Human trafficking in Mali

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Mali ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in April 2002.^[1]

In 2010 Mali was a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and, to a lesser extent, forced prostitution.^[2] Within Mali, women and girls were forced into domestic servitude and, to a limited extent, prostitution. Malian boys were found in conditions of forced begging and forced labor in gold mines and agricultural settings both within Mali and neighboring countries. Reports indicated that Malian children are trafficked to Senegal and Guinea for forced labor in gold mines and for forced labor on cotton and cocoa farms in Côte d'Ivoire.^[3] Boys from Mali, Guinea, Burkina Faso, Niger and other countries were forced into begging and exploited for labor by religious instructors within Mali and across borders. 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.^[5] Despite these efforts, such as assisting with the identification and rescue of 80 child trafficking victims and drafting new anti-trafficking legislation, the government failed to show evidence of progress in prosecuting and convicting trafficking offenders, and did not take action on five pending cases of traditional slavery. Therefore, Mali is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year.^[4] The country was moved to Tier 2 in 2023.^[6]