Trafficking in Persons Donor Working Group a Success

UNCLAS NAIROBI 001027 SIPDIS DEPT FOR G-TIP, AF/E, AF/RSA, AND DRL/IL DEPT ALSO PASS TO DEPT OF LABOR FOR ILAB ROB SHEPHERD, SUDHA HALEY, PATRICK WHITE AND MAUREEN PETTIS DHS FOR ICE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB GTIP KCRM ECON PHUM PGOV KCRM KE SUBJECT: Trafficking in Persons Donor Working Group a Success ¶1. Summary: The Donor Working Group on Trafficking in Persons and Child Protection, established by the U.S. Embassy, UNICEF and the IOM, has greatly enhanced coordination within the donor and diplomatic community in assisting Kenyan government agencies and non-governmental organizations to develop and implement policies and projects to address trafficking in persons (TIP). Fifteen Missions, four UN organizations, and several NGOs are active members, and others will be invited to join. End Summary. ¶2. In November 2006, at the initiative of the U.S. Embassy, UNICEF and International Organization for Migration (IOM) agreed to establish and co-chair a donor working group (WG) to coordinate our efforts to address TIP and child protection issues in Kenya. Ambassador Ranneberger hosted the first meeting on November 9, 2006, attended by 10 European Embassies, Canada, Egypt, USAID, and the American Bar Association (ABA). Australia and Save the Children Sweden subsequently joined. Lebanon, Saudi Arabia, Bangladesh, India, Pakistan and Sri Lanka have been invited. ¶3. The WG has met three times, and has become a real success at coordination and information sharing. The U.S. Embassy has briefed the members on the interim TIP report on Kenya, its work with the NGO Network, and its efforts to push the police to investigate two recent TIP cases. Thanks to Embassy briefings on our work with Solidarity with Women in Distress (SOLWODI),Global Child and the ABA, the German Embassy has begun working more with NGOs on TIP. The German Ambassador spoke at the opening of TIP seminar in Mombasa in January that featured a Kenyan woman who had been trafficked to Germany. The Embassy has also circulated articles and reports on TIP to the WG members to raise their awareness and solicit information. ¶4. IOM has briefed donors on the most recent status of the anti-TIP bill, and which GOK agencies were playing which role in developing the GOK National Strategy and Action Plan to fight TIP. Funded by Nordic donors, IOM and UNODC are doing major anti-TIP projects, but they learned that the ABA is already doing some of their planned activities, both in building justice system capacity and in public awareness campaigns. The meetings thus encouraged them to synchronize their efforts to avoid duplication and to cover additional areas. UNICEF briefed members on its study of child sex tourism (CST) on Kenya's Coast, and its follow-up efforts on both the study and the ECPAT Industry Code of Conduct to fight CST. UNICEF invited donors to follow up in other areas, such as working with academics to add TIP and CST to Kenyan Tourism Degree programs. Donors have also used the meetings to compare notes on NGOs working in the field and ways to organize and implement public-awareness building conferences and campaigns. ¶5. Comment: The new TIP Working Group is an important step towards greater awareness and coordination in preventing trafficking in persons in Kenya. At the risk of self-congratulation, the U.S. Mission was the catalyst in its formation and for the good work it's doing now. We intend to continue our leadership role on this important issue. End comment. RANNEBERGER