CAMEROON: G/TIP FY06 MONITORING REPORT

UNCLAS YAOUNDE 000822 SIPDIS DEPT FOR G/TIP and AF/C E.O. 12958: n/a TAGS: KCRM KWMN PHUM CM SUBJECT: CAMEROON: G/TIP FY06 MONITORING REPORT REF: 07 STATE 169690 ¶1. Below are Embassy Yaounde's responses keyed to reftel request. ¶A. Poloff spoke with Yolande Fouda, resident staff member of the G/TIP sponsored American Bar Association (ABA),Rule of Law Initiative. Additional information is based on observation. ¶B. An ABA staff member from Washington has visited Cameroon two times since the grant was awarded to assess the progress and meet with Government of Cameroon (GRC) and US Embassy officials. The Cameroon-based ABA staff member has created a multi-disciplinary working group to stimulate dialogue amongst the key actors in anti-trafficking efforts. The ABA has also drafted a reference and teaching manual for GRC officials based on their discussions during the working group session. In June, the ABA held a roll out session with high level GRC officials to introduce the anti-trafficking program. The US Ambassador was the keynote speaker. The Cameroon-based ABA staff member is currently working with police and immigration officials to conduct anti-trafficking trainings at their facilities in order to demonstrate the GRC's commitment and the programs sustainability. ¶C. The grantee has encountered some issues with remaining on schedule due to various administrative changes in key GRC ministries. The program is about 2 months behind schedule with the training for judges, prosecutors, immigration officials and police not completed due to the changes in the national police and the shuffle of ministry personnel. The grantee continues to work through the challenges by contacting and setting up meetings with the new officials in the relevant ministries to receive permission to continue training their officials. ¶D. The grantee's activities are sustainable enough to allow the GRC to continue the program after the end of funding. With the manual, it should be relatively easy to maintain a training program; however, since there is no central authority responsible for trafficking, it will be difficult to conduct anti-trafficking programs with the same intensity. The grantee is working in an environment where there is some buy-in from the working level GRC officials, but where high level GRC officials are unaware or unable to adequately respond to the calls for increased anti-trafficking activities. ¶E. The grantee is well qualified to run an anti-trafficking program. The ABA staff member is well known in the anti-trafficking circles in Cameroon, especially with her previous work with the International Labor Organization (ILO). There are no field offices and the only office has [about] 3 personnel. They are capable of handling the work required. ¶F. G/TIP may wish to expand the grant past the October 1 deadline to ensure that the training of the police, prosecutors, immigration officials and judges can be held. Furthermore, the grantee has requested additional funding ,if available, for the continuation of the program. ¶G. Yes, the program addresses the deficiencies identified in the country narrative of the TIP report: lack of coordination between the ministries responsible for trafficking and lack of information about how to investigate and prosecute suspected traffickers. Another major issue which is supposed to be addressed through this grant is nationwide GRC awareness about the anti-trafficking law and how it can be used to successfully arrest, prosecute and convict traffickers. ¶H. The grantee has done a commendable job of attracting working and high level GRC officials to participate in the roll out event and working group. This is a critical step to expand the GRC child trafficking law to include trafficking of adults. This program will also teach judges, police, immigration officials and prosecutors about trafficking laws and how to investigate and prosecute successfully. This project is sustainable and a good candidate for the continuation of funding. FOX