Guinea 2007 TIP Report: Demarche to the Minister of Social

UNCLAS CONAKRY 000831

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12598: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCRM KWMN KPAO SMIG PREL ELAB ASEC GV
SUBJECT: Guinea 2007 TIP Report: Demarche to the Minister of Social
Affairs

REF: A) State 78713 B) State 71163


1. (U) On June 29, as directed in Ref A, Poloff delivered demarche
on the 2007 Guinea Trafficking in Persons Report to the Minister of
Social Affairs Tete Nabe. Also present were several members of the
minister's cabinet and senior officials charged with issues of
protection, social development, and child endangerment. Issa
Traore, President of the National Committee to Combat Trafficking in
Persons and the Legal Advisor at the Ministry of Social Affairs, was
also present.


2. (U) We provided a French translation of the Guinea country
report and informed the minister that the Embassy issued a press
release announcing Guinea's Tier Two placement. In order to
maximize the impact of the report (per Ref B),we prepared a package
also containing the French version of the press release and several
articles in French about the TIP report and U.S. policy on
trafficking-related issues made available by the Bureau Public
Affairs. The press release was picked up by several national
electronic and print media outlets.


3. (U) The Minister welcomed the report and the ongoing engagement
of the United States on TIP issues. She announced a sub-regional
conference in July where trafficking issues would be discussed among
ministers from Guinea, Cote d'Ivoire, Mali, Senegal, Nigeria, Niger,
Burkina Faso, Benin, and Togo. The Minister also stated that Guinea
would present its efforts to end all forms of female exploitation at
an upcoming UN conference in New York.


4. (SBU) When Poloff raised the issue of prosecutions, and the fact
that Guinea has made little progress in this area, the Minister
acknowledged that there is much work still to do. The Minister told
us that at the recent government retreat, she took the lead in
championing increased inter-ministerial coordination to identify and
punish traffickers. The Minister agreed that there were many
persons in key government positions who continue to protect and
assist traffickers.


5. (SBU) The Minister also laid responsibility on third country
nationals (making specific mention of Chinese and Nigerian
criminals) who were leading trafficking rings and using Guinea as a
point of departure for exploiting victims. She asked for our
assistance to help Guinea strengthen its law enforcement mechanisms
and thanked us for our contributions to UNICEF and other NGOs which
are key in combating TIP. On June 27, ministry officials were in
attendance as Guinean NGOs formally launched a nationwide network --
the Constitutive Assembly of the NGO Coalition to Combat Trafficking
in Persons.


6. (SBU) COMMENT. The Minister's discussion of "outside" forces
taking advantage of Guinea's weak prosecutorial framework is a
departure from the past, when officials denied the involvement of
both government officials and foreign nationals. Taking the lead on
Guinea's trafficking in persons issues, the Minister of Social
Affairs re-affirmed the new government's commitment to making
progress on trafficking in persons issues. END COMMENT.

KAEUPER