UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 SANAA 000576

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

PELASE PASS TO G, G/TIP, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, NEA/ARPI

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC ELAB YM TRAFFICKING PERSONS
SUBJECT: FIFTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT: YEMEN

REF: A. STATE 273089

B. SANAA 04 611


1. This message is posts response to ref A.

--------------
Overview of TIP in Yemen
--------------


2. (SBU) Overview:


A. Yemen is a country of origin for internationally
trafficked children and may be a country of destination for
sex trafficking of foreign women. In the past, the issue of
trafficking in persons (TIP) has not been well known or
understood in Yemen. Now that there are indications that
trafficking exists, particularly in the case of children,
ROYG officials are beginning to learn about and seek ways to
combat TIP.

Trafficked Yemeni children are smuggled over the northern
border into Saudi Arabia to work primarily as beggars.
Yemeni and foreign women, most recently Iraqi women, may be
the victims of sex trafficking for the purpose of
prostitution. No reliable estimates on the scope of either
problem exists. More information is available, however, on
child than on sex trafficking.

Trafficked Yemeni children are usually transported across the
border to Saudi Arabia by smugglers known or related to their
families, and usually with their parent,s consent. UNICEF
estimates that 97 percent of trafficked children are boys.
Trafficked children range in age from 7-16, with the majority
being between 12-14 years old.

It is possible that Yemeni women, including under age girls,
are at risk for sex trafficking within the country. Post has
no credible reports of such internal trafficking and cannot
confirm that the problem exists in Yemen.

In the past two years, there have been reports of increasing
numbers of foreign female prostitutes in Yemen, particularly
Iraqis. Unreliable and unconfirmed estimates from several
sources place the number of foreign prostitutes in Yemen at

anywhere from 1,000 to 5,000. The presence of these women in
Yemen may indicate an emerging sex trafficking problem. Some
women may become trafficked after arriving in Yemen, or be
subject to debt-bondage situations, but there is no credible
evidence to support this. The alleged trafficking of Iraqi
women for the purpose of prostitution covered in last year,s
report, appears to have been organized, although by whom or
to what extent is unknown (ref B). Unconfirmed reports
indicate that the number of Prostitutes may have
substantially decreased following a 2004 security forces
sweep, and the initiation of an entry visa requirement for
Iraqis traveling to Yemen.

Smuggling of migrants from the Horn of Africa (HOA) is a
problem, although there is no evidence of trafficking. Some
of these women find employment as prostitutes. It is
possible there are cases where female HOA migrants are forced
into prostitution or exploitative labor conditions.

The key line ministries dealing with TIP, Interior, Human
Rights, and Labor and Social Welfare, are aware of the issue
and took steps during the year to better understand the scope
of, and combat, trafficking of persons in Yemen.

The number of possible TIP victims in Yemen currently cannot
be estimated with any accuracy. Yemen has poor government
infrastructure and little ability to collect and maintain
reliable statistics. According to the UNICEF representative
in Yemen, it is &impossible at this time8 to account for
the number of Yemen child victims of trafficking, or to
distinguish them from children migrating to Saudi Arabia with
the families for economic reasons.

Available sources on trafficking in persons in Yemen are:
UNICEF, the Attorney General,s (AG) Office, The Ministry of
Interior (MOI), the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs
(MLSA), NGOs, local journalists and members of Parliament.


B. Yemen is a country of origin for children trafficked to
Saudi Arabia. The sources of child trafficking in Yemen are
the poor, northern regions of the country, particularly in
the governorates of Hajja and al-Mahaweet, close to the Saudi
border. Yemeni children are trafficked to Saudi Arabia
primarily for the purpose of unskilled labor, begging or
street vending. The traffickers are almost always well known
by, if not related to, the family; children are usually
trafficked with parental consent. Parents are either paid or
promised money in exchange for allowing their children to be
trafficked, and there has never been a case reported where a
trafficked child was not returned to the family.

There are foreign prostitutes in Yemen, particularly Iraqis,
who may be the victims of sex trafficking. They are located
primarily in the southern port city of Aden and in Sanaa.
Other prostitutes come to Yemen as economic migrants from
Eritrea, Ethiopia and Somalia. There is no evidence that
women from the Horn of Africa are trafficked to Yemen or
become trafficked once they arrive.


C. Post is not aware of an increase in the numbers of Iraqi
prostitutes since last year. It is unknown how many Iraqis
or other non-Yemeni women working as prostitute are victims
of TIP, and no additional information on this subject has
been made available.

According to the Arab Foundation for Supporting Women and
Juveniles (AFSWJ), it is possible that Yemeni women are
trafficked from their homes to other regions within the
country for the purposes of prostitution, including those
under the age of legal consent. AFSWJ believes that such
prostitution may be organized and speculates that low-level
government and security officials operate or are complicit in
sex trafficking within the country. Post has no other
information or evidence that this form of sex trafficking
exists within Yemen.


D. UNICEF, in conjunction with the MLSA, released a new
report in January 2005 entitled &Child Trafficking in
Yemen." No reports exist on Prostitution. Members of the
Parliamentary Committee on Human Rights and Freedom have
submitted a trip report on Child Smuggling to their
committee. The report is due to be released to the ROYG and
Parliament in 2005 (see overviewm section G.

ROYG ministerial officials claimed to be unaware of any
problems involving sex trafficking in Yemen until Post began
raising the issue of Iraqi women who said they were forced to
travel to Yemen to work as prostitutes during the Iraq War
crisis (ref B). In February 2004, the Minister of Human
Rights informed Ambassador that an investigation by relevant
ROYG ministries into possible sex trafficking in Yemen had
begun. There has been no additional information on this
investigation.


E. Foreign prostitutes, who may be the victims of sex
trafficking, are for the most part from other Arab countries.
It is possible that there are small numbers of women from
countries of the Former Soviet Union working in Yemen as
prostitutes, but this cannot be confirmed. These women
reportedly live and work either in the southern port city of
Aden or the northern capital Sanaa. In Aden, they provide
their services through hotels and clubs. In Sanaa, brothels
are normally found in houses, although some services may be
obtained at major hotels. It is not known under what
conditions these women may work and live.


F. MOI forces caught persons smuggling children across the
Yemen border to Saudi Arabia for the purpose of begging (see
Section X). UNICEF, local journalists covering the issue of
child smuggling, and MOI and MLSA officials describe the
child trafficking network as loosely organized. UNICEF notes
in its 2005 report that the organization is ¬ on the
scale of an international crime syndicate.8 Smugglers are
usually well known in the community to which the child
belongs. Some children start the journey on their own and
are picked up along the routes by taxi drivers or smugglers.
Families that allow their children to go to Saudi Arabia live
in extreme poverty, have large families and are either given
or promised money. In some cases, families of victims
approach the traffickers. There is usually no deception.
The children and families know what conditions in Saudi
Arabia will be. There is no evidence of child abduction and
there are no reported cases of children who were not returned
to their families following a period of illegal work in Saudi
Arabia.

Families usually pay a fee to have their children taken to
Saudi Arabia. Children hand over their salaries to the
traffickers, who take a percentage and send the remainder to
the child,s family in Yemen. Children are transported by
foot, car or donkey. There are several reports of children
leading other children across the border. False documents
are sometimes used, and the border is also unmonitored in
several areas.

While there are some reports that women and children may be
trafficked from other areas of the country to Aden for
prostitution, post cannot confirm this.


G. Trafficking in persons is gaining recognition as an issue
of concern in Yemen; however, it is still not considered a
high priority. The key line ministries dealing with TIP,
Interior, Human Rights, and Labor and Social Welfare, are
aware of the issue and took steps during the year to better
understand the scope of, and combat, trafficking of persons
in Yemen.

The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MLSA) partnered
with UNICEF to conduct the 2005 "Child Trafficking in Yemen"
study. The use of the word "trafficking vice "smuggling" in
the report went a long way to educate key ministries and the
public about the difference between these two phenomena. The
ROYG co-hosted a high profile, two-day conference to
highlight the report's findings in Sanaa in January 2005.
The Conference, attended by several ministers and other ROYG
officials, provided an opportunity for senior officials,
parliamentarians, and NGOs to discuss the problem of child
trafficking and ways to combat it. The conference was well
covered in the local media.

The Ministry of Interior arrested at least two child
traffickers in 2004 and referred these cases to the Attorney
General for Prosecution. Some child trafficking operations
were interdicted at the border by MOI forces. Police and
border guards are under MOI instructions to investigate
possible cases of TIP, and the MOI held training courses for
its officers on how to recognize and deal with trafficking.
Three more training courses are planned for the coming year.

In 2004, Parliament for the first time took up the issue of
child trafficking. A delegation of MPs on the Human Rights
and Freedoms Committee traveled to the northern regions of
Yemen on a fact-finding mission to investigate child
trafficking. The MPs' interest in the issue increased public
awareness and led to several media reports on the dangers of
child smuggling in Yemen. According to one of the MPs who
participated in the trip, committee members will report their
findings to the ROYG later this year and Parliament is
expected to debate the TIP issue.

Senior officials recognize the need to address the problem,
although there is no government-wide understanding of the
issue. Interior Minister al-Alimi has shared his personal
concern and MOI officials cite his focus on TIP as the
driving force behind new efforts to combat trafficking in
children. The recent UNICEF study was conducted with the
cooperation of several ministries, including the MHR and
MLSA. The Ministers of Labor and Social Affairs and Human
Rights have publicly called for greater efforts to combat the
problem. In February, some members of Parliament openly
called for a review of the Child Trafficking problem.

It is premature to assess whether or not there is sufficient
ROYG political will to effectively combat trafficking. The
government has taken some practical steps, but some confusion
still remains as to the difference between migrant smuggling
and trafficking. MOI officials note that trafficking exists,
but can only offer a handful of cases as evidence.

ROYG willingness to seriously combat sex trafficking is
untested and there is no credible evidence that ROYG
officials are themselves involved or complicit (see section
H.).

H. It is unknown whether individual members of government
forces facilitate or condone trafficking. There are
unconfirmed reports that some Yemeni border officials
accepted bribes from traffickers to allow trafficked children
to pass through checkpoints to enter Saudi Arabia.
It is unclear if the ROYG would be willing to take action
against government officials if they were proven to be
involved in sex trafficking. Should evidence become
available that prostitution in Yemen involves sex
trafficking, it is possible some officials might be found
involved, or at lease aware, of the practice, including
customs, border and law enforcement officials. For example,
hotels in Aden where Yemeni and foreign prostitutes
reportedly ply their trade are always monitored by officers
of the MOI and Political Security Organization (PSO).

Post cannot confirm that prostitution in Yemen involves sex
trafficking.

Corruption is a serious problem in Yemen. The ROYG has
formed a high-level committee to tackle corruption issues but
it is considered generally ineffective. Anti-corruption
efforts are handled on a case-by-case basis. Under the
Millenium Challenge Account Threshold Program, the ROYG is
expected in 2005 be developing specific proposals to tackle
corruption and transparency.


I. The ROYG has limited resources to devote to TIP.
Although the ROYG continues to step up its TIP assessment
efforts and has implemented some training of security forces,
its ability to prevent TIP, prosecute traffickers, and
protect victims is extremely limited due to extreme poverty,
low literacy, weak institutions, and a 1400 kilometer porous
border with Saudi Arabia. Although key ministries involved
with TIP are beginning to better understand the issue, there
is a lack of education on TIP among ROYG official as a whole,
as well as among the population. Officials at MOI, MLSA, and
HRM have expressed a willingness to partner with the U.S. in
programs to raise TIP awareness and educate and train
security officers and law enforcement and officers of the
court. The ROYG does not have sufficient resources to
effectively protect TIP victims.


J. In July 2004 the Minister of Interior ordered border
police to systematically monitor all incidents of illegal
immigration to Saudi Arabia so that it could more effectively
determine the scope of the child trafficking problem. The
MOI notes, however, that their primary border concern is not
child trafficking alone, but all economically motivated,
illegal immigration to the KSA. The UNICEF-MLSA study was
the first effective study of child trafficking in Yemen.
Post understands that the Minister of Interior receives
internal reports on illegal movement of children across the
border; however, the ROYG does not systematically monitor or
report on TIP or on the results of their anti-trafficking
efforts.


K. All aspects of prostitution are illegal and criminalized,
including the activities of brothel owners and operators.

--------------
Prevention
--------------


3. (SBU) TIP Prevention:


A. The issue of TIP is still relatively new in Yemen.
Ministers and officials at the MOI, MSLA, MHR recognize that
child trafficking is a problem in Yemen, although the term
"trafficking8 causes sensitivities and many officials
habitually refer to child trafficking as &smuggling.8 One
official explained the difficulties in educating families
about child trafficking by noting that poor families are
ashamed to admit that they are sending their children into a
difficult, and potentially abusive, situation. Not all ROYG
officials recognize trafficking as a distinct problem,
however, considering it instead a side effect of poverty and
illiteracy.

When specific TIP related problems are raised with the ROYG,
officials will usually acknowledge the situation to a limited
degree, and often look for practical solutions. When Post
raised the issue of possible trafficking of Iraqi prostitutes
and noted the difficulty of tracking numbers and cases
because Iraqis were not required to have a visa, the ROYG
responded within weeks by issuing a ruling to require entry
visas for Iraqis (ref B).


B. ROYG agencies involved with anti-trafficking efforts
include: Ministries of Human Rights, Interior (including
immigration and border control), Labor and Social Affairs,
Foreign Affairs, Justice and the Attorney General,s office.
The MHR has named an official who is in charge of the TIP
portfolio.

C. The MLSA reports that since the February release of the
UNICEF report, it began to sponsor a limited TIP awareness
campaign in targeted northern areas to education families on
the dangers of child trafficking, including a regional
workshop on TIP in the governorate of Hajja. The MLSA now
sends representatives to the north to monitor the situation
and speak regularly with families, Local Councils, and
schools. It is too soon to evaluate the effectiveness of
this effort.

The government has not yet conducted any comprehensive
anti-trafficking campaigns.


D. The ROYG supports many programs that do not specifically
target TIP but aid in TIP prevention, such as government-wide
efforts to increase literacy among women, combat violence
against women, expand women,s awareness of their legal
rights and increase the role of women in political life. The
ROYG has an active program for combating child labor.


E. Yemen is a least developed country (LDC) and its ability
to support prevention programs is extremely limited.


F. The MLSA actively cooperated with UNICEF,s child
trafficking study and several ministries participated in the
two-day UNICEF conference. There are few NGOs in Yemen
focused primarily on TIP issues. However, Post has every
reason to believe the ROYG would cooperate with NGOs to
combat TIP in Yemen because it has a record of working well
with NGOs on women,s and children,s issues to includ:
combating violence against women, promoting women rights, and
improving child labor regulations.

Post is not aware of any NGOs in Yemen dealing specifically
with TIP issues. There is a network of 8 organizations that
work with women victims of violence and prostitution.


G. Yemen is surrounded by ocean, rugged mountains and
desert, making its borders difficult to control. Smuggling
and illicit trade are common problems. The U.S. is assisting
the ROYG with border security control through the Terrorist
Interdiction Program and by providing equipment and training
assistance to the Yemen Coast Guard. Effective border
control remains nascent and the capacity of the ROYG to
monitor emigration and immigration patterns for trafficking
in person is limited. MOI complains that a lack of a
specialized Border Guard department hinders many of its
efforts in this regard.


H. There is no formal inter-agency working group or task
force on TIP. Several government agencies cite regular
contact with other concerned agencies when discussing
trafficking in children. The key ministries on this issue
are MHR, MLSA, MOI, MOJ, and the Attorney General,s Office.
UNICEF is the major NGO player on TIP in Yemen. According to
an MLSA official, these ministries work together to address
child trafficking issues on an ad-hoc basis, and in
conjunction with individual governorates and security forces.
The ROYG worked closely with UNICEF on its investigation and
subsequent report on the child trafficking problem in Yemen.


I. Yemen and Saudi Arabia recently agreed to establish a
bilateral committee to cooperate in combating the trafficking
of Yemeni children to the Kingdom. As of yet, the committee
has not met.

J. Because trafficking has not been a recognized problem in
Yemen, the ROYG does not have a national plan of action to
address the TIP. Since the UNICEF Trafficking in Children
conference in January, MLSA reports that it has launched a
TIP Awareness Campaign in the northern regions that is part
of its &General Plan8 to fight poverty in the northern
regions (see overview, section G). MLSA has announced that
it intends to expand its programs to use schools, social
infrastructure and surveys to raise awareness in the northern
regions of the country.


K. The ROYG has not named a specific person or entity to be
responsible for developing anti-trafficking. One official at
MHR is charged with the ministry,s child trafficking
portfolio, but does not have sole or interagency
responsibility for developing anti-Trafficking programs.
Several agencies address the TIP situation in Yemen.
Currently MHR, MLSA and MOI appear to be the most TIP-engaged
institutions.

--------------
Investigation and Prosecution
--------------


4. (SBU) TIP investigation and prosecution:


A. There are no laws that specifically outlaw TIP. In
January 2005, Minister of Human Rights as-Soswa and Minister
of Labor and Social Affairs al-Arhabi jointly announced that
they were working with the Ministry of Justice and the
Ministry of Legal Affairs to criminalize child trafficking.

There are laws that can be applied to trafficking in persons.
Article 248 of the Yemeni Penal Code stipulates a prison
sentence of 10 years for "anyone who buys, sells, or gives as
a present, or deals in human beings; and anyone who brings
into the country or exports from it a human being with the
intent of taking advantage of him." Article 249 carries a
penalty of seven years in prison for kidnapping and the death
penalty in kidnapping cases that include sexual assault or
murder. Persons accused of trafficking, especially cases
involving coerced labor or prostitution, would presumably be
in violation of Article 47 of the Yemeni Constitution, which
stipulates that "the State shall guarantee to its citizens
their personal freedom, preserve their dignity and their
security.8

Articles 146, 147 and 161 of the Child,s Rights Law protect
a child from sexual molestation, economic exploitation,
prostitution and other illegal activities. The Constitution
prohibits forced or compulsory labor.

While only Article 248 appears to explicitly punish
trafficking, the other articles outlined above could
presumably be used to prosecute traffickers as well.


B. The penalty for traffickers under Article 248 is up to
ten years in prison. If the offense prosecuted under Article
248 is committed against a child, the prison term can be
extended to 15 years.


C. The penalty for rape is up to seven years in prison. If
two or more persons jointly commit the rape, the punishment
is a maximum of ten years. If the victim of the rape is less
than 14 years, the penalty carries a maximum of 15 years.


D. In 2004 the ROYG arrested 12 persons for attempting to
smuggle an unknown number of children to Saudi Arabia for the
purpose of begging. The children were returned to their
families, who had given their consent to the trafficking, and
MOI officials held discussions with the families to explain
that trafficking is against the law. MOI also issued a
circular to the governorates that border Saudi Arabia,
instructing MOI offices to be alert to the problem of child
trafficking and to arrest perpetrators.

The Attorney General,s Office reported that it investigated
12 trafficking in children cases and referred two for
prosecution in 2004. The AG,s office was unable to confirm
the outcome of the cases. MOI confirmed the arrest of two
traffickers and the referral of their cases to the judicial
authorities. According to the MLSA, however, one of these
child traffickers was successfully convicted and given a
three-year prison sentence. An MLSA official referred to
this individual as the &prince8 of child smuggling. There
are sporadic reports of aborted child trafficking operations
intercepted by the security forces. In February 2005 UPI
reported that Yemeni security forces stopped an attempt to
smuggle seven children into Saudi Arabia. In December 2004
there was another report of an aborted attempt to smuggle 15
children across the border. MOI reports that they regularly
halt efforts to smuggle children into Saudi Arabia.

The inability of Yemeni authorities to provide detailed case
information is not unusual. The Yemeni judicial and law
enforcement system is fragmented and disorganized, with court
decisions still hand-written and court records decentralized.


E. Most child smugglers are free-lance operators who are
often related to their child victims, or at a minimum known
to their families. Child smuggling to Saudi Arabia appears
to be due to dire economic conditions and there are no
indications of international organizations or large crime
syndicates being involved.

It is still unknown whether or not Yemen has a sex
trafficking problem or who might be behind one, should it
exist.


F. The ROYG has actively investigated instances of child
smuggling under the laws against illegal migration. The
MOI's investigation and surveillance skills and capabilities
remain limited and rudimentary. MOI believes actual
trafficking cases in 2004 were in the single digits in
contrast to illegal migration cases. In January 2005
authorities announced massive arrests to disrupt prostitution
rings in Aden. This effort, however, was not targeted at sex
trafficking.


G. In February 2005, the MOI conducted a training course
for security officers on child smuggling. In September 2004
MOI provided training to 30 officers on children's issues in
general, including a module on trafficking. MOI has planned
three additional courses for their security officers in the
coming year. MLSA now holds regular briefings for border
control authorities on child smuggling. MOI has also issued
orders to border guards to be aware of the situation. The
ROYG has yet to identify ways to combat prostitution.


H. Saudi authorities routinely repatriate smuggled children
to Yemen. The ROYG has announced the establishment of a
joint committee on child trafficking with Saudi Arabia. At
the time of writing, the new committee had not yet met.


I. The Yemen Constitution prohibits the extradition of its
citizen to another country. Post is unaware of any
extradition of persons charged with trafficking.


J. Post cannot confirm any government involvement in, or
tolerance of, trafficking. However, should the prostitution
problem be identified as sex trafficking, it is likely that
low-level ROYG officials would be at minimum aware of the
practice (see overview, section C).


K. The ROYG has not taken any action again officials for
involvement in trafficking in persons.


L. Although there are reports that some prostitutes are under
the age of 18, Yemen is not identified as a child sex tourism
destination. There are no confirmed reports on the number of
child prostitutes.


M. Yemen ratified the Slavery Convention of 1926 in 1987. In
1989 the government ratified the Convention for the
Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and Exploitation of the
Prostitution of Others. The Rights of the Child Convention
was ratified by Yemen in 1991, along with the Optional
Protocol on the Rights of the Child in Armed Conflict. ILO
Convention 182 Concerning Prohibition and Immediate Action
for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor was
signed and ratified in 1999
In July 2004 the ROYG ratified the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the child on the Sale of Children.

--------------
Protection and Assistance to Victims
--------------


5. (SBU) Protection and Assistance to Victims:

A-I. Because TIP is a relatively new issue in Yemen, many
questions in this section do not yet apply. Children
recovered from child trafficking are returned to their
families. The traditional nature of Yemeni society and
sexual taboos make it difficult to assess sex trafficking or
to investigate what aid, if any, may be given to potential
victims. If there is government or NGO assistance to victims
of sex trafficking, it is likely limited and sporadic and
closely guarded by the women and their families. There are
reports that a recent sweep of Aden resulted in the quiet
repatriation of an unspecified number of prostitutes to their
home countries. The ROYG also faces severe funding,
resources and capacity and skills limitations.

For repatriated trafficked children, there is one fully
operational reception center in the Harath region established
in May 2004. The ROYG and UNICEF run this center jointly.
UNICEF, which currently staffs the center, reports that the
ROYG must assume full responsibility for the center by June

2005. The MLSA reports that it runs four additional
reception centers in the northern regions. These centers are
likely small operations operated on an ad hoc basis. The MOI
reports that it runs 10 specialized &rooms8 in northern
areas to house repatriated children, who are moved quickly to
locations for social services or returned immediately to
their families. Social services provided to repatriated
children are sparse if not non-existent.

The UNICEF study indicates that few repatriated children
receive any kind of institutional help following their return
to Yemen. Of the 59 children surveyed, only 3 received any
care. Many are arrested and kept in poor, crowded conditions
for up to a month before reunification with their families or
relatives. Some children report being beaten while in Yemeni
custody.

There is no evidence of government care for trafficked
prostitutes.


B. The Government does not provide funding or support to
NGOs to help victims of trafficking.


C. There are currently no organized ROYG TIP victims
assistance programs that Post is aware of.


D. There are credible reports that several returned children
were initially held in custody for up to a month before being
returned to their families. Post has unconfirmed reports
that a massive sweep in Aden by Yemeni Security Forces
resulted in the deportation of many third country national
prostitutes, likely among them trafficked women from Iraq.
Several other prostitutes were arrested and criminally
charged for prostitution and loitering. The results of the
cases are unknown, although there are indications that all
the women arrested were eventually released.


E. There are no systematic judicial programs to aid victims
of trafficking to understand their rights or seek legal
redress.


F. Yemen does not provide any significant assistance to
victims of trafficking.


G. There are no reports of the ROYG cooperating with foreign
countries or embassies to provide training on protection or
urge those embassies to develop on-going relationships with
NGOs that serve trafficked victims.


H. Post in not aware of any ROYG cooperation with other
governments in the investigation or prosecution of
trafficking cases.

I. UNICEF is the sole international NGO that focuses on
trafficking in persons in Yemen. The Arab Foundation for
Supporting Women and Juveniles (AFSWJ) works with
prostitutes, but does not focus specifically on sex
trafficking. AFSWJ provides legal and rehabilitative
services to women. They also plan to open the &Social Care
House Project8 that will operate as a house for prostitutes;
however, it will not specifically target trafficked women.
There is also a newly formed network of women NGOs called
Shema. It is likely that in the future they will work with
prostitutes. The two NGOs might provide good partners for
TIP assistance programs that focus on the protection of
victims.

--------------
Recommendations
--------------


6. (SBU) Senior ROYG officials in key line ministries are
motivated to combat TIP in Yemen, particularly child
smuggling cases. Senior officials close to the TIP issue do
not deny that trafficking exists in Yemen, but they must
balance TIO with other pressing problems including poverty,
illiteracy, and unemployment. The ROYG should be afforded an
opportunity to prove that it is willing to tackle trafficking
as an issue.


7. (SBU) The ROYG actively participated with UNICEF on the
child trafficking report, and Post believes the ROYG would be
an active partner with the USG should TIP assistance programs
be offered. The ROYG is likely more willing and more able at
this time to take on child trafficking than the taboo subject
of sex trafficking. More work needs to be done to determine
whether or not there is a sex trafficking problem.


8. (SBU) The MOI, MHR, and MSLA are the institutions to step
up ROYG efforts to combat TIP. Assistance programs the USG
might want to consider include: working with MSLA and MHR on
public awareness TIP prevention efforts; partnering with MOI,
MOJ, and the AG to provide TIP training to security forces
and law enforcement, as well as legal training to promote
prosecution of traffickers; Working with ASFWJ or other local
women's NGOs to further investigate sex trafficking and
explore ways to provide protection to victims; joining UNICEF
and the ROYG in a follow-on effort to develop a plan of
action based on the 2005 child trafficking report finding.
Krajeski