Human Trafficking in [Djibouti] [other countries]
Street Children in [Djibouti] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Djibouti] [other countries]
 

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

In the early years of the 21st Century - 2000 to 2010 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Djibouti.htm

Republic of Djibouti Djibouti has few natural resources and little industry. The nation is, therefore, heavily dependent on foreign assistance to help support its balance of payments and to finance development projects. An unemployment rate of nearly 60% in urban areas continues to be a major problem. While inflation is not a concern, due to the fixed tie of the Djiboutian franc to the US dollar, the artificially high value of the Djiboutian franc adversely affects Djibouti's balance of payments. Per capita consumption dropped an estimated 35% between 1999 and 2006 because of recession, civil war, and a high population growth rate (including immigrants and refugees). [The World Factbook, U.S.C.I.A. 2009]

Djibouti is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and domestic servitude. Large numbers of voluntary economic migrants from Ethiopia and Somalia pass illegally through Djibouti en route to Yemen and other locations in the Middle East; among this group, a small number of women and girls may fall victim to involuntary domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation after reaching Djibouti City or the Ethiopia-Djibouti trucking corridor. Others fall victim to human trafficking after reaching their destinations in the Middle East. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country report]

CAUTION:  The following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Djibouti. Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

*** FEATURED ARTICLE ***

Protection Project - Djibouti [DOC]

The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), The Johns Hopkins University

www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/djibouti.doc

[Last accessed 2009]

FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Displaced women and children fleeing conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia have ended up in prostitution in Djibouti. Some of them have also been trafficked to wealthy Arab states to work as domestic servants.

Child prostitution is on the rise in Djibouti. A government study, conducted in conjunction with UNICEF, found that 73.3 percent of street children were Ethiopian and that over a quarter of these children were exploited in the commercial sex industry. Most are girls from the Dire-Dawa region of Ethiopia. They are often brought by other girls to brothels, where they are forced into prostitution. In Djibouti’s most famous sex venue, Rue d’Ethiopie, children age 11 to 16 are forced to engage in prostitution. - htsccp

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The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on the Worst Forms of Child Labor

U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 2005

www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/djibouti.htm

[accessed 1 February 2011]

CHILD LABOR LAWS AND ENFORCEMENT - The Labor Code sets the minimum age for employment at 14 years. Night work is prohibited for children under the age of 16, and the hours and conditions of work for children are regulated. Forced and bonded labor of children is also prohibited.

Human Rights Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, March 8, 2006

www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61566.htm

[accessed 1 February 2011]

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – The law does not prohibit trafficking in persons. Although there were no known reports of persons being trafficked to, from, or within the country, observers believed the country to be a destination for individuals trafficked from Ethiopia and Somalia and a country of transit to the Middle East. Trafficking could be prosecuted under various sections of the law, including "exploitation of the weakness or ignorance of persons" or "exerting pressure on a person so that the person engages in prostitution."

Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 5 Civil Liberties: 5 Status: Partly Free

2009 Edition

www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=363&year=2009&country=7596

[accessed 1 February 2011]

Protection Project - Djibouti [DOC]

The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), The Johns Hopkins University

www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/djibouti.doc

[Last accessed 2009]

FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Displaced women and children fleeing conflict between Eritrea and Ethiopia have ended up in prostitution in Djibouti. Some of them have also been trafficked to wealthy Arab states to work as domestic servants.

Child prostitution is on the rise in Djibouti. A government study, conducted in conjunction with UNICEF, found that 73.3 percent of street children were Ethiopian and that over a quarter of these children were exploited in the commercial sex industry. Most are girls from the Dire-Dawa region of Ethiopia. They are often brought by other girls to brothels, where they are forced into prostitution. In Djibouti’s most famous sex venue, Rue d’Ethiopie, children age 11 to 16 are forced to engage in prostitution. - htsccp

Ethiopia is a source country for Human Trafficking and Sex Exploitation

Trafficking in Persons Report, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, June 2006

ovcs.blogspot.com/2008/01/ethiopia-is-source-country-for-human.html

[accessed 1 February 2011]

Ethiopia is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Children and adults are trafficked within the country for domestic servitude and, to a lesser extent, for commercial sexual exploitation and labor, such as street vending. Small numbers of men are trafficked to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States for low-skilled forced labor. Ethiopian women are trafficked to the Middle East, particularly Lebanon, for domestic servitude; other destinations include Egypt, South Africa, Sudan, and Djibouti. Small percentages of these women are trafficked for sexual exploitation. Transit countries for trafficked Ethiopians reportedly include Djibouti, Egypt, Kenya, Libya, Somalia, and Sudan.

Trafficking in Persons Report - 2005

Trafficking in Persons Report, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, June 3, 2005

www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2005/46617.htm

[accessed 1 February 2011]

VI. SPECIAL CASES - DJIBOUTI - Trafficking in persons is an undocumented problem in Djibouti. There is a dearth of solid evidence or statistics to make a concrete case that trafficking is a significant problem in the country, though anecdotal evidence suggests some trafficking occurs. Insufficient or non-existent monitoring of migration and labor statistics makes it difficult at this time to substantiate the magnitude of trafficking occurring within the country’s borders

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Human Trafficking in [Djibouti] [other countries]
Street Children in [Djibouti] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Djibouti] [other countries]