Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08ANTANANARIVO764
2008-11-14 07:16:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Antananarivo
Cable title:  

ANTANANARIVO: TIP INTERIM ASSESSMENT RESPONSES

Tags:  PHUM KTIP MA 
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VZCZCXRO0813
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHGI RUEHJO RUEHMA RUEHMR RUEHPA RUEHRN RUEHTRO
DE RUEHAN #0764 3190716
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 140716Z NOV 08
FM AMEMBASSY ANTANANARIVO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 1780
INFO RUEHZO/AFRICAN UNION COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0072
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 1048
RHMFISS/CDR USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC PRIORITY
UNCLAS ANTANANARIVO 000764 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/E-MBEYZEROV, AF/RSA, G-ACBLANK, G/TIP-RYOUSEY
PARIS FOR RKANEDA
LONDON FOR PLORD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KTIP MA
SUBJECT: ANTANANARIVO: TIP INTERIM ASSESSMENT RESPONSES

REF: 08 SECSTATE 110849

UNCLAS ANTANANARIVO 000764

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR AF/E-MBEYZEROV, AF/RSA, G-ACBLANK, G/TIP-RYOUSEY
PARIS FOR RKANEDA
LONDON FOR PLORD

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KTIP MA
SUBJECT: ANTANANARIVO: TIP INTERIM ASSESSMENT RESPONSES

REF: 08 SECSTATE 110849


1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The GOM set high goals in 2007 with a
string of legislative achievements and hands-on efforts to
push the administration's fight against child labor and human
trafficking into the field via training programs, victim's
assistance, and awareness campaigns. This drive seems to
have slowed in 2008, however, as the laws have not been
implemented effectively across the country. A lack of
statistics hampers efforts to monitor regional
implementation, but the evidence suggests that despite
continued vocal support from the national leadership, change
on the ground has been slow to come. END SUMMARY.


2. (SBU) The December 2007 anti-trafficking law has not yet
been used to prosecute or punish traffickers. According to
Ministry of Justice (MOJ) officials, the law has been
actively disseminated to the 22 regions, and magistrates all
over the country have been trained in its use. However, lack
of precedent, lack of coordination among the ministries, and
the lack of a presidential decree mandating and codifying its
use may be hindering implementation of the law in practice.
Without a formal system for tracking such cases, MOJ
officials leave open the possibility that individual
jurisdictions may be using the law, but the evidence suggests
this is unlikely - several possible cases from high-risk
areas came to trial in 2008, but none made use of the
anti-trafficking law. Three French citizens' cases for
indecent assault or statutory rape were either dismissed or
punished with suspended sentences, while the case of a
French-Vietnamese couple being tried for pandering in January
2008 was dismissed for inability to overcome reasonable
doubt. The verdict is under appeal, but has not yet been
reexamined; the couple reportedly still operates a hotel in
Nosy Be.


3. (SBU) There is still no formal process for law enforcement
officials to refer victims for assistance. There are three
government-run welcome centers in the country, and a
"protection network" in 14 locations around Madagascar that
bring interested parties in the government and NGOs together
to assist victims. Their actual usage, however, depends
largely on the extent to which NGOs and IOs proactively
engage with the local law enforcement and health structures.


4. (SBU) In September 2008, the U.S. Department of Justice's
ICITAP program concluded a project to develop a centralized
database for documenting and tracking trafficking cases
nationwide. Training on the program was conducted both in
the capital and in several high-risk regions, and it remains
a positive example of increased cooperation between the
Gendarmerie and the Police in this field; however, financial
and legal issues threaten to derail the project. Although
operational for several months now, the center still lacks a
presidential decree giving its work legal standing, and the
financial backing for its future operations remains uncertain.


5. (SBU) Although some officials were punished in 2007 for
colluding with traffickers or accepting bribes to overlook
trafficking crimes, the Ministry of Justice was unable to
report any such cases in 2008. Several of the cases reported
in Madagascar's 2008 TIP report did result in suspensions
being served (the district chief and the president of the
tribunal in Nosy Be, and the president of the tribunal in
Fort Dauphin) or officials being relocated (as in the case of
a prosecutor in Fort Dauphin),but no more severe punishments
or new cases have been reported.


6. (SBU) COMMENT: Although unlikely, it remains a possibility
that the situation outside of the capital is more positive
than MOJ officials are able to convey. The almost complete
lack of statistics in this field make it difficult to gauge
the true impact of the substantial investment that NGOs and
donors have made in high-risk locations such as Nosy Be,
Diego Suarez, or Fort Dauphin. In the next two months, post
will be conducting further research in the field that may
provide further insight into Madagascar's apparent difficulty
implementing its 2007 legislative framework. END COMMENT.
MARQUARDT