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

Burkina Faso (Tier 2)

Burkina Faso is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Burkinabe children are trafficked within Burkina Faso as well as to Benin, Cote D'Ivoire, Ghana, Mali, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo. Nigerian and Malian children are trafficked to Burkina Faso. To a lesser extent, Burkinabe women are trafficked to Europe for sexual exploitation.

The Government of Burkina Faso 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, Burkina Faso should educate law enforcement officials about its trafficking law, increase efforts to prosecute and convict traffickers, and strengthen efforts to educate the public about trafficking.

Prosecution

The Government of Burkina Faso continued modest efforts to combat trafficking through law enforcement throughout the last year. Burkinabe law prohibits child trafficking, but there is no law against the trafficking of adults. Out of 44 traffickers detained by police, local vigilance committees, and other security forces in 2005, six were prosecuted and convicted. Most traffickers were released after a short stay in custody. Police failed to follow-up on a case of a Nigerian girl who escaped from forced prostitution in Burkina Faso. The girl was repatriated to Nigeria, but security forces did not attempt to find her traffickers. In a December 2005 public report, the Ministry of Social Action, the lead government agency in combating child trafficking, criticized the Ministry of Justice's lack of progress in addressing trafficking. The government has failed to train Burkinabe prosecutors or security forces on the child trafficking law since its passage in 2003. Burkina Faso signed a multilateral agreement with eight other West African countries to combat trafficking. Under Burkinabe law, while the government may extradite foreign traffickers for prosecution, it is barred from extraditing its own nationals.

Protection

The Government of Burkina Faso continued to make limited efforts to protect trafficking victims, despite limited resources. Police, local vigilance committees, and other security forces intercepted approximately 860 trafficked children in 2005. The government continued to operate 19 transit centers for destitute children, including trafficking victims, in collaboration with UNICEF as well as its own center in Ouagadougou. The government continued to help repatriate foreign nationals to their country of origin after a stay of a few days in transit centers and continued to assist with the repatriation of Burkinabe children from Mali and Burkina Faso. The government attempts to return Burkinabe victims to their families soon after placing them in transit centers. While the government generally does not offer services to repatriated Burkinabe child victims, some families of victims receive micro-credit loans to provide an income alternative to their child's labor. The government did not punish victims for unlawful acts that were a direct result of their being trafficked.

Prevention

The government continued to make limited efforts to raise awareness about trafficking, despite the lack of resources to launch an aggressive education campaign. During the year, government officials regularly spoke out against trafficking in persons. The government has undertaken campaigns to educate parents and children about the dangers of trafficking. Although a committee of government and international organization officials drafted a national action plan against trafficking in 2002, it has yet to be adopted by the Cabinet.