G/TIP AMBASSADOR LAGON VISIT TO COTE D'IVOIRE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 04 ABIDJAN 000090 SIPDIS SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/04/2018 TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM SMIG UN IV SUBJECT: G/TIP AMBASSADOR LAGON VISIT TO COTE D'IVOIRE REF: A. ABIDJAN 56 ¶B. ABIDJAN 51 ¶C. ABIDJAN 40 Classified By: Political/Economic Section Chief Silvia Eiriz for Reason s 1.4 (b) & (d) ¶1. (U) Summary: G/TIP Ambassador Mark Lagon met with government officials, NGO leaders, and UN officials during his January 23-24 visit to Abidjan. Ambassador Lagon told his interlocutors that the USG comes in partnership to address trafficking in persons and stands ready to consult on legal and social structures to protect both child and adult victims of trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation. In separate meetings with the Ministers of Justice and Human Rights; Family and Social Affairs; and Labor and Public Administration, the government briefed Ambassador Lagon on the national plan to eliminate child labor and trafficking and discussed the challenges to passing a bill outlawing child trafficking and the worst forms of child labor. Ambassador Lagon visited three NGOs carrying out antitrafficking projects in Abidjan and met with the National Antitrafficking Committee, a body consisting of representatives from various government ministries as well as international and nongovernmental organizations. NGOs expressed concern to Ambassador Lagon regarding inconsistent coordination between the government and NGOs and international organizations as all struggle to finance and increase antitrafficking efforts. End Summary. Government Discusses Efforts to Fight Trafficking ********************************************* ***** ¶2. (SBU) In a January 23 meeting with Minister of Justice and Human Rights (MOJ) Mamadou Kone, Ambassador Lagon urged the Government of Cote d'Ivoire (GOCI) to create a comprehensive antitrafficking law that would protect adult victims as well as children. Kone said that the MOJ is responsible only for prosecution of traffickers and that other ministries take the lead on questions of prevention, protection and care of victims and vulnerable populations and the legal framework to punish trafficking. Kone said that he supports a national law on trafficking, but explained to Ambassador Lagon that the current National Assembly lacks a mandate and its authority is not accepted by all political actors. Kone noted that the President could issue a decree, but said he believes a law of such importance should be adopted by the National Assembly that will be formed after elections are held rather than relegated to the status of an ordinance. Kone acknowledged that it would be advantageous for Cote d'Ivoire to have a comprehensive antitrafficking law and explained that under current laws, traffickers are prosecuted using penal code kidnapping and pimping statutes. Kone said the penal code in effect was adopted in 1981 and that social conditions have evolved since then and the law needs to reflect today's challenges. Kone said that a new comprehensive antitrafficking law would take into account the evolution of Ivoirian social conditions. ¶3. (SBU) Kone also discussed the link between the trafficking problem and the country's current political crisis. Kone explained that the audiences foraines process (mobile courts issuing birth certification to unregistered persons over age 13),led by MOJ, will help diminish the prevalence of trafficking because unregistered youth are more vulnerable to labor and sex trafficking since they cannot enroll in government schools. Kone noted that the political crisis destroyed much of the public administration system, particularly in the north, and prevented the passing of the national law outlawing child trafficking. Kone, who belongs to the former rebel New Forces movement led by the Prime Minister, said that fair elections would put in place "legitimate leaders" and allow the country to begin reconstruction. ¶4. (SBU) In a January 24 meeting with Minister of Labor and Public Administration Hubert Oulaye, Ambassador Lagon reiterated the importance of passing a comprehensive antitrafficking law and discussed the feasibility of seeing real progress in the certification of the cocoa sector. Oulaye, who appeared engaged in the issue of child labor and trafficking, welcomed the visits by Ambassador Lagon and a congressional delegation led by Congressman Engel. Oulaye gave Ambassador Lagon the government's national plan to eliminate child labor and the draft bill to ban child trafficking and the worst forms of child labor. Oulaye explained that Cote d'Ivoire is only now drafting a bill that specifically addresses child trafficking and labor because child trafficking is a recent phenomenon in the country. He noted that current laws only deal with child kidnapping and the exploitation of child labor. Oulaye said that trafficking should be punished as an offense rather than a ABIDJAN 00000090 002 OF 004 crime in order to more easily convict traffickers. (Note: In the Ivoirian legal system, an offense requires a lower burden of proof than a crime. Therefore, offense cases are settled more quickly in court; but, sentences are heavier for crimes, which is problematic for TIP given the mandate for serious punishments in the UN TIP Protocol, which Cote d'Ivoire has signed though not ratified. End Note). Oulaye emphasized that the government has made progress in advancing efforts to prevent child labor through studies and surveys of the problem. Oulaye explained that the Government wants to remove children from farms and place them in school or vocational training programs. Oulaye noted that work still needs to be done to raise awareness among parents and provide them with additional skills that will help boost family income. ¶5. (C) Oulaye outlined the government's 7 million USD national strategy to address child labor and trafficking, which he said will allow the government to address 50% of the problem in three years. Oulaye said the national strategy addresses four areas of concern: 1) strengthening legal frameworks (including the draft bill outlawing child trafficking and the worst forms of child labor); 2) understanding the extent of the problem and monitoring progress through surveys; 3) programs to address the problem (i.e. removal of child laborers, reinsertion programs, repatriation, and vocational training); 4) training NGOs and public administrators. Oulaye said the government has budgeted 4.3 million USD but GOCI requires assistance from partner organizations and friendly countries for the remaining 2.7 million USD. Ambassador Lagon stated that the cocoa industry should be tapped for these additional financial resources. Oulaye countered that the government will need other partners for the other sectors where child labor and trafficking are prevalent. Oulaye noted that with this national plan, GOCI envisions certifying that 50% of all sectors, not just cocoa, are free of the worst forms of child labor. Lagon noted that the deadline of June 2008 must be met to survey 50 percent of cocoa farmers, and that tangible signed that Ivoirian cocoa production is less tainted by the worst forms of child labor would be necessary to avert consumer reaction in the long run. ¶6. (SBU) As a follow-up to the discussion with Oulaye, Lagon hosted a luncheon with Ministry of Labor Director General Desire Bollou Bi Djehiffe and Special Advisor to the Cocoa Certification Committee Youssouf N'Dore. N'Dore was forthcoming in noting that the government was slow to organize the cocoa sector in the beginning and that it will be difficult to meet the June 2008 deadline without more industry support. Ambassador Lagon stated that the June deadline must be met in order to avoid negative fallout amongst American consumers. ¶7. (SBU) As the lead GOCI ministry addressing trafficking, the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs (MFSA) presented Ambassador Lagon on January 24 with an overview of GOCI efforts to prevent and prosecute trafficking and to protect victims and vulnerable populations. Although Minister Jeanne Pneuhmond was present for the meeting, she left the discussion mainly to her staff. Nathalie Adom-Coulibaly, the director of the social protection division at MFSA and the coordinator of the National Antitrafficking Committee, explained that GOCI has trained police, NGOs, and security forces; helped repatriate trafficked children who have been intercepted at the border by security forces; established 13 village-level antitrafficking task forces and is working to create another 25 in 2008. Coulibaly stated that in 2007 MFSA provided 280 school kits (i.e., books, material) to children who did not want to be repatriated and MFSA began offering literacy classes and assisted some children with vocational training. Coulibaly noted that other GOCI actions are planned, but passage of the bill outlawing child trafficking and the worst forms of child labor will be essential to government efforts to effectively address child trafficking. Ambassador Lagon raised the problems of protecting victims, punishing traffickers, caring for and rehabilitating repatriated victims, and screening migrants to be repatriated for those who would come back to Cote d'Ivoire if returned to their country of origin. The Director General of the Minister's Cabinet Abdou Toure said that the government has helped repatriate children with the assistance of UNICEF but once victims have been repatriated, GOCI cannot follow up and interfere in the affairs of another country. ¶8. (SBU) MFSA officials acknowledged the problem of adult trafficking particularly for sexual exploitation and noted that MFSA has an office in charge of fighting against violence against women. Director General of Cabinet Toure noted that that office follows cases of sexual exploitation by security forces and United Nations peacekeepers. Toure noted that MFSA was closely involved in the investigation ABIDJAN 00000090 003 OF 004 into allegations against the Moroccan peacekeeping battalion in Bouake in 2007. He said the Moroccan government wanted DNA testing of pregnant victims to be conducted in Morocco rather than in Cote d'Ivoire, but MFSA successfully advocated for the testing to be completed in Cote d'Ivoire and ensured that the tests were completed and the results accepted. Having noted a conflict of interest if Morocco had conducted the DNA testing, Toure heartily agreed with Lagon's proposal that a standing arrangement with Interpol be established to conduct such tests for any UN peacekeeping mission so as to avert that problem. Views from Anti-TIP NGOs and IOs ***************************************** ¶9. (SBU) Ambassador Lagon met with the National Antitrafficking Committee, made up of representatives of several government ministries as well as international and local nongovernmental organizations. Lagon also visited three NGOs carrying out antitrafficking projects in Abidjan -- Cote d'Ivoire Prosperite, the International Catholic Child Bureau (Bureau International Catholique de l'Enfance - BICE), and International Assistance to Children - Heart and Action (Assistance Internationale a l'Enfance - Coeur et Action - AIECA). In a January 24 meeting with the National Antitrafficking Committee, NGO leaders stated that the government needs to better coordinate with NGOs for information gathering on the trafficking problem and for efforts to care for victims. A representative of the International Cocoa Initiative (ICI) said coordination is not regular. NGO leaders also cited difficulties in securing funding for antitrafficking projects and said that international partners like the USG prefer to work with well-known or international NGOs. They noted that since each donor has different requirements for proposals and project management, it is confusing for local partners who may not have staff with the necessary training or language skills to be able to work effectively with international partners. Acknowledging this concern, Lagon noted G/TIP's dedicated efforts to make its grant-making and monitoring process transparent, including posting information on the G/TIP website, www.staet.gov/g/tip. The ICI representative said many NGOs lack the management and financial skills needed to work with international organizations and suggested that local NGOs be more willing to accept audits. TIP Monitoring and Sexual Exploitation Concerns at UN Peacekeeping Mission ***************************************** ¶10. (C) In a highly frank January 24 meeting with United Nations Peacekeeping Operation in Cote d'Ivoire (UNOCI), Ambassador Lagon raised the issue of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) among peacekeepers and trafficking in persons in general. Deputy Special Representative of the Secretary General (D/SRSG) Abou Moussa said that UNOCI has a mandate to monitor and prevent SEA but does not have one for trafficking in persons. Lagon noted that peacekeepers using women and girls in prostitution helped fuel sex trafficking. Moussa said that since March, UNOCI's mandate changed from taking an active role in the peace process to merely supporting it. A representative from UNOCI's Human Rights Division said UNOCI takes a active role in advocacy and monitoring trafficking in persons and works to build a network of partners like the International Organization for Migration (IOM) to address trafficking concerns. Moussa said that culturally Africans think of children as a source of income rather than a burden. He said GOCI should increase public awareness efforts of the worst forms of child labor and child trafficking in order to discourage parents from sending their children to work on coffee and cocoa plantations. ¶11. (C) Moussa said UNOCI first heard rumors of SEA committed by the Moroccan battalion in Bouake in 2005-2006. Deputy Force Commander General Kandji said that at the time, UNOCI did not receive any direct complaints about the Moroccan battalion. Moussa explained that UNICEF received an email from an NGO and based on it, UNICEF and UNOCI investigated the allegations. General Kandji noted that locals assumed that the Moroccan peacekeepers were the fathers of mixed race children in Bouake even though some of these children were too old to have been conceived during the peacekeepers' tenure in Bouake. Moussa explained that UNOCI moved the Moroccan battalion to Duekoue, in the west of the country, and the battalion now has limited contact with the local population. Moussa noted that girls followed the peacekeepers when the battalion moved within Bouake and even all the way to Duekoue. Moussa said that GOCI needs to address the fact that poverty leads many young women to exchange sex for food and basic necessities with peacekeepers. Moussa said that once UNOCI went public with ABIDJAN 00000090 004 OF 004 the SEA allegations against the Moroccan battalion, many accusations without any basis surfaced. ¶12. (C) D/SRSG Moussa and General Kandji both emphasized that SEA is not a problem with all UNOCI peacekeeping troops and that, there are troops stationed in Abidjan who are exposed to all of the temptations of an urban setting, but have not had any reported SEA allegations lodged against them. General Kandji said that while the UN trains peacekeepers on SEA, it is the responsibility of the troop contributing country to properly screen peacekeepers. General Kandji noted that the Moroccan peacekeepers are good soldiers and are francophone so operationally they were a good fit for Bouake. Kandji and Moussa said that although UNOCI lost operational efficiency by having to move the Moroccan battalion, if the decision had been solely up to UNOCI rather than New York, UNOCI would have removed the Moroccan battalion sooner or even expelled them. Moussa said that, if resources were available it would be better to have the UN's Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS) embedded in the mission rather than posted regionally. Moussa and Kandji agreed with Lagon that imminent plans to relocate the OIOS unit from UNOCI to a regional hub for reasons of scarce resources was unfortunate. Moussa explained that a regional OIOS may have to set priorities and be unable to adequately focus on a particular UN mission. ¶13. (SBU) Comment: The visit of Ambassador Lagon to Cote d'Ivoire provided the government with the first high level USG visitor focusing on trafficking in persons and gave the government an opportunity to showcase its efforts and respond to the shortfalls cited in the 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report. In presenting its case, government officials acknowledged the inadequacy of the current legal framework in protecting victims of trafficking and prosecuting traffickers. Government officials seemed pleased that Ambassador Lagon emphasized a collaborative approach between the USG and GOCI to address child and adult trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation. Embassy Abidjan stands ready to facilitate continued dialogue on these issues. End Comment. ¶14. (U) Ambassador Lagon cleared this cable. NESBITT