HUMAN TRAFFICKING/SMUGGLING ON THE HAITIAN BORDER

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 001910 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR G/TIP S/CRS SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR INR/IAA WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM HA SUBJECT: HUMAN TRAFFICKING/SMUGGLING ON THE HAITIAN BORDER ¶1. Summary. Kenel Senatus of Solidarite Fwontalye, a human rights/anti-human trafficking organization in Ouanaminthe, reported that human trafficking and alien smuggling are widespread and openly conducted at Haiti's northeastern border with the Dominican Republic. Traffickers take both adults and children across the border. Trafficked persons are destined to become cheap manual labor, domestic servants, or prostitutes. Weak GoH institutions remain ineffective in combating the well-organized human trafficking trade. End summary. ¶2. Poloff with two G/TIP staff members, on October 29, met with members of Solidarite Fwontalye (SF) in Ouanaminthe, which is located on Haiti's northeastern border with the Dominican Republic (DR). SF is an NGO dedicated to the promotion of human rights for Haitians living in the northeastern border areas and to the prevention of human trafficking across the Haiti/DR border. The meeting focused on trafficking in persons, particularly children. ¶3. Kenel Senatus, the coordinator for human rights, noted that the trafficking of persons across the Haiti/DR border is widespread and openly conducted. Senatus claimed that most trafficking occurred on market days, which are the days that Haitians cross the border to Dajabon in order to buy goods to bring back to Haiti. Traffickers take persons to the DR for three reasons: cheap manual labor, domestic service, and prostitution. ¶4. Senatus noted that children are also trafficked across the border for the same reasons listed above, in addition to forced begging. He added that he heard unconfirmed reports that children are trafficked for their organs as well. Senatus claimed that border traffickers on both sides of the border sometimes bought children from internal traffickers, that is, from persons who acquire the children from other parts of the country and bring them to the border in order to be sold. Senatus also claimed that sometimes the traffickers just simply kidnapped the children they intended to traffic. Senatus reported that the average age of trafficked children is between 12-15 years old and that traffickers in the DR often met and escorted away the children at the Dominican border. ¶5. Senatus claimed that human traffickers employ a well organized network, which includes persons who live off the trafficking trade, such as those who rent rooms and provide food to trafficking victims. Senatus said that officials on both sides of the border are well aware of what is going on, but that the Dominican authorities are selective in their enforcement actions against traffickers and repatriation of victims, while the Haitian authorities lack the capacity to respond to the problem. The Haitian government institutions responsible for protecting the well being of children, the Institute for Social Well-Being and Research (IBESR) and the Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM),are not on the ground in Ouanaminthe. In fact, Senatus claimed that local authorities refer cases to SF for follow-up. SF typically does not intervene when adults go to the DR because Haiti lacks a specific anti-trafficking law and adults often are economic migrants who consent to being smuggled, but SF attempts to intervene when children are involved. For this, SF members are sometimes threatened and assaulted. ¶6. Comment. G/TIP recently awarded the Pan-American Foundation (PADF) $250,850 to begin work on a Haiti/Dominican Republic Cross-Border anti-trafficking project. The project will be implemented in Ouanaminthe and PADF seeks to engage SF as well as the Office of the Mayor of Ouanaminthe and the local Office of National Migration in the project. SF's involvement in the project is instrumental, since they possess the local knowledge and experience necessary to build the capacity of government actors on the border. During the visit, Ouanaminthe migration officials demonstrated a willingness to learn from SF. G/TIP hopes that the project will result in increased victim assistance and strengthened capacity and coordination among border officials and civil society actors. TIGHE