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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 FREETOWN 000165 
 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D  C O P Y (ADDING SENSITIVE CAPTION) 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP (VERONICA ZEITLIN), G, INL, DRL, PRM, AF/W, 
USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB SL
SUBJECT: SEVENTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT 
FOR SIERRA LEONE 
 
REF: 2006 STATE 202745 
 
FREETOWN 00000165  001.2 OF 010 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Sierra Leone continues to make progress as 
it recovers from a devastating decade-long civil war that 
destroyed much of the country's infrastructure. In a little 
over a year, the level of awareness of trafficking in persons 
has risen considerably. However, trafficking remains a 
serious concern, and despite considerable sensitization on 
this topic, a large percentage of the population remains 
vulnerable to trafficking. Lack of resources continues to 
inhibit the Government's ability to accurately assess the 
magnitude of the problem, provide victims services, and train 
law enforcement officials. 
 
Sierra Leone's trafficking problem generally appears to be 
internal. However, Sierra Leone is also a source country for 
international trafficking, and there is evidence that Sierra 
Leone is a country of transit and destination. 
 
Following the passage of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act 
in August 2005, a task force was formed that has met 
regularly to develop a three-year Action Plan on TIP, which 
it completed in November 2006. The Plan calls for 
establishing a Tip Task Force Secretariat that will 
facilitate research, create an inventory of resources and 
services, and establish linkages between TIP stakeholders to 
increase Government and civil society's capacity to monitor, 
combat, prosecute, and convict violators. END SUMMARY. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Responses below are keyed to questions in reftel. 
Sources include: Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and 
Children's Affairs (MOSWGCA); Ministry of Labor; Department 
of Immigration; Sierra Leone Police; the Director of Public 
Prosecutions; UNICEF; FAITH Consortium; Attorney General's 
Office; Office of National Security; IOM,. Approximately 80 
hours were spent preparing this report by FSO (FP-03) and 
approximately ten hours by FSN assistant (FSN-10). The 
Ambassador (FA-MC) spent approximately two hours on the 
report and the DCM (FO-01) spent approximately three hours. 
 
¶3. (U) Embassy POC for TIP issues is Martin Dale, 
Political/Economic Officer. Tel: 232-22-515-000 x5120, Fax: 
232-22-515-355, E-mail: DaleMA@state.gov. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Begin TIP report: 
 
-------- 
OVERVIEW 
-------- 
 
¶A. In Western Africa, Sierra Leone is slowly emerging as a 
relatively stable post-conflict success story. Nonetheless, 
there remain considerable problems, mostly the result of the 
devastation inflicted during Sierra Leone's 11-year civil 
war. Sierra Leone continues to suffer from a dysfunctional 
infrastructure, endemic corruption, continuing human rights 
problems, and poor governance. As a result, much of the 
population remains vulnerable to trafficking. A 2005 
UNICEF-funded trafficking assessment of Sierra Leone 
highlighted this fact: "war results in an amplification of 
factors that contribute to and cause trafficking, including 
poverty, social vulnerability, decimated government 
infrastructure and services, impunity, corruption, and social 
dislocation (refugees and IDPs)." 
 
CHILDREN AND WOMEN ARE VULNERABLE TARGETS 
----------------------------------------- 
Children and youth, defined as 15 - 35 years in age, 
constitute approximately two-thirds of the country's 
 
FREETOWN 00000165  002.2 OF 010 
 
 
population of 5 million, and only 61 percent of children aged 
0-16 live with their parents. Traumatic experiences during 
the war, shattered extended family and social structures, and 
extreme poverty make it much more difficult to protect 
children. 
 
The Constitution and national laws afford little protection 
for women and children. Many of the country's laws concerning 
marriage and inheritance are discriminatory, and abuse of 
women, particularly domestic and sexual assault, is frequent. 
However, there is pending legislation before Parliament, 
including a Child Rights Bill to bring Sierra Leone laws in 
line with the Convention on the Rights of Children and three 
draft bills ) Domestic Violence, Registration of Customary 
Marriages and Divorce, and Devolution of Estates - that will 
address many of the current deficiencies in the law. 
 
POVERTY IS A DRIVING FORCE 
-------------------------- 
Migration in Sierra Leone is a common social norm driven by 
the dire economic situation in the country. To illustrate, 
Sierra Leone ranks second to last out of 177 countries on the 
Human Development Index. Within this context, trafficking is 
more difficult to identify and combat. For example, child 
fostering - that is, children placed with wealthier relatives 
- is commonplace in the country. Although many children 
benefit from such arrangements and receive education and 
assistance otherwise not available, it is a system that is 
vulnerable to abuse and can lead to trafficking. 
 
------------------------- 
PREVALENCE OF TRAFFICKING 
------------------------- 
 
¶B. Sierra Leone's trafficking problem generally appears to be 
internal. Sierra Leone is also a source country for 
international trafficking, and there is evidence that Sierra 
Leone is a country of transit and destination. Lack of 
resources continues to hinder the Government's ability to 
accurately assess the magnitude of the problem. However, 
widespread sensitization programs by the Government, media 
and civil society have significantly increased the public's 
awareness of trafficking and the negative impact it has on 
society. Sensitization has also led to increased reporting of 
trafficking cases by the public. 
 
LAW ENFORCEMENT SLOWLY BUILDING CAPACITY 
---------------------------------------- 
Law enforcement agencies, including the Sierra Leone Police 
(SLP), Immigration, and Office of National Security (ONS), 
are slowly gaining a better understanding of trafficking and 
what is driving it. The SLP has conducted a number of 
investigations and continues to build its capacity to combat 
trafficking. Between January 2006 and February 2007, the SLP 
investigated 12 reported cases of trafficking. Three of the 
cases were referred to the Director of the Public Prosecutor 
for legal advice, one case is still under police 
investigation, in seven cases the accused were charged with 
trafficking and are in court, and there was one conviction. 
 
Despite these minor advances, there remain poor coordination 
and information sharing between the ministries responsible 
for trafficking issues and the SLP. There are also 
communication and logistical challenges between police 
headquarters and police ranks in the provinces. The SLP also 
remains woefully under-funded. Often, traffickers go 
unpunished because they are either not reported or not 
arrested. 
 
 
FREETOWN 00000165  003.2 OF 010 
 
 
There are no government service providers that specifically 
target trafficking victims. However, civil society has begun 
to fill this void. In February 2007, the International Office 
for Migration (IOM), with funding from PRM, opened the first 
trafficking victims, shelter in the country. The facility 
will accommodate 22 victims and provide reintegration 
services including counseling and education for one month 
before returning victims to their families. IOM is 
coordinating its victims, assistance activities with the TIP 
Task Force. 
 
As part of the recently approved TIP 2007 Action Plan, the 
TIP Task Force will create a TIP Task Force Secretariat that 
will monitor all TIP-related activities and serve as the 
clearinghouse for all TIP stakeholders. 
 
Monitoring of trafficking cases remains poor due to limited 
resources. The Sierra Leone Police (SLP) Family Support Unit 
(FSU) maintains a database for a number of offenses, 
including rape, abduction, and child stealing. The FSU has 
added fields for trafficking (domestic and international, for 
both labor and sexual servitude) starting in 2006; however, 
statistics are not reliable, and sensitization of this issue 
must continue to promote a greater understanding nationwide 
of trafficking and its indications. 
 
Following the passage of the Anti-Trafficking Act in 2005, 
Government and non-government organizations have actively 
participated in the TIP Task Force and are placing a greater 
emphasis on trafficking. However, there still remains some 
confusion about what constitutes trafficking as reported 
cases often turn out to be human smuggling cases. Just like 
sexual assault and domestic violence, however, reports of 
trafficking are increasing from year to year, and the 
Government's ability to identify and properly respond to 
trafficking cases is increasing correspondingly. 
 
All sources on trafficking state that children appear to be 
more at risk of being trafficked than adults. However, it is 
possible that there is a greater willingness of Sierra 
Leoneans to report crimes against children vice adults. 
 
Although there are no accurate statistics to quantify the 
extent of the problem, all indications are that women and 
children continued to be trafficked from the provinces to 
towns and diamond mining areas for prostitution and children 
are trafficked from rural areas into the city and mining 
areas for forced labor, including domestic work, petty 
trading, begging, and petty crime. Trafficking may also occur 
in the fishing and agriculture industries as well as in 
connection with customary practices such as forced and 
arranged marriages and ritual sacrifice. Former child 
soldiers, some of whom remain with their former commanders, 
are at risk of being recruited in other regional conflicts. 
 
Persons have been trafficked out of Sierra Leone to 
destinations in West Africa, the Middle East, and Europe. In 
2006, France and Spain identified victims of trafficking from 
Sierra Leone. Other Sierra Leonean trafficking victims have 
been reported in Germany, Lebanon, Liberia, Guinea, Ivory 
Coast, Nigeria, Guinea Bissau, and the Gambia. Other 
suspected destination countries include Austria, Belgium, 
Ireland, Italy, and Israel, mostly because Sierra Leonean 
unaccompanied minors and/or illegal immigrants were 
identified there. 
 
There is evidence showing that Sierra Leone is a transit 
country for trafficking. The SLP reported that it uncovered a 
trafficking ring involving an Indian business man in Sierra 
 
FREETOWN 00000165  004.2 OF 010 
 
 
Leone who was trafficking Indian nationals from Nigeria 
through Sierra to Guinea. The SLP said that it had stopped 
over 100 Indian nationals and arrested 17. (COMMENT: Due to 
the sensitivity of this ongoing investigation, Post requests 
that this information not be included in the report. We 
provided this information as evidence that Sierra Leone is a 
transit point and to show that the SLP takes the issue 
seriously and is making inroads against criminal 
organizations. END COMMENT) Sierra Leone's inability to 
monitor its borders, coupled with the ease with which 
fraudulent identification documents can be obtained, make the 
country a potential transit point. 
 
There have been no documented incidents of Sierra Leone as a 
destination country for trafficking; however, foreign 
national sex workers and refugees living in Sierra Leone may 
be victims of trafficking. Also, ethnic links with other 
countries (e.g., Guinea, Lebanon, China) provide an 
opportunity for Sierra Leone to be used as a destination 
country. 
 
Relatives or family friends reportedly traffic children to 
Freetown with false promises to parents that the children 
will be sent to school. These friends and relatives put 
children to work for in the home, where they can also be 
sexually exploited, or placed on the street to engage in 
petty trading or prostitution. Sometimes children remain on 
the street, because they are afraid to return to their 
relative's house where they are often punished and beaten. 
 
There is no law against prostitution, and it is widespread in 
Sierra Leone. Many women and girls enter the commercial sex 
industry independently, often due to economic pressures, and 
are not trafficked; however, there continue to be allegations 
that female pimps (kaklat) or relatives recruited girls for 
prostitution directly from villages. Some women who engage in 
prostitution may be doing so "voluntarily" to escape from 
other trafficking situations, such as early marriage or 
domestic servitude. 
 
¶C. Sierra Leone continues to recover from an 11-year civil 
war during which the country was a failed state. Sierra Leone 
has occupied the bottom ranks of the UN Human Development 
Index since 1998. There is an overwhelming lack of capacity 
in the Government, and many competing critical needs. The 
Government is effectively bankrupt, with donors providing 60 
percent of the country's budget. Corruption is entrenched. 
The police, judiciary, and social welfare institutions are 
critically understaffed, have very limited budgets, and have 
trouble meeting their basic mandates. Knowledge of TIP is 
gradually increasing at the government level, however, 
finding resources and building capacity to deal with the 
problem will remain a serious impediment well into the future. 
 
There is political will from the highest levels of government 
to combat trafficking in persons, but progress is hampered by 
lack of resources and education on the issue, even among the 
political elite. The SLP and Ministry of Social Welfare 
(MOSW) lack sufficient funding to carry out even their basic 
mandates. For example, there is no government mechanism in 
place to train or inform police on new criminal legislation, 
so NGOs have been the driving force behind raising the SLP's 
awareness of the new Anti-Trafficking Act. According to the 
2007 National Action Plan, GTIP funding to UNICEF will pay 
for training of 200 GOSL officials, including judges, public 
prosecutors, police, immigration and customs officers, and 
border guards. No government victim services exist, and 
neither the FSU nor the MOSW have shelter facilities. 
 
 
FREETOWN 00000165  005.2 OF 010 
 
 
¶D. The TIP Task Force, as mandated by the Anti-Trafficking 
Act passed in 2005, is designated to systematically monitor 
anti-trafficking efforts (prosecution, prevention, victim 
protection)  The TIP Task Force, of which PolOff is a member, 
meets the second and fourth week of each month. Member 
organizations are the Ministries of Social Welfare; 
Education, Science and Technology; Youth and Sport; Labor; 
Information; Local Government; Health; Foreign Affairs; 
Justice; Internal Affairs; Culture and Tourism; SLP; and 
Immigration. Other members include the U.S. Embassy, Search 
for Common Ground/Talking Drums Studio, The Women's Forum, 
the Ombudsman; The National Forum for Human Rights, the FAITH 
project of World Relief, UNICEF, and IOM. Member 
organizations have begun reporting TIP cases brought to their 
attention. However, coordination remains poor between law 
enforcement agencies, ministries and civil society members, 
and there is no mechanism in place to give assessments of 
anti-trafficking efforts. Information is not made public, 
however, the Government does make trafficking-related 
information available to international organizations and 
others on request. 
 
---------- 
PREVENTION 
---------- 
 
¶A. The Government acknowledges that trafficking is a problem 
in the country. 
 
President Kabbah signed the Anti Trafficking in Persons Act 
in August 2005. The Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and 
Children's Affairs and the Attorney General convened the 
first Inter-Ministerial Committee on Trafficking in February 
¶2006. 
 
The TIP Task Force meets regularly to discuss 
anti-trafficking activities and cases. 
 
¶B. The Ministry of Social Welfare and Sierra Leone Police 
(SLP) take the lead in anti-trafficking efforts in Sierra 
Leone, and the Ministry of Justice co-chairs the 
Inter-Ministerial Committee on Trafficking and the TIP Task 
Force with MOSW. The Inter-Ministerial Committee also 
includes the Ministries of Education, Internal Affairs, 
Information, Labor, Health, Foreign Affairs, Local 
Government, Youth, and Tourism. The TIP Task Force includes 
representatives from all ministries in the Inter-Ministerial 
Committee as well as the Principal Immigration Officer, the 
Commissioner of Police in charge of Crime Services, the 
Ombudsman, and representatives from NGOs. 
 
¶C. Government officials, particularly from the police and 
Parliament, have been vocal public advocates of increasing 
trafficking awareness. The SLP periodically uses allotted 
radio slots to discuss the dangers of trafficking, and a 
radio interview with a representative of the Parliamentary 
Human Rights Committee has been periodically rebroadcast. 
Government officials from the SLP and MOSW frequently attend 
NGO-sponsored awareness raising sessions throughout the 
country. Such sessions focus on warning potential trafficking 
victims and their families about the dangers of migration to 
urban areas or out of the country without full information. 
 
¶D. The Government supports other programs to prevent 
trafficking and has focused largely on education, which is in 
line with its Poverty Reduction Strategic Plan (PRSP). In 
July, the Minister of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's 
Affairs (MOSWGC) attended the Abuja Inter-Ministerial 
Conference where 24 West and Central African countries, 
 
FREETOWN 00000165  006.2 OF 010 
 
 
including Sierra Leone, adopted and signed a joint Economic 
Community of Central African States (ECCAS) and Economic 
Community of West African States (ECOWAS) Plan of Action and 
Multilateral Cooperation Agreement on combating TIP. In 
August, the MOSWGC held a two-day training workshop conducted 
by the Regional Advisor of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons 
Unit of ECOWAS Welfare 
 
In September, the Government also supported the launch of a 
project entitled, &Raising Awareness about Trafficking in 
Persons to Reduce Its Prevalence.8 Funded by TIP money, 
Pampana Communications, a community theatre group, premiered 
a play titled, &Mortal Man Nor To For Sell8 (A Human Being 
is not for Sale) to raise national awareness about the 
dangers of human trafficking. 
 
The Ministry of Social Welfare, Gender and Children's Affairs 
periodically travels upcountry to educate women on 
trafficking, women's empowerment, and sustainable development. 
 
There are a number of committees and commissions established 
to deal with the wide spectrum of serious human rights abuses 
that occurred as a result of the country's 11-year civil war 
whose activities could play a role in the fight against 
trafficking. These bodies include the Coordinating Committee 
for the Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse, the 
Sexual Violence Committee, Child Welfare Committee, National 
Commission on Child Labor, and the National Commission for 
War Affected Children. In December 2006, the Government 
appointed the Human Rights Commission, which will be 
responsible for monitoring the implementation of Sierra 
Leone's Truth and Reconciliation (TRC) recommendations. 
However, most of these bodies are generally marginalized due 
to inadequate resources. 
 
¶F. Coordination between the Government, NGOs, and 
international organizations on trafficking issues has 
increased significantly through the TIP Task Force. The 
relationship between Government officials and civil society 
members is very positive and has produced tangible results, 
such as the 2007 TIP Action Plan. However, there is much room 
for improvement. Improved coordination will make the TIP Task 
Force more effective. 
 
¶G. See paragraph F. 
 
¶H. The TIP Task Force, as mandated by the Anti-Human 
Trafficking Act of 2005, has been in operation since February 
2006 and meets regularly. Chaired by representatives from the 
Ministry of Justice and Ministry of Social Welfare, the Task 
Force has developed a comprehensive three-year National 
Action Plan on TIP (2008-2010). The Plan calls for the 
formation of a TIP Task Force Secretariat that will 
coordinate all anti-trafficking activities in Sierra Leone. 
Components of the plan include research, assessment, 
prevention, protection, prosecution, and monitoring and 
evaluation. The Plan is funded by a combination of sources; 
the Government, the $100,000 GTIP grant to UNICEF, and PRM's 
$500,000 grant to IOM. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶A. President Kabbah signed the Anti-Human Trafficking Act in 
August 2005. The law prohibits trafficking for labor, sexual 
exploitation, illicit removal of human organs, and 
exploitation during armed conflicts. The law covers both 
internal and external trafficking and is consistent with the 
 
FREETOWN 00000165  007.2 OF 010 
 
 
Palermo Protocol. 
 
¶B. Convicted traffickers face up to ten years of 
imprisonment, fines of 50 million leones (approximately 
$17,000), and victim restitution costs. 
 
¶C. Penalties are the same for trafficking for labor and 
sexual exploitation. 
 
¶D. Under the Offenses Against the Person Act of 1861, rape of 
a person over the age of 16 carries a potential penalty of 
life imprisonment, which is more severe than the penalty for 
sex trafficking. 
 
¶E. No law specifically prohibits prostitution, but there are 
laws against operating brothels and procuring a female by 
threats or coercion for the purpose of prostitution. 
Government officials have become more vigilant in closing 
down brothels. Prostitutes are sometimes arrested for other 
crimes, including loitering. 
 
¶F. The SLP has conducted a number of investigations and 
continues to build its capacity to combat trafficking. 
Between January 2006 and February 2007, the SLP investigated 
12 reported cases of trafficking. Three of the cases were 
referred to the Director of the Public Prosecutor for legal 
advice, one case is still under police investigation, in 
seven cases the accused were charged with trafficking and are 
in court, and there was one conviction. 
 
¶G. There are networks in Sierra Leone for adoption fraud, and 
some evidence of possible trafficking networks. Many 
traffickers are relatives of the victims, and victims 
initially leave with the consent of family. There is no 
evidence that profits from trafficking were channeled to 
armed or terrorists, judges or banks. 
 
¶H. The Government actively investigates trafficking and uses 
undercover operations to assist in investigations. 
 
¶I. The Government has not provided any specialized training 
for government officials in trafficking, but government 
officials are encouraged to attend NGO-facilitated 
trafficking training. The TIP Action Plan calls for the 
training of 200 GOSL officials, including judges, public 
prosecutors, police, immigration and customs officers, and 
border guards. 
 
¶J. There are no current cooperative international 
investigations of trafficking, but the Government has sought 
cooperation with other governments to pursue past trafficking 
investigations. 
 
¶K. The Extradition Act of 1974 allows for extradition of 
persons subject to crimes committed and the country of the 
offense, but there have been no requests to extradite a 
suspect for trafficking. The Extradition Act allows for the 
extradition of Sierra Leone nationals to other countries for 
trial. 
 
¶L. There are no known instances of GOSL authorities 
facilitating or condoning trafficking; however, prevalent 
social attitudes and lack of government capacity and 
awareness of trafficking mean that barriers to internal 
trafficking are low. Low-level government officials who forge 
documents such as birth, marriage, and death certificates 
rarely suffer punishment, but there is no proof that these 
forged documents are used to facilitate trafficking. 
 
 
FREETOWN 00000165  008.2 OF 010 
 
 
¶M. Not applicable. See paragraph K above. 
 
¶N. Sierra Leone has not been identified as having a child sex 
tourism problem. The 1974 Extradition Act provides for the 
extradition of suspects for sexual offenses. 
 
¶O. Sierra Leone has signed and ratified ILO Convention 29 and 
105 on forced or compulsory labor and the Optional Protocol 
to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of 
children, child prostitution and child pornography. 
 
Sierra Leone signed The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and 
Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, 
supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational 
Organized Crime in November 2001. The Parliament has not yet 
ratified it. 
 
Sierra Leone signed ILO Convention 182 concerning the 
prohibition and immediate action for the elimination of the 
worst forms of child labor in June 1999. The Parliament has 
not yet ratified it. 
 
------------------------------------ 
PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶A. The Government's own capacity to care for victims of any 
kind is extremely limited and there are no government 
shelters for trafficking victims. NGOs and international 
organizations provide some services to victims. In February 
2007, the International Office for Migration (IOM), with 
funding from PRM, opened the first trafficking victims, 
shelter in the country. The facility will accommodate 22 
victims and provide reintegration services including 
counseling and education for one month before returning 
victims to their families. IOM is coordinating its victims, 
assistance activities with the TIP Task Force. 
 
¶B. The Government supports efforts of NGOs and IOs in the 
form of hosting meetings. Most government capacity to deal 
with the trafficking problem, however, comes from NGOs and 
IOs. 
 
¶C. The Police refer victims to the Ministry of Social Welfare 
for follow-on placement with NGOs. The Ministry of Social 
Welfare tries to place social workers in FSUs nationwide to 
provide counseling and assistance to victims; however, the 
Ministry has difficulty retaining them. Once trained, 
according the Minister, a number of social workers left to 
work for NGOs. 
 
The MOSW works with UNICEF and service provider NGOs to form 
a child protection network for street children. There is a 
pilot program of bail homes operating in Kenema and Makeni 
where children who are alleged nonviolent offenders can stay 
in temporary foster care if their families do not post bail 
for them. 
 
¶D. In the case of the Indian nationals being trafficked to 
Guinea, it is unclear if the individuals arrested were 
trafficking victims or smuggled individuals. Otherwise, there 
are no known cases in which the rights of a known trafficking 
victim were not respected. 
 
¶E. Sierra Leone's justice sector was destroyed by the 11- 
year civil war. A new UK-sponsored Justice Sector Development 
Project began in 2005 to rebuild it. The justice system is 
currently characterized by delays and corruption, and 
trafficking victims would have a difficult time - like other 
 
FREETOWN 00000165  009.2 OF 010 
 
 
Sierra Leoneans - in obtaining justice through the current 
legal system. 
 
Social factors often prevent women and children victims of 
sexual and other violence from obtaining justice in the court 
system. Rape cases, for instance, are often settled out of 
court by male family members. Such social factors may also 
serve as a barrier for trafficking victims to access justice. 
 
The new Anti-Trafficking Act provides for victim restitution 
as a penalty for trafficking. 
 
¶F. There are no witness protection programs available. 
However, there are several programs implemented in 
partnership with international organizations and NGOs that 
provide assistance and protection services to victims of 
violence and sexual exploitation. 
 
¶G. The TIP Action Plan has components that include provisions 
for training that will target specialized training for 
government officials to assist with the recognition of 
trafficking cases. There are also protection components that 
will train victims service providers to better treat children 
victims. 
 
Due to limited resources, the Government does not provide 
training on protections and assistance to its embassies and 
consulates in foreign countries that are destination or 
transit countries, nor does it encourage its embassies and 
consulates to develop ongoing relationships with NGOs that 
serve trafficked victims. 
 
¶H. No, the Government does not provide assistance to its 
repatriated nationals who are trafficking victims. 
 
¶I. International organizations provide child protection, 
trafficking awareness training, vocational training, and 
counseling services. They include UNICEF, UNHCR, ICRC, IOM; 
and NGOs such as the FAITH Consortium, International Rescue 
Committee, Save the Children, Defense for Children 
International, CARITAS, COOPI, Human Rights Youth Coalition, 
Don Bosco Fambul, Women in Crisis Movement, Christian in 
Action Development Agency, FAWE, and GOAL SL. 
 
-------- 
TIP Hero 
-------- 
 
For a second year, Post nominates Ms. Kadi Fakondo, an 
Assistant Commissioner in the Sierra Leone Police.  Fakondo 
continues to play a vital role in raising awareness of Sierra 
Leoneans about the nature of trafficking in persons. 
 
When Fakondo was the Local Unit Commander of the police 
station in Kissy in 2000, she started the first Family 
Support Unit (FSU) - a special police division to help women 
and children deal with rape and domestic violence.  With 
Fakondo at the helm, Family Support Units eventually 
multiplied and are now in place countrywide.  With the 
expansion, reporting of sexual violence has steadily 
increased. 
 
After attending her first trafficking seminar, Fakondo became 
an avid promoter of efforts to combat trafficking. A dynamic, 
charismatic, and well-respected speaker, Fakondo frequently 
voices her concerns and convictions about trafficking over 
the radio, at seminars, at interagency meetings, and with her 
own staff.  Fakondo was the driving force behind the ad hoc 
TIP Task Force that formed after the passage of critical TIP 
 
FREETOWN 00000165  010.2 OF 010 
 
 
legislation in 2005. She found a place for the Task Force to 
meet, provided a secretary to take minutes and keep 
attendance, and urged key stakeholders to attend meetings. 
 
Much of what the TIP Task Force has accomplished this year 
can be attributed to Fakondo,s drive and perseverance to 
combat this very difficult and complex issue in Sierra Leone 
and educate the public about the menace of trafficking. 
 
HULL