DJIBOUTI: PROGRESS ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS, BUT

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 06 DJIBOUTI 001303

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
STATE FOR AF/E, G/TIP, AND PRM/AFR
JUSTICE FOR OPDAT

E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/11/15
TAGS: PGOV SMIG KTIP KCRM PREF ECON SO ET ER YM DJ
SUBJECT: DJIBOUTI: PROGRESS ON TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS, BUT
OVERWHELMED BY MIGRANT FLOWS

REF: 09 DJIBOUTI 1155; 09 DJIBOUTI 1053

CLASSIFIED BY: J. Swan, Ambassador; REASON: 1.4(B),(D)


1. (SBU) SUMMARY. During an October 17-21 visit, G/TIP Program
Officer discussed Djibouti's progress on combating trafficking in
persons (TIP) with GODJ officials, resident United Nations
agencies, and nongovernmental organizations. Since the passage of
a comprehensive anti-TIP law in late 2007, the GODJ has made
important progress in recognizing and combating TIP-for instance by
working with the newly-opened Djibouti office of the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) on a publicity campaign to
discourage irregular migration and to warn migrants of the dangers
of becoming a victim of TIP. GODJ officials uniformly welcomed
plans for a G/TIP-funded legal advisor to work with the Ministry of
Justice on TIP prosecutions, and requested that the USG consider
providing assistance in additional areas, including victim
protection. Many GODJ officials-while showing a nuanced
understanding of the differences between TIP and migrant
smuggling-emphasized that large and growing flows of voluntary
economic migrants transiting through Djibouti to reach Yemen and
the labor markets of the Gulf remained a key concern. A site visit
to the northern town of Obock-where up to 100 migrants reportedly
disembark for Yemen several days a week-highlighted the GODJ's
limited capacity to effectively manage and discourage this flow of
migrants, who clearly transit and leave Djibouti as voluntary
illegal immigrants, but who may well become trafficking victims
once they reach their destinations. END SUMMARY.



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FOREIGN AFFAIRS: WE KNOW THAT

TIP IS A PROBLEM-WHAT CAN YOU DO TO

HELP US COMBAT IT TOGETHER?

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2. (SBU) In an October 17 meeting , Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Director of Bilateral Relations Mohamed Ali Hassan welcomed current
USG technical assistance and requested additional collaboration,
highlighted current GODJ efforts to combat TIP, and stressed the
need for regional-level cooperation. Hassan hailed a planned
G/TIP-funded program to place a Department of Justice Office of
Overseas Prosecutorial Development, Assistance, and Training
(OPDAT) Intermittent Legal Advisor (ILA) with the GODJ's Ministry
of Justice to assist in TIP prosecutions as a good start, and said
that the MFA would be "very happy" to collaborate on this program.
Hassan urged that the OPDAT ILA's training target a "specialized
group" chosen from appropriate ministries, rather than focusing on
a more diffuse and general group of trainees. He also suggested
that any program consider resource requirements, such as computers,
for any newly-constituted anti-TIP units. "Training is good, but
resources are also needed," he said.




3. (SBU) Hassan requested that the USG consider additional
assistance on TIP, perhaps in the form of a one-or-two-year program
to build on the passage of Djibouti's anti-TIP law in 2007.
Djibouti is small, he added, and even a modest program could have
an important impact. One top priority for such a program, Hassan
suggested, could be protection for the most vulnerable women and
children, such as street children who may become involved in child
prostitution. Hassan said that he was personally dismayed to
occasionally find young children hanging around the vicinity of the
French military base. To help protect at-risk children, Hassan
said that the GODJ had developed an orphan sponsorship program.




4. (SBU) Djibouti is currently facing a "massive flux of people
leaving Somalia and Ethiopia," Hassan said. Although the GODJ can
work together at the national level, strong regional coordination
is needed to tackle this "huge task." The current
Djibouti-Ethiopia border commission serves more as a "political
tool" than as an "operational tool," and there is perhaps a need to
look at improving cooperation between border officials, for

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instance at the regional level. While the major flows of migrants
are transiting Djibouti voluntarily, Hassan noted that "illegal
migration and trafficking go together." In a separate meeting
October 18, Ministry of Foreign Affairs Director of Legal Affairs
Marie Natalis agreed that current large flows of migrants appeared
to be travelling through Djibouti of their own free will, and again
underlined the importance of working with the countries of origin
of illegal migrants-for example to find out why people are leaving,
and what can be done to retain them. She also pointed out that
Djibouti lacked good statistics on what cases of trafficking might
exist in country, such as data on child prostitution. In a
subsequent separate meeting, Hassan told Ambassador that Djibouti
had requested that trafficking be added to the agenda for the
Djibouti-Ethiopia Bilateral Commission-a Ministerial-level body.



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JUSTICE: PROGRESS ON PROSECUTION,

WELCOMING OPDAT ASSISTANCE

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5. (SBU) State Prosecutor Maki Omar Abdoulkader told G/TIP Program
Officer and PolOff October 17 that he was glad to know that the USG
made a clear distinction between migrant smuggling and TIP. In
Djibouti, Abdoulkader underlined, the majority of those transiting
the country were voluntary immigrants, some of whom were
facilitated by smugglers. Apart from this large majority, there
might be "very, very" rare cases of domestic workers becoming
victims of trafficking. Abdoulkader noted that judges understood
this difference too, and were reluctant to convict smugglers of
trafficking. There was a need to reorient the discussion on
trafficking in Djibouti, Abdoulkader said, and move it away from
the large voluntary migrant flows and back toward the likely very
small number of actual TIP victims. On migrant flows, Abdoulkader
said that the GODJ had seized approximately 16 boats and 50
vehicles from migrant smugglers in the past two years.




6. (SBU) Abdoulkader said that it was very rare for cases of
domestic servitude labor trafficking to reach the courts. In a few
"special " cases, abuses had come to light when the mistress of the
house accused a maid of stealing jewelry, and it came out in the
course of the investigation that the accusation had been made
primarily to avoid paying the maid her salary. Most domestic
servants in Djibouti are Ethiopian, Abdoulkader said, and some,
especially minors, could occasionally find themselves in
"precarious" situations. Although there was no pattern of
widespread abuse of domestics in Djibouti, Abdoulkader said that
there was a need to "shock" Djiboutians into complying with all
domestic service labor laws.




7. (SBU) On prostitution, Abdoulkader explained that there was in
general no real pimp system in Djibouti. Young boys are often
given tips by prostitutes for finding clients, but do not work
directly for the women. Likewise, prostitutes may go to clubs or
bars to meet clients, but they are not working for the club or bar.
More and more prostitutes are Djiboutian, whereas the majority used
to be Ethiopian, Abdoulkader said. Ethiopian prostitutes will
sometimes bring a sister or a cousin into the country to work in
their stead during an absence. Djiboutians are also increasingly
seeking employment in bars and clubs, which used to be staffed
primarily with foreigners. The Djiboutian justice system has
started to take a harder line on prostitution, with women picked up
for solicitation held for a week or longer instead of only for one
or two days.




8. (SBU) In a separate meeting October 21, President of the Court
of Appeals (and recent IVLP alumna) Habiba Hachin said that
prosecutions of pimp rings have been extremely rare, and have only
occurred when a murder case investigation coincidentally revealed
the existence of such a ring. Both Hachin and Abdoulkader noted

DJIBOUTI 00001303 003 OF 006


that there was no hard evidence on the prevalence of child
prostitution in Djibouti, with Hachin adding that "society would
denounce" such a phenomenon if it existed and was brought to light.
Hachin said that begging, including possibly forced begging
involving children, was a growing concern, and that the GODJ was
discussing a policy to address begging.




9. (SBU) Like Abdoulkader, Ministry of Justice Secretary-General
Abdi Ismael Hersi agreed that it was important to focus on the
difference between smuggling and trafficking. During an October 21
meeting, Hersi said that while the GODJ had prosecuted migrant
smugglers, several factors-such as large uncontrolled borders and
coastlines and lack of resources-had made it difficult to
adequately address the problem. Djibouti needs "gestures" from
its partners to face this issue, Hersi said. Migrants know they
will face hardships and dangers-including the risk of becoming
victims of trafficking-but choose to depart anyway, in hopes that
at their destination, they will "at least eat." Hersi suggested
that the Djibouti- headquartered Intergovernmental Authority on
Development (IGAD) could be an important forum for regional
coordination on migration issues, and stressed the importance of
immediate action. "We don't have the prisons, and we don't want to
fill them [with migrants]," he said.




10. (SBU) Hersi welcomed the planned OPDAT program. Beyond
prosecutions, Hersi said that victim protection was another
priority. Djibouti is a "fluid" society, with constant movement of
people, and there is a real lack of data on issues such as
prostitution, child begging, and other forms of TIP. Many people
come to Djibouti to seek work, Hersi said, but they are free to
come and go, and receive a salary. Hersi said that while
prostitution-and especially child prostitution-was illegal in
Djibouti, and a police vice squad existed to combat it, it was
possible that there were some children who became involved in
prostitution. Street children involved in begging, whether
accompanied by their parents or not, were especially vulnerable.
It's important to remain "vigilant" on this issue, he added. Hersi
acknowledged the political difficulty of providing comprehensive
health, education, and other benefits to foreign street children in
Djibouti, when "half" of the Djiboutian population is also
"suffering" and has no access to similar services. However, Hersi
underlined, the GODJ would not simply "cross our arms and watch,"
but was ready to work with UN organizations and local NGOs to raise
awareness and work with this vulnerable population.



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UN & NGOS: WE NEED BETTER DATA

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11. (SBU) Several interlocutors, including the Director of CARITAS
Djibouti (which runs a small drop-in day center for street children
in Djibouti City, the only facility of its kind in country) and
UNICEF Protection Project Officer Fathia Omar Hassan, underlined
the need for better data on the numbers and situations of street
children in Djibouti. During an October 18 meeting, Hassan said
that UNICEF was currently developing the terms of reference for a
national consultant study on street children. She estimated that
there may be 2000-3000 street children total in Djibouti. In
addition, Hassan said that UNICEF estimated that there were
approximately 33,000 Orphans and Vulnerable Children (OVC) in
Djibouti, of whom 5,000 were HIV/AIDS orphans. UNICEF and the
Ministry of Women Promotion have collaborated on a pilot project to
assist 700 OVCs with a school kit, health care, and vocational
training. UNICEF also helps fund the work CARITAS does with street
children. During a site visit to the CARITAS center, EmbOffs noted
the limited reception capacity of the drop-in center, which serves
about 50 children. There is no overnight facility or shelter for
street children in Djibouti. Both CARITAS and UNICEF
representatives noted that while most street children were of
foreign (Ethiopian or Somali) origin, there were also Djiboutian
children who ended up living on the streets.

DJIBOUTI 00001303 004 OF 006


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UNHCR: PROTECTION ISSUES FOR ERITREANS,

AND FOR REFUGEE GIRLS AND WOMEN

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12. (C) UNHCR Representative Ann Encontre told G/TIP Program
Officer and PolOff October 21 that the GODJ continued to provide
protection to a growing group of Eritrean deserters/defectors.
There were currently 188 deserters/defectors being held at Nagad
detention center, Encontre said, and small groups of 7-11 people
continued to leave the battalions stationed at the border and cross
into Djibouti. All have been recognized as refugees, and are being
interviewed by the JVA, she said. With UNHCR's assistance, the
GODJ is providing the deserters/defectors with basic needs, such as
food, clothing, health care, recreation opportunities, and one
phone call a month home. G/TIP Program Officer explained that the
USG was examining whether parts of the Eritrean government's
open-ended national service program met the definition of TIP.
Encontre said that after the outbreak of hostilities on the
Djibouti-Eritrea border in June 2008, about 20-30 Eritrean refugees
working in Djibouti City asked to be returned to the refugee camp
at Ali Addeh, for their own protection.




13. (SBU) Encontre said that asylum-seekers turned away from the
twice-a -week formal screening process conducted by UNHCR and the
GODJ refugee agency ONARS (National Office for Refugees and
Disaster-Stricken People) on no-man's land near the
Djibouti-Somalia border post at Loyada likely sought to enter
Djibouti illegally through mountainous areas along the southern
border. Those travelling this route risked being exploited by
smugglers, Encontre said, while women faced the danger of rape.
Encontre said that it was common for refugee families living in
Djibouti to send their daughters to work in Djibouti City as
domestic servants. These girls were often sent to work after
completing primary school, and their wages went towards paying for
the education of boys in the family. Encontre said that it was
difficult to determine if such situations ever constituted TIP, as
the girls were generally paid. To help fill important data gaps,
UNHCR is in the process of recruiting two staff members to start
work on a data base of sex workers in Djibouti. While there may be
girls as young as 12 or 13 in prostitution, Encontre said that
there was no reliable information to confirm this. Encontre
praised the recent opening of the Djibouti IOM office, but noted
that while IOM had been trying to reinvigorate a National Task
Force on Migration, for the moment it was not operational.



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THE VIEW FROM OBOCK AND GALAFI:

SCARCE RESOURCES OVERWHELMED

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14. (SBU) EmbOffs made a site visit to the Ethiopia-Djibouti border
point at Galafi on October 19. GODJ officials at the border
crossing told EmbOffs that they were inadequately staffed, with 10
border staff covering traffic of approximately 1,000 vehicles a
day. About 20-30 of these vehicles are private, while the
remainder are trucks plying the route between Ethiopia and the Port
of Djibouti. Officials reported good collaboration between the
Djiboutian police and army to apprehend migrants; although all
noted that once the GODJ stepped up patrols along one area of the
border, illegal migrants simply switched to another route. Illegal
migrants very rarely if ever attempted to use the legal border
crossing at Galafi. Officials also said that apprehended migrants
turned back over to Ethiopian authorities often attempted to cross
into Djibouti again, sometimes on multiple occasions. Most
migrants were adults, all agreed. The youngest children seen were

DJIBOUTI 00001303 005 OF 006


normally about 15, and were accompanied by family members, although
one official said that he had recently seen one child who appeared
to be about nine. The route from the Djibouti-Ethiopia border to
Obock is difficult, and is often traversed by foot, making the trip
impractical with younger children. EmbOffs visited an
IOM-furnished containerized border unit building, which was not yet
in use. The GODJ is to provide furniture, while IOM is responsible
for providing a generator. An IOM employee later confirmed that
IOM is working to procure the generator.




15. (SBU) On October 20, G/TIP Program Officer and EmbOffs met with
the Prefet of Obock, and visited sites north of Obock which
migrants use as jumping off-points for the voyage to Yemen. In
Obock and in Djibouti City, EmbOffs viewed IOM-GODJ billboards
warning migrants of the dangers of irregular migration, including
the risk of becoming a victim of trafficking or dying in a
shipwreck. The billboards were in three languages (Amharic,
Somali, and English) and featured easy-to-understand picture
messages. Obock is one of Djibouti's smallest regional capitals,
and boasts little indigenous economic activity. Prefet Omar
Mohamed told EmbOffs that he remained very concerned about the
security and health risks posed by large and increasing flows of
migrants traversing Obock. For instance, he was concerned about
cholera being transmitted from migrants to the local population,
especially as migrants often begged for food in neighborhoods, and
were given food on dishes which might not be properly sanitized
before the next use. He also noted that two local young men had
recently been charged with the rape of migrant women. There had
been huge flows of migrants during Ramadan, Mohamed said, when
border officials in the Gulf are perceived to be more lenient and
less attentive. Currently, up to 200 people a night were paying up
to 100 USD to depart from Obock, he said. (NOTE. During a
subsequent visit to Obock, Mohamed told Ambassador that flows had
decreased to 100 people every two to three nights, in response to
stricter controls from the Yemeni government, which was concerned
about some migrants being recruited to fight for rebel groups upon
arrival in Yemen. END NOTE.)




16. (SBU) Mohamed said that most migrants were from the Welo region
of Ethiopia, and that many were ethnic Oromo. Most are trying to
get to Saudi Arabia or onward to other labor markets, and many were
willing to make multiple attempts to get there, or even to return
if they were deported. There were sometimes skilled workers or
even university-educated people in the migrant flow, Mohamed said.
The vast majority of migrants were adults, but he had recently
occasionally seen children as young as nine or ten, he said. While
the army, police, and gendarmerie were working together to deal
with the migrant flow, Mohamed said that increasingly, the cost of
feeding and deporting migrants-using Prefecture resources-had made
it cost-prohibitive to apprehend them. They should really be
stopped at the entry point to Djibouti, Mohamed underlined. Those
apprehended merely try again, he noted. There is a need for
greater cooperation with Ethiopia, the main source country for
migrants.




17. (SBU) On the coast approximately 23km north of Obock, EmbOffs
saw one recently washed-up cadaver from a shipwreck, and several
fresh graves. Mohamed said that shipwrecks in the overloaded boats
were very common. Any Djiboutian smugglers merely lead the
migrants to the water, Mohamed said, with Yemenis or others
responsible for the boat transport. There are never any life
preservers, and migrants-who largely stem from inland
regions-rarely know how to swim. Recently, he told EmbOffs, 25
people had died in a shipwreck from which 25 people were also
rescued. After seeing and even helping bury the dead, another
group of migrants still decided to depart for Yemen the next day.
Mohamed said that migrants had already risked everything to make
the journey, and were determined to go forward with their plans,
even when they knew very well what risks were involved. The
military generally assumed responsibility for burying bodies washed
up from shipwrecks, Mohamed said. Plastic gloves were used, and
officials attempted to bury the bodies as soon as possible to
protect public health. Nevertheless, he said that he was concerned
that hyenas were opening fresh graves. EmbOffs saw at least one
grave that appeared to have been opened by an animal. All the
graves were in sandy soil at the edge of the beach.

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COMMENT

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18. (SBU) In concrete actions, willingness to collaborate with
international partners, and an ever-growing awareness among senior
officials, Djibouti has shown encouraging progress in fighting TIP.
GODJ officials increasingly understand the complex differences
between trafficking and smuggling, and want to combat both
problems. While large transit flows of voluntary economic migrants
continue to strain resources, the GODJ also acknowledges the need
for more data on Djibouti's likely small number of actual TIP
victims-including vulnerable women and children who may become
victims of commercial sexual exploitation or domestic servitude.
While the GODJ likely still fears that providing very attractive
services to street children may create a "pull effect," it also
understands that protection for this vulnerable group is an
important part of combating TIP and other associated social ills.
The GODJ has welcomed current modest USG assistance on TIP (in the
form of a planned OPDAT legal advisor),and would clearly be
receptive to additional programming with international partners.
END COMMENT.
SWAN