GOM STRIVES FOR TIER ONE TIP STATUS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANTANANARIVO 001416

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP RYOUSEY
DEPT FOR INL EFLOOD
DEPT FOR AF/E MBEYZEROV
DEPT FOR AF/RSA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KCRM SMIG ELAB MA
SUBJECT: GOM STRIVES FOR TIER ONE TIP STATUS

REFTEL: A) ANTANANARIVO 1289

B) ANTANANARIVO 920
C) 05 ANTANANARIVO 680


1. SUMMARY: Government of Madagascar (GOM) ministry
representatives delivered comprehensive accounts of the year's
activities at the semi-annual planning workshop of the
Inter-Ministerial Committee to Combat Human Slavery and Trafficking
in Persons (TIP). Presenters noted some failures in 2006, due to
constraints ranging from a lack of financial and material resources
to overall coordination problems. Our GOM partners remain committed
to meeting USG requirements for graduation to Tier One status, which
were incorporated into the government's five-year Madagascar Action
Plan (MAP) (Ref B) for development. However, the GOM still has a
way to go in implementing prosecution measures, passing
trafficking-specific legislation, and compiling reliable statistics.
Aware of these shortcomings, Ministry representatives are
undergoing an intense consultative process to address these issues
early in 2007. END SUMMARY.


2. At a meeting of the Inter-Ministerial Committee to Combat Human
Slavery and Trafficking in Persons December 12 and 13, working-level
Ministry representatives delivered comprehensive accounts of the
successes and failures of 2006, as well as challenges and
opportunities for 2007. PolOff was impressed with the participants'
energy and commitment to achieving Tier One status. She also
counseled the group that GOM efforts must also address the need for
prosecution, collection and dissemination of reliable statistics,
and trafficking-specific legislation. The committee carefully
listened to PolOff's explanation of anti-trafficking definitions and
requirements and, wary of possibly backsliding onto the Watch List,
decided to re-align its 2007 Action Plan to specifically conform to
USG minimum standards.


3. Participants were candid about the major obstacles they face in
implementing TIP-related activities. Across the board, Ministry
representatives noted the lack of financial and material resources
as a major challenge. Several officials inquired about the status
of the nearly USD one million for TIP-related activities promised by
the U.S. Embassy in June 2005 (Ref C). In light of the difficulty
in communication and coordination between the ministries, the
committee requested that the Presidency's Office of Social Affairs
play a permanent coordinating role for government-wide activities.
Participants noted the collection of reliable statistics remained
tough; particularly for problems that occur behind closed doors,
such as forced domestic labor and the sexual exploitation of
children, especially in the more remote regions of the country. One
of the Presidency's priorities for 2007 is to establish a database
of trafficking statistics and activities.

RECAP OF 2006
--------------


4. Ministry of Justice (MOJ): In terms of legislative reform, the
MOJ is close to completing several laws to be presented at the first
session of parliament in May 2007. These laws address: the
protection of child victims of abuse and violence (which includes
protection for pregnant girls and punitive measures for the clients
of child prostitutes); the fight against terrorism and transnational
organized crime; raising the legal marriage age; and the
responsibility of parents for their children. The Ministry is also
close to releasing a decree listing prohibited forms of child labor.
While these legislative measures are not TIP-specific, the MOJ
insists they will offer protection to victims of a wide range of
abuses. The TIP-specific law originally promised for October 2006
is still being drafted, but the MOJ representative admitted that
without the technical support of a consultant to ensure the text
adheres to international standards, the Ministry cannot give a
specific date of completion. Other MOJ activities in 2006 to
address the exploitation of children, violence against women and
girls, and new adoption regulations included:

-- training sessions for magistrates;

-- a week-long screening of educational films;

-- education campaigns on national television and radio;

-- the creation of counseling centers;

-- a joint action plan with community stakeholders to protect the
children of Nosy Be;

-- studies on violence against children;


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-- the adoption of decrees regulating foster care;

-- and a study on Malagasy children in trouble with the law.


5. Ministry of Culture and Tourism: To stop the proliferation of
sex tourism in Madagascar, this Ministry conducted public awareness
training at cultural events for 250 personnel working in the tourism
industry, as well as for women and children at risk of being
trafficked in seven different locations in Madagascar (Farafangana,
Tulear, Betioky, Mahajunga, Manakara, Ambositra, and Antsohihy).
The Ministry was not able to train additional speakers or
instructors on the fight against sex tourism, as hoped, due to
budget cuts and bottlenecks.


6. Ministry of Education (MOE): The Ministry of Education
conducted workshops on children's rights, the worst forms of child
labor, the minimum working age, and school retention programs at 152
schools and 87 parent associations throughout the country. The MOE
also conducted education campaigns on sexual reproductive health at
18 schools. The MOE's public education campaign included 27
newspaper articles, 32 radio programs, five radio spots, five
television spots, one poster and one skit on the following topics:
children's rights, the worst forms of child labor, Conventions 138
and 182, the minimum working age, education and school retention
programs, the fight against teenage pregnancy, and the sale of
alcohol. Twenty-two Ministry personnel at the regional level
benefited from internal capacity building programs. The MOE
incorporated these themes into International Education Week
activities by organizing a debate and an exhibit on the social
reintegration of child workers and street children.


7. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs: The Ministry of Foreign Affairs
drafted a report on the implementation of the Convention on the
Rights of the Child in Madagascar, specifically relating to the sale
and prostitution of children, including for use in pornography.
This report will be reviewed in April 2007 by the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights in New York.


8. The Ministry of Civil Services and Labor: In 2006, 36 of the 50
child workers taken into the country's three Welcome Centers were
either given vocational training or placed back in school; 20 new
child workers were identified for professional training and 20
others for remedial education. The Ministry also set up provincial
offices to monitor child labor in Diego Suarez and Tulear and is
finalizing a text on the application of the labor code for child
workers. Unfortunately, the budget for remedial programs for child
workers was slashed by as much as 45 percent, making these programs
largely dependant on outside support, namely from the U.S. Embassy
and the International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor
(IPEC). Due to lack of funding, plans to build two youth centers in
Antsirabe and Nosy Be were put on hold.


9. The Ministry of Youth and Sports: In 2006, the Ministry of
Youth and Sports trained nearly 60 adult speakers and 120 youth peer
educators on life skills, gender issues, and children's rights;
distributed fliers, posters and banners on "how to say no" and how
to seek counseling; and created 7 CDs on sexual reproductive health
and sexual violence. The Ministry estimates its programs reached
over 78,000 young people in 2006. Its collaboration with the UN
Population Fund to educate Malagasy adolescents about reproductive
health, rape, sexual harassment and prostitution was considered
particularly successful.


10. The Ministry of Telecommunications and Communication: This
Ministry trained journalists representing 125 of the country's 256
radio and television stations on the Convention on the Rights of the
Child and the GOM's campaign to issue birth certificates.
Journalists agreed that child speakers should be featured on radio
and television programs. The Ministry also posted posters with
messages against sex tourism in 150 post offices around the country;
organized a contest in collaboration with UNICEF for journalists to
write about children's rights; and trained 20 journalists on sexual
reproductive health. Following the release of UNICEF's video "Vero
et Haingo" on sexual exploitation, the Ministry of
Telecommunications dispatched copies of the film and supporting
information throughout the country's 22 regions.


11. The Ministry of Population (MOP): Many of the MOP's activities
in 2006 focused around the GOM's campaign to issue birth
certificates, including the training of 400 civil servants on the
issuance process and raising public awareness via 5,000 outreach
coordinators and fliers. The MOP is currently retroactively
registering birth certificates in 111 communes. As the lead
Ministry on adoption issues, the MOP has also received 181
applications for international adoption since 2003, of which 127

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were ruled on by the Court of Appeals. At least six of the
applications were rejected. Other MOP activities in 2006 included
the training of 275 child counselors; an education awareness
campaign on children's rights legislation that reached 87,000
children and adults, and the establishment of a children's
association in Mahajunga allowing children to participate in the
decision-making process at the provincial level.


12. The State Secretary of Public Security (SSPS): In general, the
SSPS has focused on prevention rather than prosecution. Planned
monitoring of nightclubs, schools, and alcohol sales to minors did
not take place due to a lack of financial and material resources, as
well as the general avoidance of any repressive police action during
an election year. Instead, the SSPS conducted educational programs
on child exploitation, statutory rape, prostitution, and drug abuse
for 17,700 students, 75 school administrators, 22 teachers, and 100
parents. Nine thousand members of the general public benefited from
SSPS-run awareness campaigns on the protection of children's rights.
The SSPS also conducted education campaigns for 35 hotel managers
and 24 "red zone" neighborhoods in Antananarivo on legislation
concerning the protection of minors. The SSPS has set up "morals
and minors" police brigades in Tulear, Fort Dauphin and Morondava.
Funded by the USG and in collaboration with UNICEF, the SSPS is
designing a standard training module for police on the protection of
minors. The program has trained 25 police and gendarmes in Diego
Suarez and 19 in Antananarivo. Finally, the SSPS published a number
of articles in international newspapers on the sexual exploitation
of minors and a number of related topics.

COMMENT:
--------------


13. Post remains convinced our GOM partners wish to graduate to
G/TIP Tier One status. There is no shortage of energy and
commitment by the government to implement activities to reduce
trafficking and human slavery in Madagascar. However, the GOM will
continue to make only incremental progress until it finds adequate
funding. The emphasis so far on prevention over prosecution is also
in part based on the cultural bias against strong police
enforcement, which many Malagasy perceive as "government
repression." A comprehensive anti-trafficking law remains the GOM's
priority deliverable; Post assesses as realistic the claim that
outside help would make it a much better instrument.
Notwithstanding challenges and setbacks, Madagascar values its
reputation as a model for anti-TIP efforts. Post recommends the USG
establish specific milestones for a roadmap to Tier One status,
coupled with financial and technical assistance to facilitate
Madagascar becoming one of the first sub-Saharan African nations to
"graduate." END COMMENT.

MCGEE