EMBASSY MANAGUA SUBMISSION FOR INCLE-FUNDED

UNCLAS MANAGUA 000230 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/PPC--MICHAEL PUCCETI, G/TIP--ANTHONY ETERNO AND AMY O'NEILL RICHARD E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KWMN KCRM ELAB PREL SMIG ASEC NU SUBJECT: EMBASSY MANAGUA SUBMISSION FOR INCLE-FUNDED TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS PROJECT REF: A. 05 STATE 221183 ¶B. 05 MANAGUA 750 ¶C. 05 MANAGUA 1243 ¶D. 05 MANAGUA 2009 ¶E. 05 MANAGUA 2853 ¶F. 05 MANAGUA 2852 ¶1. Embassy Managua submits the following law enforcement anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) project proposal for INCLE funding by G/TIP. While the Ministry of Government's proposal is broadly similar to its previous (2005) proposal, this year's submission is much more tightly focused on addressing concrete needs of the specific sections of the Ministry that are most directly involved in fighting TIP. Because of the scope of the ministry's needs and its central role in fighting TIP in Nicaragua, if all of its requests cannot be met because of funding limitations, post requests that G/TIP still consider funding a portion of the project proposal. ¶2. Proposed Ministry of Government Law Enforcement Project for INCLE funding: TITLE OF PROJECT: -------------- Strengthening the Capacity of GON institutions to fight TIP NAME OF RECIPIENT ORGANIZATION/GOVERNMENT AGENCY: -------------- -------------- The Ministry of Government DURATION OF PROJECT: -------------- Two years DESCRIPTION: -------------- ¶I. OBJECTIVES: -------------- --Inform and educate government officials and the public on the general nature and characteristics of TIP, as well as the means of detecting, avoiding, and reporting it. --Develop cooperation between the public, government organizations, and NGOs to facilitate the social and economic reinsertion of TIP victims. --Bring Nicaraguan laws into line with international agreements and standards on TIP and ensure that the law is more effectively implemented. --Improve the GON's ability to collect and analyze data on the magnitude and characteristics of the TIP problem in the country as a means of focusing anti-TIP strategies. --Improve GON and NGO capacities to prevent, detect, and handle TIP cases. --Address specific Ministry of Government needs to improve the capacity of its key divisions (border police (Migration), the Anti-Trafficking office, and the Anti-Trafficking unit of the National Police) to fight TIP. --Establish monitoring and evaluation methods on TIP and make them compatible with those of other Central American countries. II. ACTIVITIES: -------------- --Establish a Ministry of Government anti-TIP web page. --Carry out anti-TIP awareness-raising campaigns nationwide. --Carry out regular anti-TIP training seminars for GON officials and NGOs. --Train more police and government officials on victim assistance. --Provide Migration and the NNP with equipment to enable them to more effectively control movements across Nicaraguan borders and investigate TIP cases. --Construct and equip five interview rooms for use with TIP victims. --Establish a monitoring system for all of the above activities. III. SUSTAINABILITY: -------------- The project would build on previous anti-TIP accomplishments, such as the establishment of a national anti-TIP coalition and an anti-TIP coordination office in the Ministry of Government in 2004. Because the GON is unable to assign the fight against TIP all the resources it would like, the Ministry of Government will need to seek additional assistance from international donors, members of the national anti-TIP coalition, and other sources to sustain the project. JUSTIFICATION: -------------- The Ministry of Government is the most important anti-TIP government actor in Nicaragua. The Vice Minister of Government leads the national anti-TIP coalition that brings together all GON and NGO organizations involved in the fight against TIP. The ministry controls all law enforcement bodies in the country, including the regular police, the women's police stations that bear primary responsibility for assisting TIP victims, and the border police (Migration). In 2004, the Ministry opened an anti-TIP office to coordinate the activities of the GON and those of the national anti-TIP coalition and began gathering information on TIP cases for an anti-TIP database (using the women's police stations to collect the data),but these efforts need additional support in order to be sustained and improved. Many of the needs addressed in this project were highlighted in post's 2005 reporting, including Migration's needs for more computers and vehicles at borders, the need to improve the ability of the police to gather evidence for TIP prosecutions, and the need to build and equip private interview rooms for TIP victims (reftels B-F). PERFORMANCE INDICATORS: -------------- --The full development and activation of the ministry's TIP database and webpage; number of hits on the webpage. --The number and type of awareness/education campaigns carried out. --The number and type of training seminars carried out for GON officials and NGOs. --The number of government officials trained in victim assistance. --The functioning of the ministry's TIP monitoring system. --The construction and equipment of the five interview rooms for TIP victims. EVALUATION PLAN: -------------- The Ministry of Government, through the office of the Vice Minister and the anti-TIP office, will write monthly reports on the evolution of its TIP project. These reports will be evaluated and edited by the principal members of the national anti-TIP coalition. Once each report has been approved by the coalition members, it will be submitted to the Embassy. BUDGET BREAKOUT: (all numbers in USD) -------------- --Office and computer equipment for the Ministry of Government anti-TIP office: 17,650 --Vehicle (pickup truck) for use by the Ministry of Government anti-TIP office (to enable the office to send its personnel to activities, and deliver TIP campaign materials, country-wide) : 18,000 --Specialized equipment for the Anti-Trafficking in Persons unit of the National Police (lie detector, laboratory equipment, high quality digital camera and recording equipment): 42,600 --Vehicle (van) for use by National Police Anti-Trafficking unit (to enable the unit to deploy quickly to obtain crime scene evidence; particularly important for cases outside Managua) : 18,000 --Computers for Migration Directorate use at border posts: 10,000 --Vehicles (1 pickup truck and 4 motorcycles) for Migration Directorate (to be able to cover borders better): 26,000 --Training seminars and conferences for government officials (for prosecutors, police, consular officials, and key officials of the Ministry of Education, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of the Family) and NGOs: 99,950 --Victim assistance (construction and equipment of five interview rooms for use with TIP victims): 21,250 --Accounting, evaluation, and unforeseen costs: 20,276 TOTAL USG ASSISTANCE REQUESTED: 273,726 TYPE AND AMOUNT OF HOST GOVERNMENT CONTRIBUTION: -------------- --- --Administrative and operating costs in the Ministry of Government and other government facilities (light, water, telephone service). --Maintenance of the web page (estimated at USD 3600 per year). --Salaries of the anti-TIP program director and secretary. PROPOSED FUNDING MECHANISM: -------------- Letter of Agreement (LOA) EMBASSY POC: -------------- Political Officer Jeff Giauque (unclassified email: giauquejg@state.gov, tel: 011-505-266-6010 ext. 4728, fax: 011-505-266-9942). Backup POC: Political Counselor Victoria Alvarado (unclassified email: alvaradova1@state.gov, tel:011-505-266-6010 ext. 4665, fax: 011-505-266-9942). OTHER DONORS: -------------- No other donors are committed at this time, but the Ministry anticipates seeking the assistance of the following organizations: International Organization for Migration (IOM) United Nations Development Program (UNDP) United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) TRIVELLI