COMOROS 2007 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

UNCLAS ANTANANARIVO 000159

SIPDIS

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SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB CN
SUBJECT: COMOROS 2007 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

REF: A) STATE 2731


1. (U) The Embassy Point of Contact for TIP is Political Officer
Silvana Rodriguez. Ms. Rodriguez can be reached via email at
RodriguezSD [at] state.gov, via telephone at 261.20.22.212.57, or
via facsimile at 261.20.22.251.71. POLOFF Rodriguez spent
approximately two hours preparing this report.


2. (U) As requested in Ref A, Embassy Antananarivo submits the
following information, keyed to the questions in paragraphs 27-30
that are applicable to Comoros' situation.

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OVERVIEW
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-- 27. Comoros is not known to be a country of origin, transit, or
destination for human trafficking. There have been no reports of
international or internal trafficking from the government, NGOs, or
any other sources.

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INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS
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-- 28 A,D. (U) Although there is no TIP-specific legislation,
trafficking acts would be prosecuted under existing laws in the
penal code. The Labor Code defines the age of 15 as the minimum for
employment. Rape is illegal, punishable by imprisonment of 5 to 10
years or up to 15 years if the victim is younger than 15 years of
age. The government did not enforce effectively these laws on rape.
These issues would generally be handled by village elders, the
"notables."

-- 28 E. (U) Prostitution is illegal. Unmarried children under the
age of 18 are protected legally from sexual exploitation,
prostitution, and pornography.

-- 28 M. (U) The country does not have an identified child sex
tourism problem. There is virtually no tourism industry in
Comoros.

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PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS
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-- 29 A,B,C. (U) The impoverished government does not have the means
to provide assistance to trafficking victims through NGOS or any
other sources.

-- 29 I. (U) The GOC does not provide any specialized training for
government officials in recognizing trafficking.

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PREVENTION
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-- 30 B. (U) The GOC does not have any public anti-trafficking
campaigns.


-- 30 C. (U) There are few NGOs in Comoros, as it is impoverished
with extremely limited resources. There are no known NGOs who work
on trafficking issues.

-- 30 D. (U) The Gendarmerie and Island security forces are involved
in anti-trafficking efforts such as immigration and border control.
However, there is no monitoring of immigration and emigration
patterns specifically for evidence of trafficking. The airports
maintain immigration controls. However, as an archipelago with
little border and coastal security, there is a limited ability to
track those entering the country.

-- 30 E. (U) There is no multi-agency working group or task force on
anti-trafficking issues.

-- 30 F. (U) The government does not have a national plan of action
to address trafficking in persons. There have been no known
government programs to prevent trafficking.

CASEBEER