Identifier
Created
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09BANGUI54
2009-02-27 12:32:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Bangui
Cable title:  

CAR: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 2009 REPORT

Tags:  KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB CT 
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FM AMEMBASSY BANGUI
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E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB CT
SUBJECT: CAR: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 2009 REPORT

(U) Overview of CAR's activities to eliminate Trafficking in
Persons:


A. Sources of information

The Ministry of Family and Social Affairs, the Ministry of Labor
and the Ministry of Justice and some NGOs are the main sources
of the limited information on trafficking in persons. With
UNICEF's assistance, the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs,
and the Ministry of Labor respectively developed a National
Action Plan for the Prevention of Child Sexual Abuse and the
Protection for Victims of Abuse in 2007, and conducted a
nationwide study on Child Labor Related Violence in twelve
regions out of sixteen in 2008. In the absence of other reliable
data and estimates on trafficking in person in CAR, these
sources are reliable.


B. The Central African Republic is a source and destination
country for children trafficked for force labor and sexual
exploitation. While the majority of child victims are trafficked
within the country, some are also trafficked to and from
Cameroon, Chad, Nigeria, Congo Brazzaville and the Democratic
Republic of Congo. Children are trafficked for domestic
servitude, sexual exploitation, and forced labor in shops and
commercial enterprises. No data or estimates are available as
the country has no active program to monitor immigration and
emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking or to screen for
potential trafficking victims along its borders. Although
Central African authorities are planning some measures to fight
the trafficking in persons on their territory, the general
population does not feel that there is evidence of major
trafficking networks operating in or throughout the Central
African Republic. The groups most at risk of being trafficked
are children for forced labor and girls for sexual exploitation
in urban centers.

There was no notable change in the TIP destination. However, the
study conducted on Child Labor Related Violence in twelve
regions of the country, whose results were published in June
2008, showing the magnitude of child labor in CAR and its
consequences was the notable effort during the rated period.



C. What kind of conditions are the victims trafficked into?

As noted above, most trafficked children are mainly used for
domestic servitude, agricultural, mining and commercial
activities, sometimes by members of their own family. The
children are initially welcomed in the family for the purpose of
pursuing their studies, but are later trafficked for labor or
for the income they generate. This practice is particularly
notable in the diamond mining sector in the CAR.


D. Vulnerability to TIP.

The groups most at risk of being trafficked are children for
forced labor and girls for sexual exploitation in urban centers.


E. Traffickers and methods:

The Central African Republic is a source and destination country
for children trafficked for forced labor and sexual
exploitation. While the majority of child victims are trafficked
within the country, some are also trafficked to and from
Cameroon, Chad, Congo- Brazzaville, the Democratic Republic of
Congo, Togo and Nigeria. Children are trafficked for domestic
servitude, sexual exploitation, and forced labor in shops and
commercial labor activities. Perpetrators of these types of
trafficking are usually from the local Nigerian, Cameroonian and
Togolese business communities. Some victims are from the
traffickers' family members or sometimes sold by their family.


24. SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS.


A. The Central African Government acknowledges that trafficking
in persons is a problem in the country. The Central African
Government set up an Inter-Ministerial Committee to Fight Child
Exploitation. This inter-ministerial committee is made of the
following ministries: Family and Social Affairs, Justice,
Interior, Agriculture and Rural Development, Defense,
Communication, National Education, Civil Service and Labor and
Foreign Affairs.


B. The above mentioned inter-ministerial committee has
responsibility to design the anti-trafficking in person's
national policy. The Ministry of Family and Social Affairs have
the leading role in this committee.


C. The Central African Government's lack of financial resources
available for anti-trafficking efforts is the primary constraint
to address the problem effectively. For instance, the Ministry
of Justice developed a training program on trafficking in
persons for its personnel at the National School for
Administrators and Magistrates in 2005. This program was not
implemented due to the CAR Government's financial constraints.
The National Action Plan developed by the Ministry of Family and
Social Affairs with UNICEF's assistance has been submitted to
various donors for funding, but it, too, will depend on generous
outside support if it is to be implemented by the government.
The government lacks the resources to aid victims.


D. As of now, the Central African Government's anti-trafficking
efforts are limited to the establishment of the
inter-ministerial committee to fight various forms of
trafficking in persons, along with one high-profile child
trafficking arrest and investigation. Some awareness campaigns
have been conducted by the Ministry of Family and Social
Affairs. The most recent action is a study on Child Labor
Related Violence conducted in twelve of 16 regions of the
country. This study whose results were published in June 2008
was sponsored by the Ministry of Family and Social Affairs and
the Ministry of Labor. This study helped understand the
magnitude of this problem, particularly in mining, agriculture
and other informal activities.


25. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS.


A. Since the last TIP report the Central African Government did
not enact the legislation under preparation since 2006. The
draft of the new penal code integrating prohibitions for all
forms of human trafficking prepared by the ministry of Justice
was reviewed by a committee of experts, but has still to be
approved by the council of ministers.
With regard to law enforcement efforts to combat TIP, the CAR
entered into bilateral agreement with Cameroon on August 24,
2006 to combat transnational crime including trafficking in
persons. At a regional conference held in Abuja, Nigeria in July
2006, CAR also adopted the ECCAS/ECOWAS Multilateral Agreement
and an Action Plan to combat TIP.


B. Punishment of sex trafficking

The current Central African Penal Code includes law repressing
various forms of human trafficking and covers both national and
external forms of trafficking in persons. The penalties are:

Imprisonment from five to ten years in case of rape and forcible
assault, and when the victim is less than 18 years old, the
penalty is hard labor.


C. Punishment for labor trafficking offenses

Prescribed and imposed penalties include the same penalties for
trafficking for labor exploitation such as forced or bonded
labor, and involuntary servitude: five to ten years
imprisonment. Post has no data on the number of convicted
persons of trafficking offenses.


D. Prescribed penalties for rape or forcible sexual assault

The Central African Penal Code provides for three months to two
years imprisonment. When the victim is less than 18 years, the
penalty is three to five years depending on the circumstances.


E. Law enforcement statistics

According to the prosecutor, cases against traffickers are rare.
However, one Nigerian man was arrested in December 2007 with two
accomplices attempting to buy a girl. Central African
authorities announced the arrest and investigation of the three
men on trafficking charges. During 2008, the Criminal Court
sentenced the Nigerian man to two years prison and his
accomplices to respectively one year and six months. The current
penal code was used in this case.


F. Specialized training programs for government officials

The Central African Government did not provide any specialized
training programs for government officials in how to recognize,
investigate and prosecute instances of trafficking. For
instance, labor inspectors and other enforcement officials
constantly reported that they are not provided the resources
needed to identify and investigate trafficking cases.


G. Cooperation with other governments

With the exception of prevention effort at the regional level,
although the Central African Government signed several regional
and international conventions to combat trafficking in persons,
the cooperation with other governments in the investigation and
prosecution of trafficking remains limited during the reporting
period.


H. Extradition of person charged with trafficking

No one charged with trafficking in persons has been extradited
to another country from the CAR. However, as result of signing
several agreements and ratifying many international conventions
prosecuting various forms of trafficking, Ministry of Justice
officials claim that the Central African Government will abide
by these commitments and should extradite traffickers when
required.


I. Evidence of Government involvement

There is no evidence of Central African Government officials'
involvement or tolerance of trafficking on a local, national, or
international level.


J. N/A


K. Prostitution

Prostitution is widely tolerated in the Central African
Republic, though it is not regulated. Prostitution is not a
criminal offense under Central African laws, nor is operating a
brothel. Although prostitution is not regulated, Central African
laws protect minor of less than 18 years old from engaging in
prostitution. Any person over 18 years old can freely engage in
prostitution.


L. N/A


M. N/A


26. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS

At the exception of the current Penal Code, there is no specific
law enacted to protect victim and witnesses.


B. Victim care facilities

The Ministry of Family and Social Affairs operates a shelter for
children in distress called Centre de la Mere et de l'Enfant
with the capacity to house 35 orphans and children in distress.
Once these children reach the age of five, the government refers
them to the SOS village d'Enfants and other NGOs. SOS Village
d'Enfants is active in CAR since 1992. As of today this NGO is
taking care of 111 children aged from 0 to 20 years old.
Sometimes children in distress are welcomed by religious
institutions. It is possible that some of these children are
victims of TIP. However, there is no evidence that there are
trafficking victims among them.

The level of funding of private from these organizations is not
known.


C. Services provided to victims.

Due to its financial resources constraints, the Central African
Government does not provide any form of funding or particular
support to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to victims.

Paragraphs D&E: Assistance to foreign trafficking victims: No
such assistance is available.


F. N/A


G. The total number of trafficking victims is not known.


H. At present, the Central African Government does not have any
formal system of identifying victims of trafficking. The Central
African government is in the process of modifying the country's
penal code to include legal specific provisions to repress
trafficking. In the meantime, the Inter-Ministerial Committee on
Trafficking adopted a National Action Plan, which has not yet
been implemented. Major measures in this plan include
prevention, prosecution and protection of victims.

I .Rights of victims

According to the Ministry of Justice officials, the rights of
victims are respected. Trafficking victims are not detained,
jailed, fined nor prosecuted.


J. Trafficking victims are encouraged in principle to assist in
the investigation and prosecution of traffickers. Victims can
file civil suits to seek damages from traffickers but this is
rarely done. The Central African Government has no official
victim restitution program in place.


K. Central African Government does not provide at present any
specialized training in recognizing trafficking for Government
officials. Central African embassies and consulates personnel in
foreign countries do not benefit from any training program
focused on trafficking protection and assistance.


L. Central African Government does not provide any assistance to
its nationals who are repatriated as victims of trafficking.


M. There is no international organization or NGOs with such
specific programs in place. UNICEF is the major international
organization and principal Central African partner for
protecting trafficking victims and raising trafficking issues.
UNICEF assisted the Government in raising awareness on the
existence of TIP in the Central African Republic and in
preparing the Government's National Action Plan. The Central
African authorities cooperated in conducting the first study on
the issue of trafficking in 2005. Note that UNICEF's financial
assistance was crucial for the recent study on the Children'
Labor Related Violence in 12 regions out of 16 of the country
whose final conclusions report was published in June 2008.


27. PREVENTION


A. The Central African Government acknowledges that trafficking
is a problem in the country. During the past years the
Government took some measures including the set up of an
Inter-Ministerial Committee to Combat Trafficking of Children.
The Ministry of Justice drafted a new Penal Code integrating new
provisions targeting trafficking in persons. The Central African
Republic entered into agreement with Cameroon on August 24,
2006, to combat transnational crime including trafficking in
persons. The CAR adopted also during the same year the
ECCAS/ECOWAS Multilateral Agreement and Action Plan to combat
TIP. However, no notable progress was recorded during the
reporting period in terms of adopting specific law repressing
TIP. As each year, the major event was the awareness campaign
organized at the occasion of the celebration of the African
Children day during the month of June.

Notable new anti-trafficking efforts to be mentioned during the
reporting period were:

--The publication of the results of study on the Children's
Labor Related Violence, sponsored by the Ministry of Family and
Social Affairs and the Ministry of Labor during the month of
June. This study focused on the child labor in agricultural,
mining, commercial activities and showed the magnitude of the
problem and its consequences on the children schooling.
--A workshop on the new forms of slavery in the Central African
Republic, organized by l'Observatoire Cerntrafricain des Droits
de l'Homme, (OCDH) a local NGO active in the promotion of human
rights in CAR in October 2008. This workshop objective was to
sensitize selected audiences to the issue and encourage the
adoption of specific legislation on trafficking in persons. More
than 120 participants representing key ministries members of the
Inter-Ministerial Committee to Combat Trafficking of Children,
National Assembly members and NGOs involved in the human rights
promotion attended this workshop.


B. The Central African Republic has no active program to monitor
immigration and emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking
or to screen the potential for trafficking victims along its
borders. The Central African Government does not fully control
its land borders at this time, and there is no evidence
suggesting major trafficking networks are operating in or
through the Central African Republic.


C. Mechanism for coordination and communication: The
Inter-Ministerial Committee to Fight Child Trafficking, composed
of 9 ministry representatives, is playing the leading role of
coordination and communication among various interested partners
in the fight against trafficking in persons in the CAR. This
inter-ministerial committee is tasked:

--To lead awareness campaign on the various forms of child
trafficking;
--To propose to the CAR Government necessary institutional
reforms to eradicate child trafficking.
--The Inter-Ministerial Committee is tasked with working to
involve other national and international organizations in the
process including interested NGOs and international partners;
--To develop and oversee national anti-trafficking efforts in
the areas of prevention, prosecution and protection.


D. Action Plan: The Central African Government adopted an Action
Plan to Combat Child Sexual Exploitation and Abuse including sex
trafficking in September 2006. It also adopted another Action
Plan to address the different forms of trafficking in persons.
This action plan prepared with UNICEF assistance was adopted in
January 2007 during a special workshop attended by members of
the inter-ministerial committee as well as interested NGOs. This
plan has not yet been fully implemented.


E. Measures taken to reduce demand for commercial sex acts: the
Central African Government did not take any particular measure
to reduce demand for commercial sex acts.


F. Measures to reduce participation in international child sex
tourism by national of the country: Sex tourism is unknown in
the CAR.


G. CAR did not contribute any peace keeping troops during the
rating period.

Post's contact on trafficking is: David Wisner,
Pol/Econ Officer and Philippe Makendebou, Economic Specialist.
Tel: 236 61 02 00; Fax: 236 61 44 94.
Number of hours spent in the preparation of this report by:

POL/ECON Officer: Cameron McGlothlin/David G. Wisner: 10 hours
ECON Specialist: Philippe Makendebou-Tende: 35 hours


COOK