ZIMBABWE: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS SOLICITATION FOR

UNCLAS HARARE 000350 SIPDIS SIPDIS AF/S FOR S. HILL AF/RSA FOR M. HARPOLE G/TIP FOR A. LEMAR-MEREDITH E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL ZI SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS SOLICITATION FOR G/TIP-MANAGED FY2007 FUNDS REF: STATE 00028157 ¶1. (U) In response to reftel, Embassy Harare forwards the following five summary excerpts from anti-trafficking proposals submitted by International Organization for Migration (IOM),Save the Children Norway, Musasa Project, Girl Child Network and Human Rights Trust of Southern Africa (SAHRIT). The complete proposals and other supporting documentation will be sent via email to Amy LeMar-Meredith in the G/TIP programs coordination office. --International Organization for Migration (IOM) Requested Funding: $500,000 Project Title: Eliminating Trafficking in Persons in Zimbabwe Project Duration: 24 months Proposal Abstract: Zimbabwe is a source, transit and destination country for women, men and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation, with the majority trafficked to South Africa for farm labor or commercial sexual exploitation. The overall goal of this project is to reduce and prevent internal and cross-border trafficking in Zimbabwe and to offer assistance and protection to victims of trafficking in persons (TIP). The purpose is to enhance the institutional capacities of civil society and relevant Government agencies to combat trafficking through the development of comprehensive, sustainable, well coordinated and integrated activities promoting prevention measures, protection of victims and prosecution of traffickers. The project is furthermore a direct response to the Zimbabwean Government's expressed interest and request for IOM to implement and coordinate counter-trafficking activities in the country. The strategy focuses on three main components, which build and complement IOM's already existing counter-trafficking work in Zimbabwe. The three main components are: institutional capacity building, information awareness raising and direct assistance to victims of trafficking. Institutional capacity building aims at strengthening local institutional capacities such as civil society organizations (CSOs) and relevant Government bodies to enhance their ability to address trafficking. An information awareness raising campaign aims to sensitize and inform potential migrants, victims of trafficking and their families about the risks of internal and cross-border trafficking and irregular migration and its linkages to HIV/AIDS, to empower them to protect themselves from falling prey to traffickers, as well as to change the general attitude towards victims of trafficking. Furthermore, direct assistance to victims of both internal and cross-border trafficking will be provided and a shelter for children and a toll-free help-line will be established. IOM will also establish an effective referral mechanism involving both Government and CSOs with the objective of delivering direct assistance to victims and prosecution of traffickers. The project will also pilot some livelihood intervention activities in communities that have been identified as the areas from where most children are being trafficked from. The project will target the following locations: Harare, Beitbridge, Plumtree, Chiredzi and Chipinge districts. The rational behind choosing these locations is that IOM through its previous counter-trafficking and irregular migration work through out the country has identified theses areas to be hotspots for trafficking activities. The project will be implemented in two phases where phase two will build on phase one. Upon conclusion of the two year project it is IOM's hope that trafficking from and/ or to Zimbabwe will no longer be as attractive as it is today due to a greater capacity on the part of the Government, CSOs and other stakeholders to identify, protect and assist victims. Additionally, the public will have a greater awareness of the issue and risks associated with the trafficking phenomena. Furthermore, Zimbabwe will have comprehensive and sustainable strategies put in place at district and provincial levels to deal with TIP. Post's Notes: Of the groups submitting proposals, IOM is in the best position to engage the government to address the trafficking problem in Zimbabwe. Additionally, this proposal leverages IOM's ongoing regional anti-trafficking program managed from South Africa as well as the IOM reception center already open in Beitbridge and another planned for Plumtree. Based on its existing relationships and experience, IOM should be able to effectively collaborate with the Government of Zimbabwe and CSOs working on the issue to build a strong victim referral and assistance network. --Save the Children Norway (SCN) Requested Funding: US$420,877 Project Title: Prevention and Protection of Trafficking in Women and Children Project Duration: 24 months The proposed project, although conceived by the Save the Children Norway, is a collaborative response by the Save the Children Alliance (SCA) to the illegal movement of children across borders from Zimbabwe to neighboring countries, and aims at addressing gaps existing particularly in border areas, regarding the protection of children susceptible to pressures that result in the illicit migrations. The project intends to improve care and protection for deported unaccompanied children. The mitigation approach will be based on prevention, protection, and prosecution initiatives and improving referral and support services for the children through relevant organizations in the target areas, including provision of direct and indirect support services to children to foster reunification and reintegration. It is anticipated that activities shall adopt a collaborative implementation dispensation that utilizes the SCA philosophical framework and capacities. In that regard, the activities to be implemented in this project, such as reviewing legislation on migration and documentation, training and capacity building of stakeholders and community sensitization on illegal child migration and provision of material and psychosocial support to the deported and reunified children, shall, as far as it is possible, harness and draw technical support and expertise from the SCA. Post's Notes: SCN has submitted a proposal that addresses victim assistance and the criminal justice sector. Additionally, SCN currently runs the children facility at the IOM reception center in Beitbridge and has a good working relationship with the Department of Social Welfare. The SCN proposal, however, may focus too much on addressing the negative impact of irregular migration on children as opposed to the actual child trafficking problem. --Musasa Project Requested Funding: US$500,000 Project Title: Prevention and Protection of Trafficking in Women and Children Project Duration: 24 months Proposal Abstract: Musasa Project has established that trafficking is a violation of women and children's rights and is a modern day form of slavery. Existing gender imbalances in Zimbabwe make women and girls easy targets for trafficking. Socio-cultural norms such as male perception of female inferiority and male superiority, lack of education, early/forced marriages, all contribute towards exposing women to violence and marginalization. Another factor is the lack of economic empowerment, particularly where a country faces great economic challenges. More people become desperate to escape the country at any cost and hence can become easy targets for traffickers. As a leading organization that is championing the promotion and protection of women's rights, Musasa believes that there is a need to challenge society and policy makers to take action against trafficking. The vulnerability of women and children to trafficking could be tackled through empowerment programs and the strengthening of legal and social frameworks. Victims in turn need to be well supported, nurtured and re-orientated into society and communities. Musasa Project proposes embarking on a prevention and protection program that includes the following elements: victim identification and support; capacity building; information and awareness campaigns; education and mass media campaigns; lobbying for widespread criminalization of trafficking and identifying gaps in the justice system; and, a national survey to establish the nature, extent, and impact of trafficking and to establish if there are any existing structural support systems. The expected results include the following: increase in the number of women accessing counseling, legal advice and shelter; increase in the number of counselors trained on trafficking in counseling sites and shelters; improved service provision for survivors of violence from other service providers like the police, judiciary, health personnel, traditional and religious leaders; eradication of gender based violence and trafficking cases; improved community capacity to identify and report cases of trafficking; treatment and redress for victims; and, legal sanctions for alleged offenders. Post's Notes: The Musasa proposal covers a number of important activities, including victim identification and support, capacity building at counseling centers, and an awareness campaign. Additionally, Musasa Project is one of the few organizations that currently operates women's shelters in Zimbabwe and is capable of expanding these activities to cover trafficking victims. The proposal, however, includes a request for funding for a vehicle ($24,000) and a baseline survey ($64,000). --Girl Child Network Requested Funding: US$152,000 Project Title: Anti-Trafficking In Persons Project Project Duration: 12 months Proposal Abstract: GCN's experience in dealing with anti-trafficking activities has called for the urgent need to consolidate efforts towards alleviating the menace that has left many a girl child's life and dreams shattered because of the abominable activities that are involved. From August 2006 to date, GCN through the support of a US Embassy Grant managed to rescue and assist numerous girls who were involved in human trafficking. Having realized that most of the victims of human trafficking are young girls, GCN has also realized the need to come up with programs and activities that are geared towards reducing the vulnerability of girls to human trafficking, rescuing girls already engaged in human trafficking related activities and also alleviating the plight of girls rescued from the jaws of human traffickers. As such GCN will implement programs that include: capacity building of girls' club presidents and their coordinators; training of media personnel on sensitive reporting of trafficking issues; awareness raising campaigns with traditional leaders; rescue and rehabilitation and support of girls involved in human trafficking; and, production and distribution of material on trafficking. From the above proposed activities GCN intends to achieve the following: increased knowledge within girls' clubs on trafficking and related anti trafficking efforts that reduce their vulnerability to the menace and reduce cases of trafficking involving girls; increased reporting of trafficking in the mainstream media as a way of raising awareness of the problem; reducing the number of girls and women falling prey to trafficking as a result of increased and enhanced capacity of traditional leaders to deal with issues of trafficking as most cases involve people they lead. Post's Notes: The current USG grant of $18,000 to GCN to assist trafficking victims expires in June 2007 -- this proposal would support a continuation and expansion of the existing activities. GCN has shown some success in identifying and rescuing trafficking victims and the organization provided important case information that was included in this year's TIP report. --Human Rights Trust of Southern Africa (SAHRIT) Requested Funding: US$411,873 Project Title: Determining the Link between Corruption and Human Trafficking in the SADC Region Project Duration: 24 months Proposal Abstract: SAHRIT sets out to under take a project on human trafficking with the aim of establishing the extent to which corruption contributes to human trafficking in the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) region. The main concern is that human trafficking has been a trend that has been in existence for many years in other parts of the world, but is seemingly becoming a matter of great concern in the SADC region. A look at the current trends of human trafficking has shown that in the SADC region most of the trafficking is being perpetuated by both corruption and harsh economic environments that most SADC countries are challenged with. Also added to this is the fact that there seems to be no specific legislation in the region that addresses the problem of trafficking, and also, the problem has been down played by governments and civil society, thus creating a niche to address this problem. The project that SAHRIT seeks to engage will involve conducting a situational analysis that will determine the extent of human trafficking in the SADC region and the link between corruption and human trafficking, highlighting the extent to which corruption contributes to the process of human trafficking. Further the project also seeks to identify what legislative and administrative reforms need to be put in place that will adequately address the problem of human trafficking within SADC. Some of the recommendations will then form the basis for the interventions which will include development of a capacity building program for officers within anti-corruption agencies and law enforcement agencies to effectively arrest the growing exploitative and lucrative industry through carrying out a training needs assessment. The expected results of the project are that the extent that corruption contributes to human trafficking within SADC will be identified and possible strategies to address the problem identified; strategies for more robust legislative reform and the training needs of law enforcement officers and those working within the anti-corruption institutions identified and capacity developed. Post's Notes: SAHRIT's proposal takes a regional approach and contains activities that focus on performing a situational analysis of the regional trafficking problem as it relates to corruption that will eventually lead to capacity building for law enforcement and anti-corruption agencies. The proposal, however, does not contain victim assistance activities. -------------- Point of Contact -------------- ¶2. (U) The post point of contact for trafficking in persons is Scott C. Higgins; office phone 263-4-250-593, extension 321; fax 263-4-253-000; e-mail HigginsSC@state.gov. DELL