VZCZCXRO2264
PP RUEHBC RUEHDE RUEHDH RUEHIHL RUEHKUK
DE RUEHGB #2886/01 3011055
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 281055Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 5255
INFO RUCNRAQ/IRAQ COLLECTIVE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 BAGHDAD 002886 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/19/2019 
TAGS: KTIP KWMN KLPM PHUM PREL PTER ELAB SMIG SY IZ
SUBJECT: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS IN IRAQ 
 
REF: BAGHDAD 2403 
 
Classified By: Political Counselor Yuri Kim for Reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Senior GOI and judicial officials tell us 
that trafficking in women and young boys for the purposes of 
prostitution remains a widespread problem in Iraq, with 
victims either sold to traffickers by their families or 
kidnapped by criminal gangs.  Iraqi trafficking victims often 
find themselves forced into prostitution abroad or in a few 
cases recruited by terrorists to serve as suicide bombers. 
These officials also tell us that there has also been an 
increase in the trafficking of human organs.  The GOI has 
formed an interagency committee to combat trafficking, begun 
a public awareness campaign at youth centers and schools, and 
drafted legislation to increase the penalties for those 
engaged in trafficking.  END SUMMARY. 
 
------------------------------------------- 
Iraq: Both a Source and Destination Country 
------------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (C) On October 12, DCM for Transition Assistance and the 
Embassy's Women's Issues Coordinator (DCMAT) met with the 
Deputy Minister of Interior Hussein Ali Kamal and Judge 
Hadeel Najim Abdullah from the Baghdad Courthouse in al-Karkh 
to discuss trafficking in persons in Iraq.  Judge Hadeel 
began the conversation by saying that many poor Iraqi 
families continue to sell their daughters to men with the 
promise of marriage or place them in forced marriages because 
of their inability to care for large numbers of children. 
These girls are then often taken to other regions in Iraq or 
to neighboring countries to become part of the underground 
sex trade.  Hadeel said this form of trafficking was 
particularly widespread in the province of Hillah and in 
rural villages where dire economic conditions and 
conservative attitudes toward reporting such cases contribute 
to the problem.  There had been a notable increase in young 
girls between the ages of 12-13 being abducted by criminal 
gangs and then trafficked to night clubs within Iraq or 
overseas for prostitution in Syria, Iran, and Saudi Arabia. 
The few who are rescued face social stigma and difficulties 
returning to their communities, Hadeel observed. 
 
¶3. (C) Hadeel noted that female foreign workers who are 
sometimes trafficked into Iraq with promises of legitimate 
work in the Middle East, instead are brought to Baghdad to be 
placed in the sex and/or labor trade.  In Iraq, there are 
employers that contract with traffickers for business and 
residential workers, and female foreign workers are often 
victims of sexual assault by their employers.  These women 
are afraid to report sexual abuse because their employers 
retain their passports and threaten them with deportation 
and/or arrest for theft or prostitution.  Hadeel said these 
abuses are often not pursued by the police and/or courts and 
in fact, a foreign woman may be detained until her country of 
origin assists her to obtain a new passport to return home. 
(Note: In July and August the GOI, with the assistance of the 
Embassy and MNF-I, repatriated 14 Ugandan women who had been 
trafficked into Iraq for the purposes of labor exploitation 
and in at least one case had been sexually assaulted. 
(Reftel).) 
 
----------------- 
TIP and Terrorism 
----------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Hadeel stated that, similarly, when Iraqi women escape 
their husbands or captors, they are often reported for 
prostitution and arrested by the authorities.  In some cases, 
trafficked women become desperate and trade one form of 
criminal activity for another or are recruited by terrorists. 
 On a recent visit to the Karada Girls Detention Facility, 
Q On a recent visit to the Karada Girls Detention Facility, 
DCMAT met two cousins from Diyala who were forced to marry at 
the ages of 13 and 15.  Both girls became part of a terrorist 
group that planned to use them as female suicide bombers. 
One of the girls, Rani Ibrahim, now 17, was convicted of 
attempted bombing and sentenced to 7 years in prison.  The 
other girl, Nibras Ali A'abassm now 15, is awaiting trial on 
terrorist-related charges, and remains in the detention 
facility with her two young children. 
 
------------------------------ 
Trafficking in Boys and Organs 
------------------------------ 
 
¶5. (C) Deputy Minister Kamal concurred with Hadeel's 
assessment of the trafficking problem in Iraq and stated that 
he had recently traveled to Syria and encountered "hundreds 
of cases" of Iraqi women who had been arrested for 
prostitution and put into Syrian jails.  Kamal said he had 
asked the Government of Syria (SARG) to return the women to 
 
BAGHDAD 00002886  002 OF 002 
 
 
Iraq so that the GOI could deal with their cases, but that 
the SARG had been uncooperative.  Kamal suggested that Syrian 
criminal elements were using the girls to spy on the local 
Iraqi population.  He said it was difficult for the GOI to 
combat trafficking due to the porous nature of its land 
borders, but that there had been a few cases in which Iraqi 
intelligence had prevented young girls traveling with older 
men on fake marriage documents from leaving the country. 
Asked about trafficking in young boys, Kamal responded that 
this too was a problem and that boys were often trafficked to 
the Gulf for sex.  Kamal also reported that Iraqi boys have 
also become a source for organ transplants like kidneys and 
that Baghdad hospitals do not question the "voluntary" 
donation of such organs from the boys because often the 
father of the boy is present to consent to the procedure. 
 
------------ 
GOI Response 
------------ 
 
¶6. (C) On October 14, Poloff met with Ministry of Human 
Rights Director General Sa'ad Fatehallah, who chairs the 
GOI's interagency trafficking in persons committee, to 
discuss what actions the GOI had taken to combat trafficking. 
 Fatehallah stated that the GOI had formed the interagency 
committee in Janary 2009 -- consisting of representatives 
from the Ministries of Human Rights, Foreign Affairs, 
Interior, and Labor and Social Affairs -- primarily to 
develop anti-trafficking legislation.  That legislation would 
establish a permanent inter-agency committee in Baghdad and 
place strong criminal penalties on those convicted of 
trafficking.  Fatehallah said the legislation had been 
submitted to the Shura Council and was currently awaiting the 
approval of a special committee within the Council.  He added 
that until the draft legislation is passed (something he 
predicted would not happen until a new government was formed 
next year) the ad hoc committee would continue to function as 
the coordinating body for trafficking issues. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Fatehallah stated that the Ministry of Human Rights 
was currently engaged in a public awareness campaign on 
trafficking and that it had held workshops at facilities 
managed by the Ministry of Youth and Sports targeting 
children.  He said more workshops were planned in the coming 
months in various provinces throughout Iraq and that an 
agreement had been reached with Minister of Education to do 
similar activities with Iraqi schools and universities. 
Fatehallah also said the Ministry of Human Rights was trying 
to prepare a database on trafficking that would provide them 
with a better sense of where to target their efforts, but 
stated that it was difficult to get good information on the 
problem. 
 
¶8. (C) COMMENT: While it has been known for some time that 
trafficking was a widespread problem in Iraq due endemic 
poverty, criminality, and violence, it was sobering to hear 
senior GOI officials acknowledge the extent of the problem 
and suggest ways to combat it.  That the GOI has drafted 
anti-trafficking legislation and undertaken a public 
awareness effort are positive steps in combating the problem 
of trafficking.  The Embassy's Rule of Law office is also 
making a concerted effort to encourage the Ministry of 
Interior and Higher Judicial Council to address Iraq's 
trafficking problem and work with them to provide training 
and education.  We will also continue to press for the 
passage of the anti-trafficking legislation after national 
elections in January.  END COMMENT. 
HILL