CHILD TRAFFICKING IN WESTERN MARITIME GUINEA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000315

DEPT FOR G/TIP AND DRL
DOL FOR DIANTHA GARMS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12598: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL ASEC GV

SUBJECT: CHILD TRAFFICKING IN WESTERN MARITIME GUINEA

REF: CONAKRY 00220


1. (U) SUMMARY. Authorities express their concern about child
trafficking, but also stress the importance of focusing on the
prevalence of child exploitation in the region regardless of where
the children came from or how they got there. This cable is the
third in a series of reports on child trafficking in Guinea. END
SUMMARY


2. (U) During a trip to Boke and Sangaredi the week of June 4-9,
Asst Poloff met with local authorities, police, and NGOs working to
combat child trafficking, including Save the Children and Club Amis
du Monde (CAM). Asst Poloff also had an opportunity to inquire about
a recent child trafficking case (reftel) that was investigated by
authorities in Boke and Sangaredi, which resulted in the alleged
traffickers being released.

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ENCOURAGING VIGILANCE AMONG CITIZENS
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3. (SBU) The Governor of Boke, Siafa Beavogui, expressed his
disappointment that Guinean children are increasingly being treated
as a commodity. He said the problem is child exploitation not child
trafficking, and he is trying to work on potential sources of demand
for children in his region. The governor said that he has found a
high prevalence of children working at the 500 small sea ports that
line the administrative district of Boke, but does not know where
the children came from or how they got there. The Governor said that
he is working with fishermen, sensitizing them and recruiting them
as monitors for child exploitation in the ports.


4. (SBU) The Prefect of Boke, Keita Mamadou, said that he is setting
up "vigilant communities" on his Prefecture's border with
Guinea-Bissau to monitor the border for child traffickers. The
prefect explained that while it is not easy to transport children
over the Guinea-Bissau border, cross-border communities are making
it possible. He also said that while he does not have specific cases
of child trafficking, he knows that some children are being
trafficked over the Guinea-Bissau border to work on cashew
plantations in Guinea.

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NGO ACTIVITIES IN THE REGION
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5. (SBU) Asst Poloff held a joint meeting with Save the Children
Regional Director Ibrahima Diallo and Club Amis du Monde coordinator
Abdoubacar Sylla to discuss child trafficking issues in Western
Maritime Guinea. The NGOs shared their activities to combat child
trafficking and child exploitation. When asked about specific cases
of child trafficking, the NGOs have only been involved in one
official case (reftel).


6. (SBU) Mr. Sylla said that they know children are transported for
child labor in the cashew plantations of Western Maritime Guinea. He
said that even though the children are exploited, the parents are
aware so there is no child trafficking occurring. Mr. Sylla also
brought up another case of a nine year old boy who was beaten by his
Koranic teacher in a town 50 kilometers from Boke. Mr. Sylla said it
is a complicated case though because his teacher is a "relative,"
who was entrusted with the boy. He added that family or community
linkages create complications when trying to convict someone for
child trafficking, abuse, or exploitation.

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RECENT TRAFFICKING INCIDENT INVESTIGATED
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7. (SBU) Asst Poloff went to Sangaredi to meet with the Special
Police Commissioner Ibrahima Sory Sylla, who investigated the case
of the two marabouts allegedly trafficking 11 children to Senegal
through Koundara (reftel). Mr. Sylla presented a large file for
investigation, which he said lasted 14 days. Mr. Sylla said he took
this case very seriously and documented every meeting, participant,
and decision. Mr. Sylla said that the two marabouts - Boubacar Bah
and Mamdou Balobah - were both Guinean from Daramagnaki, which is
nearby Sangaredi. All 11 children in the case were from the town of
Bambaya, about 15 kilometers from Sangaredi.


8. (SBU) Mr. Sylla said that a group of ten people (NGOs, local
authorities, and police) convened for a two day meeting to review
the incident. Save the Children and CAM were involved in this
meeting. Mr. Sylla said that the group decided this was not a
trafficking case, but a case of child exploitation because the
marabouts did not have the means to support these children. He
confirmed previous reports that the children were returned to their
village and the marabouts released. When asked whether he thought

CONAKRY 00000315 002 OF 002


these marabouts would try to do this again, Mr. Sylla said that he
confiscated their travel documents so that they could not cross the
border. Mr. Sylla added that Sangaredi had not been involved in any
child trafficking cases up until this incident. He then outlined a
number of recommendations that came out of a two-day meeting
regarding the incident, including sensitizing local officials about
child trafficking and increasing border security vigilance to combat
child trafficking.


9. (SBU) Asst Poloff also asked Save the Children Regional Director
Ibrahima Diallo and Club Amis du Monde coordinator Abdoubacar Sylla
to comment on the investigation. Both NGOs said that this was a case
of child exploitation, not child trafficking. Mr. Diallo from Save
the Children said that this case could not be considered child
trafficking because the Koranic scholars, also know as marabouts,
had parental consent to take the children to Senegal. He continued
by saying that trafficking cases usually involve an intermediary
that transports the children to someone who intends to exploit them.
Mr. Sylla added that this was a case of child exploitation because
the marabout would likely exploit the children because he did not
have the financial means to support them during their Koranic
studies in Senegal.

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COMMENT
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10. (SBU) This cable represents a continuation of Embassy efforts to
understand child trafficking issues in Guinea. Embassy has only
recently had reporting that suggests Guinea's Western Maritime
border experiences child trafficking to Guinea-Bissau and Senegal.
While there is a consensus regarding the prevalence of child
exploitation in Western Maritime Guinea, there does not seem to be
an agreement on whether the children are also victims of child
trafficking. Parental consent and guardianship are only complicating
authorities' and NGOs' understanding of child trafficking. The
Embassy has been receiving a number of reports that point to
Koundara as a possible hub for child trafficking. A recent trip to
the region, reported septel, explores this possibility in more
depth. END COMMENT.

CARTER