Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06KINSHASA206
2006-02-07 14:47:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Kinshasa
Cable title:  

CONGO/BRAZZAVILLE: Proposal for ESF

Tags:  KWMN KCRM PHUM ASEC ELAB SMIG CF 
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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

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