U.S. Department of State 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report - Mali

Mali (Tier 2)

Mali is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Women and girls are trafficked for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation, and boys are trafficked for work in rice fields, gold mines, and for begging. The majority of victims are trafficked internally, often from central regions to southeast and urban zones. Available information indicates a recent increase in trafficking between Mali and Burkina Faso, Guinea, Senegal, and Mauritania and a decrease in trafficking from Mali to Cote D'Ivoire. Malians are also trafficked to Libya and Europe.

The Government of Mali does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. To strengthen its efforts to combat trafficking, Mali should expand its trafficking statute to prohibit the trafficking of adults as well as children. Mali should also increase efforts to arrest and prosecute traffickers.

Prosecution

Mali continued to make limited law enforcement efforts to combat trafficking during the reporting period. While child trafficking is punishable by five to 20 years' imprisonment under Malian law, there is no law prohibiting the trafficking of adults. The government prosecuted two trafficking cases during the reporting period. One of these cases involved the trafficking of five children by two Congolese nationals and one Malian in 2004. While one of the Congolese suspects escaped, the other received a two-year suspended sentence. Charges against the Malian suspect were dropped. Most trafficking investigations begun in 2004 still remain open. Mali signed a bilateral anti-trafficking agreement with Guinea in June 2005 and a multilateral regional agreement with eight other West African nations in July 2005.

Protection

The Government of Mali continued modest efforts to protect trafficking victims during the reporting period, despite limited resources. While the government does not operate its own victim shelters, it does provide some assistance to NGO shelters in Sikasso and Mopti. During the year, the government worked closely with international organizations and local NGOs to repatriate 17 child victims to Mali from Senegal and Cote D'Ivoire. Between 2002 and 2005, 682 rescued children received temporary care in transit centers before being returned to their families.

Prevention

Mali continued to make significant efforts to raise awareness about trafficking during the reporting period, despite limited resources. The anti-trafficking department of the Ministry of the Advancement of Women, Children and the Family (MPFEF) conducted an assessment of the role and impact of the 286 community surveillance committees the government established in prior years. Based on the results of this assessment, the MPFEF organized workshops in Sikasso, Mopti, and Bamako to increase the capacity of these committees to identify cases of trafficking. The MPFEF also completed a project to translate the Malian Child Protection Code into seven local languages and drafted an action plan to address the sexual exploitation of minors. The Ministry of Territorial Administration and Local Collectivities organized a workshop promoting birth registration as a means of combating trafficking. The National Committee for the Fight Against Transnational Child Trafficking held its first meeting since its creation in 2000. The committee is drafting a work plan for 2006.