the north until December 1992.
In April the FRUD released some 60 civilians who were being held hostage in the
north. Later La June, the Government announced a general amnesty for those who
agreed to put down their arms. The Government freed FRUD spokesman Dr. Abatte
Ebo and 13 other POWs on June 29. Eight of the POWs were deported to the Ethiopian
border on the grounds that they did not hold Djiboutian nationality documents.
The ICRC arranged a reciprocal release of 13 government soldiers held by the
FRUD on August 9. The FRUD released another 25 on November 15 but continued
to hold 31 others at year's end. French military officials, the ICRC, and family members
had regular access to the POWs in the north and reported no mistreatment
of those held by the FRUD; however, the FRUD's failure to release the remaining
POWs stalled French mediation eflbrts to resolve the conflict in Djibouti.
Section 2. Respect for Civil Liberties, Including
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
Pending implementation of Article 15 of the
newly adopted constitution, these freedoms are seriously restricted. Throughout
most of 1992, those who expressed public views critical of the Government or causing
offense to the President routinely faced arrest and detention for substantial periods
of time before being tried on charges of defamation. For example, the Government
convicted two labor leaders for issuing a bulletin critical of official policies (see
Section 6.a.). Despite the restrictions on free political expression, critics of the re75
gime published clandestine tracts that circulate widely in Djibouti. When apprehended
the authors of such tracts were routinely jailed. The newspapers of
Djibouti's two opposition parties circulated freely following the legalization of the
parties themselves in September.
Djibouti's radio and television stations and one newspaper, La Nation, a Frenchlanguage
weekly, are all government owned and operated. While the ofiicied media
report on social and national development problems in Djibouti, such as AIDS and
female circumcision, they to not criticize the Government itself. The ofiicial press
is censored. The editor-m-chief of La Nation was reprimanded and reassigned to
lesser duties in December 1991, reportedly for spetiking with Afar oppositionleaders
and reporting on the Arhiba massacre to Agence France Presse.
The Government does not interfere with foreign broadcasts and as far as is
known, did not prevent in 1992 the distribution of publications from abroad in
Djibouti-ville nor detain those seen in possession of such publications.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Government effectively
bans political protest by selective enforcement of public assembly laws, in spite of
the freedom of assembly provisions of the new Constitution. Periodically, the Government
closes public meeting places, such aa cafes in which political discussions
occur. The Goveroment legalized two opposition parties in 1992, the PND and the
PRD. It did not allow two other opposition parties to participate in the December
legislative election campaiga. Mohamed Moussa "Tour-Tour", whose Movement for
Unity and Democracy (MUD) was not legalized, reported that at least seven of his
supporters were arrested when they attempted to launch a public protest. The criteria
for legalization of political parties are not publicly known, but Article 6 of the
Constitution stipulates that political parties may not be based on race, ethnic group,
sex, religion, region, or language. In practice, the ruling party determines which opposition
parties can be legalizea.
On February 13, the Government notified the Association for the Respect of
Human Rights and Liberties that it would not be granted \eea\ status because the
Minister of Interior judged that its leadership "is not of the nigh caliber that such
a mission (defending human rights) demands." The President of ADDHL as weU as
the President of the Movement for Civilian Victims, Hassan Ali Mohamed Dalga,
were both imprisoned repeatedly in 1992 for criticizing the Government's human
rights record.
c. Freedom of Religion
Islam is the state religion. Virtually the entire population
is Sunni Muslim, but the Grovemment imposes no sanctions on those who choose
to ignore Islamic teachings on such matters as diet, alcohol consumption, and reli-
S'ous fasting. The foreign community supports Roman Catholic, French Protestant,
reek Orthodox, and Euiiopian Orthodox churches. Forei^ clergy and missionaries
may perform charitable works, but proselytizing is a highly sensitive issue and,
while not illegal, is discouraged.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel. Emigration, and Repatriation.—
Internal travel in Djibouti has been disrupted by civil war, making
movement between the north and south of Djibouti nearly impossible. Djiboutians
may emigrate to foreign countries without restriction or interference, except for
travel to Israel. In 1992 Djibouti lifted restrictions on travel to South Africa. A significeint
number of Djiboutians have emigrated to Canada, often on the pretext of
being Somali refugees. In one notable case, the Government refused to accept entry
of a Djiboutian national deported by Canadian immigration authorities as an illegal
immigrant.
Djibouti hosts almost 100,000 refugees, according to government sources. This
amounts to approximately a fifth of the total population of Djibouti. The vast majority
of these remgees come from Somalia, although some are from Ethiopia. The recognized
refugee camps house 20,(X)0 people, but the majority live in Diibouti-ville,
where they have no refiigee status. The Government regularly deports illegal immigrants
and refugees from neighboring Somalia and Ethiopia.
In October the Government, instead of deporting refugees to Ethiopia and Somalia
or to refugee camps within Djibouti, forced a number of these refugees to work for
Djiboutian military forces in northern Djibouti. Delivery of adequate assistance to
refugee camps has been stymied by corruption. There is thus little incentive for refugees
to go to the camps rather than eke out an existence in Djibouti-ville.
Section 3. Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
Citizens do not have the ability peacefully to change the government through
democratic means. The President and the RPP continued to dominate the political
process in 1992, forcing political changes which further alienated a large portion of
the citizenry. TTie referendum to adopt a new constitution permitting "reasonable
multipartyism," and the December legislative elections took place largely without
Afar voter participation and with some fraud; for example, in the northern districts
of Obock, the Government claimed that 38 ercent of Obock's 9,800 registered voters
participated in the referendum when in fact the city was largely devoid of inhabitants.
Djibouti's Afar and Somali opposition groups boycotted the President's referendum
on a new constitution on the grounds that it was drafted without consulting those
outside the current regime. Nonetheless, two Somali opposition leaders formed legal
parties, but only the PRD contested the December 18 legislative elections. The PRD
was successful in attracting broad-based support—outside of clan afliliation—and
for the first time brought women into the leadership of the party. Two women were
among PRD's candidates in the legislative elections, which was also a first in
Djiboutian politics. The other opposition party, the PND, declined to participate on
the grounds that the regime had not created the conditions for a free and fair election.
The opposition parties did not have access to the lists of registered voters nor
access to information on the location and number of polling booths until the eve of
the election. The ofiicial results of the December 18 election gave the ruling party
75 percent of the popular vote and aU 65 parliamentary seats.
In general, the Afar refused to participate in the December election and held a
peaceful demonstration to protest the Government's choice of dates: the anniversary
of the 1991 massacre of Afar civilians in Arhiba.
The impetus for political change has been the armed insurgency led by the FRUD.
The FRUD boycotted the September referendum and the December elections on the
grounds that the Constitution and related laws were drafted by the ruling Somali
elites without the input of Afar opponents. The FRUD, however, in its continued rejection
of President Gouled's amnesty and its refusal to participate in party politics,
has marginalized Afar politicians and committed them to further civil war. Neither
the current regime nor FRUD has demonstrated willingness to negotiate to resolve
political differences and assure adequate Afar representation in the, democratic process.
In addition to the FRUD, there is the United Opposition Front, which is comprised
of Afar politicians and ex-parliamentarians as well as representatives of the
other fringe parties representing the Somali Issak and Gadaboursi minorities. The
leadership of^both the PRD and the PND used to belong to the United Opposition
Front but were dropped from the organization when they agreed to participate in
President Grouled's democratization process.
Section 4. Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation
of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
The Government is openly hostile to domestic human rights groups. As noted, it
refused to recognize the Association for the Respect of Human Rights and Liberties
and arrested its leaders who had been critical of government policies in the north.
Ministry of Interior officials view any human rights association as a political body
and hence treat it as an opposition group.
The Government has been cooperative with some international organizations and
nongovernmental organizations, notably the ICRC, which has access to the central
prison and intercedes on behalf of civilians and POWs in the conflict between the
Government and the FRUD. Through ICRC's good offices (accepted by both the Government
and the FRUD), prisoners of war on both sides were released in 1992.
The most notable occasion for international human rights organizations to visit
Djibouti in 1992 was the July 5-12 trial of the preindependence leader of Djibouti,
Ali Aref Bouriian, an Afar accused of attempting a coup d'etat in January 1991. The
State Security Court trial was attended by representatives of international human
rights organizations and members of the diplomatic corps.
Section 5. Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Language, or Social Status
Djibouti is a nation of immigrants from neighboring Somalia and Ethiopia. Most
of its citizens flocked to this former French enclave in search of economic opportunities
following independence in 1977. The new Constitution states in Article 2 that
the Republic of Djibouti does not discriminate based on "language, race, sex, or religion."
Many government leaders, including the President, were bom outside the current
borders of the Republic.
The Government pursued discriminatory policies in 1992. The Issa (the dominant
Somali clan in Djibouti) control the ruling KPP, the civil service, and the military
as a result of the President's policy of assigning key positions of authority to members
of his tribal grouping and in particular to a powerful cohort of advisers in the
Presidency and his Cabinet. The President's subclan, the Mammasan, is particularly
strong, wielding disproportionate power in the affairs of the State. Perquisites and
corruption have created a class of wealthy bureaucrats of all major tribes who live
far beyond the meeins of the ordinary Diiboutian.
Women in Djibouti legally possess full civil rights but traditionally play a secondary
role in public life and do not have the same educational opportunities as men.
Women are active in small trade, as well as in the clerical and secretarial fields.
There are only a few women in the professions (civU service, judiciary, teaching, and
medicine) and security services.
According to medical personnel, violence against women including rape and
wife beating—occurs and appears to be on the increase in Djibouti. Most domestic
and conmiunity violence is considered a family or clan matter, however, the incidence
of gang rape indicates that violence against women is no longer controlled by
traditionsJ authorities. Very few crimes against women, including rape, are punished.
Many times the perpetrators are pardoned or serve at most short sentences.
While the Government has begun to address the crime issue (primarily by deporting
illegal immigrants and refugees), it has not addressed violence against women or
children specifically. Child abuse also occurs in Djibouti and is lightly punished. In
instances in which children are raped or otherwise abused, the perpetrator is fined
for the cost of medical care given to the injured child.
The RPP-afliliated Djiboutian National Women's Union (]LJNFD) began an educational
campaign against female genital mutilation (circumcision), particularly
iniibulation, the most dangerous form in 1988. The campaign has had only a marginal
impact on this pervasive custom. According to an independent expert in the
field, the percentage of Djiboutian women who have undergone this procedure may
be as hi^ as 90 percent.
Judicial reforms enacted in 1991 stipulate that anyone found responsible for genital
mutilation of young girls could face 5 years in prison and a heavy fine. To date,
no one has been convicted of such crimes.
Section 6. Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Under the Constitution, workers are free to join
unions and to strike provided they comply with legally prescribed requirements.
Less than 20 percent of persons in the wage economy are union members. The organized
labor movement is still in its infancy. Many unions represent employees of
only a single private or state-owned enterprise. The Government exerted control
over individual unions through the state-organized labor central, the General Union
of Djiboutian Workers (UGTD). In 1992, however, a new union confederation, the
Democratic Labor Union (UDT), came into being, initially to oppose a 10-percent
"patriotic tax" (war tax) imposed on all workers by the Government. Its success has
smce forced the UGTD into relative obscurity, but the Government retaliated
against Ahmed Djama Egueh "Obeley" and Mahamoud Ali Boulaleh, founders of the
UDT. They were detained and later tried and convicted for having issued a bulletin
critical of government policies on May 1, 1992.
A wildcat strike caUed by a bus drivers' union provoked a government clampdown
later in May, calling into question workers' freedom to strike.
The UGTD is affiliated with the pan-African trade union body, the Organization
of African Trade Union Unity. Unions are free to maintain relations and exchange
programs with unions and labor organizations in other countries. The UDT has applied
for affiliation with the International Confederation of Free Trade Unions, but
the application is still pending.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
Althou^ the law recognizes
labor's right to organize and bargain collectively, in practice, collective bargaining
virtually does not exist. Relations between employers and workers are informal and
paternalistic. Wages are in practice established unilaterally by employers on the
basis of Ministry of Labor sidelines. When disputes about wages or health and
safety issues anse, the Ministry of Labor encourages direct, ad noc resolution by
labor representatives and employers. Either workers or employers may initiate a
formal administrative hearing mediated by the labor inspection service of the Ministry
of Labor.
There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
By law, there is neither forced nor
compulsory labor in Djibouti; however, Djiboutian security forces oblige illegal immigrants
to work for them in lieu of deportation (see Section 2.d.).
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The legal minimum age of 14
years is generally respected; the paucity of inspectors from the Ministry of Labor
makes it unlikely that investigations are ever carried out, according to union
sources. Children may and do work in family owned businesses, such as restaurants
and small shops, including at night. Children are not employed under hazardous
conditions. Many of the beggars in Djibouti are young children whose parents forced
them out onto the street to bee for a living.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
Minimum wage rates are specified by government
regulations according to occupational categories and are enforced by the Ministry
of Labor. Last increased in 1980, minimum wages cover a broad range of jobs.
They do not provide adequate compensation necessary to maintain a minimum
standard of living, however. Many workers also receive housing and transportation
allowances in addition to mandatory seniority bonuses. Djibouti is one of the world's
poorest nations. Only a tiny minority are employed, and a fraction of those receive
a wage adequate to provide a faimly with a decent standard of living.
By law the standard workweek is 40 hours, often spread over 6 days. Overtime
pay regulations are in effect. Workers are guaranteed daily and weekly rest periods
and paid annual vacations. The Ministry of Labor is responsible for occupational
health and safety standards, wages, and work hours. Enforcement of these standards,
however, is ineffective. Workers face hazardous working conditions, particularly
in the port, but rarely protest as they fear being replaced by others willing
to accept the risks.
