RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TOGO:
Enact draft legislation prohibiting the forced labor and forced prostitution of adults; increase efforts to
prosecute and punish trafficking offenders, to include using existing statutes to prosecute trafficking crimes
committed against adults; develop a formal system to proactively identify trafficking victims, including adults,
and train law enforcement, immigration, and social welfare officials on such procedures; effectively track the
number of trafficking
victims who receive services from the government, are referred to NGOs, or are returned to their families;
develop a system among law enforcement and judicial officials to track suspected human trafficking cases and
prosecution data; allocate sufficient funds to operate the Tokoin and Oasis centers; and increase efforts to raise
public awareness about the dangers of human trafficking, including the trafficking of adults.
PROSECUTION
The government increased law enforcement efforts against child trafficking, but did not demonstrate tangible
efforts to address trafficking of adults. Togolese law does not prohibit all forms of trafficking or criminalize
the sex trafficking of adults.Article 4 of the 2006 labor code prohibits forced and compulsory labor, though its
prescribed penalties of three to six months’ imprisonment are not sufficiently stringent, and its definition of
forced or compulsory labor includes some exceptions that constitute trafficking.The 2007 child code prohibits all
forms of child trafficking and prescribes penalties of two to five years’ imprisonment, which are sufficiently
stringent, but not commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. The 2005 Law Related
to Child Smuggling prescribes prison sentences of three months’ to 10 years’ imprisonment for abducting,
transporting, or receiving children for the purposes of exploitation. Despite eight years of the TIP Report
recommending the enactment of legislation criminalizing the trafficking of adults, the government did not take
action during the reporting period to enact its draft legislation, which has remained pending since 2009.
The government reported 103 investigations, 76 prosecutions, and 54 convictions of trafficking offenders; an
increase from the 85 investigations, 62 prosecutions and 40 convictions in 2013. It is unclear how many of these
cases actually involved trafficking charges, as the government was unable to provide the details of these cases.
The government did not provide any trafficking- specific training to its law enforcement officials.The government
did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government officials complicit in human
trafficking offenses. Experts reported judges were often reluctant to convict or fine parents who trafficked their
children as they felt it would exacerbate the economic situation that drove a parent to commit the crime.
PROTECTION
The government sustained efforts to provide modest protection to child trafficking victims. In 2014, the government
reported its identification of 712 potential victims of child trafficking, including 351 boys and 361 girls,
compared with 580 identified in 2013; the majority of these children were intercepted and rescued prior to reaching
their destinations, where they would have likely faced exploitation, typically as farm laborers or domestic
servants.The government did not report the number of children referred to care facilities. Of the victims, 281
originated from Anie, a prefecture in the Plateaux region.The government did not identify any adult victims of
trafficking.
In Lome, the Ministry of Social Affairs (MSA) continued to run a toll-free 24-hour helpline, Allo 10-11, which
received an unknown number of calls regarding child trafficking and other forms of child abuse. The National
Committee for the Reception and Social Reinsertion of Trafficked Children (CNARSEVT),Togo’s national
anti-trafficking committee comprised of government officials and NGOs, continued to operate jointly with the police
an ad hoc
referral system to respond to hotline tips.The MSA continued to operate two shelters; the Tokoin Community Center
served as an intermediary shelter for child victims before transfer to care facilities managed by NGOs, while the
Oasis Center provided shelter, legal, medical, and social services to child victims up to age 14.The government was
unable to provide the total budget for victim assistance and protection.
CNARSEVT does not have procedures in place to facilitate the return and reintegration of Togolese nationals in a
systematic fashion.The government did not offer temporary or permanent residency status to foreign victims facing
hardship or retribution upon return to their country of origin.The government does not have a formal process in
place to encourage victims to participate in the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers, and it is
unclear whether any victims did so during the reporting period. There were no reports of child victims being
penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being subjected to trafficking; the government does not
consider adults as trafficking victims and, therefore, some unidentified adult victims may have been penalized for
such crimes.
PREVENTION
The government sustained minimal efforts to prevent child trafficking during the year and showed no discernible
efforts to prevent adult trafficking. The government employed 86 labor inspectors in the five regions of Togo
during the reporting period, an increase of five inspectors from the previous year.The government reduced the
demand for forced labor by outlawing and closing unlicensed sand and rock quarries, which commonly exploit children
for forced labor. Additionally, the MSA initiated a program to partner with 30 traditional religious leaders to
eliminate the practice of religious “apprenticeships”—a practice in which children are entrusted to religious
leaders and are subsequently exploited in forced begging, forced domestic work, or sexual slavery when parents are
unable to pay school fees. Although the government released a report on commercial child sexual exploitation in
Togo in 2013, it did not take any discernible measures to decrease the demand for commercial sex acts.The
government provided anti-trafficking training to Togolese troops prior to their deployment abroad on international
peacekeeping missions.The government did not provide anti-trafficking training or guidance for its diplomatic
personnel.
TONGA: Tier 2
Tonga is a destination country for women subjected to sex trafficking and, to a lesser extent, a source country for
women and children subjected to domestic sex trafficking and forced labor. East Asian women, especially those from
China, are prostituted in clandestine establishments operating as legitimate businesses; some East Asian women are
recruited from their home countries for legitimate work in Tonga, paying large sums of money in recruitment fees,
and upon arrival are forced into prostitution. Some Tongan women and children are reportedly subjected to
involuntary domestic servitude.
The Government ofTonga 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 held a national
human trafficking workshop facilitating
the training of 15 Tongan officials. In addition, it provided 50,000 pa’anga ($26,200) to an NGO that assists
women and child victims of crime, including potential trafficking victims. The government, however, failed to
identify or directly assist any victims or make any law enforcement efforts using the newly passed anti-trafficking
law. The government also did not make progress in establishing a national coordinating body on human trafficking
issues or in developing anti-trafficking awareness campaigns.
|