VZCZCXYZ0004
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKI #0161/01 0491500
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 181500Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY KINSHASA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9209

UNCLAS KINSHASA 000161 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP, G-ACBlank, INL, DRL, PRM, AF/RSA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREF KTIP KCRM KWMN KFRD SMIG ASEC ELAB CG
SUBJECT:  DRC:  RESPONSE TO QUESTIONS FOR THE NINTH ANNUAL 
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT 
 
REF:  2008 STATE 132759 
 
¶1.  (U) This message contains Embassy Kinshasa's responses to 
questions in reftel, paragraphs 23-27, on trafficking in persons. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Begin responses to paragraph 23: 
 
-- A. What is (are) the source(s) of available 
information on trafficking in persons?  What plans are in 
place (if any) to undertake further documentation of 
human trafficking?  How reliable are these sources? 
 
The following are generally considered reliable sources for TIP 
reporting: UNICEF, Solidarity Center, Save the Children UK, IOM, the 
Implementing Agency for the National DDR Program(UEPN-DDR), UN Group 
of Experts December 2008 Report, Katagan Provincial Minister of 
Interior, Medecins du Monde, Lazarius, UN Office for the 
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), Congolese National 
Ministry of Labor, War Child, World Peasants/Indigenous Organization 
(WPIO)and the UN Joint Human Rights Office (UNJHRO). 
 
Numbers maintained by these sources were estimates only.  Their 
estimates appeared to be reasonable given the size, lack of 
infrastructure, and the depth of the problems in the DRC. 
 
-- B. Is the country a country of origin, transit, and/or 
destination for internationally trafficked men, women, or 
children? 
 
Yes, the DRC is a country of origin, transit, and destination. 
 
Does trafficking occur within the country's 
borders?  If so, does internal trafficking occur in 
territory outside of the government's control (e.g. in a 
civil war situation)? 
 
Yes, trafficking occurred inside and outside areas of GDRC control. 
For areas outside of government control, Congolese armed rebel 
groups continued to recruit and maintain child soldiers and operated 
in a situation of rebellion against the government.  Also, a number 
of foreign armed groups operated in the DRC due to the government's 
inability to defend its own territory. 
 
To where are people trafficked? 
 
Reliable sources indicated that most people were trafficked 
internally within the DRC.  Some girls and women were trafficked to 
Uganda and Southern Sudan.  Others were trafficked to South Africa. 
 
For what purposes are they trafficked?  Provide, where 
possible, numbers or estimates for each group of 
trafficking victims. 
 
IOM estimated that 1,500 Congolese women and their dependants remain 
in Uganda after having been trafficked as "wives" by departing 
Ugandan People's Defense Force (UPDF)soldiers in 2003. 
 
UNICEF estimated that 60,000 boys worked at artisanal mining sites, 
and an undetermined number of girls worked as prostitutes outside 
mining sites. 
 
Pact said that there are an undetermined number of adults in debt 
bondage in the mining sector. 
 
UNICEF estimated that 11,500 girls worked in prostitution throughout 
the country. 
 
Medecins du Monde estimated that 2,975 girls living on the streets 
in Kinshasa were involved in prostitution. 
 
IOM indicated that there were an undetermined number of women and 
children who were trafficked internally in the DRC for domestic work 
and sexual exploitation.  IOM also said that there were an 
undetermined number of women trafficked to South Africa for sexual 
exploitation. 
 
The UN Group of Experts estimated that Rwandan authorities had 
recruited at least 30 children in Rwanda for work as child soldiers 
for the CNDP in the DRC.  It also believed that an unspecified 
number of children remained with the 81st and 85th non-integrated 
FARDC brigades under the control of Colonel Yav and Colonel Matumo 
respectively.  In previous years, the combined estimate from other 
sources was between 200-300 children. 
 
UNICEF estimated that there remained 5,000 child soldiers with rebel 
armed groups in North and South Kivu Provinces. 
 
OCHA estimated that the Lord's Resistance Army (LRA), a 
non-Congolese organization, had abducted over 800 women and children 
in 2008 to work as domestic workers and child soldiers in Orientale 
 
Province. UNHCR estimated that 300 remain captive with the LRA. 
 
The WPIO estimated that at least 200 enslaved Pygmies were working 
in the agricultural and mining sectors in Eastern DRC. 
 
Have there been any changes in the TIP situation since the last TIP 
Report (e.g. changes in destinations)? 
 
The only new development was that the LRA abducted an unspecified 
number of Congolese women and children into Southern Sudan. 
 
-- C. What kind of conditions are the victims trafficked 
into? 
 
Among rebel groups, women and children work in makeshift military 
camps.  Women and girls work as domestics in maintaining the camps, 
collecting firewood, and cooking.  They are also used as sex slaves. 
 Boys work either on the front lines as soldiers or are running 
ammunition and supplies between the rebel troops. 
 
At artisanal mining sites, boys work nine to ten hours a day digging 
tunnel mines and open-pit mines using rudimentary equipment and 
without any safety gear. 
 
Outside mining sites, girls involved in prostitution work in tents 
or small huts that are organized as brothels. 
 
Street children (girls) involved in prostitution are forced to turn 
over their earning to gangs who offer "protection" or to madams. 
 
Many of the women abducted into Uganda by the UPDF were minors at 
the time of their abduction with limited ability to refuse and 
limited understanding either of destination, duration, or conditions 
they would face in Uganda.  The women and children continued in 
difficult situations resulting from abandonment, death of their 
spouses, abuse, stigmatization and malnutrition. 
 
Pygmies continued to be enslaved as agricultural or domestic workers 
in some parts of the country. 
 
 
-- D. Vulnerability to TIP: Are certain groups of persons 
more at risk of being trafficked (e.g. women and 
children, boys versus girls, certain ethnic groups, 
refugees, IDPs, etc.)? 
 
Children were the most at risk to be trafficked in the DRC.  Boys 
were most likely to be recruited for child soldiering and in working 
in the mines.  Girls were most likely to be found working in 
prostitution or as sexual slaves in armed groups. 
 
Of all the ethnic groups, Pygmies were the most likely to be 
exploited and sometimes enslaved. 
 
 
-- E. Traffickers and Their Methods: Who are the 
traffickers/exploiters?  Are they independent business 
people?  Small or family-based crime groups?  Large 
international organized crime syndicates? 
 
Traffickers included insurgent armed groups, both Congolese and 
foreign, such as various Mai Mai groups, CNDP, LRA and the FDLR. 
Another group of traffickers were middle men in the mining sector 
who enticed children into working in the mines or who manipulated 
them into debt bondage.  With regards to girls working in 
prostitution, the traffickers were street gangs and madams. 
 
What methods are used to approach victims?  For example, are they 
offered lucrative jobs, sold by their families, or 
approached by friends of friends? 
 
Child soldiers were abducted, enticed to join by being promised 
money, or sent by their parents. 
 
Middlemen in the mining sector enticed children into working in the 
mines by promising them wages.  They also manipulated them by 
forcing them into debt bondage. 
 
Street gangs often offer protection to girls on the street. 
However, the girls often end up working in prostitution.  Madams in 
brothels also offer protection to homeless girls as well as food and 
shelter. 
 
What methods are used to move the victims (e.g., are false documents 
being used?).  Are employment, travel, and tourism agencies or 
marriage brokers involved with or fronting for traffickers or crime 
groups to traffic individuals? 
 
The majority of victims were trafficked internally.  Little or no 
documentation is used, even for international trafficking. 
 
 
End responses to paragraph 23. 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Begin responses to paragraph 24: 
 
-- A. Does the government acknowledge that trafficking is 
a problem in the country?  If not, why not? 
 
Yes. 
 
-- B. Which government agencies are involved in anti- 
trafficking efforts and which agency, if any, has the 
lead? 
 
No one government agency had the lead on anti-trafficking efforts, 
although in many instances the Ministry of Justice has the 
responsibility to investigate and prosecute suspected cases of 
trafficking. 
 
The following is a description of what government agencies are doing 
to combat TIP: 
 
The Ministry of Labor facilitated the creation of the National 
Committee Against the Worst Forms of Child Labor. 
 
The UEPN-DDR launched a national awareness campaign of zero 
tolerance for child soldiers, and helped to facilitate the handover 
of identified child soldiers to MONUC and NGOs for rehabilitation. 
 
The Military Integrations Structure (SMI) played a key role in 
identifying and removing child soldiers during the brassage 
process. 
 
The Katangan Provincial Ministry of Interior helped to fund and 
operate a center for homeless and street children in Lubumbashi. 
 
The Provincial Ministries of Education in Orientale, Kasai Oriental, 
and Katanga are working closely with Save the Children UK and 
Solidarity Center in implementing projects that aim to reinsert 
children working in mines into the formal education system. 
 
The Bukavu Military Court worked to convict a FARDC officer for 
recruiting children. 
 
The Kipushi Military Court continues to prosecute 24 soldiers for 
crimes including recruiting children. 
 
 
-- C. What are the limitations on the government's 
ability to address this problem in practice?  For 
example, is funding for police or other institutions 
inadequate?  Is overall corruption a problem?  Does the 
government lack the resources to aid victims? 
 
Corruption:  Corrupt officials siphoned meager financial resources 
available to government agencies to combat human trafficking. 
Police and soldiers often were not paid.  Due to corruption, there 
was little room for training, capacity building, and assistance to 
victims in government ministries. 
 
Financial:  The government lacked sufficient financial, technical, 
and human resources to address not only trafficking, but even basic 
levels of security and services. 
 
Security services:  The police and military were poorly trained, 
supplied, paid, and managed.  The FARDC lacked sufficient command 
and control to compel many FARDC commanders, much less militia 
commanders, with child soldiers serving under them to comply with 
standing orders to release them. 
 
 
-- D. To what extent does the government systematically 
monitor its anti-trafficking efforts (on all fronts -- 
prosecution, victim protection, and prevention) and 
periodically make available, publicly or privately and 
directly or through regional/international organizations, 
its assessments of these anti-trafficking efforts? 
 
The GDRC does not have the ability to systematically monitor or 
assess anti-trafficking efforts.  However, it did work with MONUC 
and international NGOs to demobilize child soldiers.  Some 
provincial ministries also worked with international NGOs to 
encourage children working in the mines to return to school.  Police 
in Bukavu have attempted to shut down brothels ("Maisons de 
Tolerance") housing young girls working in prostitution. 
 
End responses to paragraph 24. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Begin responses to paragraph 25: 
 
For questions A-D, posts should highlight in particular 
whether or not the country has enacted any new 
legislation since the last TIP report. 
 
-- A. Existing Laws against TIP: Does the country have a 
law or laws specifically prohibiting trafficking in 
persons -- both for sexual exploitation and labor?  If 
so, please specifically cite the name of the law(s) and 
its date of enactment and provide the exact language 
[actual copies preferable] of the TIP provisions. 
 
No. 
 
Please provide a full inventory of trafficking laws, including 
non-criminal statutes that allow for civil penalties against alleged 
trafficking crimes (e.g., civil 
forfeiture laws and laws against illegal debt). Does the 
law(s) cover both internal and transnational forms of 
trafficking?  If not, under what other laws can 
traffickers be prosecuted?  For example, are there laws 
against slavery or the exploitation of prostitution by 
means of force, fraud, or coercion?  Are these other laws 
being used in trafficking cases? 
 
The Child Protection Code, Law 09/001, enacted January 10, 2009,and 
thus after last year's TIP report, prohibits all forms of forced 
child labor, child prostitution, and the use of children in any 
illicit activity. 
 
The 2006 Sexual Violence code, Law 6/018, enacted July 20, 2006, 
includes provisions against, and penalties for, trafficking in 
persons for sexual purposes, forced prostitution, procuring or 
supporting prostitution (i.e. pimping), sexual slavery, and the 
prostitution of minors.  It applies to all relevant trafficking 
activities within Congolese jurisdiction. 
 
The Congolese Constitution expressly forbids involuntary servitude. 
In addition, it forbids enlistment of persons less than 18 years of 
age into the armed forces. 
 
The Labor Code prohibits the employment of children under the age of 
15, including as apprentices, unless exempted by a labor inspector. 
It also prohibits employment of children between the ages of 15-18 
without parental consent. 
 
-- B. Punishment of Sex Trafficking Offenses: What are 
the prescribed and imposed penalties for trafficking 
people for sexual exploitation? 
 
Trafficking people for sexual exploitation carries a minimum 
sentence of 10 years and a maximum of 20 years. 
 
-- C. Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses: What are 
the prescribed and imposed penalties for trafficking for 
labor exploitation, such as forced or bonded labor? 
 
To our best knowledge, the government did not determine penalties 
for labor exploitation nor did it impose them. 
 
If your country is a source country for labor migrants, do 
the government's laws provide for criminal punishment -- 
i.e. jail time -- for labor recruiters who engage in 
recruitment of workers using knowingly fraudulent or 
deceptive offers with the purpose of subjecting workers 
to trafficking in the destination country? 
 
We know of no laws that punish recruiters for trafficking. 
 
If your country is a destination for labor migrants, are there laws 
punishing employers or labor agents who confiscate workers' 
passports or travel documents for the purpose of trafficking, switch 
contracts without the worker's consent as a means to keep the worker 
in a state of service, or withhold payment of salaries as means of 
keeping the worker in a state of service? 
 
N/A 
 
-- D. What are the prescribed penalties for rape or 
forcible sexual assault? (NOTE:  This is necessary to 
evaluate a foreign government's compliance with TVPA 
Minimum Standard 2, which reads: "For the knowing 
commission of any act of sex trafficking . . . the 
government of the country should prescribe punishment 
commensurate with that for grave crimes, such as forcible 
sexual assault (rape)."  END NOTE) 
 
The prescribed penalties carried a minimum of 5 and a maximum of 20 
years.  In some cases, the penalties could be doubled.  The 
 
prescribed penalty for trafficking for commercial exploitation 
carried a sentence of 10 years. 
 
-- E. Law Enforcement Statistics: Did the government 
prosecute any cases against human trafficking offenders 
during the reporting period?  If so, provide numbers of 
investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and sentences 
imposed, including details on plea bargains and fines, if 
relevant and available. 
 
The GDRC prosecuted military soldiers and officers during the year 
for crimes including child soldiering.  The Bukavu Military Court in 
South Kivu sentenced FARDC Major Bwasolo Misaba to five years in 
prison in April 2008. 
 
The Kipushi Military Court in Katanga began the trial against former 
Mai Mai leader Kyungu Mutanga (a.k.a. Gedeon)in August 2007.  The 
trial continued throughout 2008, added 23 co-defendants, and is yet 
over. 
 
Please note the number of convicted traffickers who received 
suspended sentences and the number who received only a fine as 
punishment. 
 
Per our knowledge, no traffickers received suspended sentences. 
 
 
Please indicate which laws were used to investigate, 
prosecute, convict, and sentence traffickers. 
 
Article 41 of the law on defence and the armed forces prohibits the 
maintenance of armed groups formed by young combatants less than 18 
years. 
 
The new Child Protection Code specifically prohibits the recruitment 
and use of children by the armed forces, armed groups, and the 
police.  Newly adopted in January 2009, the GDRC has not yet had a 
chance to apply the law for prosecution. 
 
Also, if possible, please disaggregate numbers of cases by type of 
TIP (labor vs. commercial sexual exploitation) and 
victims (children under 18 years of age vs. adults). 
 
From above referenced child soldiering cases - 25. 
 
If in a labor source country, did the government criminally 
prosecute labor recruiters who recruit workers using 
knowingly fraudulent or deceptive offers or by imposing 
fees or commissions for the purpose of subjecting the 
worker to debt bondage? 
 
No.  Many recruiters, however, operated in areas that were not under 
government control. 
 
Did the government in a labor destination country criminally 
prosecute employers or labor agents who confiscate workers' 
passports/travel documents for the purpose of trafficking, switch 
contracts or terms of employment without the worker's consent to 
keep workers in a state of service, use physical or sexual abuse or 
the threat of such abuse to keep workers in a state of service, or 
withhold payment of salaries as a means to keep workers in a state 
of service?  What were the actual punishments imposed on persons 
convicted of these offenses?  Are the traffickers serving the time 
sentenced?  If not, why not? 
 
N/A - None. 
 
-- F. Does the government provide any specialized 
training for government officials in how to recognize, 
investigate, and prosecute instances of trafficking? 
 
No. 
 
Specify whether NGOs, international organizations, and/or 
the USG provide specialized training for host government 
officials. 
 
MONUC provided training to FARDC troops for demobilizing child 
soldiers. 
 
The International Labor Organization provided capacity training to 
the members on the National Committee Against the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor. 
 
--G. Does the government cooperate with other governments 
in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking 
cases? 
 
Per our knowledge, the GDRC did not participate in any cooperative 
international investigations of trafficking. 
 
 
If possible, provide the number of cooperative 
international investigations on trafficking during the 
reporting period. 
 
N/A 
 
-- H. Does the government extradite persons who are 
charged with trafficking in other countries?  If so, 
please provide the number of traffickers extradited 
during the reporting period, and the number of 
trafficking extraditions pending. In particular, please 
report on any pending or concluded extraditions of 
trafficking offenders to the United States. 
 
Per our knowledge, no requests for extradition were made. 
 
-- I. Is there evidence of government involvement in or 
tolerance of trafficking, on a local or institutional 
level?  If so, please explain in detail. 
 
NGO Lazarius told us that some police in Kinshasa tolerated girls 
working in prostitution in return for free sex. 
 
-- J. If government officials are involved in 
trafficking, what steps has the government taken to end 
such participation?  Please indicate the number of 
government officials investigated and prosecuted for 
involvement in trafficking or trafficking-related 
corruption during the reporting period.  Have any been 
convicted?  What sentence(s) was imposed?  Please specify 
if officials received suspended sentences, or were given 
a fine, fired, or reassigned to another position within 
the government as punishment.  Please indicate the number 
of convicted officials that received suspended sentences 
or received only a fine as punishment. 
 
According to MONUC's Child Protection Division, the Bukavu 
Military Court sentenced FARDC Major Bwasolo Misaba to five years in 
prison on April 7 for recruiting children between 10 and 14 years 
old and for illegal use of military ranks.  Per MONUC, this is only 
the second time that authorities have convicted a FARDC officer for 
recruiting children. 
 
It should be pointed out that there is no GDRC judicial presence in 
many areas where TIP occurs. 
 
-- K. Is prostitution legalized or decriminalized? 
Specifically, are the activities of the prostitute 
criminalized?  Are the activities of the brothel 
owner/operator, clients, pimps, and enforcers 
criminalized?  Are these laws enforced?  If prostitution 
is legal and regulated, what is the legal minimum age for 
this activity?  Note that in countries with federalist 
systems, prostitution laws may be under state or local 
jurisdiction and may differ among jurisdictions. 
 
Prostitution activities were illegal.  According to Save the 
Children UK, in Bukavu, South Kivu the child protection unit of the 
local police actively engaged in trying to shut down brothels 
(Maisons des Tolerances) that employed young girls. 
 
-- L. For countries that contribute troops to 
international peacekeeping efforts, please indicate 
whether the government vigorously investigated, 
prosecuted, convicted and sentenced nationals of the 
country deployed abroad as part of a peacekeeping or 
other similar mission who engaged in or facilitated 
severe forms of trafficking or who exploited victims of 
such trafficking.  N/A 
 
-- M. If the country has an identified problem of child 
sex tourists coming to the country, what are the 
countries of origin for sex tourists?  How many foreign 
pedophiles did the government prosecute or 
deport/extradite to their country of origin?  If your 
host country's nationals are perpetrators of child sex 
tourism, do the country's child sexual abuse laws have 
extraterritorial coverage (similar to the U.S. PROTECT 
Act) to allow the prosecution of suspected sex tourists 
for crimes committed abroad?  If so, how many of the 
country's nationals were prosecuted and/or convicted 
during the reporting period under the extraterritorial 
provision(s) for traveling to other countries to engage 
in child sex tourism? 
 
N/A 
 
End responses to paragraph 25. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Begin responses to paragraph 26: 
 
-- A.  What kind of protection is the government able 
under existing law to provide for victims and witnesses? 
Does it provide these protections in practice? 
 
The Katangan Provincial Ministry of Interior provided food and 
shelter to street children in Lubumbashi through its center for 
street children. 
 
The Government also works with NGO's and religious entities 
throughout the country who provide such activities. 
 
-- B.  Does the country have victim care facilities 
(shelters or drop-in centers) which are accessible to 
trafficking victims? 
 
Yes, please see above. 
 
Do foreign victims have the same access to care as domestic 
trafficking victims? 
 
Yes, in principle, although it is hard to verify, particularly in 
border areas. 
 
Where are child victims placed (e.g., in shelters, foster care, or 
juvenile justice detention centers)? 
 
Child soldiers were handed over to MONUC, UNICEF, Save the Children 
UK, and other NGOs for assistance, rehabilitation, and reunification 
with their families. 
 
Does the country have specialized care for adults in addition to 
children? 
 
No. 
 
Does the country have specialized care for male victims as well as 
female? 
 
No. 
 
Does the country have specialized facilities dedicated to helping 
victims of trafficking? Are these facilities operated by the 
government or by NGOs?  What is the funding source of these 
facilities? Please estimate the amount the government spent (in U.S. 
dollar equivalent) on these specialized facilities dedicated to 
helping trafficking victims during the reporting period. 
 
Yes. NGOs operated centers to help rehabilitate demobilized child 
soldiers.  Their funding source was from international donors. 
Funding amounts are not known. 
 
-- C.  Does the government provide trafficking victims 
with access to legal, medical and psychological services? 
If so, please specify the kind of assistance provided. 
 
No. 
 
Does the government provide funding or other forms of 
support to foreign or domestic NGOs and/or international 
organizations for providing these services to trafficking 
victims?  Please explain and provide any funding amounts 
in U.S. dollar equivalent.  If assistance provided was 
in-kind, please specify exact assistance.  Please specify 
if funding for assistance comes from a federal budget or 
from regional or local governments. 
 
The GDRC allowed, and in some cases worked closely with, NGOs and 
international organizations to provide these services.  These 
organizations informed the GDRC of their activities. 
 
-- D. Does the government assist foreign trafficking 
victims, for example, by providing temporary to permanent 
residency status, or other relief from deportation?  If 
so, please explain. 
 
No, but in practice victims are very rarely subject to deportation. 
 
-- E. Does the government provide longer-term shelter or 
housing benefits to victims or other resources to aid the 
victims in rebuilding their lives? 
 
No. 
 
-- F. Does the government have a referral process to 
transfer victims detained, arrested or placed in 
protective custody by law enforcement authorities to 
institutions that provide short- or long-term care 
(either government or NGO-run)? 
 
 
When child soldiers were apprehended or showed up to brassage 
centers, the FARDC and UEPN-DDR referred them to MONUC and NGOs for 
care. 
 
-- G. What is the total number of trafficking victims 
identified during the reporting period? 
 
The total of the estimates for all different kinds of trafficking 
equaled 80,000. 
 
Of these, how many victims were referred to care facilities for 
assistance by law enforcement authorities during the 
reporting period? 
 
Per Save the Children, approximately 2,200 children were demobilized 
during the year.  According to UEPN-DDR, approximately 3,000 child 
soldiers were demobilized. 
 
A sharp increase in child soldier demobilization has taken place 
since the January 2009 agreement between CNDP General Ntaganda and 
the FARDC.  One week into the CNDP integration process, MONUC 
reported that 223 child soldiers (207 Mai Mai/Pareco and 16 CNDP) 
had been demobilized by MONUC's Child Protection Division.  MONUC 
praised DRC authorities and the rebel groups for their cooperation. 
 
 
By social services officials? 
 
To our knowledge, none. 
 
What is the number of victims assisted by government-funded 
assistance programs and those not funded by the government during 
the reporting period? 
 
The government run child center in Lubumbashi held a capacity of 730 
children. 
 
-- H. Do the government's law enforcement, immigration, 
and social services personnel have a formal system of 
proactively identifying victims of trafficking among 
high-risk persons with whom they come in contact (e.g., 
foreign persons arrested for prostitution or immigration 
violations)? 
 
Per our knowledge, no. 
 
For countries with legalized prostitution, 
does the government have a mechanism for screening for 
trafficking victims among persons involved in the 
legal/regulated commercial sex trade? 
 
N/A. 
 
-- I. Are the rights of victims respected?  Are 
trafficking victims detained or jailed?   If so, for how 
long?  Are victims fined?  Are victims prosecuted for 
violations of other laws, such as those governing 
immigration or prostitution? 
 
The FARDC occasionally detained demobilized child soldiers on 
charges of being members of illegal armed groups.  However, they 
were released quickly if discovered by MONUC or NGOs. 
 
-- J. Does the government encourage victims to assist in 
the investigation and prosecution of trafficking? 
 
We are not aware of any government encouragement. 
 
How many victims assisted in the investigation and 
prosecution of traffickers during the reporting period? 
 
We are not aware of any assistance by victims. 
 
May victims file civil suits or seek legal action against 
traffickers? 
 
Yes.  Although, not aware of any cases filed during reporting 
period. 
 
Does anyone impede victim access to such 
legal redress?  If a victim is a material witness in a 
court case against a former employer, is the victim 
permitted to obtain other employment or to leave the 
country pending trial proceedings?  Are there means by 
which a victim may obtain restitution? 
 
Not aware of any cases filed. 
 
-- K. Does the government provide any specialized 
 
training for government officials in identifying 
trafficking victims and in the provision of assistance to 
trafficked victims, including the special needs of 
trafficked children? 
 
Not aware of any specialized training. 
 
Does the government provide training on protections and assistance 
to its embassies and consulates in foreign countries that are 
destination or transit countries? 
 
Not aware of any training. 
 
What is the number of trafficking victims assisted by the host 
country's embassies or consulates abroad during the reporting 
period?  Please explain the type of assistance provided (travel 
documents, referrals to assistance, payment for transportation 
home). 
 
Not aware of any cases. 
 
-- L. Does the government provide assistance, such as 
medical aid, shelter, or financial help, to its nationals 
who are repatriated as victims of trafficking? 
 
Not aware of any government assistance to repatriated victims. 
 
-- M. Which international organizations or NGOs, if any, 
work with trafficking victims? 
 
MONUC, UNICEF, IOM, BVES, CAJED, Save the Children UK, Lazarius 
 
What type of services do they provide? 
 
Services included:  community re-integration, vocational training, 
re-enrollment in primary or secondary education, conflict resolution 
seminars, sexual violence counseling, psychological counseling, 
mediation between children and families, and medical treatment. 
 
What sort of cooperation do they receive from local authorities? 
 
They usually received full cooperation. 
 
End responses to paragraph 26. 
 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Begin responses to paragraph 27: 
 
-- A. Did the government conduct anti-trafficking 
information or education campaigns during the reporting 
period?  If so, briefly describe the campaign(s), 
including their objectives and effectiveness.  Please 
provide the number of people reached by such awareness 
efforts, if available. 
 
 
The UEPN-DDR launched a national awareness campaign of zero 
tolerance for child soldiers in Kinshasa, Goma, and Bukavu 
respectively on June 16, 21, and 23.  Through lobbying efforts it 
targeted both military and political leaders.  For the general 
public, UEPN-DDR produced sketches, public service announcements, 
and debates broadcasted by six radio and TV stations in July and 
August.  The UEPN-DDR also sent field teams to 23 sites throughout 
South Kivu, North Kivu, Katanga and Equateur Provinces. 
 
Do these campaigns target potential trafficking victims and/or the 
demand for trafficking (e.g. "clients" of prostitutes or 
beneficiaries of forced labor)?  (Note: This can be an especially 
noteworthy effort where prostitution is legal. End Note.) 
 
They targeted the demand and the acceptability of using child 
soldiers. 
 
-- B. Does the government monitor immigration and 
emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking? 
 
Not aware of any government monitoring. 
 
-- C. Is there a mechanism for coordination and 
communication between various agencies, internal, 
international, and multilateral on trafficking-related 
matters, such as a multi-agency working group or a task 
force? 
 
Not specifically.  However, FARDC, UEPN-DDR, MONUC DDR, MONUC Child 
Protection, and international NGOs have created communication links 
between themselves and with host country officials to quickly 
demobilize child soldiers once they are discovered. 
 
-- D. Does the government have a national plan of action 
 
to address trafficking in persons? 
 
No. 
 
If the plan was developed during the reporting period, which 
agencies were involved in developing it?  Were NGOs consulted in the 
process?  What steps has the government taken to implement the 
action plan? 
 
N/A 
 
-- E: What measures has the government taken during the 
reporting period to reduce the demand for commercial sex 
acts?   (see ref B, para. 9(3) for examples) 
 
None. 
 
-- F. Required of all Posts: What measures has the 
government taken during the reporting period to reduce 
the participation in international child sex tourism by 
nationals of the country? 
 
N/A - No sex tourism here. 
 
-- G. Required of posts in countries that have 
contributed over 100 troops to international peacekeeping 
efforts (Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, 
Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil,  Cambodia, Cameroon, 
Canada, Chile, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Egypt, El 
Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji,  France, Gambia, Germany, 
Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, 
Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Korea (South), Malawi, Malaysia, 
Mali, Mongolia, Morocco,  Nepal,  Niger, Nigeria, 
Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal,  Romania, 
Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, 
Sri Lanka,  Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, 
Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Yemen, Zambia, and 
Zimbabwe): What measures has the government adopted to 
ensure that its nationals who are deployed abroad as part 
of a peacekeeping or other similar mission do not engage 
in or facilitate severe forms of trafficking or exploit 
victims of such trafficking?  If posts do not provide an 
answer to this question, the Department may consider 
including a statement in the country assessment to the 
effect that "An assessment regarding Country X's efforts 
to ensure that its troops deployed abroad for 
international peacekeeping missions do not engage in or 
facilitate trafficking or exploit trafficking victims was 
unavailable for this reporting period." 
 
N/A 
 
End responses to paragraph 27. 
 
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