A 2024 report from the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) found that more than 60 percent of the trafficking victims identified in West Africa are children. The most widespread form of exploitation remains forced begging (64 percent), followed by sexual exploitation (34 percent).

PAPEV: A compass and a shield

Faced with this emergency, UN Human Rights’ West Africa Regional Office (WARO), in partnership with the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS), launched the ‘Support Project to Protect Children Victims of Rights Violations’ (PAPEV) in 2019. 

“Children are the future for these nations. For them to become the actors of tomorrow, they must grow up protected and healthy, both physically and psychologically,” said Marco Falcone, AICS Representative. “The partnership between AICS and [the UN] was born from a simple conviction, that there can be no lasting progress without a fulfilled and secure childhood.”

With activities in The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mali, Niger and Senegal, PAPEV supports States in implementing their international and regional commitments on the rights of children. The project strengthens national child protection systems, improves access to quality services and ensures sustainable responses to situations of violence, trafficking, and exploitation. 

"The goal is not only to protect children from danger, but to create an environment where their opinions truly matter," said Robert Kotchani, UN Human Rights’ Regional Representative for West Africa.

Concrete results for children

Since its launch, PAPEV has acted on many fronts. More than 5,000 children have benefited directly from the project’s actions, particularly during the Covid-19 pandemic, a period of extreme vulnerability for children.

 In the six countries covered, more than 50 care structures were equipped and strengthened, from an overall investment of approximately USD 200,000. Nearly 1,500 professionals from the judicial, social, and administrative sectors were trained to improve the reception, care and access to justice of children in street situations. These efforts contributed to the adoption of key reforms, notably on alternative family care and the rights of children to justice.

Since 2022, West-African States have united against cross-border trafficking through a strategic regional meeting, the Banjul Forum, which was initiated by PAPEV to strengthen child protection in the region and create a safer environment for its most vulnerable children.

“Through PAPEV, children’s rights have become a central issue to WARO’s work. We must all work together to provide children with the best possible chances in life,” Kotchani said. 

Family reintegration and sustainable follow-up 

For some children, hope has taken the form of a safe return to their countries of origin. In The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau and Senegal, 245 children were reunited with their families, accompanied by social and professional reintegration programs funded by PAPEV.

Their return goes beyond repatriation.

“It is not just a trip back, it is accompanying the child throughout their reintegration, so they never leave again,” said Aly Dagga Mbaye, head of the Koranic school in Wack Ngouna, Kaolack region.

Post-reintegration monitoring has become a top priority for PAPEV, to guarantee the dignity, security and stability of each child in the long term.

“The family constitutes the natural and optimal environment for the development of the child,” said Aminata Kébé, WARO’s Regional Coordinator for the project. “When a child is deprived of this protective environment, it is our collective moral and legal duty to guarantee caring alternatives that are respectful of their dignity and focused on their best interests.”

This piece was first published by UN Human Rights.