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A contemporary form of slavery
Combating child trafficking
in West and Central Africa
Trafficked children are commodities; they are bought, sold and transported according to supply and demand. The victims can be as young as 5 years old. In October 1999, the ILO International Programme on the Elimination of Child Labour (IPEC), with the financial support of the US Department of Labor, launched a major subregional programme to combat child trafficking for labour exploitation in West and Central Africa. Here are excerpts from the programme's latest report.
"...when she (the intermediary) came, she gave me 25,000 FCFA (US$ 35) to take care of my children. She promised to find my son a job and said that I would receive some money every month. I thanked God, because I thought that I had at last found a way of taking care of my seven children. I had no idea what she really had in mind for my child!"
This lament by a Togolese mother reflects perhaps the most typical form of child trafficking in West and Central Africa. But the case is by no means exceptional. An estimated 10,000 to15,000 Malian children work on plantations in Côte d'Ivoire - many of them victims of trafficking. Nigeria reports that in 1996, some 4,000 children were trafficked from Cross River State to various parts within and outside the country. Benin registered over 3,000 trafficked children between 1995 and 1999.
Although most children are voluntarily handed over to intermediaries or make the contact themselves, cases of children being kidnapped for trafficking are increasing. In Sokoto State, Nigeria, kidnapped children were sold for amounts ranging from 50,000 to 100,000 Naira, or US$ 500 to 1,000, to be used as labourers or as ritual sex objects.
A fertile ground for child labour and trafficking
What causes are at the root of this practice? Poverty is recognized as the main factor. As families often have little or no choice, the decision to hand a child over to an intermediary is made without considering the consequences or counting the price to be paid in the future. Lack of social support is another source of trafficked children, who can be used to support the elderly. Child trafficking is also facilitated by traditions and customs. For example, children ostensibly being placed with higher-income family members, increasingly wind up being exploited.
Another cause is the break-up of traditional family structures. Rivalry between spouses in polygamous families, or the death of a parent, can lead to placement or trafficking of a child. Last, but not least, greed is a factor. Ghana reported that "mothers not only give away their children as a response to poverty, but also out of greed, covetousness and self-fulfillment. They try to achieve, through their children, what they have not been able to do themselves."
The majority of trafficked children come from large, poorly educated families of more than five children, living in rural areas. The study shows that countries suffering widespread poverty, low education levels and high fertility rates tend to be those from which children are trafficked, who wind up in countries which are less populated and more developed countries. In general, girls are placed as domestics or street traders while boys work on plantations, in construction or in mines. Both girls and boys work in prostitution.
The absence of legislation on trafficking allows such intermediaries and employers to operate with impunity. Although some countries prosecute traffickers, violators are rarely punished and customs officials mostly turn a blind eye.
Marketing children...
Adjoba originally comes from the village of Bondoukou (Côte d'Ivoire), but has lived in Abidjan since the fifties. She is a widow and has four adult children. Without a fixed job, she tries to pay her monthly rent of 17,500 FCFA (US$ 24.50) by peddling at the district market. If this fails to provide enough to live, how can she manage? By recruiting young girls aged 7 to 15 years with promises of help preparing for marriage. Then, she offers their services as domestics. The elderly woman collects their salaries every month. When the girl reaches puberty, she may be returned to her village where Adjoba contributes to the girl's dowry.
Employers can also be found in sectors like bars or restaurants, garages and plantations. They are often emigrants from a "supplier" country. For example, in Côte d'Ivoire, children are trafficked from Mali to work on plantations owned by Malians.
The monthly salaries of the children in the subregion vary a great deal: they range from US$2.80 in Cameroon to US$63 in Gabon. Children sometimes work for nothing because they must repay costs incurred by their employer. In these cases, children often end up working several years without any income. These children can work from 10 to 20 hours a day, carry heavy loads, operate dangerous tools and lack adequate food or drink. Nigeria reports that one out of five trafficked children dies of illness or mishaps. Others succumb to sexually transmitted diseases including HIV/AIDS.
Traumatized by abominable working conditions, ill-treatment and disease, children lose their human dignity and develop a feeling of being outcasts. This can lead to crime, drug consumption or long-term mental disorders.
Towards a plan of action
The existence of trafficking in children for labour exploitation is now recognized in the countries participating in the project: Benin, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, Gabon, Ghana, Mali, Nigeria and Togo. Beneficiaries of the programme are under 18, but children under 12 are seen as priority targets.
The importance of bilateral collaboration in the repatriation of victims and extradition of traffickers is also recognized. A beginning has already been made through agreements between Côte d'Ivoire and Mali, Benin and Gabon, Ghana, Togo, Benin and Nigeria. Countries like Benin, Mali and Togo have launched specific programmes to combat child trafficking. Several NGOs are active in awareness-raising through public debate and training materials for teachers, and the reintegration of victims of trafficking.
The report makes recommendations for a subregional plan of action which includes measures for research, awareness-raising, training, strengthening of the legal and institutional framework, direct assistance to victims, and bilateral collaboration for repatriation and extradition of traffickers.
The ILO has always taken a firm stand against all forms of forced labour. One way has been adopting international labour standards in the form of Conventions and recommendations:the Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29), and the Abolition of Forced Labour Convention, 1957 (No. 105), have been ratified by all of the nine countries participating in the sub-regional programme to combat child trafficking. With the unanimous adoption of the Worst Forms of Child Labour Convention, 1999 (No. 182), a new instrument to combat trafficking in children is now available. The Convention calls for urgent action on the worst forms of child labour, including "...all forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery, such as the sale and trafficking of children, debt bondage and serfdom, and forced or compulsory labour, including forced or compulsory recruitment of children for use in armed conflict".