CHAPTER THREE: DEMOCRACY AND POLITICAL GOVERNANCE __________________________________________________________________________ 294.  Convention 182 of the ILO on the banning of the worst forms of child labour and immediate action for their elimination (28 May 2001).  The United Nations Convention on Organised Transnational Crime and its Additional Protocol aimed at preventing, curbing and punishing the trafficking of persons, in particular women and children; its Additional Protocol against the illicit trafficking of migrants by land, air and sea; and its Additional Protocol against the manufacture and illicit trafficking of firearms, their parts, elements and munitions (6 November 2003).  The Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (20 September 2006). At the regional level, Benin has acceded to the African Charter on the Rights and Welfare of the Child (adopted by the OAU, which became the AU, in July 1990) signed on 27 February 1992 and ratified on 17 April 1997, together with the following subregional agreements:  The Cooperation Agreement against the trafficking of children between Benin and Nigeria (June 2005).  The Cooperation Agreement against the trafficking of children signed between nine countries in the region: Benin, Burkina Faso, Côte d’Ivoire, Guinea, Liberia, Niger, Mali, Nigeria and Togo (27 July 2005).  The Additional Protocol to the United Nations Convention on Organised Transnational Crime, against the illicit trafficking of migrants by land, air and sea (called the Palermo Protocol). 295. With regard to national rights, the constitution of 11 December 1990 remains the frame of reference as far as human rights are concerned. Article 147 stipulates that “Upon publication, treaties or agreements that have been lawfully ratified take precedence over laws, and for each agreement or treaty, subject to its application by the other party”. 296. Articles 12 and 13 of the constitution specifically concern children and the education of children in particular. Article 12 demands the guarantee of education for children and the necessary conditions to achieve this end. Article 13 lays down the principles according to which the state should provide for the education of children in public schools. Article 13 also states that primary school is compulsory and that public education is free. 297. In the context of the principle of nondiscrimination, Article 26 establishes that “the State should protect the family, especially the mother and child”. Other provisions, even when not specifically aimed at children, concern human rights and certain rights enumerated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child as part of human rights. These include the right to life, to freedom, to security, and to the integrity of persons (Article 15); the presumption of innocence and the rights of defence (Article 17); the banning of torture and cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment; the right to medical assistance during 118