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Summary: This report extracts mentions of children's rights issues in the reports of the UN Special Procedures. This does not include reports of child specific Special Procedures, such as the Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, which are available as separate reports.
Please note that the language may have been edited in places for the purpose of clarity
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Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons
Joy Ngozi Ezeilo
A/HRC/23/48/Add.2
Country visit: 14 to 18 May 2012
Report published: 24 May 2013
Domestic servitude:
The Special Rapporteur observed that:
Girls from poor families mostly come from Benin, Guinea, Mali and Togo, although some come from Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Liberia and Sierra Leone. They are trafficked through middle persons, especially women, known as “aunties”, to work for rich Gabonese families and West/Central African and European families residing in Gabon. The Special Rapporteur acknowledges that, while the practice of “child fostering” in itself does not amount to trafficking, the practice may be abused and can become a form of exploitation in which children work long hours without schooling, as is the case for some of the young victims she met. A specific example is that of a Togolese girl, who shared her story about how she was forced to work from 4 a.m. to 10 p.m. selling peanuts in the market in addition to her daily household chores. (para 13)
While undertaking domestic work, trafficked girls are also exposed to multiple forms of psychological and physical abuses by their host families, including accusations of theft, deprivation of food and beatings. The Special Rapporteur was also informed that such abuses occur when the girls fail to earn the expected daily amount from selling foodstuffs on the streets. The girls are also at a heightened risk of sexual abuse, including rape by members of the families they work for. (para 14)
Child victims rarely attend school because of their workload and the reluctance of their employers to educate them, in spite of primary education being compulsory and free to all children between the ages of 6 and 16. (para 15)
The Special Rapporteur recommends that:
Gabon should address the root causes of trafficking not only in Gabon as a destination country but also in source and transit countries, including unregulated traditional practices, inter alia that of sending children to live with relatives and rich Gabonese families in exchange for domestic work. (para 100 a)
Forced and servile marriages of girls:
The Special Rapporteur expresses concern that:
Forced and servile marriage of children is likely to be more prevalent than the small number of reported cases. This may be attributed to the fact that most forced or servile marriages are arranged by and between family members, leading to those who know of the marriage to fear reporting it or because victims may not actually identify their marriage as having been forced. Poverty, cultural/traditional practice and the lower legally marriageable age for girls (15 years old) in Gabon and some source countries also contribute to trafficking for early marriages. (para 18)
The Special Rapporteur recommends that:
Step up efforts to raise awareness about all forms of trafficking in persons, including for domestic servitude, forced labour and sexual exploitation. It should empower the National Human Rights Commission, including by providing adequate budget and office space, to conduct sensitization on trafficking and handle complaints related to trafficking. (para 100 b)
Labour exploitation of boys:
The Special Rapporteur found that:
The boys are trafficked through middle persons who promise them and their families – often in a dire economic situation–employment opportunities in Gabon. In addition, trafficked boys who return home with visibly coveted objects/materials, such as bicycles, radios and roof tiles for the parents’ house, influence other boys in their villages as to the available work opportunities in Gabon. This contributes to the voluntary departure of children in search of work or adventure who are then deceived or lured into unpaid and unsafe jobs. Often, once the children arrive in Gabon, neither they nor their parents are paid for the work they do. (para 20)
The Special Rapporteur recommends that:
Gabon should launch widespread awareness-raising campaigns on trafficking using media, information and communication technology and other channels of communication in order to send a strong message countering the cultural acceptance of both human trafficking and exploitation of children. (para 100 c)
Trafficking of girls and women for sexual exploitation and prostitution:
The Special Rapporteur notes that:
Some areas of Gabon, particularly Port-Gentil, are becoming a hub for trafficking in women and children for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Although the exact figure remains unknown, a survey undertaken in 2005 in Port-Gentil reveals that commercial sexual exploitation of women trafficked from West and Central Africa was on the rise. It further revealed an increase in the number of internally trafficked Gabonese girls and women from other provinces of the country into Port-Gentil. (para 23)
The Special Rapporteur recommends that:
In view of the limited number of Government-funded shelters for victims of trafficking, Gabon should provide adequate and regular funding to service providers and organizations working on trafficking in persons both in cities and rural areas in order to enable the provision of comprehensive assistance, such as social, psychological, medical and legal support and translation services to victims of trafficking. (para 98 d)
Emerging forms of human trafficking:
The Special Rapporteur expresses concern that:
In some instances, children are trafficked for the purpose of forced begging. These child beggars from West Africa are mostly boys who have been entrusted to the care of religious teachers by their parents in order to receive a religious education. They can be seen in city streets begging for alms, which they give to their teacher in exchange of food and protection. (para 28)
The Special Rapporteur recommends that:
Gabon should launch widespread awareness-raising campaigns on trafficking using media, information and communication technology and other channels of communication in order to send a strong message countering the cultural acceptance of both human trafficking and exploitation of children. (para 100 c)
Repatriation and reintegration:
The Special Rapporteur notes that:
It may not always be in the best interest of the children to return them to their countries, where they may face protection concerns and reprisal. Returning these children may also pose the risk of re-victimization by their traffickers, who in most cases are members of the family. Moreover, the absence of a reflection period means that victims’ viewpoints in the decision to stay in Gabon, go back home or to a third country and their best interests are not taken into consideration. (para 79)
The Special Rapporteur recommends that:
The government should grant temporary or permanent residence permits to victims when appropriate; ensure that the best interests of the child are paramount, particularly in cases when repatriating children to their country to avoid the risk of re-trafficking and re-victimization by family members. (para 99 e)
- Special Rapporteur on education (requested in 2007)
- Special Rapporteur on torture (requested in 2006 / 7)
- Special Rapporteur on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (requested in 2009).