SOUTH AFRICA CONFIDENT OF TIP LAW PASSAGE IN 2010

C O N F I D E N T I A L PRETORIA 002567

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: DECL: 12/11/2019
TAGS: PREL PGOV KTIP SF
SUBJECT: SOUTH AFRICA CONFIDENT OF TIP LAW PASSAGE IN 2010

Classified By: Political Counselor Walter N.S. Pflaumer for reasons 1.4
(b) and (d).


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Summary
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1. (C) South African officials are more optimistic than ever
that the long-awaited Bill providing comprehensive provisions
for preventing and combating Trafficking in Persons (TIP) is
nearing passage by Parliament. Extended consultations with
the public and civil society groups caused delays in 2009,
exacerbated by government turnover in a national election
year. The consensus now, however, is that the Bill will be
voted on when Parliament reconvenes in (late) February, and
South Africa should have a TIP Law by the end of March. The
Justice Ministry, source of the Bill, is committed to having
a Law in place before the 2010 World Cup. Post will continue
our advocacy efforts until the Bill is passed. End Summary.

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SAG Consensus: TIP Law in 2010
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2. (C) SAG officials have expressed confidence the TIP Bill
will be passed in early 2010. Ms. Dellene Clark of the Law
Reform Commission (SALRC),the body which wrote the Bill,
told a Nelson Mandela Children's Fund forum (septel) she was
confident the Bill would go to a vote in the next session of
Parliament. Clark said she understood anti-TIP activists'
frustration over the long holdup, but delays were due to
thorough public consultations which would in future ensure
the Bill's speedy and effective implementation. (Note: other
SALRC officials have told us they learned from the errors of
the Children's Act, where implementation is stalled because
costs and obligations were not fully dimensioned. End Note.)
An officer of the South African Embassy in Washington told a
G/TIP officer the Bill had been delayed by administrative
hurdles in 2009 (i.e. national elections introducing a new
crop of inexperienced MPs),but she was "convinced" the Bill
would be passed when Parliament reconvened in (late) February.


3. (C) Most significantly, an insider from the SAG ministry
responsible for introducing the Bill privately assured us
that the Minister will do so at the very next opportunity.
Poloff met on December 11 with Advocate Shireen Said, officer
in charge of Promotion of the Rights of Vulnerable Groups
(which includes the TIP mandate) within the Office of the
Director General, at the Department of Justice and
Constitutional Development (DoJCD). Said confided that the
TIP Bill was the "number one priority" on the DoJCD's
legislative agenda, and hence it would be the first Bill the
Justice Committee would introduce to Parliament in its 2010
session. (Please close hold: she noted that she and her
Deputy Minister Andries Nel had been summoned in late October
to a closed-door Cabinet session reviewing the Bill, in
preparation for the 2010 passage.) Her comments echoed Nel's
own assurances to G/TIP Ambassador CdeBaca in July 2009, when
Nel said the Minister aimed to have TIP legislation in place
by 2010.

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Post Advocacy Opportunities
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4. (C) Said suggested Embassy lobbying could be helpful in
adding impetus to the SAG's already real sense of urgency. An
informal breakfast between senior emboffs and Deputy Minister
Nel would be a suitable follow up to the Nel-CdeBaca
breakfast, an opportunity to reiterate our strong desire to
see the TIP Bill passed, and the USG's interest in offering
interagency support to the SAG's counter-TIP efforts.
Further, senior poloffs could lobby Ngoako Ramatlhodi, Chair
QFurther, senior poloffs could lobby Ngoako Ramatlhodi, Chair
of the parliamentary Justice Committee, again stressing our
interest in seeing the Bill moved to the parliamentary floor
without delay. Thirdly, Said encouraged emboffs to attend
(along with TIP officers of the UN Office on Drugs and Crime)
at the Justice Committee's deliberations, where although
outsiders were not invited to speak, their presence would
register their continued interest.


5. (C) Post will pursue these and other opportunities to
continue urging the SAG to pass the TIP Bill. We will
continue to keep the Department informed of any new
developments.


GIPS