Improving Gabon’s Response to Organized Crime

Gabon is facing several challenges in its response to organized crime, including human trafficking. This report highlights key areas where improvement is needed.

Judicial System

• The judiciary in Gabon lacks trust among the public due to reports of complicity among judicial staff.
• Limited professional capacity within the judicial system often results in prosecutorial judges not investigating cases of human trafficking effectively.

Law Enforcement

• Gabon currently lacks specialized law enforcement units tasked with countering organized crime.
• However, there are efforts being made within law enforcement to create strategic tools and units to fight organized crime.

Anti-Money Laundering

• While Gabon has established relevant mechanisms and regulatory frameworks to curb money laundering, these lack the capacity to investigate and prosecute cases effectively.

Corruption

• Corruption is a significant issue in Gabon, affecting business freedom and limiting potential investments due to bureaucracy, lack of transparency, and inconsistency in enforcing regulations.

Support for Victims

• There are state-funded NGO shelters offering support to homeless and orphaned children who are most at risk of trafficking.
• However, there’s a lack of information on rehabilitation programmes for drug abuse.

Prevention Efforts

• National authorities have decreased prevention efforts related to human trafficking as they did not sign the country’s anti-trafficking national action plan into law.

Media Freedom

• The erosion of limited press freedom has continued in Gabon, with journalists and editors being intimidated by law enforcement and subjected to extreme restrictions by the media regulator sanctions.