VZCZCXRO7039
OO RUEHMA
DE RUEHC #0554/01 1622320
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 112251Z JUN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY MALABO IMMEDIATE 0634

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 STATE 060554 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG EK
SUBJECT: EQUATORIAL GUINEA -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS 
GUIDANCE AND           DEMARCHE 
 
REF: A. (A) STATE 59732 
     ¶B. (B) STATE 005577 
 
¶1. This is an action cable; see paras 5 through 7 and 10. 
 
¶2. On June 16, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the Secretary will 
release the 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report at a 
press conference in the Department's press briefing room. 
This release will receive substantial coverage in domestic 
and foreign news outlets.  Until the time of the Secretary's 
June 16 press conference, any public release of the Report or 
country narratives contained therein is prohibited. 
 
¶3. The Department is hereby providing Post with advance press 
guidance to be used on June 16 or thereafter.  Also provided 
is demarche language to be used in informing the Government 
of Equatorial Guinea (EG) of its tier ranking and the TIP 
Report's imminent release.  The text of the TIP Report 
country narrative is provided, both for use in informing the 
Government of EG, and in any local media release by Post's 
public affairs section on June 16 or thereafter.  Drawing on 
information provided below in paras 8 and 9, Post may provide 
the host government with the text of the TIP Report narrative 
no earlier than 1200 noon local time Monday June 15 for WHA, 
AF, EUR, and NEA countries and OOB local time Tuesday June 16 
for SCA and EAP posts.  Please note, however, that any public 
release of the Report's information should not/not precede 
the Secretary's release at 10:00 am EDT on June 16. 
 
¶4. The entire TIP Report will be available on-line at 
www.state.gov/g/tip shortly after the Secretary's June 16 
release.Hard copies of the Report will be pouched to posts in 
all countries appearing on the Report.  The Secretary's 
statement at the June 16 press event, and the statement of 
and fielding of media questions by G/TIP,s Director and 
Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Ambassador-at-Large Luis 
CdeBaca, will be available on the Department's website 
shortly after the June 16 event.  Ambassador de Baca will 
also hold a general briefing for officials of foreign 
embassies in Washington DC on June 17 at 3:30 pm EDT. 
 
¶5. Action Request: No earlier than 12 noon local time on 
Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA posts and OOB local 
time on Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts, please inform 
the appropriate official in the Government of EG of the June 
16 release of the 2009 TIP Report, drawing on the points in 
para 9 (at Post's discretion) and including the text of the 
country narrative provided in para 8.  For countries where 
the State Department has lowered the tier ranking, it is 
particularly important to advise governments prior to the 
Report being released in Washington on June 16. 
 
¶6. Action Request continued:  Please note that, for those 
countries which will not receive an "action plan" with 
specific recommendations for improvement, posts should draw 
host governments' attention to the areas for improvement 
identified in the 2009 Report, especially highlighted in the 
"Recommendations" section of the second paragraph of the 
narrative text.  This engagement is important to establishing 
the framework in which the government's performance will be 
judged for the 2010 Report.  If posts have questions about 
which governments will receive an action plan, or how they 
may follow up on the recommendations in the 2009 Report, 
please contact G/TIP and the appropriate regional bureau. 
 
¶7. Action Request continued: On June 16, please be prepared 
to answer media inquiries on the Report's release using the 
press guidance provided in para 11.  If Post wishes, a local 
press statement may be released on or after 10:30 am EDT June 
16, drawing on the press guidance and the text of the TIP 
Report's country narrative provided in para 8. 
 
¶8. Begin Final Text of EG,s country narrative in the 2009 
TIP Report: 
 
------------------------------------- 
 
Equatorial Guinea (TIER 2 Watch List) 
------------------------------------- 
 
Equatorial Guinea has been primarily a destination for 
children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and 
possibly for the purpose of sexual exploitation.  Children 
are believed to be trafficked from nearby countries, 
primarily Nigeria, Benin, Cameroon, and Gabon for domestic 
servitude, market labor, ambulant vending, and other forms of 
forced labor, such as carrying water and washing laundry. 
Most victims are believed to be trafficked to Malabo and 
 
STATE 00060554  002 OF 005 
 
 
Bata, where a burgeoning oil industry created demand for 
labor and commercial exploitation.  Women may also have been 
trafficked to Equatorial Guinea from Cameroon, Benin, other 
neighboring countries, and China for labor or sexual 
exploitation.  In the last year, there was a report that 
women of Equatoguinean extraction were also trafficked to 
Iceland for commercial sexual exploitation. 
 
The Government of Equatorial Guinea does not fully comply 
with the minimum standards for the elimination of 
trafficking; however it is  making significant efforts to do 
so.  The government continued to provide anti-trafficking 
training to law enforcement officials and to maintain police 
stations in open air markets to monitor situations of child 
labor exploitation.  The government has also publicly 
denounced human trafficking.  Despite these efforts, the 
government did not show evidence of progress in prosecuting 
trafficking offenders or providing protection to victims, and 
therefore, Equatorial Guinea is placed on Tier 2 Watch List. 
While the government has the financial resources to address 
trafficking, its efforts to combat trafficking remained weak, 
in part because of its crippled judiciary. 
 
Recommendations for Equatorial Guinea:  Make greater use of 
the country,s 2005 anti-trafficking law and law enforcement 
and judicial personnel to investigate, prosecute and convict 
trafficking offenders; train additional law enforcement 
officials and Conciliation Delegates to follow formal 
procedures to identify trafficking victims among child 
laborers, illegal immigrants, and women and/or girls in 
prostitution; establish a formal system for providing 
trafficking victims with  assistance;  cease deportation of 
any foreign trafficking victims from Equatoguinean  territory 
without providing them with care and safe and voluntary 
repatriation; and increase efforts to raise public awareness 
about trafficking. 
 
Prosecution 
------------ 
The Government of Equatorial Guinea demonstrated law 
enforcement efforts to combat trafficking during the 
reporting period.  The government prohibits all forms of 
trafficking through its 2004 Law on the Smuggling of Migrants 
and Trafficking in Persons, which carries adequate prescribed 
penalties of 10 to 15 years, imprisonment.  However, no 
human trafficking cases have yet been prosecuted under the 
relevant portion of this law.  Police stationed at posts 
within open-air markets continued to monitor vendor activity 
for child labor explotiation, though during the reporting 
period, the government did not report any investigations or 
arrests of suspected trafficking violators.  The government 
continued to fund anti-trafficking training seminars for 
police and navy officers provided by a foreign contractor. 
In the last year, the contractor has trained 590 additional 
officers in specific, anti-trafficking sessions included in a 
broader training program.  The government distributed to law 
enforcement officials a wallet-sized checklist of steps to 
take when presented with any potential crime; the guidance is 
not specific to human trafficking crimes but was triggered by 
related concerns.  The steps include indentifying and 
investigating the crime, detaining the suspect, notifying 
appropriate officials, assisting the victims, and launching 
judicial action.  In the last year, the government has 
instituted photograph and fingerprinting procedures at 
airports in Malabo and Bata, in order to aid identification 
and possible prosecutions in suspected trafficking cases. 
Protection 
------------ 
The Government of Equatorial Guinea demonstrated inadequate 
efforts to protect trafficking victims in the last year.  The 
government has not yet implemented victim care shelters or 
other organized victim care mechanisms.  Two proposed 
women,s shelters, which the government has indicated will 
double as trafficking victims shelters, have not been 
constructed.  The government did not employ formal procedures 
for identifying and providing care to trafficking victims. 
During the year, the government reported no cases in which it 
provided victims with care or collaborated with NGOs to 
provide victim assistance.  Authorities reported that victims 
of cross-border trafficking are sometimes removed from 
Equatoguinean-Guinean territory without being provided with 
any assistance.  Along with posters for police stations and 
security checkpoints, the government distributed to law 
enforcement officials a wallet-sized checklist specifically 
addressing  the needs of trafficking victims, including 
shelter, medical attention, clothing, food, translations 
services, a consular visit, and legal assistance.  No systems 
have yet been put into place to provide victims with these 
services. During the year, the government reached out to a 
foreign donor to request technical assistance in developing a 
system for providing victim care. 
 
The Ministry of Social Affairs has primary responsibility for 
 
STATE 00060554  003 OF 005 
 
 
providing care to destitute children in the country, but it 
did not have staff trained to care for trafficking victims 
during the last year.  The Ministry employs over 100 
Conciliation Delegates, community workers who assist victims 
of abuse.  In the course of their duties, these workers 
sometimes educateeducated families about the dangers of child 
labor, but they did not employ procedures to identify 
trafficking victims among vulnerable populations.  The 
government did not encourage victims to assist in trafficking 
investigations or prosecutions, nor, in the absence of cases, 
did it provide legal alternatives to the removal of foreign 
victims to countries where they may have faced hardship or 
retribution. 
 
Prevention 
----------- 
The Government of Equatorial Guinea demonstrated some 
progress in raising awareness about trafficking. During the 
year, the President of Equatorial Guinea made two public 
announcements recognizing the need for increased 
counter-trafficking activity.  The government took steps to 
reduce the demand for commercial sex acts, with law 
enforcement officials regularly visiting night clubs, hotels 
and restaurants to monitor for illegal commercial sex 
activities. 
 
 
¶9. Post may wish to deliver the following points, which offer 
technical and legal background on the TIP Report process, to 
the host government as a non-paper with the above TIP Report 
country narrative: 
 
(begin non-paper) 
 
-- The U.S. Congress, through its passage of the 2000 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended (TVPA), 
requires the Secretary of State to submit an annual Report to 
Congress.  The goal of this Report is to stimulate action and 
create partnerships around the world in the fight against 
modern-day slavery.  The USG approach to combating human 
trafficking follows the TVPA and the standards set forth in 
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in 
Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the 
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized 
Crime (commonly known as the "Palermo Protocol").  The TVPA 
and the Palermo Protocol recognize that this is a crime in 
which the victims, labor or services (including in the "sex 
industry") are obtained or maintained through force, fraud, 
or coercion, whether overt or through psychological 
manipulation.  While much attention has focused on 
international flows, both the TVPA and the Palermo Protocol 
focus on the exploitation of the victim, and do not require a 
showing that the victim was moved. 
 
-- Recent amendments to the TVPA removed the requirement that 
only countries with a "significant number" of trafficking 
victims be included in the Report. Beginning with the 2009 
TIP Report, countries determined to be a country of origin, 
transit, or destination for victims of severe forms of 
trafficking are included in the Report and assigned to one of 
three tiers.  Countries assessed as meeting the "minimum 
standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking" 
set forth in the TVPA are classified as Tier 1.  Countries 
assessed as not fully complying with the minimum standards, 
but making significant efforts to meet those minimum 
standards are classified as Tier 2.  Countries assessed as 
neither complying with the minimum standards nor making 
significant efforts to do so are classified as Tier 3. 
 
-- The TVPA also requires the Secretary of State to provide a 
"Special Watch List" to Congress later in the year. 
Anti-trafficking efforts of the countries on this list are to 
be evaluated again in an Interim Assessment that the 
Secretary of State must provide to Congress by February 1 of 
each year.  Countries are included on the "Special Watch 
List" if they move up in "tier" rankings in the annual TIP 
Report -- from 3 to 2 or from 2 to 1 ) or if they have been 
placed on the Tier 2 Watch List. 
 
-- Tier 2 Watch List consists of Tier 2 countries determined: 
(1) not to have made "increasing efforts" to combat human 
trafficking over the past year; (2) to be making significant 
efforts based on commitments of anti-trafficking reforms over 
the next year, or (3) to have a very significant number of 
trafficking victims or a significantly increasing victim 
population.  As indicated in reftel B, the TVPRA of 2008 
contains a provision requiring that a country that has been 
included on Tier 2 Watch List for two consecutive years after 
the date of enactment of the TVPRA of 2008 be ranked as Tier 
¶3.  Thus, any automatic downgrade to Tier 3 pursuant to this 
provision would take place, at the earliest, in the 2011 TIP 
Report (i.e., a country would have to be ranked Tier 2 Watch 
List in the 2009 and 2010 Reports before being subject to 
 
STATE 00060554  004 OF 005 
 
 
Tier 3 in the 2011 Report).  The new law allows for a waiver 
of this provision for up to two additional years upon a 
determination by the President that the country has developed 
and devoted sufficient resources to a written plan to make 
significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the 
minimum standards. 
 
-- Countries classified as Tier 3 may be subject to statutory 
restrictions for the subsequent fiscal year on 
non-humanitarian and non-trade-related foreign assistance 
and, in some circumstances, withholding of funding for 
participation by government officials or employees in 
educational and cultural exchange programs.   In addition, 
the President could instruct the U.S. executive directors to 
international financial institutions to oppose loans or other 
utilization of funds (other than for humanitarian, 
trade-related or certain types of development assistance) 
with respect to countries on Tier 3.  Countries classified as 
Tier 3 that take strong action within 90 days of the Report's 
release to show significant efforts against trafficking in 
persons, and thereby warrant a reassessment of their Tier 
classification, would avoid such sanctions.  Guidelines for 
such actions are in the DOS-crafted action plans to be shared 
by Posts with host governments. 
 
-- The 2009 TIP Report, issuing as it does in the midst of 
the global financial crisis, highlights high levels of 
trafficking for forced labor in many parts of the world and 
systemic contributing factors to this phenomenon:  fraudulent 
recruitment practices and excessive recruiting fees in 
workers, home countries; the lack of adequate labor 
protections in both sending and receiving countries; and the 
flawed design of some destination countries, "sponsorship 
systems" that do not give foreign workers adequate legal 
recourse when faced with conditions of forced labor.  As the 
May 2009 ILO Global Report on Forced Labor concluded, forced 
labor victims suffer approximately $20 billion in losses, and 
traffickers, profits are estimated at $31 billion.  The 
current global financial crisis threatens to increase the 
number of victims of forced labor and increase the associated 
"cost of coercion." 
 
-- The text of the TVPA and amendments can be found on 
website www.state.gov/g/tip. 
 
-- On June 16, 2009, the Secretary of State will release the 
ninth annual TIP Report in a public event at the State 
Department.  We are providing you an advance copy of your 
country's narrative in that report.  Please keep this 
information embargoed until 10:00 am Washington DC time June 
¶16.  The State Department will also hold a general briefing 
for officials of foreign embassies in Washington DC on June 
17 at 3:30 pm EDT. 
 
(end non-paper) 
 
¶10. Posts should make sure that the relevant country 
narrative is readily available on or though the Mission's web 
page in English and appropriate local language(s) as soon as 
possible after the TIP Report is released.  Funding for 
translation costs will be handled as it was for the Human 
Rights Report.  Posts needing financial assistance for 
translation costs should contact their regional bureau,s EX 
office. 
 
¶11. The following is press guidance provided for Post to use 
with local media. 
 
Q1:  Why did Equatorial Guinea remain on the Tier 2 WL? 
 
A:   The Government of Equatorial Guinea does not fully 
comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of 
trafficking; however it is making significant efforts to do 
so.  The government continued to provide anti-trafficking 
training to law enforcement officials and to maintain police 
stations in open air markets to monitor situations of child 
labor exploitation.  The government has also publicly 
denounced human trafficking.  Despite these efforts, the 
government did not show evidence of progress in prosecuting 
trafficking offenders or providing protection to victims, and 
therefore, Equatorial Guinea is placed on Tier 2 Watch List. 
 
 
Q2:  What progress has Equatorial Guinea made in the last 
year? 
 
A:  Police stationed at posts within open-air markets 
continued to monitor vendor activity for child labor 
exploitation  and the government continued to fund 
anti-trafficking training seminars provided by a foreign 
contactor for police and navy officers.  In the last year, 
the contractor has trained 590 officers in specific, anti-TIP 
sessions included in a broader training program. Along with 
 
STATE 00060554  005 OF 005 
 
 
posters for police stations and security checkpoints, the 
government distributed to law enforcement officials a 
wallet-sized checklist specifically addressing  the needs of 
trafficking victims, including shelter, medical attention, 
clothing, food, translations services, a consular visit, and 
legal assistance. During the year, however, the government 
reached out to a foreign donor to request technical 
assistance for providing victim care.  During the year, the 
President of Equatorial Guinea made two public announcements 
recognizing the need for increased counter-trafficking 
activity. 
 
Q3:   What can Equatorial Guinea do to further the fight 
against trafficking in persons? 
 
A:  Make greater use of the country,s 2005 anti-trafficking 
law and law enforcement and judicial personnel to 
investigate, prosecute and convict trafficking offenders; 
train additional law enforcement officials and Conciliation 
Delegates to follow formal procedures to identify trafficking 
victims among child laborers, illegal immigrants, and women 
and/or girls in prostitution; establish a formal system for 
providing trafficking victims with  assistance;  cease 
deportation of any foreign trafficking victims from 
Equatoguinean  territory without providing them with care and 
safe and voluntary repatriation; and increase efforts to 
raise public awareness about trafficking. 
 
 
A:  Increase efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict 
traffickers; develop systematic procedures for identifying 
trafficking victims among women and girls in prostitution; 
step up efforts to educate government officials about 
trafficking, particularly child sex trafficking; intensify 
efforts to provide care to trafficking victims by making 
available funds allocated for construction of victim 
shelters; ensure that trafficking victims are not penalized 
for acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. 
 
¶12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the 
preceding action requests. 
CLINTON