AN INTERIM ASSESSMENT OF MALI'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS

UNCLAS BAMAKO 000005 SENSITIVE SIPDIS C O R R E C T E D COPY SIGNATURE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PHUM PREF SMIG ASEC ML SUBJECT: AN INTERIM ASSESSMENT OF MALI'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS REF: BAMAKO 00312 BAMAKO 000707 1.(SBU) Summary: On December 16 and 17 the Embassy met with local NGOs to discuss efforts by the Malian government to combat child trafficking. NGOs described the Malian government as a good-faith partner but said specific weaknesses within the Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and Families (MPFEF),together with the Justice Ministry's failure to detain or prosecute suspected traffickers, were hampering efforts to combat child trafficking and care for trafficking victims. One of the NGOs also provided details on as yet unreported cases of child trafficking in Mali. A December 31 meeting with the MPFEF underscored the lack of communication between various government ministries regarding TIP, but we have been encouraged by a receptive response as we begin to raise the issue with line action ministers. End Summary. -------------- ENDA Tiers Monde and Mali Enjeu -------------- 2.(U) ENDA Tiers Monde and Mali Enjeu are the two largest NGOs working to combat child trafficking in Mali. Both organizations work closely with Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and Families (MPFEF),which takes the lead in government efforts to combat child trafficking, as well as with UNICEF, which supports the MPFEF in coordinating TIP activities. The two NGOs also work more broadly to address the underlying factors of child trafficking, and provide informal schooling and education campaigns to vulnerable children in different regions. In addition, ENDA and Mali Enjeu assist with repatriation of victims of trafficking both within Mali and regionally, as well as children considered to be "in difficulty". 3.(U) ENDA is a founding member of the Fode Yaguine Action Network (RAFY) which regroups NGOs fighting child trafficking and child labor across West Africa. ENDA was the main force in Mali behind the March 2008 repatriation of 24 Guinean children, found together with two Malian children, allegedly trafficked by itinerant Koranic masters in the Malian town of Kita (Ref. A). ENDA received support from UNICEF to provide informal schooling, educational materials, and health care to vulnerable children in 2007 but received no UNICEF funds in 2008. 4.(U) Mali Enjeu operates temporary shelters for child victims of trafficking in Sikasso, Mopti, Segou, Koulikoro, Kayes, and Bamako. Mali Enjeu also conducts research and provides schooling and vocational training for at-risk children. Like ENDA, Mali Enjeu participates in regional NGO networks fighting child trafficking and labor. As part of a current agreement with UNICEF, Mali Enjeu receives funding and in-kind support for the repatriation of trafficking victims and to conduct public awareness campaigns. UNICEF representatives credited Mali Enjeu with having helped repatriate 250 children, victims of trafficking and children "in difficulty", and having reached a total of 2500 individuals via public awareness campaigns conducted in several regions. -------------- Mixed Reviews for Malian Government -------------- 5.(U) ENDA representatives praised the Malian government for instituting educational reforms that have reduced the number of Malian trafficking victims. ENDA said Mali's nation-wide effort to maximize the enrollment of school age children was one of the best ways to combat child trafficking and child labor. 6.(SBU) ENDA was less enthused about coordination with the MPFEF's office for the protection of children. The NGO described coordination with the MPFEF's Direction National for the Protection of Women and Children, which is the focal point for child trafficking and exploitation issues within the Ministry, as poor. Because the Ministry lacks sufficient funds, ENDA and other NGOs must finance the travel costs and per diem of some Ministry officials in order to secure official government participation in NGO sponsored counter-trafficking activities. One ENDA staff member said NGOs are effectively forced to cover the costs of travel, lodging, and per diem for Ministry officials because NGOs cannot operate independently of the Malian government. 7.(SBU) According to ENDA, the Malian government frequently asks NGOs to finance the repatriation of child trafficking and exploitation victims. This practice places a serious financial burden on NGOs and often results in lengthy delays. "It handicaps our activities," said one ENDA staff member. 8.(U) Mali Enjeu was less critical of Malian government efforts to combat child trafficking and labor, stating that, while much remained to be done, the government had made some progress. Mali Enjeu noted that Mali is a member of the ECOWAS committee to counter child trafficking. Mali Enjeu holds one of the NGO representative seats in this committee and therefore attends its annual meetings. Because Mali Enjeu currently receives funds from UNICEF to support its activities, it is better able to shoulder the costs of coordination with the MPFEF. 9.(U) Mali Enjeu also praised the Malian government for creating a national steering committee against child trafficking (CDN)in 2006 following the creation of Mali's 2006 National Plan Against Child Trafficking. The Plan's main components consist of international collaboration to facilitate the repatriation of victims; public awareness campaigns; and improvement of the legal and administrative framework regarding trafficking. The CDN is comprised of thirteen ministries as well as NGO and civil society representatives, totaling 43 members. The Committee convened five times in 2008, but representatives of Mali Enjeu provided no concrete actions undertaken by this committee. 10.(U) Mali Enjeu said the absence of regional or local committees associated with the national level CDN has impeded progress toward implementing Mali's 2006 National Plan. Both ENDA and Mali Enjeu also said the Malian government needs to bolster efforts to arrest and prosecute suspected traffickers. -------------- New Trafficking Cases -------------- 11.(SBU) ENDA informed the Embassy of one previously unreported child trafficking case in Mali, and two cases involving the rescue of trafficked Malian children in neighboring countries. The case in Mali involved 7 children from Burkina Faso trafficked by a Koranic master in Bamako. ENDA assisted with the repatriation of 7 children back to Burkina Faso in early December 2008. No charges have been filed against the alleged suspect, who remains at large in Bamako. ENDA indicated that the Koranic master was known to Malian authorities but that an arrest was unlikely due to the "sensitive" nature of the case. 12.(U) ENDA is also working to finalize details regarding the return of 22 Malian children recently rescued in neighboring Burkina Faso, and 7 Malian children rescued by Nigerien authorities in Niger on December 19, 2008. 13.(U) In 2008 ENDA assisted with the repatriation of 15 Malian children from abroad, and the repatriation of 46 children from Mali to their countries of origin. Another 23 children of various nationalities are currently in Mali awaiting repatriation. ENDA considers an unspecified number of these as children "in difficulty" as opposed to trafficking victims. -------------- Judicial Failures -------------- 14.(SBU) A consistent criticism among NGOs was Mali's failure to arrest, detain, or prosecute suspected child traffickers, as highlighted by the release of trafficking suspects in Kita and Sikasso earlier in 2008(Ref. B). ¶15. (SBU) A December 31 meeting with the MPFEF's Direction National for the Protection of Women and Children underscored the Malian government's reluctance to prosecute even known traffickers. Regarding the individuals who were released in Kita after being arrested with more than two dozen mostly Guinean children, MPFEF officials claimed all but one of the suspects were only marginally involved. An MPFEF official in charge of children's issues in Kita said Malian authorities were "waiting for the Guinean government to finish its investigation" before prosecuting the ringleader and others. However, no timeline for this "investigation" either on the Malian or Guinean side was available. -------------- Comment: Specific Recommendations for Mali -------------- 16.(SBU) As one of the ten poorest nations in the world, Mali lacks the resources needed to institute a robust campaign against child trafficking. Mali's resource constraints, however, are not so severe as to preclude Malian authorities from taking greater steps to combat child trafficking. Two areas for improvement emerged during discussions with local NGOs: improved Ministerial coordination and renewed commitment by judicial authorities to apply already existing laws regarding TIP. 17.(SBU) One vehicle for improved coordination between the various core Ministries charged with fighting child trafficking and exploitation would be a re-energized national committee against child trafficking (CDN). In December we raised this issue with the Minister of Security, who was receptive to our concerns, welcomed efforts to promote coordination at the highest levels, and offered the support of his Ministry. We intend to raise the same issue with the Minister for the Promotion of Women, the Minister of Labor, and the Minister of Justice shortly. 18.(SBU) The second area for improvement is a sincere commitment on behalf of the Ministry of Justice and judicial authorities to arrest suspected traffickers and prosecute them to the fullest. Weaknesses within the Malian judiciary extend well beyond the issue of trafficking in persons, and it is difficult, or often impossible, for Ministry officials to ensure that independent judges across the country apply the laws as written. The decisions taken by judges in Kita and Sikasso in 2008 to release trafficking suspects pending trial dates that will likely never be set provide an example of the dilemma facing Justice Ministry officials in Bamako. Improving Mali's reporting network for child trafficking cases, which would ensure close supervision from Bamako over decisions taken by judges in the hinterlands, could provide one mechanism for remedying this problem. 19.(SBU) On the positive side, the Director of the International Labor Organization (ILO) program in Mali credited the Malian National Assembly for creating a commission charged with drafting a law specifically condemning child trafficking. Current Malian penal law criminalizes child trafficking, but the ILO program director stated it is insufficient in combating the problem of trafficking. There is no indication of when this commission will finish drafting the proposed legislation. The ILO also commended the National Assembly for "almost" ratifying a list of the worst forms of child labor and expressed optimism that the list would be could be passed in 2009. LEONARD