G/TIP FY07 PROGRAMS: MONITORING REQUEST - ETHIOPIA

UNCLAS ADDIS ABABA 000047 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR AF/E, AF/RSA, G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM STATE PASS USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ASEC ELAB KCRM PHUM PREL SMIG KWMN KTIP ET SUBJECT: G/TIP FY07 PROGRAMS: MONITORING REQUEST - ETHIOPIA REF: A) 08 STATE 104394 ¶1. (U) Per reftel, this cable provides monitoring information for the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons' (G/TIP), USD 324,000 grant to Project Concern International (PCI) to support the Government of Ethiopia (GoE) in the identification, rescue, assistance to and referral of trafficking (TIP) victims. The project began July 17, 2008 and will conclude July 17, 2010. The total expenditure during this first 5.5 month reporting period was USD 3,575.52. ¶2. (SBU) The PCI Country Representative, Mr. Walleligne Alemaw, the PCI Project Manager, Mr. Aytenew Meheret, and the Multi-Purpose Community Development Project Ethiopia Executive Director, Ms. Mulu Haile, provided EconOff requested information on PCI's activities under the G/TIP grant during a December 23, 2008 site visit and follow-up telephone conversations. ¶3. (U) Grantee's general activities to meet the goals and objectives of the grant proposal: Under the terms of its G/TIP grant, PCI committed to improving the delivery of victim protection and assistance services for both children and adults and to increasing the prosecutions in Ethiopia of human trafficking perpetrators. By the end of the two-year funding cycle, PCI also seeks to have improved cooperation and coordination among key anti-TIP stakeholders, such as civil society organizations (CSOs), non-governmental organizations (NGOs),and the GoE. ¶4. (U) Over the course of the grant's first and second quarters (through January 16, 2009),PCI hired a project manager and met its specific commitments to collect baseline assessment information and draft terms of reference for consultants to implement a number of PCI's goals (including developing the baseline assessment, finalizing a performance monitoring plan (PMP),developing family tracing and reintegration protocols and training modules, training of victim support unit (VSU) officers, and building data collection capacity in civil society organizations). Little progress has been made on PCI's other objectives under the grant, such as assisting GoE ministries in developing action plans, orienting CSO networks on TIP concerns, strengthening cooperation between VSUs and civil society service providers, providing funding for the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) to disseminate TIP information, or assisting the national TIP taskforce in its coordinating functions. ¶5. (SBU) Special issues or problems the grantee has encountered: Recent turnover at the MOJ's highest levels (both the Minister and the Deputy Minister were changed) "derailed" some of PCI's programming efforts to date, according to the PCI Country Representative. In addition, current NGO law requires that the MOJ vet sub-grantee agreements and partnerships among and between NGOs (such as PCI and MCDP). Over the past three months, PCI's Country Representative and TIP Project Manager have unsuccessfully lobbied via fax, e-mail, mail and office appointments to obtain appropriate MOJ sub-grantee agreement review and co-signature. As a result of MOJ's non-responsiveness, PCI has not been able to launch vital regional coordination committees that aim to partner with regional courts and local CSOs to train regional judges and prosecutors on national and international anti-TIP legal instruments. PCI also has not been able to secure MOJ's approval of a justice capacity building sub-agreement. ¶6. (SBU) PCI's operating context, sustainability of grantee activity: High unemployment and extreme poverty in Ethiopia have helped make Ethiopia a country of origin for internationally trafficked women, to a lesser extent men, and a growing number of children. Trafficking also occurs within the country's borders. While the GoE has signed many international treaties and conventions designed to protect children, GoE lacks the resources to enforce effectively its child protection and anti-trafficking laws. In addition, a GoE inter-ministerial taskforce on TIP has not met since June 2007. The GoE, CSOs, and international organizations likewise have not prioritized the prevention and mitigation of the effects of "internal" TIP. Due to a recent decrease in its anti-TIP funding, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) will only be able to provide PCI with limited support for public awareness campaigns and the repatriation of international trafficking victims. PCI's project is designed to strengthen cooperation between governmental and non-governmental organizations on internal TIP, and to develop systems to provide a long-term, sustainable response in the face of this growing challenge. However, as above, the MOJ's internal vetting processes have inhibited PCI's ability to facilitate communication and coordination among anti-TIP entities. PCI's activities may be more sustainable if it can reinvigorate the inter-ministerial taskforce. ¶7. (SBU) Grantee's capacity and qualifications for its current activities and location: PCI has more than 30 years of experience managing grants, contracts and cooperative agreements from USAID in a variety of countries, and has the requisite familiarity with U.S. Government reporting procedures. In Ethiopia, PCI has firmly established itself as a leading voice in the network of anti-TIP NGO's, and enjoys positive working associations with nationally and internationally recognized NGO stakeholders, such as MCDP and FSC/E. PCI seeks, via its MCDP partnership to establish satellite offices along trafficking routes and destinations in the Amhara, Oromiya and Southern Nations, Nationalities and People's (SNNPR) regions. While currently delayed, PCI's staffing plan appears to be tailored to achieve its commitments under the G/TIP grant. PCI still must hire a TIP training coordinator, as well as an outreach/reintegration coordinator. PCI's Country Representative, Regional Director and Senior Technical Officer provide managerial support, oversight, and technical assistance. ¶8. (U) Recommendations for G/TIP grantee assistance: --Support PCI to resolve MoJ's inaction or find alternative means to implement its grant. For example, while PCI cannot provide monetary sub-grants to NGO partners without MoJ approval, it can engage in (and self-finance) capacity efforts that include short forums, workshops, and training that draw together a cross-section of police officials, prosecutors and relevant NGOs. PCI can also provide staff and service support to NGO partners in-kind, as long as there is no inter-organizational monetary exchange. --Encourage PCI to hold an official launch event or open-house to generate good will and to educate and inform stakeholders of PCI's role in supporting Ethiopia's anti-TIP efforts. --Impress upon PCI that it must accelerate its "staffing up" and enhance outreach efforts beyond its current headquarters by hiring as quickly as possible its training and outreach/reintegration coordinators. The current Project Manager has been consumed with start-up administrative tasks (including document drafting, consultant recruitment and follow up with the MoJ),but outreach must begin. ¶9. (SBU) How the activities address key deficiencies in Ethiopia's anti-TIP work: To improve victim protection and assistance, PCI will need to increase identification and interception of victims by assisting government ministries in the development of action plans specific to their sectors and significantly expanding the number of CSOs able to intervene. PCI will also need to identify resources to hire outreach workers to proactively intercept TIP victims and refer them to organizations specialized in the provision of temporary housing and other services. PCI is also appropriately focused on increasing the capacity of prosecutors and judges to effectively prosecute traffickers by helping the MOJ to train prosecutors and judges along critical trafficking routes. ¶10. (SBU) Summary of the grantee's overall performance: PCI has the both the national and international reputation to grow and sustain its anti-TIP work in Ethiopia. The staff currently in place appears to be sufficiently knowledgeable about their operational context, barriers and challenges. While PCI Ethiopia has been limited from formalizing sub-grantee partnerships, however, it has been slow to develop alternative (or at least interim) programming, and therefore, as highlighted, has under-delivered in these first two quarters. YAMAMOTO