CHILD TRAFFICKING IN MIDDLE GUINEA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CONAKRY 000320 DEPT FOR G/TIP AND DRL DOL FOR DIANTHA GARMS SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12598: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL ASEC GV SUBJECT: CHILD TRAFFICKING IN MIDDLE GUINEA REF: CONAKRY 00220 ¶1. (U) SUMMARY. A recent trip to Middle Guinea reveals that Guinea's border with Senegal may be a transit point for significant trafficking activity. Although there have only been a few "official" trafficking cases, the lack of information and resources on the part of the local authorities, as well as hundreds of kilometers of unmonitored border crossings, suggests that there is probably much more going on than what has been officially reported. Local NGOs express serious concerns about the need for education campaigns in order to combat child trafficking in the region. Authorities report frequent border crossings by marabouts, often accompanied by several children, which has proven to be a source of trafficking and exploitation in other parts of the country. This cable is the fourth in a series of six reports on child trafficking in Guinea. END SUMMARY ¶2. (U) During a trip to the prefectures of Koundara and Labe (Middle Guinea) the week of June 2, Asst Poloff met with local authorities, police, local NGOs and border security officials to discuss the prevalence of child trafficking over Guinea's northern Senegalese Border. Asst Poloff also traveled to the two major border checkpoints to speak directly with border police/gendarme and inquire about two marabouts recently arrested on Koundara's border for allegedly trafficking 11 children into Senegal. -------------- AUTHORITIES: DON'T HAVE INFORMATION ON CHILD TRAFFICKING -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Secretary General of Koundara (the deputy to the prefect),Mamadou Allou Diallo, refused to comment on child trafficking in the region, saying only that he "is not well placed to say if it is occurring." He said he had been officially informed of one case (reftel),but is not aware of any other cases. In a separate meeting, the Mayor of Koundara, Eihad Abdoullay Boiro, said that Koundara has few official cases of child trafficking, but that the border is incredibly porous without any natural barriers that could force people to go through border checkpoints in order to cross into Senegal. Mr. Boiro requested assistance to implement training modules for border security and sensitization programs in order to combat this problem. He also said that residents of Koundara are becoming more vigilant about child trafficking because they have heard of radio reports of trafficking incidents occurring in Forecariah. -------------- NGO ACTIVITIES IN KOUNDARA AND LABE -------------- ¶4. (SBU) In Koundara, Asst Poloff met with the Coordinator of the Association of Model Mothers, Amadou Lamine Diallo, who said that his organization is combating child trafficking through education programs. Mr. Diallo said the primary reason for child trafficking and exploitation is poverty so his organization focuses on providing education and training to children. Souman Hamidou, program coordinator for the NGO Guinean Volunteers for Development (VGD), said that while his organization does not directly work to combat child trafficking, the issue arises during the course of some of their education programs. He said that VGD is concerned about the children taken by marabouts to Senegal, who are exploited instead of receiving the promised Koranic education. ¶5. (SBU) Asst Poloff also traveled to the town of Labe, which connects the rest of Guinea to Koundara, to meet with a group of NGOs including Save the Children, Club Amis du Monde (CAM) and the Association de Soutien aux Enfants Dshrits (ASED). The NGOs are part of a network in Labe that is working to combat child exploitation. Souleymane Barry, coordinator of Save the Children, said that the network coordinates educational and vocational training for children. According to Mr. Barry, the NGOs are using the network to try and decrease the number of children working on rural farms, working as domestic servants, and those being taken to Senegal for Koranic education. -------------- NGOS PROVIDE RECENT CASE AND EXPRESS CONCERN -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Ibrahima Toutouroun Sow from ASED in Labe told of a recent child trafficking case from April where a woman was arrested in Kouramangui, a town near Labe, for allegedly trafficking three children, aged five to seven. Mr. Sow said the woman was reportedly heading towards Koundara to cross into Senegal with the children. Mr. Sow said another man in the taxi realized the hungry and scared children were not hers so he reported the woman to the police before they reached Koundara. Mr. Sow said the NGOs were only made aware of the case afterwards, and were told that the police returned the CONAKRY 00000320 002 OF 003 children to their villages, but the woman escaped. ¶7. (SBU) The NGOs from Labe shared their collective concern about child trafficking in Koundara, saying that while the border police have been told to "be vigilant" they do not know what to look for or what questions to ask. They added that border police are ill-equipped to transport alleged traffickers and children to the police in Koundara so they are forced to release them. Furthermore, the police in Koundara do not have the resources to care for the children while they conduct an investigation or to return them to their villages if necessary. Mr. Barry from Save the Children said that his organization is looking to open an office in Koundara in order to conduct sensitization campaigns for border police, care for victims of child trafficking, and help repatriate children to their villages. -------------- KOUNDARA'S POROUS BORDER IS THE PROBLEM -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Koundara Police Commissioner Bangaly Deiakitate told Asst Poloff that the region is experiencing incidents similar to those seen in Forecariah. However, he said they do not have statistics as to the prevalence. Mr. Deiakitate reported that the primary problem with catching child traffickers is Koundara's porous border, which is 252 kilometers long with four official checkpoints: Botomele, Kandika, Boundoufordou, and Missira. He said that because there are no natural barriers on the border like rivers or mountains, there are "hundreds" of unofficial routes by which child traffickers can transport children to Senegal, undetected. He explained that with only 65 border police and no transportation, it is difficult to monitor the border for people crossing illegally. However, he said that when border police do encounter vehicles with children, they require parental consent documents for entry in Senegal. ¶9. (SBU) Harouna Sangave, the Gendarme Commander in Koundara, reported that the gendarmes have not seen any official cases of child trafficking. He said that Border Gendarme require all children crossing the border to be traveling with their parents, and he expressed confidence that gendarmes do not allow marabouts to cross the border with children, even if they have parental consent. Mr. Sangave said that he knows that marabouts are taking children across the border on unofficial routes, explaining that because of limited transportation, gendarmes cannot monitor the border outside of official checkpoints. He reported that in May, one of his gendarmes heard people in the Koundara Market talking about sending their children to Senegal for Koranic studies. The gendarmes on the border were reportedly ordered to be extra vigilant, but no marabouts attempted to cross. ¶10. (U) Asst Poloff asked Police Commissioner Deiakitate about the recent alleged trafficking case that occurred in Koundara (reftel), he said that the investigation occurred in Sangaredi and not in Koundara because they lacked the resources to care for the children and alleged traffickers. He said that if it has been only one or two children they would have held the investigation in Koundara. Mr. Deiakitate then said that he is very disappointed that the alleged traffickers were released, and that he would have convicted them of child trafficking. -------------- -- BORDER CHECKPOINT OFFICIALS TELL THE REAL STORY -------------- -- ¶11. (SBU) Asst Poloff traveled to two border checkpoints, Missira and Boundoufordou (both located within the prefecture of Koundara), to speak with border police and gendarmes about child trafficking incidents. At the Missira checkpoint with Senegal, Chief of Police Mamadou Salion Bah said that there are nine border police staffing the checkpoint, working alongside border gendarmes. He also mentioned that the Missira checkpoint experiences a flux of traffic on Wednesdays, as vehicles head to the Diawbe Market in Senegal. Mr. Bah said that there is 23 kilometers separating Missira and the nearest checkpoint, Boundoufordou. ¶12. (SBU) At Boundoufordou, Special Border Police Chief Bachir Diallo explained that 12 border police staff the checkpoint, working alongside border gendarmes. Mr. Diallo said that there are over 100 kilometers between Boundoufordou and the nearest checkpoint, most of which is a national park. Both police chiefs reported that there are many unofficial routes in the area and that the border police and gendarmes do not have the transportation or communication resources to monitor outside the checkpoints. ¶13. (SBU) According to Mr. Bah, marabouts are constantly crossing the border with children going for Koranic studies, but that border police require the marabouts to present proof of parental consent. Mr. Bah reported that checkpoint Missira recently allowed marabouts CONAKRY 00000320 003 OF 003 to pass into Senegal with children - one traveling with four children and another traveling with two children. He said that marabouts usually have anywhere from 2 to 15 children with them, some traveling in taxis and others walking with children from neighboring towns or from Koundara (more than 60 kilometers). He added that some of the marabouts appear to be mistreating the children since some of them are scared, hungry and tired when they reach the checkpoint. -------------- MARABOUTS REJECTED AT BORDER CROSSING -------------- ¶14. (SBU) Mr. Bah confirmed that in February two marabouts were arrested at the Missira checkpoint for allegedly trafficking 11 children to Senegal (reftel). He said he was present when the group was apprehended at the border and explained that border police arrested the marabouts because the group was traveling from such a far distance, and the marabouts clearly could not afford to care for the 11 children. He reported that the children appeared frightened, hungry, and some were not adequately clothed. He said that the marabouts claimed to be their guardian, but could not prove parental consent. Mr. Bah added that border police accompanied the group's vehicle to the police in Koundara, who made the determination to send the case to Sangaredi for investigation. ¶15. (SBU) According to Mr. Bah, there have been three other incidents this year wherein they prevented a marabout with children transiting through the Missira checkpoint. When asked if they have details regarding those cases, he said those incidents are not official cases and were not investigated. He explained that the border police and gendarmes do not have phones to report incidents to Koundara, and cannot transport marabouts and children to Koundara for further investigation, especially if they arrived on foot. He added that they are forced to turn away the marabouts, essentially blocking them from crossing the border at that particular checkpoint, and instructing them to return the children to their families. ¶16. (SBU) At the second checkpoint, Boundoufordou, Special Border Police Chief Bachir Diallo told Asst Poloff that the Boundoufordou checkpoint has not had any official child trafficking cases, adding that it is possible that traffickers are using unofficial routes or the Missira checkpoint because it is closer to the Diawbe Market. He said that Boundoufordou encounters two to three marabouts a month taking children to Senegal for Koranic studies. Mr. Diallo reported that in May he stopped a marabout traveling with three children into Senegal because the marabout did not have documents proving parental consent. The border police eventually decided to let the marabout continue on to Senegal with the children because some of the locals knew and vouched for the marabout. -------------- COMMENT -------------- ¶17. (SBU) This cable represents a continuation of Embassy efforts to understand child trafficking issues in Guinea. Embassy has recently received reports that suggest that child trafficking may be occurring over Middle Guinea's border with Senegal. While most local authorities, police, gendarmes, and border agents in Koundara say they understand the need for vigilance against child trafficking, they lack the resources to effectively monitor the border. They may also lack a clear understanding of what constitutes child trafficking and how to prevent it. It appears that there are a number of marabouts regularly crossing the border from Guinea into Senegal, with children that are not related to them. At this point, it is unclear whether these children are being trafficked and exploited, or simply participating in legitimate Koranic study programs. However, the NGOs working in the region see Koundara as a high-risk zone. Recent information suggests that the region may be a significant transit point for trafficking activity. END COMMENT. CARTER