Human Trafficking in [Guinea-Bissau] [other countries]
Street Children in [Guinea-Bissau] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Guinea-Bissau] [other countries]
 

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

In the first ten years of the 21^st Century - 2000 to 2009

Republic of Guinea-Bissau One of the five poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. Cashew crops have increased remarkably in recent years, and the country now ranks fifth in cashew production. Guinea-Bissau exports fish and seafood along with small amounts of peanuts, palm kernels, and timber. Rice is the major crop and staple food. The inequality of income distribution is one of the most extreme in the world. The government and international donors continue to work out plans to forward economic development from a lamentably low base. [The World Factbook, U.S.C.I.A. 2009]

Guinea-Bissau is a source country for children trafficked to other West African countries and within the country for forced begging, forced agricultural labor, and commercial sexual exploitation. The majority of victims are boys who are religious students, called talibe, who are trafficked by religious instructors called marabouts to other West African countries, primarily Senegal, for forced begging.

Deceived into believing that their children will receive a religious education, parents often agree to send their child away with marabouts. Instead, the instructors force the children to beg daily for up to 12 hours in urban centers and physically abuse them if they fail to collect a certain quota of money. Bissau-Guinean boys are also trafficked to Senegal for forced labor in cotton fields. NGOs report that Bissau-Guinean girls who perform domestic work within the country and in Senegal may be victims of trafficking, while girls reportedly are trafficked to Senegal for forced domestic labor. Within Guinea-Bissau, girls are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation in small bars and restaurants. - 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 Guinea-Bissau. 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 ***

Human Trafficking: On the child trafficking route, Guinea-Bissau-Senegal

Children, brought from Guinea-Bissau to Senegal years ago, line up at the airport in Dakar to return home after years of beatings and forced begging.

100,000 CHILD BEGGARS - In 2004, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimated there were up to 100,000 child beggars in Senegal (close to one percent of the population), the majority of them talibés. The head of UNICEF in Guinea-Bissau, Jean Dricot, says most of those child beggars come from Guinea-Bissau. “They don’t have schools. They don’t have access to healthcare. They sleep 40 or 50 to a room. They spend all day on the street getting money that they have to hand over at night,” Dricot said. Jorge, the young talibé, is now back in his country, owing to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and a Senegalese government-run welcome centre called Ginddi, two of many institutions assisting in the repatriation of children to Guinea-Bissau.

*** ARCHIVES ***

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

CHILD LABOR LAWS AND ENFORCEMENT - In order to prevent trafficking, the law requires that an individual responsible for a child traveling overseas submit identification documents (birth certificates) to relevant authorities. According to the U.S. Department of State, formal sector employers typically adhere to the minimum age requirements, but child labor occurred in the informal sector without oversight or enforcement by the Ministry of Justice or the Ministry of Civil Service and Labor.  There is no information available on the enforcement of laws pertaining to trafficking or commercial sexual exploitation of children.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – The law does not prohibit trafficking in persons, and there were reports that children were trafficked from or within the country. The government has not prosecuted any cases against traffickers. The Ministry of Interior has responsibility for anti-trafficking efforts; however, the government had no national plan to combat trafficking or the capability to monitor, interdict, or prosecute traffickers.

Some boys sent from rural areas to attend Koranic schools in Senegal reportedly were exploited and forced to beg to earn money for the school leadership. The practice of buying and selling child brides also reportedly occurred on occasion.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2002

[32] The Committee is concerned that: (c) the common use of "informal adoption" procedures can lead to the violation of children's rights.

Child victims of human trafficking rescued in Guinea Bissau

www.asemana.cv/article-imprim.php3?id_article=27729

More than 50 children from Guinea Bissau were rescued by police in the city of Bafatá, in the eastern region of the country, as they were being prepared to be trafficked to work on cotton plantations in Senegal.

Human Trafficking: On the child trafficking route, Guinea-Bissau-Senegal

Children, brought from Guinea-Bissau to Senegal years ago, line up at the airport in Dakar to return home after years of beatings and forced begging.

100,000 CHILD BEGGARS - In 2004, the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF) estimated there were up to 100,000 child beggars in Senegal (close to one percent of the population), the majority of them talibés. The head of UNICEF in Guinea-Bissau, Jean Dricot, says most of those child beggars come from Guinea-Bissau. “They don’t have schools. They don’t have access to healthcare. They sleep 40 or 50 to a room. They spend all day on the street getting money that they have to hand over at night,” Dricot said. Jorge, the young talibé, is now back in his country, owing to the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and a Senegalese government-run welcome centre called Ginddi, two of many institutions assisting in the repatriation of children to Guinea-Bissau.

ECPAT: Fifth Report on implementation of the Agenda for Action [DOC]

www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/publication/other/english/Doc_page/ecpat_5th_a4a_2001_full.doc

[B] COUNTRY UPDATES – GUINEA-BISSAU – Guinea-Bissau has an ever-increasing number of child laborers and street children. The economic crisis and instability are hitting children the hardest, resulting in a rise in child prostitution and child trafficking, especially to neighboring Senegal. NGOs think that although the issue of child trafficking has received some attention and publicity recently in West and Central Africa, trafficking of children from Guinea-Bissau has been largely ignored. The local press has also reported incidents of child prostitution.

The Protection Project - Guinea-Bissau [DOC]

TRAFFICKING ROUTES - Internal trafficking exists in Guinea-Bissau

NONGOVERNMENTAL AND INTL ORGANIZATION RESPONSES - UNICEF is implementing a 5-year program in Guinea-Bissau that will cover child protection, nutritional health, primary education and literacy, and social communication policy. The program also aims at improving the treatment of victims of child trafficking and sexual exploitation.

UN alarmed at rise in drug trafficking

The former Portuguese colony is ranked 172 of 177 countries in the UN’s Human Development Index. The cash-strapped government has no coastguard; police have no cars and the navy no boats for patrolling national waters where scattered tiny islands make a haven for smugglers.

Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 4 Civil Liberties: 4 Status: Partly Free

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 – Guinea Bissau", http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Guinea-Bissau.htm, [accessed <date>]

Human Trafficking in [Guinea-Bissau] [other countries]
Street Children in [Guinea-Bissau] [other countries]
Child Prostitution in [Guinea-Bissau] [other countries]