West Africa is facing a silent humanitarian crisis in which children have become the primary victims. Despite international legal commitments to protect their rights, more than 60% of the identified victims of human trafficking in the region are children; many of whom are forced into begging, sexual exploitation, or life on the streets. The United Nations' PAPEV initiative seeks to reverse this trend by rebuilding child protection systems, supporting family reunification, and strengthening cross-border efforts to combat child exploitation.
According to a striking report by the UNODC [1], children constitute over 60 percent of all human trafficking victims identified in West Africa. The crisis manifests primarily through forced begging, which accounts for 64% of cases, followed by sexual exploitation at 34%. These alarming statistics represent thousands of uprooted lives where fundamental rights, including access to education, healthcare, a stable family environment, and protection from systemic abuse, have been entirely compromised.
The Chasm Between Treaty and Reality
By signing the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), West African nations legally bound themselves to a world where the “best interests of the child” must dictate every state action (Article 3). The CRC outlines a protective reality where governments are mandated to act as a proactive shield, deploying robust legal and social frameworks to completely eliminate child exploitation, forced labor, and trafficking (Article 19).
However, the staggering data from the region reveals a catastrophic chasm between this legal vision and the daily reality. Instead of being fiercely protected, children have become the primary target of cross-border syndicates, making up 60% of all identified trafficking victims in West Africa.
Denied Safety, Denied Voice
The CRC explicitly guarantees the right of all children to a stable family environment, access to healthcare, and safe education (Articles 27 & 28). Furthermore, Article 12 dictates that children are not passive property; they have the right to have their voices heard and their vulnerabilities prioritized by the state. However, the systemic rise of forced begging amounts to 64% of regional trafficking cases and includes sexual exploitation.
In practice, thousands of young lives are uprooted and silenced, forced onto the streets to fend for themselves while the national protection frameworks envisioned by the UN remain fragmented, underfunded, or entirely absent.
The Heavy Burden of State Commitments
Under the CRC, when a child’s family structure breaks down, the state is legally obligated to step in with reliable alternative care and protectionism (Article 20).
The CRC demands that governments actively monitor and secure the well-being of vulnerable youth. But as the regional reality has shown, without external intervention, these state commitments frequently exist only on paper. The sheer scale of the crisis highlights a profound failure of local systems to honor their international promises, turning what should be a fundamental birthright into an ongoing struggle for basic survival and dignity.
The Vision and Reach of the PAPEV Initiative
In response to this urgent humanitarian issue, the UN Human Rights West Africa Regional Office (WARO), in collaboration with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), in 2019 established the Support Project to Protect Children Victims of Rights Violations (PAPEV).
Operating across The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger, and Senegal, the initiative assists governments in honoring their international commitments to children's rights. The project aims to rebuild national protection frameworks and secure reliable services for vulnerable youth, operating under the philosophy that sustainable regional progress is impossible without a safe and fulfilling childhood.
Since its inception, PAPEV has delivered substantial results, directly supporting over 5,000 children, particularly during the heightened vulnerabilities of the Covid-19 pandemic. The project invested roughly 200,000 USD to equip and reinforce more than 50 childcare structures across the six six participating nations. Furthermore, the initiative has trained nearly 1,500 legal, social, and administrative professionals to better manage, support, and provide justice for children living on the streets, driving critical legislative reforms regarding alternative family care.
A cornerstone of the PAPEV project is facilitating the safe return of displaced children to their families. So far, 245 children across The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal have been successfully reunited with their communities through specialized social and vocational programs. Project coordinators emphasize that repatriation is only the first step; the true focus lies in long-term post-reintegration monitoring to ensure that children remain in a stable, dignified environment and do not return to the streets.
Strengthening Regional Cooperation
To combat the cross-border trafficking networks that target youth, West African nations have unified their efforts through the Banjul Forum. Initiated by PAPEV in 2022, this strategic regional platform enables member states to coordinate child protection policies and establish a collective shield for the most vulnerable populations in the area. This unified approach aligns with global appeals from UN Human Rights leadership to uphold the Convention on the Rights of the Child during turbulent times.
The child trafficking crisis in West Africa has revealed a troubling gap between international commitments and the reality daily faced by thousands of children. While the Convention on the Rights of the Child establishes clear standards for protection, education, and dignity, many children in the region continue to experience exploitation, displacement, and abuse.
Initiatives such as PAPEV have demonstrated that meaningful progress is possible through targeted support, family reunification programs, stronger child protection systems, and regional cooperation.
However, lasting change will require sustained political commitment, adequate funding, and continued collaboration among governments, international organizations, and local communities. Protecting children is not only a legal obligation but also a shared responsibility and an essential investment into the future stability and development of West Africa.
Notes
[1] The report provides a global overview of human trafficking, analyzes its trends, victims, perpetrators and forms of exploitation, and offers recommendations for prevention and protection of victims.
Sources
ECOWAS Centre for Gender Development. (n. d.). Child protection. Retrieved from https://ecowasgender.org/child-protection/.
Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs of the Czech Republic. (2016). Convention on the Rights of the Child and related documents (Úmluva o právech dítěte a související dokumenty). ISBN 978-80-7421-120-1. Retrieved from: https://vlada.gov.cz/assets/ppov/rlp/vybory/pro-prava-ditete/Preklady-dokumentu-OSN.pdf.
Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. (2026, February 18). Protecting children in street situations in West Africa. Retrieved from: https://www.ohchr.org/en/stories/2026/02/protecting-children-street-situations-west-africa.
United Nations. (1989, November 20). Convention on the Rights of the Child. Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. Retrieved from: https://www.ohchr.org/en/instruments-mechanisms/instruments/convention-rights-child.
United Nations Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR). (n.d.). Ratification Status for CRC – Convention on the Rights of the Child and its Optional Protocols. UN Treaty Body Database. Retrieved from: https://tbinternet.ohchr.org/_layouts/15/TreatyBodyExternal/Treaty.aspx?Treaty=CRC&Lang=en.
United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime. (2024). Global report on trafficking in persons 2024. United Nations. Retrieved from: https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/glotip/2024/GLOTIP2024_BOOK.pdf.
