LESOTHO: 2007 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 MASERU 000147

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT ALSO FOR G/TIP
DEPT ALSO FOR AF/S: LINDA MUNCY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN ELAB SMIG KFRD PREF LT
SUBJECT: LESOTHO: 2007 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT
SUBMISSION

REF: 2006 STATE 202745

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1. There is no known trafficking in persons in Lesotho that
meets the term as defined in REFTEL. Per REFTEL instructions,
post has answered the questions 27 - 30. Post's primary
sources are Inspector Masoabi Thosa, Child and Gender Protection
Unit, Lesotho Mounted Police Service (LMPS); Senior Inspector
Maphats'oe Maphats'oe, LMPS Legal Division; Pulane Lechesa,
Directorate of Legal Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs;
Lindiwe Maqutu, Crown Counsel, Office of the Director of Public
Prosecutions, Ministry of Law and Constitutional Affairs;
'Mamongoli Tsekoa, Ministry of Education (UNESCO); Teboho
Nthlakana, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights; Lydia 'Muso,
Lesotho Child Counseling Unit (LCCU - an NGO); all of whom state
that trafficking in persons, as defined in REFTEL, is unknown in
Lesotho. These sources acknowledge anecdotal reports of migrant
smuggling of Basotho into South Africa, and the possibility that
some of those smuggled could be commercial sex workers. The
2004 report by the International Organization for Migration
indicated that women from rural areas of the People's Republic
of China were trafficked to Lesotho as a transit point. It is
alleged that the women later crossed into South Africa in a bid
to circumvent South African airport immigration controls.


2. There are large numbers of Basotho living legally and
illegally in South Africa. Most are economic migrants who have
crossed the porous border and may be vulnerable to exploitation
once within South Africa. However, post's sources had seen no
evidence of organized trafficking and were not aware of any
outstanding cases involving Basotho victims in South Africa.
There are no NGOs in Lesotho that work specifically with victims
of trafficking, as it is not regarded as a major issue in the
country. Lesotho is a landlocked country totally surrounded by
South Africa, and receives international flights only from South
Africa. As wage levels are much higher in South Africa, it
would make little economic sense for persons to be trafficked to
Lesotho as a final destination, but rather as a staging point
for other destinations. Anecdotal evidence suggests some degree
of trafficking and child labor exists, but there are no official
statistics on record.

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Responses to TIP Questions
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3. (SBU) Begin responses to questions, keyed to question
numbers in REFTEL:



27. OVERVIEW


A. Is the country a country of origin, transit or destination
for international trafficked men, women, or children?

There are no official reports of cases of trafficking in persons
in Lesotho. According to anecdotal information, Chinese
smuggling rings may use Lesotho as a staging point for smuggling
individuals to the Republic of South Africa and beyond.


B. Please provide a general overview of the trafficking
situation in the country and any changes since the last TIP
Report (e.g. changes in direction). Also briefly explain the
political will to address trafficking in persons.

There is no reliable information regarding cases of trafficking
in persons in Lesotho. Government accounting for trafficking in
persons is limited by the lack of anti-trafficking legislation.
There is no official information or statistics pertaining to the
issue.


C. What are the limitations on the government's ability to
address this problem in practice?

The Government of Lesotho is limited in all areas by its lack of
resources, including the area of trafficking in persons. The
GOL's inability to police its porous border limits its ability
to detect or combat trafficking.




28. PREVENTION


A. Does the government acknowledge that trafficking is a
problem in the country?

Due to lack of anti-trafficking legislation and research, there
is no coherent official position on whether trafficking is a
problem in Lesotho.


B. Which government agencies are involved in anti-trafficking

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efforts?

Lesotho's Ministry of Home Affairs and the police, especially
the Child and Gender Protection Unit at the Ministry of Justice
and the Human Rights Unit at the Ministry of Education and
Training and Ministry of Labor would be involved in
anti-trafficking efforts. These government agencies also
cooperate with UNICEF to address reports of child prostitution,
which is thought to be a poverty driven phenomenon and not the
product of organized criminal syndicates. There are no official
statistics.


C. Are there or have there been any government-run
anti-trafficking public information or public education
campaigns?

There has not been a public information or education campaign
specifically addressing trafficking. An inter-sectoral
committee made up of government ministries and NGOs have held
public gatherings on human rights issues which intersect with
trafficking.


D. Does the government support other programs to prevent
trafficking?

While intended to address economic empowerment rather than human
trafficking, the government's implementation of free primary
education has the effect of expanding school enrollment and
attendance, which reduces the opportunities for child
trafficking.


E. What is the relationship between government officials,
NGOs, other relevant organizations and other elements of civil
society on the trafficking issue?

The GOL has a good operational relationship with civil society
groups. For example, Women in Law in Southern Africa (WLSA),the
Federation of Women Lawyers (FIDA for the Latin acronym) and the
Catholic Church's Justice and Peace organization communicate
regularly with the government.


F. Does the government adequately monitor its borders?

Monitoring of borders is inadequate. Lesotho is completely
surrounded by South Africa. The eastern part of the country is
a rugged and mountainous, making it difficult for the joint task
force of the army and police to patrol the borders. Lesotho's
borders are porous and criminal elements often take advantage of
this weakness to carry out illegal activities, such as livestock
and vehicle theft and weapons and marijuana smuggling.


G. Is there a mechanism for coordination and communication
between various agencies, internal, international, and
multilateral on trafficking-related matters, such as a
multi-agency working group or a task force? Does the government
have a trafficking in persons working group or single point of
contact? Does the government have a public corruption task
force?

The Government of Lesotho coordinates anti-trafficking
activities with the International Organization for Migration
(IOM),the International Labor Organization (ILO) and the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). There is no single
point of contact within the government on trafficking in persons
issues. The government has established the Directorate on
Corruption and Economic Offenses (DCEO) which has a mandate to
counter public corruption.




29. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS


A. Does the country have a law specifically prohibiting
trafficking in persons - both trafficking for sexual
exploitation and trafficking for non-sexual purposes (e.g.
forced labor)?

The country does not have legislation specifically addressing
trafficking in persons and has not enacted any legislation on
this subject since the last TIP report. An existing law,
however, does prohibit the procurement of women or girls for the
purpose of prostitution. Trafficking in persons would be
charged under statutes pertaining to abduction or kidnapping.
The GOL generally supports women's rights and all citizens are
constitutionally guaranteed freedom from slavery and forced
labor. The constitution stipulates, "No person shall be held in
slavery or servitude."

The Child Protection Act of 1980 and the Sexual Offenses Act of

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2003 can be used to prosecute offenders but do not sufficiently
address issues of human trafficking. The Child Protection and
Welfare Bill, which will supersede the Child Protection Act of
1980, is still waiting to be passed into law. There is a need
for enactment of comprehensive legislation to address human
trafficking in Lesotho.


B. What are the penalties for traffickers of people for
sexual exploitation?

As trafficking is not legally defined in Lesotho, there are no
specified penalties.


C. Punishment for Labor Trafficking Offenses?

As trafficking is not legally defined in Lesotho, there are no
specified penalties.


D. What are the penalties for rape or forcible sexual assault?

The minimum penalty for rape or forcible sexual assault is five
years and the maximum is the death penalty, depending on the
nature of the case and the jurisdiction of the magistrate
presiding over the case.


E. Is prostitution legalized or decriminalized?

The law does not address prostitution, although the Government
of Lesotho and NGOs have often addressed increased youth
prostitution though the media.


F. Has the government prosecuted any cases against traffickers?

No.


G. Is there any information or reports of who is behind the
trafficking?

Unofficial reports of Chinese and Nigerian organized criminal
groups were reported in 2004, but no similar reports have
surfaced in 2006.


H. Does the government actively investigate cases on
trafficking?

No, as trafficking is not legally defined in Lesotho. The
government does prosecute related offenses.


I. Does the government provide any specialized training for
government officials in how to recognize, investigate, and
prosecute instances of trafficking?

No.


J. Does the government cooperate with other governments in the
investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases?

As trafficking is not legally defined in Lesotho, there is no
specific cooperation with other governments.


K. Does the government extradite persons who are charged with
trafficking in other countries?

As trafficking is not legally defined in Lesotho, there is no
evidence on record of such extraditions.


L. Is there evidence of government involvement in or tolerance
of trafficking, on a local or institutional level?

No, there is not.


M. Have any government officials been prosecuted for
involvement in trafficking?

No.


N. If the country has an identified child sex tourism problem
(as source of destination),how many foreign pedophiles has the
government prosecuted or deported/extradited to their country of
origin? Do the country's child sexual abuse laws have
extraterritorial coverage (similar to the U.S. PROTECT ACT)?

The country has not been identified as having a child sex
tourism problem. Although anecdotal information indicates a
busload of children was smuggled to South Africa, there has been
no official response. In June 2001, Lesotho ratified ILO
Convention 182 concerning the worst forms of child labor. The
Rights of the Child Convention was ratified in April 1992. The
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in

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Persons, especially Women and Children, Supplementing the UN
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime is under
discussion for ratification.




30. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICITMS


A. Does the government assist victims, for example, by providing
temporary to permanent residency status, relief from
deportation, shelter and access to legal, medical and
psychological services? If so, please explain. Does the
country have victim care and victim health care facilities?

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Lesotho Child
Counseling Unit (LCCU) offer help to vulnerable and abused
children, but not specifically to victims of trafficking.


B. Does the government provide funding or other forms of support
to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to victims?

Since there are no NGOs for trafficking victims in Lesotho, the
GOL provides no funding to such NGOs.


C. Do the government's law enforcement and social services
personnel have a formal system of identifying victims of
trafficking among high-risk persons with whom they come in
contact (e.g. foreign persons arrested for prostitution or
immigration violations)? Is there a referral process in place,
when appropriate, to transfer victims detained, arrested or
placed in protective custody by law enforcement authorities to
NGO's that provide short-or long-term care?

As trafficking in persons is not defined by law in Lesotho, no
such referral programs exist.


D. Are the rights of victims respected, or are victims treated
as criminals? Are victims detained, jailed, or deported? If
detained or jailed, for how long? Are victims fined? Are
victims prosecuted for violations of other laws, such as those
governing immigration or prostitution?

No, as trafficking is not legally defined in Lesotho,
trafficking victims are not treated as a distinct legal group.


E. Does the government encourage victims to assist in the
investigation and prosecution of trafficking? May victims file
civil suits or seek legal action against the traffickers? Does
anyone impede the victims' access to such legal redress? If a
victim is a material witness in a court case against a former
employer, is the victim permitted to obtain other employment or
to leave the country pending trial proceedings? Is there a
victim restitution program?

As there is no specific legislation against trafficking in
persons, such activities and programs do not exist in Lesotho.


F. What kind of protection is the government able to provide for
victims and witnesses? Does it provide these protections in
practice? What type of shelter or services does the government
provide? Does it provide shelter or housing benefits to victims
or other resources to aid the victims in rebuilding their lives?
Where are child victims placed (e.g. in shelters, foster-care,
or juvenile justice detention centers).

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Lesotho Child
Counseling Unit (LCCU) offer help to vulnerable and abused
children, but not specifically to victims of trafficking.


G. Does the government provide any specialized training for
government officials in recognizing trafficking and in the
provision of assistance to trafficked victims, including the
special needs of trafficked children?

Lesotho provides no such training and there are no official
reports or indication that citizens of Lesotho are being
trafficked to foreign countries.


H. Does the government provide assistance, such as medical aid,
shelter, or financial help, to its repatriated nationals who are
victims of trafficking?

The Ministry of Health and Social Welfare and the Lesotho Child
Counseling Unit (LCCU) offer help to vulnerable and abused
children, including repatriated nationals, but not specifically
to victims of trafficking.


I. Which international organizations or NGOs, if any, work with
trafficking victims? What type of services do they provide?

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What sort of cooperation do they receive from local victims,
then post should explain thoroughly. Funding, personnel, and
training constraints should be noted, if applicable. Conversely,
the lack of political will to address the problem should be
noted as well.

According to the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights, a
committee will be established which will be composed of the
Police Child and Gender Protection Unit, UNICEF, the Ministry of
Justice, and representatives of the NGO community. As this
committee has not yet convened, the contributions of its various
member organizations are not yet known. In rural areas,
volunteers from NGOs, local schools, and other organizations
assist potential victims.


3. (U) POC on trafficking issues: Christopher Smith,
PD/ECON/POL Officer; TEL: +(266) 22-312-666, ext. 4104; e-mail:
SmithCM3@state.gov
PERRY