This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 PRETORIA 004548 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/RSA, AF/S, AND G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM EAID PREL KCRM KJUS KWMN SF
SUBJECT: INTERIM TIP ASSESSMENT FOR SOUTH AFRICA 
 
REF: A. PRETORIA 04390 
     ¶B. PRETORIA 04353 
     ¶C. PRETORIA 04294 
     ¶D. PRETORIA 04249 
     ¶E. STATE 188708 
     ¶F. PRETORIA 03890 
     ¶G. STATE 136651 
     ¶H. PRETORIA 00947 
 
  ¶1. (SBU)  Summary: South Africa has identified the 
trafficking problem, is taking real steps, and is having 
results.  The National Assembly has passed the Children's 
Bill, and the government continues to push the 
"Anti-Trafficking" and "Sexual Offenses" bills through the 
legislative process.  Prosecutions of traffickers for related 
offenses under existing laws continue despite legal attacks, 
and South African law enforcement's embrace of training has 
empowered officers to start numerous investigations of 
suspected trafficking cases (refs B and D).  Although the SAG 
does not have specialized programs for child prostitution 
victims, it continues to financially support the network of 
shelters that care for these children.  Government owned 
media have devoted considerable air-time to trafficking, and 
the SAG plans to include this issue in its prestigious annual 
"Violence Against Women and Children" public awareness 
campaign.  The South African Police Service (SAPS) continued 
its commitment to punish corruption and the Department of 
Home Affairs dismissed and prosecuted many corrupt officials 
under its new Minister's "turnaround strategy".  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------ 
Status of National Legislation 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  (U) The SAG has made progress on Action Plan items 
concerning TIP related legislation.  On June 22, the National 
Assembly passed the Children's Bill, which specifically bans 
the trafficking of children and exceeds UN Protocol on 
Trafficking in Persons protections by including adoptions 
facilitated or secured through illegal means in its 
definition of trafficking.  The bill is currently in 
Committee in the National Council of Provinces, and is 
expected to be adopted in the February 2006 session.  Some 
traditional leaders in Kwa-Zulu Natal, including King 
Goodwill Zelithini, view the proposed bill's banning of 
virginity testing as an infringement of cultural rights such 
as the annual Zulu Reed Dance.  Despite this opposition, the 
Government continues to push for the bill's passage. 
 
¶3.  (U) The South African Law Reform Commission (SALRC) 
"Discussion Paper" on trafficking in persons, which will 
include draft legislation, is expected to be released for 
public comment in either January or early February 2006.  The 
SALRC's final report, incorporating comments received, will 
be submitted to the Department of Justice and Constitutional 
Development, which will be responsible for moving the 
legislation forward.  The proposed legislation would 
incorporate the child trafficking legislation resulting in 
one comprehensive law against human trafficking. 
 
¶4.  (U) The National Assembly's Portfolio Committee on 
Justice debated the "Sexual Offenses Bill" recently, and 
referred the draft to the Department of Justice and 
Constitutional Development for further review.  (Note: This 
bill is Chapter Five of the comprehensive Criminal Law 
Amendments Bill overhauling significant portions of South 
Africa's criminal code, thus its progress is difficult to 
predict. End Note) 
 
------------------------------------- 
Arrest and Prosecution of Traffickers 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) South African law enforcement officials continue to 
successfully arrest and prosecute traffickers under existing 
laws.  For example, the trial of "Ranch" owner Andrew 
Phillips for procuring and living off the proceeds of 
prostitution, will resume on November 28 (ref H).  This 
prosecution is continuing despite Phillips' attempts to have 
the charges dismissed on technicalities. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Although there are no reports of new prosecutions 
of traffickers initiated since June 2005, the International 
Organization for Migration (IOM) says a number of 
investigations are ongoing.  Most investigations are 
conducted by officers made aware of the trafficking issue 
through training sessions provided by IOM and INL.  In 
August, two Johannesburg Metropolitan Police (JMPD) officers 
who had received INL training arrested a school bus driver 
for supplying schoolgirls for prostitution.  The JMPD 
arrested the driver, and the South African Police Service 
(SAPS) booked him on charges of abduction.  Unfortunately, 
they were unable to pursue the case to conclusion because the 
alleged victims recanted their original statements (ref D). 
While the outcome of this particular investigation was 
unfortunate, the JMPD officers' initiative in arresting the 
alleged trafficker under existing laws is an example of 
increased awareness after receiving training.  To further 
facilitate this growing awareness and initiative, the SAPS, 
the National Prosecuting Authority's (NPA) Directorate for 
Special Prosecutions (the "Scorpions"), and the Department of 
Home Affairs all have embraced training programs for their 
staff, as recommended in the Action Plan (refs B and G). 
 
-------------------------------- 
Protection Services for Children 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) The SAG financially supports shelters for children 
suffering from abuse, but does not provide specialized 
assistance for child prostitution victims.  According to IOM, 
police officers normally refer victims, including trafficking 
victims, to local shelters.  To improve coordination, IOM has 
worked with South African NGOs to create a network of 
shelters, financed largely by the government, in Cape Town, 
Johannesburg, and Durban trained to assist women and children 
who are trafficking victims (ref B).  South Africa's gender 
rights movement praises the SAG's commitment to helping women 
and children, and this form of partnership between government 
and civil society is a common strategy to enhance services 
despite insufficient resources (ref F). 
 
------------------------------- 
Public Awareness of Trafficking 
------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (SBU) The SAG has enlisted the NGO Solo Mongolo to 
incorporate a campaign on trafficking of women and children 
into the Government's prestigious annual "Violence Against 
Women and Children Campaign" that will be held between 
November 25 and December 10 (ref C).  This campaign is the 
centerpiece of SAG media projects promoting gender and 
children's rights, and the inclusion of trafficking signals 
the Government's continued and growing commitment to raise 
public awareness of the issue. 
 
¶9.  (U) Beginning in January 2006, the NPA's Sexual Offenses 
and Community Affairs unit will launch an EU funded (6 
million Euro) anti-trafficking project focused on conducting 
public awareness campaigns.  According to the EU project 
document, the awareness campaign strategies, "will be adapted 
to the cultural context and will be extended to other 
countries in the region to prevent trafficking at its 
source." 
 
¶10.  (U) In addition to the upcoming Violence Against Women 
and Children Campaign, government owned radio and TV. 
stations have actively supported IOM's efforts to publicize 
the trafficking issue (ref B).  In one recent example, the 
youth oriented talk show, Take 5, devoted a program to 
trafficking in persons.  The South Africa Broadcasting 
Corporation broadcast this episode twice.  Such support has 
helped produce increased public awareness of South Africa's 
trafficking problem among government officials, law 
enforcement, local NGOs, and the general public.  As a 
result, IOM claims there is greater public understanding of 
the difference between trafficking and smuggling, and there 
has been a measurable increase in the use of IOM's hotline to 
provide tips on possible cases (ref B). 
 
------------------------------ 
Combating Fraud and Corruption 
------------------------------ 
 
¶11.  (U) The SAG continues to vigorously punish and prosecute 
corruption, even in politically sensitive cases like that of 
former Deputy President Jacob Zuma.  The SAPS, under its 
Corruption and Fraud Prevention Strategy, disciplined 461 
officers between April 2004 and March 31st 2005 according to 
its recently released Annual Report.  Likewise, as part of 
its new Minister's "turnaround strategy", the Department of 
Home Affairs improved attempts to deal with corruption among 
its officials.  On July 18, Minister Nosiview Mapisa-Nqakula 
announced that 80 officials had been charged with corruption, 
and 66 senior officials were dismissed for misconduct since 
April 2004. 
 
------------------------ 
Interviewing of Migrants 
------------------------ 
 
¶12.  (SBU) IOM's training programs have enabled many 
immigration and rural law enforcement and immigration 
officials to identify and properly question trafficking 
victims (ref B).  During a July 2005 UNICEF conference in 
Johannesburg, the Somali delegation was held at the airport 
for part of the day because officials there were suspicious 
that the children may have been trafficked.  Although this 
was a false alarm, the incident does illustrate a greater 
awareness of potential trafficking victims.  Unfortunately, 
while IOM says local law enforcement's ability to question 
migrants has improved, the lack of national coordination and 
procedures on trafficking still often leads to deportation of 
victims before they are able to give evidence in court.  IOM 
mentioned the case of police officers near Komati Port who 
identified trafficked victims, but because they did not know 
where to refer them to, deported these people. 
 
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Comment 
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¶13.  (SBU) South Africa's anti-traficking efforts reflect the 
government's increased awareness of the problem and 
commitment to combat it.  The lack of specific 
anti-trafficking legislation and national procedures 
continues to hamper law enforcement's efforts.  However, the 
government is actively moving these bills through the 
legislative process, despite opposition by traditional 
leaders.  In the meantime, the SAG has compensated for this 
lack of targeted legislation, and for its limited financial 
and human resources, by working with the USG, EU, IOM, and 
local NGOs.  This enthusiastic embrace of assistance already 
has improved South African law enforcement's ability to 
investigate and prosecute traffickers under existing laws, 
bolstered public awareness, and expanded the resources 
provided to victims. 
HARTLEY