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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 KINSHASA 000206 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR AF/C - MADEEHA ASHRAF 
DEPT FOR G/TIP - EDWARD FLOOD 
 
FROM BRAZZAVILLE EMBASSY OFFICE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWMN KCRM PHUM ASEC ELAB SMIG CF
SUBJECT: CONGO/BRAZZAVILLE: Proposal for ESF 
         Anti-Trafficking in Persons Project 
 
REF: 05 STATE 226696 
 
¶1. In response to G/TIP's requests for proposals, post would 
like to put forward the project below for ESF funding. 
Although Republic of Congo has not been identified in the 
several most recent TIP reports, there is reason to be 
concerned that trafficking may exist in the country.  For 
this reason, post has sought out a proactive project that 
would concentrate on data gathering and public awareness 
raising.  (Please note: the project summary below is based 
on a full project proposal and expanded budget breakout that 
will both be emailed to AF Desk Officer Madeeha Ashraf and 
G/TIP Regional Coordinator Edward Flood.  End note.) 
 
Begin Project Summary: 
 
------------------- 
¶A. TITLE OF PROJECT 
------------------- 
 
Anti-Trafficking Project Addressing Forced Child Labor and 
Child Sex Exploration in the Republic of Congo 
 
--------------------------------- 
¶B. NAME OF RECIPIENT ORGANIZATION 
--------------------------------- 
 
International Partnership for Human Development (IPHD) 
 
---------------------- 
¶C. DURATION OF PROJECT 
---------------------- 
 
   It is a new project that will take thirteen months to 
implement.  At the end of this project, a longer-term 
strategy will be designed and funding will be sought to 
continue these efforts from USG and other donors. 
 
-------------- 
¶D. DESCRIPTION 
-------------- 
 
   IPHD seeks funding to launch a much-needed project in the 
Republic of Congo (ROC) to shed light on the nature and 
extent of the problem of trafficking in children in the 
country.  Currently, neither the host government nor local 
and international NGOs know much about the problem and lack 
any meaningful programs aimed specifically at identifying or 
combating it.  Since it is clear that these problems exist 
in neighboring countries and there are unconfirmed reports 
of them in the ROC, IPHD has designed a project with two 
main objectives: 1) raising public awareness of trafficking 
issues related specifically to forced/coerced child labor 
and child sex exploitation, and 2) collecting reliable data 
to track the problems in the ROC. 
 
   IPHD (International Partnership for Human Development) 
will work with local NGOs in the cities of Brazzaville, 
Pointe Noire, Dolosie, and in the Lekoumou District to set 
up and implement this project.  Regional Caritas offices in 
Brazzaville, Pointe Noire, and Dolisie will be IPHD's main 
partners. 
 
Activities: 
 
   Below is a brief description of some of the key 
activities of the project (a full project proposal and 
expanded budget breakout will be emailed separately to AF 
Desk Officer Madeeha Ashraf and G/TIP Regional Coordinator 
Edward Flood). 
 
   IPHD will begin the substantive work of the project by 
convening a one-day workshop with local NGOs, Church, school 
and health officials interested in anti-trafficking issues 
to exchange ideas and to ask their participation in 
collecting data on forced child labor and child 
prostitution.  Caritas Pointe Noire and Caritas Dolosie will 
convene similar workshops in their respective cities. 
 
   IPHD will develop a data collection and analysis system 
and, starting in the third month, this will be implemented 
by IPHD and Caritas.  Among the types of data collected will 
include: numbers of and demographics related to children in 
forced/coerced labor situations (e.g., parents residence for 
street children; girl prostitutes and others; age; 
education; current occupation; current residence; tribal or 
ethnic background; reason(s) why they left home or how they 
arrived where they are now; problems with authorities; basic 
needs, and other items of importance to constructing 
profiles of the trafficked children, specifically, and 
forced child labor and child prostitution, in general). IPHD 
will collect, analyze and publish the data bimonthly. 
 
   Around the fourth month, once the data collecting system 
has been launched, IPHD and the three Caritas groups will 
begin developing an educational brochure on forced labor and 
other trafficking issues for dissemination to over 500 
schools.  Directors of school districts will also meet for a 
daylong session in the fifth month to discuss anti- 
trafficking issues and their participation in the program. 
They will be asked to have teachers present the brochure to 
their students and parents' groups for discussion, and to 
provide IPHD and Caritas feedback on the discussions, 
including any known cases of forced labor and prostitution. 
This process is expected to run from the fifth to seventh 
months.  As many as 25,000 students will be reached with 
this program. 
 
   In the Lekoumou District, IPHD and Caritas Dolisie will 
develop a slightly different educational brochure to deal 
with these issues as they relate to pygmy children since the 
problems are believed to be widespread in the District and 
culturally entrenched.  The brochure will be inserted into 
existing IPHD teacher training and school lunch programs in 
the District.  District school supervisors, pygmy headmen 
and local school teachers will be encouraged to identify 
trafficking cases, high-risk areas and individuals. 
 
   Next, IPHD will develop a radio drama program or soap 
opera on combating trafficking in children and 
forced/coerced child labor and prostitution.  The target 
audience will be students age 8-18 and their families. 
Radio drama bridges the gap between an academic education 
and a values-based education.  Audiences develop a strong 
sense of effective identification with characters and 
situations.  This identification leads to discussion about 
issues raised and eventually to individual and collective 
action.  Featuring a group of high school students, the soap 
opera will examine the realities of young people's daily 
lives, explore the causes of trafficking, the perils of 
being trafficked, prevention and how trafficked children 
forced into labor or prostitution can take action to escape 
from their `owners' or abusers. 
 
   Finally, in the twelfth month, IPHD will convene an anti- 
trafficking workshop in Brazzaville for 50 participants, 
including Caritas directors, other NGO officials, church 
authorities, school district directors, pygmy headmen, and 
others.  They will review the achievements of the projects, 
problems, data collected and analyzed, impact of 
information, education, and communication (IE&C) materials, 
recommend new related activities, and develop a strategy for 
a follow-up program.  This workshop is expected to set in 
motion a national strategy and guidelines for combating 
trafficking in children and preventing forced/coerced child 
labor and prostitution.  It will also result in a follow-on 
2-year project that will be drafted and presented to 
American and European donors for funding. 
 
Sustainability: 
 
   This project is expected to have immediate benefits and 
to lay the groundwork for a sustainable long-term effort in 
the ROC.  Through this project, IPHD, Caritas and other 
NGOs, and the host government, will gain a better 
understanding of trafficking child labor problems in the 
Republic of Congo.  This will lead to a better programming 
of their local resources to tackle these problems and to 
improve networking with government agencies and NGOs.  Since 
trafficking is a social concern for the Catholic Church as a 
whole, Caritas is committed to continuing this effort and to 
seeking support from within, as well as from their many 
donors.  The Lekoumou Anti-Trafficking Commission, supported 
by Caritas, will continue to function.  By using the media 
for socio-dramas, journalists, too, will become more aware 
and likely to report on issues of trafficking.  Caritas, 
with IPHD's assistance, will jointly develop a 2-year 
strategy and project proposal for submittal to both European 
and American donors.  IPHD will assist Caritas in finding 
potential donors. 
 
---------------- 
¶E. JUSTIFICATION 
---------------- 
 
   Too little is known about the nature and extent of the 
problems of trafficking, forced/coerced child labor and 
child prostitution in ROC.  This lack of concrete data and 
public awareness has impeded efforts to begin any effective 
and sustainable programs aimed at combating these problems. 
 
   To date there have been unconfirmed reports of 
trafficking children to the ROC from nearby countries in 
West and Central Africa, including Benin, Cameroon, Central 
African Republic, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, and Togo.  In 
addition, it is clear that significant numbers of children 
are working in the informal work sector and anecdotal 
reports that the numbers of children being drawn into the 
formal work sector are growing.  In 2001, the ILO estimated 
that 25.3 percent of children ages 10 to 14 years in the 
Republic of the Congo were working.  Although there are no 
more current statistics, these numbers are thought to have 
grown.  Children work for their families on farms or in 
informal business activities.  Large numbers of street 
children in Brazzaville engage in street vending and petty 
theft.  Some of these children are also involved in 
prostitution.  With school infrastructure problems and a 
worsening economic situation for the average Congolese, the 
potential for these problems to increase are great. 
 
   In the northern part of the country, there have been 
reports that ethnic Pygmies, including children, have worked 
as indentured servants for ethnic Bantus in remote northern 
areas of the country. Although there is no concrete data, it 
is estimated pygmies make up 5-10 percent of the country's 
population. 
 
   The Labor Code sets the minimum age for employment, 
including apprenticeships, at 16 years, unless otherwise 
permitted by the Ministry of Education.  The law prohibits 
forced or compulsory labor. Procuring any person for the 
purposes of prostitution is illegal, with increased 
punishment if the crime is committed with a minor.  The law 
does not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, but 
activities associated with trafficking can be prosecuted 
under existing criminal code provisions on rape, illegal 
entry, forced labor, child abuse, defilement, extortion and 
fraud.  The Ministry of Labor is responsible for enforcing 
child labor laws and monitors businesses in the formal 
sector, but most child labor occurs in the informal sector 
or rural areas where government oversight is minimal or non- 
existent. 
 
------------------------- 
¶F. PERFORMANCE INDICATORS 
------------------------- 
 
   The milestones and performance indicators for this 
program include: 
 
   [] Number of local NGOs and groups participating 
   [] Agreement with all three Caritas groups on project 
      procedures and guidelines 
   [] Development and implementation of data collection 
      and management system 
   [] Bimonthly publishing of data 
   [] Development of anti-trafficking educational 
      brochures for school children 
   [] Workshops for school directors 
   [] Number of schools implementing anti-trafficking 
      activities 
   [] Creation of an Anti-Trafficking Commission for 
      Lekoumou District 
   [] Development of a socio-drama radio series 
   [] Number of broadcasts of socio-drama radio series 
   [] Number and kinds of feedback from radio broadcasts 
      of the socio-drama series 
   [] End-of-year anti-trafficking workshop to review 
      achievements, set new goals and directions 
   [] Develop national strategy 
   [] Develop subsequent project proposal(s) for funding 
      the continuation and expansion of anti-trafficking 
      activities 
   [] Final report to the U.S. Government 
 
------------------ 
¶G. EVALUATION PLAN 
------------------ 
 
   IPHD headquarters will monitor all activities, and 
IPHD/Congo will monitor in-country activities on a weekly 
basis and file monthly reports with headquarters. 
Activities will be measured against both the indicators and 
time tracking table. 
 
The project will be monitored in terms of timeliness of 
getting off the ground, and of inputs such as funding, human 
resource allocation, logistics, and material availability. 
The organization and impact of all management inputs will be 
closely monitored.  Up to three technical assistance visits 
by the IPHD headquarters project manager for this grant will 
help to strengthen program monitoring and management. 
 
   Monthly reports will identify weaknesses in the work 
plan, new opportunities, and unforeseen variables or other 
factors that may impact the outcome of the program and 
achievement of its goal and objectives.  Evaluations will 
consider the organizational impact on IPHD, as well as on 
Caritas Congo and other local NGOs.  Following monthly 
evaluations, targets can be re-set, the strategy modified, 
and resources re-organized.  At the end of the project, a 
comprehensive technical and progress report will be 
developed and presented to the State Department, along with 
copies of the assessments or database, and other materials 
developed.  The end of project report will detail strategies 
developed and actions taken to sustain and improve the anti- 
trafficking program in the Republic of Congo. 
 
--------- 
¶H. BUDGET 
--------- 
 
               |     Funds | IPHD/Caritas | 
               | Requested | Contribution |     TOTAL 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
Personnel      |   $50,160 |      $46,920 |   $97,080 
Travel         |   $60,400 |      $15,600 |   $76,000 
Supplies/Rent  |   $12,480 |       $4,584 |   $17,064 
Equipment      |        $0 |       $1,440 |    $1,440 
Workshops      |   $30,500 |           $0 |   $30,500 
Indirect Costs |    $6,460 |           $0 |    $6,460 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
TOTAL          |  $160,000 |      $68,544 |  $228,544 
 
---------------------------------- 
¶I. TYPE AND AMOUNT OF COST-SHARING 
---------------------------------- 
 
   As noted above, IPHD/Caritas will contribute $68,544 
towards the project. Host government contributions are 
primarily the time and salary of school directors and 
educational personnel. 
 
---------------------------------- 
¶J. Proposed Funding Mechanism 
---------------------------------- 
 
   Since IPHD is has its headquarters in the Washington, DC 
metro area, post suggests/requests that the financial 
aspects of the grant be managed directly by grants staff in 
Washington, DC.  Please note that post has a grant warrant 
of up to $25,000 only. 
 
---------------------------------- 
¶K. Embassy Contact 
---------------------------------- 
 
Chelsea Bakken 
Economic and Consular Officer 
American Embassy Brazzaville (Republic of Congo) 
Brazzaville tel: 242 528-79-63 
Brazzaville email: bzvbakkencmh@yahoo.com 
Kinshasa email: bakkencmh@state.gov (checked weekly) 
 
End Project Summary. 
 
¶3. Please be advised that the Embassy Brazzaville TDY Office 
currently has no access to IVG, OpenNet or the Global 
Address List (GAL).  Embassy staff may be contacted via the 
following personal e-mail accounts or cell phone numbers: 
 
CDA Mark Biedlingmaier, carpaemarkum@hotmail.com 
 celtel: (242) 526-3562 
ECON/CONS Chelsea Bakken, bzvbakkencmh@yahoo.com 
 celtel: (242) 528-7963 
 
¶4. Brazzaville Embassy Office - Biedlingmaier. 
 
MEECE