CONGO/BRAZZAVILLE: Proposal for ESF

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KINSHASA 000206 SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/C - MADEEHA ASHRAF DEPT FOR G/TIP - EDWARD FLOOD FROM BRAZZAVILLE EMBASSY OFFICE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KWMN KCRM PHUM ASEC ELAB SMIG CF SUBJECT: CONGO/BRAZZAVILLE: Proposal for ESF Anti-Trafficking in Persons Project REF: 05 STATE 226696 ¶1. In response to G/TIP's requests for proposals, post would like to put forward the project below for ESF funding. Although Republic of Congo has not been identified in the several most recent TIP reports, there is reason to be concerned that trafficking may exist in the country. For this reason, post has sought out a proactive project that would concentrate on data gathering and public awareness raising. (Please note: the project summary below is based on a full project proposal and expanded budget breakout that will both be emailed to AF Desk Officer Madeeha Ashraf and G/TIP Regional Coordinator Edward Flood. End note.) Begin Project Summary: -------------- ¶A. TITLE OF PROJECT -------------- Anti-Trafficking Project Addressing Forced Child Labor and Child Sex Exploration in the Republic of Congo -------------- ¶B. NAME OF RECIPIENT ORGANIZATION -------------- International Partnership for Human Development (IPHD) -------------- ¶C. DURATION OF PROJECT -------------- It is a new project that will take thirteen months to implement. At the end of this project, a longer-term strategy will be designed and funding will be sought to continue these efforts from USG and other donors. -------------- ¶D. DESCRIPTION -------------- IPHD seeks funding to launch a much-needed project in the Republic of Congo (ROC) to shed light on the nature and extent of the problem of trafficking in children in the country. Currently, neither the host government nor local and international NGOs know much about the problem and lack any meaningful programs aimed specifically at identifying or combating it. Since it is clear that these problems exist in neighboring countries and there are unconfirmed reports of them in the ROC, IPHD has designed a project with two main objectives: 1) raising public awareness of trafficking issues related specifically to forced/coerced child labor and child sex exploitation, and 2) collecting reliable data to track the problems in the ROC. IPHD (International Partnership for Human Development) will work with local NGOs in the cities of Brazzaville, Pointe Noire, Dolosie, and in the Lekoumou District to set up and implement this project. Regional Caritas offices in Brazzaville, Pointe Noire, and Dolisie will be IPHD's main partners. Activities: Below is a brief description of some of the key activities of the project (a full project proposal and expanded budget breakout will be emailed separately to AF Desk Officer Madeeha Ashraf and G/TIP Regional Coordinator Edward Flood). IPHD will begin the substantive work of the project by convening a one-day workshop with local NGOs, Church, school and health officials interested in anti-trafficking issues to exchange ideas and to ask their participation in collecting data on forced child labor and child prostitution. Caritas Pointe Noire and Caritas Dolosie will convene similar workshops in their respective cities. IPHD will develop a data collection and analysis system and, starting in the third month, this will be implemented by IPHD and Caritas. Among the types of data collected will include: numbers of and demographics related to children in forced/coerced labor situations (e.g., parents residence for street children; girl prostitutes and others; age; education; current occupation; current residence; tribal or ethnic background; reason(s) why they left home or how they arrived where they are now; problems with authorities; basic needs, and other items of importance to constructing profiles of the trafficked children, specifically, and forced child labor and child prostitution, in general). IPHD will collect, analyze and publish the data bimonthly. Around the fourth month, once the data collecting system has been launched, IPHD and the three Caritas groups will begin developing an educational brochure on forced labor and other trafficking issues for dissemination to over 500 schools. Directors of school districts will also meet for a daylong session in the fifth month to discuss anti- trafficking issues and their participation in the program. They will be asked to have teachers present the brochure to their students and parents' groups for discussion, and to provide IPHD and Caritas feedback on the discussions, including any known cases of forced labor and prostitution. This process is expected to run from the fifth to seventh months. As many as 25,000 students will be reached with this program. In the Lekoumou District, IPHD and Caritas Dolisie will develop a slightly different educational brochure to deal with these issues as they relate to pygmy children since the problems are believed to be widespread in the District and culturally entrenched. The brochure will be inserted into existing IPHD teacher training and school lunch programs in the District. District school supervisors, pygmy headmen and local school teachers will be encouraged to identify trafficking cases, high-risk areas and individuals. Next, IPHD will develop a radio drama program or soap opera on combating trafficking in children and forced/coerced child labor and prostitution. The target audience will be students age 8-18 and their families. Radio drama bridges the gap between an academic education and a values-based education. Audiences develop a strong sense of effective identification with characters and situations. This identification leads to discussion about issues raised and eventually to individual and collective action. Featuring a group of high school students, the soap opera will examine the realities of young people's daily lives, explore the causes of trafficking, the perils of being trafficked, prevention and how trafficked children forced into labor or prostitution can take action to escape from their `owners' or abusers. Finally, in the twelfth month, IPHD will convene an anti- trafficking workshop in Brazzaville for 50 participants, including Caritas directors, other NGO officials, church authorities, school district directors, pygmy headmen, and others. They will review the achievements of the projects, problems, data collected and analyzed, impact of information, education, and communication (IE&C) materials, recommend new related activities, and develop a strategy for a follow-up program. This workshop is expected to set in motion a national strategy and guidelines for combating trafficking in children and preventing forced/coerced child labor and prostitution. It will also result in a follow-on 2-year project that will be drafted and presented to American and European donors for funding. Sustainability: This project is expected to have immediate benefits and to lay the groundwork for a sustainable long-term effort in the ROC. Through this project, IPHD, Caritas and other NGOs, and the host government, will gain a better understanding of trafficking child labor problems in the Republic of Congo. This will lead to a better programming of their local resources to tackle these problems and to improve networking with government agencies and NGOs. Since trafficking is a social concern for the Catholic Church as a whole, Caritas is committed to continuing this effort and to seeking support from within, as well as from their many donors. The Lekoumou Anti-Trafficking Commission, supported by Caritas, will continue to function. By using the media for socio-dramas, journalists, too, will become more aware and likely to report on issues of trafficking. Caritas, with IPHD's assistance, will jointly develop a 2-year strategy and project proposal for submittal to both European and American donors. IPHD will assist Caritas in finding potential donors. -------------- ¶E. JUSTIFICATION -------------- Too little is known about the nature and extent of the problems of trafficking, forced/coerced child labor and child prostitution in ROC. This lack of concrete data and public awareness has impeded efforts to begin any effective and sustainable programs aimed at combating these problems. To date there have been unconfirmed reports of trafficking children to the ROC from nearby countries in West and Central Africa, including Benin, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo. In addition, it is clear that significant numbers of children are working in the informal work sector and anecdotal reports that the numbers of children being drawn into the formal work sector are growing. In 2001, the ILO estimated that 25.3 percent of children ages 10 to 14 years in the Republic of the Congo were working. Although there are no more current statistics, these numbers are thought to have grown. Children work for their families on farms or in informal business activities. Large numbers of street children in Brazzaville engage in street vending and petty theft. Some of these children are also involved in prostitution. With school infrastructure problems and a worsening economic situation for the average Congolese, the potential for these problems to increase are great. In the northern part of the country, there have been reports that ethnic Pygmies, including children, have worked as indentured servants for ethnic Bantus in remote northern areas of the country. Although there is no concrete data, it is estimated pygmies make up 5-10 percent of the country's population. The Labor Code sets the minimum age for employment, including apprenticeships, at 16 years, unless otherwise permitted by the Ministry of Education. The law prohibits forced or compulsory labor. Procuring any person for the purposes of prostitution is illegal, with increased punishment if the crime is committed with a minor. The law does not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, but activities associated with trafficking can be prosecuted under existing criminal code provisions on rape, illegal entry, forced labor, child abuse, defilement, extortion and fraud. The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing child labor laws and monitors businesses in the formal sector, but most child labor occurs in the informal sector or rural areas where government oversight is minimal or non- existent. -------------- ¶F. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS -------------- The milestones and performance indicators for this program include: [] Number of local NGOs and groups participating [] Agreement with all three Caritas groups on project procedures and guidelines [] Development and implementation of data collection and management system [] Bimonthly publishing of data [] Development of anti-trafficking educational brochures for school children [] Workshops for school directors [] Number of schools implementing anti-trafficking activities [] Creation of an Anti-Trafficking Commission for Lekoumou District [] Development of a socio-drama radio series [] Number of broadcasts of socio-drama radio series [] Number and kinds of feedback from radio broadcasts of the socio-drama series [] End-of-year anti-trafficking workshop to review achievements, set new goals and directions [] Develop national strategy [] Develop subsequent project proposal(s) for funding the continuation and expansion of anti-trafficking activities [] Final report to the U.S. Government -------------- ¶G. EVALUATION PLAN -------------- IPHD headquarters will monitor all activities, and IPHD/Congo will monitor in-country activities on a weekly basis and file monthly reports with headquarters. Activities will be measured against both the indicators and time tracking table. The project will be monitored in terms of timeliness of getting off the ground, and of inputs such as funding, human resource allocation, logistics, and material availability. The organization and impact of all management inputs will be closely monitored. Up to three technical assistance visits by the IPHD headquarters project manager for this grant will help to strengthen program monitoring and management. Monthly reports will identify weaknesses in the work plan, new opportunities, and unforeseen variables or other factors that may impact the outcome of the program and achievement of its goal and objectives. Evaluations will consider the organizational impact on IPHD, as well as on Caritas Congo and other local NGOs. Following monthly evaluations, targets can be re-set, the strategy modified, and resources re-organized. At the end of the project, a comprehensive technical and progress report will be developed and presented to the State Department, along with copies of the assessments or database, and other materials developed. The end of project report will detail strategies developed and actions taken to sustain and improve the anti- trafficking program in the Republic of Congo. -------------- ¶H. BUDGET -------------- | Funds | IPHD/Caritas | | Requested | Contribution | TOTAL -------------- -------------- Personnel | $50,160 | $46,920 | $97,080 Travel | $60,400 | $15,600 | $76,000 Supplies/Rent | $12,480 | $4,584 | $17,064 Equipment | $0 | $1,440 | $1,440 Workshops | $30,500 | $0 | $30,500 Indirect Costs | $6,460 | $0 | $6,460 -------------- -------------- TOTAL | $160,000 | $68,544 | $228,544 -------------- ¶I. TYPE AND AMOUNT OF COST-SHARING -------------- As noted above, IPHD/Caritas will contribute $68,544 towards the project. Host government contributions are primarily the time and salary of school directors and educational personnel. -------------- ¶J. Proposed Funding Mechanism -------------- Since IPHD is has its headquarters in the Washington, DC metro area, post suggests/requests that the financial aspects of the grant be managed directly by grants staff in Washington, DC. Please note that post has a grant warrant of up to $25,000 only. -------------- ¶K. Embassy Contact -------------- Chelsea Bakken Economic and Consular Officer American Embassy Brazzaville (Republic of Congo) Brazzaville tel: 242 528-79-63 Brazzaville email: bzvbakkencmh@yahoo.com Kinshasa email: bakkencmh@state.gov (checked weekly) End Project Summary. ¶3. Please be advised that the Embassy Brazzaville TDY Office currently has no access to IVG, OpenNet or the Global Address List (GAL). Embassy staff may be contacted via the following personal e-mail accounts or cell phone numbers: CDA Mark Biedlingmaier, carpaemarkum@hotmail.com celtel: (242) 526-3562 ECON/CONS Chelsea Bakken, bzvbakkencmh@yahoo.com celtel: (242) 528-7963 ¶4. Brazzaville Embassy Office - Biedlingmaier. MEECE