GOT COMBATS CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION THROUGH LAWS

UNCLAS TUNIS 000784

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG - LAWRENCE, NEA/RA - MENARD, G/TIP -
PATEL, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI
STATE PLEASE PASS TO USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN ELAB SMIG ASEC KFRD PREF TS
SUBJECT: GOT COMBATS CHILD SEXUAL EXPLOITATION THROUGH LAWS
AND SOCIAL SERVICES

REF: A. TUNIS 771


B. TUNIS 443


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: On April 2, Poloff met with the Ministry of
Women, Family, Children and Elderly Affairs (MWFCEA),to
discuss GOT efforts to prevent child sexual exploitation.
(NOTE: The issue was raised in a 2002 private study and Ref

A. END NOTE.) Aida Ghorbal, the Ministry's Director General
for the Protection of Children, and Najoua Bettouzia, the
Ministry's Director of International Cooperation, provided an
extensive overview of GOT efforts to protect children,
particularly those at risk of sexual exploitation. They
explained the responsibilities of the General Delegate for
the Protection of Children and provided 2004 statistics on
child sexual exploitation and draft 2005 statistics. The
information gathered during the discussion provided a clear
picture of the GOT's commitment to preventing the
exploitation of children, which both stressed was a
fundamental GOT priority. END SUMMARY.


2. (U) LAW: In 1995, Tunisia adopted Law No. 92 regarding the
Child Protection Code. The code defines "threatened children"
as those who are at risk of sexual exploitation (as well as
those without family support, juvenile delinquents,
mistreated, homeless, deprived or economically exploited
children. Article 25 explains that sexual exploitation
includes prostitution or any other form of sexual deviation,
including commercial sexual exploitation, that exploits the
child. Ghorbal explained that the GOT considers any form of
sexual abuse to be punishable under this code, including rape
or incest.


3. (U) IMPLEMENTATION: The General Delegate for Children's
Protection was created in 2002, to supervise, coordinate,
follow up and assess the activities of child protection
delegates. Each of the twenty-four Tunisian states has a
child protection delegate who is responsible for
investigating reports of child abuse or maltreatment. Since
the delegates were first established, the Ministry has
increased resources, so that office equipment, staff and
transportation are available to support the delegate's
protective responsibilities. Bettouzia said that anyone who
is aware of a possible case should report their suspicions to
the delegate, who then opens an investigation, consulting
family members, school and police officials, medical
personnel, neighbors and anyone else who may know the child.
Thus, Ghorbal explained, the delegate is responsible for
coordinating the GOT investigation into the situation, as
well as advising what public and private resources are
available to address the problem. For example, in the case
of child sexual exploitation, the delegate would be
responsible for ensuring that the child receives proper
medical care and counseling, that legal action is taken
against the abuser, and that the child is removed from the
circumstances that led to the abuse.


4. (U) Ghorbal said the state's fundamental philosophy is
that the best place for the child is with family members, but
that a number of GOT shelters and group homes (twenty-four
nationally) can provide for children at-risk due to family
abuse or mistreatment. The GOT also runs nearly two hundred
children's clubs, particularly in at-risk areas, that
organize educational, social and cultural activities for
children. The employees of these centers are trained
child-care providers who can identify at-risk children in
order to ensure adequate government services are provided.


5. (U) EDUCATIONAL CAMPAIGNS: Ghorbal explained that when
the Child Protection Code was first enacted, the GOT
undertook a nationwide educational campaign to inform
children of their rights and protections under the law.
Additionally, Ghorbal said that children's rights are part of
the national educational curriculum and that courses on this
subject begin in the third grade of primary school. Child
protection delegates are also responsible for disseminating
information about children's rights and the child protection
code. According to the 2004 Annual Report on the Status of
Children, delegates participated in radio programs about
their responsibilities and children's rights, participated in
regional conferences and seminars about at-risk children, and
organized the 2004 Child Protection Month, themed "Towards
Active Participation to Protect Children." Child Protection
Month began in Tunisia in 2002 to coincide with the
anniversary of the 1989 ratification of the International

Agreement on the Protection of Children and has been observed
annually since 2002.


6. (U) The GOT also created a "Children's Parliament" to
inform children of their rights and encourage children's
participation in the governing process. The Parliament
provides another opportunity to educate children of their
rights and protections under Tunisian law, as a different
government organization is responsible each year for focusing
on its role in the protective process. On March 30, Minister
of Justice and Human Rights Bechir Tekkari answered questions
about "Protection of Children: Legislation and Jurisprudence"
during the first session of the 2006 General Assembly of the
Children's Parliament. Tekkari addressed child sexual
assault, noting that it is not a major "phenomenon" in
Tunisia. However, Tekkari explained that anyone involved in
an abuse case could demand the withdrawal of custody or
guardianship from parents who sexually assault their children.


7. (U) STATISTICS: Government statistics are published
annually in the Annual Report on the Status of Children.
Ghorbal said the Child Protection Code had helped identify
at-risk children. For example, 2001 statistics reveal 2,781
child protection investigations; however, as citizens became
more aware of the code and the process, this number had
increased to 3,998 reports in 2004. Ghorbal noted that
official 2004 statistics indicate 93 reported cases of sexual
exploitation among the nearly 4,000 reports. She also showed
Poloff a draft of the 2005 report which shows that reported
cases of child sexual exploitation in 2005 declined to
eighty. Ghorbal explained that among the eighty reported
victims of child sexual exploitation, the number of
commercial sexual exploitation victims is not part of the
annual report, although individual case files do identify the
specific abuse. When asked about the likelihood of
commercial sexual exploitation of children by foreign
tourists, Bettouzia said no such cases had been reported
during the two years she has worked in the Ministry.


8. (U) PROSECUTION: Of the nearly four thousand cases
investigated from August 2003 - July 2004, the judiciary
reviewed 2186 cases of at-risk children, including nine cases
of child sexual exploitation (all girls). The Annual Report
on the Status of Children does not detail the punishments
given to offenders, as they are prosecuted under Tunisia's
civil or criminal code, as explained in Ref B. However, to
give an example of the types of punishments, a man found
guilty of raping a nine-year old girl was sentenced to death
in February 2006.


9. (SBU) COOPERATION: Bettouzia said that Tunisia has worked
closely with UNICEF, the WHO and other UN agencies in
developing its child protection efforts. In the past,
Bettouzia said that Tunisia had received technical assistance
in the field of child protection from European countries,
particularly Belgium. However, she said that Tunisia's
capabilities had developed to the extent that the
relationship was more cooperative and exchange-oriented today
than in the past when Belgium had provided technical
expertise.


10. (SBU) WAY AHEAD: Ghorbal said that, in the future, the
GOT aims to further improve the quality of services provided
to children. As the position of child protection delegate is
still relatively new, the GOT aims to develop an
institutional level training program for delegates, who have
in the past received training directly from government
ministries. Ghorbal said that interest in child protection
issues is growing in Tunisia, and the Ministry expects
officials will continue to become better qualified as new
training programs are developed.
HUDSON