TRAFFICKED UGANDANS REPATRIATED FROM IRAQ

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002403 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KTIP KWMN KLPM PHUM PREL ELAB SMIG UG IZ SUBJECT: TRAFFICKED UGANDANS REPATRIATED FROM IRAQ ¶1. SUMMARY: (SBU) From August 18-30, the Embassy and MNF-I, with the assistance of the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the GOI, successfully repatriated 14 women to Uganda who had been trafficked into Iraq for the purposes of labor exploitation. The women had escaped from their employers in July and sought refuge at Camp Victory. During their time in Iraq, the women alleged that they were subjected to involuntary confinement, physical abuse, and in one instance, sexual assault. As a result of the allegations, the GOI initiated both a criminal and a human rights investigation that to date have resulted in the issuance of two arrest warrants. While the case has provided the GOI an opportunity to demonstrate its commitment to addressing its trafficking problem, it has also revealed gaps in the GOI's capacity, particularly in the area of providing temporary shelter to trafficking victims. We will encourage the GOI to take steps to rectify this deficiency. END SUMMARY. -------------- Ugandans Trafficked to Iraq -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Over the period July 4-29, 14 women with Ugandan nationality made their way in small groups to Camp Victory, with allegations that they had been the victims of physical abuse and involuntary confinement at the hands of their employers and requested temporary shelter on the base. On July 9, the Iraqi Major Crimes Task Force (MCTF),including members of the FBI, traveled to Victory Base to interview the women. During these and subsequent interviews, the women stated that they were hired by a Ugandan company (Uganda Veterans Development Ltd.) to work as domestic employees in Iraq. The women said that they were told that they would work on U.S. military bases, although the MCTF determined that no USG contractors or sub-contractors were involved in bringing them to Iraq. Based on information provided by Uganda Veterans Development, the company sent more than 100 persons to Iraq to work as domestic laborers from April 2008 to June 2009. ¶3. (SBU) Upon their arrival to Iraq, the women were met by representatives of an Iraqi company called SOS, which worked with Ugandan Veterans Development. The women claimed that they were then sent to work as domestic employees for private Iraqi families throughout Baghdad and that the wages they received from the families were much lower than what they had ;been promised. Moreover, a majority of the women alleged that at some point either SOS or the Iraqi family for whom they worked held them against their will by locking them in a room. Five of the women said their passports had been confiscated either by SOS or their Iraqi host family. The women also claimed that on multiple occasions they were provided little food or water, and many alleged that an SOS employee physically beat them when they went to complain about their treatment by Iraqi families. Several claimed physical abuse by the Iraqi families. One woman stated that she was raped by a member of the family for whom she worked; she is now pregnant. -------------- GOI Takes Action -------------- ¶4. (SBU) From the outset, the GOI took a leading role in providing assistance to the victims and in conducting a judicial investigation. On July 10, the Minister of Human Rights, Wijdan Selim, assigned the GOI's interagency trafficking coordinator, Dr. Sa'ad Fatahallah, along with Dr. Mohammed al-Obeidi to work with the Embassy on the case. Both Dr. Fatahallah and Dr. al-Obeidi attempted to liaise with the MFA to establish direct communication between the Qwith the MFA to establish direct communication between the GOI and the Government of Uganda (GOU) for the purposes of obtaining travel documents for the women in order to facilitate their repatriation. This process proved cumbersome given that the GOU does not currently maintain an embassy in Iraq. To facilitate the process, Embassy Baghdad and Embassy Kampala served as a go-between for the two governments, and temporary travel documents acceptable to both governments were obtained with the assistance of the IOM through the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC). On July 19, Dr. al-Obeidi traveled to Camp Victory to meet with the women and to gather information for an official report that was subsequently presented to the Minister of Human Rights. ¶5. (SBU) On July 15, an Iraqi investigative judge affiliated with the Iraqi Major Crimes Task Force, traveled to Camp Victory to investigate the allegations of physical abuse and sexual assault. To date, the investigation has resulted in two Iraqi arrest warrants and one Iraqi search warrant. One of the arrest warrants was for the Iraqi owner of the company SOS and the other was for the individual accused of rape. BAGHDAD 00002403 002 OF 002 Subsequent to the warrants being issued, the owner of the Iraqi company was taken into custody without incident and released on bail. Concurrently, the search warrant for his business headquarters was executed and evidence seized. He is now awaiting trial and the evidence is being reviewed. The individual accused of rape is presently in fugitive status and the GOI is actively seeking his arrest. -------------- Lack of Capacity Revealed -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Notwithstanding the GOI's forthright reaction in addressing an apparently large trafficking operation within its borders, the GOI continues to lack the capacity to provide temporary shelter to large numbers of trafficking victims. After the first Ugandan women arrived to Camp Victory, Poloff raised with the Minister of Human Rights the possibility of the GOI assuming responsibility for the room and board of the victims as the initial judicial investigations were ongoing. The Minister was candid about the fact that the GOI generally and the Ministry of Human Rights specifically did not have such a capacity. Poloff suggested inclusion of the creation and resourcing of a trafficking victims shelter in the anti-trafficking legislation that the GOI is currently drafting. The Minister expressed support for this idea, but cautioned that it did not have support throughout the GOI. ¶7. COMMENT: (SBU) The GOI's productive engagement with the Embassy on this case represents a positive step in addressing the trafficking issue in Iraq. We will continue to monitor the investigation into the Iraqi company SOS and encourage the GOI to examine the possibility that additional Ugandan women may be in Iraq and in need of assistance as trafficking victims. We will also encourage the GOI to pass comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation and establish a facility that can be used to assist trafficking victims in the future. END COMMENT. HILL