VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBP #0005/01 0071436
ZNR UUUUU ZZH (CCY AD17EA32 MSI1697-695)
R 071436Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAMAKO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9884
INFO RUEHZK/ECOWAS COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS BAMAKO 000005 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
C O R R E C T E D COPY SIGNATURE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PHUM PREF SMIG ASEC ML
SUBJECT: AN INTERIM ASSESSMENT OF MALI'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS 
 
REF: BAMAKO 00312 
BAMAKO 000707 
 
1.(SBU) Summary:  On December 16 and 17 the Embassy met with local 
NGOs to discuss efforts by the Malian government to combat child 
trafficking.  NGOs described the Malian government as a good-faith 
partner but said specific weaknesses within the Ministry for the 
Promotion of Women, Children and Families (MPFEF), together with the 
Justice Ministry's failure to detain or prosecute suspected 
traffickers, were hampering efforts to combat child trafficking and 
care for trafficking victims.  One of the NGOs also provided details 
on as yet unreported cases of child trafficking in Mali.  A December 
31 meeting with the MPFEF underscored the lack of communication 
between various government ministries regarding TIP, but we have 
been encouraged by a receptive response as we begin to raise the 
issue with line action ministers.  End Summary. 
 
------------------------------- 
ENDA Tiers Monde and Mali Enjeu 
------------------------------- 
 
2.(U) ENDA Tiers Monde and Mali Enjeu are the two largest NGOs 
working to combat child trafficking in Mali.  Both organizations 
work closely with Ministry for the Promotion of Women, Children and 
Families (MPFEF), which takes the lead in government efforts to 
combat child trafficking, as well as with UNICEF, which supports the 
MPFEF in coordinating TIP activities.  The two NGOs also work more 
broadly to address the underlying factors of child trafficking, and 
provide informal schooling and education campaigns to vulnerable 
children in different regions.  In addition, ENDA and Mali Enjeu 
assist with repatriation of victims of trafficking both within Mali 
and regionally, as well as children considered to be "in 
difficulty". 
 
3.(U) ENDA is a founding member of the Fode Yaguine Action Network 
(RAFY) which regroups NGOs fighting child trafficking and child 
labor across West Africa.  ENDA was the main force in Mali behind 
the March 2008 repatriation of 24 Guinean children, found together 
with two Malian children, allegedly trafficked by itinerant Koranic 
masters in the Malian town of Kita (Ref. A). ENDA received support 
from UNICEF to provide informal schooling, educational materials, 
and health care to vulnerable children in 2007 but received no 
UNICEF funds in 2008. 
 
4.(U) Mali Enjeu operates temporary shelters for child victims of 
trafficking in Sikasso, Mopti, Segou, Koulikoro, Kayes, and Bamako. 
Mali Enjeu also conducts research and provides schooling and 
vocational training for at-risk children.  Like ENDA, Mali Enjeu 
participates in regional NGO networks fighting child trafficking and 
labor.  As part of a current agreement with UNICEF, Mali Enjeu 
receives funding and in-kind support for the repatriation of 
trafficking victims and to conduct public awareness campaigns. 
UNICEF representatives credited Mali Enjeu with having helped 
repatriate 250 children, victims of trafficking and children "in 
difficulty", and having reached a total of 2500 individuals via 
public awareness campaigns conducted in several regions. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Mixed Reviews for Malian Government 
----------------------------------- 
 
5.(U) ENDA representatives praised the Malian government for 
instituting educational reforms that have reduced the number of 
Malian trafficking victims.  ENDA said Mali's nation-wide effort to 
maximize the enrollment of school age children was one of the best 
ways to combat child trafficking and child labor. 
 
6.(SBU) ENDA was less enthused about coordination with the MPFEF's 
office for the protection of children.  The NGO described 
coordination with the MPFEF's Direction National for the Protection 
of Women and Children, which is the focal point for child 
trafficking and exploitation issues within the Ministry, as poor. 
Because the Ministry lacks sufficient funds, 
ENDA and other NGOs must finance the travel costs and per diem of 
some Ministry officials in order to secure official government 
participation in NGO sponsored counter-trafficking activities.  One 
ENDA staff member said NGOs are effectively forced to cover the 
costs of travel, lodging, and per diem for Ministry officials 
because NGOs cannot operate independently of the Malian government. 
 
 
7.(SBU) According to ENDA, the Malian government frequently asks 
NGOs to finance the repatriation of child trafficking and 
exploitation victims.  This practice places a serious financial 
burden on NGOs and often results in lengthy delays. "It handicaps 
our activities," said one ENDA staff member. 
 
8.(U) Mali Enjeu was less critical of Malian government efforts to 
combat child trafficking and labor, stating that, while much 
remained to be done, the government had made some progress.   Mali 
Enjeu noted that Mali is a member of the ECOWAS committee to counter 
child trafficking.  Mali Enjeu holds one of the NGO representative 
seats in this committee and therefore attends its annual meetings. 
Because Mali Enjeu currently receives funds from UNICEF to support 
its activities, it is better able to shoulder the costs of 
coordination with the MPFEF. 
 
9.(U) Mali Enjeu also praised the Malian government for creating a 
national steering committee against child trafficking (CDN)in 2006 
following the creation of Mali's 2006 National Plan Against Child 
Trafficking.  The Plan's main components consist of international 
collaboration to facilitate the repatriation of victims; public 
awareness campaigns; and improvement of the legal and administrative 
framework regarding trafficking. 
The CDN is comprised of thirteen ministries as well as NGO and civil 
society representatives, totaling 43 members.  The Committee 
convened five times in 2008, but representatives of Mali Enjeu 
provided no concrete actions undertaken by this committee. 
 
10.(U) Mali Enjeu said the absence of regional or local committees 
associated with the national level CDN has impeded progress toward 
implementing Mali's 2006 National Plan.  Both ENDA and Mali Enjeu 
also said the Malian government needs to bolster efforts to arrest 
and prosecute suspected traffickers. 
 
--------------------- 
New Trafficking Cases 
--------------------- 
 
11.(SBU) ENDA informed the Embassy of one previously unreported 
child trafficking case in Mali, and two cases involving the rescue 
of trafficked Malian children in neighboring countries.  The case in 
Mali involved 7 children from Burkina Faso trafficked by a Koranic 
master in Bamako.  ENDA assisted with the repatriation of 7 children 
back to Burkina Faso in early December 2008. No charges have been 
filed against the alleged suspect, who remains at large in Bamako. 
ENDA indicated that the Koranic master was known to Malian 
authorities but that an arrest was unlikely due to the "sensitive" 
nature of the case. 
 
12.(U) ENDA is also working to finalize details regarding the return 
of 22 Malian children recently rescued in neighboring Burkina Faso, 
and 7 Malian children rescued by Nigerien authorities in Niger on 
December 19, 2008. 
 
13.(U) In 2008 ENDA assisted with the repatriation of 15 Malian 
children from abroad, and the repatriation of 46 children from Mali 
to their countries of origin.  Another 23 children of various 
nationalities are currently in Mali awaiting repatriation.  ENDA 
considers an unspecified number of these as children "in difficulty" 
as opposed to trafficking victims. 
 
----------------- 
Judicial Failures 
----------------- 
 
14.(SBU)  A consistent criticism among NGOs was Mali's failure to 
arrest, detain, or prosecute suspected child traffickers, as 
highlighted by the release of trafficking suspects in Kita and 
Sikasso earlier in 2008(Ref. B). 
 
¶15. (SBU) A December 31 meeting with the MPFEF's Direction National 
for the Protection of Women and Children underscored the Malian 
government's reluctance to prosecute even known traffickers. 
Regarding the individuals who were released in Kita after being 
arrested with more than two dozen mostly Guinean children, MPFEF 
officials claimed all but one of the suspects were only marginally 
involved.  An MPFEF official in charge of children's issues in Kita 
said Malian authorities were "waiting for the Guinean government to 
finish its investigation" before prosecuting the ringleader and 
others.  However, no timeline for this "investigation" either on the 
Malian or Guinean side was available. 
 
------------------------------------------ 
Comment: Specific Recommendations for Mali 
------------------------------------------ 
 
16.(SBU)  As one of the ten poorest nations in the world, Mali lacks 
the resources needed to institute a robust campaign against child 
trafficking.  Mali's resource constraints, however, are not so 
severe as to preclude Malian authorities from taking greater steps 
to combat child trafficking.  Two areas for improvement emerged 
during discussions with local NGOs: improved Ministerial 
coordination and renewed commitment by judicial authorities to apply 
already existing laws regarding TIP. 
 
17.(SBU)  One vehicle for improved coordination between the various 
core Ministries charged with fighting child trafficking and 
exploitation would be a re-energized national committee against 
child trafficking (CDN).  In December we raised this issue with the 
Minister of Security, who was receptive to our concerns, welcomed 
efforts to promote coordination at the highest levels, and offered 
the support of his Ministry.  We intend to raise the same issue with 
the Minister for the Promotion of Women, the Minister of Labor, and 
the Minister of Justice shortly. 
18.(SBU) The second area for improvement is a sincere commitment on 
behalf of the Ministry of Justice and judicial authorities to arrest 
suspected traffickers and prosecute them to the fullest.  Weaknesses 
within the Malian judiciary extend well beyond the issue of 
trafficking in persons, and it is difficult, or often impossible, 
for Ministry officials to ensure that independent judges across the 
country apply the laws as written.  The decisions taken by judges in 
Kita and Sikasso in 2008 to release trafficking suspects pending 
trial dates that will likely never be set provide an example of the 
dilemma facing Justice Ministry officials in Bamako.  Improving 
Mali's reporting network for child trafficking cases, which would 
ensure close supervision from Bamako over decisions taken by judges 
in the hinterlands, could provide one mechanism for remedying this 
problem. 
 
19.(SBU) On the positive side, the Director of the International 
Labor Organization (ILO) program in Mali credited the Malian 
National Assembly for creating a commission charged with drafting a 
law specifically condemning child trafficking.  Current Malian penal 
law criminalizes child trafficking, but the ILO program director 
stated it is insufficient in combating the problem of trafficking. 
There is no indication of when this commission will finish drafting 
the proposed legislation.  The ILO also commended the National 
Assembly for "almost" ratifying a list of the worst forms of child 
labor and expressed optimism that the list would be could be passed 
in 2009. LEONARD