Mali child pass to stop slavery

The government of the West African state of Mali has introduced travel passes for children to try to prevent them being taken abroad to work illegally.

A Malian government statement said the scheme aimed to protect children and enable them to travel without suspicion in West Africa.

There's been growing pressure on cocoa producers to show that their products have not benefitted from child labour.

Ivory Coast - which has been singled out as a major beneficiary of child labour in the region - launched a major campaign to end child trafficking.

The initiative has been criticised for leading to the arrest of innocent travellers in the region.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service