Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09PRETORIA1551
2009-07-31 07:48:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Pretoria
Cable title:  

G/TIP AMBASSADOR LUIS CDEBACA'S JULY 6-10 VISIT TO

Tags:  PREL PGOV KTIP PHUM SF 
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RUEHJO/AMCONSUL JOHANNESBURG 9388
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 PRETORIA 001551 

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV KTIP PHUM SF
SUBJECT: G/TIP AMBASSADOR LUIS CDEBACA'S JULY 6-10 VISIT TO
SOUTH AFRICA

REF: A. PRETORIA 298

B. PRETORIA 271

C. JOHANNESBURG 99


-------
Summary
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 PRETORIA 001551

SIPDIS
SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL PGOV KTIP PHUM SF
SUBJECT: G/TIP AMBASSADOR LUIS CDEBACA'S JULY 6-10 VISIT TO
SOUTH AFRICA

REF: A. PRETORIA 298

B. PRETORIA 271

C. JOHANNESBURG 99


--------------
Summary
--------------


1. (SBU) In his first country visit as G/TIP Director,
Ambassador Luis CdeBaca met on July 6-7 and July 9-10 with
South African government officials; police, prosecutors, and
judges; civil society organizations and G/TIP grant
recipients; and radio and newspaper reporters regarding the
country's efforts to combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP).
South Africa's recent removal from G/TIP's "Watch List"
reflects multiple areas of progress explored during the
visit: legislative groundwork, intersectoral coordination
mechanisms, law enforcement "task teams," awareness and
training programs, and victim care. Interlocutors
underscored, however, that more effort is still needed to
educate and energize law enforcement, to root out corruption,
and to acknowledge and address forced labor and labor
trafficking. Passage of the pending TIP law and criminal
convictions in ongoing TIP cases are particularly key
milestones in order for South Africa to remain off the Watch
List. End Summary.

--------------
EC: Slow Progress, Possible DoJ Lead
--------------


2. (SBU) As South Africa's main anti-TIP donor, European
Commission (EC) officials described their experience as a
mixed one, of start-up frustrations but also of outcomes due
this year at last. With total funding of 6.3 million euros
(US$ 9 million),the TIP program in South Africa is the EC's
largest worldwide, spanning four components of capacity
building, awareness, research, and intersectoral
coordination. Operations Head Gerard McGovern said the grant
format of funding created administrative headaches with the
National Prosecuting Agency (NPA)'s Sexual Offences and
Community Affairs (SOCA) unit, where the capacity of just two
TIP staff was limited. (When their boss was out of town, "it
all stops.") Now after much "handholding," said McGovern,
"we are over the hump and ready for action." By year-end,
the EC's awaited outcomes included extensive
train-the-trainer sessions, an accredited TIP curriculum,
sensitization of media and other stakeholders, and initial
research data.


3. (SBU) Program Manager Caroline Valette-Landry advised

that the programs' slow progress might cause the SAG to
elevate TIP organizationally, as well as prompt the EC to
reconsider its assistance. While the NPA had shown "strong
ownership" on TIP, its intersectoral coordination was
especially lagging. The EC felt a change was afoot, whereby
the Department of Justice (DoJ) would take over the lead on
TIP from the NPA. (Note: Later corroborated by the DoJ's
Advocate Shireen Said, this shift would be in line with the
more expansive coverage of the coming TIP law, which extends
far beyond the SOCA's gender violence focus. End Note.) For
the EC's part, an upcoming mid-cycle review would question
the continuation of funding to a mid-income country.
Valette-Landry was exasperated by the NPA's expectation that
the EC foot every TIP expense with no cost sharing. Noting
that current SAG budgets did not provide for TIP, despite the
pending TIP Bill's requirements, her view was that "foreign
donors shouldn't pour in more money until the South African
government invests some too."
Qgovernment invests some too."

--------------
TIP Law: SAG Hopes to Pass This Year
--------------


4. (U) Authorities assured us the pending TIP Bill could be
put to vote this year. The Bill's public comment period was
extended until the end of July due to robust volumes of
inputs and interest. Deputy Justice Minister Andries Nel
said the new Parliament was in recess after April's
elections, but the Minister would introduce the Bill for
debate after August, aiming to "have it in place by 2010."

PRETORIA 00001551 002 OF 005


Answering the Ambassador's concern that anti-TIP momentum
could drop off after the 2010 World Cup, Nel asserted the
contrary: "2010 is a catalyst, but this is a long-term
process requiring new structures -- and those will endure."
Law Reform Commission (SALRC)'s Lowesa Stuurman echoed Nel's
forecast, saying "The commitment is there.... (T)here is no
reason why it should not pass this year." Having seen other
bills bog down in implementation, Stuurman stressed that all
affected SAG agencies had been thoroughly consulted on the
TIP Bill to ensure advance agreement.

--------------
NPA's Inter-Sectoral Planning Plans
--------------


5. (SBU) The SAG's lead officer on TIP, the NPA's Advocate
Thoko Majokweni, hosted for the Ambassador's benefit a
special session of its Inter-Sectoral Task Team, presenting
interagency progress and priorities against TIP. EC-funded
research was about to commence, a third provincial task team
was launched, and a baseline study for an awareness campaign
was complete. The National Action Plan, (re-)launched in
May, had identified need areas such as data collection into a
central data base, improved border control, public awareness,
national coordination, strategies for international events
(like the World Cup),measures against corruption, witness
protection, public education, and regional coordination.
Team members from various SAG agencies, the International
Organization for Migration (IOM),and UN Office on Drugs and
Crime (UNODC) added remarks after the NPA's. Ambassador
CdeBaca concurred with the emphasis on interagency
collaboration.

--------------
"Task Teams": Promising, but Fledgling
--------------


6. (U) Kwa Zulu Natal (KZN) established the SAG's first
provincial task team, against the odds given widespread
ignorance on TIP, and KZN remains the jewel in the NPA's
crown. (Two task teams have followed in Western Cape and
lately in Limpopo, but the remaining six provinces lag far
behind.) Durban member and Organized Crime Unit (OCU) police
investigator Abi Dayanand said he stumbled upon the topic of
TIP in 2007, via a high-profile case of sexually exploited
Thai women. He and his colleagues educated themselves on TIP
using any source they could find, from NGOs to TV dramas.
They applied whatever statutes could stick, from heavyweight
organized crime acts to minor bylaws (like massage parlor
regulations). OCU's collaboration with local prosecutors and
social workers grew organically from individuals' shared
commitment. As the EC's Valette-Landry described, "KZN has
always been unique... you can see even in their body language
that they are a close-knit group."


7. (U) KZN's model will be hard to replicate and still faces
uphill challenges. Cooperation hinges on individual members'
passion and commitment, and interpersonal chemistry which
cannot be mandated from Pretoria. The team has only seven
police investigators across the province, who are not
full-time allocated to TIP but rather network informally on
their own initiative. Despite the complexity of TIP,
Dayanand says his OCU unit can only handle it on a "7:30 to 4
pm" basis. Advocate Val Lotan, the KZN team's pioneering
prosecutor, also stressed the need for TIP-dedicated
Qprosecutor, also stressed the need for TIP-dedicated
detectives. From both workload and ignorance, police failed
to dig deeply to differentiate between TIP and prostitution,
and hence the cases coming to light were only the "tip of the
iceberg." She also noted that better surveillance equipment
was required, since syndicates had evolved to a level of
sophistication beyond that of the police. Despite the
hurdles, Lotan was upbeat: "Give us six months -- set us a
deadline -- and we will produce results. We are already
doing so, with very limited resources."

--------------
Training -- Needs and Hurdles
--------------


8. (SBU) The need for expanded TIP education for government
officials, social workers, media, and the public on TIP was
commonly cited. Within the EC-funded initiatives, the IOM

PRETORIA 00001551 003 OF 005


has the lead on running train-the-trainers sessions and
drafting an accredited generalist curriculum. Within the
judiciary, the International Association of Women Judges
(IAWJ) is using G/TIP grant funding for an "interdisciplinary
event" to sensitize judges and magistrates. Embassy Pretoria
staffer Marcel Ramkishun noted that only DHS/ICE is offering
full courses of a law enforcement caliber, from lead
generation to investigation to intelligence gathering through
to trial testimony. Advocate Lotan cited such specialist
training as the number one need of prosecutors. Embassy
advisor Willie Pannell noted that the USG had contractually
committed -- via the Third Amendment to the Letter of
Agreement (ALOA) signed by the USG and SAG in September 2007
-- to provide anti-TIP training to South African police and
prosecutors under State/INL's Women's Justice and Empowerment
Initiative (WJEI),but INL was now retreating from areas it
felt belonged to G/TIP.


9. (SBU) Beyond training, sources cited a slew of hurdles to
police effectiveness, particularly widespread corruption.
Detective Dayanand said that many cops still stigmatized
prostitutes, not treating them as human beings. ICE's
Ramkishun warned of conflicts of interest, stemming from
racial divides within the force or police reliance on
brothels as informants. Police were allegedly regular
patrons of prostitutes, and some retired SAPS officers are
said to own and/or manage large brothels in cities like
Johannesburg. Ramkishun explained how corrupt immigration
officials canceled TIP victims' visas, so that police were
accused of harboring illegal aliens, with the result that
potential witnesses were deported at SAG expense.
Traffickers, notably Chinese syndicates, were believed to
wield great power within the police services. The
Immigration Liaison (SAIL) team at Johannesburg airport said
traffickers had agents within immigration, airlines, and
police. Corruption dampened political will to launch
undercover operations, and factions at the airport might work
against one another rather than together.

--------------
Victims' Assistance: From GBV to TIP
--------------


10. (U) South Africa's high prevalence of gender violence
has over time generated broad expertise in victims'
assistance, which is now being expanded and adapted to the
specific needs of TIP victims. Joan Groenwald of the DSD's
Victim Empowerment unit explained that DSD had drafted
guidelines for launch this month on care of victims of TIP
and domestic violence by service providers, which include 105
shelters registered by DSD of which all but nine are
privately run. (Note: the EC's McGovern said the UNODC had
provided 20 million euros to Victim Empowerment, and that the
NPA had received parallel funding from UNICEF.) DSD had also
submitted terms of reference to the NPA on victim
rehabilitation strategies, but it lacked funding to implement
such measures. Most foreign victims were repatriated, with
currently only one TIP victim remaining in the SAG's witness
protection program.


11. (U) The G/TIP visitors met with three U.S.-funded
organizations active in victims' assistance. The first was
Ikhaya Lethemba, a state-run USAID-funded center sheltering
QIkhaya Lethemba, a state-run USAID-funded center sheltering
all manner of women and children abuse victims, including TIP
victims under Victim Empowerment directives still being
drafted by local government. Local NGO Khulisa explained
that churches were the main haven for victims, although like
Ikhaya Lethemba they were only newly learning to recognize
signs of TIP. Under a State/DRL grant, Khulisa formed a
community collaborative in an inner-city neighborhood of
Johannesburg, to encourage awareness and networking among
service providers. Its data base of local services is a
model for a new DSD initiative to compile a National
Directory of anti-TIP resources. World Hope South Africa
(WHSA),a recent G/TIP grantee, will soon undertake
prevention training, awareness activities (such as roadshows
and theater),and training in aftercare, where WHSA uses
"life maps" and "memory books" as therapy tools to release
trauma.

--------------
2010: Strategies Underway

PRETORIA 00001551 004 OF 005


--------------


12. (U) The 2010 FIFA World Cup is spawning a flurry of
anti-TIP preparations, including an overall 2010 Strategy
under the NPA's auspices. Durban's Advocate Lotan described
awareness campaigns that would include billboards, videos and
films (including "Taken" and "Human Trafficking"),posters,
and community workshops. Local NGO and G/TIP grantee Molo
Songololo's Patric Solomons said Cape Town would have child
monitors in known hotspots like nightlife areas, taxi ranks,
and bus stations. He described a DSD-drafted 2010 Child
Protection Framework which FIFA would be asked to endorse
officially for SAG funding, since the SAG has yet to spend
any money on 2010 anti-TIP activities. Molo was lobbying the
Department of Education to stagger school closures and to
provide safe activities for idle kids. The DSD's Gyan
Dwerika described how this year's Confederations Cup had
provided a trial run for next year's World Cup, with
provinces drawing up action plans and mobilizing anti-TIP
teams. Guidelines were issued on how to identify children
being recruited, and police were trained as spotters of
suspicious activity. Police presence was visible around game
parks, complemented by on-site stewards and volunteers.

--------------
Forced Labor Remains a Blind Spot
--------------


13. (SBU) In a week of meetings amply demonstrating South
Africa's broad concern and commitment to combating TIP, the
one stand-out exception was denial of the problem by labor
authorities. The Department of Labor (SADOL)'s Deputy
Director General Les Kettledas cited the country's high rate
of unionization as a deterrent to TIP in large-scale formal
sectors such as mines or commercial farms. The International
Labor Organization (ILO)'s Regional Director Vic Van Vuuren
added that exporters steered clear of illegal practices for
fear of international boycotts. Van Vuuren said a nearly
unlimited supply of migrant workers came voluntarily,
especially from Zimbabwe, and exploitation on farms was a
greater issue than TIP. (The Ambassador noted that even
voluntary arrivals can fall prey to enslavement.) When a
subordinate pointed to past cases of domestic servitude,
Kettledas countered that South Africa's 600,000 domestic
workers were formally employed and heavily regulated, and
that the (unimplemented) Children's Act outlawed child TIP.
"We don't expect to find that phenomenon here," he said.
"It's not like Zambia."


14. (SBU) Pressure may build on SADOL to confront the
reality of forced labor. The subordinate silenced by
Kettledas later acknowledged to the Inter-sectoral Task Team
that the informal labor sector was a "monitoring gap."
Abuses were sometimes neglected on pretexts of cultural
practices or intra-familial "chores." (The Ambassador
remarked that such excuses are common when prosecutors simply
wish to drop a case, but they are easily rebutted.) Molo's
Solomons said there were "endless problems" getting labor
inspectors to do their jobs, and forced child labor was
rampant. Labor officers are in acutely short supply, and IOM
explained that inspectors' 18-question survey limited the
scope of their probes. Groups like Molo Songololo and IOM
continue to discover and document cases of forced labor,
Qcontinue to discover and document cases of forced labor,
however, and the NPA's Majokweni conceded to us that labor
TIP was under-investigated and underpublicized. Van Vuuren
has repeatedly urged the USG to fund an ILO program to boost
South Africa's woeful labor inspectorate (ref C).

--------------
Time to Move From Plans to Action
--------------


15. (SBU) COMMENT: South Africa is at a turning point,
where it must begin to translate planning into action. As
Ambassador CdeBaca commented, the time for meetings and plans
is past; it is time to achieve observable outcomes such as
victims rescued and criminals jailed. After signing the
Palermo Protocol on TIP in 2000, the country must urgently
push through passage of the TIP Bill. With no
trafficking-related case resulting in a sentence for TIP
offenders since mid-2006 (and prior to that in 1996),the NPA
must press for convictions and meaningful sentences for the

PRETORIA 00001551 005 OF 005


16 traffickers apprehended and charged in the last year. The
law and punishment of traffickers are essential milestones
for South Africa to remain off the G/TIP Watch List. The
Ambassador made very clear to the NPA's Majokweni that
countries can fall back as well as advance in those rankings.
End Comment.
CONNERS