VZCZCXRO1732
PP RUEHTRO
DE RUEHCL #0027/01 0441457
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 131457Z FEB 09
FM AMCONSUL CASABLANCA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8289
INFO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEAHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEBWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUCNMGH/MAGHREB COLLECTIVE
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 0990
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0330
RUEHBS/USEU BRUSSELS
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0670

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 CASABLANCA 000027 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, G - ACBLANK, INL, DRL, NEA/MAG, NEA/RA - 
RCHATTERJI, G/IWI AND PRM 
 
STATE PLEASE PASS AID/W AND USTR 
 
E.O 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KTIP PREF ELAB SMIG KCRM KWMN MO
SUBJECT: MOROCCO: 2009 ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 
 
REF: A. 08 STATE 127448 
     ¶B. 08 CASABLANCA 0255 
     ¶C. RABAT 0090 
 
¶1.  (U) This cable responds to action request (Ref A) for updated 
information on the Moroccan government's efforts to combat 
trafficking in persons from April 2008 to February 2009. 
 
------------------------- 
OVERVIEW: Plus Ca Change... 
------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Government of Morocco (GOM) dismantled 220 trafficking 
networks in 2008.  However, it continued to conflate the issue of 
migrant smuggling and human trafficking.  The GOM prioritized law 
enforcement activities intended to investigate, prosecute and deter 
trafficking rings.  The GOM pressed charges against five true 
traffickers who had taken women to the Middle East, and it offered 
consular assistance to the women.  In spite of demarches at the 
ministerial level, the GOM has not yet implemented screening 
procedures or protections for victims of international trafficking 
and has taken few steps to prevent its own nationals from becoming 
victims of international trafficking. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) On the domestic front, Morocco continued to wrestle with 
internal trafficking problems, specifically the widespread issue of 
child labor, unaccompanied minors trafficked to Europe, and the 
sexual exploitation of children, particularly in tourist areas.  The 
political will exists at the highest levels of the Moroccan 
government to solve these problems but prioritizing budgets, 
reforms, and the implementation of existing laws continue to be a 
problem.  Forty-eight businesses were fined for violating child 
labor laws. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The GOM treats domestic trafficking issues primarily as a 
development issue.  For example, most anti-child labor programs in 
Morocco focus on providing financial support and education to the 
targeted family to ensure that the child stays in school for as long 
as possible.  We note that the GOM has made a concerted effort to 
respond to USG requests for information on TIP developments, but 
lacks the bureaucratic infrastructure to report statistics 
accurately. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Due to its geographic location, Morocco is a source for 
trafficked people, a destination country, and a place of transit. 
Morocco faces a number of substantial socio-economic challenges 
including poverty, high levels of illiteracy, unemployment, and 
clandestine migration, all of which contribute to the problem of 
trafficking.  Since 2002 Spain has spent over USD 324 million 
constructing a mobile command and control system to monitor its 
maritime border with Morocco.  Spain has also greatly increased 
funding for and cooperation with Moroccan border security forces. 
Clandestine sub-Saharan migrants, who are especially vulnerable to 
trafficking, have increasingly taken up residence in Morocco because 
of the success of the Spanish-Moroccan border security measures. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) PARAGRAPH 23:  Morocco's TIP Situation. 
 
-- 23/A.  Sources for information on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) 
includes, the Moroccan Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the Ministry of 
Interior (MOI), in particular the Directorate of Borders and 
Migration, the Ministry of Social Development, the Family, and 
Solidarity (MOSD), the Ministry of Employment and Professional 
Training (MOE), and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Cooperation 
(MFA).  In addition, international organizations such as IOM, UNHCR, 
UNDP, UNIFEM and UNICEF have provided information.  International 
NGOs such as Caritas, Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF), and Christian 
churches that provide assistance directly to the migrant community 
are well placed to provide insight into their situation.  National 
NGOs, especially those focusing on women and children, such as 
Bayti, INSAF, Fondation Occidental Oriental, the Moroccan 
Association of Women's Rights, the Democratic League Defending 
Women's Rights, the anti-pedophilia organization Hands Off My Child, 
and others were able to provide a picture of the situation of 
exploited women and children. 
 
-- The IOM, with the assistance and funding of UNHCR, UNDP, UNIFEM, 
and UNHCR has begun the first ever national assessment of 
 
CASABLANCA 00000027  002 OF 008 
 
 
trafficking in persons issues in Morocco.  The report will focus 
exclusively on victims trafficked across international borders; 
principally Moroccans trafficked for sexual exploitation or forced 
labor to Europe and the Middle East and sub-Saharans trafficked 
through Morocco to Europe.  The study, which began in December 2008, 
will conclude with a report and policy recommendations to the GOM in 
April 2009.  In addition, UNICEF informed post that once IOM's 
report is concluded, it will begin an assessment of domestic 
trafficking with the cooperation of the MOSD that will focus on 
young girls trafficked from rural areas to work as domestic servants 
in urban areas and those trafficked for sexual exploitation.  UNICEF 
anticipates this second report will be complete by December 2009. 
 
-- 23/B.  Morocco is a country of origin and destination for 
domestic trafficking, generally involving young rural children 
recruited to work as child maids or laborers in urban centers. 
Morocco is also a country of transit and destination for 
internationally trafficked men, women, and children.  It is a 
country of origin for men, women and children trafficked to European 
countries and the Middle East. 
 
-- The phenomenon of children trafficked to Europe, often with the 
assistance and encouragement of their families, continued to be a 
problem.  These unaccompanied minors are typically sent by their 
families with the expectation that at the age of 18 they will be 
able to normalize their situation and work to support their families 
in Morocco.  In 2007, the GOM and Spain signed an agreement to 
facilitate the repatriation of the over 6,000 minors living in 
Spain.  A representative of the Moroccan Ministry of Justice 
reported that she was unaware of any repatriations that have taken 
place to date.  Spain via its international aid agency and Italy via 
the IOM funded programs in 2008 to assist in the community 
development of areas that are a source for unaccompanied minors. 
 
-- Both Moroccan boys and girls were at risk of being trafficked 
internally for labor.  Young girls were trafficked from the 
countryside to work as domestic laborers in larger cities.  Boys 
were farmed out as apprentices in the artisanal sector, construction 
field or in mechanic shops where they worked carrying supplies and 
performing menial tasks. 
 
-- Up to date and accurate information on the number of children 
trafficked for labor is not available.  A 2003 study by UNICEF 
entitled "Understanding Children's Work" (UCW) estimates that 
600,000 children between the ages of 7-14 worked.  However, the 
overwhelming majority of child workers (87 percent) are engaged in 
rural work for their families and not for wages.  A 2001 study by 
Save the Children estimated that at that time between 66,000 to 
88,000 children were employed as child domestics.  That represented 
2.3 percent to 3 percent of the total child population in the 7-15 
age group (total of 2.87 million). 
 
-- A 2001 study undertaken by the Ministry of Labor and the 
Municipality of Casablanca with the assistance of the United Nations 
Population Fund estimated that there were more than 22,940 children 
between the age of 12 and 18 working as domestics in Casablanca 
alone.  Of this number 13,580 were 15 years of younger. 
 
-- Sub-Saharan women, who often began their journeys as voluntary 
migrants, were forced into prostitution to pay off debts on arrival 
in Morocco or while still en route to Europe.  NGOs and Christian 
charitable organizations that work with this group have informed 
post that criminal gangs of Nigerians are responsible for running 
such trafficking rings to Europe and frequently run brothels in 
Morocco to exploit the women while in transit.  In addition, 
Moroccan women were lured to Syria, Cyprus, Saudi Arabia, and the 
Gulf as domestic workers and forced upon arrival to work in bars and 
brothels.  The MOI reported offering consular assistance to women in 
Lebanon, the UAE, and in Tunisia who were trafficked for 
prostitution.  The Moroccan press recently ran a story of three 
women who were trafficked into prostitution in the Sultanate of Oman 
after initially being promised high paying jobs in hotels and 
tourism.  The GOM brought charges against five people, including one 
Egyptian, and the case is currently ongoing. 
 
-- Neither the GOM nor NGOs could provide accurate statistics on the 
numbers of children and/or women trafficked for sexual exploitation 
though all groups acknowledged that the problem existed.  A 2008 
 
CASABLANCA 00000027  003 OF 008 
 
 
study of prostitution in Morocco by the NGO Pan-African Organization 
Fighting against AIDS (OPALS) found that children under the age of 
15 were exploited principally in the following areas and towns: 
Azrou (Ain Louh), Beni Mellal, and the region of Meknes (El Hajeb). 
The NGO Touche Pas a Mon Enfant (TPME - Hands Off My Child) which 
works with victims of pedophilia and child sexual exploitation, 
especially in Marrakech and Agadir, reported approximately two dozen 
cases of children exploited in these two cities.  TPAME and other 
NGOs report that sex tourism is a problem especially in popular 
tourist destinations such as Tangiers, Agadir, Marrakech and El 
Hajeb.  The clients are typically from the Arab Gulf countries and 
from Europe. 
 
-- While there are no accurate statistics on the numbers of 
internationally trafficked victims in Morocco, the Directorate of 
the Border and Migration in the MOI reported that the GOM dismantled 
220 trafficking networks in 2008.  Moreover, the MOI voluntarily 
repatriated 250 illegal migrants in 2008 and successfully thwarted 
the attempted illegal migration of 13,386 people of which 4,651 were 
Moroccans and 8,735 were non-Moroccans.  The Royal Moroccan Navy 
intercepted 1,469 people on boats attempting illegal crossings in 
¶2008.  UNHCR, IOM and NGOs that work with the migrant population 
estimate there are between ten and twenty thousand sub-Saharan 
migrants in Morocco at any given time. 
 
-- An IOM team conducting research on international trafficking in 
Morocco visited the town of Beni Mellal and reported that there were 
a number of cases of young men trafficked to the United Arab 
Emirates (UAE) to work in the petroleum industry and in hotels. 
These men reportedly received contracts through a family relation 
but upon arrival had their travel documents confiscated, were forced 
to work 14 hour days for little to no pay, charged exorbitant prices 
for housing and food, and told they had to repay the debt incurred 
to finance their travel and residency in the UAE.  The IOM team also 
visited Khourigba and reported that young men there were lured to 
Italy by Moroccan criminal gangs with roots in the town.  The young 
men traveled to Italy on the false pretext of legitimate jobs.  Upon 
arrival, they were informed that the jobs were no longer available 
and that they would need to sell drugs.  The IOM reported that at 
least one young man who refused and returned home was allegedly 
killed by the gang upon his return to Khourigba. 
 
-- 23/C:  Women and children trafficked for sexual exploitation both 
internally and abroad are frequently misled as to the nature of 
their work.  Their travel documents may be confiscated and 
frequently they are forced to work until they have paid off the 
'debt' to cover travel and other alleged costs.  Sub-Saharan women 
and children who illegally migrated to Morocco are also at greater 
risk for being trafficked and sexually exploited.  Child domestics 
are also at greater risk to end up prostituting themselves. 
 
-- Families are almost always complicit in the trafficking of their 
children to be domestics servants and apprentices since the family 
is typically the recipient of the child's wages.  Domestic servants 
are exclusively young girls who start working as young as seven 
years of age.  Reports by UNICEF and another by the Municipality of 
Casablanca found that these domestic servants or "petites bonnes" 
work an average of 67 hours per week, are illiterate in over 80 
percent of the cases, do not attend school, and receive an average 
monthly salary of USD 50.  Child domestics are especially vulnerable 
to physical, emotional, and sexual abuse by their employers. 
Non-governmental organizations such as Bayti, which works with 
street children, and INSAF, which works with unwed mothers, reported 
that the overwhelming majority of their beneficiaries are former 
child domestics who have fled from abusive households. 
 
-- Young boys who work in artisan workshops, construction, garages, 
and factories face conditions that are often dangerous and hazardous 
to their health.  The 2003 UNICEF UCW report found that over half of 
all working children faced both serious or very serious work risks 
and that only three percent faced no risks. 
 
-- 23/D:  Children living in remote rural areas, with large 
impoverished families, and who have parents with little or no formal 
education are more likely to be targeted by traffickers for work in 
urban areas.  A 2001 study of child maids by the Municipality of 
Casablanca in Casablanca found that 87 percent were born in rural 
areas, 83 percent were illiterate, 45 percent were from families of 
 
CASABLANCA 00000027  004 OF 008 
 
 
8-10 people, and in 70 percent of the cases the child's father was 
dead.  Typically children from northern regions such as Tetouan, 
Nador, El Hoceima, and Oujda are more likely to be trafficked to 
Europe.  Middle Atlas and High Atlas children supply labor to the 
artisanal shops in Fes, Meknes, Marrakech, and Casablanca. 
Sub-Saharan women often are forced to prostitution to support 
themselves and are particularly vulnerable to robbery, violence, and 
rape.  They are unlikely to report crimes for fear of being 
deported. 
 
-- 23/E:  Traffickers of child labor, known as "simsars" or 
middlemen, typically visit remote villages in search of destitute 
families in order to place the children as either domestics or 
apprentices in urban areas.  The middlemen negotiate, for a fee, the 
salary that the family will be paid for the child's work. 
Traffickers of illegal migrants and Moroccans abroad are often 
criminal gangs with international ties.  They are often involved in 
the smuggling of drugs and contraband as well as people.  Post has 
received reports from NGOs of a number of sub-Saharan trafficking 
rings, in particular Nigerians, who smuggle women into Morocco and 
on to Europe for sexual exploitation.  Post also has received 
reports of Filipinos trafficked to Morocco to work as domestics 
though the number is very small. 
 
¶7.  (U) PARAGRAPH 24 A-B:  The GOM acknowledges that trafficking is 
a problem.  While the MOJ is designated as the coordinating ministry 
for trafficking issues, the MOI is the primary ministry dealing with 
prevention, enforcement, and protection issues.  The MOI had primary 
responsibility for anti-trafficking activities although these 
involved different entities falling under it:  the Directorate of 
Migration and Border Security dealt with clandestine immigration 
while prostitution and sexual exploitation fall under the police. 
Three ministries were chiefly responsible for child labor issues: 
the Ministry of Employment and Professional Training, which is 
responsible for enforcing the Labor Code, the Ministry of Social 
Development, the Family, and Solidarity, which oversees the National 
Action Plan for Children, and the Ministry of National Education, 
specifically its Department of non-Formal Education, which tries to 
provide remedial education and job training to child workers. 
Prosecution of individuals charged with trafficking or violations of 
labor laws fell to the Ministry of Justice. 
 
-- 24/D:  The government does not systematically monitor anti-TIP 
efforts and is unable to provide information on the number of 
victims trafficked or the prosecution of traffickers.  The GOM was 
able to provide some limited information on the number of smugglings 
rings intercepted and employers fined for employing underage 
workers.  In 2007 the MOI published a document entitled "National 
Strategy to Fight Trafficking in Persons" which outlines the GOM's 
current and planned efforts to combat trafficking through 
prevention, enforcement, and the protection of victims.  However, 
this document like its 2003 predecessor is largely an overview of 
the trafficking issue which treats TIP largely as the prevention of 
clandestine migration. 
 
¶8.  (U) INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS: 
 
-- 25.  PARAGRAPH A-D:  No new legislation regarding trafficking has 
been enacted since the last TIP report. 
 
-- Please refer to the Post's 2008 TIP report (Ref B) for detailed 
information on the specific codes and penalties for trafficking and 
sexual and labor exploitation.  The 2003 Immigration Act covers the 
codes and prescribed punishments for trafficking, the Penal Code for 
rape, prostitution, and sexual exploitation, and the Labor code for 
child labor and forced labor. 
 
-- 25/E:  According to the MOI, the GOM broke up 220 
trafficking/smuggling rings in 2008 and 417 rings in 2007.  The GOM 
did not provide any further specifics on the number of individuals, 
the laws under which they were prosecuted, and the length of these 
sentences. 
 
-- For the first time, the GOM reported on fines levied against 
employers and companies for using child labor.  The Ministry of 
Employment reported that in the first six months of 2008, 55 
establishments were visited with 94 observations of child labor.  29 
fines and citations were given to businesses employing children 
 
CASABLANCA 00000027  005 OF 008 
 
 
under the age of 15.  During the same time period, 184 
establishments were visited and 616 observations and 19 fines were 
given for the employment of children between 15 and 18 years of age. 
 No additional information about the amount of the fines was 
available.  The fines and citations given for child work were in the 
following industries: wood-working industry 23 percent, mechanical 
19 percent, and construction industries 12 percent, and other 
sectors 46 percent.  These numbers come from the work of labor 
inspectors charged with enforcing the labor code.  However, the 
inspectors are limited in number, resources, and investigative 
power, which affects their ability to fulfill their enforcement 
function.  There are no labor inspectors dedicated solely to child 
labor issues and the inspectors do not have the authority to inspect 
private residences for underage domestic servants. 
 
-- As in previous years, the Ministry of Justice was unable to point 
to any cases of fines or sanctions levied against individuals for 
the illegal employment of child domestics or the prosecution of 
middle-men or "simsars" who traffic children from rural to urban 
areas.  The MOJ, however, told Post that it isworking on having a 
better statistical understanding of this issue.  It has requested 
the pertinent authorities to submit statistics to them by April 2009 
for the year 2008 on issues pertaining to child sexual exploitation. 
 
 
-- 25/F:  The MOJ reported that judges and public prosecutors 
receive training specific to TIP issues during their initial 
training program.  In addition, each of the 20 tribunals in Morocco 
has assigned a women and children's cell which has received 
specialized training on TIP related issues.  The MOI also reported 
that the territorial police and border security officials have 
received training through a TIP module.  In addition, UNHCR 
sponsored a two-week training course in July 2008 for 200 judges and 
public prosecutors on refugee law which also included a section on 
trafficking in person. 
 
-- 25/G:  The GOM actively cooperates with Spanish authorities to 
prevent the smuggling of people and goods across the Strait of 
Gibraltar and to the Canary Islands.  However, the GOM could not 
provide information specific to the prosecution or investigation of 
instances of trafficking.  The GOM has limited relations with 
Algeria and the land border has been closed since 1997.  The 
overwhelming majority of illegal sub-Saharan migrants enter from 
Algeria and are likewise expelled back across the border. 
 
-- 25/H:  Morocco was party to several bilateral and multilateral 
conventions on judicial cooperation and extradition of criminals 
with European, Arab, Asian, and African countries.  Morocco has a 
Mutual Legal Assistance Treaty (MLAT) with the United States but it 
does not include provisions for extradition.  Post is not aware of 
the GOM extraditing any individuals charged with trafficking and in 
2008 the GOM did not have any pending or concluded cases of 
extraditing trafficking offenders to the United States. 
 
-- 25/I:  There was no evidence of national government involvement 
in, or tolerance for, trafficking.  On a local level, however, press 
reports, anecdotal information, and information from local NGOs 
indicated that corruption is a problem among Morocco's security 
forces.  Trafficking of persons to Europe is integrally connected to 
the trafficking of migrants, drugs, and other contraband.  Although 
the MOI was not able to provide any information on the investigation 
or prosecution of officials related to trafficking; the GOM has 
repeatedly arrested and prosecuted officials with any complicity in 
drug smuggling.  In January 2009, the GOM arrested approximately 102 
people for involvement in a criminal gang that allegedly smuggled 
hashish from Nador to Spain.  Of the 102 people arrested in the 
ongoing case, 29 were from the Royal Navy, 17 from the Royal 
Gendarmerie, 23 from the Auxiliary Forces, and one from the Armed 
Forces (Ref C). 
 
-- 25/J:  The MOI was unable to provide post with statistics of any 
GOM officials prosecuted for their involvement in TIP. 
 
-- 25/K:  Prostitution is not legal in Morocco.  The law is 
generally enforced. 
 
-- 25/L:  Morocco participates in international peacekeeping efforts 
and is sensitive to the issue of sexual exploitation.  The UN 
 
CASABLANCA 00000027  006 OF 008 
 
 
investigated accusations of sexual abuse against GOM forces 
participating in a peacekeeping mission in Cote d'Ivoire in 2007 and 
concluded that there was insufficient evidence to charge any of the 
personnel.  All Moroccan soldiers participating in UN peacekeeping 
missions receive training on the issue of sexual exploitation. 
 
-- 25/M:  Morocco has a problem with sex tourism.  European, 
especially French and Spanish men, as well as Arabs from the Gulf 
States and Saudi Arabia are the principal countries of origin for 
sex tourists.  We are not aware of Moroccan nationals traveling 
abroad to engage in sex tourism. 
 
¶9.  (U) PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS: 
 
-- 26/A:  The GOM did not provide assistance to foreign victims of 
trafficking by way of providing temporary or permanent residence 
status or other relief from deportation. 
 
-- 26/B:  Morocco's Center for Migrant Rights provided counseling 
services, including an explanation of one's legal and civil rights, 
to Moroccan migrants; however, legal representation was not offered, 
nor was shelter, medical or psychological services.  The GOM relies 
on the NGO community to provide most services to victims of 
trafficking.  The GOM has established a center in Casablanca and in 
Marrakech to offer assistance to street children and the victims of 
violence, abuse, and sexual exploitation.  According to an NGO that 
deals with children's issues, the center in Marrakech is funded 
exclusively by the municipality of the city and has limited services 
and personnel despite commitments from the GOM to staff the center 
with employees from the MOSD. 
 
-- Foreigners who are victims of trafficking do not have the same 
access to services that Moroccan victims do.  Caritas, Medecins sans 
Frontieres, and Christian charitable organizations are the only NGOs 
that provide services to the migrant community and foreign victims 
of trafficking.  Services are limited and may include counseling, 
legal advice, and medical and financial assistance. 
 
-- 26/E-F:  The GOM did not provide assistance to foreign victims of 
trafficking by way of providing temporary or permanent residency 
status or other relief from deportation.  Post is not aware of any 
referral process to transfer victims detained or arrested to 
institutions that provide care. 
 
-- 26/G:  The GOM was unable to provide information on the number of 
victims trafficked.  Morocco did not differentiate between victims 
of trafficking and smuggled migrants.  Foreign trafficking victims 
were treated as illegal migrants.  They were often arrested and 
deported along with other migrants.  Morocco routinely rounded up 
illegal sub-Saharan migrants and left them at the Algerian border, 
often without food or water.  Migrants left at this "no man's land" 
between the Algerian and Moroccan authorities were particularly 
susceptible to robbery, violence, and extortion at the hands of 
criminal gangs that control the smuggling of contraband in the area. 
 
 
-- The GOM has established a national crises hotline for women and 
children victims of violence, however, according to women's NGOs, 
the hotline refers women to NGOs centers that provide legal and 
psychological services. 
 
-- 26/H:  The GOM does not have a formal system to proactively 
identify victims of trafficking among high-risk persons with whom 
they come in contact. 
 
-- 26/I:  Sub-Saharan victims of trafficking, while they may 
participate in the judicial proceedings prosecuting traffickers, are 
usually deported. 
 
-- For domestic victims of trafficking, in 2003 Parliament changed 
the Penal Code so that runaway child maids may be administratively 
returned to their families instead of being arrested for vagrancy. 
If returning them to their parents was not possible or feasible, 
they would be placed in separate youth centers, not mixed in with 
juvenile delinquents. 
 
-- 26/J:  While victims were not encouraged to file civil suits 
against traffickers, they often testified on behalf of the GOM when 
 
CASABLANCA 00000027  007.11 OF 008 
 
 
it sought to prosecute trafficking cases. Specific numbers of 
victims who testified were not available. 
 
-- 26/K:  The GOM provides training to its consular officials on TIP 
issues.  The GOM did assist trafficking victims, principally women 
in Gulf and Arab countries, to return to Morocco and provided 
assistance with travel documents and transport home.  The GOM was 
not able to provide the number of TIP victims that were assisted in 
¶2008. 
 
-- 26/L:  Post is not aware of any financial or medical assistance 
provided to Moroccans who are repatriated as victims of trafficking. 
 
 
-- 26/M:  The IOM and UNHCR are the primary organizations that 
provide assistance to trafficking victims.  UNHCR has a range of 
health, education, and financial services which are available only 
to those with recognized refugee claims.  IOM is able to provide 
voluntary repatriation and a reintegration program to migrants 
seeking to return home.  In 2008 the IOM assisted in the voluntary 
return of 210 migrants from Morocco to their home country and 11 
Moroccans from Europe.  In addition, IOM in conjunction with the 
Moroccan, Spanish, and Italian governments has worked to establish 
shelters and a system to assist Moroccan minors who have been the 
victims of trafficking abroad.  International NGOs such as Medicins 
sans Frontieres (MSF), Caritas, and several Christian charitable 
organizations provided basic medical care and limited financial 
assistance to clandestine migrants in Casablanca, Rabat, and 
northern areas such as El Hoceima, Oujda, Nador, and Tangier.  These 
NGOs did not receive funding from the Moroccan government. 
 
¶10.  (U) PREVENTION: 
 
-- 27/A:  The government has periodically undertaken 
awareness-raising campaigns related to the abuse of children, child 
labor, and sexual exploitation.  In 2007 the GOM ran an anti-child 
labor awareness-raising campaign which included billboards, 
advertisements on buses and radio spots.  The objective was to 
inform the people of Morocco about the dangers and the legal 
ramifications of employing child maids. 
 
-- 27/B:  The GOM closely monitors and attempts to combat 
clandestine migration though it does not differentiate between 
illegal migration and trafficking.  The GOM does not have procedures 
in place to identify or screen for victims of trafficking along its 
borders. 
 
-- 27/C:  The Ministry of Justice has the lead in coordinating GOM 
policy on trafficking.  In practice, the MOI is responsible for 
preventing and enforcing trafficking related statues. 
 
-- 27/D:  The GOM has produced a document entitled, "The National 
Strategy to Combat Human Trafficking," which was formulated in 2007 
by the Ministry of Interior under the supervision of the Directorate 
of Migration and Border Control along with an inter-ministerial 
committee of coordination.  The plan describes the GOM's strategy in 
terms of prevention, combating trafficking, and protection.  The 
plan is largely an overview of past democratization and human rights 
reforms and current efforts to control the borders and stem illegal 
migration and smuggling.  The plan does not address in a concrete 
fashion current anti-TIP efforts or intended reforms.  NGOs were not 
consulted in its formation.  The national strategy cannot be 
described as a plan of action since it does not lay out specific 
recommendations or steps for the government to take. 
 
-- In 2006 the GOM launched its 'National Plan of Action for 
Children,' outlining the government's strategy for 2006-2015 and 
headed by the king's sister Lalla Meryem.  The plan's four goals are 
to improve children's health and education; protect children from 
abuse, violence, and exploitation; and combat HIV/AIDs.  As part of 
plan and the GOM's anti-child labor efforts, the Ministry of 
Employment and Professional Formation led by the Office of the 
Director of Work, in conjunction with ILO-IPEC and local NGO 
partners, oversaw a number of programs to deal with the issue of 
child labor.  The Ministry is currently managing four programs to be 
implemented by local NGOs in the provinces of Kenitra, Taroudant, 
and two in Marrakech.  The programs seek to decrease incidents of 
child labor through awareness raising, financial assistance to needy 
 
CASABLANCA 00000027  008 OF 008 
 
 
families, and lowering obstacles to school attendance.  The total 
budget for the four programs is USD 236,000. 
 
-- 27/E:  The Ministry of Justice informed post that, in conjunction 
with the Ministry of Tourism, that an anti-sex tourism plan of 
action was under discussion.  Post is not aware of any new steps 
taken by the government on this issue. 
 
-- 27/F:  We are not aware of any steps taken by the GOM to reduce 
the participation of Moroccan nationals in international child sex 
tourism. 
 
-- 27/G:  Post reported in 2008 in detail about steps that Morocco 
has taken to enforce a "zero tolerance" standard for its troops 
involved in UN peacekeeping missions in 2005 and 2007. (Ref. B) 
Morocco provides training to all of its UN peacekeepers to sensitize 
them to the issue of sexual exploitation. 
 
¶11.  (U) Mission POC on TIP issues is Matthew W. Lehrfeld, 
Political/Labor Officer, ConGen Casablanca, tel.:  +212-22-26-50, 
ext. 4151; fax:  +212-22-20-80-96; mail:  PSC 74, Box 24, APO, AE 
09718; pouch:  6280 Casablanca Place, Washington, DC 20521-6280; 
email:  lehrfeldmw@state.gov. 
 
¶12.  (U) Embassy Rabat cleared this message.