IRAQ: ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BAGHDAD 000734 SIPDIS SIPDIS PLEASE PASS TO G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, NEA/RA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM PHUMPTER KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF SUBJECT: IRAQ: ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT REF: 06 STATE 00003836 ¶1. (U) The following is post's submission to the annual trafficking in persons report. Embassy point of contact is PolOff Lourdes Lamela, US phone 914-822-2901 and at email Lamelalm @ state.gov. This report reflects approximately 26 hours of preparation. -------------- OVERVIEW -------------- ¶2. (U) Country Overview: The political, social, and economic landscape in Iraq is changing as Iraq moves to its first democratically elected government under its new constitution. Historic elections and the first step in the formation of the Iraqi Transitional Government took place on January 30, 2005. In two subsequent polls, voters adopted a constitution on October 15, 2005 and elected a new parliament under that constitution on December 15, 2005. The elections and referendum were regarded as free and fair, and were critical steps in Iraq's democratic process. ¶3. (U) Civil society, political figures, and the NGO community view Trafficking in Persons (TIP) as a potential, albeit rarely documented, problem in Iraq that will grow larger if law enforcement does not check major criminal activity. Anecdotal reports indicate that TIP was a bigger problem during the Saddam regime because the Ba'ath party was involved in trafficking schemes and because of the lack of employment opportunities locally. The past reporting year has been characterized by significant insurgent activity against both civil and government targets which has resulted in trafficking cases being relegated to non-priority status. -------------- THE LEGAL LANDSCAPE -------------- ¶4. (U) During the reporting period, the operative constitutive law was the Law of Administration for the State of Iraq for the Transitional Period (TAL). Article 13(G) of the TAL states that slavery, the slave trade, forced labor, and involuntary servitude with or without pay is forbidden. The new Constitution, which was approved October 15, 2005 by national referendum and will come into force upon the seating of the new government reinforces these tenets and specifically addresses trafficking in women and children. The third section of Article 37 in the new Constitution states: "Forced labor, slavery, slave trade, trafficking in women or children, and sex trade shall be prohibited". ¶5. (U) Iraqi law prohibits rape as well as prostitution. Other laws in force include CPA Order 89 which amends the Labor Code of 1987 to limit working hours for those under 18 years of age and prohibits their employment in dangerous occupations. Order 89 also prohibits employment for those under the age of 15 years, and specifically bans all forms of trafficking in children including slavery, prostitution, and debt bondage. -------------- TRACKING TRAFFICKING -------------- ¶6. (U) The Ministry of Interior (MOI) has responsibility for trafficking-related issues. However, it does not keep statistics on Trafficking in Persons cases, nor does it have a unit designated to investigate trafficking cases. Given the current security situation and high rate of insurgent related incidents against civilians - including bomb attacks, kidnapping, murder, and related violent crimes - the Iraqi Security Forces (ISF) and Iraqi Police Service (IPS) make their priority the prevention and suppression of these crimes. The likelihood of accountability for trafficking crimes in the current security climate is considered low. ¶7. (U) The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOLSA) Labor Directorate has jurisdiction over the labor code, child labor, wages, occupational safety and health issues, and labor relations. In MOLSA, the Children's Welfare Commission works closely with the Ministry of Education in a broad range of child protection issues. In addition, MOLSA-run vocational centers have offered training to youth in careers that offer a chance for BAGHDAD 00000734 002 OF 003 productive employment. The exercise of labor rights does continue to remain limited, however, due in part to insurgent violence and high unemployment. -------------- ANECDOTAL TRAFFICKING INFO -------------- ¶8. (U) Though no specific data exists, anecdotal reports suggest that Iraq could be considered a country of origin for trafficking. Informal reports indicate that Iraqi women and children are taken to Turkey, Iran, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Jordan, Syria, and other Gulf states for employment in prostitution and domestic labor. Sources believe that the targeted population appears to be poor, uneducated women and children from rural areas within Iraq, particularly in Kurdistan (due to its close proximity to Turkey). There is no evidence currently that would suggest that Iraq is a TIP destination point. ¶9. (U) Although prostitution in Iraq is illegal, it continues to exist. Anecdotally, prostitution in Iraq is not conducted through a second party, but rather is an individual and word of mouth enterprise. The extent of prostitution and its forms are still not well documented. ¶10. (U) "Child marriage" and forced marriages are practices that continue to occur in Iraq, although discouraged in larger, modern cities. The Iraq Legal Development Project in its July 2005 assessment reported on instances in which women were used as bargaining tools or as gifts between tribes. This practice is illegal in Iraq and has been criminalized under Article 9(2) of the Iraqi Personal Status Code. It is suggestive of a chattel system where the woman is regarded simply as human property. -------------- CHILD LABOR -------------- ¶11. (U) Despite the various laws and regulations, children were routinely used as an additional source of labor or income among the 1 million families subsisting on a per capita daily income of less than $1 (1,500 dinars). This work often took the form of seasonal manual labor in rural areas. In cities it often meant begging or peddling a variety of products, as well as working in sometimes hazardous automobile shops or on construction sites. ¶12. (U) Additionally, news reports indicated that families also used minors in insurgent activities. For example, the UN Global Policy Forum in its March 15 report indicated that more than 20 Baghdad children received daily lessons to become insurgents and participated in diversion tactics to distract troops. ¶13. (U) Projects to combat child labor were few, and those that existed affected a few hundred children. The government's actions were supported by the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) or NGOs. For example, the Italian branch of the international NGO Terre des Hommes and UNICEF operated a rehabilitation and counseling center for a small number of working street children in Baghdad. Kurdish authorities supported several small-scale projects to eliminate child labor in the KRG area. UNICEF has helped fund centers for working children in Irbil and Baghdad that was run by the Children's Welfare Commission at MOLSA. -------------- CONCLUSION -------------- ¶14. (U) Iraqis report that TIP was more of a problem during Saddam's regime than this past year. Many Iraqis report that they designed coping strategies after years of kidnappings under Saddam including keeping women and children close to home and not allowing them out unsupervised. Despite this alleged improvement, Iraq has a long way to go before it has the capacity, funding, and security situation to focus on TIP issues. Iraq has a basic legal framework that would seem to discourage instances of TIP, but it does not yet have the ability to even track these issues, nor follow up on them. BAGHDAD 00000734 003 OF 003 KHALILZAD