VZCZCXRO2747
RR RUEHMA RUEHPA
DE RUEHRY #0315/01 1770930
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 250930Z JUN 08
FM AMEMBASSY CONAKRY
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2682
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 CONAKRY 000315 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP AND DRL 
DOL FOR DIANTHA GARMS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12598: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL ASEC GV
 
SUBJECT: CHILD TRAFFICKING IN WESTERN MARITIME GUINEA 
 
REF: CONAKRY 00220 
 
¶1. (U) SUMMARY. Authorities express their concern about child 
trafficking, but also stress the importance of focusing on the 
prevalence of child exploitation in the region regardless of where 
the children came from or how they got there. This cable is the 
third in a series of reports on child trafficking in Guinea. END 
SUMMARY 
 
¶2. (U) During a trip to Boke and Sangaredi the week of June 4-9, 
Asst Poloff met with local authorities, police, and NGOs working to 
combat child trafficking, including Save the Children and Club Amis 
du Monde (CAM). Asst Poloff also had an opportunity to inquire about 
a recent child trafficking case (reftel) that was investigated by 
authorities in Boke and Sangaredi, which resulted in the alleged 
traffickers being released. 
 
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ENCOURAGING VIGILANCE AMONG CITIZENS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Governor of Boke, Siafa Beavogui, expressed his 
disappointment that Guinean children are increasingly being treated 
as a commodity. He said the problem is child exploitation not child 
trafficking, and he is trying to work on potential sources of demand 
for children in his region. The governor said that he has found a 
high prevalence of children working at the 500 small sea ports that 
line the administrative district of Boke, but does not know where 
the children came from or how they got there. The Governor said that 
he is working with fishermen, sensitizing them and recruiting them 
as monitors for child exploitation in the ports. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Prefect of Boke, Keita Mamadou, said that he is setting 
up "vigilant communities" on his Prefecture's border with 
Guinea-Bissau to monitor the border for child traffickers. The 
prefect explained that while it is not easy to transport children 
over the Guinea-Bissau border, cross-border communities are making 
it possible. He also said that while he does not have specific cases 
of child trafficking, he knows that some children are being 
trafficked over the Guinea-Bissau border to work on cashew 
plantations in Guinea. 
 
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NGO ACTIVITIES IN THE REGION 
---------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Asst Poloff held a joint meeting with Save the Children 
Regional Director Ibrahima Diallo and Club Amis du Monde coordinator 
Abdoubacar Sylla to discuss child trafficking issues in Western 
Maritime Guinea. The NGOs shared their activities to combat child 
trafficking and child exploitation. When asked about specific cases 
of child trafficking, the NGOs have only been involved in one 
official case (reftel). 
 
¶6. (SBU) Mr. Sylla said that they know children are transported for 
child labor in the cashew plantations of Western Maritime Guinea. He 
said that even though the children are exploited, the parents are 
aware so there is no child trafficking occurring. Mr. Sylla also 
brought up another case of a nine year old boy who was beaten by his 
Koranic teacher in a town 50 kilometers from Boke. Mr. Sylla said it 
is a complicated case though because his teacher is a "relative," 
who was entrusted with the boy. He added that family or community 
linkages create complications when trying to convict someone for 
child trafficking, abuse, or exploitation. 
 
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RECENT TRAFFICKING INCIDENT INVESTIGATED 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Asst Poloff went to Sangaredi to meet with the Special 
Police Commissioner Ibrahima Sory Sylla, who investigated the case 
of the two marabouts allegedly trafficking 11 children to Senegal 
through Koundara (reftel). Mr. Sylla presented a large file for 
investigation, which he said lasted 14 days. Mr. Sylla said he took 
this case very seriously and documented every meeting, participant, 
and decision.  Mr. Sylla said that the two marabouts - Boubacar Bah 
and Mamdou Balobah - were both Guinean from Daramagnaki, which is 
nearby Sangaredi. All 11 children in the case were from the town of 
Bambaya, about 15 kilometers from Sangaredi. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Mr. Sylla said that a group of ten people (NGOs, local 
authorities, and police) convened for a two day meeting to review 
the incident. Save the Children and CAM were involved in this 
meeting. Mr. Sylla said that the group decided this was not a 
trafficking case, but a case of child exploitation because the 
marabouts did not have the means to support these children. He 
confirmed previous reports that the children were returned to their 
village and the marabouts released. When asked whether he thought 
 
CONAKRY 00000315  002 OF 002 
 
 
these marabouts would try to do this again, Mr. Sylla said that he 
confiscated their travel documents so that they could not cross the 
border. Mr. Sylla added that Sangaredi had not been involved in any 
child trafficking cases up until this incident. He then outlined a 
number of recommendations that came out of a two-day meeting 
regarding the incident, including sensitizing local officials about 
child trafficking and increasing border security vigilance to combat 
child trafficking. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Asst Poloff also asked Save the Children Regional Director 
Ibrahima Diallo and Club Amis du Monde coordinator Abdoubacar Sylla 
to comment on the investigation. Both NGOs said that this was a case 
of child exploitation, not child trafficking. Mr. Diallo from Save 
the Children said that this case could not be considered child 
trafficking because the Koranic scholars, also know as marabouts, 
had parental consent to take the children to Senegal. He continued 
by saying that trafficking cases usually involve an intermediary 
that transports the children to someone who intends to exploit them. 
Mr. Sylla added that this was a case of child exploitation because 
the marabout would likely exploit the children because he did not 
have the financial means to support them during their Koranic 
studies in Senegal. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶10. (SBU) This cable represents a continuation of Embassy efforts to 
understand child trafficking issues in Guinea.  Embassy has only 
recently had reporting that suggests Guinea's Western Maritime 
border experiences child trafficking to Guinea-Bissau and Senegal. 
While there is a consensus regarding the prevalence of child 
exploitation in Western Maritime Guinea, there does not seem to be 
an agreement on whether the children are also victims of child 
trafficking. Parental consent and guardianship are only complicating 
authorities' and NGOs' understanding of child trafficking.  The 
Embassy has been receiving a number of reports that point to 
Koundara as a possible hub for child trafficking.  A recent trip to 
the region, reported septel, explores this possibility in more 
depth. END COMMENT. 
 
CARTER