various agencies to take to coordinate the provision of food, lodging, health and psychological support to victims through NGOs, but it did not provide details on the number of victims supported in 2014 or the types of assistance received. Some officials, particularly outside the capital, remained unaware of the protocol. Authorities have written procedures for identifying victims among vulnerable groups, such as migrants and individuals in prostitution, but NGOs and some officials asserted victim identification was often reactive and referral mechanisms were not always implemented in an effective or timely manner.
The government neither provided nor funded specialized shelters or services for trafficking victims. It gave 83 million colones ($156,000) to one NGO that provided services to victims of sexual violence, some of whom may have been trafficking victims. There were no shelters available to male victims.The government designated two hospitals with specially trained staff to provide treatment for trafficking victims, but it is unknown whether these facilities cared for any victims in 2014. Police and NGOs noted victim services were virtually nonexistent outside of the capital. In 2014, the government allocated approximately 73 million colones ($135,000) to cover basic needs such as food, clothing, and travel expenses for victims participating in prosecutions as witnesses, but it is not clear if any victims benefited from these resources, as no new prosecutions were initiated.The government granted temporary residency status, with permission to work, to two foreign victims in 2014. Victims had the legal right to file a civil complaint to request compensation from traffickers, but no victims received such compensation. The government did not penalize identified victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being subjected to human trafficking; however, insufficient efforts to screen vulnerable populations for indicators of trafficking may have led to some victims being penalized.

PREVENTION
The government decreased prevention efforts. The human trafficking and smuggling directorate (which includes civil society members) met quarterly and continued to implement a national action plan on trafficking, though few tangible outcomes were reported. Although the fund to fight human trafficking and smuggling—established in the previous year and financed primarily by the country departure tax of approximately 532 colones ($1)— continued to collect revenue, the government did not disburse this money for any anti-trafficking activities. Authorities conducted public awareness campaigns, often in partnership with civil society organizations. Labor inspectors held a session for labor recruiters to explain exploitative practices that could constitute violations under anti-trafficking laws, but the government did not report punishment of any recruiters for illegal practices that contribute to trafficking.The government investigated 32 individuals suspected of paying child trafficking victims for commercial sex, but did not report whether it prosecuted or convicted any individuals for such crimes. A quasi-governmental agency conducted trainings on combating child sex tourism for members of the tourism industry; however, the government did not extradite, prosecute, or convict any child sex tourists in 2014. The government and NGOs provided anti-trafficking training to 30 diplomatic personnel. The government did not report efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts or forced labor.

COTE D’IVOIRE: Tier 2 
Cote d’Ivoire is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Trafficking within the country is more prevalent than transnational trafficking, and the majority of victims identified are children. Due to a stronger emphasis on monitoring and combating child trafficking within the country, the number of adults subjected to trafficking may be underreported.Within Cote d’Ivoire, Ivoirian women and girls are subjected primarily to forced labor in domestic service and restaurants, as well as forced prostitution. Ivoirian boys are subjected to forced labor within the country in the agriculture and service sectors. Boys from other West African countries, including Ghana, Mali, Burkina Faso, Benin, and Togo, are found in Cote d’Ivoire in forced agricultural labor, including on cocoa, coffee, pineapple, and rubber plantations; in the mining sector; and in carpentry and construction. Girls recruited from Ghana, Togo, and Benin work as domestic servants and street vendors, often subjected to forced labor. Some women and girls recruited from Ghana and Nigeria to work as waitresses in restaurants and bars are subsequently subjected to forced prostitution. In previous years, Ivoirian women and girls have been subjected to forced domestic service in France and Saudi Arabia and sex trafficking in Morocco.
The Government of Cote d’Ivoire does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. During the reporting period, the government demonstrated a new commitment to address adult trafficking by prosecuting and convicting two traffickers for the forced prostitution of two women, creating a working-level committee and national action plan on adult trafficking, and drafting legislation to criminalize adult trafficking. However, the government did not finalize the national action plan or the draft legislation during the reporting period.Additionally, the government demonstrated weak protection efforts, to which it allocated inadequate resources; furthermore, it relied almost entirely on NGOs to provide all protective services to domestic victims and referred foreign victims immediately to their respective embassies for repatriation without providing any care.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR COTE D’IVOIRE:
Enact legislation to criminalize all forms of adult trafficking, and use this and existing legislation to prosecute traffickers, particularly those who exploit women in prostitution and men in forced labor; train law enforcement officials to follow established procedures to identify potential trafficking victims and refer them to protective services; establish a formal victim referral mechanism between the government, NGOs, and international organizations providing care to trafficking victims; increase efforts to provide victims with appropriate services, including the dedication of specific funding for such services and the development of government-run shelters; improve efforts to collect data on anti-trafficking efforts, including law enforcement cases involving the trafficking of adults

prosecuted under separate statutes in the penal code as well as victim protection data; and finalize and begin implementation of a national action plan to address adult trafficking.