Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07MAPUTO243
2007-02-27 14:11:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Maputo
Cable title:  

MOZAMBIQUE: 2007 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

Tags:  KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG ELAB KFRD ASEC PREF MZ 
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VZCZCXRO8979
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHTO #0243/01 0581411
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271411Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6904
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP 0163
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000243 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, AF/RSA
AF/S - H TREGER
PASS TO USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG ELAB KFRD ASEC PREF MZ
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: 2007 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

REFS: A) 06 STATE 202745; B) 07 MAPUTO 207

MAPUTO 00000243 001.2 OF 002


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OVERVIEW
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000243

SIPDIS

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

STATE FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, AF/RSA
AF/S - H TREGER
PASS TO USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG ELAB KFRD ASEC PREF MZ
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: 2007 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

REFS: A) 06 STATE 202745; B) 07 MAPUTO 207

MAPUTO 00000243 001.2 OF 002


--------------
OVERVIEW
--------------


1. (SBU) Mozambique is primarily a source country for men, women,
and children trafficked to South Africa for forced labor and sexual
exploitation. The use of forced and bonded child laborers is a
common and increasing practice in rural areas, often with the
complicity of family members. Women and girls also are trafficked
internally from rural to urban areas of Mozambique for forced labor
and sexual exploitation; young men and boys are similarly trafficked
for farm work or domestic servitude.


2. (SBU) While the government and NGOs acknowledged trafficking to
be a growing problem, porous borders and the removal of visa
requirements for travel between Mozambique and South Africa in 2005
mean that the extent of the problem can only be roughly estimated.
Traffickers often lured victims by promising better or higher paying
jobs in South Africa. Trafficked Mozambicans often labored for
months in South Africa without pay before the "employer" reports
them as illegal immigrants or trespassers; they are then arrested
and deported. Traffickers are typically part of small networks of
Mozambican and/or South African citizens; however, involvement of
larger Chinese and Nigerian syndicates in the trafficking of
Mozambicans also has been reported.


3. (SBU) The Government of Mozambique does not fully comply with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is
making significant efforts to do so. Despite a lack of resources and
corruption among border authorities, Mozambique continued to take
steps to improve anti-trafficking law enforcement initiatives during
the reporting period. The Justice Ministry was expected to submit a
draft trafficking in persons law to the Council of Ministers in
March 2007, the final step before being debated in the National
Assembly. To further its efforts in fighting trafficking, the

government should prosecute and convict arrested traffickers, ensure
the passage of anti-trafficking legislation, launch a comprehensive
public awareness campaign, and increase its assistance to
trafficking victims.

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Prevention
--------------


4. (SBU) While government officials in charge of trafficking issues
acknowledged trafficking to be a growing problem, prevention efforts
remained weak. Most anti-trafficking educational workshops were run
by NGOs with government participation. Several such workshops were
conducted during the reporting period in Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane,
Sofala, and Nampula Provinces. The government supported other
programs to prevent trafficking. For example, in recent years there
has been a greater emphasis on and more resources dedicated to
programs to keep children in school. During the year, law
enforcement officials publicized several trafficking cases and
government-owned media outlets consistently covered such stories.
The government does not have a plan of action to combat trafficking,
or a single person designated to coordinate the government's
anti-trafficking efforts, although the draft trafficking law
contains components addressing both issues.

--------------
Investigation and Prosecution
--------------


5. (SBU) Mozambique continued to take steps to improve law
enforcement efforts, although a paucity of training resources
hindered greater efforts. While there is no law specifically
prohibiting human trafficking, Mozambique's penal code includes at
least 13 related articles under which trafficking cases can be
charged. The Ministry of Justice was expected to submit a draft
trafficking in persons law to the Council of Ministers in March

2007. The draft contains 33 articles and includes specific
provisions on prevention, prosecution, and protection. Prior to the
submission, the Ministry of Justice and the NGO Rede Came organized
a series of forums for public debate over the draft law in southern,
central, and northern parts of the country.


6. (SBU) Existing law prohibits rape but does not include provisions
for spousal rape. Penalties range from two to eight years if the
victim is 12 years of age or older, and eight to 12 years if the

MAPUTO 00000243 002.2 OF 002


victim is under the age of 12. Prostitution is legal, although
several laws against indecency and immoral behavior govern
prostitution and restrict it to certain areas. The practice was
widespread and particularly prevalent along major transportation
corridors and border towns where long-distance truckers stayed
overnight.


7. (SBU) During the reporting period, the Office of Women and
Children in the Ministry of Interior reported 47 cases of
trafficking in persons. Mozambican police broke up several
trafficking schemes, apprehending several traffickers. In February
2007, police arrested a man in Manica attempting to traffic 24
people across the South African border. The 24 individuals were
mostly young men, each of whom had paid $60 (1,500 meticais) to
cross the border.


8. (SBU) The Interior Ministry, with support from UNICEF, conducted
anti-trafficking training for almost 75 police officers in Gaza,
Tete, and Zambezia provinces, after which the officers conducted
public awareness campaigns for community police and school leaders;
however, such training has not been extended force-wide. Many
lower-ranking police and border control agents are suspected of
accepting bribes from traffickers.


9. (SBU) In September 2006, Mozambique ratified the UN Protocol to
Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons. In June 2003,
Mozambique ratified ILO Convention 29 on Forced or Compulsory Labor
and ILO Convention 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate
Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor.
Mozambique ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in
April 1994, and the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and
Child Pornography in March 2003.

--------------
Protection and Assistance
--------------


10. (SBU) The government's efforts to protect victims of trafficking
continued to suffer from a lack of resources; government officials
regularly call on NGOs, such as the International Office on
Migration, UNICEF, Terre des Hommes, Red Came, Save the Children,
and the Civic Education Forum for assistance in the provision of
shelter, food, counseling, and rehabilitation. During the reporting
period, the Kulaya Healing Center in the Maputo Central Hospital
assisted a small number of trafficking victims with medical care and
counseling for up to three months each. In 2006 the Ministry of
Interior expanded from 96 to 151 the number of offices within police
stations for attending to women and child victims of violence, and
provided victims' assistance training for police officers who deal
with such cases; some of these offices provided emergency shelter
and food for trafficking victims.


11. (SBU) A small Joint Committee for the Reception and Screening of
Mozambicans Repatriated from South Africa, made up of NGOs and
government officials and located at the Ressano Garcia border
crossing, was overwhelmed by the thousands of Mozambicans deported
each month and was not able to adequately screen these deportees to
identify victims of trafficking. This problem was exacerbated by
indifference reported by many deportees regarding immigration and
border authorities. In May 2006, the civil society organization
Civic Education Forum opened the country's first permanent shelter
for trafficking victims in Moamba. The Moamba District government
donated 20 hectares of land to be used to house the shelter and grow
food for its residents.


12. (U) Embassy point of contact on TIP is Leonel Miranda,
Economic-Political officer. Tel: 258 21 492 797 ext. 3423; fax: 258
21 490 448; cellular phone 258 82 319 8830. Principal FSO drafter
(FS-3) spent 80 hours researching and drafting this cable. The
Charge (FE-MC) spent one hour, and the DCM (FS-01) spent a total of
four hours, including the editing/clearing process. Econ-Pol Chief
(FS-2) spent 10 hours, and LES political assistant spent 40. Total
hours: 135.

JOHNSON