VZCZCXRO8979
RR RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHTO #0243/01 0581411
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 271411Z FEB 07
FM AMEMBASSY MAPUTO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6904
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP  0163
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000243 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, AF/RSA 
AF/S - H TREGER 
PASS TO USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG ELAB KFRD ASEC PREF MZ
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: 2007 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 
 
REFS: A) 06 STATE 202745; B) 07 MAPUTO 207 
 
MAPUTO 00000243  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
-------- 
OVERVIEW 
-------- 
 
¶1. (SBU) Mozambique is primarily a source country for men, women, 
and children trafficked to South Africa for forced labor and sexual 
exploitation. The use of forced and bonded child laborers is a 
common and increasing practice in rural areas, often with the 
complicity of family members. Women and girls also are trafficked 
internally from rural to urban areas of Mozambique for forced labor 
and sexual exploitation; young men and boys are similarly trafficked 
for farm work or domestic servitude. 
 
¶2. (SBU) While the government and NGOs acknowledged trafficking to 
be a growing problem, porous borders and the removal of visa 
requirements for travel between Mozambique and South Africa in 2005 
mean that the extent of the problem can only be roughly estimated. 
Traffickers often lured victims by promising better or higher paying 
jobs in South Africa. Trafficked Mozambicans often labored for 
months in South Africa without pay before the "employer" reports 
them as illegal immigrants or trespassers; they are then arrested 
and deported. Traffickers are typically part of small networks of 
Mozambican and/or South African citizens; however, involvement of 
larger Chinese and Nigerian syndicates in the trafficking of 
Mozambicans also has been reported. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Government of Mozambique does not fully comply with the 
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is 
making significant efforts to do so. Despite a lack of resources and 
corruption among border authorities, Mozambique continued to take 
steps to improve anti-trafficking law enforcement initiatives during 
the reporting period. The Justice Ministry was expected to submit a 
draft trafficking in persons law to the Council of Ministers in 
March 2007, the final step before being debated in the National 
Assembly. To further its efforts in fighting trafficking, the 
government should prosecute and convict arrested traffickers, ensure 
the passage of anti-trafficking legislation, launch a comprehensive 
public awareness campaign, and increase its assistance to 
trafficking victims. 
 
---------- 
Prevention 
---------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) While government officials in charge of trafficking issues 
acknowledged trafficking to be a growing problem, prevention efforts 
remained weak. Most anti-trafficking educational workshops were run 
by NGOs with government participation. Several such workshops were 
conducted during the reporting period in Maputo, Gaza, Inhambane, 
Sofala, and Nampula Provinces. The government supported other 
programs to prevent trafficking. For example, in recent years there 
has been a greater emphasis on and more resources dedicated to 
programs to keep children in school. During the year, law 
enforcement officials publicized several trafficking cases and 
government-owned media outlets consistently covered such stories. 
The government does not have a plan of action to combat trafficking, 
or a single person designated to coordinate the government's 
anti-trafficking efforts, although the draft trafficking law 
contains components addressing both issues. 
 
----------------------------- 
Investigation and Prosecution 
----------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) Mozambique continued to take steps to improve law 
enforcement efforts, although a paucity of training resources 
hindered greater efforts. While there is no law specifically 
prohibiting human trafficking, Mozambique's penal code includes at 
least 13 related articles under which trafficking cases can be 
charged. The Ministry of Justice was expected to submit a draft 
trafficking in persons law to the Council of Ministers in March 
¶2007. The draft contains 33 articles and includes specific 
provisions on prevention, prosecution, and protection. Prior to the 
submission, the Ministry of Justice and the NGO Rede Came organized 
a series of forums for public debate over the draft law in southern, 
central, and northern parts of the country. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Existing law prohibits rape but does not include provisions 
for spousal rape. Penalties range from two to eight years if the 
victim is 12 years of age or older, and eight to 12 years if the 
 
MAPUTO 00000243  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
victim is under the age of 12. Prostitution is legal, although 
several laws against indecency and immoral behavior govern 
prostitution and restrict it to certain areas. The practice was 
widespread and particularly prevalent along major transportation 
corridors and border towns where long-distance truckers stayed 
overnight. 
 
¶7. (SBU) During the reporting period, the Office of Women and 
Children in the Ministry of Interior reported 47 cases of 
trafficking in persons. Mozambican police broke up several 
trafficking schemes, apprehending several traffickers. In February 
2007, police arrested a man in Manica attempting to traffic 24 
people across the South African border. The 24 individuals were 
mostly young men, each of whom had paid $60 (1,500 meticais) to 
cross the border. 
 
¶8. (SBU) The Interior Ministry, with support from UNICEF, conducted 
anti-trafficking training for almost 75 police officers in Gaza, 
Tete, and Zambezia provinces, after which the officers conducted 
public awareness campaigns for community police and school leaders; 
however, such training has not been extended force-wide. Many 
lower-ranking police and border control agents are suspected of 
accepting bribes from traffickers. 
 
¶9. (SBU) In September 2006, Mozambique ratified the UN Protocol to 
Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons. In June 2003, 
Mozambique ratified ILO Convention 29 on Forced or Compulsory Labor 
and ILO Convention 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate 
Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor. 
Mozambique ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child in 
April 1994, and the UN Optional Protocol to the Convention on the 
Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and 
Child Pornography in March 2003. 
 
------------------------- 
Protection and Assistance 
------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) The government's efforts to protect victims of trafficking 
continued to suffer from a lack of resources; government officials 
regularly call on NGOs, such as the International Office on 
Migration, UNICEF, Terre des Hommes, Red Came, Save the Children, 
and the Civic Education Forum for assistance in the provision of 
shelter, food, counseling, and rehabilitation. During the reporting 
period, the Kulaya Healing Center in the Maputo Central Hospital 
assisted a small number of trafficking victims with medical care and 
counseling for up to three months each. In 2006 the Ministry of 
Interior expanded from 96 to 151 the number of offices within police 
stations for attending to women and child victims of violence, and 
provided victims' assistance training for police officers who deal 
with such cases; some of these offices provided emergency shelter 
and food for trafficking victims. 
 
¶11. (SBU) A small Joint Committee for the Reception and Screening of 
Mozambicans Repatriated from South Africa, made up of NGOs and 
government officials and located at the Ressano Garcia border 
crossing, was overwhelmed by the thousands of Mozambicans deported 
each month and was not able to adequately screen these deportees to 
identify victims of trafficking. This problem was exacerbated by 
indifference reported by many deportees regarding immigration and 
border authorities. In May 2006, the civil society organization 
Civic Education Forum opened the country's first permanent shelter 
for trafficking victims in Moamba. The Moamba District government 
donated 20 hectares of land to be used to house the shelter and grow 
food for its residents. 
 
¶12. (U) Embassy point of contact on TIP is Leonel Miranda, 
Economic-Political officer. Tel: 258 21 492 797 ext. 3423; fax: 258 
21 490 448; cellular phone 258 82 319 8830. Principal FSO drafter 
(FS-3) spent 80 hours researching and drafting this cable. The 
Charge (FE-MC) spent one hour, and the DCM (FS-01) spent a total of 
four hours, including the editing/clearing process. Econ-Pol Chief 
(FS-2) spent 10 hours, and LES political assistant spent 40. Total 
hours: 135. 
 
JOHNSON