Human trafficking in Benin

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Benin ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in August 2002.^[1]

In 2010 Benin was a country of origin and transit for children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and forced prostitution. In previous years, analysts also considered Benin a destination country for foreign children brought to the country and subjected to forced labor, but new information from government and non-government sources indicated the total number of such children was not significant. The majority of victims were girls trafficked into domestic servitude or the commercial sex trade in Cotonou, the administrative capital. Some boys were forced to labor on farms, work in construction, produce handicrafts, or hawk items on the street. Many traffickers were relatives or acquaintances of their victims, exploiting the traditional system of vidomegon, in which parents allowed their children to live with and work for richer relatives, usually in urban areas. There were reports that some tourists visiting Pendjari National Park in northern Benin exploit underage girls in prostitution, some of whom may have been trafficking victims. Beninese children recruited for forced labor exploitation abroad were destined largely for Nigeria and Gabon, with some also going to Ivory Coast and other African countries, where they may have been forced to work in mines, quarries, or the cocoa sector.^[2]

In 2010 the Government of Benin did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it made significant efforts to do so, despite limited resources. In 2009, the government took steps to accelerate prosecution of trafficking offenders and increase the number of protective and preventive activities. In efforts to prevent human trafficking, it promulgated three decrees regulating the movement of children into and out of Benin and continued its countrywide effort to register births and issue birth certificates to all citizens. The government did not, however, collect and make available to its citizens and partners accurate law enforcement data on human trafficking issues. Further, it did not give its officials specialized training on how to recognize, investigate, and prosecute instances of trafficking.^[2]

The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2 Watchlist" in 2017.^[3] By 2023, the country was at "Tier 2".^[4]

In 2023, the Organised Crime Index gave the country a score of 6.5 out of 10 for human trafficking, noting that Nigerian groups were heavily involved in this crime.^[5]