IOM is expanding its assistance programme to support the voluntary
return and reintegration of child victims of trafficking in West
Africa.

Established in 2006, the programme, which is funded by the
Bureau of Population, Refugees and Migration of the US State
Department, has already helped over 320 child victims of
trafficking in nine West African countries.

In the new phase of the programme, IOM will expand its
activities to 15 countries of the Economic Community Of West
African States (ECOWAS), where it will work in close collaboration
with a network of local partners and civil society to help a
further 100 children.

IOM will help the children in the country to which they have
been trafficked and investigate the circumstances of their
departure from their communities of origin. Based on the best
interests of the child, it will then pay for their voluntary return
home and their socio-economic reintegration.

Reintegration activities will normally involve a return to
school, vocational training or helping them to start an
income-generating activity. Communities of origin are also involved
in the process, to ensure acceptance of the child's return to the
community and minimize the risk of re-trafficking.

The project will also organize six national workshops in
Abidjan, Conakry, Dakar, Ouagadougou, Monrovia and Niamey. These
will bring together representatives of government and civil society
to exchange information on human trafficking and come up with a set
of best practices on how to combat it.

Human trafficking is a major human rights issue in West Africa.
Thousands of people – mainly women and children – are
trafficked into forced begging, domestic servitude, forced labour
and sexual exploitation.

For more information please contact:

Séverine Cirlande

IOM Dakar

Tel. +221.338696238

E-mail: "mailto:scirlande@iom.int">scirlande@iom.int