NIGERIA: NOMINATION FOR 2010 WOMEN OF COURAGE

UNCLAS ABUJA 002145 SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/FO, AF/W, INR/AA, S/GWI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KWMN KPAO PHUM KTIP PINR NI SUBJECT: NIGERIA: NOMINATION FOR 2010 WOMEN OF COURAGE AWARD REF: STATE 111471 ¶1. U.S. Mission nominates Veronica K. Umaru for the 2010 Secretary's Award for International Women of Courage. ¶2. Mrs. Veronica Umaru serves as National Coordinator of the Women Trafficking and Child Labor Eradication Foundation (WOTCLEF). Under Mrs. Umaru's leadership, WOTCLEF has undertaken awareness and advocacy activities to draw attention to the plight of Nigerian women and children trafficked for prostitution and child labor. WOTCLEF serves as a model of a people-driven, non-governmental organization. ¶3. Mrs. Umaru's expertise in advocacy, including media outreach and enactment of legislation, has raised awareness and mobilized citizens to fight human trafficking in their communities. WOTCLEF has succeeded in influencing policy change to address modern day slavery and human trafficking. Beginning in 1999, WOTCLEF led Civil Society groups to sponsor an anti-trafficking bill, ultimately enacted in 2003, which established the Nigerian Government's anti-trafficking agency, the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons (NAPTIP). This agency prosecutes traffickers and shelters, trains, and re-integrates rescued victims, transforming them into "survivors." ¶4. Popularly known as "Mummy" by many of her clients, Mrs. Umaru also operates a shelter that provides refuge for rescued young women for as long as six months. Besides providing a nurturing environment, the shelter trains women in skills that enhance their employment career options, thereby reducing the possibility of resorting to prostitution. ¶5. In the 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report. Nigeria attained Tier 1 ranking, only the second Sub-Saharan African nation to do so. From before its inception, Mrs. Umaru has served as the inspiration and energy for NAPTIP and continues to work as an active stakeholder in the agency's prevention, prosecution, and protection efforts that have made a genuine difference in the lives of women and children in Nigeria. ¶6. U.S. Mission, which has not yet informed Veronica K. Umaru of this nomination, will forward additional details when they become available. Mrs. Umaru is a Nigerian citizen. Her office address is 22/24 Third Avenue, 34 Crescent, Gwarinpa, Nigeria, her cellular telephone number is 234-0803-408-1183, and her e-mail address is wotclef@yahoo.com. ¶7. The Mission's Point of Contact for this nomination is Political Officer Ann Flynn (e-mail address: flynnac@state.gov; office telephone number 011-234-9-461-4245). SANDERS