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

Republic of Guinea-Bissau [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Republic of Guinea-Bissau [map] is located in W Africa and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (W), by Senegal (N), and ny Guinea (E & S). The country includes the nearby Bijagós (Bissagos) Archipelago and other islands in the Atlantic. Bissau is its capital and its only large city. One of the 10 poorest countries in the world, Guinea-Bissau depends mainly on farming and fishing. 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.

Guinea-Bissau is a source country for children trafficked for the purposes of forced begging and agricultural labor. Most victims are boys (talibe) trafficked to West African countries, primarily Senegal, by Koranic school instructors (marabouts) or their intermediaries. The eastern cities of Bafata and Gabu are key source areas and the primary route to Senegal is overland. Parents often agree to send their child with an instructor, falsely believing the child will receive a religious education. However, many instructors offer no education and instead compel children to beg in urban areas for up to 12 hours at a time. If children fail to earn about one dollar per day, they are subjected to physical abuse. Children are also sometimes forced into seasonal agricultural labor on some instructors' plantations. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2007 [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.

National Plan of Action

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.

ECPAT: Fifth Report on implementation of the Agenda for Action [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: 3 Civil Liberties: 4 Status: Partly Free

Human Rights Overview by Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide

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