Children's Rights: National, Regional and International Legal Framework
Knowing the law means giving yourself the means to enforce it. This section brings together the main texts that protect children's rights in Mali and West Africa — clearly explained and accessible to all.
Why This Section?
Too often, children's rights remain confined to official texts without ever reaching the families, educators, and communities who need them most. The Réseau EnfanceAfrique.org has chosen to make these texts accessible to everyone — explained simply, illustrated with field realities, and available free of charge.
A Reality in Transformation
The traditional practice of child circulation and fostering, which contributed to education and socialization through a customary system of solidarity, is today undergoing major change. The new organization of societies — modernization, urbanization, the monetization of social relationships — is giving rise to new demands that contrast with ancestral customs. Formal law must take these transformations into account.
I. International Texts
Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) — UN 1989
Ratified by Mali in 1990
The CRC is the founding text of all children's rights. It recognizes four fundamental rights for every child (under 18 years of age): survival, development, protection, and participation. Its 54 articles cover all aspects of a child's life.
In the Malian context, it applies directly to the 135 children documented in our research: girls deprived of education (art. 28), talibés sent to beg (art. 32), children in rupture with their host families (art. 9, 19, 34).
ILO Convention No. 182 — Worst Forms of Child Labour (1999)
Ratified by Mali
Requires States to eliminate slavery, trafficking, and forced or hazardous child labor.
Directly applicable to the 29 itinerant workers, 44 domestic helper girls, and 7 assistant boys documented in our fieldwork.
💡 Did you know? These children work in complete contradiction with this convention, despite it having been ratified by Mali since 2000.
Protocol on the Sale of Children and Sexual Exploitation (2000)
Protection of fostered children against abuse within guardian families. This protocol fills a crucial gap in the protection of children in fostering situations — one of the most well-documented vulnerabilities in our fieldwork.
💡 Did you know? One in five fostered girls documented in our research has experienced some form of abuse in her host family.
Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (2000)
Crucial in the post-2012 Malian context. The massive displacement of populations from the North to the South exposed thousands of children to situations of extreme vulnerability — emergency fostering, family breakdown, forced recruitment.
💡 Did you know? Mali has ratified this protocol, but its implementation remains insufficient in areas affected by insecurity.
II. African Regional Law
African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACRWC) — AU 1990
Ratified by Mali
Leading regional instrument. Recognizes the role of the extended family and communities in raising children. Explicitly prohibits early marriage, harmful cultural practices, and child labor.
Establishes the African Committee of Experts on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (ACERWC) — the body responsible for monitoring and overseeing the Charter's implementation.
💡 Did you know? The ACRWC is the only African regional instrument that explicitly recognizes the role of extended families in child protection.
ECOWAS Protocols on the Protection of Migrant Children
Mechanisms to combat cross-border child trafficking. Particularly relevant to Mali, a country of origin, transit, and destination for children on the move within the sub-region.
These protocols recognize children's mobility as a cultural reality while imposing protection mechanisms on Member States.
💡 Did you know? Mali is simultaneously a country of origin, transit, and destination for children on the move — a triple reality documented in our research.
III. Malian National Law
Code of Persons and the Family Law No. 2011-087 of 30 December 2011 — Text in force
Reference text currently in force in Mali. This Code governs filiation, parental authority, guardianship, marriage, and inheritance. It sets the minimum age of marriage at 16 for girls and 18 for boys.
Son adoption en 2011 a constitué un moment historique dans l’histoire juridique malienne. Comme le démontre la recherche de Dr Drahmane Fondo sur « La persistance de la tradition face au droit moderne au Mali », cette période a mis en lumière le rôle central des acteurs coutumiers et religieux comme régulateurs sociaux.
The final promulgation of the law confirmed the primacy of formal law while recognizing the need for ongoing dialogue between the two normative systems. It is this dialogue that the Réseau EnfanceAfrique.org works to build — by engaging Traditional Authorities as partners in change.
💡 Did you know? The controversy surrounding this Code is one of the most well-documented examples of tension between formal law and customary law in West Africa. It illustrates why cultural mediation is essential to any lasting legal reform.
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Law on Child Labor
Law No. 01-081 of 24 August 2001
Sets the minimum age for employment at 15. Prohibits hazardous work before the age of 18. Directly applicable to the situations documented in our fieldwork — 29 itinerant workers, 44 domestic helper girls, and 7 boys assisting persons with disabilities identified in Bamako and Ségou.
💡 Did you know? In practice, these children
work in complete contradiction with this law, despite it having been in force since 2001 — revealing the persistent gap between written law and the daily realities of Malian families.
National Child Protection Policy (NCPP)
Adopted in 2014
National strategic framework implemented by the National Directorate for the Promotion of Children and Families (DNPEF) and the Regional Directorates for Social Development and the Solidarity Economy (DRDSES).
Its implementation remains insufficient in rural areas and regions affected by insecurity — particularly in the regions of Timbuktu, Gao, and Mopti, where our fieldwork was conducted.
💡 Did you know? The NCPP was adopted the same year AMAPISE was founded — 2014. The Réseau EnfanceAfrique.org operates directly within the framework of this national policy, which it helps document and evaluate.
IV. Customary Law — A Parallel Reality to Understand
Protective Practices to Preserve
Customary law is not the enemy of formal law — it is its essential complement. In Mali, village chiefs, councils of elders, and religious leaders regulate the majority of everyday decisions concerning children.
✓ Educational fostering supervised by the extended family
✓ Guardianship of orphans by relatives
✓ Council of elders' palaver to resolve conflicts
✓ Community solidarity during times of crisis
Harmful Practices to Transform
Our approach involves building bridges between these two systems rather than pitting them against each other. This is precisely what the Traditional Authorities and Legitimacies we have worked with since 2014 do.
✗ Non-consensual early marriage
✗ Unregulated abusive fostering
✗ Discrimination in girls' access to education
✗ Early labor disguised as tradition
Legal Resources and Reference Texts
National Legislative Framework
Mali has a comprehensive legislative framework for child protection. The Constitution of 22 July 2023 forms the foundation of all fundamental rights. Ordinance No. 02-062/P-RM of 5 June 2002 establishing the Child Protection Code remains a specific text on the matter. The Code of Persons and the Family (Law No. 2011-087 of 30 December 2011) governs filiation, guardianship, and parental authority. The Labor Code (Law No. 2017-021 of 12 June 2017) and Law No. 01-81 of 24 August 2001 on minority regulate child labor and juvenile courts. The Penal Code (Law No. 01-079 of 20 August 2001) and the Code of Criminal Procedure (Law No. 2013-016 of 21 May 2013) provide for sanctions against violations of children's rights. The Education Framework Law (No. 99-046 of 28 December 1999) guarantees the right to education. Specific decrees regulate private childcare institutions and travel documents for children aged 0 to 18.
Bilateral and Multilateral Agreements Against Trafficking
Beyond the national legislative framework, Mali has entered into several cooperation agreements concerning the fight against trafficking and cross-border trafficking of children. These bilateral agreements cover Côte d'Ivoire (2000), Burkina Faso (2004), Senegal (2004), and Guinea (2005). At the multilateral level, Mali has signed agreements with nine West African States (2005) and twenty-six West and Central African States (2006). These commitments confirm that child protection in Mali is part of a coherent regional and international dynamic — recognizing that cross-border mobility and fostering phenomena extend beyond national borders and require coordinated responses. The Réseau EnfanceAfrique.org draws on these legal frameworks to document the trajectories of children on the move and to advocate for their effective implementation on the ground.
National Institutions and Policies for Children
Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children, and the Family (MPFEF)
The primary authority responsible for the national child protection policy, the MPFEF was established by decree No. 97-282/P-RM of 16 September 1997. It is responsible for developing, implementing, evaluating, and coordinating public policy on the protection and promotion of children's rights and well-being. To carry out its mission, this ministry has several directorates and technical departments, notably the National Directorate for the Promotion of Children and Families (DNPEF) and the Regional Directorates for Social Development and the Solidarity Economy (DRDSES) present in all regions of Mali.
Major Institutional Reforms — 2025
In 2025, Mali took two major steps forward in modernizing its child protection system. On 30 July 2025, the Council of Ministers adopted a draft law establishing the creation, organization, and functioning of the National Directorate for Judicial Child Protection — a highly significant reform responding to the recommendations of international conventions ratified by Mali, particularly regarding the specific treatment of children in conflict with the law. Furthermore, in June 2025, the MPFEF launched CPIMS+, a computerized child protection information management system. This platform enables actors in the field to structure the collection and management of information on children, to regularly and consistently monitor their situation, and to better coordinate interventions across the entire Malian territory.
💡 Did you know? These two 2025 reforms place Mali among the most advanced West African countries in modernizing their institutional child protection systems.
The law protects. But it can do nothing without those who know it. Share this information with the parents, educators, and community leaders around you. The Réseau EnfanceAfrique.org is committed to making these texts accessible to the communities who need them most.