VZCZCXRO5291
PP RUEHQU
DE RUEHPU #1910 3401302
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 061302Z DEC 07
FM AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7314
INFO RUEHZH/HAITI COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA PRIORITY 1717
RUEHSA/AMEMBASSY PRETORIA PRIORITY 1531
RUEHQU/AMCONSUL QUEBEC PRIORITY 0954
RUMIAAA/HQ USSOUTHCOM J2 MIAMI FL PRIORITY
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 1366

UNCLAS PORT AU PRINCE 001910 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/EX AND WHA/CAR 
G/TIP 
S/CRS 
SOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD 
STATE PASS AID FOR LAC/CAR 
INR/IAA 
WHA/EX PLEASE PASS USOAS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM HA
SUBJECT: HUMAN TRAFFICKING/SMUGGLING ON THE HAITIAN BORDER 
 
 
¶1.  Summary.  Kenel Senatus of Solidarite Fwontalye, a human 
rights/anti-human trafficking organization in Ouanaminthe, 
reported that human trafficking and alien smuggling are 
widespread and openly conducted at Haiti's northeastern 
border with the Dominican Republic.  Traffickers take both 
adults and children across the border.  Trafficked persons 
are destined to become cheap manual labor, domestic servants, 
or prostitutes.  Weak GoH institutions remain ineffective in 
combating the well-organized human trafficking trade.  End 
summary. 
 
¶2.  Poloff with two G/TIP staff members, on October 29, met 
with members of Solidarite Fwontalye (SF) in Ouanaminthe, 
which is located on Haiti's northeastern border with the 
Dominican Republic (DR).  SF is an NGO dedicated to the 
promotion of human rights for Haitians living in the 
northeastern border areas and to the prevention of human 
trafficking across the Haiti/DR border.  The meeting focused 
on trafficking in persons, particularly children. 
 
¶3.  Kenel Senatus, the coordinator for human rights, noted 
that the trafficking of persons across the Haiti/DR border is 
widespread and openly conducted.  Senatus claimed that most 
trafficking occurred on market days, which are the days that 
Haitians cross the border to Dajabon in order to buy goods to 
bring back to Haiti.  Traffickers take persons to the DR for 
three reasons: cheap manual labor, domestic service, and 
prostitution. 
 
¶4.  Senatus noted that children are also trafficked across 
the border for the same reasons listed above, in addition to 
forced begging.  He added that he heard unconfirmed reports 
that children are trafficked for their organs as well. 
Senatus claimed that border traffickers on both sides of the 
border sometimes bought children from internal traffickers, 
that is, from persons who acquire the children from other 
parts of the country and bring them to the border in order to 
be sold.  Senatus also claimed that sometimes the traffickers 
just simply kidnapped the children they intended to traffic. 
Senatus reported that the average age of trafficked children 
is between 12-15 years old and that traffickers in the DR 
often met and escorted away the children at the Dominican 
border. 
 
¶5.  Senatus claimed that human traffickers employ a well 
organized network, which includes persons who live off the 
trafficking trade, such as those who rent rooms and provide 
food to trafficking victims.  Senatus said that officials on 
both sides of the border are well aware of what is going on, 
but that the Dominican authorities are selective in their 
enforcement actions against traffickers and repatriation of 
victims, while the Haitian authorities lack the capacity to 
respond to the problem.  The Haitian government institutions 
responsible for protecting the well being of children, the 
Institute for Social Well-Being and Research (IBESR) and the 
Brigade for the Protection of Minors (BPM), are not on the 
ground in Ouanaminthe.  In fact, Senatus claimed that local 
authorities refer cases to SF for follow-up. SF typically 
does not intervene when adults go to the DR because Haiti 
lacks a specific anti-trafficking law and adults often are 
economic migrants who consent to being smuggled, but SF 
attempts to intervene when children are involved.  For this, 
SF members are sometimes threatened and assaulted. 
 
¶6.  Comment.  G/TIP recently awarded the Pan-American 
Foundation (PADF) $250,850 to begin work on a Haiti/Dominican 
Republic Cross-Border anti-trafficking project. The project 
will be implemented in Ouanaminthe and PADF seeks to engage 
SF as well as the Office of the Mayor of Ouanaminthe and the 
local Office of National Migration in the project.  SF's 
involvement in the project is instrumental, since they 
possess the local knowledge and experience necessary to build 
the capacity of government actors on the border. During the 
visit, Ouanaminthe migration officials demonstrated a 
willingness to learn from SF. G/TIP hopes that the project 
will result in increased victim assistance and strengthened 
capacity and coordination among border officials and civil 
society actors. 
TIGHE