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São Tomé and Príncipe

Country Overview

Politics SãoToméandPríncipeisthesmallestnationinallofAfrica.Itisruledbyasemi-presidentialrepublic.Theislandnationhashadatumultuousrelationshipwithdemocracysinceitsindependencein1975fromPortugal,andhasexperiencedfournon-violentandunsuccessfulcoupattemptsin1995,1998,2003,and2009.Thecurrentprimeminister,PatriceTrovoada,hadhisgovernmentbroughtdownbyano-confidencevotein2012,butwassubsequentlyreinstatedbylegislativeelectionsin2014.PresidentEvaristoCarvalho(whosharesapartyaffiliationwithPrimeMinisterTrovoada)waselectedinSeptember2016.SãoToméandPríncipehasamixedlegalsystemwhichisbasedonthePortuguesemodelandrecognizescivilandcustomarylaw.ThesupremecourtiscomprisedoffivejusticeswhoareappointedbytheNationalAssembly.Thelegislativebranchhasasinglebody,theNationalAssembly,whichismadeupof55membersdirectlyelectedto4-yearterms.1

Economy TheWorldBankclassifiesSãoToméandPríncipeasalowermiddleincomecountrywitha“fragile”economywhichis“highlyvulnerable”toexternalshocks.Agriculturehashistoricallybeentheprimarysectoroftheislandnation’seconomy,andexportsofcocoa,coffeeandpalmoilhavebeenincreasinginrecentyears.Exportsfromthecountryarenotadequatetocoverimportexpenditures,andgovernmentspendingistheprimarydriverofeconomicgrowth(34.2percentofGDPin2015).Oilexplorationbeganin2012,butoilproductionisnotexpectedtocomeonlineuntil2020.2

Social/Human Development SãoToméandPríncipeisasmallcountryoflessthan2,000,000people.3TheUNhasgivenSãoToméandPríncipeaHumanDevelopmentIndex(HDI)scoreof0.574,rankingthecountry142ndoutof179countries.TheUNalsoreportsthatnearly50percentofSãoToméandPríncipeansarelivinginmultidimensionalpoverty.4Thecountry’sprimarylanguageisPortuguese,with98percentofresidentsreportingonthe2012censusthattheyspokethelanguage.Thesmallislandnationisalsoincrediblyyouthful,withover60percentofthepopulationyoungerthan25.ThosewholiveontheislandtodayaredescendedfromPortuguesesettlersandAfricanslavesbroughttoworkonsugarplantations.5

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U.S. Department of State TIP Report Summary (2017) SãoToméandPríncipeisnotincludedintheU.S.DepartmentofStateTIPreport.Therewerenoconfirmedreportsinthepastyearthatthecountrywasasource,destination,ortransitcountryforvictimsofhumantrafficking.6

Migrant and Other Vulnerable Populations SãoToméandPríncipehasahighrateofoutmigration,withacurrentmigrationrateof-8.5migrants/1,000population.7ThemostsignificantmigrantsendingcountrieswereCaboVerde,Angola,Gabon,EquatorialGuineaandPortugal.8Therewerenosignificantpopulationsofrefugeesinthelastreportingyear.9

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ThecountrieswiththemostmigrantsfromSãoToméandPríncipeincludePortugal,Angola,Gabon,CaboVerdeandEquatorialGuinea.10

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Exports and Trade

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Trafficking in Persons Risk Factors Analysis

Legal/Policy Risk Factors

Level of Legal Protection for Civil Liberties and Workers’ Rights

FreedomofAssociation

ThelawinSãoToméandPríncipeprotectsworkers’rightstoformand/orjoinunions,bargaincollectively,andconductstrikes(althoughthisrightisstrictlycontrolled).Workersinthepublicsectordonothavetherighttobargaincollectively.Thelawdoesnotprohibitanti-uniondiscriminationbyemployersorretaliationagainststrikers.Thegovernmentgenerallyenforceslawsguaranteeingtherightofworkerstopartakeincollectiveactions,butthegovernmentremainsthecountry’slargestemployerandtheworkersemployedinthepublicsectorarenotaffordedthesamerights.11

WorkingConditions

ThereisnominimumwageinSãoToméandPríncipe,althoughthegovernmentrecentlyannouncedthatitwouldimplementthecountry’sfirstnationalminimumwageatSTD1.1million(USD50)amonth.TheminimumwageinthepublicsectorisSTD975,000(USD44)amonth.Thelegalworkweekis40hours,butworkingtwojobsiscommonpractice.Thegovernmenthasnotbeenabletoeffectivelyenforcelaborlawsinthecountry,asthereareonly15laborinspectorscurrentlyemployed.Therearenolaborlawswhichgovernthesprawlinginformalsectorinthecountry,andworkersinthepalmoilandcocoafarmingsectorsareparticularlyvulnerabletoabuse.12

Discrimination

LaborlawinSãoToméandPríncipeprohibitsdiscriminationbasedonrace,sex,religiousbelief,politicalaffiliation,socialorigin,and/orphilosophicalconviction.Theselawsaregenerallyenforcedinpractice,butthelawdoesnotexplicitlyprohibitemploymentdiscriminationonthebasisofcolor,age,disability,language,sexualorientation,genderidentity,and/orHIV-positivestatus.Thelawdoesnotdifferentiatebetweenmigrantworkersandcitizensintermsofanti-discriminationlaws.13

ForcedLabor

Thelawprohibitsforcedlaborofeverykind(includingchildlabor),andalthoughthecountrylackssufficientenforcementcapabilities,theU.S.DepartmentofStatereportsthattherewerenoreportedcasesofforcedlaboronthesmallislandnationintheyear2016.14

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ChildLabor

Theminimumagefornon-hazardousworkinSãoToméandPríncipeis14,andtheminimumageforhazardousworkis18.Thelawdoesnotdefinetheterm“hazardous”,thereforemakingtheeffectiveenforcementoftheselawsdifficultatbest.Employersintheformalsectorsoftheeconomywerereportedtohavegenerallyrespectedlawsgoverningchildlabor,butintheinformalsectorchildrenlaborinlightagriculturalanddomesticwork,andhavealsobeendocumentedworkingasstreetvendorsinlargerurbanareas.15CivilSocietyOrganizations

TherewereonlyahandfulofcivilsocietyorganizationsoperatinginSãoToméandPríncipeoverthecourseoflastyear,butthosethatdidwerenotimpededbythegovernmentandauthoritiesweregenerallyacceptingoftheirviewpointsandrecommendations.16

Ratification of ILO Conventions Related to Human Trafficking or Rights of Workers and Migrants

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Political Risk Factors Level of Corruption

TheTransparencyInternationalCorruptionPerceptionIndexscoresSãoToméandPríncipeasa46outof100,wherea0signals“highlycorrupt”and100signals“veryclean.”SãoToméandPrínciperanks62outof176onthatindex.18Thiscurrentrankmarksprogressincombatingcorruptioninthecountry,asitranked76thonthesameindexin2014.19

Level of Crime and Violence

TheU.S.DepartmentofStatereportsthatthecrimelevelinSãoToméandPríncipeis“low.”20

Political Instability or Conflict

SãoToméandPríncipescoresa72.1inthe2016FragileStatesIndex(FSI),placingitfirmlyinthe“alert”categoryandrankingthecountry97thoutof178.TheFSIscalegoesfrom0(indicatinga“sustainable”politicalsystem),to120(indicatingapoliticalsystemon“highalert”).21

Socio-Economic Risk Factors Level of National Economic Development

SãoToméandPríncipe’sHDIvaluefor2015was0.574,positioningitat142outof188countriesandterritories.Whenadjustedforinequality,SãoToméandPríncipe’sHDIvaluefallsto0.432.22ThesmallislandnationishometooneofthesmallesteconomiesinallofAfrica,andthereisnosingleindustrywhichdrivesthegrowthofthenationaleconomy.Inrecentyearscoffee,cocoa,andpalmoilhavebecomemoreprevalent,buttheprimarydriveroftheeconomyremainsgovernmentspending.Theislandsarealsoheavilyreliantonimports,andmuchofthedomesticspendingandeconomicactivityendsupbenefitingeconomiesofftheislandthatareprovidingneededgoods.23

Level and Extent of Poverty

SãoToméandPríncipescores0.217ontheUnitedNations’multidimensionalpovertyindex(MPI),andaccordingtothesameorganization47.5percentofSãoToméandPríncipecitizensarelivinginmultidimensionalpoverty.Anadditional21.5percentofthepopulationlivesnearthemultidimensionalpovertyline.24

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Degree of Gender Inequality

ThelawinSãoToméandPríncipeprovidesforequalrightsregardlessofgender,butinpracticewomenoftenfacediscriminationwhichlimitsaccesstoeducationandwork.25

Environmental Factors Themainenvironmentalconcernsarefarmingrelated,includingdeforestationandtheoveruseofthesmallamountofarablelandavailableontheislands.26

Documented Trafficking in Persons Risk Factors in Key Commodity Supply Chains

Cocoa Cocoa Overview

Cocoaproductionhasexpandedexponentiallysincetheearly1990s,whenthepriceofthecommoditytookaseveredownturnontheinternationalmarket.Now,withtheintroductionofaprocessingplantontheislandsandadrasticincreaseinproduction,thecrophasbecomethemostimportantfacetofSãoToméandPríncipe’sexporteconomy.27Unlikemanyothercocoaproducingcountries,cocoaisoftengrownonlarger-scaleplantationasaremnantofcolonialagriculturalpractices.28

Documented Trafficking in Persons Risk Factors in Cocoa

ThereislimitedevidencethatchildlaborisengagedinagriculturemorebroadlyinSãoToméandPríncipe,althoughcocoaisnotnotedspecifically.29

ThisreportwasfundedbyagrantfromtheUnitedStatesDepartmentofState.Theopinions,findingsandconclusionsstatedhereinarethoseoftheauthorsanddonotnecessarilyreflectthoseoftheUnitedStatesDepartmentofState.

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Endnotes

1CentralIntelligenceAgency.TheWorldFactbook:SãoToméandPríncipe.https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tp.html2TheWorldBank.SãoToméandPríncipe:Overview.http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/saotome/overview3TheWorldBank.SãoToméandPríncipe:Overview.http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/saotome/overview4UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgramme(UNDP).HumanDevelopmentReports:InternationalHumanDevelopmentIndicators.http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/STP5CentralIntelligenceAgency.TheWorldFactbook:SãoToméandPríncipe.https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tp.html6U.S.DepartmentofState.BureauofDemocracy,HumanRights,andLabor.CountryReportsonHumanRightsPracticesfor2016:SãoToméandPríncipe.https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/252931.pdf7InternationalOrganizationforMigration(IOM).GlobalMigrationFlows.2016.https://www.iom.int/world-migration8InternationalOrganizationforMigration(IOM).GlobalMigrationFlows.2016.https://www.iom.int/world-migration9UnitedNationsHighCommissionerforRefugees(UNHCR).SãoToméandPríncipe.http://www.refworld.org/country,,UNHCR,,STP,,56370d974,0.html10InternationalOrganizationforMigration(IOM).GlobalMigrationFlows.2016.https://www.iom.int/world-migration11U.S.DepartmentofState.BureauofDemocracy,HumanRights,andLabor.CountryReportsonHumanRightsPracticesfor2016:SãoToméandPríncipe.https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/252931.pdf12U.S.DepartmentofState.BureauofDemocracy,HumanRights,andLabor.CountryReportsonHumanRightsPracticesfor2016:SãoToméandPríncipe.https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/252931.pdf13U.S.DepartmentofState.BureauofDemocracy,HumanRights,andLabor.CountryReportsonHumanRightsPracticesfor2016:SãoToméandPríncipe.https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/252931.pdf14U.S.DepartmentofState.BureauofDemocracy,HumanRights,andLabor.CountryReportsonHumanRightsPracticesfor2016:SãoToméandPríncipe.https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/252931.pdf15U.S.DepartmentofState.BureauofDemocracy,HumanRights,andLabor.CountryReportsonHumanRightsPracticesfor2016:SãoToméandPríncipe.https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/252931.pdf16U.S.DepartmentofState.BureauofDemocracy,HumanRights,andLabor.CountryReportsonHumanRightsPracticesfor2016:SãoToméandPríncipe.https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/252931.pdf17InternationalLabourOrganization.SãoToméandPríncipe:Ratifications.http://www.ilo.org/dyn/normlex/en/f?p=NORMLEXPUB:11200:0::NO::P11200_INSTRUMENT_SORT,P11200_COUNTRY_ID:2,10334118TransparencyInternational.CorruptionPerceptionsIndex2016:SãoToméandPríncipe.2016.https://www.transparency.org/country/STP19TheWorldBank.SãoToméandPríncipe:Overview.http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/saotome/overview20U.S.DepartmentofState.BureauofDiplomaticSecurity(OSAC).SãoToméandPríncipe2017Crime&SafetyReport.https://www.osac.gov/pages/ContentReportDetails.aspx?cid=2148921FundForPeace.FragileStatesIndex2016.http://fundforpeace.org/fsi/22UnitedNationsDevelopmentProgramme(UNDP).HumanDevelopmentReports:InternationalHumanDevelopmentIndicators.http://hdr.undp.org/en/countries/profiles/STP23TheWorldBank.SãoToméandPríncipe:Overview.http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/saotome/overview24TheWorldBank.SãoToméandPríncipe:Overview.http://www.worldbank.org/en/country/saotome/overview25U.S.DepartmentofState.BureauofDemocracy,HumanRights,andLabor.CountryReportsonHumanRightsPracticesfor2016:SãoToméandPríncipe.https://www.state.gov/documents/organization/252931.pdf

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26CentralIntelligenceAgency.TheWorldFactbook:SãoToméandPríncipe.https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/tp.html27Plaut,Martin.“ChocolateboostforSaoTomefarmers.”BBCNews.March7,2011.http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-1226127628DeutscheWelle(DW).“GrowingcocoaonSaoTomeundPrincipe:anewexportdrive.”http://www.dw.com/en/growing-cocoa-on-sao-tome-und-principe-a-new-export-drive/g-1716846829U.S.DepartmentofLabor.BureauofInternationalLaborAffairs.ListofGoodsProducedbyChildLabororForcedLabor:SãoToméandPríncipe.2016.https://www.dol.gov/agencies/ilab/resources/reports/child-labor/sao-tome-principe