MADAGASCAR TIP PROPOSALS FOR 2007 ESF AND INCLE FUNDS

UNCLAS ANTANANARIVO 000402 SIPDIS SIPDIS DEPT FOR AF/E MBEYZEROV DEPT FOR AF/RSA HARPOLE DEPT FOR G/TIP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC ELAB KCRM PHUM PREL SMIG MA SUBJECT: MADAGASCAR TIP PROPOSALS FOR 2007 ESF AND INCLE FUNDS REF: STATE 28157 ¶1. (U) Per reftel, Embassy Antananarivo is providing the following four proposals for 2007 ESF and INCLE funds for Trafficking in Persons (TIP) projects. The full text of the proposals, budgets and resumes are being forwarded via email to the appropriate G/TIP POC as requested. Post POC for all proposals is Political Officer Silvana Rodriguez (RodriguezSD@state.gov). ¶2. In 2006, Madagascar was upgraded to Tier Two from the Tier Two Watch List due to strong political will and concrete initiatives on the Government of Madagascar's (GOM) part to address its widespread internal trafficking issues. However, lack of resources and capacity continue to hamper the efforts of the GOM and nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) to address the protection and prosecution aspects of the trafficking problem. G/TIP has identified the need to pass and enact a comprehensive anti-trafficking law and enhanced support services for victims as two future priorities to enhance Madagascar's anti-trafficking initiatives to date. The four project proposals below complement and expand current US-funded programs in Madagascar by assisting the GOM in drafting an anti-trafficking law to facilitate prosecution and victim protection, as well as by providing trafficking victims with social services and vocational training to prevent them from falling back into the trafficking trap. There is strong potential for the proposed projects to create strong synergies with existing U.S.-funded Welcome Centers for victims and the upcoming U.S. Department of Justice International Criminal Investigative Assistance Program (ICITAP) in Madagascar by co-locating in the same regional hotspots and building links between them. Post appreciates the Department's consideration of our request for financial assistance to maintain the momentum of GOM efforts. - - - - - - - INCLE PROJECT - - - - - - - a) Name of the Applicant: United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) b) Requested Funding Amount: USD 432,225 c) Project Title: Building Madagascar's Capacity to Implement the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children d) Project Duration: Two years e) Proposal Abstract: Trafficking in persons has become of major concern in many parts of the world, including in Southern Africa. Effective responses to the problem of human trafficking call for collaborative, multi-disciplinary, long-term, coordinated, strategic and well-planned action. Although little information is currently available on trafficking in persons in Madagascar, there have been reports of both international (cross-border) and internal (within national borders) trafficking in recent years. Traffickers mainly target vulnerable groups, such as women and children. More importantly, the GOM has acknowledged the problem of trafficking. There is growing awareness of the need for well coordinated joint initiatives. In this context, it is particularly important to strengthen and elaborate the crime prevention and criminal justice responses. More legislation is necessary and institutional structures need strengthening. This project focuses on five objectives. First of all, because of the lack of available data on human trafficking in Madagascar, research will be conducted in order to deepen the knowledge and understanding on trafficking, review the nature and extent of the problem and identify agencies and groups involved in victim protection and assistance. This research will also result in policy recommendations for combating human trafficking. Furthermore, data collection should not be a one-time event. Instead, the project foresees the establishment of an effective, accessible database on human trafficking, leading up to constant data collection. This is an essential element of the project, because of the changing nature of the trafficking crime; new trafficking routes will be discovered and new methods used, which make it necessary to keep up to date. Combating human trafficking cannot be done without complementary anti-trafficking legislation, implementation, enforcement, and training of relevant stakeholders. The project includes assessing the legislative reforms necessary to bring national legislation into compliance with international standards. Also, the technical capacity of law enforcement and prosecution officials will be strengthened through training. Given the often transnational nature of the issue of trafficking in persons, it is unlikely that any sustainable success will be achieved at the national level without some international collaboration. This is why the project also plans to identify international contacts for the exchange of information and best practices. To conclude, this project is based on the premise that the problem of trafficking in persons can only be addressed effectively on the basis of a comprehensive strategy. - - - - - - - ESF PROJECT 1 - - - - - - - a) Name of the Applicant: PACT Madagascar b) Requested Funding Amount: USD 363,434 c) Project Title: SELF-WORTH: Empowerment for Reduced Trafficking d) Project Duration: Two years e) Proposal Abstract: Trafficking linked to the sexual exploitation of women and girls is increasing in Madagascar. Poverty and social norms affecting gender equity are key determinants that contribute to trafficking. In response, Pact will implement the proven WORTH women's empowerment model to prevent continual trafficking of women/girls already in prostitution and to prevent "at risk" Malagasy women from being trafficked into sexual enslavement. The WORTH model links the long-term approach of women's empowerment with practical skills building and access to finances. The WORTH Madagascar program will offer women and girls, primarily victims but also a limited number vulnerable to trafficking, access to literacy skills, to financial resources through community savings and to opportunities for generating income through micro-enterprises. WORTH differs from a traditional microfinance approach: it is innovatively designed to empower women and girls, challenge gender roles and mobilize for social action and change. Given these tools, the women/girls will have the opportunity of reintegration into their communities with a solid basis of knowledge and financial standing. WORTH improves durably the economic and social status of women and girls. Pact will implement the program in two geographic hot spots for trafficking: Antananarivo and Toamasina (also known as Tamatave). In Toamasina, Pact will build synergies with existing USAID anti-trafficking programs, and in Antananarivo with the government's and other anti-trafficking programs in order to offer a complete package of services to targeted women and effectively reduce the trafficking of these women and girls. Pact will collaborate with local non-governmental organization NGO partners and local authorities to ensure that empowerment groups have the capabilities to sustain their economic and social activities. Results achieved and lessons learned in these two provinces in the two-year program period will provide a basis for expanding the WORTH model as an anti-trafficking protection and prevention approach in other areas of Madagascar. Pact's proposed budget for the two-year program is US$363,434. These funds will allow Pact to reach a total of 2000 women and girls. An important part of the resources will be allocated to the manuals adaptation to the local context and printings. - - - - - - - ESF PROJECT 2 - - - - - - - a) Name of the Applicant: The Ministry of Labor b) Requested Funding Amount: USD 98,190 c) Project Title: Protection and Rehabilitation of Trafficking Victims in Nosy Be, Tulear and Fort Dauphin d) Project Duration: One year e) Proposal Abstract: The project seeks to implement an action program directly affecting trafficked children or potential trafficking victims in three intervention sites: Nosy Be, Toliara (also known as Tulear) and Fort Dauphin. It focuses on improving the living conditions of sex trafficking victims, both children and adults, through vocational training. This kind of training requires qualified personnel such as teachers and Ministry of Labor officials, members of the local communities, and various technical and educational materials and equipment. Given the importance of providing protection for trafficking victims, the project aims to provide medical care, subsistence, and psychological counseling during the training. At the end of the project, the beneficiaries' living standards will be improved, enabling them to get out of their present situation. - - - - - - - ESF PROJECT 3 - - - - - - - a) Name of the Applicant: Catholic Relief Services b) Requested Funding Amount: USD 408,226 c) Project Title: Tsinjo Aina Project d) Project Duration: Two years, January 2008 - January 2010 e) Project Abstract: While the GOM has taken significant steps in fighting trafficking in persons, the number of people rescued from trafficking situations remains very limited. Connected to this, perpetrators of trafficking are almost never prosecuted for their crimes. In high risk zones, such as Antsiranana (also known as Diego Suarez) and Mahajanga (also known as Majunga),the psycho-social and protective services available to trafficking victims are very limited, while coordination between local actors to assist victims to prosecute their traffickers is almost inexistent. To address these issues, substantial efforts are needed to support and connect the rescue, rehabilitation, and prosecution phases of the fight in trafficking in these vulnerable zones. The proposed project entitled Tsinjo Aina, meaning "Protecting Life," will intervene in both Antsiranana and Mahajanga, creating effective psycho-social and protective services for trafficking victims. In addition, the project proposes to work with national and regional government structures to create an effective mechanism for rescuing trafficking victims. Through these activities, the project expects to increase the number of trafficking victims who are rescued and who receive appropriate psycho-social and protective services, while at the same time increasing the number of traffickers prosecuted. MCGEE