2007 TIP REPORT INPUT

UNCLAS TUNIS 000287

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR NEA/MAG - HOPKINS, HARRIS, NEA/RA, G/TIP - PATEL,
G, INL, DRL, AND PRM

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN ELAB SMIG KFRD PREF TS
SUBJECT: 2007 TIP REPORT INPUT

REF: STATE 202745


1. (U) The information below is provided in response to
reftel. Post POC for TIP related issues is Susannah Cooper,
(Tel.) 216-71-107-306, (Fax) 216-71-107-090. Number of hours
spent by rank: 6 hrs FEMC, 50 hrs FS-02.

--------------
TUNISIA: THE SOCIAL CONTEXT
--------------


2. (SBU) Thanks to comprehensive government laws and policies
focused on social justice and equality, Tunisia is well
prepared to combat the international phenomenon of
trafficking in persons. The government is knowledgeable
about the international trafficking problem and has
undertaken significant legal and practical steps to prevent
its emergence in Tunisia and to coordinate with those
fighting the problem in neighboring countries. Tunisia's
small, homogeneous and educated population helps diminish the
likelihood of trafficking and exploitation. There is no
evidence of forced labor in Tunisia, and the GOT actively
manages and supervises the labor market, including the market
for domestic employees.


3. (SBU) As a party to the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress
and Punish Trafficking in Persons, the GOT has focused its
efforts on combating transnational trafficking through
improved border controls, security and supervision.
Tunisia's favorable geographic location has historically
proven attractive to illegal migrants, both Tunisians and
foreigners, attempting to reach Europe. However, the GOT
works hard to combat illegal migration from its borders. GOT
statistics show, and foreign diplomatic missions and
international organizations confirm, a reduction in illegal
migration attempts in 2005-06. While there is no evidence
such migrants are trafficking victims, local and
international public and private sector entities remain
committed to providing assistance to Tunisians and
non-Tunisians who may be intending economic migration.


4. (SBU) Begin TIP responses:


27. OVERVIEW:


A. Public and private domestic and international governments
and NGOs all reported that there are no evidence of
trafficking in persons in Tunisia. While Tunisia's proximity
to Europe has made it a traditional departure point for
illegal migrants, illegal migration attempts by Tunisians and
non-Tunisians are diminishing as the result of strong GOT
improvements in border control, legal sanctions and
cooperation with Tunisia's Mediterranean neighbors. GOT
statistics show that, in the 2005-2006 judicial year, 300
people were arrested for attempting illegal migration by sea
and 1,559 for attempted migration by land. This is a
significant decrease from the 2004-05 judicial year, in which
672 people were arrested for attempting illegal migration by
sea and 2,062 by land, and shows that government efforts to
combat illegal migration are having a positive impact.

The GOT is serious about enforcing legislation designed to
combat illegal migration and trafficking. GOT officials
reported that police and security forces investigate all
cases of illegal migration and found no evidence that
intending migrants to Europe are trafficking victims.
Rather, GOT investigations reveal that these persons are
individually attempting to migrate to Europe for economic
reasons. Other contacts confirm that there is no evidence of
coercion, fraud, or use of force to induce migration and no
indication that these migrants are subject to involuntary
servitude, peonage, or debt bondage in Tunisia. All contacts
reported individuals were seeking to migrate to Europe
independently of any organized criminal migration or
trafficking network.

As is true in nearly all societies, a very small number of
Tunisian children (10 in 2005-06) are victims of sexual
exploitation. (NOTE: Government statistics do not indicate
how many were victims of commercial sexual exploitation. END
NOTE.) Children's rights in Tunisia are strongly protected
and severe legal punishments are applied to those convicted
of child abuse. Contacts report that some children may
choose to engage in prostitution or related commercial sexual
activity, while others are exploited by family or friends.

Embassy officers consulted a wide range of sources in 2006
and 2007, including:



-- Government officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Women's, Family, Children's
and Elderly Affairs, and Ministry of Justice and Human Rights.

-- Non-governmental organizations, including the General
Union of Tunisian Workers (UGTT) and the Tunisian Association
of Democratic Women (ATFD).

-- International organizations, including the International
Organization for Migration, UNICEF and Caritas International.

-- Diplomatic missions in Tunisia.

-- Local and international press coverage of illegal
migration and trafficking in persons in the Mediterranean
region.

Post believes that information from these sources is
reliable. All of these contacts reported no cases of human
trafficking to, through or from Tunisia.


28. PREVENTION:


B. The GOT is committed to combating all forms of human
trafficking and preventing its emergence in Tunisia. The
following government agencies are involved in
anti-trafficking efforts: the Ministry of Foreign Affairs,
Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice and Human Rights,
Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity and Tunisians Abroad,
and Ministry of Employment.


C. As there is no evidence of trafficking in persons in
Tunisia, there have been no specific government
anti-trafficking information or education campaigns.


D. While not specifically anti-trafficking in nature, the GOT
has a number of programs designed to protect the rights of
women, children and non-Tunisians in the work place. The
Ministry of Social Affairs supervises and inspects work
places around the country for compliance with Tunisian laws
regarding minimum employment age, limitations on working
hours and conditions for women and youth, non-discrimination
of female employees, and legal requirements for foreign
workers. The GOT has organized public information campaigns
about workers' rights to health and social security
protection under Tunisian law. These programs are designed
to increase health and social security coverage among
Tunisian workers, but also are applicable to legal foreign
workers. There are also outreach programs that aim to
provide legal and gainful employment to at-risk individuals,
such as impoverished Tunisians and single mothers. The
Ministry of Employment organizes, and the Ministry of Social
Affairs actively supervises, the employment of nationals and
foreigners in Tunisia to ensure their employment conforms to
Tunisian labor laws.

The GOT also conducts child protection awareness campaigns.
The General Delegate for Children's Protection was created in
2002, to supervise, coordinate, follow up and assess the
activities of child protection delegates. Each of the
twenty-four Tunisian states has a child protection delegate
who is responsible for investigating reports of child abuse
or maltreatment. Education is highly valued in Tunisia, and
ninety percent of Tunisian children between the ages of 6 and
16 are enrolled in school.

The Tunisian and Italian governments have implemented a legal
immigration program designed to reduce illegal immigration
and improve the conditions of Tunisians working in Italy.
The GOT hopes to implement similar programs with other
European countries in the future. There are also "social
attaches" in countries with large Tunisian expatriate
populations that inform Tunisian workers abroad of their
rights in Tunisia and the country of residence in order to
prevent their exploitation overseas. The GOT also has a
number of development programs (e.g. the 21/21 and 26/26
Funds) designed to promote domestic employment opportunities
in rural and underdeveloped areas in order to reduce the
likelihood that Tunisians will seek to illegally immigrate
for employment.


E. Many NGOs and international organizations assisting
Tunisians and foreigners report good cooperation with the
government. The GOT takes great pride in its social
programs, especially those for women, children and the
handicapped, and works closely with Tunisian civil society to
promote these efforts across Tunisia. There are also several
private charities and government-sponsored NGOs that offer
assistance to illegal immigrants entering the country every


year. Thee organizations report that the GOT and the
Tuniian populace are hospitable to illegal foreign migants
who do not otherwise violate Tunisian law. There are no
reports of abuse, exploitation, and/r neglect from official
or private entities.

. According to the GOT and private organizations, here is
no evidence that illegal migrants -- Tunsian or non-Tunisian
-- are the victims of traffcking. Investigations into
illegal migration cass found no evidence that illegal
migrants are vitims of trafficking. These GOT
investigations fund that the main reasons for attempting
illegalmigration were employment opportunities, family
eunification, tourism and circumvention of visa polcies.
The government also notes that there is noevidence of any
criminal enterprises, Mafia or gng involvement in these
illegal migration attemps. Local NGOs, which have
interviewed the non-Tnisian illegal migrants they assist in
Tunisia, rport none have stated they are victims of
traffiking. Most have individually sought illegal migraion
and have self-financed their activities throgh work. Those
that reach Tunisia with insufficent funds have worked,
legally and illegally, in unisia, but NGOs report there is
no evidence of orced or bonded labor or eploitation.
Salaries for the jobs they can obtain (waiters, housekeepers,
etc.) are low for Tunisians and non-Tunisians, and there is
no evidence of discrimination or exploitation of foreign
workers. NGOs have no reports of organized traffickers -
individuals or groups - in Tunisia.


G. Domestically, the GOT uses an interagency approach to
address issues of trafficking and illegal migration.
Regional cooperation to combat illegal migration in the
Mediterranean region continues to expand. In November 2006,
Tunisia participated in an Africa-EU Summit on Migration and
Development in Tripoli, as well as related multilateral
conferences and meetings throughout 2006.


H. As there is no evidence of trafficking in persons in
Tunisia, there is no national plan of action to address
trafficking in persons.


29. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION: There is no new
legislation in 2006 related to trafficking in persons.


A. The Tunisian passport law (#6/2004) was amended in 2004
to include punishments for anyone who "guides, arranges,
facilitates, assists, acts as an intermediary, or organizes
the surreptitious entry or exit, even without remuneration,
of an individual to or from Tunisia by land, sea or air."
Violators face imprisonment for up to twenty years and a fine
of 100,000 Tunisian dinars (approximately US$ 76,000) if the
crime results in death. Traffickers could also be prosecuted
under laws prohibiting slavery, bonded labor, and the misuse
of boats. Slavery was banned in Tunisia in 1846, and in 1966
Tunisia ratified the 1926 League of Nations Slavery
Convention and related UN protocols. Economic, sexual or
criminal exploitation, as well as forced labor, prostitution,
participation in armed conflict, displacement and any other
form of servitude is illegal. The penal code sentences
government employees to life imprisonment for document
forgery. In order to combat illegal migration by sea, marine
laws were amended in 2004 (#3 and #4/2004) to require all
boats with motors larger than five horsepower to inform the
National Guard of its route and passengers before leaving
port, or face a fine of 1,000 Tunisian dinars (approximately
US$ 760). Also see para 29 O, as international agreements
have the effect of codified law once ratified.

There were no investigations, prosecutions, convictions or
sentences for offenses that were explicitly defined as
trafficking in 2005 or 2006. However, GOT statistics show
that, in the 2005-2006 judicial year, 300 people were
arrested for attempting illegal migration by sea and 1,559
for attempted migration by land. These statistics reveal a
significant decrease from the 2004-05 judicial year, in which
672 people were arrested for attempting illegal migration by
sea and 2,062 by land. Yet total accusations rose in
2005-06, when 3971 were accused of crimes related to illegal
migration (compared to 3902 in 2004-05). While sources
indicate illegal migration attempts have decreased as a
result of improved enforcement, press reports of illegal
migration attempts indicate the GOT is increasingly
prosecuting those involved in such attempts. Convictions are
usually based on violations of the passport law (#6/2004).


B. Sexual exploitation is addressed by the penal code and
child protection laws. These laws do not specifically address
trafficking, and penalties depend on the degree of
exploitation or violation of the law. Government figures
report that ten children were victims of sexual exploitation
in the 2005-06 judicial year. These statistics do not
indicate how many were victims of commercial sexual
exploitation.


C. The Tunisian labor code is strict and strictly enforced.
However, there is limited anecdotal evidence that a small
number of domestic employees may be in non-compliance with
labor laws, including contracts arranged by illegal work
agencies. Although there is no evidence of trafficking, the
GOT takes these reports very seriously and has undertaken
directed efforts to prevent such violations. In 2005, the
1965 Household Workers Law was amended to raise the age of
employment from 14 years to 16 years in order to prevent the
exploitation of children as domestic employees. Thus, the
final year of compulsory education is now equal to the
minimum age of domestic employment, except in limited
circumstances. The involvement of free or paid intermediaries
in the employment of domestic workers is banned by the labor
code, in order to prevent the exploitation of these workers.
The Ministry of Employment operates regional centers in each
of Tunisia's 24 governorates, as well as 83 smaller offices
to assist job seekers in securing legitimate jobs and
contracts. The Ministry of Social Affairs, Solidarity and
Tunisians Abroad is responsible for investigating violations
of the labor code, including reports of labor abuses, and
conducts approximately 30,000 investigations annually.


D. The penalty for rape with the use of violence and/or
threat with a weapon is death, which is also prescribed for
rape of a child under the age of ten. For all other rape
cases, the penalty is life imprisonment.


E. Prostitution is illegal under the penal code, which
includes punishments for prostitutes, clients and
intermediaries, and is strictly enforced. Prostitutes and
their clients can be imprisoned from six months to five years
and face fines of up to 500 Tunisian dinars (approximately
US$ 385). Intermediaries face imprisonment for up to three
years and fines of up to 500 dinars. Enforcement and
prosecution of prostitution laws is strict. However, in a
small number of Tunisian cities, prostitution is legally
organized and supervised by the Ministry of Interior.


O. Under the Tunisian constitution, international agreements
have the effect of codified law once ratified.

-- ILO Convention 182: Ratified January 24, 2000
-- ILO Convention 29 and 105: Ratified November 23, 1962 and
December 23, 1958 respectively
-- Optional Protocol on the Rights of the Child (CRC):
Ratified November 29, 1991
-- Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking:
Ratified March 25, 2003


30. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS:


C. The GOT conducts investigations into all cases of illegal
migration. As none of these investigations have revealed
evidence of trafficking, the GOT has not established a formal
referral system for trafficking victims.


G. Currently, the government does not provide any specialized
training for government or embassy officials in recognizing
trafficking. However, many GOT entities and officials are
well aware of international trafficking definitions,
challenges and enforcement. The government works closely
with foreign governments to combat illegal migration and
protect Tunisians abroad. Additionally, government "social
attaches" in countries with large Tunisian expatriate
populations are responsible for informing Tunisian workers
abroad of their rights in Tunisia and the country of
residence, in order to combat the possible exploitation of
these workers overseas.
GODEC