VZCZCXYZ0003
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #0617 1630100
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 120036Z JUN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY HARARE IMMEDIATE 0000

UNCLAS STATE 060617 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG ZI
SUBJECT: ZIMBABWE -- 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 Zimbabwe 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 
Zimbabwe 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 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 Zimbabwe 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 Zimbabwe,s country narrative in the 
2009 TIP Report: 
 
----------------- 
ZIMBABWE (TIER 3) 
----------------- 
 
Zimbabwe is a source, transit, and destination country for 
men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of 
forced labor and sexual exploitation.  Large scale migration 
of Zimbabweans to surrounding countries has increased ) as 
they flee a progressively more desperate situation at home ) 
and NGOs, international organizations, and governments in 
neighboring countries report that some of these Zimbabweans 
face human trafficking.  Rural Zimbabwean men, women, and 
children are trafficked within the country to farms for 
agricultural labor and to cities for forced domestic labor 
and commercial sexual exploitation.  NGOs believe internal 
trafficking increased during the year, largely due to the 
closure of schools, worsening political violence, and a 
faltering economy.  In 2008, Zimbabwean security forces 
consolidated their control of mining in the Marange region, 
forcing members of the local population to mine for diamonds. 
 Between the March 2008 presidential election and the June 
2008 run-off, youth militias controlled by Robert Mugabe,s 
ZANU-PF political party abducted and held an unknown number 
of women and girls, particularly opposition supporters, in 
sexual and domestic servitude at command bases. 
 
Zimbabwean women and children are trafficked for domestic 
servitude and sexual exploitation, including in brothels, 
along both sides of the country,s borders with Botswana, 
Mozambique, South Africa, and Zambia.  Young men and boys are 
trafficked to South Africa for farm work, often being forced 
to labor for months in South Africa without pay before 
&employers8 have them arrested and deported as illegal 
immigrants.  Small numbers of Zimbabwean men are trafficked 
for work in Mozambique,s construction industry.  Young women 
and girls are lured to South Africa and potentially other 
countries with false employment offers that result in 
involuntary domestic servitude or forced prostitution.   Men, 
women, and children from the Democratic Republic of the 
Congo, Malawi, Mozambique, and Zambia are trafficked through 
Zimbabwe en route to South Africa. 
 
The Government of Zimbabwe does not fully comply with the 
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is 
not making significant efforts to do so.  The government made 
minimal progress in combating trafficking in 2008, and 
members of its military and the former ruling party,s youth 
militias perpetrated acts of trafficking on local 
populations.  The government,s anti-trafficking efforts were 
further weakened as it failed to address Zimbabwe,s economic 
and social problems during the reporting period, thus 
increasing the population,s vulnerability to trafficking 
within and outside of the country. 
 
Recommendations for Zimbabwe:  Cease the use by members of 
security forces of local populations for forced diamond 
mining; prosecute, convict, and punish trafficking offenders; 
advance comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation; formalize 
procedures for interviewing victims and transferring them to 
the care of NGOs; and launch a broad awareness-raising 
campaign that educates all levels of government officials, as 
well as the general public, on the nature of trafficking and 
the availability of assistance for victims. 
 
Prosecution 
----------- 
The government did not provide any data on its 
anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts during the year, 
including any data on prosecutions and convictions of 
traffickers.  Zimbabwe does not prohibit all forms of 
trafficking in persons, though existing statutes outlaw 
forced labor and numerous forms of sexual exploitation. 
Forced labor offenses are punishable by a fine or two years, 
imprisonment, or both; these penalties are not sufficiently 
stringent or commensurate with those prescribed for other 
grave crimes.  The government reported in 2007 that it was 
drafting comprehensive trafficking legislation; however, the 
draft was neither publicly available nor introduced in 
Parliament during the last year.  Parliament was not sworn in 
until August 2008 following March elections; the newly 
elected parliamentarians have not yet formed the committees 
that review and propose legislation.  The government failed 
to provide information on anti-trafficking law enforcement 
activities conducted during the reporting period.  The 
Ministry of Justice reported that none of the cases 
investigated in 2007 was brought to trial during 2008.  The 
government did not provide specialized anti-trafficking 
training for law enforcement officials. 
 
Protection 
---------- 
The growing number of illegal migrants deported from South 
Africa and Botswana, combined with a crippling lack of 
resources, severely impeded the government,s ability to 
effectively identify victims of trafficking among returnees. 
The Department of Immigration required all deportees 
returning from South Africa via the Beitbridge border 
crossing to attend an IOM-led briefing on safe migration, 
which includes a discussion on human trafficking and IOM and 
NGO assistance services.  The reception center,s social 
workers ) who are employed by the Department of Social 
Welfare, but funded and trained by IOM ) screened the 
deportees and referred them to NGO shelters; one trafficking 
victim was identified through this process in 2008.  The 
District Council of Beitbridge employed one child protection 
officer and convened a child protection committee to 
coordinate programs and resources on issues relating to 
children.  In May 2008, IOM opened a second reception center 
at the Plumtree border crossing for Zimbabweans deported from 
Botswana.  Although the government has an established process 
for referring victims to international organizations and NGOs 
that provide shelter and other services, in 2008 the 
government primarily depended on these organizations to 
identify trafficking victims and alert the authorities. 
However, the Zimbabwe Republic Police,s Victim Friendly Unit 
referred three victims to IOM during the reporting period. 
The government generally encourages victims to assist in the 
prosecution of traffickers, but is not believed to have 
prosecuted trafficking offenses during the year.  Likewise, 
the government did not inappropriately incarcerate or 
otherwise penalize victims for unlawful acts committed as a 
direct result of being trafficked.  It could have offered 
foreign victims relief from deportation while they receive 
victim services and their cases are investigated, though 
there were no cases of victims receiving such relief in 2008. 
 With the exception of deportees from South Africa and 
Botswana, the government,s law enforcement, immigration, and 
social services do not have a formal system for proactively 
identifying trafficking victims among vulnerable populations. 
 
Prevention 
---------- 
The government did not conduct anti-trafficking information 
or education campaigns during the reporting period, and there 
remained a general lack of understanding of human trafficking 
across government agencies, especially at the local level. 
Senior government officials occasionally spoke, however, 
about the dangers of trafficking and illegal migration, and 
the state-run media printed and aired warnings about false 
employment scams and exploitative labor conditions.  During 
the year, all four government-controlled radio stations aired 
an IOM public service announcement eight times each day in 
five languages during peak migration periods.  The 
inter-ministerial anti-trafficking task force took no 
concrete action during the year.  Anecdotal reports indicated 
that the worsening economy reduced the demand for commercial 
sex acts, though there were no known government efforts to 
reduce the demand for forced labor or the demand for 
commercial sex acts.  Information was unavailable regarding 
measures adopted by the government to ensure its nationals 
deployed to peacekeeping missions do not facilitate or engage 
in human trafficking.  Zimbabwe has not ratified the 2000 UN 
TIP Protocol. 
 
¶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 
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 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 was Zimbabwe placed on Tier 3? 
 
A:  Zimbabwe is placed on Tier 3 because the government made 
minimal progress in combating trafficking in 2008 and its 
military and the former ruling party,s youth militias 
perpetrated acts of trafficking on local populations.  The 
government,s anti-trafficking efforts were further weakened 
as it failed to address Zimbabwe,s economic and social 
problems during the reporting period, thus increasing the 
population,s vulnerability to trafficking within and outside 
of the country.  The government,s anti-trafficking law 
enforcement efforts were nonexistent during the year, 
particularly with regard to prosecutions and convictions of 
traffickers, and it did not conduct anti-trafficking 
information or education campaigns. 
 
Q2:  What have been Zimbabwe,s efforts in the past year? 
 
A:  The Department of Immigration required all deportees 
returning from South Africa via the Beitbridge border 
crossing to attend an IOM-led briefing on safe migration, 
which includes a discussion on human trafficking and IOM and 
NGO assistance services.  The reception center,s social 
workers ) who are employed by the Department of Social 
Welfare, but funded and trained by IOM ) screened the 
deportees and referred them to NGO shelters.  The Zimbabwe 
Republic Police,s Victim Friendly Unit referred three 
victims to IOM during the reporting period.  All four 
government-controlled radio stations aired an IOM public 
service announcement eight times each day in five languages 
during peak migration periods. 
 
Q3:  What can Zimbabwe do to further the fight against 
trafficking in persons? 
 
A: To advance its anti-trafficking efforts, the Zimbabwe 
could:  cease the security forces, use of local populations 
for forced diamond mining; prosecute, convict, and punish 
trafficking offenders; advance comprehensive anti-trafficking 
legislation; formalize procedures for interviewing victims 
and transferring them to the care of NGOs; and launch a broad 
awareness raising campaign that educates all levels of 
government officials, as well as the general public, on the 
nature of trafficking and the availability of assistance for 
victims. 
 
¶12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the 
preceding action requests. 
CLINTON