MAURITANIA: TENTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

UNCLAS NOUAKCHOTT 000090

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION
G/TIP FOR G-LAURA PENA, INL, DRL, PRM, AF/RSA

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP ELAB MCA PHUM KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC
PREF, MR
SUBJECT: MAURITANIA: TENTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
(TIP) REPORT

REF: A. 10STATE 2094

B. 09NOUAKCHOTT718

C. 09NOUAKCHOTT711

D. 09NOUAKCHOTT255

E. 09NOUAKCHOTT486

F. 09NOUAKCHOTT512


1. (SBU) In response to Ref A, please find post's TIP
report submission:

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TIP SITUATION
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2. (SBU) Sources of Available Information: Available
information on human trafficking is limited and unreliable.
Although evidence points to the existence of many forms of
human trafficking, such as prostitution networks, trafficking
in illegal migrants, and the trafficking of girls and women
to Saudi Arabia; little is known about how these networks
operate or the number of victims. There is no official or
centralized data on trafficking and the information
available, gathered by NGOs, is insufficient. In 2009, the
Ministry of Social Affairs, Childhood, and Women in
collaboration with UNICEF worked on a study on "Child
Trafficking and the Worst Forms of Labor in Mauritania,"
which was released to the public in January 2010. The UNICEF
study on the Situation of Women and Children in Mauritania
(MICS),published in 2007, has some information about
child-labor and forced labor. Special Rapporteur on Modern
Forms of Slavery Gulnara Shahinian visited Mauritania in
November 2009 and will release her report to the UN Assembly
in 2010. Post has slated funds to finance in 2010 the first
baseline study on slavery among women and children, which
will be conducted by UNICEF.


3. (SBU) Country Situation: In Mauritania, women, men and
children from traditional slave castes may be subject to
slavery-related practices, rooted in ancestral master-slave
relationships, which continue to exist in both rural and
urban settings (Ref B and C). These individuals, associated
for generations to slave-holding families, work as house help
and cattle herders without pay. Mauritanian and West African
boys (referred to as "talibe") are trafficked within and into
the country often in order to beg for religious teachers.
Girls have been trafficked internally and from neighboring
West African countries such as Mali, Senegal and The Gambia
for domestic servitude. Mauritanian girls have been married
off to wealthy Saudi men and trafficked to Saudi Arabia for
sexual servitude and prostitution (Ref D). Women and girls
are trafficked within and into the country as prostitutes.
Illegal migrants from West African countries are often
trafficked into Mauritania by networks profiting from their
passage to Europe.


4. (SBU) Vulnerability to TIP: Talibe boys employed in
forced begging live in harsh conditions and do not attend
school. They have to bring the proceeds of their begging to
their imam and are not provided any food, having to beg for
food scraps. They often sleep in the streets at night and
may be victims of physical and sexual abuse. Women and girls
in domestic servitude live in modern slavery conditions --
they may be exploited, sexually abused and have their meager
salaries withheld or paid to a third party such as their
families or an intermediary. Slaves may work long hours
without pay and cattle herders live in particularly harsh
conditions and are prone to physical abuse. Slave families
are often separated to be distributed among different
households pertaining to the same slave-owning family. Slave
children often do not attend school and little girls may work
long hours as domestic servants and nannies. Many slaves do
not have birth certificates or national identity papers.
Girls trafficked to Saudi Arabia through arranged marriages
are sometimes used as sex slaves or prostitutes.


5. (SBU) Conditions: Men, women and children from
traditional slave castes both in the Black Moor (Haratine)
and Afro-Mauritanian communities are subject to slavery-like
practices. They have been associated to their master's
family for generations and are considered "part of the
family." Many of them, including children, are exploited and
work without pay. Among this group, women and girls are
particularly at risk. Those working as herders are most
vulnerable to ill treatment and harsh conditions. Puular
boys from poor families are most vulnerable to forced
begging. Girls from poor families are at risk of being
married off to wealthy Saudi men and trafficked to Saudi
Arabia as sex slaves. Girls and women from West African
(TIP) REPORT

countries and from the southern regions of Mauritania are
vulnerable to domestic servitude, exploitation and
prostitution.


6. (SBU) Traffickers and Their Methods: Talibe boys are
often trafficked by unscrupulous imams. Poor families place
their boys with these imams, who are supposed to provide them
an education. Nevertheless, the families cannot afford to
pay for the boys' upkeep and the boys are forced to beg --
both to eat and to give the proceeds to their imam. There
are reports of imams trafficking boys from Guinea, Mali and
Senegal into Mauritania. Girls and women are trafficked to
Saudi Arabia by networks of marriage brokers and travel
agencies. Marriage brokers often persuade poor families to
accept an arranged marriage with a Saudi man in exchange for
hefty bride price. Then, travel agencies make arrangements
for the girls' travel to Saudi Arabia, including passport and
visas. Once in Saudi Arabia, the girls may be used as sex
slaves or prostitutes. Individuals issued from slave castes
and associated to their master's families for generations
often work without remuneration in conditions of
exploitation. Girls and women in domestic servitude may be
"placed" in a household by their families. In the case of
West African girls and women, it is often a national of their
country living in Mauritania who serves as intermediary
between families in need of house help and families seeking
to "place" their daughters. The families or the
intermediaries often receive the girls' salaries.
Prostitution networks are managed by foreign women who lure
young women into the prostitution business and arrange
encounters with clients. West Africans living in Mauritania
arrange for illegal migrants from their countries to reach
Mauritania with the purpose of crossing over to Europe.

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SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP
-------------- --


7. (SBU) The government acknowledges trafficking is a
problem. The Ministry of Social Affairs, Childhood and
Family drafted in collaboration with UNICEF a National
Strategy for the Protection of Children in Mauritania, which
comprises an action plan for 2009-2010 that addresses the
problem of children victims of trafficking. The government
is currently working in association with the International
Organization for the Right to Development (IDDLO) to draft a
National Action Plan to Fight Trafficking in Persons to be
released in 2010. However, despite its acknowledgment of
trafficking as a problem, the government is still reluctant
to acknowledge slavery currently exists in Mauritania and
prefers to talk about "the consequences of slavery."
Arrests, and prosecutions are inexistent and there seems to
be a lack of political will to apply the law.


8. (SBU) Government agencies involved in efforts to combat
sex and labor trafficking include the following: the
Ministry of Social Affairs, Family and Childhood's Childhood
Department; the Ministry of Justice through the Direction of
the Judiciary Protection of Children; the Ministry of the
Interior through the Special Brigade for Minors; and the
Labor Department. There is currently no dedicated agency
focusing on trafficking and it is rare that investigators,
inspectors, judges, social workers, etc. specialize in
trafficking. In November 2009, the government created a Road
Security Agency in charge of combating all forms of
trafficking, illegal immigration, and terrorist activities in
Mauritanian roads. Nevertheless, the agency is not yet
operational and it is still unclear what its practical role
will be or how it plans to coordinate its work with police
and gendarmerie.


9. (SBU) The government has stated it is willing to take
action but does not have the necessary resources to fund
training for police, gendarmerie, and social workers, or
provide help to victims (Ref E). The government is also
unable to fight trafficking more effectively because laws are
frequently not enforced. Investigations are rare and
prosecutions virtually nonexistent. As for the slavery
question, the government minimizes the problem of "slavery,"
preferring to talk about the "consequences of slavery." As a

result, it focuses preferentially on development programs
(such as the Program for the Eradication of the Consequences
of Slavery) to improve the conditions of communities of
former slaves rather than on programs to prosecute
slave-masters, investigate allegations of slavery, provide
assistance to runaway slaves and raise awareness among the
population about the anti-slavery law -- both among slaves
and masters.
(TIP) REPORT



10. (SBU) No systematic monitoring of anti-trafficking
efforts or assessments are performed.


11. (SBU) In 1996, the government passed laws 96-019 and
96-020 creating a civil registry system and stating that it
is mandatory to declare all births. According to the MICS
report published in May 2008, only 56 percent of births of
children under 5 years old are registered. The Southern
regions of Hodh Echarghi and Hodh El Garbi had the lowest
registration rates; mostly due to lack of understanding on
the part of the population about the importance of
registering children. Post has first-hand knowledge of cases
in which slavery victims do not have birth certificates or
identity papers.


12. (SBU) The government's capacity to gather the data
required for an in-depth assessment of law enforcement
efforts is limited.

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


13. (SBU) Existing Laws against TIP: In addition to already
existing laws, the government adopted on January 22, 2009, a
new law relating to the Illicit Traffic of Migrants. This
law calls for 5-10 years imprisonment and a 5-10 million UM
($18,500 to $37,000) fine for those involved in trafficking
of migrants. It also establishes a 2-4 year imprisonment and
a 500,000 to 1 million UM ($1,851 to $3,700) fine to anyone
giving anyone else instructions to engage in the trafficking
of migrants. This law states that victims of trafficking
cannot be prosecuted for trafficking, illegal residence or
entry, or possession of illegal travel documents. It also
provides for the extradition of traffickers and for judiciary
cooperation among other countries.


14. (SBU) Punishment of Sex Trafficking Offenses: Law
025/2003 on Trafficking in Persons states that anyone
"exploiting prostitutes or engaging in other forms of sexual
exploitation can be sentenced to 5-10 years of forced labor
and a 500,000 - 1 million UM fine." The penal code has also
dispositions against prostitution and pandering.

15. (SBU) Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses: The
punishment for those engaging in labor trafficking offenses
according to law 025/2003 on Trafficking in Persons is 5-10
years of forced labor and a 500,000 - 1 million UM ($1,851 to
$3,700) fine. The labor code has other dispositions against
labor offenses.


16. (SBU) Prescribed penalties for rape: The penal code
states that rapists who are single men face forced labor and
flagellation. Married rapists could be subject to the death
penalty. Nevertheless, please note that these penalties are
rarely applied (the death penalty has not been applied for
any crime in several decades).


17. (SBU) Law Enforcement Statistics: According to the
Ministry of Justice, there were no investigations,
prosecutions, convictions or sentences imposed in 2009.
According to SOS Esclaves, judges refused to investigate,
neither on slavery nor on child abuse grounds, two child
slavery cases brought to them in 2009 (Ref F). An informal
agreement was reached outside the court and the children
remained with their slave-masters.


18. (SBU) Law Enforcement Training: The government does not
provide any specialized training for law enforcement and
immigration officials on identifying and treating victims of
trafficking. The Government has sought assistance in
establishing specialized units for this purpose.


19. (SBU) Cooperation with other governments: post is not
aware of any instances of cooperation with other governments
to investigate or prosecute trafficking cases.


20. (SBU) Post has no knowledge of extraditions of
traffickers.


21. (SBU) There is no evidence of government involvement in
trafficking. Nevertheless, anti-slavery activists accuse
judges and local authorities such as governors and county
administrators of tacit complicity. The 2007 slavery law has
yielded no prosecutions and most slavery cases brought to
judges are settled outside courts and promptly filed away.
They argue the authorities, who are White Moors for the most
part, are part of the establishment and are reluctant to go
(TIP) REPORT

against their own class as slavery is intimately linked to
White Moor "privilege."


22. (SBU) No officials have been investigated or prosecuted
for involvement in trafficking. No administrative sanctions
have been applied to judges or officials who do not pay due
attention to slavery cases.


23. (SBU) Mauritania does not contribute troops to
international peacekeeping operations.


24. (SBU) No sex tourism problems have been identified.

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PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS
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25. (SBU) The government has no programs providing
protection to victims and witnesses beyond that stated on
Para. 26.


26. (SBU) The Childhood Department created in 2007 the
National Center for the Protection of Children in Difficulty
located in the El Mina and Dar Naim districts of Noaukchott.
In 2009, the center provided shelter to 270 children, 60 of
whom were talibe. This center returns children to their
families or to their imams asking for guarantees that the
children will not be sent back to the streets to beg. It
also places children in surrogate families when necessary.
The government did not provide information on resources it
devotes to this center.


27. (SBU) Government provided access to legal and medical
services is extremely limited. Most victim services are
provided by NGOs.


28. (SBU) Post has no knowledge of the government assisting
foreign trafficking victims.


29. (SBU) The government does not provide long term shelter
or housing benefits to victims.


30. (SBU) The government does not have a referral process
to transfer victims detained, arrested or placed in
protective custody by law enforcement authorities to
institutions that provide short- or long-term care.


31. (SBU) There are no official numbers of trafficking
victims. A 2006 study by the Association des Enfants et
developpement en Mauritanie identified 300 talibe children in
Nouakchott. Association Femmes Chefs de Famille has assisted
50 girls trafficked to Saudi Arabia. NGOs interviewed for
the 2010 study on Child trafficking and worst forms of labor
had assisted 89 children victims of slavery. There are no
statistics concerning the number of victims of slavery or the
number of women in domestic servitude. Victims were mostly
assisted by NGOs.


32. (SBU) The government's law enforcement, immigration,
and social services personnel do not have a formal system of
proactively identifying victims of trafficking among
high-risk persons with whom they come in contact.


33. (SBU) Illegal migrants are detained and placed in the
Nouadhibou Migrant Detention Center until their expulsion
from Mauritania. Women suspected of prostitution are often
jailed.


34. (SBU) The government does not encourage victims to
assist in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking.
There are no precedents of victims filing civil suits or
seeking legal action against traffickers. In slavery cases,
civil society representatives claim that judges attempt to
broker informal agreements between the masters and
disgruntled slaves. Cases are often dropped and
investigations are rarely conducted.


35. (SBU) No specialized training in identifying
trafficking victims has been provided. Nevertheless, in
January 2009, the government provided training to judges in
Nouadhibou about the consequences of Mauritania being a
signatory of international human rights conventions,
including trafficking.


36. (SBU) The government collaborated with UNICEF and the
government of the United Arab Emirates in the repatriation
and compensation of 463 Mauritanian child jockeys trafficked
to the UAE between 1992 and 2005. This program ended in 2008
(TIP) REPORT

but it was followed by a 1 million USD program aimed at
increasing capacity among the communities where the child
jockeys hailed from.


37. (SBU) Terre des Hommes will assist in the repatriation
of children from West Africa victims of trafficking. UNICEF
conducts studies and ran the child jockey program. Other
local NGOs include Association Femmes Chefs de Famille, AMDH,
SOS Esclaves, AMSME and ALCD

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PREVENTION
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38. (SBU) In 2009, the government conducted an awareness
campaign in conjunction with civil society about the plight
of domestic workers. It also conducted an awareness campaign
on the 2007 law against slavery as part of the PESE program
in the Brakna, Gorgol and Assaba regions.


39. (SBU) The government does not monitor immigration and
emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking.


40. (SBU) There is no mechanism for coordination and
communication between various agencies, internal,
international, and multilateral on trafficking-related
matters, such as a multi-agency working group or a task
force.


41. (SBU) The government is currently working in
association with the International Organization for the Right
to Development (IDDLO) to draft a National Action Plan to
Fight Trafficking in Persons to be released in 2010.


42. (SBU) Prostitution is prohibited in Mauritania and is a
taboo. Other than arresting women suspected of being
prostitutes, no other measures have been taken.


43. (SBU) The government has taken no measures during the
reporting period to reduce the participation in international
child sex tourism by nationals of the country.


44. (SBU) Mauritania currently has no military or police
deployed in peacekeeping operations.

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


45. (SBU) The government has worked in close collaboration
with UNICEF in implementing programs such as the repatriation
of child jockeys as well as conducting studies. The UN
Special Rapporteur visited Mauritania in November 2009 at the
government's invitation. The government is currently working
with for the Right to Development (IDDLO) to draft an Action
Plan. In December 2009, the government responded favorably
and rapidly to a request by Embassy Nouakchott to deny entry
into Mauritanian territory to a Malian trafficker attempting
to enter Mauritania with a group of talibe children.


46. (SBU) No international assistance is provided by the
Mauritanian government to other countries.

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HEROES: AMINETOU MINT MOCTAR
--------------


47. (SBU) Mrs. Aminetou Mint Moctar is a dynamic human
rights activist well-known for her dedication and commitment
to assisting girls and women victims of trafficking as well
as raising awareness with the government and the public about
the plight of women victims of trafficking. In 2009, Mrs.
Mint Moctar spearheaded highly visible public campaigns to
denounce trafficking to Saudi Arabia of young Mauritanian
girls as well as the exploitation of Mauritanian and West
African women living in domestic servitude. Her actions have
brought the government to recognize these practices exist.
She has consistently fought for these women -- whose voices
are not heard in Mauritanian society -- to create a legal
framework to protect victims and fight impunity. Mrs. Mint
Moctar has also been a vocal opponent of the traditional
practice of early marriages, which increases girls' chances
of being trafficked, or sexually exploited. Mrs. Mint Moctar
heads the Association Femmes Chefs de Familles, which she
founded in 1990 and provides assistance to victims of
domestic violence, rape and/or slavery. For her work with
these sensitive and often taboo issues, Aminetou Mint Moctar
has been accused of being a bad Muslim and a traitor to her
(TIP) REPORT

country. She has also received innumerable threats. In
light of Mauritania's fall to Tier 3 in the Department of
State's Annual Trafficking in Persons Report for 2009, her
work on trafficking - saving girls, spearheading conferences
to spread the message about the mechanics of typical
trafficking operation in Mauritania, inviting the media to
cover these issues, has heightened awareness of the
phenomenon on a national and international level.

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CONTACT INFORMATION
--------------


48. (SBU) Any questions regarding this report should be
addressed to Nitza Sola-Rotger, Political Officer,
sola-rotgern@state.gov


BOULWARE