KEEP GHANA ON TIER 1

C O N F I D E N T I A L ACCRA 000626 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2015 TAGS: GH KWMN PHUM PREL SUBJECT: KEEP GHANA ON TIER 1 REF: A. ACCRA 504 ¶B. ACCRA 519 ¶C. ACCRA 566 AND PREVIOUS Classified By: Ambassador Mary C. Yates for reasons 1.5 d and e. ¶1. (C) Summary: The Government of Ghana, at the very highest levels, has conveyed to us its intent to pass anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) legislation. The bill has been delayed because of bureaucratic problems, the national election, and the demands of forming a new government. However, we have every reason to believe a TIP bill will pass by the end of June. Post recommends that Ghana maintain its Tier 1 ranking in the Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) subject to passage of this law by no later than June 30, ¶2005. End summary. ¶2. (U) Over the past several months, the Ambassador and Emboffs have raised the urgent need to pass TIP legislation with President Kufuor, his Chief of Staff, the Speaker of Parliament, the Ministers of Manpower, Youth and Employment, Justice, Women and Children's Affairs, Parliament, and other ministry officials (reftels). GOG officials have all made clear that the non-controversial anti-trafficking bill is a priority which should pass into law easily. The TIP Bill Delayed -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The TIP legislation has been delayed for three reasons, all of which are no longer relevant: -- Bureaucratic Battle: For the past year, the TIP law was held up by a disagreement between the then-Minister of Manpower and the then-Minister of Women and Children Affairs (MOWAC) over leadership on the TIP issue. The former Attorney General did not intervene in hopes that the bureaucratic battle would work itself out. The bureaucratic battle has been resolved, with leadership on TIP given to the Ministry of Manpower. Both of the new ministers are committed to fighting trafficking and support expeditious passage of the legislation. -- The Election: In the months before the December 2004 presidential and parliamentary election, GOG officials and members of parliament were absorbed with campaigning. It was difficult to get them to focus on any legislation, including a TIP law. However, this is no longer an issue since the election is over. -- Getting a New Government Organized: It has taken time for President Kufuor to put his new Cabinet together, following his inauguration in January. Cabinet members were vetted and most started work in early February. In our early meetings with new ministers, they emphasized that they needed to be briefed on a wide range of issues and confessed they had not yet focused on TIP, but our meetings helped them prioritize this issue. The new Cabinet has only met once. Nearly half of the members of parliament are new. The government and legislature have been understandably focused on the priorities of appointing new ministers and deputy ministers and passing a budget. Parliament only passed four laws in its first 2005 session, all related to the budget. The government is now organized and the next parliament will get down to the business of legislating. Keep Ghana on Tier 1 -------------- ¶4. (C) Ghana has taken the trafficking issue seriously. Several GOG agencies, including the Ghana Police, Interpol, the Department of Social Welfare, Ghana Immigration Service and district-level law enforcement, have worked to combat trafficking. The GOG supported the International Organization for Migration (IOM)'s rescue of 544 children from Volta Region fishing villages. MOWAC distributed school uniforms and supplies to some of the victims. The GOG also allowed IOM to use a former government guest house in Brong Ahafo Region as a rehabilitation facility to conduct counseling and medical checkups. The GOG has further pledged three facilities in the Central and Western Regions to support IOM anti-trafficking projects in 2005. The Osu Children's Home, a GOG-operated shelter, rescued 28 children in 2004. The GOG plans to open a second shelter this year. ¶5. (C) We believe the TIP bill will pass early in the next parliamentary session, due to start on May 10, although it may require several weeks for public gazetting and committee review. We have impressed on the GOG the need for Cabinet to pass the TIP law and submit it for early consideration in parliament. ¶6. (C) Demoting Ghana to Tier 2 would punish Ghana for not putting the TIP law above other pressing, reasonable priorities of a new government such as a budget and appointments. Tier 2 demotion could undermine the GOG's good will on this issue and weaken its incentive to pass anti-trafficking legislation early. The GOG also has worked with civil society to draft a bill which all contacts believe will pass easily. Ghana is a strong partner for America on a wide range of issues, from peacekeeping to counter-narcotics, and has a strong overall record on human rights and rule of law. Keeping Ghana on Tier 1 until June 30 serves the better interests of passing a law and of our relationship with the new Kufuor administration. We recommend that Ghana remain Tier 1 and that the Ambassador communicate to the President that this ranking is subject to passage of a TIP law by June 30, after which time we will be forced to reconsider Ghana's Tier ranking. YATES NNNN