Benin-Congo: Deal To Stem Child Trafficking

Benin and the Republic of Congo have signed an accord aimed at stemming the trafficking of children between the two countries. The two states believe some 1,800 children from Benin, mostly aged between 11 and 18, have been trafficked to neighboring Congo. "They are forced to work in the retail or fishing sectors or as domestic servants," said Marianne Flach, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) representative in Congo. The accord was signed on 20 September by the two countries' ministers of social affairs. … "These children are deprived of sleep. If they make the slightest mistake in the home, they can go days without being fed. The children are treated like slaves," Marceline Pambou, who heads the Mothers' Movement for Peace, Solidarity and Development, told IRIN.