THE REPUBLIC OF CONGO -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 STATE 060548

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG CF
SUBJECT: THE REPUBLIC OF CONGO -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS
GUIDANCE AND DEMARCHE

REF: A. (A) STATE 59732

B. (B) STATE 005577


1. This is an action cable; see paras 5 through 7 and 10.


2. On June 16, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the Secretary will
release the 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report at a
press conference in the Department's press briefing room.
This release will receive substantial coverage in domestic
and foreign news outlets. Until the time of the Secretary's
June 16 press conference, any public release of the Report or
country narratives contained therein is prohibited.


3. The Department is hereby providing Post with advance press
guidance to be used on June 16 or thereafter. Also provided
is demarche language to be used in informing the Government
of the Republic of Congo (ROC) of its tier ranking and the
TIP Report's imminent release. The text of the TIP Report
country narrative is provided, both for use in informing the
Government of the ROC, and in any local media release by
Post's public affairs section on June 16 or thereafter.
Drawing on information provided below in paras 8 and 9, Post
may provide the host government with the text of the TIP
Report narrative no earlier than 1200 noon local time Monday
June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA countries and OOB local
time Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts. Please note,
however, that any public release of the Report's information
should not/not precede the Secretary's release at 10:00 am
EDT on June 16.


4. The entire TIP Report will be available on-line at
www.state.gov/g/tip shortly after the Secretary's June 16
release. Hard copies of the Report will be pouched to posts
in all countries appearing on the Report. The Secretary's
statement at the June 16 press event, and the statement of
and fielding of media questions by G/TIP,s Director and
Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Ambassador-at-Large Luis
CdeBaca, will be available on the Department's website
shortly after the June 16 event. Ambassador de Baca will
also hold a general briefing for officials of foreign
embassies in Washington DC on June 17 at 3:30 pm EDT.


5. Action Request: No earlier than 12 noon local time on
Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA posts and OOB local
time on Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts, please inform
the appropriate official in the Government of the ROC of the
June 16 release of the 2009 TIP Report, drawing on the points
in para 9 (at Post's discretion) and including the text of
the country narrative provided in para 8. For countries
where the State Department has lowered the tier ranking, it
is particularly important to advise governments prior to the
Report being released in Washington on June 16.


6. Action Request continued: Please note that, for those
countries which will not receive an "action plan" with
specific recommendations for improvement, posts should draw
host governments' attention to the areas for improvement
identified in the 2009 Report, especially highlighted in the
"Recommendations" section of the second paragraph of the
narrative text. This engagement is important to establishing
the framework in which the government's performance will be
judged for the 2010 Report. If posts have questions about
which governments will receive an action plan, or how they
may follow up on the recommendations in the 2009 Report,
please contact G/TIP and the appropriate regional bureau.


7. Action Request continued: On June 16, please be prepared
to answer media inquiries on the Report's release using the
press guidance provided in para 11. If Post wishes, a local
press statement may be released on or after 10:30 am EDT June
16, drawing on the press guidance and the text of the TIP
Report's country narrative provided in para 8.


8. Begin Final Text of the ROC,s country narrative in the
2009 TIP Report:

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

The Republic of Congo (TIER 2 Watch List)
--------------

The Republic of the Congo (ROC) is a source country for
children trafficked within its borders for the purposes of
forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation, as well as a
destination country for children trafficked from other
African countries for the same purposes. Within the ROC, boys
and girls are trafficked from rural areas, primarily from the
Pool Region, to Point Noire and Brazzaville for forced street

STATE 00060548 002 OF 005


vending and domestic servitude. Girls are trafficked from
rural areas primarily to Brazzaville, but also to Pointe
Noire, for commercial sexual exploitation. Transnationally,
children are trafficked from other African countries to
Pointe Noire for domestic servitude, forced market vending
and forced labor in the fishing industry. The majority of
these victims are girls and most are from Benin, although
some are also trafficked from Mali, Guinea, Togo, Senegal,
and Cameroon. The Beninese Consulate in Brazzaville has
estimated that 1,800 Beninese children may be subjected to
domestic servitude in the ROC. UNICEF reported that young
girls, lured by promises of jobs in the ROC or onward voyages
to France, Canada, and South Africa, are trafficked from the
Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) to Brazzaville for
organized prostitution. Children may be trafficked to the
ROC from the DRC for forced commercial activities, such as
street vending, domestic servitude, tailoring, hairdressing,
and food service.

The Government of the ROC does not fully comply with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
however, it is making significant efforts to do so, despite
limited resources. Despite these efforts, the government did
not show evidence of progress in anti-trafficking law
enforcement efforts and in the protection of trafficking
victims; therefore, the Republic of the Congo is placed on
Tier 2 Watch List. In late April 2009, the government
enacted the Child Protection Code, which contains provisions
prohibiting child trafficking. Since 2003, the ROC has
struggled to recover from six years of civil conflict that
crippled its institutions, ravaged its economy, and rendered
its children more vulnerable to being trafficked.

Recommendations for the ROC: Train law enforcement officials
to identify traffickers and arrest them under relevant laws;
train social workers and law enforcement officials to
identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations,
and refer them to foreign government consulates, foster
families, international organizations, faith-based groups, or
NGOs for care.

Prosecution
--------------
The Government of the ROC demonstrated weak law enforcement
efforts to combat trafficking during the last year. The ROC
does not prohibit all forms of trafficking. Penal Code
Article 344 criminalizes the pimping of children, however,
prescribing penalties of from six months, to two years,
imprisonment and a fine, punishments that are neither
sufficiently stringent nor commensurate with those prescribed
for rape. The government reported no trafficking
prosecutions or convictions under related laws in the last
year. In January 2009, two girls from the ROC, ages six and
16, arrived with fraudulent travel documents into Paris on a
flight from Brazzaville. The girls were accompanied by two
other young girls from Kinshasa, but no parent or guardian
accompanied the four children. The Government of the ROC is
neither investigating on its own nor collaborating with
French officials to determine whether this case involved
child trafficking. On April 30, 2009, a Child Protection
Code that includes provisions against child trafficking was
passed by Parliament. Between April and August 2008, the
government collaborated with UNICEF to conduct several
training workshops about this law for Central African
government officials and representatives from the Consulates
of Benin, Togo, and the DRC. The government contributed the
training sites and personnel to assist with logistics.
Protection
--------------
The ROC government continued poor efforts to protect
trafficking victims over the last year. The government
neither operates a trafficking victim shelter nor
collaborates with NGOs to provide rescued victims with food,
shelter, or other assistance. The government has not yet
developed formal procedures through which police and
government social workers may identify trafficking victims
among vulnerable populations, such as street children, child
laborers, illegal immigrants and women in prostitution. As a
result, victims may be inappropriately incarcerated or
otherwise penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct
result of being trafficked. The ROC government reported
rescuing an unknown number of trafficking victims during the
year. Government staff worked with UNICEF, the NGO Action
Against Trafficking of West African Children, and other civil
society groups, to help repatriate victims back to their
African home countries, particularly Benin. The government
did not provide legal alternatives to the removal of foreign
victims to countries where they face hardship or retribution.
The government did not encourage victims to assist in
trafficking investigations or prosecutions.

Prevention
--------------

STATE 00060548 003 OF 005


The Government of the ROC made limited efforts to prevent
incidents of trafficking during the reporting period. A plan
of action against trafficking in Point Noir, which the
government developed with UNICEF over the past three years,
was finalized in 2008. With funding from UNICEF, the
government helped implement the plan in May 2008 in Point
Noire by providing sites for UNICEF-conducted trafficking
awareness training. One workshop, hosted by the Ministry of
Health, educated local NGOs about trafficking. Additional
workshops raised awareness among Central African and foreign
government representatives and resulted in the creation of an
anti-trafficking working group headed by the Ministry of
Health and consisting of law enforcement officials, local
community leaders, and representatives from the Consulates of
Benin, Togo, and the DRC. The government has not taken
measures to reduce the demand for forced labor or commercial
sex acts in the ROC. The ROC has not ratified the 2000 UN
TIP Protocol.



9. Post may wish to deliver the following points, which offer
technical and legal background on the TIP Report process, to
the host government as a non-paper with the above TIP Report
country narrative:

(begin non-paper)

-- The U.S. Congress, through its passage of the 2000
Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended (TVPA),
requires the Secretary of State to submit an annual Report to
Congress. The goal of this Report is to stimulate action and
create partnerships around the world in the fight against
modern-day slavery. The USG approach to combating human
trafficking follows the TVPA and the standards set forth in
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in
Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime (commonly known as the "Palermo Protocol"). The TVPA
and the Palermo Protocol recognize that this is a crime in
which the victims, labor or services (including in the "sex
industry") are obtained or maintained through force, fraud,
or coercion, whether overt or through psychological
manipulation. While much attention has focused on
international flows, both the TVPA and the Palermo Protocol
focus on the exploitation of the victim, and do not require a
showing that the victim was moved.

-- Recent amendments to the TVPA removed the requirement that
only countries with a "significant number" of trafficking
victims be included in the Report. Beginning with the 2009
TIP Report, countries determined to be a country of origin,
transit, or destination for victims of severe forms of
trafficking are included in the Report and assigned to one of
three tiers. Countries assessed as meeting the "minimum
standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking"
set forth in the TVPA are classified as Tier 1. Countries
assessed as not fully complying with the minimum standards,
but making significant efforts to meet those minimum
standards are classified as Tier 2. Countries assessed as
neither complying with the minimum standards nor making
significant efforts to do so are classified as Tier 3.

-- The TVPA also requires the Secretary of State to provide a
"Special Watch List" to Congress later in the year.
Anti-trafficking efforts of the countries on this list are to
be evaluated again in an Interim Assessment that the
Secretary of State must provide to Congress by February 1 of
each year. Countries are included on the "Special Watch
List" if they move up in "tier" rankings in the annual TIP
Report -- from 3 to 2 or from 2 to 1 ) or if they have been
placed on the Tier 2 Watch List.

-- Tier 2 Watch List consists of Tier 2 countries determined:
(1) not to have made "increasing efforts" to combat human
trafficking over the past year; (2) to be making significant
efforts based on commitments of anti-trafficking reforms over
the next year, or (3) to have a very significant number of
trafficking victims or a significantly increasing victim
population. As indicated in reftel B, the TVPRA of 2008
contains a provision requiring that a country that has been
included on Tier 2 Watch List for two consecutive years after
the date of enactment of the TVPRA of 2008 be ranked as Tier

3. Thus, any automatic downgrade to Tier 3 pursuant to this
provision would take place, at the earliest, in the 2011 TIP
Report (i.e., a country would have to be ranked Tier 2 Watch
List in the 2009 and 2010 Reports before being subject to
Tier 3 in the 2011 Report). The new law allows for a waiver
of this provision for up to two additional years upon a
determination by the President that the country has developed
and devoted sufficient resources to a written plan to make
significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the
minimum standards.


STATE 00060548 004 OF 005


-- Countries classified as Tier 3 may be subject to statutory
restrictions for the subsequent fiscal year on
non-humanitarian and non-trade-related foreign assistance
and, in some circumstances, withholding of funding for
participation by government officials or employees in
educational and cultural exchange programs. In addition,
the President could instruct the U.S. executive directors to
international financial institutions to oppose loans or other
utilization of funds (other than for humanitarian,
trade-related or certain types of development assistance)
with respect to countries on Tier 3. Countries classified as
Tier 3 that take strong action within 90 days of the Report's
release to show significant efforts against trafficking in
persons, and thereby warrant a reassessment of their Tier
classification, would avoid such sanctions. Guidelines for
such actions are in the DOS-crafted action plans to be shared
by Posts with host governments.

-- The 2009 TIP Report, issuing as it does in the midst of
the global financial crisis, highlights high levels of
trafficking for forced labor in many parts of the world and
systemic contributing factors to this phenomenon: fraudulent
recruitment practices and excessive recruiting fees in
workers, home countries; the lack of adequate labor
protections in both sending and receiving countries; and the
flawed design of some destination countries, "sponsorship
systems" that do not give foreign workers adequate legal
recourse when faced with conditions of forced labor. As the
May 2009 ILO Global Report on Forced Labor concluded, forced
labor victims suffer approximately $20 billion in losses, and
traffickers, profits are estimated at $31 billion. The
current global financial crisis threatens to increase the
number of victims of forced labor and increase the associated
"cost of coercion."

-- The text of the TVPA and amendments can be found on
website www.state.gov/g/tip.

-- On June 16, 2009, the Secretary of State will release the
ninth annual TIP Report in a public event at the State
Department. We are providing you an advance copy of your
country's narrative in that report. Please keep this
information embargoed until 10:00 am Washington DC time June

16. The State Department will also hold a general briefing
for officials of foreign embassies in Washington DC on June
17 at 3:30 pm EDT.

(end non-paper)


10. Posts should make sure that the relevant country
narrative is readily available on or though the Mission's web
page in English and appropriate local language(s) as soon as
possible after the TIP Report is released. Funding for
translation costs will be handled as it was for the Human
Rights Report. Posts needing financial assistance for
translation costs should contact their regional bureau,s EX
office.


11. The following is press guidance provided for Post to use
with local media.

Q1: Why is the Republic of Congo on the Tier 2 Watch List?

A: The Government of the ROC does not fully comply with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
however, it is making significant efforts to do so, despite
limited resources. Despite these efforts, the government did
not show evidence of progress in anti-trafficking law
enforcement efforts and in the protection of trafficking
victims; therefore, the Republic of the Congo is placed on
Tier 2 Watch List.

Q2: What progress has the Republic of Congo made in the last
year?

A: In late April 2009, the government enacted the Child
Protection Code, which contains provisions prohibiting child
trafficking. Between April and August 2008, the government
collaborated with UNICEF to conduct several training
workshops about this law for Central African government
officials and representatives from the Consulates of Benin,
Togo, and the DRC. During the year, government staff worked
with UNICEF and civil society groups to help repatriate
victims back to their African home countries, particularly
Benin. A plan of action against trafficking in Point Noir,
which the government developed with UNICEF over the past
three years, was finalized in 2008. With funding from
UNICEF, the government helped implement the plan in May 2008
through awareness-raising events..

Q3: What can the R.O.C do to further the fight against
trafficking in persons?


STATE 00060548 005 OF 005


A: Finalize and enact the draft Child Protection Code
prohibiting child trafficking; train law enforcement
officials to identify traffickers and arrest them under
relevant laws; train social workers and law enforcement
officials to identify trafficking victims among vulnerable
populations, and refer them to foreign government consulates,
foster families, international organizations, faith-based
groups, or NGOs for care.

A: Increase efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict
traffickers; develop systematic procedures for identifying
trafficking victims among women and girls in prostitution;
step up efforts to educate government officials about
trafficking, particularly child sex trafficking; intensify
efforts to provide care to trafficking victims by making
available funds allocated for construction of victim
shelters; ensure that trafficking victims are not penalized
for acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.


12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the
preceding action requests.
CLINTON