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Nigeria
Child Rights and Business guidance for Chinese Companies Operating in Nigeria
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Proposed indicators
Decent work for parents and young workers
Child labour
- Minimum age: The minimum age of full-time employment is 14.
- Hazardous work: Minimum age for hazardous work is eighteen years. However, children ages 16 and older are allowed to work (at night) in gold mining reduction work and the manufacturing of iron, steel, paper, raw sugar, and glass.
- Light work: There is no national minimum age for light work.
Maternity and paternity protections
- Parental leave: Women are entitled to 12 weeks of paid maternity leave. There is no entitlement to paternity leave.
- Pay and benefits: Maternity leave is granted with pay at 50% of previous earnings, paid by the employer.
- Job protection: It is unlawful to dismiss a worker due to pregnancy or maternity leave. There is no legal provision regarding right to return to the same position after maternity leave; the right to return is only implicitly guaranteed.
Decent work for parents and young workers:
- Health and safety: There are no specific legal provisions on protecting health and safety of pregnant workers. Women are generally not allowed to work at night except those who are employed as nurses and those holding managerial positions.
- Working hours: Normal working hours are 40 per week over a maximum of 6 days per week.
- Breastfeeding: New mothers are guaranteed breastfeeding breaks with no explicit limit on the age of the child.
Marketplace
Marketing and advertising
- Marketing to children: There are no known regulations on marketing to children in Nigeria
- Breastmilk substitutes: Nigeria has adopted many of the provisions of the International Code of Marketing of Breast-Milk Substitutes into national law, including restrictions on advertising of instant and follow-up formula and required mentioning of the benefits and superiority of breastfeeding.
Product safety
- Consumer protection: Product safety is regulated by the newly enacted Federal Competition and Consumer Protection Act (2019). The Act provides for the establishment of a Competition and Consumer Protection Tribunal.
Child online safety
- Child sexual abuse material (CSAM): National laws prohibit CSAM including the producing, procuring, offering, distributing, disseminating, and possession of CSAM. There are hotlines that handle complaints of CSAM.
- Access to pornography: Distribution of 'obscene publications' is punishable by law in Nigeria.
Community and Environment
Environment
- Impact assessment: National law requires environmental impact assessments to be carried out to ensure environmental effects are taken into account before projects are approved. Members of the public, experts and interests groups need to be enabled to comment on the assessment.
- Climate change: In its submission to the UNFCC, Nigeria is aiming to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions by 45% compared to a business as usual growth scenario (strong economic growth of 5% per year, leading to expected growth of Nigeria’s emissions to around 900 million tonnes per year in 2030).
- Resource governance: Nigeria is compliant with Extractive Industries Transparency Initiative (EITI) standards.
Land rights
- Land tenure: Indigenous communities make up a significant portion of Nigeria’s population – an estimated 80% of Nigeria’s land mass is community and/or indigenous land.
- Free, prior and informed consent (FPIC): National laws also do not recognise the right to free, prior and informed consent (FPIC) for projects that may affect indigenous communities or their lands. However, the Nigerian government recognises international jurisprudence in its National Action Plan on Business and Human Rights and states it shall secure FPIC of host communities before the commencement of any project.
Security arrangements
- Child soldiers: The minimum voluntary enlistment age is 18. However, children are recruited by armed militant groups.
- Private military and/or security companies: There are regulations on the activities of private security companies including the prohibition on the bearing of firearms (Private Guard Companies Act 1986).
Child rights
- Education: Primary and starting secondary education are free and compulsory until the age of 14.
- Healthcare: The constitution aspires to progressively realising the right to medical and health facilities for all persons. Nigeria has a national health care insur ance scheme although the coverage of the Nigerian people remains low.