BRAZZAVILLE, 21 May 2007 (IRIN) - Hundreds of children have been trafficked into the Republic of Congo from several West African states, according to the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF).

The majority of the children – many as young as nine – come to Pointe-Noire, the Congo's second-largest city, from Benin, followed by Mali, Guinea, Senegal, Togo and one Central African country, Cameroon. They are promised work and money to return home by compatriots who employ them.

"The children are given to 'tutors' [from West Africa] against a certain amount of money with the promise of a job or apprenticeship. Some of the children are illiterate, while others have had some kind of schooling," said Constance Mafoukila, one of the researchers of the report.

Most of the children in the Congolese capital, Brazzaville, come from the Democratic Republic of Congo, brought there by intermediaries who promise them a visa to Europe or South Africa. In reality, they are used as cheap labour, and girls over the age of 12 are pushed into prostitution.

The children were victims of exploitation, including sexual abuse, and denied an education, Mafoukila said. The survey on which the UNICEF report was based was conducted in November 2006.

"Most of these [children] come from abroad, notably West Africa, where trafficking in children is much more widespread than in Congo," she said. "It is an old tradition that is still practised. In Congo this trade is not widespread yet, but it is catching on, especially in Brazzaville and in Pointe-Noire."

In 2005, the Congolese government said more than 2,500 street-children, local and foreign, were living in the two cities and were exposed to alcoholism, drug abuse and pornography. The children were left homeless after the civil wars and attracted to the cities by promises of jobs.

"These children live under difficult conditions. They sometimes work for 15 or 16 hours per day. Most of them suffer from physical and psychological mistreatment. They lack sleep and food and are often beaten and injured," the UNICEF report said.

Many people from West African countries live in Pointe-Noire working as fishermen and have established residential camps along the beaches. They also own shops where foreign child workers are employed, according to non-governmental organisations. Observers say these traders prefer employing West African children to the Congolese because they do not demand as much money.

The scale of the phenomenon is hard to measure, although the children of Benin seemed to be most at risk in this traffic, with 1,800 estimated to be in Congo. Regarding those from DRC, the police reckoned 80 children were crossing the border every day, of whom half would return home.

The UN resident representative in Congo, Koen Vanormelingen, called for social mobilisation against child labour and trafficking in minors. "Taking care of the children and international networking between governments is also central in order to prevent and fight this problem," he said.

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