BOTSWANA'S ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 2004

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 GABORONE 000273

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

AF/S FOR DIFFILY, AF/RSA, G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI
STATE PASS TO USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB BC TIP
SUBJECT: BOTSWANA'S ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 2004

REF 04 STATE 273089


1. (SBU) Summary: At this time, post believes Botswana is
not a country of origin, transit or destination for a
significant number of human trafficking victims. This is
partly because the Government of Botswana regards
trafficking as a serious threat and has taken measures to
prevent it from emerging as a problem. Given the absence of
a significant number of trafficking in persons (TIP) cases,
Government efforts emphasize prevention over prosecution of
perpetrators and protection of victims. These steps include
participation in TIP-specific and TIP-related law
enforcement training, close inter-agency and inter-
governmental coordination of border security and support for
NGOs that care for potential victims of human trafficking.
End summary.

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Overview
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2. (SBU) Only one specific report of human trafficking
emerged in 2004. This involved a child taken by an aunt
from her family in a rural village under false pretenses.
According to Childline, a child welfare NGO, when the child
reached Gaborone, where she had been promised care and
education, she was forced to work as a maid. Concerned
neighbors contacted the Department of Social Welfare. A
social worker reportedly interviewed the child and took her
to the police station and the magistrate court where she was
declared a child in need of care on March 28, 2004.
Childline provided temporary shelter for the child until she
could return to her family on May 5, 2004. The social
worker reportedly recommended that the perpetrator be
charged with child abuse. The Botswana Police Service and
Department of Social Welfare could provide no information
about this case. Although contacts in the NGO community
indicate that this practice is not uncommon, there have been
no other confirmed cases of trafficking.


3. (SBU) There are no reliable statistics or estimates of
the number of persons trafficked in Botswana, and no formal
efforts are underway to document the extent and nature of
trafficking in the country. During 2004, however, the
Government of Botswana (GOB) and the International Labor
Organization (ILO) developed an expanded labor force survey
intended to provide a clearer picture of child labor
patterns in Botswana. The GOB expects administration of the
survey to begin in 2005.


4. (SBU) The International Organization for Migration's
(IOM) 2003 report on Trafficking of Women and Children in
the Southern African Region did not mention Botswana.
Sources within the IOM said that anecdotal information
indicated that Botswana might be a destination country for
victims from countries such as Zambia or Zimbabwe, and/or a
transit country en route to South Africa, but these reports
were not confirmed. Some law enforcement officials
suspected that Botswana could be a transit country for
trafficking in persons from East Africa to South Africa but
again knew of no confirmed cases. IOM representatives have
no clear idea of the volume of trafficking through Botswana
but believe that, if it exists, it does so on a very small
scale.


5. (SBU) A number of other relevant sources confirmed the
lack of evidence on human trafficking, which leads to the
impression that this is not a significant problem in
Botswana. These included the following: Ms. Veronica
Dabutha, Department of Social Welfare; Mr. W. Karihindi, Mr.

M. Maduwane and Mr. Baakile, Botswana Police Service; Ms. S.
Seemule, Department of Labor; Mr. B. Majola and Mr. A.
Mmusetsi, Department of Immigration; Mr. C. W. Mudongo and
Mr. Motswebagale, Department of Customs and Excise; Mr. B.
Tjiyapo, Women's Affairs Department; Ms. Solomon and Mr.
Segabo, Attorney General's Chambers; Ms. M. Bokole, Women
and Law in Southern Africa; Ms. A. Mogwe, Botswana Center
for Human Rights; Mr. E. Thieszen, Women Against Rape; Mr.

J. Martens, International Organization for Migration; Mr. D.
Bosch, International Labor Organization; Ms. P. Letshwiti,
Childline.

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Prevention
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-IMMIGRATION CONTROLS-


6. (SBU) Despite the dearth of evidence indicating that
Botswana has a significant trafficking problem, GOB
officials are alert to the dangers of trafficking and have
taken efforts to prevent traffickers from operating in
Botswana. The GOB's primary trafficking-related activities
concern border management. Illegal immigration is a
significant problem in Botswana, and border control is a
high priority for the GOB. Botswana's Police Service,
Immigration authority, and Customs and Excise department
closely coordinate their activities, including periodic
inter-agency meetings at border points around the country.
These meetings also include counterparts from neighboring
countries. Law enforcement agencies regularly work with
other departments, such as the Department of Labor, to
organize operations targeting specific locales within the
interior. The Botswana Defense Force has deployed soldiers
to monitor the long and porous border with Zimbabwe, where
deteriorating conditions have created a push effect for
illegal immigration and, potentially, trafficking in
persons. Other practices, such as roadblocks along key
highways, also function to deter and detect trafficking in
persons.

-LAW ENFORCEMENT TRAINING-


7. (SBU) The GOB encourages law enforcement personnel to
participate in trafficking-related training. The
International Law Enforcement Agency (ILEA),located outside
Gaborone, conducts regular courses on border control for law
enforcement personnel from across southern Africa, including
Botswana. In October 2004, ILEA offered a course on
trafficking in persons in which seven Botswana law
enforcement officials participated. The GOB does not
provide training to its embassies and consulates in foreign
countries at this time, as there is no evidence that
Botswana citizens are being trafficked internationally.

-PUBLIC OUTREACH-


8. (SBU) Although the Government of Botswana has not
embarked on a public information campaign specifically
addressing trafficking, it does support TIP-related public
outreach. Botswana's Department of Immigration has an
aggressive public information program in which immigration
officials often travel with members of parliament to educate
their constituents about illegal immigration. These
officials address meetings at local council chambers and at
kgotlas (seat of the traditional chief of an area). Their
outreach helps citizens identify "people who do not belong"
and report them to the local authorities. The GOB has also
provided financial support to NGOs who conduct TIP-related
public education on child rights and welfare. Childline,
for example, received grants from the GOB to conduct
workshops that sensitize communities to the rights of a
child and to the various aspects of child abuse. This
promotes an appreciation of the rights of potential victims
of trafficking.

-SUPPORT FOR NGOS-


9. (SBU) The GOB worked with NGOs to protect and empower
potential victims of trafficking in persons. The Government
regularly provides grants to shelters that provide short-
term and long-term care for street kids. National
Development Plan 9 (NDP9 - the GOB's five-year performance
plan) lists women's economic empowerment as a primary goal.
The GOB is working with the Botswana National Council on
Women and the Women's NGO Coalition in order to strengthen
programs that address issues from women's economic
empowerment to reproductive health, and to mainstream gender
issues into HIV/AIDS intervention programs. The Minister of
Labor and Home Affairs attended the Forty-Ninth Session of
the Commission on the Status of Women in New York in March

2005.


10. (SBU) A strategic planning workshop on eliminating the
worst forms of child labor in Botswana brought together
representatives of government agencies, local NGOs and the
ILO in September 2004. The workshop identified priority
areas of concern for future projects to address, to include
forms of trafficking in children. The general consensus at
this workshop was that cross-border trafficking was not a
major problem in Botswana. Participants at that meeting
ranked internal trafficking of children, especially for work
as cattle tenders or domestic laborers, as a greater threat
but cited no specific instances.

-CHILD PROSTITUTION-


11. (SBU) One of the causes of potential child trafficking
in Botswana is HIV/AIDS. According to the most recent
census (2001),there are approximately 112,000 orphans in
Botswana, many of whom lost their parents to AIDS. Often
the eldest surviving child is left to look after his or her
siblings and may resort to prostitution for survival. In a
related problem, the adult relatives of orphans sometimes
seize the property of the orphans' deceased parents, leaving
the children vulnerable to exploitation. There have been
instances of caregivers of orphans forcing children into
prostitution, but no confirmed incident of trafficking of
this kind was reported in 2004.


12. (SBU) The Government's response to this complex problem
has been multifaceted. The GOB has criminalized child
prostitution. It also runs a large-scale orphan care
program, under which orphans receive food supplements and
other benefits. Its nation-wide campaign to enroll those
infected with HIV in anti-retroviral treatment keeps HIV
positive adults alive and healthy longer, reducing the
number of orphans and, thereby, the number of children at
risk of becoming victims of trafficking.

-CHALLENGES-


13. (SBU) A number of obstacles impede efforts to prevent
trafficking in Botswana. Absence of reliable data
demonstrating the nature and magnitude of potential
trafficking activity makes it impossible to target
appropriate resources at identifiable causes and
contributing factors. During 2004, the data management at
the Department of Immigration was still conducted manually,
making timely analysis of immigration/emigration patterns
difficult. The Department of Immigration plans to begin
computerizing its record- keeping at border posts during

2005. This process should improve the Government's ability
to identify possible trafficking corridors. The cost of
battling one of the world's highest HIV/AIDS infection rates
places an enormous strain on the Government's budget,
limiting funds available to allocate to anti-trafficking
programs. There is also a general lack of clarity
surrounding what constitutes trafficking. These factors
combined to stymie an attempt in early 2004 to establish a
functioning Task Force on trafficking.

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Prosecution
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14. (SBU) No law specifically prohibits trafficking in
persons. Penal code provisions covering offenses such as
abduction, kidnapping, slave trafficking, compulsory labor
and procuring women and girls for the purpose of
prostitution can be used to prosecute cases of human
trafficking. Traffickers charged with kidnapping and
abduction could face a maximum sentence of seven years in
prison. Owners of premises where girls under the age of 16
engage in prostitution can be held liable and receive a
sentence of up to five years in prison. In the Penal Code
(Amendment) Act of 1998, Botswana implemented strict
penalties for rape. The minimum sentence for rape is 10
years in prison. If the offender is HIV-positive, the
minimum sentence rises to 15 years in prison with corporal
punishment. If the offender is HIV-positive and knew his
status, the sentence increases to 20 years with corporal
punishment. The law does not address marital rape.


15. (SBU) The GOB has signed and ratified relevant UN
Conventions that protect children. The Protocol To Prevent,
Suppress And Punish Trafficking In Persons, Especially Women
And Children was signed in August of 2002. (Note: The GOB
has not yet harmonized its domestic law with this protocol).
The GOB signed and ratified ILO Convention 182 Concerning
The Prohibition And Immediate Action For The Elimination Of
The Worst Forms Of Child Labor in 2001. The GOB is also a
signatory to the Optional Protocol To The Convention On The
Rights Of The Child, On The Sale Of Children, Child
Prostitution, and Child Pornography. Botswana ratified both
ILO Conventions 29 and 105 on Forced Labor in 1997.


16. (SBU) Government authorities and individual members of
government agencies do not facilitate trafficking of persons
and overall corruption is not an impediment to fighting
trafficking. Transparency International ranked Botswana as
the least corrupt country in Africa and tied for 31st in the
world. A Directorate on Corruption and Economic Crime
actively investigates allegations of public corruption.

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Protection
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17. (SBU) The GOB does not have policies in place to
provide assistance to victims of trafficking. The
Department of Social Welfare, in the Ministry of Local
Government, however, planned a national conference for March
2005 on child abuse. One expected outcome of that
conference was a protocol for assisting victims of abuse and
exploitation, including victims of trafficking. There is no
witness protection system in place. However, in all sex-
offense cases, court proceedings are held in camera. Free
HIV testing and counseling services are offered at 16 sites
throughout the country and are well publicized.


18. (SBU) No NGOs in Botswana focus exclusively on
trafficking, but there are a number of NGOs that would
provide assistance to potential victims. In the single
specific case of trafficking reported in 2004, Childline
provided immediate shelter and helped return the child to
her home. Ditshwanelo (the Botswana Center for Human
Rights),Women Against Rape, and Women and Law in Southern
Africa, are among the many other NGOs aware of the
trafficking issue. They keep an eye open for evidence of
people being trafficked from, to, or through Botswana.

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Comment
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19. (SBU) Botswana is working to comply with the standards
outlined in the TPVA, as demonstrated by participation in
TIP-related law enforcement training, heightened border
security measures, efforts to protect HIV/AIDS orphans,
assistance to NGOs that aid potential trafficking victims,
and the signing of UN and ILO conventions intended to
protect against trafficking, child labor, and transnational
crime. Awareness of the TIP is increasing; however, the
distinction between trafficking in persons and migrant
smuggling is still blurry for many. Post has sought funding
to help clarify the nature and extent of possible
trafficking in Botswana and to provide trafficking-related
training for law enforcement officers aimed at integrating
this subject into local curricula. Post will continue to
work with interested parties to increase consciousness of
this issue.


20. (U) Post's point of contact on TIP is Political-
Economic Officer Aaron Cope, tel: 267-395-3982 x 5252, fax:
267-395-3238, email: Copeam@state.gov. Estimated amount of
FS-4 time spent on this report is 17 hours.
AROIAN