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TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0287
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RHEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC 0543

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 LILONGWE 000076 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP - RYOUSEY 
DEPARTMENT ALSO FOR G-ACBlank, INL, DRL, PRM, AF/RSA 
DEPART PLEASE PASS TO USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB EAID
MI 
SUBJECT: 2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT - MALAWI 
 
REF: A) STATE 5577 
      B) 08 STATE 132759 
 
¶1.  SUMMARY. The government of Malawi remains committed in its fight 
against trafficking but continues to suffer from a lack of 
resources.  Malawi is a source, transit, and destination country for 
trafficking and the GOM acknowledges that trafficking is a problem. 
The Ministry of Women and Child Development is the lead agency in 
the fight to combat trafficking, but the GOM employs an 
interministerial approach to the problem.  Additionally, the GOM has 
strong working relationships with International Organizations (IO) 
and NGOs. 
 
¶2. In 2008, there were no significant changes in the laws affecting 
human trafficking in Malawi, but at least three trafficking-related 
cases resulted in prison sentences.  However reporting systems 
remain weak, making data collection and assessment of trafficking 
difficult. The GOM-UNIFCEF "Lekani" awareness campaign against 
harmful practices including trafficking, child labor, and sexual 
exploitation continued in 2008 with national reach through media, 
community, and school programs.  The government of Malawi continued 
to operate a rehabilitation center as well work in partnership with 
numerous NGOs to provide social, counseling, and rehabilitation 
services to victims as resources allowed.   END SUMMARY. 
 
Post provides the following information in response to reftel B 
request.  Answers are keyed to reftel paragraphs. 
 
¶3.  Paragraph 23. THE COUNTRY'S TIP SITUATION: 
 
¶A.  Sources of information include various ministries, government 
officials, NGOs, and church groups.  Much of the information is 
anecdotal but is generally considered reliable. Few groups have 
statistics and those that do are usually limited to a single 
district or smaller area for a limited timeframe.  The Ministry of 
Women and Child Development is establishing a national child 
protection database to facilitate better information sharing and 
data collection.  In 2008, Norwegian Church Aid (NCA) funded a study 
entitled "Prevention of Trafficking in Women and Children for the 
Purpose of Sexual Exploitation: Malawi."  Additionally, ILO and 
UNICEF funded a government study on child trafficking in Malawi. 
 
¶B.  Malawi is a country of origin, transit, and destination for 
internationally trafficked men, women, and children.  Women and 
children are the most vulnerable group for trafficking exploitation. 
 Numbers for each group are unknown.  Most are trafficked from 
Malawi to South Africa, Zambia, Mozambique, and Tanzania for both 
labor and sexual exploitation.  There was a report of at least 29 
men trafficked to Tanzania to work as slave fishermen on a small, 
isolated lake.  Additionally, children and women from Zambia, 
Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zimbabwe are trafficked to Malawi for 
labor and sexual exploitation.  A 2005 IOM study also identified 
Europe as a destination of victims trafficked for sexual 
exploitation. 
 
Incidences of trafficking within the country's borders are higher 
than international trafficking.  The 2008 NCA study estimated 70% of 
trafficking cases in Malawi are internal.  The same report estimated 
that between 500 and 1500 victims were trafficked internally per 
year in Malawi and over 400 victims were trafficked across borders. 
 
 
¶C.  Children are most commonly trafficked internally to work as 
domestics, cattle herders, agricultural laborers, and to do menial 
work in various small businesses.  The Ministry of Women and Child 
Development and several NGOs also report incidences of young girls 
moving from rural areas to urban or other rural areas to work as 
commercial sex workers.  Many women and girls are forced to become 
"bar girls" who work at local bars and resthouses where they are 
required to have sex with customers in exchange for room and board. 
 
¶D.  Impoverished rural populations are the primary targets for 
traffickers, and this includes children, women, and some men. 
Orphans, particularly those cared for by extended family members 
with their own children, are extremely vulnerable to trafficking. 
Poverty and lack of education are common factors among all forms of 
trafficking. 
 
¶E.  Traffickers for domestic and agricultural labor are often former 
villagers who have moved to urban areas.  The returnees offer 
lucrative jobs to children or their guardians and promise to send 
the salaries to the guardians while providing clothing, food, 
shelter, and education to the child. Often the trafficker is 
heralded as a hero by villagers who believe the child will be better 
 
LILONGWE 00000076  002 OF 008 
 
 
off leaving the village.  Village headmen and other traditional 
authorities are also used by traffickers who convince the 
traditional leader to help recruit children using similar false 
stories about providing amenities to the children that they often 
lack in the village. Adult victims are offered lucrative jobs either 
in other regions of Malawi, neighboring countries, or South Africa. 
 
Adults who run brothels or otherwise act as facilitators for 
commercial sex lure new underage recruits into prostitution with 
promises of nice clothing and lodging.  Once the young woman or girl 
arrives at the new location she is charged high rental fees for 
these items and instructed how to work as a prostitute to pay off 
the debt.  Anecdotal evidence indicates there may be some 
prostitutes from Zambia and Tanzania working in border areas; 
however these cannot be confirmed as victims of trafficking. 
Persons have been trafficked internally for labor and reportedly 
also to South Africa, Mozambique, Tanzania, and Zambia. 
 
There is evidence that Malawi is also a destination for 
international trafficking.  A child labor rehabilitation shelter run 
by the Salvation Army in Mchinji, near the Zambian border, confirmed 
they have taken in children from both Mozambique and Zambia that 
were trafficked for agricultural labor in Malawi.  A 2008 court case 
involved a woman who was trafficked by a truck driver from Zimbabwe 
to Malawi where she was sexually exploited.  The 2008 NCA study also 
identified at least one victim of trafficking for sexual 
exploitation in Malawi from Tanzania. 
 
Victims are generally moved using legitimate travel documents when 
necessary or moved across porous borders without passing through 
immigration checkpoints. Often, international victims are just 
hidden in vehicles while the driver passes immigration checkpoints. 
In other cases, foot and bicycle trails without formal checkpoints 
are used to facilitate cross-border trafficking. While there is some 
evidence of organization among traffickers, especially in the 
transport of people to South Africa, no employment, travel, or 
marriage agencies have been openly implicated in trafficking. 
 
¶4. Paragraph 24. SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP 
EFFORTS: 
 
¶A.  The Malawi Government acknowledges that trafficking is a problem 
in the country. 
 
¶B. A wide variety of GOM agencies are involved in anti-trafficking 
efforts.  The Ministry of Women and Child Development, the Ministry 
of Home Affairs and Internal Security (which includes police and 
immigration services) and the Ministry of Labor, along with the 
Malawi Law Commission, The Malawi Human Rights Commission, and the 
Director of Public Prosecution have the most significant roles.  The 
Ministry of Women and Child Development is the lead agency in 
combating trafficking in persons. 
 
There are two committees that primarily monitor human trafficking in 
Malawi:  the National Steering Committee on Orphans and Vulnerable 
Children, and the National Steering Committee on Child Labor.  These 
committees are of overlapping composition, and trafficking issues 
are included in both. 
 
Most districts have a district child labor committee, a district 
orphan and vulnerable child (OVC) committee, and a district 
committee on child rights, all of which could deal with trafficking 
issues.  As with the national steering committees, there is a lot of 
overlap yet also limited data sharing.  There is no guarantee a case 
reported to a district labor inspector would also be brought to the 
attention of the district social worker or the police victim support 
unit.  The amount of initiative district committees take varies 
widely and is often dependent on the individuals working in the 
district or access to NGO or IO-sponsored projects in the district. 
In some districts, there is now a combined district child protection 
committee to facilitate better reporting of cases and collection of 
data. 
 
¶C. The practical limitations on the GOM's ability to address TIP are 
many.  Malawi is one of the world's poorest countries and suffers 
severely from the HIV/AIDS pandemic.  Thirty years of dictatorship 
gave way in 1994 to democratic rule, albeit plagued by corruption. 
Funding for nearly all public institutions -- police, hospitals, and 
basic infrastructure -- is inadequate.  The Anti-Corruption Bureau 
(ACB) is responsible for investigating and prosecuting corruption. 
The ACB opened investigations of immigration, police, and other 
government officials in 2008, although none were directly related to 
trafficking. 
 
 
LILONGWE 00000076  003 OF 008 
 
 
Malawi depends heavily on foreign aid, international organizations, 
and multi-national NGOs for funding of most anti-trafficking 
programs, which sometimes limits the government's discretion on 
which projects to support and in which districts to place resources. 
 Some projects are delegated to local NGOs due to lack of capacity 
in government; unclear reporting structures can limit data 
collection and sharing of results.  The government's resources to 
aid victims are extremely limited, though some assistance is 
provided through various social programs.   Most assistance programs 
are funded by international or faith-based organizations working 
through domestic NGOs. 
 
¶D. Systematic monitoring of human trafficking is still not 
developed.  Due to the broad range of agencies involved at the 
central and local government levels, there is a not single point of 
contact for trafficking-related issues in a community or at the 
national level.  While some data is collected at the district level, 
there are inadequate reporting structures to compile data at the 
national level. 
 
The 2008 GOM-ILO-UNICEF child trafficking study was released.  A 
review on Community Child Protection Workers in Malawi by the 
Ministry of Women and Child Development and UNICEF was also 
released. 
 
¶5.  Paragraph 25. Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers: 
 
¶A.  There were no significant changes to the laws regarding 
trafficking in persons in Malawi since the last TIP report.  Malawi 
does not have a law specifically forbidding trafficking in persons. 
The constitution prohibits slavery and servitude, and forbids any 
form of forced, tied, or bonded labor.  According to the Malawi Law 
Commission, in spite of the fact that the Constitution cannot 
directly be used to prosecute offenders, reference to the 
constitution has in the past been essential in prosecuting certain 
cases related to trafficking. 
 
The penal code contains specific offenses which may be used to 
prosecute traffickers: Section 140 prohibits the "procuration (or 
attempts to procure) any woman or girl to become, either in Malawi 
or elsewhere, a common prostitute or to leave Malawi with the intent 
that she may become an inmate of or frequent a brothel in Malawi or 
elsewhere."  Section 141 prohibits the procurement and defilement of 
a woman or girl by threats, fraud, or administering of drugs. 
Section 143 criminalizes any person who detains any woman or girl 
against her will "that she may be unlawfully and carnally known by 
any man."  Living off of the proceeds of prostitution and operating 
a brothel are illegal according to Sections 145-147. 
 
Sections 257-269 concern offenses against liberty including 
kidnapping, abduction, and abduction in order to subject a person to 
grievous harm or slavery.  Section 267 prohibits the buying or 
selling of any person as a slave and section 268 specifically 
identifies trafficking in slaves as a felony.  Section 268 is most 
often used to prosecute a person involved in trafficking. 
 
In 2008, child labor and kidnapping laws were successfully used to 
convict child traffickers, including at least three cases that 
merited prison sentences, although detailed conviction numbers were 
unavailable.  In the past, the majority of these cases involved 
trafficking of children for agricultural labor exploitation and 
cattle herding.  Traffickers are usually required to pay fines. 
 
Existing laws can be used for the prosecution of TIP, but the lack 
of specific legislation criminalizing TIP makes prosecution more 
challenging.  In the absence of actual trafficking laws and broad 
knowledge of how to manage trafficking cases, cases are handled 
differently according to the prosecutors and judges involved.  Those 
who have participated in TIP training -- and therefore have some 
understanding of how to investigate and try TIP cases -- tend to 
mete out stiffer sentences. 
 
The Child Care, Protection and Justice Bill, which defines child 
trafficking and sets life imprisonment penalties for convicted 
traffickers, remains in cabinet and was not passed by Parliament 
during the reporting period.  At the end of the reporting period, 
the Malawi Law Commission was finalizing drafting additional 
legislation to specifically criminalize trafficking of all types. 
 
¶B.  Penalties for trafficking for sexual exploitation as delineated 
under the existing penal code vary according to the different 
articles, but are largely unspecified.  Abduction of a woman with 
intent to have sexual intercourse or with the intention to marry her 
off is punishable by up to seven years in prison.  Child sexual 
 
LILONGWE 00000076  004 OF 008 
 
 
exploitation can be charged under indecent assault of young girls 
and boys, which carries up to a 15 year prison sentence.  There was 
no data available about the number of arrests, convictions, or 
penalties for trafficking people for sexual exploitation during the 
reporting period. 
 
¶C.  As described previously, most of the trafficking cases that have 
been prosecuted in Malawi involve forced child labor.  Penalties for 
child labor violations vary according to the specific charges. 
During the year, at least one child labor case resulted in a prison 
sentence.  However, most violators receive a warning for the first 
offense and are fined for subsequent violations. At least 13 cases 
were settled out of court for payment of back wages and repatriation 
costs.  A trial conviction resulted in a 13000 MK ($92 USD) fine. 
Child labor is prohibited under the age of 14 by the Employment Act 
of 2000 and is punishable by a fine of 20,000 MK (140 USD) or up to 
five years in prison.  Minimum wage laws can be used to punish 
employers who use deceptive offers or switch contracts, but 
penalties usually amount only to payment of salary in arrears.  The 
Ministry of Labor said there were at least 24 investigations in 
2008, of which three went to trial.  There was little other data 
available about the number of arrests, convictions, or penalties for 
trafficking people for labor. 
 
¶D.  Penalties for rape include life imprisonment and possible death. 
 (Note: No death sentences have been carried out in Malawi's 
democratic history.)  Rape is a felony.  In practice, the maximum 
sentence for rape is 14 years in prison. 
 
¶E.  The government prosecuted cases against human trafficking 
offenders but could not provide the number of investigations, 
prosecutions, convictions, and sentences given to convicted 
offenders.  Arrests of at least eight traffickers were reported by 
one of the district labor offices and corroborated by the district's 
Police Station. 
 
The penal code is used to investigate arrest, prosecute, convict and 
sentence traffickers.  Most are investigated under Section 268, 
prohibiting the trafficking of slaves, or sections covering 
abduction or sexual assault.  The Employment Act and the minimum 
wage law can also be used in forced labor and child labor cases. 
 
Labor recruiters who use knowingly fraudulent or deceptive offers or 
impose inappropriately high fees creating a debt bondage condition 
can be prosecuted.  Employers who confiscate workers' passports or 
switch contracts can also be prosecuted using the penal code. 
 
There were at least three reports of traffickers being sentenced to 
jail during the reporting period.  In Mchinji district, along the 
Zambia border, a court sentenced a trafficker of children for labor 
to eight years in prison.  A tobacco farm employee, also in Mchinji, 
was sentenced to two years in prison for his participation in 
trafficking children for labor.  In Kasungu, a man was sentenced to 
two years in prison for attempting to sell his 17 year-old daughter 
in slavery in return for 100,000 MK ($700 USD). 
 
The government has difficulty providing information on 
investigations, arrests, convictions, and sentences due to the 
decentralization of magistrates and courts, police, and social 
welfare officers, the lack of uniform reporting structures, and the 
lack of reporting systems able to consolidate data at a regional or 
national level without an extensive manual collection effort. 
 
¶F.  The GOM provides specialized training for police, child 
protection officers, social welfare officers, and other officials in 
how to recognize, investigate, and prosecute instances of 
trafficking.  During the reporting period, UNICEF, ILO, Norwegian 
Church Aid, along various local NGOs provided or assisted the GOM 
with training.  The Ministry of Labor incorporated a child 
protection curriculum into labor inspector training. 
 
¶G.  The government has expressed a willingness to cooperate with 
other governments in the investigation and prosecution of 
trafficking cases, but requests are handled on an ad hoc basis. 
Informal cooperation between district officials in Mchinji and their 
counterparts across the Zambian border routinely occurs.  Child 
labor and trafficking victims in Zambia are brought by Zambian 
authorities to the border, where GOM district officials take over 
investigation of the cases and repatriation of the victims.  The 
GOM, through the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security, is 
a member of INTERPOL and SADC's Defense and Security Organization 
which deals with trafficking. 
 
¶H.  GOM officials and the Police indicate that persons charged with 
 
LILONGWE 00000076  005 OF 008 
 
 
trafficking in other countries could be extradited in cases where 
such action would be appropriate but would be evaluated on a case by 
case basis.  Malawian nationals would likely only be extradited in 
situations were the national could not be tried for the crime in 
Malawi. The GOM was not presented with such a case during the 
reporting period. 
 
¶I.  There is no evidence of government involvement in or tolerance 
of trafficking, on a local or institutional level.  There was a July 
2008 Malawi News media report that claimed police, immigration, and 
refugee camp officials could be involved in the smuggling of 
Ethiopian and Somali refugees through Malawi onward to South Africa, 
but it is unclear if any cases meet the definition of human 
trafficking. 
 
¶J.  Some NGOs have raised concerns about the lack of regulations for 
international adoptions and its potential for abuse with regard to 
trafficking. 
 
¶K. Certain elements of prostitution are illegal; however the penal 
code does not specifically prohibit the prostitution of oneself. 
Suspected prostitutes are sometimes cited for loitering or 
disorderly behavior.  Several sections of the penal code 
specifically criminalize the activities of brothel owners/operators, 
clients, pimps, madams, and prostitute recruiters.  The penal code 
prohibits living off the proceeds of prostitution which could be 
used against traffickers and carries a penalty of imprisonment up to 
three years.  Operating a brothel can be penalized by up to five 
years in prison. Procuring a person for prostitution is also illegal 
with a similar penalty. 
 
¶L.  The Malawi Defense Force had no reports of Malawians 
participating in peacekeeping or similar missions who engaged in or 
facilitated severe forms of trafficking or who exploited victims of 
trafficking. 
 
¶M.  Previous anecdotal reports indicated there may be sex tourism 
occurring in Malawi, primarily along the lakeshore area of Lake 
Malawi.  However reports did not indicate the presence of an actual 
"industry."  Unconfirmed reports indicate that teenage boys and 
girls have, in the past, provided sexual services for visiting 
European tourists. Additionally, a 2007 report by ECPAT 
International claimed that child prostitution is abundant in urban 
areas at hotels and outside night clubs and that more than 40% of 
sex workers were girls below the age of 18. 
 
During the reporting year, the GOM was not presented with the 
opportunity to prosecute any cases related to foreign pedophiles, 
though officials consistently prosecute pedophiles under a variety 
of laws.  Since homosexuality is illegal and remains generally 
socially unacceptable in Malawi, prosecutions for this type of 
prostitution and solicitation could include charges of homosexual 
acts. 
 
The country's child sexual abuse laws still reside in the Malawi 
penal code and do not likely have extraterritorial coverage. 
 
¶6.  Paragraph 26. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS: 
 
¶A.  There is limited protection under existing laws for victims and 
witnesses.  In the case of child victims, some efforts are made to 
make trials less threatening, but in practice under current law, all 
victims and witnesses would likely have to confront the accused in a 
court of law. 
 
¶B.  Malawi has two rehabilitation centers for children in conflict 
with the law (Blantyre, Zomba) and one social rehabilitation drop-in 
center (Lilongwe) for TIP and gender-based violence victims.  All 
offer counseling and rehabilitation services and some legal 
assistance through the NGO, Legal Aid.  The government of Malawi 
funds these three centers with total contributions of approximately 
100,000 USD per year.  Medical cases are referred to government 
hospitals.  The Police operate 34 victim support units which 
specialize in handling trafficking and gender-based violence crimes 
and provide limited forms of counseling and temporary safety. In 
general, foreign victims have the same access to care as domestic 
victims, although some foreign victims avoid government centers 
believing they will be deported. 
 
In addition, the government works with and refers victims to various 
NGO-run shelters as well.  The Salvation Army operates a child labor 
victim shelter in Mchinji which offers rehabilitation and training. 
The NGO Youth Net and Counseling (YONECO) operates a rehabilitation 
center in Zomba and the NGO Active Youth Initiative for Social 
 
LILONGWE 00000076  006.2 OF 008 
 
 
Enhancement (AYISE) operates a center in Blantyre.  The Chisomo 
Children's Centers in Lilongwe, Blantyre, and Limbe and Tikondane 
Street Children's Shelter in Lilongwe provide rehabilitation 
services and temporary shelter to street and other at-risk children, 
many of whom were trafficked previously.  Children victims are 
usually referred to one of these facilities or reunited with their 
families. Some of the above centers also provide specialized care 
for adult women victims.  Specialized care for male victims is 
limited. 
 
¶C.  The GOM attempts to provide trafficking victims with access to 
basic legal (through NGO Legal Aid), medical (through government 
hospitals), and psychological services, but is limited in its 
ability to do so.  The government provides support to international 
and domestic NGOs providing services to trafficking victims.  Nearly 
all funding comes from international organizations such as UNICEF 
and ILO but the GOM provides technical and coordination assistance 
and helps set project guidelines.  The GOM works with NGOs to 
connect their local programs with labor inspectors, child protection 
officers, district social welfare officers, the police, and district 
child protection committees to help facilitate projects.  Funding 
comes from both national and district budgets. 
 
¶D.  Assistance to foreign victims is limited.  In practice, many 
victims are faced with deportation unless they challenge their 
immigration status in court.  In extenuating circumstances, the 
Immigration Department can provide relief from deportation for a 
short time.  During the reporting period, at least one case 
involving a foreign victim from Zimbabwe was disrupted when here 
temporary residence expired forcing her deportation before the end 
of the trial. 
 
¶E.  The government has provided shelter for as long as six months in 
one case, but cannot typically provide for longer-term housing.  In 
many child cases, victims are provided with school supplies and 
other costs to assist their reintegration into the community. 
Trafficking victims' families are sometimes trained in 
income-generating activities to reduce the chances that a victim 
falls back into trafficking situations. 
 
¶F.  The government does have a referral process to transfer victims 
detained by law-enforcement authorities through its victim support 
units and district child protection committees.  In some areas such 
as Mchinji, NGO shelters work closely with the government to 
identify and transfer victims. 
 
¶G. The total number of trafficking victims 
Identified during the reporting period was unavailable.  Of those 
identified by law enforcement, government said most were referred to 
care facilities or reunited with their families, but there are no 
statistics available.  The number of victims assisted by 
government-funded assistance programs was also not known. 
 
¶H. Law enforcement, immigration, and social services personnel have 
been trained to identify victims of trafficking but there is no 
formal system to proactively identify victims of trafficking among 
high-risk person they come in contact.  The government does not have 
a mechanism for screening for trafficking victims among persons 
involved in the commercial sex trade. 
 
¶I.  The rights of victims are generally respected.  There are no 
reports of victims treated as criminals.  Trafficking victims may be 
initially detained for short durations during initial investigation. 
 
 
¶J.  The GOM uses evidence gained from victims to investigate and 
prosecute TIP-related cases.  Victims are permitted to file civil 
suits against perpetrators, and civil society and NGOs many times 
offer pro-bono legal services to victims involved in civil and 
criminal cases.  Labor inspectors and child protection officers are 
trained to advocate for fair remuneration to employees, especially 
children, in labor disputes and court cases.  Victims may obtain 
restitution although in practice sums have typically been set at the 
minimum rural wage in the case of forced and child labor.  There 
were no reported statistics for the number of victims who assisted 
in investigations or prosecutions during the reporting period. 
 
¶K.  The GOM has trained 809 community child protection workers 
(CCPW) and placed them in each of the 28 districts of the country. 
These workers are specially trained to recognize child victims of 
all forms of exploitation, including trafficking, but currently work 
on a voluntary basis.  The government is in the process of 
converting all CCPW from volunteers who receive only 1500 MK/month 
(10.7 USD) for expenses and transportation to Ministry of Women and 
 
LILONGWE 00000076  007 OF 008 
 
 
Child Development employees.  The positions have been graded and the 
first group will become employees in 2009. 
The Ministry of Labor also has approximately 120 district labor 
inspectors trained in Malawi labor law who can identify trafficked 
children. 
 
Malawian Embassies abroad actively encourage Malawian expatriates to 
register with the consular section but do not receive training on 
protections and assistance.  Malawian embassies do work with IOs and 
NGOs that bring trafficking cases to their attention.  There were no 
reports of trafficking victims assisted by the embassies abroad 
during the reporting period.  Cross-border victims from Zambia are 
usually brought to the border by Zambian officials where the GOM 
then repatriates the victim. 
 
¶L. The GOM provides some assistance, commensurate with resources, to 
victims.  In most cases, the GOM does not have finances to provide 
adequate assistance and pay for repatriation, depending on 
cooperation from IOs like IOM and NGOs for repatriation. 
 
¶M. UNICEF, Norwegian Church Aid, ILO, the Salvation Army, PLAN 
International, and World Vision are among the international 
organizations and NGOs that work on trafficking in Malawi.  Many 
international organizations provide funding, training, and technical 
assistance to the GOM and local NGOs and do not receive funding from 
the GOM.  Funding, personnel, and training constraints render the 
GOM incapable of providing all assistance to victims of trafficking. 
 As such, the GOM works with IOs and NGOs to assist identified TIP 
victims in areas with projects. 
 
¶7.  Paragraph 27. PREVENTION: 
 
¶A.  The GOM and UNICEF continued an extensive child rights 
information campaign called "Lekani" ("Stop" in the local language 
of Chichewa) that includes anti-trafficking information.  The 
campaign includes billboards, bumper stickers, and newspaper ads 
with a distinctive handprint on a red background that provide 
messages against trafficking, early marriage, child labor, 
trafficking, and sexual exploitation.  The campaign also includes a 
radio program broadcast on Malawi Broadcasting Corporation (the 
national public broadcaster) on child rights and primary school 
educational materials in the local languages about child rights that 
are distributed to all primary schools.  The campaign is national 
and targets both potential victims and the demand for trafficking. 
 
 
During the reporting period, the GOM and local NGOs also conducted 
awareness campaigns to address a variety of TIP's root causes, 
including child abuse, inadequate orphan care and life-skills, child 
labor, female illiteracy and low education rates, and gender-based 
violence and discrimination.  NGO programs also raise awareness 
among village headmen, traditional authorities, and other local 
leaders about trafficking in persons. 
 
¶B.  The exit-entry system is entirely paper based with limited 
storage and retention.  There is no active analysis done to 
determine immigration or emigration patterns. All immigration 
officers receive basic training which includes identification of 
trafficking situations.  Along borders with known trafficking 
problems, such as Mchinji along the Malawian-Zambian border, law 
enforcement officers perform basic screening of potential 
trafficking victims. 
 
¶C. There are two national steering committees which include 
representatives from all major government ministries that combat 
trafficking.  The GOM works with NGOs and civil society through the 
National Technical Working Group on Child Protection and the 
National Technical Working Group on Orphans and Vulnerable Children 
both deal in trafficking related issues. 
 
At the district level, there are child protection committees that 
incorporate district social welfare officers and child protection 
workers, labor inspectors, police, immigration, and NGO 
representatives to facilitate communication about trafficking and 
coordinate action on specific cases. 
 
¶D. The GOM is still developing a national plan of action to address 
child trafficking.  A national plan of action on child labor is 
still in draft form and has not been released.  A national plan of 
action for orphans and vulnerable children was created and is being 
implemented by the Ministry of Women and Child Development.  The 
Ministry of Women and Child Development, Ministry of Labor, Ministry 
of Education, Ministry of Justice, and Ministry of Internal Affairs 
and Home Security are involved in drafting the national plans.  IOs 
 
LILONGWE 00000076  008 OF 008 
 
 
and NGOs have been consulted and are active in the development 
process. 
 
¶E. The GOM-UNICEF "Lekani" campaign includes messages against sexual 
exploitation and commercial sex.  It also has community based 
activities that discourage the practice.  The National AIDS 
Commission's (NAC) National Action Framework on HIV/AIDS prevention 
includes community sensitization on the dangers of transactional sex 
and attempts to denormalize these behaviors.  Additionally, programs 
implemented under the NAC provide economic activities for at risk 
women in an attempt to reduce both the supply and demand through 
economic empowerment.  Information campaigns including Abstinence, 
Be Faithful, and Use Condoms (ABC) messages are part of an expanding 
national response that targets high risk populations including 
commercial sex workers and their clients. 
 
¶F. The GOM is unaware of participation by any of its nationals in 
child sex tourism abroad.  As stated in 7A and 7C, GOM domestic 
campaigns already sensitize and raise awareness against trafficking 
and child sexual exploitation. 
 
¶G. The Malawi Defense Force has a zero tolerance policy on human 
trafficking. Troops are trained during pre-deployment training on 
modes of engagement that include prohibition of human trafficking 
consistent with the AU and UN charter. Additionally, the U.S. 
government's African Contingency Operations and Training Assistance 
(ACOTA) has trained over 50 officers selected to go on peacekeeping 
missions that included instruction in human rights, gender respect, 
elimination of sexual exploitation, and child protection. 
 
¶8. Post POC for TIP issues is Political Officer John Letvin, phone 
265-1-773-166 x. 3463, IVG 835-3463, fax 265-1-772-316.  Time spent 
on TIP report: principal drafting, Pol Officer, 20 hours; LES 
Political Assistant, 20 hours; Clearance: RSO, 1 hour; DCM, 1 hour; 
AMB, 1 hour. 
 
BODDE