SENEGAL: ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 DAKAR 000501 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR G/TIP, AF/RSA, AF/W, INL, DRL, PRM, AND G/IWI AID/W FOR AFR/WA AND DCHA 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 PREF SG SUBJECT: SENEGAL: ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT REF: 06 STATE 202745 ¶1. 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. Following passage of its first trafficking-in-persons (TIP) law in April 2005, police now maintain a computerized database meant to record trafficking-related crime statistics. At least four traffickers were arrested; at least three trafficking crimes have been investigated; at least two traffickers were prosecuted and sentenced to two years in prison; and the GOS also prosecuted individuals responsible for rape, pedophilia, prostitution and abuse of ?talibe? children. Cooperation with Spanish government intelligence sources led to Senegalese authorities breaking up two trafficking rings. In October, President Wade co- hosted a Presidential Council on Street Children and declared a policy of ?One family, one child,? urging families to ?adopt? street children. The Ministry of Family has since received grants from Italy, the World Bank and UNICEF to follow through with initiatives to get children off the streets. The Government has continued to provide assistance to victims and to repatriate children found to have been trafficked from surrounding countries. 75 were repatriated to Mali, 92 to Guinea-Bissau, 1 to Burkina Faso, and 29 to Guinea in 2006. IOM is working to repatriate four children to Guinea-Bissau. In December 2006, G/TIP Ambassador Miller and members of his staff held a DVC conference, along with the Senegalese TIP grantee (the High Commissioner for Human Rights and Peace Promotion),key GOS ministries, international organizations and NGOs to discuss the trafficking in persons law. The conference revealed that Senegal has made some progress and improvement, such as implementation of an inter-ministerial cooperative located at the High Commission?s office, and collection of data regarding trafficking of street children and ?talibes? through the database set by the Ministry of Family, using the partnership of Connexions Sans Frontieres. END SUMMARY. ¶2. Responses are keyed to questions in Reftel A. Begin TIP report: PARA 27. Overview of a country's activities to eliminate trafficking in persons -------------- -- ¶A. 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 2006. Young girls are trafficked from villages in the Diourbel, Fatick, Kaolack, Louga, Saint Louis (Fouta), Thies and Ziguinchor regions to urban centers for work as underage domestics. NGOs report Malian girls are DAKAR 00000501 002 OF 010 trafficked to Senegal to help blind -- and people posing as blind -- beggars. Young girls from 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 and FY06 TIP grantee, 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. 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 and sent to prison. 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 in the northern Senegalese town of St. Louis explained young boys are sometimes passed from one Koranic teacher to another, but never DAKAR 00000501 003 OF 010 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 rural parents to urban areas to find work, or leave 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. NGO ENDA ECOPOLE has created a center where young domestic girls can have vocational training after work, in tie dye and sewing, as well as get educational learning skills and human rights highlights. 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 had expanded its operations, using TIP money in year 2006. Minister of Women, Family, Social Development and Women?s Entrepreneurship Aida Mbodj, one of the 2005 TIP Heroes, whose Ministry directs the 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. In July 2006, 24 western and central African countries met in Abuja, Nigeria to sign a multilateral cooperation agreement to combat TIP, and adopted a regional action plan to implement the accord. 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; this program is ongoing. Human Rights Commissioner Mame Bassine Niang helped push through the new anti-TIP law. She was also tasked with the maintenance of an inter-ministerial task force that has already started work for a ministerial jointed approach to TIP. The Family Minister, the Human Rights Commissioner and the Chief Prosecutor all agree there is a trafficking problem that must be addressed. The relatively new Criminal Analysis Unit continues to add trafficking-related offenses into its electronic DAKAR 00000501 004 OF 010 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. Nonetheless, with assistance from Spain, the GOS broke up at least two trafficking rings in the last year. The Interior Ministry established a new Special 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. As part of a Time-Bound program with the ILO, Senegal works toward the eradication child begging, underage domestic work, and underage prostitution as three of Senegal?s worst forms of child labor. ¶C. 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. 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 2006 and early 2007. PARA 28. PREVENTION -------------- ¶A. President Wade has spoken publicly against human trafficking. 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. In October, President Wade hosted a Presidential Council on Street Children and declared a policy of ?One family, one child,? urging families to ?adopt? street children. The Ministry of Family has since received grants from Italy, the World Bank and UNICEF to follow through with initiatives to get children off the streets. Privately, most GOS officials admit child trafficking exists and the Government is now acting. 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 DAKAR 00000501 005 OF 010 exploitive begging relationships, for example, many remain unconvinced Senegal?s cultural and religious practices constitute human trafficking when Senegalese children are involved. People are more apt to criticize these practices, however, when foreign children are involved. ¶B. 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 has received G/TIP funding that 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 a centralized system in place for collecting data, Connexions Sans Frontieres, in partnership with the Ministry of Family. 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 the 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. As part of its program against the worst forms of child labor, the Family Ministry, along with its department of youth protection, has held workshops and roundtables in Mbour, Dakar and other areas to fight child begging, underage domestic work and underage prostitution. ¶D. 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, such as the center created by ENDA Ecopole. The Wade government 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 to rise. The GOS implemented a UN-approved plan for assuring universal education by 2015, and committed 40 percent of the national operating budget to education, the highest percentage in Africa. Gross enrollment is 82.5 percent. Enrollment of girls has reached 80.6 percent, compared to boys enrollment of 84.4 percent, a big improvement DAKAR 00000501 006 OF 010 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 addition, the GOS and its Ministry of Education formalized the ?daaras? as private schools. ¶E. 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 a separate program, the Family Ministry collaborates with local religious leaders to improve conditions in Koranic schools. The GOS cooperates with international organizations at Ginddi Center, and with the IOM to help repatriate trafficked children from neighboring countries. 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. ¶F. Due to the Casamance conflict in southern Senegal, remote borders with Mali, Guinea-Bissau, and Guinea, a 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. ¶G. 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 for coordinating and communicating on children?s issues is the first of its kind. The GOS does have a TIP task force managed by the High Commissioner for Human Rights, along with the National Committee against Human Trafficking that includes various ministries and NGOs. The Commissioner has activated 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 an accord with Mali against child trafficking. Senegal has 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. ¶H. 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 DAKAR 00000501 007 OF 010 the plan in 2004. PARA 29. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS -------------- -------------- ¶A. On April 29, 2005, the National Assembly unanimously adopted a comprehensive anti-TIP law. Under the 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, the new law has been used primarily to combat those who smuggle illegal immigrants from Senegal to Spain. At least two such smugglers have been sentenced to two years in prison. A number of other smugglers have also been arrested. Another three were detained for five months before being released in January. An Ivoirian named Gomez suspected of trafficking two girls to Spain was arrested, and his case reportedly remains pending. 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 otherwise. 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 three arrests in 2006. 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. At the Ginddi Center, the Family Ministry received students who had been beaten by their Koranic teachers. No cases have been reported this year. ¶B. 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 USD 575 and 7,600 (300,000 and 4,000,000 CFAF). The penalties for sex trafficking (whether for a minor or an adult) are more severe. ¶C. ILO?s International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor (IPEC) says there has not been a reported case of child labor reported in Senegal during the reporting period. However, IPEC has conducted DAKAR 00000501 008 OF 010 training for magistrates and police on identification of the problem and appropriate steps to take should it arise. IPEC is currently conducting a study of the extent of the problem in Senegal. ¶D. The GOS prosecuted individuals responsible for rape, pedophilia, prostitution and abuse of ?talibe? children. In the last year, at least two Koranic teachers were convicted and sentenced (though not under the new TIP law) for such abuse. One case involved the June 29, 2006 arrest of Abdourahmane Sall, who was charged with committing pedophilia on one of his 15-year-old talibes. A judge placed Sall's other talibes in a reeducation center. ¶E. 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. ¶F. TIP Prosecutions: One Nigerian was arrested in late December 2006 at Dakar?s Leopold Sedar Senghor International Airport for attempting to traffic three children to Europe. One Ivoirian was arrested in January for attempting to traffic two girls to Europe. The Nigerian and the Ivoirian are currently in jail awaiting trial. Police apprehended the Nigerian based on an outstanding arrest warrant. As noted above, several smugglers have been arrested and prosecuted for facilitating and/or engaging in illegal migration to Spain. Post will send statistics on additional TIP prosecutions Septel. ¶G. Child traffickers appear to be freelance operators. GOS officials who say 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. ¶H. 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; vessels 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. ¶I. Police have received training from ICITAP. The head of the police anti-trafficking unit, located in the Judicial Police headquarters is a graduate of an ICITAP-sponsored TIP course. ¶J. Senegalese and Malian authorities continued 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. ¶K. The GOS can extradite individuals but has not done so for trafficking purposes. ¶L. There is some evidence of government tolerance of trafficking for forced begging on a local or institutional level. ¶M. No GOS officials are known to have been involved in trafficking. ¶N. French newspaper articles and tour guides have DAKAR 00000501 009 OF 010 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. On June 6, 2006, a French national was arrested after being caught in the act of committing pedophilia on a 14-year-old boy. A French tourist was arrested for lewd acts on February 15, 2007, but his male partner who was believed to be under age escaped. ¶O. Senegal ratified ILO Convention 182 concerning the prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor on June 1, 2000. -- Senegal ratified ILO Convention 29 and 105 on forced or compulsory labor on 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 was igned on September 8, 2000, and ratified on Noveber 5, 2003. -- The Protocol to Prevent, Suppres and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially omen and Children, supplementing the UN Conventio Against Transnational Organized Crime was ratifed on October 27, 2003. PARA 30. PROTECTION AN ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS -------------- ¶A. The GOS? Ginddi Center rovides various services to assist trafficking vitims. These services include medical treatment, family mediation and reconciliation, education, shelter and meals, and repatriation of children to their mother lands. Last year, the Ginddi Center?s child protection hotline received 21,533 calls from parents, Koranic teachers and other concerned parties. The Center assisted 373 children to receive medical care and reunite with their families; 107 children were trained in vocational centers. ¶B. 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. The GOS provides care 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. 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. 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 DAKAR 00000501 010 OF 010 encouraged to assist authorities to investigate and prosecute cases. Similarly, illegal prostitutes are questioned about their pimps. ¶F. 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. The U.S. has renovated the dormitories and built the wall around the Ginddi center and also provided medical equipment to the health unit. ¶G. To our knowledge, other than training Ginddi Center personnel, the GOS provided no training in ¶2006. ¶H. The Government has provided basic shelter and medical assistance to victims, usually in coordination with NGOs and international organizations. ¶I. 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); 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: the World Bank (street children); 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). BEST PRACTICES -------------- ¶6. Mission highlighted NGO AWA?s work as a ?best practice? in last year?s reporting cable, but it was not included in the TIP Report. 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. TIP OFFICER -------------- ¶7. (U) The Embassy?s TIP officer is Osman Tat. He can be reached by phone at 221-823-4296, ext. 2420, and by e-mail at TatON@state.gov. JACOBS