MOZAMBIQUE: POLICE ARREST MEN SELLING A YOUNG BOY,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000434

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
G/TIP FOR RYOUSEY, AF/RSA FOR RZUEHLKE, AF/S FOR HTREGER
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KWMN SMIG MZ
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: POLICE ARREST MEN SELLING A YOUNG BOY,
GOVERNMENT PREPARES FOR CHILD TRAFFICKING LEGISLATIVE
CAMPAIGN

REF: A. MAPUTO 305


B. MAPUTO 378

C. MAPUTO 395
Corrected Copy - Summary.


1. Sensitive But Unclassified - not for placement on the
Internet.


2. (SBU) Summary. Mozambique continued to take steps in March
2005 to detain potential traffickers and toward upgrading its
laws to expressly prohibit trafficking. On March 21
Mozambican police arrested two Mozambican men for trying to
sell an 11-year old boy. Also, post learned that in 2004 the
Mozambican border police made two arrests of Mozambicans
transporting children over the Ressano Garcia-Komaatipoort
border into South Africa; border police officials described
these cases as trafficking. Mozambican authorities have a
system in place at the South African border to identify
suspicious, potential traffickers in persons. On March 23
the Ministry of Justice announced to local newspapers that it
planned to draft legislation outlawing trafficking in
children in the second quarter of 2005, following completion
of a 2004 study on children's rights (ref C). Finally, the
government also participated in follow-up seminars on
children's protection legislation last week, which indicated
further engagement on the issue. End Summary.


3. (U) On March 21, in the northern port city of Quelimane,
police used an informant posing as a buyer in order to arrest
two men attempting to sell an 11-year old boy named Raimundo
Isaias for 150 million meticais ($7,500.) News of this
arrest was first reported in the Mozambican press on March

29. Post contacts with Quelimane police and the journalist
reporting the case indicate that the boy had been abducted
locally, and that the sellers were of Mozambican nationality.
Police used allegations of earlier sales in the area in
making the arrest. This arrest marks the first time in the
city's history that someone has been arrested for selling a
child.


4. (SBU) Post also learned that in late 2004 Mozambican
border police at Ressano Garcia made two arrests of
Mozambican men charged with illegally transporting young boys
(three total) over the border into South Africa. According
to Ressano Garcia Chief of Police Felix Namburete, the young
boys, aged 10-12, had been abducted from their parents in the
Maputo area and did not know where they were going. Since
Mozambique does not have an explicit anti-trafficking law,
the adults were charged with kidnapping and their cases were
sent to the provincial prosecutor's office. Subsequent post
interviews indicate that the charges were apparently dropped,
but the boys were safely returned to their parents.
(Comment: Post reported in reftel A that 53 abductions and
452 disappearances of children were reported in 2004, but no
official cases of trafficking due to the lack of a specific
law on the subject. Mozambican law enforcement officials and
NGO advocates frequently say, however, that several of the
abductions/disappearances are actually trafficking cases, and
that the police do make an effort to investigate and stop
abductions. This case can be seen as an example of that
point. End Comment.)


5. (SBU) Mozambican and South African authorities have
strengthened information sharing on trafficking in the past
year. On March 30 Emboff met with the Mozambican military's
commander of border troops, Emidio Gedeao, along with the
Director of Migration, Panachade Momade. They explained that
individuals crossing the border who are suspected of
trafficking are listed and their names and activities
forwarded to South African authorities. Across the border
from Ressano Garcia, the South African Captain of Police in
Komaatipoort, A. Nhambi, confirmed via telephone interview
with post that he was in possession of a list of suspected
traffickers and that South African and Mozambican police meet
regularly on the subject. He was aware of the
trafficking-related arrests made by Mozambican police in 2004.


6. (U) As reported in ref C, on March 23 the Legal Reform
Unit of the Ministry of Justice announced that it would
prepare legislation outlawing trafficking in children in the
second semester of 2005, and would begin a series of public
forums on the issue in April 2005. The legislation will be
based on findings of a study on the rights of the child,
which the government carried out in partnership with UNICEF
in 2004. The study focused on strengthening Mozambican law
on several children's and women's rights-related issues,
including child abuse, abduction, trafficking, and child
labor. The study included a formal investigative component
and also a series of forums on children's rights throughout
Mozambique; final recommendations were issued in November

2004. (Comment: The public willingness of the Ministry of
Justice to move forward with legislation this year is a
welcome step in the right direction. It had appeared that
the GRM-UNICEF campaign for improving children's rights had
stalled, after ranking judges on the Mozambican Supreme Court
had made public criticisms -- they said existing laws were
sufficient -- of the study's findings. End comment.)
Ministry of Justice Legal Reform Unit Director Dr. Abdul
Carimo indicated to post on March 31 that, despite the
Supreme Court objections, the Legal Reform Unit will continue
to move forward with drafting of several new laws that were
recommended by the study, including a law outlawing
trafficking in children. One law recommended by the study
concerning domestic violence against women and children has
already been drafted and submitted for public debate. Other
laws will move forward over the course of the year, he said.


7. (U) On March 29 the GRM's Ministries of Women and Social
Action, Justice, and Education, along with representatives of
key NGOs and various donors, participated in a workshop to
further address legal initiatives to promote the rights of
women and children. This was a follow-up meeting to the
GRM-UNICEF campaign of 2004. The meeting was also used as a
precursor to the meeting of the National Council for the
Advancement of Women, scheduled for April 12. The National
Council, an inter-ministerial body, includes many civil
society organizations represented at the workshop. It is
responsible for promoting the advancement of women generally
and for addressing trafficking in women specifically. Post
learned at this workshop that the Mozambican Attorney
General's office has a project in process to place this year
a Mozambican in the Attorney General's counterpart office in
South Africa (near the border),to help vulnerable women and
children migrants.
LALIME