Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09LUSAKA768
2009-11-03 05:00:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Lusaka
Cable title:  

G/TiP: KEEPING ZAMBIA ENERGIZED

Tags:  PHUM PGOV PREL KWMN KOCI SMIG SOCI PREF ZA 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6851
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLS #0768/01 3070500
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 030500Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY LUSAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7408
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 000768 

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/S, G/TIP STEPHANIE KRONENBURG

PROGRAM

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KWMN KOCI SMIG SOCI PREF ZA
SUBJECT: G/TiP: KEEPING ZAMBIA ENERGIZED

REF: 09 LUSAKA 102, 08 LUSAKA 1100

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 000768

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/S, G/TIP STEPHANIE KRONENBURG

PROGRAM

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KWMN KOCI SMIG SOCI PREF ZA
SUBJECT: G/TiP: KEEPING ZAMBIA ENERGIZED

REF: 09 LUSAKA 102, 08 LUSAKA 1100


1. (SBU) Summary/Action Request: Zambian authorities and civil
society are energized around efforts to operationalize the 2008
Anti-Human Trafficking Act and 2009 Anti-TiP Policy, interlocutors
impressed upon G/TiP Reports Officer Stephanie Kronenburg during her
October 12-17 visit. With prevention messages clearly getting out,
2010 will be a crucial year to test Zambia's resolve to consolidate
Tier 2 status through implementation of sustainable victim
protection and prosecution programs. Action Request: Post requests
G/TiP consideration of FY2010 INCLE and ESF fund allocation to
harness Zambia's forward momentum on anti-TiP and prevent
backsliding. End summary/action request.



--------------
Anti-TiP: STRUCTURE AND STUMBLING BLOCKS
--------------


2. (SBU) Having admitted that it has a trafficking problem (Ref A)
and decided to put itself firmly on the road to recovery, Zambia is
designing the architecture to render the 2008 Anti-Trafficking Act
and 2009 Plan of Action effective. Ministry of Home Affairs Deputy
Director of Research and Planning Esau Mashow and his team briefed
G/TiP Reports Officer Kronenburg and Emboff on the ongoing creation
of Zambia's national anti-TiP steering committee, chaired by Home
Affairs. The GRZ envisions a flexibly thin structure to oversee and
monitor National Plan implementation, and will draw upon the
cross-sectoral expertise of civil society organizations for
protection and prevention roles, Esau said.


3. (SBU) The anti-trafficking effort has spurred revision of other
legislation, particularly acts relating to child welfare, Law
Development Commission officer Sharon Williams told Emboff
separately. Zambia is in the midst of a project to look at
child-related legislation through an anti-trafficking lens, she
said, and drafts of adoption and other codes will soon make their
way through Parliament.


4. (SBU) Despite Zambia's efforts to put a competent national
structure in place to combat trafficking in persons, lack of

practical knowledge and budget remain formidable stumbling blocks.
Opposition MP Chishimba Kambwili, who has been outspoken on
trafficking issues, expressed fear that the anti-TiP Act could start
to gather dust if police investigators lack training on
evidence-gathering, prosecutors are unaware of how to get
convictions under the Act, and the government fails to allocate
funds to operationalize the legislation. Kambwili's fears were
echoed by Zambian government counterparts and NGOs alike.


--------------
POLICE AND PROSECUTIONS
--------------


5. (SBU) With passage of the new anti-trafficking law, Zambian
authorities are monitoring the ability of police and prosecutors to
take full advantage of its provisions to punish traffickers.
Zambian Police Victim Support Unit (VSU) National Coordinator
Tresford Kasale (himself a beneficiary of RSO-sponsored
anti-trafficking training at ILEA in Botswana in 2007, one of 18
police and immigration officers to receive such training since 2005)
and Esau Mashow of Home Affairs pointed out that the legislation
is a powerful tool -- if investigators and prosecutors know how to
use it. Kasale noted with satisfaction that Zambian Police have
benefited from IOM-run training and that efforts would be made to
ensure officers would be assigned to border posts or otherwise apply
their skills.


6. (SBU) Kronenburg and Conoff met one such officer at the Sakania
border crossing with the DRC. Police Officer in Charge Peter Mbewe
had attended training while working with the Ndola VSU and brought
both anti-trafficking knowledge and provocative posters to his new
border assignment. (Note: Mbewe was one of seven officers assembled
by Officer in Charge Ernest Chanda on Immigration headquarters
notice, a sign that the border postings have both an interest in
anti-TiP and take their jobs seriously. End note). Mbewe observed
that victim counseling is key to securing prosecutions. Chanda
added that anti-trafficking awareness helps avoid exploitation by
traffickers of his calm post where officers rely mostly on picking
strange faces out of routine border crossers.


7. (SBU) While VSU experience and G/TiP-sponsored IOM training make
a difference, Zambia is still building a core contingent of trained
officers, and allocation of those human resources to appropriate
posts is spotty. At the much busier Kasumba-Lesa crossing, none if

LUSAKA 00000768 002 OF 002


the officials had gone through VSU training. Worse still, none was
aware of provisions of the new law calling for victim protection.


8. (SBU) Whereas Zambian authorities previously had to cobble
together various elements of the penal code to levy some form of
deportation notice or fine on traffickers, Home Affairs contacts
note, the new 2008 Act defines the elements of a trafficking crime
and provides for punishment.


9. (SBU) Zambian courts are just starting to hear cases under the
new legislation. A Namibian citizen is currently being tried under
charges of trafficking children to Namibia for farm and domestic
labor. Note: Zambian Social Welfare officials plan a visit to
these children following Embassy inquiries into the case. End note.


--------------
"BREAK THE CHAIN" - PREVENTION AND PROTECTION
--------------


10. (SBU) While the GRZ is formulating its overall comprehensive
prevention-oriented media strategy, recent "Break the Chain"
campaigns, including a radio soap opera (Ref A) already seem to have
made an impact. A group of female high-school students from the
government-run Chibote School clearly articulated their role as
anti-trafficking sensitization "Community Ambassadors" and had a
lively exchange with Kronenburg at the American Corner in Kitwe.
The students were joined by representatives from the YWCA, which
plays a major role as government partner in victim protection.


11. (SBU) Visits to secure YWCA shelters for victims of gender
violence and trafficking in Lusaka and Kitwe highlighted the
importance of the IOM-sponsored hotline in victim referrals and the
need for additional shelters. GRZ Social Welfare Director Rose
Matupo said that the GRZ envisions the establishment of shelters in
eight of Zambia's nine provinces, with initial emphasis on border
areas. In the meantime, the government relies on YWCA facilities.


-------------- ---
PROOF IN THE THREE P'S: KEEPING ZAMBIA ON TRACK
-------------- ---


12. (SBU) Comment: While GRZ and NGO interlocutors energetically go
about implementing the Anti-TiP Act, we are still in the optimistic
phase where it seems that only good can prevail in the fight against
traffickers. IOM, ILO, UNICEF and RSO training are helping to
create a cadre of professionals well-versed in basic prevention,
prosecution and protection anti-TiP skills.


13. (SBU) Keeping that momentum up and ensuring that Zambia keeps
out of the watchlist category means mustering available resources at
a time when political will and public interest are high. Zambia
needs to deliver on promises to provide more comprehensive victim
support and develop the skills needed to successfully investigate
crime and prosecute traffickers. To this end, Post advocates
consideration of Zambia in the list of countries eligible for FY2010
ESF and INCLE funding to complement work being done both under the
UN Joint Program and with current G/TiP resources. End comment.


14. (U) Stephanie Kronenburg was not able to clear this cable.

BOOTH