MALI -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND

UNCLAS STATE 060561

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG ML
SUBJECT: MALI -- 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 Mali 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 Mali,
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 Mali 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 Mali,s country narrative in the 2009
TIP Report:

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

Mali (TIER 2 Watch List)
--------------

Mali is a source, transit, and destination country for women
and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and,
to a lesser extent, commercial sexual exploitation. In Mali,
victims are trafficked from rural areas to urban centers,
agricultural zones, and artisanal mining sites. Victims are
also trafficked between Mali and other West African
countries. Some notable destination countries for Malian
child victims are Burkina Faso, Cote d,Ivoire, Guinea,
Senegal, Mauritania, Niger, and Nigeria. Women and girls are
trafficked primarily for domestic servitude and, to a lesser
extent, forced prostitution, while boys are trafficked for
forced begging and forced labor in gold mines and
agricultural settings both within Mali and to neighboring
countries. Reports in the last year indicate that Malian
boys and girls are trafficked to Senegal and Guinea for labor
in gold mines and to Cote d,Ivoire for forced labor on
cotton and cocoa farms. Boys from Mali, Guinea, Burkina
Faso and other countries are trafficked by Koranic masters
within Mali and across borders for forced begging and other
forms of forced labor. Adult men and boys, primarily of
Songhai ethnicity, are subjected to the longstanding practice
of debt bondage in the salt mines of Taoudenni in northern
Mali. Some members of Mali,s black Tamachek community are
subjected to traditional slavery-related practices rooted in
hereditary master-slave relationships.

The Government of Mali 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 overall significant efforts, the
government failed to show evidence of progress in prosecuting
and punishing trafficking offenders, and, therefore, Mali is
placed on Tier 2 Watch List. The government arrested three
alleged child traffickers during the year; they were released
pending trial dates which have not been set. The government
took some steps to protect victims and raise public awareness
of trafficking.

Recommendations for Mali: Investigate and prosecute
trafficking offenses, including cases of traditional slavery,
and convict and punish trafficking offenders using existing
laws; criminalize the trafficking of adults for all
purposes, including slavery; develop a system for collecting
data on trafficking crimes and the number of victims
identified and referred by government authorities to service
providers for care; and increase efforts to raise public
awareness about trafficking and traditional hereditary
servitude.

Prosecution
--------------
The Government of Mali demonstrated limited law enforcement
efforts to combat trafficking during the last year. Mali
does not prohibit all forms of trafficking, though Article
244 of the criminal code prohibits all forms of child
trafficking. Conviction of child trafficking carries a
penalty of from five to 20 years, imprisonment. Article
229 of the criminal code criminalizes the sexual exploitation
of children and forced prostitution of adult women. Criminal
Code Article 242, passed in 1973, prohibits individuals from
entering into agreements or contracts that deprive third
parties of their liberty.

During the reporting period, the government arrested three
suspected traffickers though it failed to prosecute any
trafficking offenders. A trial date has not yet been set for
three individuals arrested in March 2008 for allegedly
trafficking two Malian and 24 Guinean children to Mali from
Guinea; they were released in June pending trial. Six cases
of traditional enslavement are pending in Malian courts.
Judicial authorities have taken no action on any of these
cases. One of these cases involves a black Tamachek child
taken from his parents in Kidal in September 2007 by an
individual claiming traditional ownership rights over the
child. The child remains in the custody of this traditional
master.
Protection
--------------
The Government of Mali demonstrated moderate efforts to
protect trafficking victims in the last year. Due to its
limited resources, the government does not operate any victim
shelters or provide direct aid to victims. Instead it refers
victims to NGOs and international organizations for
assistance. According to statistics provided by the Ministry
for the Advancement of Women, Children and the Family, in
2008 Mali assisted in the repatriation of 21 boys of Malian
origin discovered in neighboring countries and 40 boys and
one girl of other nationalities discovered within Mali. The
government also assisted with the return of four girls and
one boy of Malian nationality trafficked within Mali.

The government continued to provide in-kind assistance, such
as land and buildings to NGOs providing services to
trafficking victims. These local NGOs and international
organizations collaborated to repatriate the 41 non-Malian
child trafficking victims discovered during the year. Most
cases of trafficking identified by NGOs are reported to the
government, and an official from the Ministry for the
Advancement of Women, Children and the Family coordinates the
process of repatriation with a counterpart in the government
of the victim,s country of origin. In February 2009
government officials in the towns of Gourma-Rharous and
Bambara-Maounde facilitated the rescue of a woman held as a
hereditary slave for 14 years. Government authorities also
facilitated the rescue of the former slave,s eight year old
son.

There were no reports in the past year of the government
interviewing victims to gather evidence for investigation and
prosecution of their traffickers or, in the case of slavery
allegations, their alleged masters. Mali does not provide
legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims to
countries where they face hardship or retribution. Victims
are not inappropriately incarcerated or fined for unlawful
acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.

Prevention
--------------
The Government of Mali made limited efforts to prevent
trafficking, through awareness-raising or other means, during
the last year. The government participated in an
NGO-sponsored campaign to educate potential victims,
primarily children, and their parents about trafficking.
Officials overseeing the collection of statistics about
trafficking victims participated in a donor-funded training
on how to collect and disseminate this information. The
government also assisted in organizing two IOM-funded
anti-trafficking trainings, in June and December 2008, for
NGOs on capacity building and information sharing. The
National Steering Committee Against Child Labor, which is
comprised of 43 government, NGO and international
organization members, met five times during the year. Mali
continued to work toward the formation of anti-trafficking
committees in each of the country,s eight regions to
coordinate local anti-trafficking efforts. In 2008, Mali
selected institutional members for each regional committee,
including village leaders, mayors, and regional
representatives. The government took no visible measures to
reduce the demand for forced labor, though it did take steps
to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts within Mali
through periodic raids of prostitution houses. The
government did not take measures to ensure that its nationals
who are deployed abroad as part of international peacekeeping
missions do not engage in or facilitate trafficking.



9. Post may wish to deliver the following points, which offer
technical and legal l 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.

-- 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 has Mali been downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List?

A: The Government of Mali 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 overall significant
efforts, the government failed to show evidence of progress
in prosecuting and punishing trafficking offenders, and,
therefore, Mali is placed on Tier 2 Watch List.

Q3: What progress has Mali made in the last year?

A: During the last year, the government arrested three
suspected traffickers. According to statistics provided by
the Ministry for the Advancement of Women, Children and the
Family, in 2008 Mali assisted in the repatriation of 21 boys
of Malian origin discovered in neighboring countries and 40
boys and one girl of other nationalities discovered within
Mali. The government also assisted with the return of four
girls and one boy of Malian nationality trafficked within
Mali. In February 2009 government officials in the towns of
Gourma-Rharous and Bambara-Maounde facilitated the rescue of
a woman held as a hereditary slave for 14 years. The
government participated in an NGO-sponsored campaign to
educate potential victims, primarily children, and their
parents about trafficking.

Q3: What can Mali do to further the fight against
trafficking in persons?

A: Investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses, including
cases of traditional slavery, and convict and punish
trafficking offenders using existing laws; criminalize the
trafficking of adults for all purposes, including slavery;
develop a system for collecting data on trafficking crimes
and the number of victims identified and referred by
government authorities to service providers for care; and
increase efforts to raise public awareness about trafficking
and traditional hereditary servitude.


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