CHILD TRAFFICKING IN UPPER GUINEA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 CONAKRY 000323

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 UPPER GUINEA

REF A. CONAKRY 00220
REF B. CONAKRY 00196


1. (U) SUMMARY. While NGOs have statistics illustrating an extremely
high prevalence of child trafficking on Guinea's northern border
with Mali, local authorities maintain that they have not seen any
child trafficking cases. Government contacts confirm previous
reports that marabouts frequently cross into Mali taking large
groups of children for Koranic studies. Sources also corroborate
Embassy information that Kankan is a platform for child trafficking
to neighboring countries and Conakry. This cable is the fifth in a
series of six reports on child trafficking in Guinea. END SUMMARY


2. (U) During a trip to the prefectures of Kankan and Siguiri (Upper
Guinea) the week of June 12-17, Asst Poloff met with local
authorities, police, local NGOs and border security officials to
discuss the prevalence of child trafficking over Guinea's northern
border with Mali. Asst Poloff also visited three villages for which
Save the Children has anti-trafficking programs funded by USAID and
the U.S. Department of Labor.

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NGOS: HIGH INCIDENCE OF CHILD TRAFFICKING
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3. (SBU) Asst Poloff met with local NGOs in Siguiri to discuss
efforts to combat child trafficking in the region. Present at the
meeting were representatives from Amical Jeune Pour le Progrhs
(AJP),Jeunesse Action Developmente (JAD) and Association Jeune
Voluntaire Pour la Developmente (AJVD). The NGOs said they come
across four to five cases of child trafficking per month at the
Kouremale and Nafadji checkpoints with Mali. The NGOs also said that
there have been multiple incidents of marabouts crossing into Mali
with children. The NGOs reported that the majority of the marabouts
have parental consent and therefore are not questioned by border
security even if they are traveling with 5, 10, or 25 children.


4. (SBU) Save the Children coordinator, Dr. Diarra Houleymata, told
Asst Poloff that her organization intercepts many victims of child
trafficking on this border, but few of the alleged traffickers are
arrested as many of them just "disappear." She said that from
September 2007 to June 2008, Save the Children has intercepted 155
victims of child trafficking on both sides of the Guinean-Malian
border. She said that they intercepted 43 victims of child
trafficking in Guinea and 112 in Mali. Of the 155 children
intercepted, 75% of the children were Guinean heading to Mali and
25% were Malian children heading to Guinea. She added that 80% of
the Guinean children were being trafficked to Mali to work on
agriculture farms, and the rest for domestic or small-scale
commercial work.

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EVERYONE ELSE: NO CASES OF CHILD TRAFFICKING
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5. (SBU) In a meeting with the Prefect of Kankan, Lanceit Conde
highlighted three child trafficking concerns in his Prefecture: 1)
marabouts trafficking children for exploitation in Mali, 2) young
girls being trafficked from villages to Conakry for domestic work,
and 3) children being trafficked to Mali and Cote d'Ivoire for child
labor. He reported that children from Mali are also trafficked to
Kankan, mainly for domestic servitude. When asked about details or
specific cases, Mr. Conde said there have been no official cases and
that he has no statistics to backup his assertions. In a separate
meeting the Prefect of Mandiana Fode Camara, he said that "child
trafficking could be happening here, but they wouldn't know about
it," adding that it is difficult to monitor the 900km of border with
Mali and Cote d'Ivoire.


6. (SBU) The Central Police Commissioner of Siguiri, Dianka Keita,
said that he is in charge of the border police in the Prefecture and
if any child traffickers were to be arrested he would be responsible
for investigating. When asked, Mr. Keita could not recall any child
recent trafficking cases and could not provide any statistics on
apprehensions of child traffickers within the Prefecture. At the
Kouremale border checkpoint, Deputy Police Commissioner Tona
Beauvogui told Asst Poloff that if a proclaimed guardian cannot
illustrate parental consent, he telephones the parents to verify
parental approval for the children to travel to Mali. Mr. Beauvogui
reported that they have not arrested any child traffickers at that
checkpoint.


7. (SBU) In Mandiana, Asst Poloff met with Gendarme Deputy
Commission Mohamed Camara. When asked about recent child trafficking
cases, Mr. Camara said that they do not have any official cases and
gave a few examples of kidnapping cases or missing children
incidents. Asst Poloff then met with a group of transporters at a
car park in Mandiana. As this is the main car park heading to Mali

CONAKRY 00000323 002 OF 003


border, it encounters nearly 150 vehicles per month, most of which
are heading to Mali. The group said that 100% of the cars have
children and they even saw a woman with four children last night.
When asked about the prevalence of a single woman or man traveling
with more than five children, the transporters said that this
scenario is very common, adding that they encounter it two to three
times a month. The transporters said that they are not suspicious
because many of the children are travelling with a relative who is
taking them to live with other relatives in Mali or Cote d'Ivoire.

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MORE MARABOUTS HEADING TO MALI
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8. (SBU) Embassy recently reported that marabouts were arrested in
Mali for allegedly trafficking 26 Guinean children (Reftel A). In a
meeting with the Governor of Kankan Rene Bayo Kamano, Mr. Kamano
told of another incident of marabouts allegedly trafficking 17
children aged 8-12 years old from Farranah to Mali. The governor
said that in April he received a phone call from the Governor of
Farranah who said that 17 children had gone missing. The parents
reportedly entrusted the marabouts to teach the children in
Farranah, but the marabouts were taking them to Mali instead. Mr.
Kamano said that he alerted the police and gendarmes, and they
apprehended the marabouts with the children at a local car park. The
marabouts were sent to Farranah to be prosecuted and the children
were returned to their families.


9. (SBU) Border Police Deputy Commissioner Tona Beauvogui also told
Asst Poloff that the Kouremale checkpoint had a case last week of a
marabout taking 15-17 children from Kissidougou to Mali for Koranic
studies. He said that the marabout had parental consent so they did
not investigate further. Mr. Beauvogui added that each month two to
three marabouts pass through the checkpoint with children, but they
usually have parental consent. When asked if he was suspicious of
the intent of the marabouts traveling with such a large number of
children, he said "of course, but there is nothing we can do."

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SAVE THE CHILDREN PROJECTS IN LOCAL VILLAGES
--------------


10. (SBU) Save the Children has two U.S. funded projects focused on
anti-trafficking and child exploitation in Upper Guinea. One project
is funded through USAID and the other is funded through the U.S.
Department of Labor. Save the Children coordinator, Dr. Diarra
Houleymata, explained that children are taught skits that they show
to their parents in order to educate them about 1) dangers of child
labor in the mines, 2) importance of education within the village,
3) realities of entrusting someone else to take your child to
Conakry, and 4) risks of sending your child with marabouts for
Koranic studies. In Tatakourou village, Save the Children staff said
that before the project it was very common to send children with
marabouts to Bamako, but that now the village Chief refuses to let
children leave with a marabout. In the village of Kiniebakoura,
each year approximately 20-30 children are reportedly entrusted with
"relatives" in Bamako, Conakry, Abidjan, or Kankan for employment or
education. To combat potential exploitation with this practice, the
village Chief has established a minimum age for sending children
outside the village for education or employment.

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KANKAN IS A "CHILD TRAFFICKING PLATFORM"
--------------


11. (SBU) During a visit to N'Zererkore (Reftel B),sources
referenced Kankan as a "Child Trafficking Platform." Save the
Children coordinator in Kankan, Dr. Diarra Houleymata, also used
this phrase, saying that Kankan is a platform for child trafficking
to Conakry and neighboring countries. She said that Save the
Children conducted a survey of street children last year and the
results illustrated that many children voluntarily travel to Kankan
in pursuit of work with the intent of continuing on to Conakry,
Liberia, or Mali, ultimately making these children extremely
vulnerable to child trafficking. Dr. Houleymata gave an example of
five children aged 12-14 from Loila who had come to work on the
streets of Kankan. She reported that the children were approached by
a woman who promised them jobs in Mali. She said the woman took an
unofficial route across the border and was apprehended by police in
Mali. The NGOs said that the woman was arrested, but ultimately
escaped police custody.


12. (SBU) The Prefect of Kankan, Lanceit Conde, also told Asst
Poloff that children often travel to Kankan from neighboring
villages or countries looking for work. He added that this is not
an end destination but a transit point for travel elsewhere. Asst
Poloff then asked Mr. Conde about previous Embassy information that
suggested a high prevalence of children from Kankan are being

CONAKRY 00000323 003 OF 003


trafficked to Liberia. He said "of course, many people from Kankan
now live in Liberia." He explained that many natives of Kankan moved
to Liberia to work in diamond mines, creating cross-border
communities. He continued by saying that when people return to
Kankan they often take children with them to work in the mines or
get an education in Liberia.

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COMMENT
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13. (SBU) This cable represents a continuation of Embassy efforts to
understand child trafficking issues in Guinea. Embassy reporting
suggests a high incidence of child trafficking over Guinea's
northern border with Mali. While there have been no official cases,
sources report that there is also an incidence of children being
trafficked into Guinea from Mali and Cote d'Ivoire. The significant
disparity between NGOs statistics on child trafficking and actual
cases reported or investigated by local authorities, police and
border agents is particularly concerning. According to the NGOs, 43
victims of child trafficking were intercepted in Guinea since
September 2007, but no court cases were filed. As in other regions
of Guinea, there seems to be some confusion as to what exactly
constitutes child trafficking, and how to combat it. END COMMENT.

CARTER