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FM AMEMBASSY YAOUNDE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9702
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 YAOUNDE 000152 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G-ACBLANK, PRM, AF/RSA, AF/C AND DRL 
DEPT. PLEASE PASS TO USAID 
PARIS AND LONDON FOR AFRICA ACTION OFFICERS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB CM
SUBJECT: CAMEROON: 2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 
 
REF: 08 STATE 00132759 
 09 STATE 00005577 
 
¶1. Summary: The Government of the Republic of Cameroon (GRC) 
acknowledges that Cameroon is a country of origin, transit and 
destination for trafficked women and children.  In 2005, the 
National Assembly passed Anti-Child Trafficking legislation.  A 
number of sections of the penal code apply to trafficking-related 
crimes, and traffickers have been prosecuted and convicted under 
those provisions.  The government continues to build awareness and 
work to eradicate trafficking.  It cooperates with foreign 
governments, including the U.S., international organizations and 
non-governmental organizations (NGO), to combat trafficking. End 
Summary 
 
¶2. The information presented below follows the format of the 
questions in reftels. 
 
Section 23. Overview 
-------------------- 
 
¶A. The press, including print and electronic media, local and 
international NGOs, international organizations, and government 
agencies are the leading sources of available information on 
trafficking in persons.  Post also collects information during field 
trips to sensitive areas.  Post has had the opportunity to 
crosscheck available information through meetings with various 
stakeholders and comparison of information from various sources. 
 
¶B. Cameroon is a country of origin, transit and destination for 
trafficked children.  It is a country of origin for trafficked 
women.  Cameroon's trafficking targets have traditionally been, and 
continue to be, women and children.  Children, however, are at 
greater risk of being trafficked. 
 
-- The majority of child trafficking occurs within Cameroon's 
borders, while most trafficked women are transported out of the 
country.  Girls are often trafficked from Anglophone areas, 
particularly the North West, to the Francophone cities of Douala and 
Yaounde to work as domestics or to provide cheap childcare.  The 
language barrier makes it easier for employees to control them. 
Children are also trafficked from the Grand North (Far North, North 
and Adamaoua Regions) to the Center, South West and Littoral Regions 
to work on the streets and on cocoa plantations.  One internally 
trafficked child was kidnapped in the Center Region and released in 
the Littoral Region, where her kidnapper was arrested by gendarmes. 
 
-- Cameroon is a country of transit for trafficked children.  Most 
of them originate from Nigeria and Benin.  They are often in transit 
to Gabon or Equatorial Guinea, where they are used as household 
help.  There were about 18 cases of known trafficked children in 
transit situations between July and November 2008. 
 
-- Cameroon is also a country of destination for trafficked 
children, most of whom originate from Nigeria.  Such children are 
often forced to work in agriculture, fishing (Bakassi area), 
spare-parts shops in large cities, or selling water, tissues and 
other goods at urban street intersections. In February 2008, Post 
learned from a gendarme who recently served in the Bakassi Peninsula 
that dozens of Nigerian children age 8 and above were smuggled into 
Cameroon for fishing. The concerned children reportedly work for 
Nigerian fishermen in the 
Bakassi Peninsula. 
 
-- Cameroon is a country of origin for trafficked women.  Most women 
are trafficked to Europe, lured by fraudulent marriage proposals or 
offers of housekeeping jobs.  Often these women bribe officials to 
obtain the required documents.  Women have been trafficked primarily 
out of Cameroon's two principal cities, Yaounde and Douala. 
Clandestine European prostitution networks, principally in 
Switzerland and France, target young women looking for lucrative 
marriages through the internet or marriage brokers.  The Cameroon 
government is aware of this phenomenon; however, precise statistics 
on the number of trafficked women are not available. 
 
-- The government, in collaboration with international 
organizations, has taken some action against TIP.  This includes: 
returning street children to their homes, repatriating foreign 
children, and equipping former trafficked children with tools to 
assist in reintegration.  Observers believe that these actions have 
contributed to a slight drop in the magnitude of the TIP problem. 
 
 
 ¶C. According to local NGOs in the North West Province (a source 
province for trafficked children), the 2005 anti-child trafficking 
 
YAOUNDE 00000152  002 OF 010 
 
 
legislation is deterring traffickers because more people are 
informed about methods used to traffic children. Trafficked children 
are often recruited as babysitters.  To combat trafficking, 
advertisements for babysitters in the North West province specify 
that the babysitter must be above 18 years of age. 
¶D. Children are the leading victims of trafficking in Cameroon.  The 
majority are Cameroonian and are trafficked from rural to urban 
areas.  Trafficking almost exclusively involves very small scale 
operations (2-3 children at most) and frequently is the result of a 
rural parent agreeing to send a child to the city to work under the 
assumption that the child would be paid for his or her labor, which 
is often not the case.  Women are also trafficked, lured by promises 
of lucrative marriages or jobs abroad. 
 
¶E. Trafficking in Cameroon is largely controlled by individuals or 
small groups.  Post has no evidence to suggest that large 
international crime syndicates are involved in trafficking in 
Cameroon.  Trafficked children are usually transported from rural 
areas via a "middle man" who introduces himself as a person of good 
will.  Posing as a church leader or sports director, the trafficker 
promises the parents he will provide their child with an education 
and a better life outside of their rural village.  Grateful parents 
hand over their child in hopes of providing him or her with a better 
life.  Occasionally, the traffickers are extended family members who 
force the children to work for them or hire the children out to 
perform domestic work for others.  Officials from the Ministry of 
Social Affairs (MINAS) report that in some large rural families, 
parents or other family members will "loan" a child in exchange for 
monetary compensation.  That bondage may be life-long, or may last 
for a number of years.  These children are normally forced to work 
as domestic servants, street vendors, prostitutes, or nannies in 
more urban areas.  Transited children are trafficked typically 
between Gabon and Nigeria.  Typically, marriage brokers front for 
traffickers and use the Internet to lure trafficked women with the 
prospect of lucrative marriages 
 
Section 24. Setting the Scene for the Government's Anti-TIP Efforts 
-------------- --------------------------- ----------------------- 
 
¶A. The Government of Cameroon acknowledges that trafficking is a 
problem in Cameroon, although this acknowledgement has come 
piecemeal from various Ministries.  Awareness is being further 
raised among local government and security officials serving in the 
areas where trafficking is an issue. 
 
¶B. The Ministries of Social Affairs, Labor and Social Security, 
Women's Empowerment and the Family, Basic Education, Secondary 
Education, and Justice are involved in anti-trafficking efforts. 
Security agencies are also key actors, including the General 
Delegation for National Security (DGSN), its National Interpol 
Bureau (BCN-Interpol), and the National Gendarmerie.  The Ministry 
of Labor and Social Security has the lead in anti-trafficking 
efforts. 
 
¶C. Although the government has expressed its desire to combat 
trafficking, a lack of funds and trained personnel seriously limits 
its ability to address TIP and aid trafficking victims. 
Additionally a lack of awareness by law enforcement officials about 
the anti-trafficking law inhibits the government from addressing 
this problem.  The GRC does not have sufficient resources to support 
extensive prevention programs. 
 
-- Corruption is a serious problem in Cameroon, although the 
government has made some efforts to address it.  On May 31, 2005, 
President Biya created the National Agency for the Investigation of 
Financial Crimes (ANIF, French acronym).  The leading mission of the 
Agency is to fight money laundering and funding of international 
terrorism.  It also helps track down corruption-related enrichment 
and embezzlement of public funds.  In March 2006, President Biya 
created the National Anti-corruption Commission (CONAC, French 
acronym), which is under his direct authority.  CONAC collects 
information from any individual, institution, or organization that 
has a case to denounce.  In March 2008, for instance, CONAC 
organized a forum against corruption in the transportation sector. 
On February 23, 2007, the Government and the United Nations 
Development Program (UNDP) signed a convention to implement an 
anti-corruption program named Change Habits-Oppose Corruption 
(CHOC).  Through that program, Cameroon will receive $2 million (one 
billion CFA francs) within three years, to conduct anti-corruption 
actions. 
 
-- There were publicized prosecutions of government officials 
accused of corruption during the year.  The Delegate General for 
National Security (DGSN) sanctioned dozens of police officers for 
corruption, pending trials.  In August, the police arrested and 
 
YAOUNDE 00000152  003 OF 010 
 
 
detained a former minister of state and secretary general of the 
Presidency for corruption and embezzlement.  His trial is pending. 
In July, the Yaounde High Court sentenced Joseph Edou, the former 
general manager of Credit Foncier, the government's real estate 
funding company, and Andre Boto'o a Ngon, the former board chairman 
of the company, to 40 years imprisonment each for corruption. 
 
¶D. The GRC does not have a crime monitoring system in place.  There 
is no central database for crime statistics, including trafficking 
crimes.  Regional law enforcement bodies are not required to report 
cases or incidents to a central authority.   Interpol's National 
Branch Office has begun collecting data, which it hopes to release 
soon.  There were, however, significant improvements.  During the 
year, the Ministry of Justice began putting in place a system for 
collecting law enforcement data, including the number of traffickers 
arrested, prosecuted and convicted.  However, implementation is 
slow, as the computerization of the various courts just started 
recently.  On November 11, the Prime Minister and the Minister of 
Justice visited the pilot center located in the Yaounde First 
Instance Court, and the training center for computer specialists at 
the National School of Administration and Magistracy (ENAM).  The 
computerization process is expected to be completed by 2012. 
 
Section 25. Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers 
-------------------------------- ------------------------ 
 
¶A. The GRC does not have a law specifically prohibiting trafficking 
in persons.  However, on December 14, 2005, the National Assembly 
passed specific legislation on child trafficking and slavery.  The 
President ratified the law on December 29, 2005. Until there is 
legislation prohibiting trafficking in persons, courts use Article 
293 and other provisions of the Penal Code that address crimes 
related to trafficking such as slavery, prostitution and violations 
of minimum age requirements for workers. On June 4, 2007, Cameroon 
signed on to the Anti-Sex Tourism Charter, which provides for ethics 
rules in the management of tourist activities. Hotels are supposed 
to begin verifying the identification of suspected juvenile female 
clients and barring access to unaccompanied minor children. 
Traffickers can be prosecuted under articles 3, 4, 5, and 6 of the 
Penal Code, which covers bondage and trafficking/slavery. 
 
The following is the text of the child trafficking law. 
 
Begin Text. 
 
Article 1: This law is on the fight against child trafficking and 
slavery. 
 
Article 2: For the purpose of this law, the following terms shall 
mean: 
 (a) child: any person of either sex below 18 years 
 (b) child trafficking: the act of moving or helping to move a child 
within or outside Cameroon with a view to directly or indirectly 
reaping any financial or material benefit whatsoever; 
 (c) child slavery: the recruitment, transfer, accommodation or 
reception of children from exploitative purposes through threat, use 
of force or other forms of duress, through kidnapping, fraud, 
deceit, abuse of authority, or taking advantage of a situation of 
vulnerability or through offer or acceptance of benefits to obtain 
the consent of a person having authority over a child. 
 (d) child exploitation: comprises, at least the use or procurement 
or offering of children or any other forms of sexual exploitation, 
exploitation of child labor or forced labor, slavery or practices 
similar to slavery, serfdom or organ removal. 
 (e) consent of the person is vitiated: where acts of violence were 
committed on the victim himself or on the persons having legal or 
customary custody; 
 (f) debt bondage of children; the act of pledging a child before a 
creditor as security for a loan or debt for exploitative purposes. 
 
Article 3 of the Child Trafficking Law provides that: 
(1) Whoever submits a child to debt bondage shall be punished with 
imprisonment for from five to ten years and with fines from 10,000 
to 500,000 CFA francs ($20 to $1,000). 
 
(2) The penalties provided for in Article 3 (1) above shall be 
doubled where the offender is an ascendant, a guardian, or the 
person having even customary custody over the victim. 
 
(3) Any person who boards a child in debt bondage shall be punished 
with imprisonment for (ten) years and with fine of from 10,000 to 
one million CFA francs ($20 to $1,000). 
 
Article 4 provides that: Any person who practices child trafficking 
or slavery, even occasional1y shall be punished with imprisonment 
 
YAOUNDE 00000152  004 OF 010 
 
 
for terms ranging from 10 to 20 years and with fines from 50,000 to 
one million CFA francs ($100 to $2,000). 
 
Article 5 provides that child trafficking and slavery shall be 
punished with imprisonment for 15 to 20 years and with a fine of one 
hundred thousand to ten million CFA francs ($200 to $20,000) in the 
following cases: 
 
a) where the offense is committed against a minor below 15 years of 
age; 
b) where the offender is the victim's legitimate, natural or 
adoptive ascendant; 
c) where the offender has authority over the child or is expected to 
participate by virtue of his duties in the fight against slavery or 
in peacekeeping; 
d) where the offense is committed by an organized gang or an 
association of criminals; 
e) where the offense is committed with the use of weapons; 
f) where the victim has sustained injuries set forth in Section 277 
of the Penal Code or has died as a result of the offense. 
 
Article 6 provides that the offenders, co-offenders and accomplices 
of child debt bondage, trafficking and slavery shall be sentenced to 
additional penalties provided for by Article 30 of the Penal Code, 
which deals with "Forfeitures," and reads as follows: 
 
1) Removal and exclusion from any public service, employment or 
office; 
2) Incapacity to be a juror, assessor, expert referee or sworn 
expert; 
3) Incapacity to be guardian, curator. Deputy guardian or committee, 
save of the offender's own children, or member of a family council; 
4) Prohibition on wearing any decoration; 
5) Prohibition on serving in the armed forces; 
6) Prohibition on keeping a school, on teaching in any educational 
establishment, and in general on holding any post connected with the 
education or care of children. 
 
-- Part of Article 293 of the Penal Code provides that whoever 
enslaves or engages, whether habitually or otherwise, in the traffic 
in persons shall be punished with imprisonment for ten to twenty 
years. Article 342 adds that where an enslaved victim is under 
eighteen years of age, the penalty shall be imprisonment for fifteen 
to twenty years and a fine of fifty thousand CFA francs 
(approximately $100) to one million CFA (approximately $2,000).  In 
addition, the court may impose forfeitures described in article 30 
including, removal and exclusion from public service; inability to 
be a juror, assessor or sworn expert; and general prohibition on 
holding a post connected with the education or care of children. The 
second half of the Article forbids the act of using people as 
"security" on loans and that offenders shall be punished by 
imprisonment for one to five years and a fine of 10,000 to one 
million CFA francs (approximately $20 to $2,000).  The court may 
also impose the forfeitures described in article 30 (see above). 
 
End Text 
 
¶B. In the Child Trafficking Law, child exploitation includes forms 
of sexual exploitation: (d) child exploitation: comprises, at least 
the use or procurement or offering of children or any other forms of 
sexual exploitation, exploitation of child labor or forced labor, 
slavery or practices similar to slavery, serfdom or organ removal. 
 
¶C. Article 2 (3) of the Labor Code forbids forced or compulsory 
labor.  Under the code, any labor or service demanded of an 
individual under threat or penalty, be it a labor or service, which 
the individual has not freely offered to perform, and any person 
committing an infringement of that provision shall be punished with 
a fine of fifty thousand CFS ($100) to five hundred thousand CFA 
($1,000)(Article 166). The law punishes employers who switch 
contracts without the worker's consent as a means to keep the worker 
in a state of service.  Article 168 (5) of the same Code provides 
that any person who forces a worker to take up employment against 
his will or who prevents a worker from taking up employment, going 
to work or discharging, in a general manner, any obligations imposed 
by his contract shall be punished with a fine from two hundred 
thousand CFA ($ 400) to 1.5 million CFA ($ 3,000). Few such cases 
have been reported.  Cameroon is not considered a labor source 
country. 
 
¶D. Rape or forcible sexual assault is a punishable crime.  It is 
sanctioned by the Penal Code in Article 296, which provides that 
whoever by force or moral ascendancy compels any female whether 
above or below the age of puberty to have sexual intercourse with 
him shall be punished with imprisonment for five to ten years. 
 
YAOUNDE 00000152  005 OF 010 
 
 
Article 296 adds that these penalties shall be doubled where the 
offender has authority or custody over the victim by law or custom. 
The penalties are also doubled if the offender is a public servant, 
religious minister, or is assisted in his malfeasance by one or more 
others. Due to lack of statistical data, there is no data on 
convictions of sex traffickers. 
 
¶E. The government has investigated reported cases of trafficking. 
There have been reports of individuals being arrested for their 
involvement in trafficking during the period covered by this 
report. 
 
-- On September 5, 2008, a woman kidnapped a 12-year-old girl in 
Gondong, a village of the Mbam and Inoubou Division of the Center 
Region, and smuggled her into the city of Edea, in the Littoral 
Region.  Her younger sister, who witnessed the kidnapping, alerted 
their family.  Edea gendarmes arrested the smuggler, who was 
presented to the prosecutor.  Investigations are still going on, and 
it is suspected that the smuggler could be a member of a child 
trafficking network. 
 
-- In November, press reports covered the story of a 12 year old 
Cameroonian boy and his younger brother who were kidnapped in 
Kotonou, Benin by a woman.  The two children were smuggled into 
Cameroon, Kousseri, Far North Region in transit to an unknown 
destination, likely Gabon.  The young boy was able to escape, 
leaving his younger brother in the vehicle.  The Association for the 
Protection of Children Living Away From Their Families in Cameroon 
(APEEC, French acronym) took care of the boy, while the judicial 
police and the National Office of Interpol are conducting the 
investigations. 
 
-- Between July and November 2008, the government investigated the 
case of 15 Beninese children who were among the 54 survivors of a 
boat from West Africa, which capsized in Cameroonian territorial 
waters off the coast at Londji, South Region.  There were strong 
suspicions of child trafficking due to the fact that the children 
ranged in age from 8 to 19.  During the investigation, the 
Cameroonian government took care of the children in the Centre 
d'Accueil et d'Observation (CAO) of Douala, which is under the 
authority of the Ministry of Social Affairs.  The fifteen children 
were repatriated to their country on November 18.  Investigations 
continue. 
 
-- In mid-January 2008, gendarmerie officers of the Santa brigade in 
the North West Province arrested three traffickers who were driving 
a vehicle with seven children aged 12 to 17.  The three traffickers 
were sent to the Prosecutor of the Bamenda court.  This case is 
pending. 
 
-- In December 2007, Bamenda gendarmerie officers arrested a 
trafficker, who trafficked children to Idenau, a district of the 
South West Province.  The arrest was linked to a specific case of 
trafficking in which the victim died.  The trafficker was released 
on bail pending formal charges and trial. 
 
-- In 2007, the Yaounde court held hearings on six child 
trafficking-related cases.  These are still pending in court. 
 
-- Gendarmes, police officers, and prosecutors in Yaounde and 
Bamenda used the provisions of the Labor Code, the Penal Code and 
the 2005 anti-child trafficking legislation to arrest and prosecute 
traffickers. 
 
-- It is probable that Cameroonian authorities have prosecuted and 
convicted additional traffickers during the year; however, because 
such individuals can be prosecuted under many different sections of 
the penal code, it is difficult to report the rates of prosecution. 
Furthermore, the GRC does not keep criminal statistics. 
 
¶F. The government does not provide any specialized TIP training for 
government officials.  Government officials concur that training 
should be a requirement and welcome foreign training or resource 
assistance. In June 2008, the American Bar Association (ABA), 
through a G/TIP FY06 grant trained prosecutors, judges and police in 
the North West Province (a source area of trafficking) about 
trafficking issues, such as how to identify trafficking and 
pertinent laws. In September 2008, the ABA trained law enforcement 
officers and magistrates in investigation and prosecution.  The 
project ended in October 2008. In October, the National Commission 
on Human Rights and Freedoms also conducted a TIP training seminar, 
which targeted the same groups. 
 
¶G. The Cameroonian government cooperates with other governments in 
the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases.  Between 
 
YAOUNDE 00000152  006 OF 010 
 
 
July and November 2008, the government cooperated with the 
Government of Benin to investigate the abovementioned case of 15 
Beninese children who were among the 54 survivors of a boat which 
capsized in Cameroonian territorial waters, and their later 
repatriation.  In September 2008, the government cooperated with the 
Nigerian consular and diplomatic authorities, for the repatriation 
of a 12 year old Nigerian girl, who had been kidnapped in Nigeria 
and smuggled into Cameroon. 
 
¶H. The Government extradites persons charged with trafficking in 
other countries; however, Cameroonian law prohibits the extradition 
of Cameroonian nationals. There have been no known cases of 
extraditions from Cameroon to the U.S. in recent years. 
 
I/J. There is no indication that governmental authorities facilitate 
or condone trafficking, nor is there indication that they are 
complicit in such activities.  While Post has received anecdotal 
reports that frontier police sometimes accept bribes from 
traffickers, Post has not been able to verify such reports.  There 
have also been anecdotal reports that the frontier police, 
particularly at the two major airports in the country, have become 
increasingly vigilant in combating trafficking and in requiring 
parental authorizations for children who are traveling with someone 
other than a parent.   Post is unaware of the prosecution or 
conviction of governmental officials involved in trafficking 
activities. 
 
¶K. Prostitution is illegal but widely practiced in urban areas and 
places frequented by tourists.  There are no well-established 
brothel or pimp networks in the country, and most prostitutes are 
poor women and girls who are forced into the sex trade by perceived 
economic necessity.  Prostitution is also punishable through the 
Penal Code.  Article 294 provides that whoever procures, aids or 
facilitates another person's prostitution, or shares in the proceeds 
of another's prostitution, whether habitual or otherwise, or who is 
subsidized by any person engaging in prostitution shall be punished 
with imprisonment for six months to five years and a fine of 20,000 
CFA francs (approximately $40) to one million CFA francs 
(approximately $2,000).  Article 346 adds that these penalties shall 
be doubled when the victim is less than 16 years of age. 
 
¶L. Cameroon contributes troops to international peacekeeping 
efforts.  Post is unaware of any cases of Cameroonian peacekeepers 
that engaged in or facilitated severe forms of trafficking or 
exploited victims of such trafficking. 
 
¶M. Post is not aware of an identified child sex tourism problem; 
however, as a preventive measure, on June 4, 2007, the GRC signed 
the Anti-Sex Tourism Charter, which provides for ethics rules in the 
management of tourist activities. Hotels are supposed to begin 
verifying the identification of suspected juvenile female clients 
and barring access to unaccompanied minor children. 
 
Section 26. Protection and Assistance to Victims 
------------------ ------------------------------ 
 
¶A. When informed, the government provides assistance to victims, 
including temporary residency status, shelter and medical care.  The 
GRC does not discriminate on the basis of country of origin in the 
assistance it provides to trafficking victims.  Social programs 
exist in the country to assist in the removal of children engaged in 
the worst forms of child labor.  Local NGOs are particularly active 
in that field. 
 
¶B. The government has very few victim care facilities in Yaounde and 
Douala, and other regional capitals.  However it started making 
efforts during the year.  On December 30, 2008, the Prime Minister 
enjoined the Minister of Social Affairs and the Minister of Youth 
and Sports to build the operational capacities of centers that cater 
for children in distress in order to foster their social 
integration.  He also instructed them to finalize the legal and 
statutory framework for the protection, supervision and 
socio-professional reintegration of street children.    The 
government also cooperates with several NGOs active in regions where 
trafficking is an issue.  An NGO in Yaounde told Post in December 
2007 that since its creation, it had provided shelter to 840 
vulnerable and trafficked children most of who were referred to them 
by the Ministry of Social Affairs.  One local NGO in the North West 
reports that it provides shelter for over 150 children annually and 
provides healthcare and counseling in as many cases as possible. 
Another NGO in the South West provides vocational training for 
street children in Kumba. Children who have been recovered from 
trafficking situations by the state are either cared for in centers 
sponsored by the Ministry of Social Affairs or are sent to local NGO 
centers while the Ministry tries to locate the children's parents. 
 
YAOUNDE 00000152  007 OF 010 
 
 
Local NGOs report that they have generally good relationships with 
local law enforcement and are normally contacted when trafficking 
cases arise.  The government does not discriminate trafficking 
victims based on their nationality.  In September 2008, during a 
visit to the 15 Beninese children who were among the 54 survivors of 
a boat which capsized in Cameroonian territorial waters, the 
Minister of Social Affairs stated that it is the policy of Cameroon 
to give priority to the protection of children, and that protection 
has no borders.  She added that whenever a child, regardless of 
origin, is in distress it is the mission of the Ministry of Social 
Affairs to protect him. 
 
¶C. The government lacks the funds to implement its own 
anti-trafficking programs and therefore does not provide financial 
support to NGOs working to combat trafficking.  Most international 
NGOs and faith-based NGOs, who are the leaders in assisting victims 
of trafficking, receive financial assistance from international 
organizations and religious communities in other countries. 
However, in the few centers that it runs, the government makes 
efforts to provide trafficking victims with access to medical and 
psychological assistance, and food.  That was the case with the 15 
Beninese children who were taken care of at the Centre d'Accueil et 
d'Observation (CAO) of Bepanda in Douala, Littoral Region, between 
July and November 2008.  The center belongs to the Ministry of 
Social Affairs. 
 
D/E. The government provides assistance to foreign trafficking 
victims.  It provides temporary residency status, until repatriation 
process is finalized.  Post is not aware of cases of victims that 
required long-term shelter or housing benefits. 
 
¶F. The GRC has an informal system to refer victims to its own 
facilities and to NGOs for shelter. Once security forces have 
identified individuals as trafficking victims, they send a report to 
the local administrative authority, which in its turn directs the 
victims to the appropriate government agency, for further action. 
This includes providing them with shelter, medical care, and food. 
 
¶G. There were at least 18 cases of victims identified during the 
rating period.  15 among them were referred to care facilities for 
assistance by social services officials.  One was taken care of by 
an NGO specialized in the protection of children living away from 
their parents.  Another one was taken care of by his country's 
consulate and embassy in Cameroon. 
 
¶H. The government's law enforcement, immigration and social services 
personnel do not have a formal system of actively identifying 
victims of trafficking.  However, border police at airports appear 
to be more and more vigilant.  Travel documents including the 
passports of foreign persons likely of having violated immigration 
laws, are better checked, especially when travelling with young 
children.  On October 21, the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of 
Justice, Keeper of the Seals, announced a revision of the law on 
adoption.  He revealed that until the law is revised, conservative 
measures had been put in place to address any case of trafficking. 
It is hoped that training, which the ABA and the NCHRF provided law 
enforcement officials with in June, September and October will 
develop and raise their skills. 
 
¶I. The GRC generally respects the rights of trafficked children. 
Post is not aware of any victims that were detained for longer than 
was required for protective custody, jailed, fined, deported or 
prosecuted for violating laws governing issues like illegal 
immigration or prostitution. 
 
¶J. The government encourages victims to assist in the investigation 
and prosecution of trafficking.  Post has no record of trafficking 
victims acting as eyewitnesses and is not aware of any legal 
protections that they would be entitled to beyond those accorded to 
all eyewitnesses.  Victims may file suits or seek legal action 
against traffickers, and law enforcement officers encourage them to 
do so.  However since children are the main victims of trafficking, 
it is family members of trafficking victims who may bring civil 
suits against traffickers.  Post is aware of one case in the North 
West Region where gendarme officers encouraged the family of a 
victim to sue a trafficker, who did not pay the child as promised 
when he took him away.  In December 2007 in Bamenda, North West 
Region, the aunt of a trafficked child sued a trafficker who failed 
to pay the child for more than a year.  The case is currently 
pending in the Bamenda court. 
 
¶K. The government, through the National Commission on Human Rights 
and Freedoms, provided specialized training for government officials 
in identifying trafficking victims.  NGOs have included government 
officials, including law enforcement, in some of their training 
 
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programs. Post is unaware of any training that the government 
provides to its embassies and consulates in foreign countries that 
are destination or transit countries.  However, those embassies and 
consulates cooperate with host countries. 
 
¶L. Post is not aware of any cases of Cameroon's nationals who have 
been repatriated as victims of trafficking.  Were such cases to 
occur, the government would provide assistance such as medical aid, 
shelter, or financial help to those victims, as it has always done 
with emergency repatriation of Cameroonians who were the victims of 
xenophobia-related violence abroad. 
 
¶M. Several international organizations and NGOs work with 
trafficking victims, directly or indirectly.  SOS Kinderhof, an 
Austrian international NGO, is involved in the protection of 
vulnerable children.  The organization runs a "Children's Village" 
in the Center Province (Mbalmayo) and one in a Douala suburb. 
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) funds the activities of 
rehabilitation centers, like Nkumu Fed Fed's in Bali, North West 
Region.  The Raoul Follereau Children Foundation and the Episcopal 
Conference of Italy co-fund organizations run shelters as well. 
Some of these shelters provide children with vocational training in 
carpentry, masonry, mechanics, electronics, and tailoring, to 
prepare them to future positive reinsertion in the society.  They 
also sponsor the education of those wanting to continue their 
schooling.  The government does not have the means to fund the 
activities of NGOs or any other organizations.  The government 
trusts these organizations which have had a good track record and 
transfers trafficking victims to these organizations. The "Foyer de 
l'Esperance," the "Fondation Emmanuel", which are religious NGOs, 
and "Noah's Ark" (through Nkumu Fed Fed) focus on trafficked 
children. These NGOs operate freely and are tax exempt. There are 
also numerous NGOs who work on child labor issues.  These NGOs also 
work to identify trafficking victims and increase awareness of 
trafficking.  The government holds regular consultations with the 
organizations concerned, in order to make sure that all regulations 
are fully respected.  Cooperation between the government and those 
organizations is generally good. 
 
Section 27. Prevention 
---------------------- 
 
¶A. The government acknowledges that TIP is a problem in Cameroon. 
And because children are the leading victims of trafficking, all the 
efforts focus on anti-child trafficking/child labor actions. 
Awareness is being further built among local government and security 
officials serving in the areas where trafficking was an issue. 
 
-- Anti-trafficking ads are broadcast on government radio and 
television.  In government offices in Bamenda, North West Province, 
there are posters by NGO Nkumu Fed Fed (with support from the G/TIP 
funding) which depict common scenarios used to lure children into 
trafficking.  The Red Card Against Child Labor initiative is also 
continuously visible in Cameroon.  This ILO-sponsored program 
includes a television advertisement campaign wherein well-known 
soccer players denounce child labor.  These ads air regularly on the 
national television station, CRTV. 
 
-- During the year, the government made some efforts to protect 
children's rights and welfare, including participation in seminars 
on children's rights.  During the year the Prime Minister, the 
Minister of Social Affairs and other senior leaders made statements 
and presented government action plans regarding the improvement of 
the condition of children.  The government continued to build 
awareness among local government and security officials serving in 
the areas where trafficking was an issue.  Vigilance and 
anti-trafficking actions were among their priorities.  In June and 
September, the American Bar Association (ABA) organized seminars to 
train law enforcement officers and magistrates in investigation and 
prosecution of trafficking offenses.  In October, the National 
Commission on Human Rights and Freedoms also conducted an 
anti-trafficking seminar, which targeted the same group.  There were 
anti-trafficking educational on rural and regional radios, and 
anti-trafficking spots were broadcast on government radio and 
television. 
 
-- On the occasion of the celebration of the Day of the African 
Child (June 16), Child Parliamentarians held their tenth session at 
the National Assembly under the theme, "Children's participation". 
In June, the Child Parliamentarians passed a number of resolutions 
including a call for increased dissemination of all legal 
instruments covering children's rights, and the creation of 
structures to care for trafficking victims. 
 
-- From March 24-28, and in the framework of the "Explorons le Droit 
 
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Humanitaire" (EDH) program, the International Committee of the Red 
Cross (ICRC) and the Ministry of Secondary Education organized a 
training seminar on humanitarian law and how it can be taught for 60 
pedagogy inspectors from all the 10 regions.  Those inspectors 
became trainers who taught teachers on how to teach humanitarian law 
in schools. 
 
¶B. The government monitored immigration and emigration patterns for 
evidence of trafficking.  The government's frontier police, customs 
officials and special gendarmerie units have made efforts to monitor 
Cameroon's borders, particularly at seaports and airports.  Land 
borders are less well controlled and in the North and North West 
individuals report being able to pass freely between Nigeria, Chad 
and Cameroon.  During the February 17-18, 2004 seminar on the IRSA 
study, the representative of National Security acknowledged that due 
to limited resources, security forces are unable to control the 
entire border.  He added that at some borders, it is hard to 
differentiate between Cameroonians, Chadians, or Nigerians because 
of a shared ethnic and linguistic background.  The Government also 
fully cooperates with Interpol, of which it is a member.  Because of 
increased awareness, frontier police are becoming more vigilant and 
anecdotal evidence suggest that frontier police are increasingly 
strict in requiring parental authorizations for children traveling 
without their parents. 
 
¶C. There is a mechanism for coordination and communication between 
various agencies, internal, international, and multilateral on 
trafficking-related matters.  However, this mechanism is rarely 
used. Ten governmental agencies work within an inter-agency TIP 
group.  They include: the Ministries of Labor and Social Insurance 
(MTSS); Social Affairs (MINAS); Women and Family Promotion (MPFF); 
Justice (MINJUSTICE); External Relations (MINREX); Territorial 
Administration and Decentralization (MINATD); and Tourism (MINTOUR). 
 Also included among the inter-agency group is the Secretariat of 
State for Defense, in charge of the National Gendarmerie (SED); the 
General Delegation for National Security (DGSN), which includes 
border police; and the Customs Services for both seaports and 
airports.  The group does not meet on a regular basis. 
 
¶D. The Government continues to work on a national plan of action, 
entitled the "National Strategic Plan against Child Trafficking." In 
early November 2007, the Ministries of Economy and Planning, Basic 
Education, Women Empowerment and Family, Public Health, and UNICEF 
were finalizing the "National Policy Framework Document for the Full 
Development of the Young Child." This Policy Framework is designed 
to provide a holistic solution to the plight of children in the 
country.  The Ministry of Economy and Planning, which leads the 
project, is putting together results from fieldwork.  It is hoped 
that the final document will be adopted before the end of the year. 
 
 
¶E. By law, all children born of Cameroonian parents, are Cameroonian 
citizens.  At birth, the parents of the newborn must register the 
birth at the mayor's office, and a birth certificate is subsequently 
issued.  There are places in rural areas and the Northern regions 
where parents fail to declare their children's births.  For several 
years, the government, in collaboration with international NGOs 
(Plan International) and international organizations (UNICEF), has 
been conducting programs to issue birth certificates and National 
Identity Cards Q the law requires that all citizens age 18 and older 
carry one permanently with them Q to such groups. 
 
-- On September 11, 2008, Plan Cameroon signed a USD 48 million (CFA 
francs 240 million) agreement with 8 councils of the North Region 
which, in addition to building and equipping schools, installing 
water facilities, and conducting immunization campaigns, would also 
facilitate the issuance of birth certificates. 
 
-- During the year, the government created special civil status 
centers in several remote rural areas and Bakassi, in order to 
facilitate the issuance of birth certificates. 
 
¶F. Before they leave the country, Cameroonian nationals who are 
deployed abroad as part of a peacekeeping or other similar mission 
get briefed on International Humanitarian Law and the international 
requirements governing peacekeeping missions.  In order to keep 
military and police leadership abreast of the rules and regulations 
in force, the government in collaboration with the International 
Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), regularly organizes seminars in 
Yaounde. 
 
¶G. On June 4, 2007, Cameroon signed the Anti-Sex Tourism Charter, 
which provides for ethics rules in the management of tourists 
activities.  Hotels are supposed to begin verifying the 
identification of suspected juvenile female clients and barring 
 
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access to unaccompanied minor children. 
 
¶H. CHILD SOLDIERS 
 
Not applicable to Cameroon. 
 
Section 28. HEROES 
------------------ 
 
We have no individual proposals for this year, but would like to 
nominate a non-governmental organization. 
 
Nkumu Fed Fed, an anti-child trafficking NGO based in Bali, North 
West Province, has demonstrated exceptional commitment to fighting 
trafficking in persons in an outstanding manner.  The NGO's 
rehabilitation actions have allowed many children, especially young 
girls, to acquire professional skills in fields like sewing, 
carpentry, etc.  The most important aspect of their rehabilitation 
policy is that some of the former victims that now earn a living 
from their profession come back to the center teach newcomers, talk 
to them, and be a living testimony that victims can overcome the 
trauma. Additionally, Nkumu Fed Fed has developed educational 
posters which are posted in government offices to educate about the 
dangers of trafficking and common tricks used by traffickers to lure 
children from their families. 
 
Post TIP contact officer is Poloff Heather Watson-Ayala.  She can be 
reached at +237 220-1500 Ext. 4081 or faxed at +237 2220-1605.  Her 
e-mail is watsonayalah@state.gov.  The LES political specialist 
spent approximately 80 hours contributing to this report and the 
poloff spent approximately 15 hours.  Reviews and clearances by the 
Pol/Econ Chief and Front Office approximately 5 hours. 
 
 
GARVEY