Adult men and boys, primarily of Songhai ethnicity, were subjected to the longstanding practice of debt bondage[2] in the salt mines of Taoudenni in northern Mali.
Some members of Mali's black Tamachek community were subjected to traditional slavery-related practices rooted in hereditary master-slave relationships.
[4] In 2010 the Government of Mali did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it made significant efforts to do so.
In November 2009, the Malian government participated in a conference organized by a leading anti-slavery NGO to introduce draft anti-slavery legislation to civil society organizations, and officials plan to introduce a separate law outlawing all forms of trafficking to the Malian legislature later in 2010.
In one case, however, local authorities responded to an NGO request to discuss an amicable resolution, though this is not an adequate response to an alleged crime of slavery.
[4] During the reporting period, the government provided no training on human trafficking investigations or legislation to Malian law enforcement and judicial officials.
Authorities collaborated with the governments of Burkina Faso, Guinea, and Mauritania to secure the repatriation of trafficking victims.
Authorities did not report a formal system for identifying trafficking victims among vulnerable populations, such as child laborers.
Mali does not provide legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims to countries where they face hardship or retribution.
Identified victims are not inappropriately incarcerated or fined for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.