Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09NOUAKCHOTT158
2009-02-22 10:27:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Nouakchott
Cable title:  

MAURITANIA 2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERONS (TIP) REPORT

Tags:  ELAB KCM KTIP KFRD KWMN PGOV PHUM PREF SMIG ASEC 
pdf how-to read a cable
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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHNK #0158/01 0531037
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 221007Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY NOUAKCHOTT
TO RUEHC/SECTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8155
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLCTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNMGH/MAGHREBCCLLEECTIVE PRIORIY
RUEHDO/AMEMBASSY DOHA PPIIRRTT 444Q
UHQO
AEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0473
RUEHFR/AMEBQSSY PARIS PRIORITY 0819
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID PRIORITY 2015
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN PRIORITY 0489
RHMFISS/HQ USAFRICOM STUTTGART GE PRIORITY
RHMFISS/COMSOCEUR VAIHINGEN GE PRIORITY
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS PRIORITY
RUEHDS/USMISSION USAU ADDIS ABABA PRIORITY
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO PRIORITY 0533
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0924
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NOUAKCHOTT 000158 

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR G/TIP, G-ACBLANK, USAID, AF/RSA, AF/W, INL, DRL, PRM, AND
G-ACBLANK

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB KCM KTIP KFRD KWMN PGOV PHUM PREF SMIG ASEC
MR
SUBJECT: MAURITANIA 2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERONS (TIP) REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 NOUAKCHOTT 000158

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR G/TIP, G-ACBLANK, USAID, AF/RSA, AF/W, INL, DRL, PRM, AND
G-ACBLANK

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB KCM KTIP KFRD KWMN PGOV PHUM PREF SMIG ASEC
MR
SUBJECT: MAURITANIA 2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERONS (TIP) REPORT


1. (SBU) Per reftel instructins, post submits the following
information on Mauitania for the Ninth Annual Trafficking in
Persos (TIP) Report. POC for this report is Political fficer
Nitza Sola-Rotger, phone: (222) 525-2660 xt 4404,
sola-rotgern@state.gov.


2. (SBU) MURITANIA'S TIP SITUATION


A. Mauritania is a souce and destination country for children
traffickd for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Slavey,
rooted in a traditionnal caste system and ancetral master-slave
relationships, continues to exst in pa rts of the country.
Mauritanian boys called talibe are trafficked within the country by
religious teachers for forced begging. Children are also trafficked
by street gang leaders within the country and forced to steal, beg,
and sell drugs. Girls are trafficked internally for domestic
servitude and sexual exploitation. There were reports that girls as
young as six years old were married to wealthy men in Gulf states,
where they are subject to domestic servitude or sexual exploitation.
Mauritanian children may also be trafficked for forced agricultural
and construction labor, herding, and for forced labor in the fishing
industry within the country. Boys from Mali and Senegal are
trafficked to Mauritania by religious teachers for forced begging.
Senegalese and Malian girls are trafficked to Mauritania for
domestic servitude. Senegalese, Malian, Ghanaian, Chinese, and
Nigerian women and girls may be trafficked to Mauritania for sexual
exploitation.


B. The Government of Mauritania does not fully comply with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is
making modest efforts to do so, despite limited resources. In 2007,
the Mauritanian government took the significant step of enacting new
anti-slavery legislation; however, efforts in 2008 to enforce the
new law remained limited. Government victim protection programs need
to be developed. Awareness-raising initiatives should be

strengthened and expanded.


C. Recommendations for Mauritania: Increase efforts to prosecute
trafficking and slavery offenses; revise the 2007 anti-slavery law
to facilitate the filing of complaints by slaves, such as by
permitting NGOs or other advocates to file written complaints on
their behalf; increase efforts to train police to identify
trafficking victims among females in prostitution and children in
conflict with the law; place greater emphasis on investigating and
combating sex trafficking, particularly that involving children; and
educate local government officials about the importance of enforcing
laws prohibiting slavery and trafficking.


3. (SBU) Prosecution


A. In 2008, the Government of Mauritania made limited progress in
the enforcement of trafficking and anti-slavery legislation.
Mauritania prohibits all forms of trafficking through its 2003 Law
Against Trafficking in Persons, which prescribes penalties of five
to 10 years imprisonment -- penalties that are sufficiently
stringent and exceed those prescribed for rape. In August 2007,
Mauritania's National Assembly unanimously adopted a law
criminalizing slavery, which entered into force in February 2008.
This law defines slavery and prescribes an adequate penalty of five
to 10 years' imprisonment. It supplements a 1981 anti-slavery
ordinance that failed to prescribe penalties or define slavery and
it repeals a provision in the ordinance compensating slave owners
for the liberation of their slaves. To date, the new legislation
has yielded no prosecutions. The new law requires that a slave file
a legal complaint before a prosecution may be pursued. The law does
not permit such complaints to be filed on behalf of slaves by NGOs
or other advocates. Because many slaves are illiterate and unable
to complete the paperwork to file a legal complaint, such
provisions, which apply to civil actions as well, severely handicap
the law's effectiveness. Moreover, NGOs report that since the
passage of the new law, local officials with knowledge of slavery
cases have failed to enforce it or have manipulated the system to
protect masters from prosecution. Victims were pressured by
masters, family members and law enforcement officials to withdraw
their accusations and return to their master's home. Others broke
free from the slave-master relationship but their masters were never
prosecuted and the government did not grant victims any
compensation, protection, or assistance.


B. In 2008, the government established special courts to try
trafficking cases and a police brigade dedicated to investigating
crimes against children, especially trafficking. Nevertheless,
according to the Ministry of Justice, there were no trafficking
prosecutions in 2008.


4. (SBU) Protection


A. The Government of Mauritania engaged in limited efforts to
protect trafficking and slavery victims. The $7.5 million promised
by the Prime Minister in 2007 to enhance the 2008 budget for
combating slavery and to assist former slaves' reintegration into
society has produced no visible results. In 2008, the government
did not provide shelter, food, limited medical care, and job
training to former slaves as promised in 2007. Slavery victims only
received protection and shelter from NGOs.


B. The six Nouakchott centers funded jointly by UNICEF and the
government to provide care to indigent children, many of whom were
talibe, have closed. The government recognizes the exploitation of
talibe children but has no national strategy to combat it. It is
also aware of the trafficking of talibe children into Mauritania
from other regions but is not taking any measures to curtail it.


C. January 2008 marked the completion of a Ministry of Justice
program conducted in partnership with UNICEF and the government of
the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to compensate and repatriate
Mauritanian children trafficked to the UAE as camel jockeys.
According to UNICEF, the UAE -- with the cooperation of the
Mauritanian government -- compensated 497 child jockeys with amounts
between 260,000-1,560,000 ouguiyas ($1,000-$6,000) per child.


D. The government does not encourage victims to assist in
trafficking investigations or prosecutions.


E. Mauritania does not provide legal alternatives to the removal of
foreign victims to countries where they face hardship or
retribution.


F. There were reports of networks of traffickers profiting from
illegal immigrants wishing to enter Europe. Many victims were lured
into Mauritania under false pretenses and abandoned in the country.
Illegal immigrants were placed in a detention center in Nouadhibou
where conditions are extremely harsh.


G. Victims are inappropriately incarcerated, fined, or otherwise
penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being
trafficked. The government places children in jail for stealing or
engaging in commercial sexual activity, while many of them are
likely trafficking victims who have been forced into these
activities.


H. There is no national strategy to address the problem of girls
working as domestic servants as well as their sexual exploitation.
The government does not recognize the problem of girls trafficked to
Gulf states through child marriage.


5. (SBU) Prevention

A. The Government of Mauritania engaged in limited efforts to raise
awareness of trafficking during the last year. The Ministry of
Justice stated that it conducted and funded a nationwide public
awareness campaign about slavery with a focus on educating judges
and law enforcement officials about the new anti-slavery law. As
part of this campaign, the Ministry of Justice sent a directive to
officials ordering them to bring slavery cases before the law and
sent delegations to each region of Mauritania to meet with local
officials, explain the new law, and raise awareness about
administrative, civil and penal sanctions for not enforcing it.
Local NGOs said they were not aware of such a campaign. They were
also critical of government efforts. According to them, the
government has reverted to the use of euphemisms like
"slavery-related practices" and "the consequences of slavery"
instead of "slavery." For them, this terminology denies the problem
of slavery in Mauritania.


B. In May 2008, the Ministry of Justice and UNICEF hosted a
trafficking in children seminar to raise awareness about this
problem among judges and law enforcement officials.


C. The child jockey compensation program has a prevention component
that provides 260,000,000 ouguiyas ($1 million) towards a social
reinsertion and poverty reduction program for the children and their
communities. The program is funded by the UAE but implemented by
the government in cooperation with UNICEF.


D. In November 2008, the Ministry of Labor and the International
Labor Organization organized a National Forum on Fundamental Labor
Principles and Rights to promote action plans for the adoption of
the International Labor Organization Declaration on Fundamental
Principles and Rights at Work.

WALSH