Boys were sent to Senegal, and to a lesser extent Mali and Guinea, under the care of Koranic teachers called marabouts, or their intermediaries, to receive Islamic religious education.
[2] The Government of Guinea-Bissau did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it made significant efforts to do so, despite limited resources.
Despite these efforts, the government demonstrated weak overall progress in combating trafficking during the reporting period, particularly its lack of any effective law enforcement action; therefore, Guinea-Bissau was placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year.
In the previous reporting period, the National Assembly drafted legislation prohibiting child trafficking, though it was not adopted before the legislature was dissolved in August 2008.
Given the widespread cultural acceptance of sending young boys away from home for a religious education, family members often were reluctant to support law enforcement efforts against traffickers.
[2] The Government of Guinea-Bissau continued to make minimal efforts to raise awareness about trafficking during the reporting period.
Guards detained male adults who could not prove they were the fathers of children trying to cross the border and arranged for their transportation to police headquarters in Gabu.
An inter-ministerial committee, chaired by the president of the Institute of Women and Children, met regularly in an effort to coordinate the government and civil society response to human trafficking, but undertook little action.