SENEGAL: ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 13 DAKAR 000528

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

DEPT FOR G/TIP, AF/RSA, AF/W, G, INL, DRL, PRM, AND G/IWI
BAMAKO FOR TIP OFFICER
BANJUL FOR TIP OFFICER
CONAKRY FOR TIP OFFICER
MADRID FOR TIP OFFICER
PRAIA FOR TIP OFFICER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN ELAB SMIG ASEC KFRD PREF SG
SUBJECT: SENEGAL: ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

REF: STATE 003836


1. (U) SUMMARY: After being upgraded last year from Tier
2 Watch List to Tier 2 status, Senegal has continued to
devote significant time and attention to the issue of
trafficking in persons. The most important achievement of
the past year was passage of its first trafficking-in-
persons (TIP) law. Police now maintain a computerized
database meant to record trafficking-related crime
statistics. At least three trafficking schemes have been
investigated, and the GOS prosecuted individuals
responsible for rape, pedophilia, prostitution and abuse
of "talibe" children. The Government has continued to
provide assistance to victims and to repatriate children
found to have been trafficked from surrounding countries.
54 were repatriated to Mali in 2005. In November 2005,
G/TIP Ambassador Miller and members of his staff visited
Senegal, meeting key GOS officials, international
organizations and NGOs to discuss the trafficking issue.
The meetings revealed that Senegal has made some progress.
Nevertheless, certain areas still need improvement, such
as inter-ministerial cooperation, prosecution and the
collection of data regarding the trafficking of women for
sexual exploitation. In addition to 2005 TIP Hero and
Family Minister Aida Mbodj, Director of "Avenir de
l'Enfant" Moussa Sow is a TIP hero in every sense of the
word. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) Responses are keyed to questions in reftel.

Begin TIP report:


21. Overview of a country's activities to eliminate
trafficking in persons:

-- A. Is the country a country of origin, transit or
destination for international trafficked men, women or
children? Specify numbers for each group; how were they
trafficked, to where and for what purpose? Does the
trafficking occur within the country's borders? Does it
occur in territory outside of the government's control
(e.g. in a civil war situation)? Are any estimates or
reliable numbers available as to the extent or magnitude
of the problem? Please include any numbers of victims.
What is/are the source(s) of available information on
trafficking in persons or what plans are in place (if any)
to undertake documentation of trafficking? How reliable
are the numbers and these sources? Are certain groups of
persons more at risk of being trafficked (e.g. women and
children, boys versus girls, certain ethnic groups,
refugees, etc.)?

Senegal is a country of origin, transit and destination
for human trafficking of women and children. There are no
reliable statistics on the extent of human trafficking in
Senegal. While some NGOs and international organizations,
such as UNICEF, have estimates on the number of child
beggars or at-risk children, there has never been a
quantitative study on trafficking victims in Senegal.
Anecdotal evidence suggests young boys constitute the
highest risk group for trafficking.

Senegal's trafficking problems are both internal and
transnational.

Young Senegalese boys are trafficked from rural villages
to urban centers for exploitive begging at some Koranic
schools ("daaras"). Young boys are trafficked to Senegal
from The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, Mali and Guinea for the
same purpose. Although there were reports in the past of
Senegalese children being trafficked to other West African
countries, Cote d'Ivoire for example, for labor purposes,
there were no such reports in 2005.

Young girls are trafficked from villages in the Diourbel,
Fatick, Kaolack, Thies and Ziguinchor regions to urban
centers for work as underage domestics. NGOs report
Malian girls are trafficked to Senegal to help blind --
and people posing as blind -- beggars. Young girls from

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both urban and rural areas are involved in illegal
prostitution, which NGOs claim always involves an adult
pimp who facilitates their commercial sex transactions or
houses them.

The issue of trafficking of adult women remains a hazy
one. Police officials, international organizations and
NGOs have indicated that trafficking of women for use in
prostitution occurs in Senegal, but there is little
concrete data to support this. NGOs working with illegal
prostitutes have provided anecdotal evidence. ENDA Sante,
a Senegalese NGO, treats illegal prostitutes for STIs
through a mobile clinic program. According to ENDA
Sante's staff, they see many women from nearby African
countries -- Nigeria, Ghana, Sierra Leone, Liberia, Guinea-
Bissau and Guinea -- practicing illegal prostitution in
Senegal. Association AWA, an NGO providing health care
and vocational training to women in prostitution, reported
that physically abused women occasionally come in to be
treated. They are sometimes accompanied by another person
to get tested for HIV/AIDS. AWA believes some of these
women may be trafficking victims, and the persons
accompanying them may be traffickers. AWA also said they
see many female prostitutes from Liberia and Nigeria.
Last year's TIP Report discussed the organized nature of
foreign prostitutes' entry into Senegal.

-- B. Please provide a general overview of the
trafficking situation in the country and any changes since
the last TIP Report (e.g. changes in direction). Also
briefly explain the political will to address trafficking
in persons. Other items to address may include: What kind
of conditions are the victims trafficked into? Which
populations are targeted by the traffickers? Who are the
traffickers? What methods are used to approach victims?
(Are they offered lucrative jobs, sold by their families,
approached by friends of friends, etc.?) What methods are
used to move the victims (e.g., are false documents being
used)?

The lack of reliable trafficking data impedes clear
understanding of trafficking trends. Young boys continue
to be trafficked from neighboring countries and Senegalese
villages, and young girls continue to be trafficked
internally. Foreign and Senegalese women continue to work
in the sex industry. NGOs working with children and
prostitutes, and a GOS health professional working at a
government-funded health clinic that offers health checks
for prostitutes complying with Senegal's legal
prostitution regime, claim they see more and increasingly
younger underage prostitutes on Senegal's streets.

Children trafficked to Senegal are forced into exploitive
begging. Separated from their families and support
systems, children must choose between staying with their
trafficker or life on the street as runaways. Many
children are too young to remember with any detail the
village from which they came and, sadly, forget their
families. Newspapers have reported on cases of physical
abuse committed by Koranic teachers ("marabouts") against
their students ("talibes"). Koranic teachers who abuse
their students have been prosecuted under non-TIP laws.

There is not enough evidence on underage or adult
prostitution to know how traffickers ensure compliance.
There are no reports children are trafficked from other
countries to Senegal for sexual purposes, or to become
underage domestics.

For child victims, parents who entrust young boys into the
care of a Koranic teacher, or send a female child to work
as a domestic, oftentimes know the trafficker.

Koranic teachers frequently return to their original
villages and receive children from parents hoping to
provide a Koranic education, which many Senegalese value
more highly than a secular education. Generally, parents
are not offered money to turn young boys over to Koranic
teachers, and young boys are never sold. An NGO working

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in the northern Senegalese town of St. Louis explained
young boys are sometimes passed from one Koranic teacher
to another, but never for recompense.

Girls sent away to work as domestics often work in family
members' or family friends' homes. In such cases, poor
rural families expect money will be sent back to the home
to help provide badly needed income. These relationships
and families' expectations of income make leaving
exploitive labor conditions, which sometimes include
sexual abuse, difficult for young girls.

Young prostitutes are either sent by their rural parents
to urban areas to find work, or leave their urban homes to
work on the streets. While parents do not send their
daughters to become prostitutes, with rare exceptions,
NGOs working with underage prostitutes claim parents are
aware of the fact their daughters prostitute themselves
because they leave the house at night, and they have an
otherwise unexplainable source of income. Almost all
underage prostitutes have Senegalese pimps who entice
their desperate victims with promises of money and work.

Weak civil administration and the ease of obtaining fake
identity documents, the abundance of foreign tourists and
potential visa sponsors, freedom of movement between
Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS) member
states without the need to present a passport, direct
flights from Senegal to Europe and national stability
entice adult women from other African countries to come to
Senegal for sexual purposes. If these women are
trafficked, it is unclear who their traffickers are, or
what methods they use to approach victims. NGOs explain
while some Senegalese women could be trafficked to North
Africa, Europe and the Middle East for sexual purposes, as
has been reported in the past, most Senegalese prostitutes
tend to remain in Senegal.

The GOS has continued to show significant political will
to combat human trafficking.

The GOS-established Ginddi Center has maintained its
intake of at-risk children and has plans to expand its
operations. Minister of Women, Family and Social
Development Aida Mbodj, one of the 2005 TIP Heroes, whose
Ministry directs Ginddi Center, continued her efforts to
bring public awareness to this problem and to work closely
with international organizations and her counterparts in
other African countries. Her Ministry runs a program for
daaras, in which they provide teaching aids, submit
language components, train Koranic teachers, offer school
supplies and run awareness campaigns. She has publicly
called for an end to begging and has mobilized her
Ministry to educate the public about the importance of
birth registration.

Human Rights Commissioner Mame Bassine Niang helped push
through the new anti-TIP law. She was also tasked with
creating an inter-ministerial task force, though it has
not met for some time. Moreover, there appears to be a
disjointed approach to TIP. While the Family Minister,
the Human Rights Commissioner and the Chief Prosecutor all
have agreed there is a trafficking problem that must be
addressed, the Minister of Justice and some Ministry of
Interior officials have said they believed human
trafficking was NOT a problem in Senegal.

The relatively new Criminal Analysis Unit continues to add
trafficking-related offenses into its electronic database.
Unfortunately, though human trafficking is now an offense
under domestic law, few, if any, such cases have been
included in the database. The unit is associated with
INTERPOL but lacks financial and human resources to fully
devote to trafficking issues. The Commissioner of Police
noted that police lack the financial incentive and time to
actively pursue trafficking cases and input data into the
database.

The Interior Ministry established a new Special

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Commissariat to help fight sex tourism in Dakar and Mbour,
two of Senegal's principal tourist destinations and target
areas for underage and illegal prostitution. However, the
Commissariat has taken no definitive actions.

The Ministry of Tourism created a special tourism police
unit and appointed someone to head it. It is charged with
fighting sexual tourism in the popular tourist
destinations of Dakar, Saint-Louis, Mbour, Fatick and
Ziguinchor. It is not yet operational.

Former Labor Minister Yaro Deh signed a Time-Bound Program
with the ILO in 2004 to fight the worst forms of child
labor in Senegal. In cooperation with the ILO, Senegal
targets for eradication child begging, underage domestic
work and underage prostitution as three of Senegal's worst
forms of child labor.

-- C. What are the limitations on the government's
ability to address this problem in practice? For example,
is funding for police or other institutions inadequate?
Is overall corruption a problem? Does the government lack
the resources to aid victims?

Senegal is one of the poorest countries in the world,
ranking 157th on the UN's Human Development Index and
limiting its ability to effectively prosecute traffickers,
prevent trafficking or protect trafficking victims.
Police are underpaid and lack adequate equipment and
resources to effectively do their jobs. In addition to
its public revenue problems, the government's bureaucratic
structure and reliance on highly centralized decision-
making stand in the way of reform. Corruption exists
throughout government, including law enforcement.
Trafficking represents only one of many vexing social and
economic problems with which the Government must contend.
The fact that recruiters of young boys exploit parents'
legitimate, socially prevalent desire for a religious
education provides "cover" within local communities, and
decreases the possibility of government intervention.

-- D. To what extent does the Government systematically
monitor its anti-trafficking efforts (on all fronts --
prosecution, prevention and victim protection) and
periodically make available, publicly or privately and
directly or through regional/international organizations,
its assessments of these anti-trafficking efforts?

The GOS does not have a systematic means in place to
monitor its anti-trafficking efforts and does not submit
reports. However, the Ministry of Family and the Human
Rights Commissioner in an unprecedented move led a
sustained and well-organized effort to fight trafficking
and child begging throughout 2005 and early 2006. This
effort was cited and lauded by President Abdoulaye Wade in
April 2005.


22. PREVENTION:

-- A. Does the Government acknowledge that trafficking is
a problem in that country? If no, why not?

President Wade spoke publicly against human trafficking as
recently as April 2005. As the leading minister on
children's issues, Family Minister Mbodj condemned child
trafficking during her public statements numerous times
during this TIP reporting cycle.

Privately, most GOS officials admit child trafficking
exists and the Government needs to act. Fewer Senegalese
see adult prostitutes as trafficking victims.

Some GOS officials continue to see trafficking as a
foreign problem and Senegal victimized as a transit
country rather than a destination or source country. When
confronted with the realities of today's exploitive
begging relationships, for example, many remain
unconvinced Senegal's cultural and religious practices
constitute human trafficking when Senegalese children are

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involved. People are more apt to criticize these
practices, however, when foreign children are involved.

-- B. Which government agencies are involved in anti-
trafficking efforts and which agency, if any, has the
lead?

The Family Ministry is the ministry most actively involved
in prevention and protection efforts. As part of its anti-
child labor program with UNICEF, the GOS created
observatories in Mbour and St. Louis to fight prostitution
and pedophilia, and in Fatick to keep girls from leaving
school to become underage domestics.

The High Commission for Human Rights, due to its lack of a
budget, is unable to undertake anti-trafficking programs
absent external assistance. However, the High
Commissioner played a critical role in getting the anti-
TIP law passed and is expected to receive G/TIP funding.
This should help her to staff and operate her office.

Various courts under the Justice Ministry collect
statistics on arrests and imprisonment for all criminal
offenses, including arrests of pimps and Koranic teachers
who abuse their students. However, there is no
centralized system in place for collecting data. The
governmental body put in place to coordinate such data
collection is not yet functional.

In charge of law enforcement, the Interior Ministry
created a Criminal Analysis Unit, sent students to ICITAP
anti-trafficking training and created a new Special
Commissariat to crack down on sex tourism and illegal
prostitution. The Judicial Police, falling under the
authority of the Interior Ministry, assigned four police
officers to a new anti-trafficking police unit upon the
signature of the anti-trafficking law. The four officers,
while assigned to the anti-trafficking unit, actually
spend the majority of their time on other routine cases.
Senior Judicial Police officials have openly expressed
that there is no financial motivation for police officers
to pursue trafficking cases.

The Minor's Brigade monitors legal protection for minors
and assists legal proceedings against perpetrators.

-- C. Are there or have there been government-run anti-
trafficking information or education campaigns? If so,
briefly describe the campaign(s),including their
objectives and effectiveness. Do these campaigns target
potential trafficking victims and/or the demand for
trafficking (e.g. "clients" of prostitutes or
beneficiaries of forced labor)?

As part of its program against the worst forms of child
labor, the Family Ministry has held workshops and
roundtables in Mbour, Dakar and other areas to fight child
begging, underage domestic work and underage prostitution.

-- D. Does the Government support other programs to
prevent trafficking (e.g., to promote women's
participation in economic decision-making or efforts to
keep children in school)? Please explain.

The GOS has a comprehensive poverty reduction program
(DSRP) to help improve national economic conditions and
ameliorate social problems like trafficking that poverty
exacerbates. Economic growth at the local level could
help reduce pressure on parents to send their children
away, keep children in schools and create job alternatives
to prostitution.

The Wade Administration champions education as a top
priority. Since 2000, when Wade became President, the GOS
has constructed numerous new school facilities, including
the approximately 150 newly created centers specifically
designed for young children ("les cases des tous petits")
and school attendance for girls, historically
disadvantaged in terms of access to education, continues

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to rise. The GOS implemented an UN-approved plan for
assuring universal education by 2015, and committed 40
percent of the national budget to education, the highest
percentage in Africa. Gross enrollment is now 82.5
percent. Enrollment of girls is now 80.6 percent,
compared to boys enrollment of 84.4 percent, a big
improvement over previous years. The Government has also
taken initiatives to combat child begging by creating
Franco-Arab schools. These offer religious education, as
well as scholastic learning. In 2005, rural areas had a
total of 1,556, versus 349 in urban areas.

(There is no Question E.)

-- F. What is the relationship between government
officials, NGOs, other relevant organizations and other
elements of civil society on the trafficking issue?

The Family Ministry works closely with UNICEF and
Senegalese NGOs to implement its program against the worst
forms of child labor. In Mbour, for example, the GOS
holds workshops and seminars with UNICEF and NGO
assistance to prevent young girls from turning to
prostitution. In 2004, this program helped sensitize
8,140 participants, 5,440 of them children, to the dangers
of underage prostitution. In a separate program, the
Family Ministry collaborates with local religious leaders
to improve conditions in 48 Koranic schools. The GOS
cooperates with international organizations at Ginddi
Center, and with the IOM to help repatriate trafficked
Malian children.

Despite previous work with civil society and international
organizations on human trafficking in 2002-03, the High
Commissioner for Human Rights does not appear to be
working actively with civil society on human trafficking
at this time.

The Interior and Justice Ministries have a program with
IOM to monitor migration flows across Senegal's borders.
Justice Ministry officials worked with IOM staff in the
past to organize and analyze criminal statistics.

A number of NGOs, such as ENDA Ecopole, which works
primarily with women and children, and Avenir de l'Enfant
report cooperative relations with some Senegalese
officials, such as the Minister of Family, and the police,
who often refer individual cases to such NGOs.

-- G. Does it monitor immigration and emigration patterns
for evidence of trafficking? Do law enforcement agencies
screen for potential trafficking victims along borders?

Due to the Casamance conflict in southern Senegal, vast
borders with Mali and Guinea, its largely uncontrollable
riverine border with Mauritania, a large seaport in Dakar
and heavy international flight traffic, the GOS is unable
to effectively monitor all frontiers. The Government has
made progress, though, improving security at Dakar's port
and international airport. The Government recently
detained a vessel suspected of trafficking in persons,
worked with the Governments of Spain and Cape Verde to end
the activities of traffickers bringing children and adults
from Cape Verde through Senegal to The Gambia and
ultimately to Spain, and stopped an orphanage from
advertising children to pedophiles via the Internet.

-- H. Is there a mechanism for coordination and
communication between various agencies, internal,
international, and multilateral on trafficking-related
matters, such as a multi-agency working group or a task
force? Does the Government have a trafficking in persons
working group or single point of contact? Does the
Government have a public corruption task force?

As part of the Labor Ministry's Time Bound Program against
the worst forms of child labor, an inter-ministerial
committee was formed between 14 government ministries and
several other non-ministerial entities. This mechanism

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for coordinating and communicating on children's issues is
the first of its kind. The GOS does not have a TIP task
force, but the High Commissioner for Human Rights created
a National Committee Against Human Trafficking that
includes various ministries and NGOs. The Commissioner is
in the process of reactivating this Committee. The
Government has established and staffed an office to fight
public corruption, but little has been done thus far.

The GOS participated in multinational working groups
leading up to conclusion of the Senegal-Mali accord
against child trafficking. Senegal has now signed a TIP
cooperation agreement with nine ECOWAS countries.

The High Commissioner for Human Rights is Senegal's focal
point on trafficking and is responsible for coordinating
anti-TIP policy. Family Minister Mbodj actively fights
human trafficking through her ministry's programs and her
efforts to lobby other government ministries to reform.

(There is no Question I.)

-- J. Does the Government have a national plan of action
to address trafficking in persons? If so, which agencies
were involved in developing it? Were NGOs consulted in
the process? What steps has the Government taken to
disseminate the action plan?

The GOS drafted a national action plan against trafficking
in 2002-03 that included input from the Family, Justice
and Interior Ministries as well as from several NGOs,
international organizations and the High Commissioner for
Human Rights. The GOS adopted the plan in 2004.


23. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS:

For questions A-D, posts should highlight in particular
whether or not the country has enacted any new legislation
since the last TIP report.

-- A. Does the country have a law specifically
prohibiting trafficking in persons -- both trafficking for
sexual exploitation and trafficking for non-sexual
purposes (e.g. forced labor)? If so, what is the law?
Does the law(s) cover both internal and external
(transnational) forms of trafficking? If not, under what
other laws can traffickers be prosecuted? For example,
are there laws against slavery or the exploitation of
prostitution by means of coercion or fraud? Are these
other laws being used in trafficking cases? Are these
laws, taken together, adequate to cover the full scope of
trafficking in persons? Please provide a full inventory
of trafficking laws, including civil penalties (e.g.,
civil forfeiture laws and laws against illegal debt).

On April 29, 2005, the National Assembly unanimously
adopted a comprehensive anti-TIP law. Under the new law,
those who recruit, transport, transfer or harbor persons,
whether by means of violence, fraud, abuse of authority or
otherwise for the purposes of sexual exploitation, labor,
forced servitude or slavery are subject to punishment of 5
to 10 years' imprisonment and a fine of between USD 10,000
and 40,000 (5 to 20 million CFA francs (CFAF)). When the
violation involves torture, barbarism, the removal of
human organs or exposing the victim to a risk of death or
injury, jail time can range from 10 to 30 years'
imprisonment.

Though Senegal now has an effective legal tool for
fighting human trafficking, there have been no
prosecutions under the new law. Other statutes have been
used to prosecute and convict traffickers. For instance,
Senegal's constitution forbids slavery, the labor code
prohibits forced labor and begging is illegal under the
penal code. Senegalese have not historically viewed
exploitive begging as slavery or forced labor, and the
anti-begging law is not enforced against any beggars,
trafficking victims or not.


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A legal regime regulates prostitution. Pimping and
soliciting customers are illegal. Current laws regulating
prostitution yield arrests, including arrests of foreign
illegal prostitutes, underage prostitutes and pimps. NGOs
working with prostitutes, however, claim the problem is
bigger than official statistics suggest.

A few Koranic teachers who physically abuse their students
are arrested and prosecuted each year, including two
arrests this past year. In most cases, students were
beaten for failing to meet their daily begging
requirements. NGOs assisting Koranic school students
explain that Koranic teachers who violently enforce daily
begging requirements are usually the most exploitive, and
most likely to be traffickers rather than bona fide
Koranic teachers. Two Koranic teachers were arrested and
prosecuted in 2005 for beating students. Family Ministry
received students at the Ginddi Center who had been beaten
by their Koranic teachers.

-- B. What are the penalties for traffickers of people
for sexual exploitation? For traffickers of people for
labor exploitation?

Please see above.

-- C. What are the penalties for rape or forcible sexual
assault? How do they compare to the penalty for sex
trafficking?

The law provides for 5 to 10 years' imprisonment for rape.
Rapes resulting in death qualify for life imprisonment.
If a rape victim is a minor, the penalty is 10 years'
imprisonment. The law punishes sexual abuse of children
(pedophilia) with 5 to 10 years' imprisonment. If the
offender is a family member, the punishment is 10 years.
Any offense against the decency of a child is punishable
by imprisonment for 2 to 5 years and in some aggravated
cases up to 10 years' imprisonment. Procuring a minor for
prostitution is punishable by imprisonment for 2 to 5
years and a fine between 300,000 and 4,000,000 CFAF (USD
575 and 7,600). The penalties for sex trafficking
(whether for a minor or an adult) are more severe.

-- D. Is prostitution legalized or decriminalized?
Specifically, are the activities of the prostitute
criminalized? Are the activities of the brothel
owner/operator, clients, pimps, and enforcers
criminalized? Are these laws enforced? If prostitution
is legal and regulated, what is the legal minimum age for
this activity? Note that in many countries with
federalist systems, prostitution laws may be covered by
state, local and provincial authorities.

Prostitution is legal in Senegal. To legally practice
prostitution, a woman must be at least 21 years old,
register with the police, carry a valid sanitary card and
test negative for STIs. Searching for clients and pimping
are illegal.

-- E. Has the Government prosecuted any cases against
traffickers? If so, provide numbers of investigations,
prosecutions, convictions, and sentences, including
details on plea bargains and fines, if relevant and
available. Are the traffickers serving the time
sentenced: If no, why not? Please indicate whether the
government can provide this information, and if not, why
not? (Note: Complete answers to this section are
essential. End Note.)

The GOS prosecuted individuals responsible for rape,
pedophilia, prostitution and abuse of "talibe" children.
In fact, in the past year, two Koranic teachers were
convicted and sentenced (though not under the new TIP law)
for such abuse.

-- F. Is there any information or reports of who is
behind the trafficking? For example, are the traffickers
freelance operators, small crime groups, and/or large

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international organized crime syndicates? Are employment,
travel and tourism agencies or marriage brokers fronting
for traffickers or crime groups to traffic individuals?
Are government officials involved? Are there any reports
on where profits from trafficking in persons are being
channeled? (e.g. armed groups, terrorist organizations,
judges, banks, etc.)

Child traffickers appear to be freelance operators. GOS
officials who feel Senegal is a transit country for human
trafficking of adult women believe European-based networks
regulate these flows. NGOs working with prostitutes claim
networks, even if not highly organized or part of a larger
criminal syndicate, exist in Senegal.

-- G. Does the Government actively investigate cases of
trafficking? (Again, the focus should be on trafficking
cases versus migrant smuggling cases.) Does the
Government use active investigative techniques in
trafficking-in-persons investigations? To the extent
possible under domestic law, are techniques such as
electronic surveillance, undercover operations, and
mitigated punishment or immunity for cooperating suspects
used by the government? Does the criminal procedure code
or other laws prohibit the police from engaging in covert
operations?

The GOS has actively investigated trafficking cases. As
noted above, a trafficking ring bringing Cape Verdeans
through Senegal and The Gambia to Spain has been
investigated and broken up; a vessel suspected of
trafficking has been detained; an orphanage advertising
children to pedophiles over the Internet has been
investigated; and marabouts have been arrested and
prosecuted after investigation. The police and gendarmes
use electronic surveillance, undercover operations, and
other techniques in their investigations

-- H. Does the Government provide any specialized
training for government officials in how to recognize,
investigate, and prosecute instances of trafficking?

In 2004, 32 police officials participated in two
iterations of ICITAP-sponsored anti-TIP training in Dakar.
Some of these officers who were trained in criminal
analysis participated in additional criminal analysis
training at an Interpol seminar. One of the ICITAP-
sponsored TIP course attendees now heads the newly formed
anti-trafficking unit, located in the Judicial Police
headquarters, in the room adjacent to the Interpol office.

-- I. Does the Government cooperate with other
governments in the investigation and prosecution of
trafficking cases? If possible, can post provide the
number of cooperative international investigations on
trafficking?

Senegalese and Malian authorities continued its
cooperation to repatriate Malian children. Two Senegalese
marabouts were arrested in Guinea in February 2006 for
trafficking in children. The GOS is working with the
Government of Guinea in the prosecution of these two
individuals. The GOS works regularly with foreign
security services on clandestine immigration and human
smuggling cases.

-- J. Does the Government extradite persons who are
charged with trafficking in other countries? If so, can
post provide the number of traffickers extradited? Does
the government extradite its own nationals charged with
such offenses? If not, is the government prohibited by
law form extraditing its own nationals? If so, what is
the government doing to modify its laws to permit the
extradition of its own nationals?

The GOS can extradite individuals but has not done so for
trafficking purposes.

-- K. Is there evidence of government involvement in or

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tolerance of trafficking, on a local or institutional
level? If so, please explain in detail.

No.

-- L. If government officials are involved in
trafficking, what steps has the government taken toend
such participation? Have any government offcials been
prosecuted for involvement in trafficing or trafficking-
related corruption? Have an been convicted? What actual
sentence was imposd? Please provide specific numbers, if
available

No GOS officials are known to have been involvd in
trafficking.

-- M. If the country has a identified child sex tourism
problem (as sourceor destination),how many foreign
pedophiles hasthe government prosecuted or
deported/extradited o their country of origin? Does the
country's child sexual abuse laws have extraterritorial
coverage (like the U.S. PROTECT Act)?

French newspaper articles and tour guides have described
Senegal as a destination for sex tourism. Senegal's
Tourism Minister claims, however, Senegal is not and will
not become a destination for sex tourism. Police have
arrested foreign tourists for illegal sex acts. One
foreign national was arrested March 23 after being caught
in the act of molesting a 15-year-old boy he had picked up
from an orphanage/school for children in difficult living
situations. At his initial trial, he was convicted of a
"flagrant delit" (as he was apprehended in the act) and
sentenced to five years in prison. He was also ordered to
pay 1 million CFAF (approximately USD 1,900) to the
victim. Upon appeal, his conviction was upheld, but his
sentence was reduced to three months in prison based in
part upon alleged poor health. At that point, he was
released with time served. One of the country's leading
prosecutors indicated that his sentence was reduced for
"insufficient evidence."

-- N. Has the Government signed, ratified and/or taken
steps to implement the following international
instruments? Please provide the date of
signature/ratification if appropriate.

-- ILO Convention 182 concerning the prohibition and
immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of
child labor.

Ratified June 1, 2000.

-- ILO Convention 29 and 105 on forced or compulsory
labor.

Ratified November 4, 1960 and July 28, 1961 respectively.

-- The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights
of the Child (CRC) on the sale of children, child
prostitution and child pornography.

Signed September 8, 2000, and ratified November 5, 2003.

-- The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children,
supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational
Organized Crime.

Ratified October 27, 2003.


24. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS:

-- A. Does the Government assist victims, for example, by
providing temporary to permanent residency status, relief
from deportation, shelter and access to legal, medical and
psychological services? If so, please explain. Does the
country have victim care and victim health care
facilities? If so, can post provide the number of victims

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placed in these care facilities?

The GOS' Ginddi Center provides various services to assist
trafficking victims. These services include medical
treatment, family mediation and reconciliation, education,
shelter and meals. According to Family Ministry
statistics, Ginddi Center received 4,137 children between
June 2003 and May 2005. Among these children, 2,571 were
reunited with their families; 184 were placed in different
homes. The Ginddi Center's child protection hotline
received 150,417 calls during the same period, including
calls from parents, Koranic teachers and various enquiries
about children.

-- B. Does the Government provide funding or other forms
of support to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to
victims? Please explain.

GOS representatives attend NGO events on trafficking-
related and child protection themes, which helps generate
greater turnout to these events and greater public
awareness of Senegal's trafficking problems. The Ministry
of Family works closely with many Senegalese NGOs, such as
RADDHO, Avenir de l'Enfant and La Lumiere.

-- C. Is there a screening and referral process in place,
when appropriate, to transfer victims detained, arrested
or placed in protective custody by law enforcement
authorities to NGO's that provide short- or long-term
care?

The GOS provides these services through its Ginddi Center.
While there is no formal referral process between the GOS
and NGOs, close working relationships between local
government officials and NGOs active in their districts
allow for information exchange and intervention in
particular cases.

-- D. Are the rights of victims respected, or are victims
also treated as criminals? Are victims detained, jailed,
or deported? If detained or jailed, for how long? Are
victims fined? Are victims prosecuted for violations of
other laws, such as those governing immigration or
prostitution?

The rights of young boys trafficked by religious teachers
are generally respected, and they are usually provided
with victim assistance.

Underage and foreign prostitutes are considered criminals.
On average, 16 prostitutes are checked/questioned every
day. Of those 16, approximately three are found in
violation of the law, arrested and prosecuted every day.
During the year, 90 foreigners were arrested/prosecuted
for prostitution - 50 Nigerians and 40 Guineans.

-- E. Does the Government encourage victims to assist in
the investigation and prosecution of trafficking? May
victims file civil suits or seek legal action against the
traffickers? Does anyone impede the victims' access to
such legal redress? If a victim is a material witness in
a court case against the former employer, is the victim
permitted to obtain other employment or to leave the
country? Is there a victim restitution program?

Under the 2005 TIP law, trafficking victims cannot be
prosecuted for acts taken as a result of their being
trafficked. The law also protects the identity of victims
and permits "closed door" testimony to encourage them to
serve as witnesses. They also are permitted to remain
temporarily or permanently on national territory under the
status of resident or refugee. Victims have a right to an
attorney. If they cannot afford one, one will be provided
to them. Young boys beaten by their Koranic teachers are
encouraged to assist authorities investigate and prosecute
cases. Similarly, illegal prostitutes are questioned
about their pimps.

-- F. What kind of protection is the Government able to

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provide for victims and witnesses? Does it provide these
protections in practice? What type of shelter or services
does the government provide? Does it provide shelter or
any other benefits to victims for housing or other
resources in order to aid the victims in rebuilding their
lives? Where are child victims placed (e.g. in shelters,
foster-care type systems or juvenile detention centers)?

The GOS operates the Ginddi Center in Dakar for trafficked
and at-risk children. While the Government funds most
operations, international partners provide some
assistance.

-- G. Does the Government provide any specialized
training for government officials in recognizing
trafficking and in the provision of assistance to
trafficked victims, including the special needs of
trafficked children? Does the Government provide training
on protection and assistance to its embassies and
consulates in foreign countries that are destination or
transit countries? Does it urge those embassies and
consulates to develop ongoing relationships with NGOs that
serve trafficked victims?

To our knowledge, other than training Ginddi Center
personnel, the GOS provided no training in 2005.

-- H. Does the Government provide assistance, such as
medical aid, shelter, or financial help to its repatriated
nationals who are victims of trafficking?

In 2005, almost 1,000 Senegalese were repatriated from
Morocco, and the GOS is designing a farming project to
assist them.

-- I. Which internationals organizations or NGOs, if any,
work with trafficking victims? What type of services do
they provide? What sort of cooperation do they receive
from local authorities? NOTE: If post reports that a
government is incapable of assisting and protecting TIP
victims, then post should explain thoroughly. Funding,
personnel, and training constraints should be noted, if
applicable. Conversely, a lack of political will to
address the problem should be noted as well.

The following is a non-exhaustive list of NGOs working
with trafficking victims, their primary target group(s)
and services: TOSTAN, Koranic students, health, education
and nutrition; l'Avenir d'Enfant, trafficked boys and
underage prostitutes, shelter, nutrition, education and
reconciliation; ATT, Koranic students, health and
education; and ENDA Sante, illegal prostitutes, health;
and AWA, prostitutes, job training and health. RADDHO,
which works with Koranic students, underage prostitutes,
and domestics, has a program for the "Socio-Professional
Integration of Young Migrant Victims of Trafficking,"
which is being funded by the Swiss Foundation for
International Social Service (SSI). Local authorities
support NGO programs through their attendance at public
events, collaboration on program strategies and activities
and use of public spaces for activities.

International organizations include: UNICEF, underage
domestics, underage prostitutes and Koranic students,
education, and job alternatives; IOM, trafficked children,
coordinates repatriation of Malian children; Save the
Children Sweden, Koranic students, education; and ILO,
underage domestics, underage prostitutes and Koranic
students, education, and job alternatives.


22. HEROES: Moussa Sow, Director of Avenir de l'Enfant,
is a TIP hero in every sense of the word. Last year, his
organization was cited for best practices in dealing with
child trafficking victims. As stated then, Moussa works
with breathless devotion to keep young girls from
prostitution and help young boys deal with the trauma many
of them suffer at Koranic schools. A former victim of
abuse, he used his own difficult beginnings as inspiration
to go out on nearly a daily basis to comb the roughest

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streets of Dakar, Rufisque and other areas for children in
distress. Each time he does so, he puts his life and well
being on the line. He also visits children in prison,
reunites countless run-aways with their families -- even
taking them to their homes in other countries -- and
follows up with those he has helped into their adulthood.
He successfully campaigned for a larger center to shelter
even more children and educate them. In addition, he has
served as a witness in international pedophilia cases. He
has a family of his own and gets little financial
remuneration for his work. Yet, he pursues his mission
with an unparalleled passion and is able to establish an
emotional connection with every child he meets. Because
of the respect, love and patience that Moussa shows for
children, they look to him as a true hero. He is, indeed,
an extraordinary TIP hero.


23. BEST PRACTICES: AWA is a Senegalese NGO that works
with former and current prostitutes to provide with
medical care, vocational training and other services to
encourage them to find an alternative profession. AWA has
launched a new project to train large numbers of women in
cooking, sewing, tie-dye, and other skills to generate
income. It will also combine advocacy and awareness
programs to teach women about the dangers of prostitution.
We are recommending this project as a "best practice,"
because it is unique in its attempt to not only pull large
numbers of vulnerable and probably trafficked women out of
the perilous field of prostitution but also provide them
with another way to earn an income and contribute not only
to their families but also to Senegalese society and
economy.


3. (U) The Embassy's TIP officer, Rachel Wallace, can be
reached by phone at 221-823-4296, ext. 2420, and by e-mail
at WallaceRA@state.gov. Embassy TIP officer spent over 50
hours preparing this year's TIP report. Pol FSN spent 15
hours, and Econ FSN spent eight.

JACKSON