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Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the early years of the 21st Century gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Congo-ROC.htm
The Republic of the
Congo (ROC) is a source country for children trafficked within its borders
for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation, as well
as a destination country for children trafficked from other African countries
for the same purposes. Within the ROC, boys and girls are trafficked from
rural areas, primarily from the Pool Region, to Point Noire and Brazzaville
for forced street vending and domestic servitude. Girls are trafficked from rural
areas primarily to Brazzaville, but also to Pointe Noire, for commercial
sexual exploitation. Transnationally, children are trafficked from other
African countries to Pointe Noire for domestic servitude, forced market
vending and forced labor in the fishing industry. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in
Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country report] |
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in the Republic of
the Congo (ROC). Some of these links
may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or
even false. No attempt has been made
to verify their authenticity or to validate their content. ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Roch Eulonge N'zobo, Roger Bouka Owoko
& Alain Oyandzi, “The Situation of the Pygmies in the At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 4 September 2011] The Rainforest
Foundation is urgently calling for justice, and recognition of the rights of
the 'Pygmy' people, with the release of a report exposing alarming human rights
violations suffered by 'Pygmies' in the Republic of Congo. Beatings, rape,
'slavery' and discrimination were documented in the report based on
investigations by our partners, the Congolese Observatory of Human Rights
(OCDH). The report, published by the Rainforest Foundation, reveals cases of
collective rapes, police brutality, and appalling health, housing and
education systems. Very few 'Pygmies' have basic civil rights and most lack
national identity cards. ***
ARCHIVES *** The Department of Labor’s 2006 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor [PDF] www.dol.gov/ilab/programs/ocft/PDF/2006OCFTreport.pdf [accessed 2 November 2010] INCIDENCE AND NATURE
OF CHILD LABOR
- Children work with their families on farms or in informal business
activities. In Brazzaville and other urban centers, there are significant
numbers of street children, primarily from the neighboring Human Rights
Reports » 2006 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2006/78729.htm [accessed 30 January 2011] TRAFFICKING IN
PERSONS
– The law does not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, and there
were unconfirmed reports of trafficking of children by West African
immigrants living in the country. Trafficking could be prosecuted under
existing laws against slavery, prostitution, rape, illegal immigration,
forced labor, and regulations regarding employer employee relations; however,
there were no known cases of the government prosecuting any trafficker under
these laws. The ministries of security, labor, and social affairs, as well as
the gendarmerie, have responsibility for trafficking issues. There were
unconfirmed reports that the country was a country of destination for
trafficked persons. It was not known to be a country of transit or origin.
There were unconfirmed reports that minor relatives of immigrants from Concluding Observations of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child,
29 September 2006 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/congo2006.html [accessed 30 January 2011] [79] While noting with
appreciation the ratification by the State party of relevant ILO Conventions,
as well as the adoption of an appropriate legislative framework, the
Committee is concerned at the lack of data on the issue of economic
exploitation of children. The Committee is also concerned at information
according to which children, in particular indigenous children, are exploited
economically. Finally, the Committee is concerned at reports that children,
in particular from the Democratic Republic of Congo and indigenous children,
are recruited to clean sewers and latrines manually, which is extremely
hazardous to their health. [81] While welcoming
the study on the sexual exploitation of children which is being conducted
with UNICEF’s support, the Committee expresses concern at sexual harassment
in schools. It is also concerned at the fact that sexual exploitation of
children is a widespread practice. The Committee is also concerned at the
fact that the Portella Law prohibiting the presence of children in bars and night
clubs is not enforced. [83] While noting that
the State party has ratified the Convention for the Suppression of the
Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others on 25
August 1977, the Committee is concerned at the absence of legislation
prohibiting trafficking in persons, particularly children. Roch Eulonge N'zobo, Roger Bouka Owoko
& Alain Oyandzi, “The Situation of the Pygmies in the At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 4 September 2011] The Rainforest
Foundation is urgently calling for justice, and recognition of the rights of
the 'Pygmy' people, with the release of a report exposing alarming human
rights violations suffered by 'Pygmies' in the Republic of Congo. Beatings, rape,
'slavery' and discrimination were documented in the report based on
investigations by our partners, the Congolese Observatory of Human Rights
(OCDH). The report, published by the Rainforest Foundation, reveals cases of
collective rapes, police brutality, and appalling health, housing and
education systems. Very few 'Pygmies' have basic civil rights and most lack
national identity cards. The Situation of the Pygmies in the OCDH - Observatoire Congolais des Droits de
l'Homme, July 2004 www.rainforestfoundationuk.org/files/OCDH%20Rpt%201%20%28English%29%20v.2.pdf [accessed 30 January 2011] [pages 19 & 20] 4.4. WORKING CONDITIONS THAT RESEMBLE
MODERN SLAVERY
– The work the Pygmies carry out for the Bantu in Ngoua II resembles forced
labour. They put a great deal of effort into what is hard and often badly
paid work. A day's work on a Bantu farm pays between 500 and 1,000 F.CFA,
(50p to £1), according to the employer's whim. No consideration is made of
the effort made. On 30 June 2003,
OCDH members traveled with a Pygmy, Mr. Ingouma, who had been requisitioned
by a Bantu to carry a sack of groundnuts weighing over 80 kgs a distance of
more than 50 kms from Ngoua II. In return, the Bantu gave him a bottle of
palm wine valued at 250 F.CFA (25p). Like the Bantu, the
Pygmies who work at Man Fai Tai, the main logging company in the area,
confirm that they are treated 'like slaves' by the Malaysians who run the
company The Pygmies of Kabo
regularly incur debts with the Bantu. And, by lending them money, these Bantu
are creating the conditions that force the Pygmies into coming back for
another loan. The practice thus becomes entrenched and is, in fact, a form of
'debtslavery' for the salaried Pygmies. At the end of the month, unable to
read or write, they have to pay off amounts established according to the word
of their Bantu creditors. When they cannot pay all their debts, these
creditors take them to courts that issue orders to stop and seize the debtor
Pygmies' salaries. Xinhua News Agency, June 21, 2007 english.people.com.cn/200706/21/eng20070621_386239.html [accessed 30 January 2011] "We can affirm
today that human trafficking targeting children exists indeed in The Protection Project - Republic of the The www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/congor.doc [Last accessed 2009] FACTORS THAT
CONTRIBUTE TO THE TRAFFICKING INFRASTRUCTURE - Poverty, a lack of education, a
lack of opportunity, gender inequality, and civil unrest are some of the
major factors that contribute to the trafficking infrastructure in the
Republic of the FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Evidence
suggests that hundreds of children from the Republic of the Freedom House
Country Report - Political Rights: 6 Civil Liberties: 5 Status: Not Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/congo-republic-brazzaville [accessed 26 June 2012] All material
used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for
noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery – Congo
ROC", http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Congo-ROC.htm, [accessed
<date>] |
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Torture in [ROC] [other countries]
Human Trafficking in [ROC] [other countries]Street Children in [ROC] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [ROC] [other countries]