ZAMBIA: INPUT FOR THE 2010 TRAFFICKING IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 LUSAKA 000089

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR AF/S, G/TIP G-LAURA PENA AND STEPHANIE
KRONENBURG, INL, DRL, PRM

PROGRAM

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PHUM PGOV PREF
SMIG, KMCA, ZA
SUBJECT: ZAMBIA: INPUT FOR THE 2010 TRAFFICKING IN
PERSONS REPORT

REF: STATE 2094; 09 LUSAKA 768


1. (U) Post is providing the below information for use
in the preparation of the tenth annual Trafficking in
Persons (TIP) report. The sections in this message are
keyed to questions contained in Ref A.

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ZAMBIA'S TIP SITUATION
--------------


2. (SBU) A. The primary sources of available
information on human trafficking are the GRZQs
interministerial committee and secretariat on human
trafficking (headed by the Ministry of Home Affairs),
the Zambia Police ServiceQs Victim Support Unit (VSU),
Zambia Immigration, the International Organization for
Migration (IOM),the International Labour Organization
(ILO),United Nations International ChildrenQs Fund
(UNICEF),and NGOs such as YWCA, Women and Law in
Southern Africa (WLSA),the Jesuits Center for
Theological Reflection (JCTR) and the Council of
Churches in Zambia (CCZ). The National Secretariat,
whose formation is in progress, has prioritized data
collection and consolidation in its 2010 workplan.


3. (SBU) B-D. Zambia remains a country of destination,
origin and transit for international trafficking in
persons. Its geographic position (Zambia shares land,
lake and riverine borders with eight countries) makes
it attractive for traffickers. Zambia is sometimes a
destination country for trafficked labor from Malawi
and Mozambique. Contacts in the Copperbelt region of
Zambia report increasing numbers of Chinese laborers
coming to work in the mines and present unsubstantiated
anecdotal evidence of Chinese and Indian worker
exploitation. Local contacts report indications that
refugees are both trafficked to Zambia and serve as
traffickers. During the reporting period, there were
instances of Zambians being trafficked to South Africa,
Congo and Namibia. As a transit country, ZambiaQs
geographic location, numerous porous borders and
immigration enforcement challenges make it a nexus for
trafficking from the Great Lakes Region to South
Africa. Local contacts observe that increasing numbers
of South Asians are trafficked through Zambia.
Internal trafficking, mainly of women and children from
rural to urban areas for labor, remains a challenge and
likely the dominant form of trafficking in Zambia.


4. (SBU) New trafficking trends identified in Zambia
during this reporting period include possible
exploitation of Chinese and Indian mine workers, South
Asian males trafficked for labor, the involvement of
refugees as both trafficker and victim, and male Somali
youth trafficked through Zambia for unconfirmed
purposes.


5. (SBU) As noted in the 2009 TIP report, which cited a
2007 ILO International Program on the Elimination of
Child Labor (IPEC) study, working conditions for
victims of trafficking vary. Some are placed in
private homes and receive adequate room and board, but
others are starved and beaten, deprived of sleep,
and/or overworked to the point of exhaustion. Many are
not paid even a fraction of the wages they are
promised, and some are not paid at all for long hours
of work. Local contacts note that victims being
transited through Zambia are often held for weeks at a
time in remote locations without their passports and
with very little food.


6. (SBU) Trafficking affects both males and females.
Local officials believe that men are more frequently

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trafficked for labor. Women and children are
trafficked for domestic servitude and sexual
exploitation. While orphans and street children are
vulnerable groups, a 2009 Ministry of Community
Development and Social Services and UNICEF-sponsored
outreach exercise targeting traditional leaders yielded
information that children of more affluent members of a
village are also vulnerable to trafficking, as sending
children to the city is a status symbol.


7. (SBU) E. GRZ counterparts believe that trafficking
through Zambia is becoming increasingly organized and
linked to money laundering efforts based largely in
South Africa. Traffickers establish front companies
associated with the mining supply, garment or other
industries, as well as fake NGOs. Internal trafficking
is generally perpetrated by individuals, including
family members, of the victim. Recruitment methods
include promises of work or scholarship, invitations to
church conferences or workshops, family reunions and
offers of a better life and education for rural
children. Traffickers often supply victims with fake
documents, and the same travel document is sometimes
used for multiple individuals.

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SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GRZQS ANTI-TIP EFFORTS
-------------- ---


8. (SBU) A. The GRZ has acknowledged that trafficking
is a problem in Zambia and passed a comprehensive anti-
trafficking act in 2008 (Note: The full Act is
available online at www.parliament.gov.zm. End note).
This legislation was followed by release of a national
anti-trafficking plan of action in 2009. The GRZ has
made progress in establishing the National Committee on
Human Trafficking, which is headed by Home Affairs and
comprises 12 ministries as well as an NGO specializing
in childrenQs issues. Home Affairs has sent out formal
appointment letters following ministry nomination of
TIP-experienced focal points. The GRZ has also
allocated space at the passport office for the
secretariat and is working with partners on equipping
the office. The National Committee and its secretariat
are planned to ensure a concerted GRZ anti-trafficking
effort.


9. (SBU) B. While the Home Affairs ministry leads
overall anti-trafficking efforts, the Ministry of Labor
has the lead on labor-related trafficking and works
with trade unions and employee associations in
conjunction with ILO. The Ministry of Community
Development and Social Services heads the effort to
combat trafficking of women and children.


10. (SBU) C. The GRZ is assessed by IOs and NGOs to be
proactive in the fight against human trafficking.
However, financial constraints and lack of technical
knowledge prove real impediments to concrete action.
Government offices routinely lack vehicles or fuel to
conduct investigations or transport victims. Emboff
queries to immigration officials at borders in
Livingstone and the Copperbelt show that G/TIP-funded
IOM training has raised awareness amongst officers, but
victim assistance, and thus prosecutions, suffer due to
lack of shelters for victim protection. While petty
corruption at both sides of border posts, at police
stations and at other government offices remains a
problem, the anti-trafficking Act provides harsh
penalties for officials who facilitate trafficking.
The GRZ continues to reach out to IOs and NGOs to
advance anti-trafficking efforts and relies on
international partners for most material support.


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11. (SBU) D. The GRZ makes an effort to monitor anti-
trafficking measures. The secretariat currently under
formation will be tasked with overall monitoring and
coordination.


12. (SBU) E. Civil registration persists as a
trafficking vulnerability in Zambia. Currently, all
births must be registered with the relevant District
Office and certificates can only be issued from the
Registrar's Office in Lusaka. The Zambian Law
Development Society is working with UNICEF on a plan to
decentralize registrations. The GRZ recognizes the
benefits decentralization would bring in terms of wider
registration but is, at the same time, cognizant of the
need to ensure document integrity and security. The
government is embarking on a comprehensive national
registration push ahead of the 2011 national elections,
but has not yet made substantial progress. Populations
living near border areas are commonly issued border
crossing cards and immigration officials cite frequent
movement of border communities as a complicating factor
in anti-trafficking efforts.


13. (SBU) F. Consolidation of anti-trafficking data is
a 2010 priority area for the Home Affairs ministry.
The Ministry of Labor has reached out to ILO for
technical assistance to include forced labor as a new
component of its reporting. The Zambia Police
ServiceQs Victim Support Unit (VSU) is also revising
its data collection practices on trafficking, including
through making trafficking a reportable offense.
Officials at border crossings continue to register
entries and exits on a manual log and phone in results
to headquarters, where they are tallied on a separate
manual log. The Zambia Immigration Management System
has been plagued with technical difficulties, but the
GRZ is working to improve collection with support from
the UN Joint Programme on Trafficking.

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INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS
--------------


14. (SBU) A-C. As reported in the 2009 TIP report, the
GRZ signed the QAnti-Human Trafficking Act of 2008
into law on November 19, 2008. In 2009, the Cabinet
approved a national anti-TIP policy and released a
draft communications strategy, which is expected to be
approved in early 2010. The anti-TIP Plan of Action
went into effect in October 2009. The Act defines
trafficking as Qto recruit, transport, transfer,
harbor, receive or obtain a person, within or across
the territorial boundaries of ZambiaQ by means of
various forms of force, fraud or coercion which are
spelled out in detail. The penalties prescribed for
trafficking, including for sexual exploitation and
worst forms of labor, range from 25 years to life in
prison.


15. (SBU) D. The maximum penalty for rape or forcible
sexual assault is life in prison.


16. (SBU) E. According to the GRZ anti-trafficking
secretariat, the GRZ successfully prosecuted two cases
under the new Act in 2009. Both cases involved Zambian
men who had sold their children to Tanzanian
individuals. The convicted men are being held in prison
pending High Court sentencing, and the children were
rescued. There are currently nine cases pending under
the new anti-trafficking legislation. Victims include
South Asians being trafficked through Zambia for labor
exploitation in South Africa and male Somali teenage
youth being trafficked for unknown, but possibly
nefarious, purposes.

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17. (SBU) While the above cases are a positive sign of
the GRZ's willingness to apply the new Act, immigration
and police officials note that traffickers are often
convicted under immigration violations (Section 8.1 of
the Immigration Act) for lack of sufficient evidence to
prosecute under anti-trafficking legislation. A well-
publicized case of a Namibian immigration official who
was accused of trafficking Zambian children for labor
falls into this category. Prosecutors are generally
able to show transportation of a victim and sometimes
able to prove recruitment, but often lack information
on exploitation that may be planned for when a victim
would arrive at the final destination. Another
obstacle to prosecution reported by Zambia Immigration
is the fact that traffickers often flee the scene
before they can be arrested. Amendments to the
immigration law to include anti-trafficking provisions
are currently with Parliament. The GRZ had amended the
penal code to encompass trafficking prior to the 2008
Anti-Trafficking Act.


18. (SBU) F. The GRZ has benefited from G/TIP-funded
IOM anti-trafficking training as well as RSO-sponsored
ILEA training and DOJ ICITAP/OPDAT-sponsored
magistrates and prosecutors training under the Women's
Justice and Empowerment Initiative (WJEI) program. In
conjunction with IOM, the GRZ distributed simplified
copies of the anti-trafficking Act to border posts.
The first class of 120 officers with specific Zambia
Immigration-organized anti-trafficking training
graduated in late 2009 from the Lilayi Police Training
College. USDOJ and UNICEF co-sponsored anti-child
trafficking training of 240 police, police prosecutors,
local court justices and magistrates in summer 2009.
The focus of the training was building awareness and
skills in investigating and prosecuting child
trafficking cases. The GRZ-led train the trainer
rollout scheduled to follow the USDOJ/UNICEF training
is pending.


19. (SBU) G-H. GRZ officials report good coordination
with Kenyan counterparts, including information
exchange. Cooperation with Congolese officials is
reportedly problematic, but Zambian immigration
officials along the border with Congo have instituted
joint meetings with Congolese officials to coordinate
on areas such as trafficking. The GRZ and Democratic
Republic of Congo have also cooperated in victim
repatriation. There were no trafficking-related
extraditions during the reporting period.


20. (SBU) I-J. There are no reports of high-level
government officials' complicity in trafficking. A
working-level official was reportedly charged under the
Immigration Act with facilitating the illegal entry of
a prohibited immigrant into Zambia, reportedly due to
lack of evidence to support conviction under the
trafficking act.


21. (SBU) K. There have been no reports of Zambian
peacekeeper involvement in either facilitation of
trafficking or exploitation of trafficking victims.
Pre-deployment training of Zambian peacekeepers
includes instruction not to engage in sexual
exploitation, and past ACOTA training (last utilized by
the GRZ in 2007) included anti-TIP messages.


22. (SBU) L. Child sex tourism has not emerged as an
issue in Zambia.

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PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS
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23. (SBU) A-C. The GRZ continues to refer victims of
trafficking to the IOM, which provides case management
and referrals to an appropriately secure shelter.
According to IOM statistics, 33 such cases were
referred in 2009. The 2008 Act requires that the
Ministry of Community Development and Social Services
establish shelters. As an initial step, the GRZ is
working with IOs to map existing shelters run by NGOs
or GRZ entities. GRZ officials have expressed concern
with lax security at some of these shelters.


24. (SBU) The GRZ plans to secure land for a Lusaka-
based shelter in 2010 and start construction in 2011,
but acknowledges that it may still lack means to
transport victims to the shelter once it is
constructed. The new Immigration Headquarters will
also reportedly contain some shelter space. Zambian
immigration and police refer victims to IOM and NGOs
such as YWCA for counseling, shelter and some income-
generating rehabilitation activities such as sewing or
handicrafts. YWCA runs secure shelters for victims of
gender violence and trafficking in Lusaka and Kitwe,
which Emboff visited in October 2009. The Ministry of
Sport, Youth and Child Development and the Gender
Development Division of the Cabinet Office provide
limited funding to YWCA in support of these shelters.
The police VSU also keeps trained counselors on staff,
but offices lack dedicated, private counseling space.
The Ministry of Community Development and Social
Services works with VSU through the Child Protection
Unit (CPU) to assist child trafficking victims. Child
victims are placed into protective custody rather than
deported.


25. (SBU) GRZ officials interviewed by Emboff in
Lusaka, Livingstone and Copperbelt border posts
acknowledge that lack of adequate victim protection so
that they may serve as witnesses is a primary stumbling
block to securing convictions. These officials
recognize that victims are not criminals and do not
belong in jail, but lack adequate resources (including
fuel, transportation, counseling facilities and
shelters) to provide for victim protection. Victims
unable to be transferred to IOM are most often
temporarily jailed and then repatriated.


26. (SBU) D-E. As reported in 2009, the new anti-
trafficking law prohibits the summary deportation of a
trafficking victim and allows victims to apply for a
non-renewable permit to remain in Zambia for up to 60
days. The victim may also apply for a visitorQs permit
and temporary residence status. The anti-trafficking
secretariat referred to one such case to which the GRZ
is currently devoting high-level attention. The
secretariat was unable to provide details on other
possible cases. In practice, it appears that the GRZ
cooperates with neighboring countries to secure
repatriation of a victim for lack of adequate shelter
and transportation mechanisms to provide protection in
Zambia. The GRZ does not provide long-term benefits
such as housing to victims of trafficking.


27. (SBU) F. The Act requires that the referral process
be formalized, but it continues to operate on an ad-hoc
basis.


28. (SBU) G. Due to current data collection impediments
described in paragraph 10, the GRZ is unable to provide
comprehensive statistics on trafficking victims. Of
the 33 victims referred to IOM in 2009, 25 were under

18. Victims were Somali, Congolese, Rwandan,
Zimbabwean and Zambian. According to a January 2010
Times of Zambia article, 829 trafficking victims were

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intercepted by Zambian immigration officials during the
last quarter of 2009. (Note: Journalists still often
conflate smuggling with trafficking. End note).
EmboffQs queries to immigration officials in Lusaka,
Livingstone and the Copperbelt region indicate that
Zambian Immigration encounters a steady stream of
potential trafficking victims. A cursory review of a
monthQs worth of logs will typically yield multiple
examples of large groups (up to 56) of individuals
detained based on suspicion that they are being
trafficked. Asked to elaborate why the officials
believe the victims are being trafficked rather than
smuggled, immigration officials note that the victims
appear to have been fed a story but lack further
details on where they are headed.


29. (SBU) H. The GRZ lacks a formal system of
proactively identifying victims of trafficking among
high-risk persons. Ongoing training is designed to
raise awareness and give officers basic skills to
detect trafficking and refer victims.


30. (SBU) I. Due to lack of adequate shelter and
counseling facilities in Zambia as well as insufficient
GRZ transportation and fuel, victims are sometimes
placed in detention facilities before they can be
repatriated to their home countries. Officials
interviewed by Emboff acknowledge that detaining
trafficking victims is both wrong and counterproductive
in terms of securing prosecutions, and lament the
current lack of victim protection infrastructure. IOM
training, including through G/TIP funding, has spread
sufficient awareness such that individuals are
generally not prosecuted for other crimes if police
understand them to be victims of trafficking.


31. (SBU) J. The GRZ actively encourages victims to
assist in the investigation and prosecutionof
traffickers. Officials were able to cite two specific
open cases where the victims are working with
authorities and agreed to serve as witnesses. In
another case, however, the victims reportedly
disappeared from a temporary shelter before the case
could be concluded. GRZ officials are concerned to
ensure that eventual shelters have the appropriate
level of security, which temporary shelters run by NGOs
are often unable to provide. The Act allows courts to
order a person convicted of trafficking to pay
reparations to victims for damage to property;
physical, psychological, or other injury; or loss of
income and support.


32. (SBU) K. As reported above, the GRZ provides for
anti-trafficking training of immigration and law
enforcement officials in cooperation with IOs such as
IOM, and conducts some limited training itself. The
Zambia Police Service has a specialized Child
Protection Unit (CPU) that works hand in hand with
Zambian social welfare on cases of abused and neglected
children, including child trafficking victims. The GRZ
does not provide specific training on trafficking to
its embassies and consulates in foreign countries and
was unable to provide records on how its missions
abroad may have assisted trafficking victims. The GRZ
anti-trafficking secretariat notes that the National
Anti-Trafficking Plan of Action calls for across-the-
board TIP-awareness training, to include Zambian
diplomats, peacekeepers, and others deployed overseas.


33. (SBU) L. There is no formal program currently in
place to provide assistance to repatriated trafficking
victims.


34. (SBU) M. The GRZ works closely with IOM, UNICEF,

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and ILO on trafficking issues. These organizations
provide technical assistance, training, and support for
shelters, and report that Zambian authorities remain
committed and cooperative in anti-trafficking efforts.
NGOs including the YWCA, Women and Law in Southern
Africa (WLSA),the Jesuits Center for Theological
Reflection (JCTR) and the Council of Churches in Zambia
(CCZ) are also active in anti-trafficking, either in
partnership with IOs, the GRZ or independently. WLSA's
Red Light campaign, for instance, focuses on anti-
trafficking awareness-raising in the runup to the 2010
Africa Cup of Nations in Angola and World Cup in South
Africa.

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PREVENTION
--------------


35. (SBU) A. GRZ officials report that the national
anti-trafficking communication strategy that
accompanied the Plan of Action, is about to be
approved. Pending this approval, the GRZ continues to
work with IOs in anti-trafficking outreach, such as
IOM's "Break the Chain of Human Trafficking" campaign.
The anti-trafficking secretariat also includes a
communications expert. The Zambia Police Victim
Support Unit (VSU) regularly features trafficking in
its weekly "Police and You" radio program. Seeking to
harness the influence of traditional leaders to combat
internal trafficking, the Ministry of Community
Development and Social Services partnered with UNICEF
to conduct anti-TIP awareness outreach to 50 tribal
chiefs and their assistants during the reporting
period. The GRZ also actively supports NGOs in
outreach strategies through ensuring high-level
participation at conferences, arranging speakers, and
issuing supporting statements. Campaigns and
information distributed in conjunction with a campaign
are targeted both to potential trafficking victims and
to those who might be driving the demand for
trafficking.


36. (SBU) B. Zambian government ability to monitor
immigration and emigration patterns for evidence of
trafficking is currently quite limited. GRZ officials
expect that data collection improvement projects
currently underway will enable better monitoring in
future.


37. (SBU) C. The senior-level interministerial
committee on anti-trafficking and expert-level
secretariat are responsible for coordinating anti-
trafficking efforts.


38. (SBU) D. The National Anti-TIP Plan was adopted by
the Cabinet in January 2009 and approved in October

2009. It was developed in consultation with NGOs and
international organizations active in trafficking
issues. The GRZ has maintained momentum in working to
operationalize the Plan, with an initial focus on
structure and funding. GRZ officials report that
initial focus was devoted to ensuring budgetary
resources were allocated to anti-trafficking, given
that the GRZ changed its budget cycle the same year.
The anti-trafficking secretariat was established during
the reporting period and each relevant ministry
nominated focal points. The secretariat initially
functioned on an ad-hoc basis but is becoming
increasingly organized. The GRZ identified office
space for the secretariat and is working with the UN
Joint Programme to equip it. GRZ officials report that
nomination letters for the senior-level
interministerial committee have now been sent.
Secretariat members have been active in ongoing Zambia

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Sixth National Development Program meetings, which are
crucial to ensuring that the Plan of Action receives
due attention and funding. The GRZ continued to
cooperate with international organizations and NGOs on
training and prioritization of Action Plan activities.


39. (SBU) E. Zambian police raids on suspected
brothels continued during the reporting period.


40. (SBU) F. The travel of Zambian nationals for the
purpose of participating in child sex tourism has not
emerged as an issue.


41. (SBU) G. While the recent National Plan of Action
calls for anti-TIP training provision to Zambian
peacekeepers, there is currently no known formal anti-
trafficking training provided to troops. ACOTA
training last provided to Zambian peacekeepers in 2007
contained anti-TIP messages and pre-deployment training
of peacekeepers includes instruction not to engage the
services of prostitutes. There were no reports of
Zambian peacekeeper exploitation of trafficking victims
during the reporting period.

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PARTNERSHIPS
--------------


42. (SBU) A-B. The GRZ works closely with international
organizations and NGOs active in anti-trafficking.
Partners include IOM, ILO, UNICEF, and NGOs such as
YWCA, WLSA, JCTR and CCZ. Zambia is a developing
country and lacks sufficient resources to carry out a
robust anti-trafficking program on its own.


43. (SBU) Nevertheless, the GRZ has shown commitment
through providing some funding to NGOs for shelters,
working to establish a coordinating body and secure
some national budget funding for anti-trafficking
efforts, issuing anti-TIP public statements, conducting
limited training, and working hand in hand with
partners to combat trafficking in persons. Apart from
funding provided by the USG through G/TIP, WJEI, and by
other bilateral partners, GRZ anti-TIP efforts are
supported by the UN Joint Programme to Counter Human
Trafficking in Zambia, to which the EC provided 1.6
million euros in 2009. GRZ political will to counter
trafficking extends to its providing limited technical
assistance to neighboring countries such as Malawi and
raising TIP in international fora, including Joint
Permanent Commission meetings with neighbors, the
Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Regional
Police Chiefs Coordinating Committee and the
International Conference of the Great Lakes.
Construction is underway for a Lusaka-based Regional
Training Center, which will reportedly also offer anti-
TIP curriculum.

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CHILD SOLDIERS
--------------


44. (SBU) Zambia has not been the subject of
allegations regarding unlawful child soldiering.

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POST CONTACT
--------------


45. (SBU) Post POC on trafficking issues is Consul Kate
McGeary, mcgearyce@state.gov, telephone: 260-211-250-
955 x 2261, fax: 260-211-253-824. FS-03 Conoff spent
an estimated 20 hours compiling the information for and
drafting this report.

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