Togo to ban child trafficking

Togo is at last planning to pass legislation which will make child trafficking illegal. Every year hundreds of children are trafficked from this West African country, mainly to Nigeria, and Gabon. Togo is one of the least developed countries in the world, with average earnings per head of only $300 a year. Traffickers are able to prey on the poverty of families, offering to give children well paid jobs abroad. In fact they labour for little pay in slave like conditions. In the past traffickers have been arrested but then released because there has been no clear law to prosecute them with. Togo government figures state that 200 children have been repatriated in the first half of 2005 from countries such as Benin, Nigeria, Ivory Coast, Gabon and even Lebanon. Once the law is passed, it is important that police officers are trained and the finance is made available for its implementation.