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RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0066
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 0017
RUEHJI/AMCONSUL JEDDAH 2470

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 ADDIS ABABA 000658 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, AF/RSA, USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN ELAB SMIG ASEC KFRD PREF
SUBJECT: ETHIOPIA:  POST REPLY TO TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 
(TIP) REPORT QUESTIONS 
 
REF: STATE 003836 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000658  001.2 OF 010 
 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Responses cued to reftel questions are provided 
below. 
 
QUESTION 21:  OVERVIEW 
---------------------- 
 
¶A.  Ethiopia is a country of origin for internationally 
trafficked women, to a far lesser extent men, and a small 
number of children.  Trafficking also occurs within the 
country's borders.  Estimates vary, but local 
non-governmental organizations (NGO) believe that an 
estimated 20,000 to 25,000 Ethiopians were trafficked 
internationally in 2005, roughly the same number that were 
trafficked in 2004.  Trafficking reported in 2005 was 
primarily labor-related.  Government officials do not have 
estimates for 2005.  Sources believe totals trafficked 
internationally favor females over males, with prostitution 
amounting to a minor share of the total.  Young women, 
particularly those age 18-30, were the most commonly 
trafficked group, while a small number of children were also 
reportedly trafficked internationally. 
 
¶B. Young women are trafficked from all parts of Ethiopia 
primarily to the Gulf states and Djibouti to work as domestic 
laborers and less typically as commercial sex workers; 
Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia are the 
most common destination countries.  According to 
International Organization for Migration (IOM) officials in 
Addis Ababa, there are a total of more than 130,000 Ethiopian 
migrant workers (legal and illegal) in the Middle East, 
predominantly women.  NGOs and Ethiopia's Ministry of Labor 
and Social Affairs (MOLSA) estimate that the majority of 
illegal Ethiopian workers in Middle East countries were 
trafficked rather than smuggled for employment purposes.  IOM 
officials in early 2006 consider that the following MOLSA 
figures continue to be "reliable estimates": 
 
-- There are over 17,000 illegal Ethiopian workers present in 
Lebanon, along with over 15,000 legal Ethiopians, 
representing a significant share of Lebanon's estimated 
80,000 migrant worker population.  (NOTE: IOM reports that 
Lebanon has resumed issuing work permits to Ethiopians, after 
suspending issuance for 18 months.  END NOTE.) 
 
-- Around 10,000 to 12,000 illegal Ethiopian workers are 
believed to be located in Yemen.  As of February 2006, 
several thousand Ethiopians remained stranded in Puntland 
(Somalia), having sought unsuccessfully to transit onward to 
Yemen.  In February 2006, UNHCR reported that boat sailing 
across the Gulf of Aden from Somalia to Yemen forced 137 
passengers overboard, resulting in the deaths of at least 30; 
passengers included Somalis and Ethiopians seeking to avoid 
interception by Yemeni coast guard officials. 
 
-- IOM officials cite Yemen as a significant transit point, 
particularly for young Ethiopian girls being trafficked to 
Djibouti, many of whom are as young as age 14 or 15. 
According to IOM, a recent impact assessment concludes that 
many of these trafficked girls in Djibouti have HIV/AIDS; the 
Government of Djibouti has accused Ethiopian migrants of 
increasing Djibouti's HIV/AIDS rate. 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000658  002.2 OF 010 
 
 
 
-- In Saudi Arabia, there are reportedly close to 80,000 
illegal Ethiopian workers, the bulk having initially traveled 
to Saudi Arabia on religious pilgrimage (the haj) but then 
staying on illegally. 
 
-- Some 5,000 to 7,000 illegal Ethiopian workers are believed 
present in both Kuwait and Bahrain. 
 
-- Estimates indicate perhaps 4,000 to 5,000 illegal 
Ethiopians present in the United Arab Emirates, principally 
in Dubai. 
 
Men tend to be trafficked to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf States 
primarily as low-skilled labor.  NGOs report transit 
countries include Egypt, Yemen, Djibouti, Sudan, Libya, 
Tanzania, and Kenya; some Ethiopian women have been 
reportedly trafficked onward from Lebanon to Europe 
(specifically Turkey and Greece).  See chart below for those 
trafficked from Ethiopia: 
 
                       RECEIVING           TYPE OF 
TRANSIT                COUNTRIES           RECRUITMENT 
----------------       -------------       ------------------- 
Egypt, Yemen,          Lebanon and         domestic labor 
Djibouti,              other Gulf 
Kenya, Tanzania        States 
 
--                     Djibouti            domestic labor, 
                                           sex industry 
 
--                     South Africa        labor associated 
                                           with hosting the 
                                           World Cup (e.g., 
construction) 
 
Sudan, Libya           Europe,             irregular migration 
                       North America 
 
Local NGOs report that internal trafficking of children and 
adults within Ethiopia has continued to be a serious problem. 
 Both adults and children are believed to be trafficked from 
rural areas to urban areas, principally for domestic labor 
purposes, and, to a lesser extent, for prostitution and other 
labor activities, such as street vending.  Vulnerable 
individuals, such as young adults from rural areas and 
children, who transit the Addis Ababa bus terminal, are 
sometimes identified and targeted by agents (or traffickers) 
who approach them offering jobs, food, guidance, or shelter. 
Some social workers have reported that people from urban 
areas recruit children in their villages for housemaid work 
or traditional weaving.  NGO representatives say some agents 
or traffickers now go to rural villages to recruit specific 
types or categories of laborers. 
 
IOM officials report some linkages between internal and 
international trafficking: specifically noting that children 
internally trafficked from Dire Dawa, Bahar Dar, and Dessie, 
are then sent overseas to the Middle East, transiting through 
Dire Dawa, Jijiga, Bosasso (in Somalia), and then Djibouti. 
 
High unemployment and extreme poverty continued to provide 
the "push" behind labor and migration trends, while jobs, 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000658  003.2 OF 010 
 
 
opportunities, and better living standards overseas served to 
"pull" desperate Ethiopians overseas, according to IOM 
officials.  NGOs believe that, while the number of legal 
labor migration employment agencies has risen from five to 17 
in the past year, the GOE has significantly tightened its 
implementation of various labor and employment agency 
provisions.  The net result, according to NGOs, is that more 
Ethiopians being trafficked are exiting via neighboring 
countries (particularly Djibouti, Kenya, Tanzania, and Sudan) 
or via intermediate destinations (such as Syria or Egypt). 
There are now a total of 17 registered employment agencies in 
Ethiopia, all headquartered in Addis Ababa, that have been 
licensed by MOLSA to send workers abroad, primarily to the 
Middle East. 
 
Ethiopia is not a destination country for internationally 
trafficked victims.  With regard to internally trafficked 
individuals and as noted earlier, some are targeted on 
arrival in Addis Ababa or recruited from the villages for 
work as housemaids or for unskilled jobs in shops, factories, 
restaurants, or bars.  Those without recourse to family or 
return to their villages are at risk to exploitation, 
including prostitution.  Coercion is sometimes a factor. 
NGOs note that frequently individuals make their own choice 
to move from rural areas to cities to seek employment and 
that it is also common for extended families to seek out job 
opportunities for unemployed family members. 
 
¶C.  The government continues to face many limitations in 
addressing trafficking.  They include an inadequately trained 
police force, lack of resources to aid victims, lack of 
coordination among government agencies in tackling the 
problem of trafficking, lack of funds to expand 
anti-trafficking initiatives, an overburdened judiciary that 
lacks understanding of the problem of trafficking, and lack 
of ministerial level initiatives to improve the situation 
significantly given current resource constraints.  MOLSA 
reports information about trafficking sources to the Ministry 
of Justice (MOJ) and the police which are mandated to take 
appropriate measures; however, according to some government 
officials, enforcement measures are lacking. 
 
¶D.  The government is concerned with the problem of 
trafficked persons from Ethiopia, and committed to its 
eradication.  The government does little, however, to monitor 
its anti-trafficking efforts systematically.  Recognizing 
this shortcoming, the government has started to build its 
capacity to respond to trafficking issues.  The government 
initiated efforts to study trafficking, increase detection 
and begin collecting statistics.  It has enhanced its 
immigration procedures, such as checking departees' contracts 
against MOLSA lists.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) 
continued to lead an inter-ministerial national committee to 
study the issue of Ethiopian women who are being trafficked 
to the Gulf states and Lebanon.  The GOE established a 
multi-agency counter-trafficking task force led by the vice 
minister of justice, with a mandate to establish a 
nation-wide, multi-agency plan of action for combating 
trafficking.  MOLSA worked with the IOM as well as NGOs and 
some donors, such as USAID, to launch information awareness 
initiatives.  The government continues to open consulates in 
the Gulf states, which provide limited legal assistance and 
shelter to trafficked victims there. 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000658  004.2 OF 010 
 
 
 
QUESTION 22:  PREVENTION 
------------------------ 
 
¶A.  The government actively acknowledges that trafficking is 
a problem in Ethiopia. 
 
¶B.  The MFA, MOJ, the Office of Women's Affairs within the 
prime minister's office, and MOLSA are all involved in 
anti-trafficking efforts, as are the federal police and 
immigration officials.  They each participate in the national 
government's inter-ministerial committee to combat the 
problem of trafficking, as well as the counter-trafficking 
task force. 
 
¶C.  The government has supported IOM-sponsored 
anti-trafficking information campaigns, including large-group 
counseling efforts in schools and universities and various 
media campaigns.  The government also supervises the work of 
the legal international labor migration firms, which include 
counter-trafficking training in their initial screening and 
pre-departure counseling programs.  Pre-departure counseling 
is designed to empower potential migrants by providing 
information about the realities of irregular migration, and 
in particular the risks for women.  Such risks include 
negative health consequences, exploitation, violence and 
abuse.  In addition, the project provides counseling on human 
rights, financial management and health issues to potential 
migrants and their families.  Such counseling enables the 
beneficiaries to make better- informed decisions related to 
migration, as well as to facilitate their socio-economic 
integration in the country of destination.  IOM has also 
provided hot-line support to give anonymous counseling 
services.  This pre-departure counseling complements an 
already existing IOM information campaign that disseminates 
reliable information on issues related to irregular migration 
and trafficking to potential migrants and victims of 
trafficking, their families and the community at large. 
 
The government has championed a program that involves 
matching employers in Lebanon with a potential Ethiopian 
employees in Ethiopia.  Family members or friends already 
working in Lebanon often arrange such referrals.  Under the 
program, government officials verify the employer, position 
and contract terms in Lebanon.  Once the employment 
opportunity is deemed valid, the contract and employment 
details are sent to MOLSA and then on to the prospective 
employee.  The employee is then able to travel legally and 
registers with the Beirut consulate. 
 
In December 2005, the Ministry of Justice forwarded a 
proposal to Post for a public awareness campaign on 
trafficking, which remains under review by the Department. 
 
¶D.  The Ministry of Education (MOE) continued to work with 
UNICEF on a campaign to boost the enrollment of girls in 
schools in Ethiopia's poorest regions.   MOE has organized a 
workshop with education professionals aimed at overcoming the 
hurdles that prevent girls from attending school, such as 
domestic chores and early marriages.  IOM, together with MOE, 
continued to distribute over 500,000 exercise books with 
cartoon illustrations depicting counter trafficking to 
secondary school students throughout the country.  IOM 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000658  005.2 OF 010 
 
 
continued to work in collaboration with the MOE by organizing 
peer group discussions on trafficking in 200 secondary and 
junior secondary schools in the country. IOM supplies 
recorded cassettes and CDs on the ill effects of trafficking 
to these schools for broadcasting through school mini-media 
during recess time in order to provide a better understanding 
of trafficking-in-persons. 
 
(Note:  Reftel does not include question "E.") 
 
¶F.  Civil society is weak in Ethiopia, but the government 
works closely with those organizations that exist, namely IOM 
and the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association (EWLA).  For the 
most part, MOLSA works with the IOM on anti-trafficking 
activities and does not have much official collaboration, 
largely for lack of funding, with indigenous NGOs apart from 
making some data available to them upon request.  In 
contrast, the Ethiopian officials in Beirut and Dubai have 
reported that the consulates have developed professional 
relationships with NGOs as well as with churches in Lebanon 
that are working to protect the rights of Ethiopian migrant 
workers.  One such organization in Beirut is the Roman 
Catholic organization, CARITAS.  Indeed, NGOs both in 
Ethiopia and in Lebanon applaud the cooperative efforts of 
the consulate staff while noting they are overworked and 
under-funded given the workloads they face. 
 
¶G.  The government monitors its borders to the extent of its 
ability.  There are large swaths of territory along 
Ethiopia's borders with Sudan and Somalia that cannot 
currently be fully monitored by border officials.  The 
government monitors immigration and emigration patterns for 
evidence of trafficking.  With IOM assistance, immigration 
officers have been trained to spot and question those most 
susceptible to trafficking and verify the legitimacy of the 
travel.  Beyond application of proclamation 104, there has 
been little effort to use such data in any meaningful way to 
put a stop to the problem.  Police officials, reflecting 
popular sentiment, appear to be less alarmed with the problem 
of trafficking, insisting upon people's rights under the 
Ethiopian constitution to travel freely.  Domestic 
trafficking has received less attention.  Consequently, 
enforcement has lagged in this regard. 
 
¶H.  An inter-ministerial national committee for fighting 
trafficking consisting of officials representing MOLSA, MOJ, 
MFA, and police and immigration officials exists.  NGOs 
reported that it meets periodically to address specific 
problems and policy issues.  However, a counter-trafficking 
force formed in 2004 held several meetings and developed a 
series of taskings for relevant ministries and agencies to 
develop proposals, collect information, etc.  The task force 
met regularly prior to outbreak of post election-related 
violence in June 2005, but has not met since. 
 
(Note:  Reftel does not include question "I.") 
 
¶J.  Work was begun in 2004 on the formulation of a national 
plan of action to address trafficking in Ethiopia. 
Heretofore, MOLSA had overall responsibility for this issue 
and its annual action plan included a summary of its work 
plans for the year with respect to counter trafficking. 
Progress has been slow due to the election-related violence. 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000658  006.2 OF 010 
 
 
 
QUESTION 23:  INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
--------------------------------------------- ------------- 
 
The government did enact any new legislation relating to 
trafficking since the last TIP report, but instituted a new 
penal code with improved trafficking-related language.  The 
revised penal code specifically outlaws labor-related 
trafficking, and entered into force in May 2005, replacing 
the former penal code of 1957. 
 
¶A.  Article 596 (Enslavement) criminalizes any attempt to 
enslave, sell, alienate, buy, trade or exploit another 
person.  Article 597 (Trafficking in Women and Children) 
criminalizes the recruitment, transportation, harboring, 
import, or export of women or minors for the purpose of 
forced labor.  Article 598 (Unlawful Sending of Ethiopians 
for Work Abroad) criminalizes the sending of Ethiopian 
citizens abroad for work without a license.  Article 599 
(Participation of Illegal Associations and Juridical Persons) 
criminalizes any group or organization's participation in 
slave trade.  Article 600 (Default of Supervision or Control) 
criminalizes any government official who fails to take all 
measures to control and prevent trafficking.  Article 635 
(Traffic in Women and Minors) specifically criminalizes the 
trafficking of men, women and children for prostitution. 
 
¶B.  Those found in violation of the articles above face five 
to 20 years imprisonment and a fine not exceeding 50 thousand 
birr (approximately $5,800).  For particularly egregious 
cases, the penalty may be 10 to 20 years imprisonment. 
Organizations found in violation Article 599 face a 100 
thousand birr (approximately $11,500) fine and dissolution. 
 
¶C.  Article 589 of the penal code makes rape punishable 
imprisonment not exceeding ten years.  Rape is punishable for 
up to 15 years if committed on a child under the age of 15, 
or on anyone under the protective custody or supervision of 
the accused person, or by a number of persons acting in 
concert.  Forced sexual assault as defined by article 590 of 
the penal code is punishable by imprisonment not exceeding 
eight years, or with "simple imprisonment" for not less than 
six months.  Depending on which article is used to prosecute, 
the penalties for rape and sexual assault may be more or less 
severe than the penalties for trafficking. 
 
¶D.  Prostitution is not legal in Ethiopia.  Article 634 
(Habitual Exploitation for Pecuniary Gain) criminalizes the 
act of prostitution and those elements in support of it. 
Prostitutes, brother owner/operators, clients and pimps are 
subject to a maximum of five years imprisonment.  In 
practice, however, few people are charged with prostitution 
or crimes related to prostitution. 
 
¶E.  Enforcement of Ethiopia's existing anti-trafficking laws 
has lagged. 
 
-- Some NGO sources report that in 2005, local and federal 
police referred 38 cases to the prosecutor's office.  Of 
these, two have resulted in convictions, 18 are pending 
prosecution, and the remainder have been closed for lack of 
evidence or abscond of the defendant.  The low conviction 
rate is the result of an understaffed and overburdened 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000658  007.2 OF 010 
 
 
judiciary, trafficking legislation that essentially does not 
punish labor traffickers, lack of cooperation on fighting 
trafficking with destination country governments, and alleged 
corruption on the part of responsible local authorities. 
Traffickers also destroy evidence, making convictions 
difficult. 
 
-- The Forum for Street Children, a domestic NGO funded by 
international donors, reports the following cases of 
trafficked children and traffickers under investigation: 
 
2004: 251 cases of trafficked children reported; 8 cases 
investigated (5 dropped for lack of evidence; 3 still 
pending); 11 of 12 cases sent to prosecutors were later 
dropped for insufficient charges.  1 individual sentenced to 
3 months and 15 days in prison. 
 
2005: 411 cases of trafficked children reported (332 female, 
79 male); 5 cases remain under investigation by police; 14 of 
15 cases sent to prosecutors later dropped; 1 individual 
sentenced to 6 years imprisonment. 
 
2006: 109 cases of trafficked children reported to date (as 
of February 2006); 3 cases under investigation; 6 cases 
transferred for prosecution; 2 cases pending in court. 
 
-- In February 2006, the assistant prosecutor-general 
explained that the federal government previously compiled 
information only on the number of "fraud" cases, not 
trafficking per se.  Such "fraud" cases included 
trafficking-related cases, but also unrelated crimes such as 
counterfeit checks and other forms of fraud.  As noted 
previously, the revised penal code now specifically 
recognizes trafficking.  However, the assistant 
prosecutor-general said that the federal government lacks the 
institutional capacity or resources to identify only 
trafficking-related cases; he cited a total of 70,000 
criminal files in the prosecutor's office, which he said 
would have to be reviewed individually to determine if they 
were related to trafficking. 
 
¶F.  Information on who is behind the trafficking is much 
harder to document.  According to MOJ, MOLSA and IOM sources, 
Ethiopians themselves are behind these trafficking schemes. 
There are several operators who have extensive linkages both 
throughout Ethiopia as well as in the countries of 
destination.  In the past, some worked under the cover of 
legitimate travel agencies.  NGO representatives claim that 
traffickers tend to be individuals rather than organizations 
and operate on fairly small scale.  They do not believe 
trafficking is operated or coordinated by international 
criminal organizations. 
 
¶G.  The government has investigated cases of trafficking, 
employing surveillance techniques in the process.  However, 
during February 2006 meetings, both domestic NGOs working on 
trafficking issues, as well as Ethiopia's assistant 
attorney-general, report that police who had been assigned to 
special units in Addis Ababa to combat child trafficking had 
been transferred from those duties to deal with street 
violence associated with recurring anti-government 
demonstrations in late 2005 and early 2006.  Police and 
immigration security officials are equipped to conduct 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000658  008.2 OF 010 
 
 
electronic surveillance and undercover operations.  But 
whatever evidence they have turned up thus far has been 
insufficient in convincing judges to convict. 
 
¶H.  Although the government does not provide any specialized 
training, it allowed IOM to provide government officials with 
information and training in how to recognize, investigate, 
and prosecute instances of trafficking. 
 
¶I.  Ethiopia thwarted some the trafficking of victims 
transiting Addis Ababa's Bole airport, but according to MOLSA 
and the IOM, there is little cooperation with other 
governments in the investigation and prosecution of 
trafficking cases.  The MFA intends to increase awareness 
among Ethiopian diplomats of the seriousness of the 
trafficking problem in Ethiopia by including the issue in 
training programs for its diplomats.  The MFA states that 
destination countries have not been willing to enter into any 
binding bilateral agreements with Ethiopia, despite 
Ethiopia's attempts to conclude such agreements.  Ethiopia 
lacks diplomatic representation in some Gulf states but 
intends to open a number of new missions in the coming years, 
if funding permits.  Its embassy in Saudi Arabia is 
accredited to Oman, and its mission in Kuwait is accredited 
to Bahrain, for example. 
 
¶J.  According to the MFA, there have been no requests by any 
foreign government to extradite a non-Ethiopian charged with 
trafficking. The government does not extradite its own 
nationals charged with such offenses. 
 
¶K.  There is virtually no evidence of the involvement of 
government officials in trafficking schemes. 
 
¶L.  There have been no official reports of the involvement of 
government officials in trafficking, but there are specific 
if unsubstantiated reports that this practice exists.  No 
government official has ever been officially implicated or 
arrested on any trafficking charge. 
 
¶M.  Ethiopia is not a child sex tourism source or 
destination.  One foreign national has been convicted of 
pedophilia and is serving a nine-year sentence.  A newly 
established court for women and children has led to several 
convictions of Ethiopians for sexual abuse.  While these 
convictions are not related to trafficking, NGOs see the 
court as a potentially useful tool for this purpose. 
 
¶N.  The government signed and ratified ILO convention 182 
(2003), ILO convention 29 (2003), ILO convention 105 (1999). 
 
The government has not yet signed nor ratified the Optional 
Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the 
Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography 
or the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking 
in Persons, especially women and children.  However, both 
protocols have been submitted to the council of ministers for 
approval. 
 
QUESTION 24:  PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶A.  MOLSA and IOM sources report that the government does not 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000658  009.2 OF 010 
 
 
have the resources to provide any material assistance to 
victims of trafficking.  Consulates in Beirut and Dubai 
dispense limited legal advice to trafficked victims and 
provide temporary shelter to them on occasion.  The 
government does not provide temporary loans to trafficked 
victims who do not have the financial means to be 
repatriated.  There is neither a specially designated victim 
care program nor victim health care facilities in Ethiopia. 
Returned trafficked victims must rely on psychological 
services provided by public health institutions at their own 
expense.  MOJ is looking at how to more effectively identify 
NGOs or CSOs that can and do provide such services as well as 
to improve referral systems. 
 
¶B.  MOLSA, EWLA, and IOM confirm that the government does not 
provide any funding or other forms of support to foreign or 
domestic NGOs for services to victims. 
 
¶C.  Screening and referral programs are in place in Addis 
Ababa principally for children and MOJ intends to expand 
these programs to other large cities and rural transport 
points.  Each Addis Ababa police station has a child 
protection unit that collects information regarding the 
victim with a view to repatriation to his/her family and then 
refers the victim to NGOs for care and safeguarding pending 
repatriation.  Facilities for young male victims are 
extremely limited. 
 
¶D.  The government respects the rights of victims upon their 
return.  There have been no reports of returned trafficked 
victims being detained, jailed, or prosecuted for violations 
of other laws, such as those governing immigration or 
prostitution. 
 
¶E.  According to IOM, government authorities have not made 
any concerted effort to interview returned trafficked victims 
about their experiences.  Many returned victims fear 
retribution not only against themselves from traffickers in 
Ethiopia but also against other trafficked persons trapped in 
destination countries.  There is no legal barrier to victims 
wishing to file civil suits or seek legal action against 
traffickers.  Many opt to remain silent because of 
embarrassment and fear of retribution from traffickers. 
There is no victim restitution program. 
 
¶F.  The government accords no special protections to 
trafficking victims and witnesses. 
 
¶G.  According to MOLSA, the government does not yet provide 
any specialized training to government officials in 
recognizing trafficking and in the provision of assistance to 
trafficked victims, to include the special needs of 
trafficked children. However, MOJ reported in 2004 that the 
multi-agency task force is looking at how to build this issue 
into the curricula for police initial and in-service training 
programs.   MOLSA reports that many Ethiopian diplomats 
abroad remain largely uninformed about the extent of the 
trafficking in persons problem in their own country because 
this is not part of the training they receive.  MFA intends 
to include anti-trafficking in future training of diplomats. 
The Ethiopian consul general in Beirut collaborates with NGOs 
there, such as Caritas, in anti-trafficking efforts. 
 
 
ADDIS ABAB 00000658  010.2 OF 010 
 
 
¶H. MOLSA reports that there is extremely limited government 
assistance available to trafficked victims, either in 
Ethiopia or in destination countries.  The mandate of the 
Beirut consulate is to negotiate with employers and agents 
under particular circumstances, such as when an employer 
refuses to pay a worker's salary or to furnish a migrant 
worker with a return ticket.  It also reportedly provides 
limited legal advice and serves as a temporary shelter for 
trafficked victims awaiting funds from family members or 
friends to pay off traffickers so that they could return to 
Ethiopia.  MOLSA reports that the government provided bus 
transportation from Addis Ababa to their home villages to a 
group of recently returned Ethiopian women who had been 
trafficked to Yemen. 
 
¶I. The EWLA works with trafficked victims.  It paid for 
counseling and professional training for several returned 
victims, and sent an attorney to Beirut on more than one 
occasion to offer legal assistance to victims there. 
 
-- The Forum for Street Children is a local NGO that 
recognizes the magnitude of the problem of trafficking in 
children within Ethiopia.  Some of its projects include 
opening a center for sexually abused and exploited girls, 
which offers educational, counseling, and basic health 
information. It also has undertaken a child protection 
project within police stations for child victims of abuse. 
 
-- Gemanaye Ethiopia Association is an NGO founded in 2002 
for the purpose of creating awareness about working 
conditions in the Middle East to young women hoping to 
migrate there. Addis Miraf rehabilitation and reintegration 
shelter for victims of trafficking established in June 2004 
provides limited counseling and vocational training service. 
Currently the shelter assists 27 women who are victims of 
trafficking. 
 
The government's ability to assist and protect trafficking in 
persons victims, despite its political will, is constrained 
by lack of funding, personnel, and training.  Ethiopia ranks 
as one of the poorest country in the world, according to 
World Bank statistics.  Increasingly cognizant of the problem 
and the need to do more, the government has begun to 
demonstrate political will to improve the situation 
significantly.  The government shut down illegal 
international employment agencies and enforced immigration 
requirements for departing labor migrants.  However, a low 
conviction rate for trafficking cases sends a clear message 
that the risks are minuscule in comparison to the profits 
that can be made from this illicit activity.  Ethiopia's 
under-resourced and overwhelmed judicial system is unable to 
vigorously prosecute TIP cases. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Embassy point of contact:  political officer 
Nicholas Namba, office:  251-11-517-4111; fax: 
251-11-124-2405. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Number of hours spent in preparation of TIP report 
cable:  FEOC deputy chief of mission: 1 hour; FS02 
political/economic deputy chief of section:  4 hours; FP04 
political/economic officer:  6 hours; LES:  6 hours. 
HUDDLESTON