Human trafficking in Ivory Coast

Human trafficking in the Ivory Coast referred to the practice of forced labour and commercial sexual exploitation which used Côte d'Ivoire a source, transit, and destination country for women and children who were trafficked for these purposes.

In 2010, trafficking within the country's borders was more prevalent, with victims primarily trafficked from the north of the country to the more economically prosperous south. Boys from Ghana, Mali, and Burkina Faso were subjected to forced labour in the agricultural sector, including on cocoa, coffee, pineapple, and rubber plantations; boys from Ghana were forced to labour in the mining sector; boys from Togo were forced to work in construction; and boys from Benin were forced to work in carpentry and construction. Girls recruited from Ghana, Togo, and Benin to work as domestic servants and street vendors often were subjected to conditions of forced labour. Women and girls were also recruited from Ghana and Nigeria to work as waitresses in restaurants and bars and were subsequently subjected to forced prostitution. Trafficked children often faced harsh treatment and extreme working conditions.

In 2010, the government of Côte d'Ivoire did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it made significant efforts to do so. Despite these significant efforts, such as the conviction of one sex trafficker, the government's overall efforts to combat trafficking were limited and ineffective; therefore, Côte d'Ivoire was placed on Tier 2 Watch List for a third consecutive year. The government remained hampered by the absence of a cohesive government, limited resources, and insufficient knowledge of the human trafficking phenomenon among law enforcement officials and judges. The country had never reported a prosecution of forced child labour in the agricultural sector. Police demonstrated a weak understanding of human trafficking by characterising children found in a brothel raid as "voluntary prostitutes", rather than presumptive victims of human trafficking. Côte d'Ivoire also failed to investigate for a third consecutive year NGO reports that police harass undocumented foreign women in prostitution by demanding sex in exchange for not arresting them.

The Ivory Coast ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in October 2012.

The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017 and 2023.

In 2023, the Organised Crime Index noted that most trafficking involved Nigerian nationals.