CHILD PROTECTION OFFICIALS DISAPPOINTED WITH

UNCLAS BAMAKO 000759 SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR G/TIP ZEITLIN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM KWMN PHUM PGOV ML SUBJECT: CHILD PROTECTION OFFICIALS DISAPPOINTED WITH DECISIONS OF JUDICIAL COLLEAGUES REF: BAMAKO 00707 1.(U) On August 15 the Embassy met with Ayouba Goile, the newly appointed Deputy Director of the National Office for the Protection of Children. The National Office is the Malian Government's lead agency in the area of combating trafficking in persons and falls under the authority of the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and Families (MPFEF). The Embassy visited Goile to establish contact and brief him on our concerns regarding Mali's efforts to combat trafficking. During the meeting we provided Goile with a copy of the 2007 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report and explained Mali's status as a Tier 2 TIP country. We also inquired about the status of five child trafficking suspects recently released by local authorities in the towns of Kita and Sikasso (Ref. A). 2.(U) Goile expressed his thanks for the contact and the TIP report. He confessed that he was unaware of the release of the trafficking suspects and agreed to look into the matter. He went on to explain that Mali was dedicated to combating trafficking, but somewhat at a loss as how to proceed. In recent years the GOM has tried, with moderate success, to establish community-level committees to fight trafficking. This is in addition to partnering with some local NGO involved in anti-trafficking activities. Goile noted, however, that Mali seemed to lack an overall, integrated anti-TIP plan. 3.(U) On August 28 the Embassy spoke to Goile's supervisor, Director Alou Barry, who confirmed that the trafficking suspects in Kita and Sikasso had indeed been liberated on their own recognizance pending trial dates - which have not yet been set. Barry expressed exasperation with his colleagues at the Ministry of Justice and complained that his office had no ability to influence decisions made by court officials. Barry said he did not know if any measures were taken by judicial authorities to prevent the trafficking suspects in Kita and Sikasso from disappearing, now that they have been freed, in advance of their trial dates. The suspects in Sikasso were both Ivorian nationals. The three suspects in Kita were Malians but only one of the three was apparently from the town of Kita. 4.(U) Barry instructed the MPFEF representative in Sikasso to contact local legal authorities to express the MPFEF's displeasure with the decision to release the two Ivoirian trafficking suspects arrested in 2007. He also told the Embassy that the Minister of the Promotion of Women, Children and Families, Ms. Maiga Sina Damba, was drafting a letter for the Minister of Justice to express her disappointment with the decisions of authorities responsible for judging the trafficking cases in Kita and Sikasso. According to Barry, Minister Damba's letter will reiterate the MPFEF's mandate to ensure the protection of children, underline the MPFEF's disappointment with decisions made by Ministry of Justice officials regarding the release of alleged traffickers, and note that such decisions are undermining Mali's ability to effectively combat child trafficking. 5.(SBU) Comment: Officials within the Ministry of the Promotion of Women, Children and Families are clearly dedicated to combating child trafficking in Mali. Their dedication renders the recent legal rulings in Kita and Sikasso that much more discouraging. We will continue to coordinate with Barry and Goile and intend to reinforce Minister Damba's message to her Judicial counterpart by following up with the Justice Ministry once Minister Damba's letter has been delivered. LEONARD