Côte d'Ivoire also failed to investigate for a third consecutive year NGO reports that police harass undocumented foreign women in prostitution by demanding sex in exchange for not arresting them.
Penal Code Article 376 criminalizes entering into contracts that deny freedom to a third person, prescribing a sufficiently stringent punishment of five to 10 years’ imprisonment and a fine.
A Nigerian woman promised two girls from Nigeria a trip to the United States, but instead transported them to Côte d'Ivoire and forced them to engage in prostitution 2008 in Vavoua.
In May 2009, a court in Daloa convicted and sentenced the trafficker to three years’ imprisonment and a $2,000 fine, and the Nigerian Embassy in Abidjan assisted the victims in returning home.
In June 2009, police in Soubre intercepted 15 Burkinabe children who were being transported by bus to Côte d'Ivoire for the purpose of labour exploitation and returned them to their parents; the traffickers eluded capture.
During the reporting period, the ministry assisted in the repatriation of 20 trafficked children, including nine from Côte d'Ivoire, two from Burkina Faso, three from Benin, three from Ghana, and three from Togo.
In June 2009, Ivorian police participated in a foreign law enforcement agency-funded raid on farms growing cocoa and palms in the Aboisso area, discovering more than 50 children working on the premises.
Following raids on brothels and bars, police vice squad members asked women in prostitution if they were victims of traffickers, but did not investigate further if the answer was negative.
[1] The Government of Côte d'Ivoire demonstrated sustained and modest efforts to prevent trafficking during the reporting period, primarily through public awareness campaigns, which the Ministry of Family estimated reached 11,000 residents of the country.
The Ministry of Interior disseminated anti-trafficking awareness materials to police and gendarmes at border points, along with guidance on investigating those who were attempting to bring children into Côte d'Ivoire.