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Mauritius

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Republic of Mauritius
Population: 
1.3 million (0.4 million under 18)
Government Armed Forces: 
none
Compulsary Recruitment Age: 
not applicable
Voluntary Recruitment Age: 
18 (for security forces)
Voting Age: 
18
Optional Protocol: 
signed 11 November 2001
Other Treaties: 
GC AP I
GC AP II
CRC
ILO 138
ILO 182
ACRWC
ICC

There were no reports of under-18s in the security forces.

Government: 

National recruitment legislation and practice

Mauritius did not have a standing army; all military, police and security functions were carried out by the Mauritius Police Force, which incorporated an air wing, a paramilitary Special Mobile Force and the National Coast Guard.1 The minimum age of recruitment was 18 for all these forces.

Mauritius developed a National Children’s Policy (2003) and a National Plan of Action (2004), and adopted the Child Protection Amendment Act (2005) which criminalized child abuse and exploitation, abduction and child trafficking.2 The maximum penalty for child trafficking was 15 years’ imprisonment.3 The Office of the Ombudsperson for Children was established in 2003 to promote and safeguard children’s rights. A Children’s Act to implement the provisions of the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child was in draft form.4

1 Mauritius Police Force, http://police.gov.mu.

2 UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, Consideration of report submitted by Mauritius, Summary record, UN Doc. CRC/C/SR.1105, 27 January 2006.

3 US Department of State, Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Mauritius, www.state.gov.

4 African Commission on Human and People’s Rights, Report of the Promotional Mission to Mauritius, August 2006, www.achpr.org.