MADAGASCAR 2006 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 ANTANANARIVO 000221

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DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC
PARIS FOR D'ELIA
DEPT FOR G/TIP RYOUSEY
DEPT FOR G
DEPT FOR INL
DEPT FOR AF/E BEYZEROV
DEPT FOR AF/RSA
DEPT FOR DRL HARPOLE
DEPT FOR PRM
DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USAID

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB EAID
MA
SUBJECT: MADAGASCAR 2006 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

REF: A) 06 STATE 202745
B) 05 ANTANANARIVO 680
C) 07 ANTANANARIVO 161


1. SUMMARY: Madagascar is not a country of origin, transit
or destination for internationally trafficked men and
women. During the year, there were reports of trafficking
within the country's borders. Madagascar has a confirmed
child sex tourism problem. The domestic legal framework,
cultural values, poverty, low-level corruption, and lack of
awareness, funding, and capacity all hamper the Government
of Madagascar's (GOM) efforts to combat trafficking. In
2005, the Department approved funding several trafficking
in persons (TIP) initiatives (REF B); but these funds have
still not been released, so programs are on hold. Against
these odds, the GOM successfully completed a significant
number of initiatives in its 2006 Action Plan. A new
adoption law published in 2006 (including a temporary ban
on international adoption) has effectively dismantled
illegal adoption networks for trafficking of infants.
Awareness of trafficking continues to increase in
Madagascar through a series of aggressive information
campaigns. As a result, Madagascar remains a leader among
sub-Saharan African countries, and merits retention of its
Tier Two ranking. END SUMMARY.


2. The Embassy Point of Contact for TIP is Political
Officer Silvana Rodriguez. Ms. Rodriguez can be reached
via email at RodriguezSD@state.gov, via telephone at
261.20.22.212.57, or via facsimile at 261.20.22.251.71.
POLOFF Rodriguez spent approximately 100 hours speaking
with contacts, researching, and writing this report; POL
FSN spent approximately 40 hours supporting those efforts.
ECON/POL Chief, DCM, and Ambassador spent approximately two
hours each during the clearance process.


3. As requested in Ref A, Embassy Antananarivo submits the
following information, keyed to the questions in paragraphs
27-30 that are applicable to Madagascar's situation.

-- 27 A-D. Available statistics and reports do not indicate
that Madagascar is, to any significant degree, a country of
origin, transit or destination for internationally
trafficked men and women. There have been reports of
Malagasy women working as prostitutes on the neighboring
(and significantly more affluent) islands of Mauritius,
Reunion, and Mayotte, but the consensus view is that they
are generally operating as individual entrepreneurs rather
than through force, fraud, trafficking, or coercion.


In 2004, Madagascar was a country of origin for children
trafficked through illegal adoptions. A new law adopted in
2005 and published in 2006, as well as a temporary ban on
international adoptions, have effectively dismantled these
networks (see 29A for details). Neither UNICEF nor
government ministries were aware of any cases of
trafficking of babies through illegal adoption in 2006.

During 2006 and early 2007, there were reports of
trafficking within the country?s borders. Anecdotal
information indicates there may be a network of traffickers
recruiting children in rural areas for employment as
domestic workers and prostitutes in urban centers, although
government officials believed such recruitment was
conducted by individuals. According to UNICEF and the
Ministry of Labor, an unknown number of children from poor
rural families are working as domestic servants for
affluent urban families. While some are well treated and
attend school, others are neglected, exploited and
physically or sexually abused. The Embassy has received
anecdotal information from the International Labor
Organization (ILO) in the past about the recruitment of

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children in Antananarivo under false pretenses for
"legitimate" employment in coastal cities as waitresses and
domestic servants. There is a confirmed sex tourism
problem in the coastal cities of Tamatave, Diego Suarez and
Nosy Be, although an ILO study in 2006 shows this problem
is on the decline. Embassy research in 2006 indicated much
activity was without the involvement of any third party,
although there were some cases of encouragement or
facilitation by family members, taxi and rickshaw drivers,
friends, tour guides, and hotel workers.

Based on previously completed studies, the ILO took actions
throughout 2006 to address newly-identified potential
internal trafficking networks. In the Tulear (southwest)
region where an estimated 300 children work in the salt
mines, ILO built a local school to simultaneously encourage
youth education and free parents from the responsibility of
child-watching so they can work in the mines. The ILO is
planning to adapt such successful pilot projects for other
problem areas. For example, an estimated 18,000 children
from the Tulear and Fianarantsoa regions labor in the
gemstone mines of Ilakaka. In the Ihosy (south central)
region, it is a traditional practice for parents to sell
their daughters into marriage at the cattle market to the
"highest bidder," i.e. to the man who offers her family the
most heads of cattle. In Diego Suarez, Majunga and
Manakara, young boys are put to work loading the goods of
traveling vendors ("marchands ambulants") onto trucks bound
for the capital and other ports. They hitch a ride in the
truck to the final destination where they then help to
unload the cargo. In many cases, the children are never
paid for their work, and are left behind in the port city,
hundreds of miles from their home.

Traffickers throughout Madagascar (who are mainly Malagasy)
target three key populations: women and young girls for
sex, young boys and girls for employment, and babies for
international adoption. In the cases of sex and employment
trafficking, victims are often lured by the promise of
lucrative jobs. Friends, family members, guardians, taxi
drivers or rickshaw drivers may approach victims. Although
there are cases where parents are complicit, tacitly
endorsing the transaction, most are unaware of the poor
working conditions to which they send their children.
Interlocutors insisted these are largely individual efforts
and not part of a formal network.

The domestic legal framework, cultural values, poverty,
low-level corruption, and lack of awareness and capacity
hamper the GOM's efforts to combat trafficking. There is a
societal and cultural acceptance of early sexual activity,
early childbearing outside of marriage, and prostitution as
an economic activity. The 2004 ILO contribution to the
National Action Plan to Combat Child Labor in Madagascar
stated, "material rewards and sexuality have always been
strongly associated in Malagasy society. A man's
generosity towards a woman increases both his standing as
well as [that of] the woman receiving gifts. In some parts
of the country, girls from adolescence onward are expected
to take care of their own material needs beyond food and
lodging. It has traditionally been acceptable for girls to
entertain male friends in separate living quarters to
obtain clothing or other items. The step from this custom
to overt sale of sex is small." Embassy observers in Nosy
Be and Diego Suarez noted the ambivalent attitude of
parents and the desire of minors to meet and marry
foreigners as another cultural factor contributing to the
problem; UNICEF reports from 2003 noted the same problems
in Tamatave.

Chronic under-funding and a lack of capacity inhibit the
GOM's ability to take pro-active positions on many issues,
especially those involving prosecution. Nonetheless, the

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GOM made significant progress on the prevention and
protection aspects of the 2006 Action Plan: it conducted
nation-wide awareness campaigns throughout the country,
drafted bills to bring Malagasy laws into conformity with
international protocols, and published a new law designed
to prevent adoption trafficking. It continued to enforce
laws barring minors from nightclubs, bars and discotheques.
It also continued to assist trafficking and other child
labor victims through the creation of additional Welcome
Centers and Provincial Monitoring Units (see 30A-B for
details).

In 2005, the Department approved funding several prevention
initiatives. But, due to the fact that the majority of the
funds have still not been released, the programs are on
hold. Nonetheless, awareness of trafficking increased
through aggressive information campaigns individually
managed by the Ministries of Justice, Labor, Population,
Tourism, Youth and Sports, and Education (see 28C for
details).

The GOM and local NGOs are anxious to document the extent
and nature of trafficking; lack of available funding and
institutional capacity remains a significant impediment.
There is no centralized information source of trafficking
statistics in place. However, throughout 2006 the GOM
considered different database software to consolidate
statistics compiled by each ministry. UNICEF provided
"DevInfo" software and trained some ministry
representatives. However, this system is not yet widely
used, as not all ministries have received the software or
training on how to use it. In the interim, several NGOs
continue to work on discrete projects to document the
welfare and treatment of children. Catholic Relief
Services (CRS) conducted a USAID-funded trafficking survey
in November 2006, whose findings were used during TIP
trainings in early 2007 for implementing partners and local
leaders in Nosy Be, Tamatave, and Tulear. This reference
data will also be used for program evaluation and to
identify information gaps in public awareness.

The government systematically monitors its anti-trafficking
efforts through the President's Inter-Ministerial Anti-
Trafficking Committee, which meets regularly and makes
available their findings. The committee met in August and
December 2006 to assess progress on the 2006 Action Plan.

- - - - - -
PREVENTION
- - - - - -

-- 28 A. There is a clear political will at the highest
levels to combat trafficking in persons. The GOM freely
and publicly acknowledges that trafficking is a problem in
Madagascar. The President has expressed his commitment --
both personal and political -- to eliminate trafficking in
Madagascar. The President listed this goal as one of the
priorities in the Madagascar Action Plan (MAP) launched in
2006, which will guide the country's development policy
over the next five years.

-- 28 B. GOM anti-trafficking efforts are spearheaded by
the President's Inter-Ministerial Anti-Trafficking
Committee. Led by the Presidency, the committee includes
representatives from the Presidency and the Ministries of
Labor, Education, Culture, Tourism, Youth and Sports,
Defense, Justice, Population, Foreign Affairs, Interior,
and Public Security. The committee meets on a bi-annual
basis with additional ad-hoc meetings as needed.
Trafficking issues are also addressed by the National
Committee to Combat Child Labor (CNLTE is the French
acronym). The CNLTE features representatives from the GOM,
NGOs and civil society.

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-- 28 C. TIP awareness continues to increase in Madagascar
through aggressive information campaigns. In light of the
fact that many of the young people who fall into
trafficking and forced labor leave school prematurely and
lack awareness of their rights and economic alternatives,
the government's prevention campaigns took a holistic,
empowering approach by addressing a number of related
issues that play a role in the overall problem. Given the
absence of educational or economic alternatives in most
areas where trafficking is prevalent, awareness programs
sometimes fall on deaf ears.

In August 2006, the Ministry of Justice held a week of
educational films in Antananarivo on commercial and sexual
exploitation of children, including the trafficking of
rural children for domestic and sexual labor in urban
centers. With the collaboration of experts brought in by
USAID, the Ministry also conducted two training sessions
for magistrates on legal instruments to combat the
trafficking of women and girls. In May 2006, ministry and
gendarmes representatives participated in an ILO training
in Italy on human slavery and forced labor. The Ministry
also conducted national television and radio programs to
explain the process and implications of the new adoption
laws (see 29A). In conjunction with the Office of the UN
Secretary General, the Ministry conducted studies on

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violence against children, including sexual and commercial
exploitation.

The Ministry of Culture and Tourism conducted public
awareness training at cultural events for 250 personnel
working in the tourism industry, as well as for an unknown
number of women and children at risk of being trafficked in
seven different locations in Madagascar (Farafangana,
Tulear, Betioky, Majunga, Manakara, Ambositra, and
Antsohihy).

The Ministry of Education conducted workshops on children's
rights, the worst forms of child labor, the minimum working
age, and school retention programs at 152 schools and 87
parent associations throughout the country. Targeting
child prostitutes, the Ministry also conducted education
campaigns on sexual reproductive health at 18 schools.
Their public education campaign included 27 newspaper
articles, 32 radio programs, five radio spots, five
television spots, one poster and one skit on the following
topics: children?s rights, the worst forms of child labor,
Convention 182 on the Elimination of the Worst Forms of
Child Labor, and school retention programs. The Ministry
incorporated these themes into International Education Week
activities in November by organizing a debate on the worst
forms of child labor and an exhibit on the social
reintegration of child workers and street children.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs drafted a report on the
implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child
in Madagascar, specifically relating to the sale and
prostitution of children, including for use in pornography.
This report will be reviewed in April 2007 by the UN High
Commissioner for Human Rights in New York.

In 2006, the Ministry of Youth and Sports trained nearly 60
adult speakers and 120 youth peer educators on children?s
rights; distributed fliers, posters and banners on ?how to
say no? and how to seek counseling; and created seven CDs
on sexual reproductive health and sexual violence. The
Ministry estimates its programs reached over 78,000 young
people in 2006. Its collaboration with the UN Population
Fund included programs to educate Malagasy adolescents
about reproductive health, rape, sexual harassment and
prostitution.


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The State Secretary of Public Security (SSPS) has set up
"morals and minors" police brigades to conduct both
prevention and prosecution activities. The brigade in
Tulear is now operational, while the Fort Dauphin and
Morondava brigades are expected to start operations in

2007. It has also conducted educational programs on child
exploitation, statutory rape, and prostitution for 17,700
students, 75 school administrators, 22 teachers, and 100
parents. Nine thousand members of the general public
benefited from SSPS-run awareness campaigns on the
protection of children's rights. The SSPS also conducted
education campaigns for 35 hotel managers and 24 "red zone"
neighborhoods in Antananarivo on legislation concerning the
protection of minors. As a result of these awareness-
raising initiatives, the SSPS has noticed the number of
people stepping forward to file child-related complaints
has significantly increased. Funded by the USG and in
collaboration with UNICEF, the SSPS is designing a standard
training module for police on the protection of minors. In
2006, the program trained 25 police and gendarmes in Diego
Suarez, 19 in Antananarivo, and 700 newly graduated police
and inspectors on the rights and protection of minors.
Finally, the SSPS published a number of articles in
international newspapers on the sexual exploitation of
minors.

The Ministry of Telecommunications and Communication
trained journalists representing 125 of the country's 256
radio and television stations on the Convention on the
Rights of the Child and the GOM?s campaign to issue birth
certificates to prevent trafficking through illegal
adoption (see 28D for details). The Ministry also
distributed posters with messages against sex tourism to
150 post offices around the country; organized a contest in
collaboration with UNICEF for journalists to write about
children's rights; and trained 20 journalists on sexual
reproductive health. Following the release of UNICEF's
film "Vero et Haingo" on the sexual exploitation of
children, the Ministry of Telecommunications dispatched
copies of the film and supporting information to schools
throughout the country's 22 regions. Schools used the film
to open discussions among students regarding the importance
of education to avoid falling into exploitation.

The Ministry of Population?s activities in 2006 included
the training of 275 child counselors; an education
awareness campaign on children's rights legislation that
reached 87,000 children and adults; and the establishment
of a children's association in Majunga allowing children to
participate in the decision-making process at the
provincial level.

-- 28 D. The GOM supports several other programs that
complement the battle against trafficking. In June 2004,
UNICEF and the Prime Minister launched a three-year
campaign to improve birth registration rates (EKA is the
Malagasy acronym). Madagascar has no uniform birth
registration system, a weakness traffickers have in the
past exploited to traffic children into illicit
international adoption. According to a 2003-04 study by
INSTAT, the government's office of statistical studies, 25
percent of children in the country under the age of five
are not registered. Many of the Ministry of Population's
activities in 2006 focused around the GOM?s campaign to
issue birth certificates, including the training of 400
civil servants on the issuance process and raising public
awareness via 5,000 outreach coordinators and fliers. The
Ministry of Population is currently retroactively
registering birth certificates in 111 communes. In
conjunction with the World Bank?s continuing "Education for
All" initiative, the GOM also provided school uniforms for
elementary school children around the country in an effort
to bolster school attendance.

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-- 28 E. The Government actively cooperates with NGOs and
international organizations, including ILO and UNICEF, on
issues related to trafficking. NGO opinions and policy
recommendations are regularly sought and implemented.
Civil society is generally weak in Madagascar; their
participation is limited to a few local NGOs and
organizations that are actively involved in anti-
trafficking initiatives.

-- 28 F. The GOM adequately monitors immigration and
emigration patterns from Ivato International Airport in
Antananarivo. Madagascar is an island nation with 5,000
kilometers of porous and unprotected coastline. The only
resources available to patrol the coast consist of a 2003
USG donation of seven U.S. Coast Guard motor lifeboats.
There are occasional direct and/or charter flights that
bypass Ivato and fly directly to the tourist island of Nosy
Be. Cruise ships make occasional ports of call around the
island. Most travel via the coast occurs by ferry traffic
between Comoros and Madagascar that is not monitored.
Recent at-sea disasters have confirmed that Madagascar does
not track personnel numbers or identification of personnel
using these ferries. Monitoring standards for these
flights and ships are far lower than those employed at
Ivato.

-- 28 G. In 2004 the GOM created an inter-ministerial anti-
trafficking committee to coordinate between various
agencies (see 28B for details). The government created a
National Committee to Fight Corruption (CSLCC is the French
acronym) in September 2002, since renamed the Committee for
the Safeguard of Integrity (CSI),to design anti-corruption
policy. BIANCO, the independent anti-corruption bureau,
was launched in 2004 to conduct investigations and
implement CSI directives. Neither CSI nor BIANCO
representatives are members of the anti-trafficking or
child labor committees, but the Embassy has recommended
their inclusion.

The Government of Madagascar has begun to participate in
multilateral TIP undertakings. In addition to its
participation in the Indian Ocean Children's Rights
Observatory since 2004, the GOM participated in the 2006
launch of the UN Secretary General?s study on violence
against children, which includes trafficking and worst
forms of child labor.

The GOM has judicial cooperative agreements with France
(Reunion) and Mauritius that could be used as a basis for
future multilateral TIP efforts. The GOM actively
cooperates with the Seychelles to combat narcotics
trafficking.

-- 28 H. The GOM has a national action plan in place for
combating trafficking in persons originally envisioned for
the period from 2005 through 2009. The overall objective
is to eliminate trafficking nationwide and implement the
"minimum standards" necessary to achieve a Tier One
ranking. The plan consists of five strategic axes: (1)
create and operate the institutional structures necessary
to combat trafficking (including prosecution measures such
as specialized police forces against trafficking and child
labor),(2) rescue and rehabilitate trafficking victims,
(3) apply existing laws and bring Madagascar's laws into
conformity with international standards, (4) conduct anti-
trafficking information and education campaigns, and (5)
disseminate information on the GOM's efforts in the battle
against trafficking. In February 2007, the GOM held
meetings to adapt and extend the national action plan to
align with the government development policy, MAP, for the
period from 2008 through 2012.


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- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

-- 29 A. Since the last TIP report, the GOM has enacted
new legislation designed to combat trafficking in persons.
In April 2006, the GOM published a new law to prevent
trafficking through illegal adoption by centralizing the
management of adoption requests and by placing children in
Malagasy homes first. International adoption requests must
now go through the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while
national requests must go through the Ministry of
Population. Newborns must reside with their biological
mothers for six months before becoming available for
adoption.

The Ministry of Justice is close to completing the
following laws designed to combat aspects of human
trafficking to be presented at the first session of
parliament in May 2007. A special commission is working on
a bill that will bring domestic laws into conformity with
the terms of the Convention on Transnational Organized
Crime, including stiff penalties and extradition provisions
for traffickers. With the support of the Women's Legal
Rights Initiative (a USAID-funded program),the Ministry
completed the first draft of a bill to bring Malagasy laws
into conformity with the standards established in the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of
Discrimination Against Women. In 2006, the Ministry
finalized a draft of a law on the protection of child
victims of abuse and violence, including punitive measures
for the clients of child prostitutes equal to those for
?pimping? (see 29A-B). The draft law was vetted in the
Committee for the Reform of Child Law. The Ministry also
completed the text of a decree listing prohibited forms of
child labor, including prostitution, domestic slavery and
forced labor; perpetrators will be subject to the
punishments already outlined in the labor code for illegal
child labor. The Ministry of Labor is also finalizing a
text clarifying the application of the labor code for child
workers. Other completed texts that will be presented to
Parliament in May address raising the legal marriage age to
18 and the responsibility of parents for their children.

The Ministry of Justice has not completed the trafficking-
specific law originally promised for October 2006. While
they have designed an Action Plan for the drafting and
implementation of the law, they are requesting the
technical support of international consultants to ensure
the text adheres to international standards.

-- 29 B, D, and E. Until all of the aforementioned laws are
put into place, traffickers remain liable for prosecution
under several provisions of the Malagasy Penal and Labor
Codes, including the Penal Code provision prohibiting
pedophilia, statutory rape and procurement of minors for
prostitution.

Article 331 of the Penal Code states anyone attempting to
have non-violent sex with a child under the age of 14 will
be punished with five to ten years imprisonment and a fine
of USD 950 to 4,750 (two to ten million Ariary).

According to Article 334-35 of the Penal Code, pimping
cases involving minors and and/or the use of force carry a
sentence of five to ten years imprisonment and fines of USD
1,900 to 9,500 (four to twenty million Ariary). Pimping of
adults carries two to five years imprisonment with a fine
of USD 475 to 4,750 (one to ten million Ariary). If
pimping is conducted by an organized group, the punishment
is forced labor and USD 1,900 to 19,000 (four to forty
million Ariary). If torture or barbaric acts are involved,
the punishment ranges from ?forced labor? to life in

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prison.

According to Article 346-47 of the Penal Code, use of
children in pornography carries a sentence of two to five
years imprisonment and a fine of USD 950 to 4,750 (two to
ten million Ariary). If the child is under 15 years of
age, this punishment increases to three to ten years
imprisonment and a fine of USD 1,900 to 9,500 (four to
twenty million Ariary).

Under the Malagasy Penal Code, the minimum penalty for rape
is five years detention. If the rape involves a person
less than fifteen years of age, the penalty is five years
forced labor.

Prostitution is not a crime; however, related activities,
such as pimping, are illegal. Only clients of underage
prostitutes can be prosecuted. However, domestic statutes
on the subject are sometimes inconsistent, particularly
with respect to ages. (Article 331 of the Penal Code
specifies fourteen as the age of consent. Article 332
dealing with rape, uses fifteen as the cutoff age. Article
334 provides sentences for those convicted of ?habitually?
procuring prostitutes under the age of twenty-one and
?occasionally? procuring prostitutes under the age of
sixteen.) There is a regulation (Decree 1111, (1966),of
the Malagasy Penal Code) barring those under the age of
eighteen from nightclubs and discotheques and subjecting
offending owners to fines and jail terms. The regulation
is not enforced uniformly due to lack of capacity and
resources.

-- 29 C. The law stipulates penalties for trafficking for
labor exploitation, labor recruiters who engage in
recruitment of laborers using knowingly fraudulent or
deceptive offers, and employers who switch contracts
without the worker's consent as a means to keep the worker
in a state of service. Article 262 of the Labor Code
specifies that the penalties for trafficking for labor
exploitation and ?contractual fraud? are one to three years
imprisonment and USD 475 to 1,900 (one to four million
Ariary). While it is the responsibility of labor
inspectors to note the infraction, open the investigation,
and send the case to court, this rarely happens as it is
difficult to catch an employer in the act.

-- 29 F. As there is no nationwide, centralized database of
legal cases, the government had difficulty providing
information on specific trafficking cases. Officials at
the Ministry of Justice must call each of the 36
jurisdictions to obtain statistics on such cases. In
addition, the absence of a law specifically defining
trafficking activities and sanctions makes it difficult for
government officials to prosecute cases and compile
reliable statistics.

Still, there were four known cases of trafficking-related
prosecutions during the reporting period. In Nosy Be, two
French men were arrested for statutory rape, convicted and
deported out of Madagascar. In late 2006, a Swiss man in
Nosy Mitsio who frequently took young girls out on his
sailboat was condemned to five years in prison for
pedophilia.

On November 14, two Malagasy citizens were condemned to 15
years labor for abduction, using false papers, and
trafficking children in an apparent illegal adoption ring.
A former city official in Antananarivo was sentenced to 12
months in prison as an accomplice. The trafficking ring
allegedly smuggled an unreported number of Malagasy infants
to Belgium, each at a cost of over 4,000 euros (about USD
5,000). According to GTIP guidance, "human trafficking is
a crime against a victim, involving force, fraud or

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coercion to overcome the victim's lack of consent." In
concordance, UNICEF confirmed this case does indeed qualify
as trafficking of children, as the infants were under the
legal age of consent.

According to official figures, police in the six provincial
capitals also handled the following crimes related to
trafficking: one case of trafficking of children, 315 cases
of statutory rape, 25 cases of child kidnapping, and six
cases of child abandonment. Figures for Antananarivo show
police handled seven cases of child confinement and one
case of pedophilia.

In addition, the police in major cities continue to enforce
existing laws barring minors from nightclubs on a regular
basis and conduct an average of one round-up of nightclubs
per month.

-- 29 G. There is little credible information on who is
behind the trafficking. Embassy contacts believe most
trafficking situations involve freelance operators for
personal gain. For the cases of sex tourism, much of the
activity is without the coercion of a third party, although
there are some cases of encouragement or facilitation by
family, taxi and rickshaw drivers, friends, small hotel
owners, and tour guides. In some cases, local officials
benefit from small "pay-offs" from the suspected pedophile
hoping to make an arrangement to get out of the situation.

-- 29 H. The government actively investigates cases of
trafficking to the best of its ability given limited human
and financial resources. Planned monitoring of nightclubs
and schools took place on a smaller scale than originally
envisioned due to a lack of financial and material
resources. Techniques such as electronic surveillance and
undercover operations are far too costly to be used by the
GOM. However, the SSPS has established "morals and minor
brigades" in three major cities whose prosecution
activities include conducting traditional investigations of
a number of child-related issues such as pimping,
trafficking, and statutory rape.

-- 29 I. With assistance from UNICEF, the GOM is offering
specialized training for government officials in how to
recognize, investigate and prosecute instances of
trafficking. In 2006, UNICEF collaborated with the SSPS to
train 700 newly graduated police and inspectors on the
rights and protection of minors. They also provided the
same training to 275 police, gendarmes and other civilians
involved in children?s issues throughout the country. In
collaboration with UNICEF, the SSPS is dividing a training
manual written by the national Chief of the Minors Brigade
into four booklets (dealing with questioning and
interrogation, abuse, law, and prosecution) with an
expected publication date of March 2007. The launch of the
booklets in March will also involve training sessions for
police.

-- 29 J. The GOM is beginning to actively cooperate with
other governments in the investigation and prosecution of
trafficking cases. Malagasy police cooperate with
neighboring countries, as well as with Interpol.

-- 29 K. The GOM does not currently extradite persons
charged with trafficking in other countries, nor do they
permit extradition of Malagasy nationals.

-- 29 L. (SBU) This year, there was no evidence of direct
government involvement in trafficking at the local level.
However, there is some indication that local officials in
areas of high sex tourism, who are frustrated by their
institution's chronic lack of funding and resources for the
investigation and prosecution of foreign pedophiles, have

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developed a certain level of tolerance. Anecdotal evidence
also suggests local police and magistrates in these areas
hesitated to prosecute clients of child prostitutes,
whether for monetary gain or fear of a diplomatic incident.
Local officials in Nosy Be reported that pressure from
parents to keep nightclubs open and offenders out of jail "
because these may interrupt their source of income " is
significant.

-- 29 M. There were no prosecutions of government officials
for involvement in trafficking or trafficking-related
corruption. The case of local government officials
arrested in 2005 for involvement in trafficking through
illegal adoption is still pending.

-- 29 N. Madagascar has a confirmed child sex tourism
problem. The GOM was unable to provide statistics as to
the total number of foreign pedophiles prosecuted during
the year. However, the Embassy is aware of three cases in
Nosy Be of foreign pedophiles prosecuted in 2006 (see 29F).
The countries of origin for sex tourists include: France,
Italy, Spain, Switzerland, Mauritius, and Reunion.

-- 29 O. Madagascar ratified ILO Convention 182 concerning
the Worst Forms of Child Labor in October 2001 and the ILO
Convention 29 on Forced and Compulsory Labor in January

1960. The GOM is drafting different texts, some of which
have already been approved and implemented, to align
Malagasy laws with these two conventions. Madagascar hopes
to ratify ILO Convention 105 on Forced and Compulsory Labor
in 2007. In September 2000, Madagascar signed the optional
Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on
the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child
Pornography; it was ratified in September 2004. In
December 2000, Madagascar signed the Protocol to Prevent,
Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially
Women and Children, supplementing the UN Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime; it was ratified in September

2005.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

-- 30 A-B. The GOM bolstered its ability to assist child
workers through the creation of additional Welcome Centers
and Provincial Child Labor Monitoring Units. In September
2006, a third Welcome Center opened in Tulear to join the
ones in Antananarivo and Tamatave in providing assistance
to victims. With USAID assistance, plans are underway to
construct a fourth Welcome Center in Nosy Be in 2007. At
these centers, rescued children under the age of 15 are
reintroduced to the educational system; children over 15
receive vocational training and are placed with EPZ (Export
Processing Zone) companies. Welcome Center physicians also
provide medical and psychological counseling services,
while Ministry of Labor inspectors teach rescued victims
job-finding skills. In 2006, 36 of the 50 child workers
rescued and taken into the country?s three Welcome Centers
were either given vocational training or placed back in
school; 20 additional child workers were identified for
professional training and 20 others for remedial education.
The GOM also set up a Provincial Child Labor Monitoring
Unit in Diego Suarez to join the one operational in
Antananarivo; it is seeking personnel to staff a third unit
in Tulear.

The Ministries of Justice and Population collaborated to
establish counseling centers in Antananarivo and
Fianarantsoa for adult and child victims of a range of
abuses, including sexual and commercial exploitation.

Working in coordination with the Ministry of Population,

ANTANANARI 00000221 011 OF 011


UNICEF expanded its financial support and technical
assistance to child rights and protection networks from
nine to 11 locations. These multi-sector networks bring
together government institutions, NGOs and law enforcement
officials. Their main activities include: monitoring cases
of child abuse and reporting them to the authorities,
raising awareness of child rights and protection,
strengthening local coordination, assisting children and
their families with the legal process, and providing
psycho-social care, rehabilitation and reintegration. For
example, the multi-sector network established in Diego
Suarez brought together 22 entities from different sectors
to handle individual cases of child prostitution from the
initial complaint through the trial, including medical
assistance and legal advice for victims.

-- 30 C. A July 2004 UNICEF project proposal states, "the
government social welfare system is extremely limited due
to a lack of human resources with relevant background and
experience, the lack of government budget for activities
and low government salaries. Most welfare services are
provided by international and local NGOs (like UNICEF)."
While much of this still holds true, the GOM has made
steady progress since 2004 to rescue victims and assist
their reintegration (see 30A-B). There is no official
screening process in place to transfer identified victims
to NGOs for care; however, the three Welcome Centers and 11
multi-sectoral networks play this role in major cities
throughout the country.

-- 30 D-F. Victims' rights are generally respected; they
are never detained, arrested, jailed or fined. Victims are
not prosecuted for violations of other laws. The GOM
encourages victims to assist in the investigation and
prosecution of trafficking. Victims may file civil suits
or seek legal action against the traffickers, and their
right to seek legal redress is not impeded. The GOM
provides shelter, counseling, and reintegration assistance
for victims through counseling and Welcome Centers (see
30A-B). While the GOM provides legal protection for
victims (see 29B, D, and E),it does not provide physical
protection outside of the Welcome Centers.

-- 30 G. Throughout 2006, UNICEF has worked with the SSPS
to train police officers to recognize trafficking (see
29I). UNICEF has also been working with the Ministry of
Population since 2005 to create an official government
policy on social protection. UNICEF provided support and
technical assistance to the Ecole de Service Social (Social
Services University) to develop a reference manual for
social workers on how to deal with child abuse; this manual
is now being divided into topical booklets for social
workers.

-- 30 H. There have been no recent cases of repatriated
nationals who are victims of trafficking.

-- 30 I. NGOs such as UNICEF, Belle Avenir (a Malagasy
NGO),and Enfants du Monde (a French NGO) have the GOM?s
endorsement to provide basic counseling services for
trafficking victims. Through USAID funding, Catholic
Relief Services began working with the Ministry of Justice
and civil society organizations in late 2006 to assist
victims and at-risk populations in Nosy Be, Tamatave and
Tulear. The program in Nosy Be includes the establishment
of a Welcome Center in 2007 and capacity-building
assistance to women-led NGOs (some of which include former
child prostitutes). The programs in Tamatave and Tulear
include the establishment of two to three additional
Welcome Centers, vocational training for local NGOs, and
income-generating activities.

MCGEE