publications

I. The Context: Girl Childhood and Migration in West Africa

Poverty and economic crisis

West Africa is one of the poorest regions of the world and includes all five of the world’s poorest five countries. The Human Development Index ranks 177 countries, with 177 being the lowest position. Mali is ranked 175th, and Guinea is 160th.5 The whole region is economically dependent on a few export products.6 While most countries in the region are endowed with vast natural resources, governments of West Africa have largely failed to use their mineral wealth to improve the lives of their citizens. 

Within West Africa, Guinea in particular is replete with natural riches, including bauxite, iron, diamonds and gold. However ordinary Guineans appear to reap little benefit from this wealth. Indeed most of these are mined by foreign companies from Russia, Canada, and the United States among others.7 The government has failed to use Guinea’s vast mineral wealth to improve the lives of ordinary Guineans. The economic situation has been particularly difficult over the last five years. The rule of President Lansana Conté who came to power in a military coup in 1984, has been characterized by repression, corruption and poor governance. The International Monetary Fund (IMF), in 2000, offered to drop US$545 million of Guinea’s debt under its Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, but so far the country has not met IMF criteria regarding financial management and transparency.8 Transparency International, in 2006, ranked Guinea 160 out of 163 countries, making it the country that is perceived to be most corrupt in Africa.9

Guinea’s social indicators now resemble that of a country ravaged by war even though Guinea has not experienced any major armed conflict.10 Economic growth, which averaged about 4.5 percent in the 1990s, has slowed since 2000 to an average rate of about 2.5 percent a year.11 In late 2006, inflation was around 30 percent.12Basic commodities such as rice and fuel have become more and more expensive,13 leading to popular protests in June 2006 and in early 2007.14 The consequences of the economic crisis for education15 and health16 have been disastrous. The mortality rate of children under five is 163 deaths per 1000 live births.17 

Gender roles and unequal access to education

In West Africa most girls are raised to become hard-working mothers and wives. At an early age, girls often start to learn basic tasks in the household and take responsibility for preparing food, fetching water, selling goods at the market, or raising smaller children. An estimated 85 percent of child domestic workers in Africa are girls.18 Across the region, it is considered normal for children to work; a child’s work is seen as his or her contribution to the family, and many children adopt this view. Typical work for children includes household work, agricultural work, or selling goods on the street. Such work often provides a vital economic contribution to a family’s survival, but it may also prevent parents from sending their children, particularly girls, to school, and burden them with hard work.19 In Guinea, estimates place the percentage of working children at 73, and 61 percent of them in domestic service.20

Far fewer girls than boys attend school in Guinea and the whole sub-region. Between 2000 and 2005, 29 percent of girls in Guinea were not enrolled in primary school, whereas only 13 percent of boys were not attending primary school. The difference between boys and girls was even starker at secondary school, where half as many girls as boys are enrolled.21 This situation is similar across West Africa.22

Whenever families experience financial or social problems, girls are more likely to be pulled out of school than boys. This has become particularly problematic in the context of the AIDS epidemic, as girls are more likely to stop their education to care for sick parents.23

More than 50 percent of girls in Guinea are married before their 18th birthday. Many of these marriages are arranged without the consent of the girl. In addition, pregnancies which result at such an early age are often associated with health problems which cause higher rates of maternal and infant mortality.24

The low social status of women and girls in Guinea is reflected in high levels of violence. Women and girls are frequently victims of domestic and sexual violence, including in schools.25 In 1999, a survey in Guinea put as high as 98.6 the calculated percent of women and girls who had undergone a procedure of female genital mutilation.26 While illegal, the practice is firmly rooted in Guinean culture, and a girl without excision might have difficulty finding a husband. In the last eight years, the government and a local NGO have started to campaign against female genital mutilation, and some families now oppose it, or opt for a symbolic incision of the genitals.27

Migration and trafficking in West Africa

Migration

There is a long history of economic and labor migration in West Africa. Already in pre-colonial times West Africa had long-distance trade routes. Some of the patterns of labor migration that emerged during the colonial period are still of relevance today, such as the migration of agricultural laborers from Mali and Burkina Faso to Côte d’Ivoire.28 Consequently, networks that assist relocation from one place to another are strong. Labor migration has also shaped Guinea’s past and present. Migrants come from Mali and other neighboring countries to the Guinean capital and mining areas, for example, in Mandiana and Siguiri in Upper Guinea and Fria and Boke in Lower Guinea. At the same time there has also been a flow of Guineans migrating elsewhere. Many Guineans migrated to Senegal and to Côte d’Ivoire during the colonial period and up to today. Furthermore, there has been significant rural-urban migration within Guinea.29

Migration of children, in particular, has a long tradition. Younger children have often been sent to live with relatives in the context of traditional child-fostering practices.30 For adolescents, leaving the village and seeking economic independence has been an important rite of passage both in the past and present.31

Migration in West Africa has often been helped by the presence of similar ethnic groups across national borders. For example, the Bambara in Mali and the Malinke in Guinea are historically one group, and they speak the same language.

Trafficking

While migration for jobs, education, or foster care is important, it can also lead to situations of exploitation and trafficking. Under international law, child trafficking consists of two elements: (1) the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of the child; and (2) the purpose of exploiting the child. Exploitation can mean sexual exploitation; forced labor or services; slavery or practices similar to slavery or servitude.32

Trafficking of children for labor has increasingly become a problem in West Africa. Within the region, children are trafficked for domestic labor, agricultural labor, market labor and street selling and begging. Some children are also trafficked for prostitution and sexual exploitation. Most of the trafficking is done through small, informal networks, including families and acquaintances, that might not even operate on a continuous basis. In addition, children are trafficked to the Middle East and Europe from some countries, in particular Nigeria.33 Important trafficking routes in West Africa are from Benin and Togo to Gabon in Central Africa, and from Burkina Faso and Mali to Côte d‘Ivoire.34 Many children are also trafficked from neighboring countries into Nigeria.35 In Guinea, in addition to internal trafficking, there has been cross-border trafficking between Mali, Sierra Leone, Liberia and Côte d’Ivoire, although the exact scale of the problem is difficult to determine. 36 In recent years, there have been significant efforts to combat trafficking in West Africa, though these efforts might have sometimes stopped the migration of young people. Another problem is that trafficking victims, returned to their homes, have not stayed there either, but have often left again in search of work.37

 




5 United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), Human Development Report 2006 (New York: United Nations Development Programme, 2006), p.286, http://hdr.undp.org/hdr2006/pdfs/report/HDR06-complete.pdf (Accessed March 19, 2007).

6 See for example Oxfam, Cultivating Poverty, The Impact of US cotton subsidies on Africa (Oxford: Oxfam 2002),http://www.oxfam.org.uk/what_we_do/issues/trade/downloads/bp30_cotton.pdf (Accessed April 20, 2007).

7 Large foreign companies active in the bauxite industry are Alcan, Global Alumina (both Canadian), Alcoa (US American), and RUSAL (Russian). The Compagnie de Bauxites de Guinée (CBG), which does some of the mining, is owned at 49 percent by the Guinean State but 51 percent belong to a foreign company, Halco, that controls operations.

8 “Guinea: EU aid back but social problems remain,” IRIN, December 25, 2006, http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=62891 (Accessed May 4, 2007).

9 Transparency International, “Corruption Perceptions Index 2006,” http://www.transparency.org/policy_research/surveys_indices/cpi/2006 (Accessed April 11, 2007). The ranking is based on the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist among public officials and politicians. It draws on data in expert surveys.

10 UNICEF,“Humanitarian Action Report 2007,” New York, 2007, p. 218, http://www.unicef.org/french/har07/files/HAR_FULLREPORT2006.pdf (Accessed April 14, 2007).

11 International Monetary Fund, “Guinea: 2005 Article IV Consultation and Staff-Monitored Program - Staff Report,” IMF Country Report No. 06/37, January 2006,

http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/scr/2006/cr0637.pdf (Accessed May 2, 2007).

12 “Guinea: EU aid back but social problems remain,” IRIN, December 25, 2006, http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=62891 (Accessed April 11, 2007).

13 “Guinea: Road to Ruin,” IRIN, October 20, 2006, http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LZEG-6URPZZ?OpenDocument&rc=1&cc=gin (Accessed March 19, 2007).

14 Human Rights Watch, The Perverse Side of Things. Torture, Inadequate Detention Conditions and Excessive Use of Force by Guinean Security Forces, vol. 18, no. 7(A), August 2006, http://hrw.org/reports/2006/guinea0806/guinea0806web.pdf; Human Rights Watch, Dying for Change. Brutality and Repression by Guinean Security Forces in Response to a Nationwide Strike, vol. 19, no. 5(A), April 2007, http://hrw.org/reports/2007/guinea0407/guinea0407web.pdf.

15 “Guinea: School enrolment plummets as cost of living rises,” IRIN, November 8, 2006, http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=61512 (Accessed April 11, 2007).

16 “Guinea: Malnutrition cases double in Conakry’s children’s hospital,” IRIN, November 28, 2006, http://www.irinnews.org/Report.aspx?ReportId=61675 (Accessed April 11, 2007).

17 UNICEF,“Humanitarian Action Report 2007,” p. 217-220.

18 Jens Andvig, Sudharshan Canagarajah and Anne Kielland, “Child Labor in Africa: Issues and Challenges,” Findings, No. 194, November 2001, http://www.worldbank.org/afr/findings/english/find194.pdf (Accessed May 4, 2007).

19 Loretta E. Bass, Child Labor in Sub-Saharan Africa (Boulder: Lynn Rienner 2004).

20 Guinée Stat Plus/ Bureau International du Travail, “Etude de base sur le travail des enfants en Guinée,” December 2006, p.7. The study used a random sample of children from different regions of the country, urban and rural.

21 UNICEF, “At a glance: Guinea,” http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/guinea_statistics.html  (Accessed March 15, 2007). The figures used are based on the gross enrolment ration, which is the number of children enrolled in a level (primary or secondary), regardless of age, divided by the population of the age group that officially corresponds to the same level. In other words, this figure takes into account children that are enrolled beyond their normal enrolment age. The net enrolment ratio for girls is lower; from 2000 to 2005, 42% did not attend primary school when reaching enrolment age. 

22 UNICEF, “Progress for Children. A Report Card on Gender Parity and Primary Education,” p.12-13, http://www.unicef.org/progressforchildren/2005n2/PFC05n2en.pdf (Accessed March 15, 2007).

23 UNICEF, Girls, HIV and Education (New York: UNICEF, 2004), p.19-20, http://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Girls_HIV_AIDS_and_Education_(English)_rev.pdf (Accessed March 15, 2007). This problem has also occurred in Zambia. See Human Rights Watch, Zambia: Suffering in Silence. The Links between Human Rights Abuses and HIV Transmission to Girls in Zambia (New York: Human Rights Watch, 2002), http://www.hrw.org/reports/2003/zambia/zambia1202.pdf.

24 UNICEF, “Child protection from violence, exploitation and abuse: Child marriage,” http://www.unicef.org/protection/index_earlymarriage.html (Accessed March 14, 2007); UNICEF, “At a glance: Guinea,” http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/guinea_statistics.html (Accessed March 15, 2007).

25 Commission on Human Rights, “Report of the Special Rapporteur on violence against women, its causes and consequences, Ms. Radhika Coomaraswamy, submitted in accordance with Commission on Human Rights Resolution 2002/52. Addendum 1. International, regional and national developments in the area of violence against women 1994-2003,” E/CN.4/2003/75//add1, February 27, 2003. http://www.hri.ca/fortherecord2003/bilan2003/documentation/commission/e-cn4-2003-75-add1.htm (Accessed May 9, 2007); Ministère de l’Enseignement Pré-universitaire et de l’Education civique, “Etude sur la violence scolaire et la prostitution occasionelle des lycéennes et collégiennes dans les zones de Conakry, Kissidougou, et Nzérékoré,” December 2005.

26 A 1999 Demographic and Health Survey of 6,753 women in Guinea, reported in “Guinea: Report on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or Female Genital Cutting (FGC),” US Department of State, Office of the Senior Coordinator for International Women’s Issues, June 1, 2001, http://www.state.gov/g/wi/rls/rep/crfgm/10101.htm (Accessed May 16, 2007).

27 Office of the Senior Coordinator for International Women’s Issues, “Guinea: Report on Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) or Female Genital Cutting (FGC).”

28 Richard Black and Russell King, “Editorial Introduction: Migration, Return and Development in West Africa,” Population, Space and Place, vol. 10, 2004, p.75-83; Inga Nagel, “Kinderhandel in Westafrika. Bericht einer Recherche zum Thema,” Terre des Hommes Deutschland 2000.

29 John A. Arthur, “International Labor Migration Patterns in West Africa,” African Studies Review, vol. 34, no. 3, December 1991, p.65-87; Olivier Barbary, “Dakar et Sénégambie, Evolution d’un espace migratoire transnational,” Momar-Coumbar Diop, ed., Les Sénégal et ses voisins  (Dakar: Sociétés -  Espaces – Temps 1994), p. 11, http://tekrur-ucad.refer.sn/IMG/pdf/07BARBARYSENEGALVOISIN.pdf (Accessed March 29, 2007).

30 Fafo Institute of International Studies, “Travel to Uncertainty. A study of child relocation in Burkina Faso, Ghana and Mali,” Fafo report 440, Oslo 2004, http://www.fafo.no/pub/rapp/440/440.pdf (Accessed March 15, 2007).

31 Sarah Castle and Aisse Diarra, The International Migration of Young Malians: Tradition, Necessity or Rite of Passage (Bamako: Save the Children, UNICEF, 2004).

32 For details, see Chapter IV on “The Legal Framework.”

33 UNICRI, “Trafficking of Nigerian Girls to Italy, Report of Field Survey in Edo State, Nigeria,” July 2003, http://www.unicri.it/wwd/trafficking/nigeria/docs/rr_okojie_eng.pdf (Accessed March 30, 2007).

34 Human Rights Watch, Togo - Borderline Slavery. Child trafficking in Togo, vol. 15, no. 8(A), April 2003; UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre, Child Trafficking in West Africa. Policy Responses (Florence: UNICEF Innocenti Research Centre 2002); Anti-Slavery International, “Synopsis of 1999 report on the trafficking of children between Benin and Gabon,” undated, http://www.antislavery.org/archive/other/trafficking-benin-synopsis.htm (Accessed March 30, 2007); Plan International, “For the Price of a Bike.” Child Trafficking in Togo, March 2005, http://www.plan-uk.org/pdfs/childtrafficking.pdf (Accessed March 30, 2007).

35 US State Department, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, “Trafficking in Persons Report 2006,” p.193-194, June 2006, http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/66086.pdf (Accessed April 17, 2007).

36 Stat View International, “Enquête nationale sur le traffic des enfants en Guinée,” 2003, p.5; US State Department, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, “Trafficking in Persons Report 2006,” p.129-130.

37 Mike Dottridge and Olivier Feneyrol, “Action to strengthen indigenous child protection mechanisms in West Africa to prevent migrant children from being subjected to abuse,” May 2007. Unpublished paper.