GuineaBissau Issues - 2023

GEOGRAPHICAL NAMES 

Disputes - international

a longstanding low-grade conflict continues in parts of Casamance, in Senegal across the border; some rebels use Guinea-Bissau as a safe haven

Refugees and internally displaced persons

refugees (country of origin): 7,757 (Senegal) (2022)

Trafficking in persons

tier rating: Tier 3 — Guinea-Bissau does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, therefore Guinea-Bissau remained on Tier 3; despite the lack of efforts, the government took some steps to address trafficking, including investigating cases, identifying potential victims, launching a national referral mechanism, and convening its anti-trafficking committee; however, Guinea-Bissau has never convicted a trafficker and failed to prosecute alleged traffickers for the third consecutive year; the government continued to lack adequate victim identification and services, and has lacked sufficient resources and political will to comprehensively combat trafficking (2022)

trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Guinea-Bissau and Bissau-Guineans abroad; forced child begging is the most prevalent form of trafficking; boys reportedly were transported to southern Senegal for forced manual and agricultural labor; girls may be subjected to forced domestic service and child prostitution in Guinea, Senegal and the Gambia; women are recruited and exploited in domestic servitude abroad; girls, and to a lesser extent boys, are exploited in child sex tourism in the Bijagos, an archipelago off the coast of Guinea-Bissau that is largely devoid of government and law enforcement presence; Cuban nationals in Guinea-Bissau may have been forced to work by the Cuban government (2022)

Illicit drugs

important transit country for South American cocaine en route to Europe; enabling environment for trafficker operations due to pervasive corruption; archipelago-like geography near the capital facilitates drug smuggling

NOTE: The information regarding GuineaBissau on this page is re-published from the 2023 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of GuineaBissau 2023 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about GuineaBissau 2023 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.