VZCZCXRO0575
RR RUEHMA
DE RUEHLC #0508 3211407
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171407Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY LIBREVILLE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1533
INFO RUEHCO/AMEMBASSY COTONOU 0657
RUEHMA/AMEMBASSY MALABO
RUEHPC/AMEMBASSY LOME 4066

UNCLAS LIBREVILLE 000508 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM KTIP KWMN KCRM SMIG GB
SUBJECT: GABON: 2009 TIP INTERIM ASSESSMENT 
 
REF: A. STATE 112432 
 ¶B. LIBREVILLE 00486 
 
¶1.  Summary: Post provides the following response keyed to questions 
in ref A.  Gabon's new government has demonstrated an energized 
commitment to combating trafficking in persons.  During the 
reporting period (February-November), the deaths of Gabon's First 
Lady Edith Bongo in March and President Omar Bongo in June plunged 
the country into political and economic uncertainty.  In addition, 
civil servant strikes paralyzed government business throughout the 
year.  President Ali Bongo Ondimba, inaugurated on October 16, is 
setting a new course for Gabon, including emphasizing his commitment 
to combat trafficking in persons in one of his first Council of 
Ministers meetings.  Bongo's commitment has translated into the 
government's exemplary response after intercepting three vessels 
carrying illegal migrants and trafficked children in October and 
November (ref B).  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  Gabon's efforts to prosecute trafficking offenses and convict 
and punish traffickers continue, but remain slow, partially due to 
this year's strikes and partially due to the slowness of the 
judicial system.  International organizations such as UNICEF and the 
International Red Cross are praising the government's cooperation 
with sending countries to punish traffickers.  In particular, Gabon 
and Benin are working together to uncover the network of traffickers 
bringing victims to Gabon (ref B).  Gabonese authorities also are 
questioning the intended recipients of children as household help 
using information from the victims.  Many of the children on the 
ship that arrived from Benin on October 18 had been given addresses 
and telephone numbers of their new employers.  Currently, police are 
following up on this information.  Working with Beninese 
authorities, the captain of the vessel was sent back to Benin and 
arrested. 
 
¶3. President Bongo requested and received a report from the Minister 
of Interior on the situation of the trafficked children during the 
November 6 Council of Ministers meeting.  He reaffirmed Gabon's 
commitment to do more to fight trafficking in persons and to work 
more closely with the governments in the countries of origin.  On 
November 8, two officials from Benin's Ministry of Family and Social 
Affairs arrived with UNICEF's Benin country director to work on the 
repatriation of the Beninese children and identification of their 
traffickers. 
 
¶4.  Drafting and enacting legislation prohibiting the trafficking of 
adults has not been a high priority given that the judiciary has the 
tools it needs in the penal code to punish traffickers in cases 
involving adults. 
 
¶5.  According to UNICEF, there have not been any recent reports of 
government complicity in trafficking. 
 
¶6.  The Government developed and published its National Procedural 
Manual for Assisting Trafficking Victims in 2009.  In addition to 
the Interministerial Committee to Combat Trafficking and the 
Trafficking Hotline Focal Point, the Government established 
Monitoring Committees in each region led by the Governor, the 
Provisional Director for Labor Issues, and the Government 
Prosecutor.  Each committee also includes the military, gendarmerie, 
police, mayors, neighborhood chiefs, and local representatives of 
non-governmental organizations, religious groups, and youth groups. 
These committees are responsible for identifying at-risk children. 
Our contacts state that most young girls are trafficked to serve as 
domestic help or work in the markets.  Government authorities have 
found only a few cases of sexual abuse and prostitution among young 
girls.  Embassy contacts confirmed that prostitution among TIP 
victims is not a major problem in Gabon. 
 
¶7.  UNICEF and the International Red Cross confirm that the 
Government does not put trafficking victims in jail.  All potential 
victims are sent to a Government welcome center, where they are 
questioned and receive food, shelter, and medical attention. 
Children are separated and taken to a government-run center or 
placed at a non-governmental center.  The conditions in these 
centers are good, according to the International Red Cross. 
 
¶8.  Government officials are surprised when we raise the issue of 
forced labor of pygmies.  They are not aware of forced labor 
problems concerning pygmies.  We have also discussed the issue with 
UNICEF and a local Pygmy association.  Both organizations said that 
they are unaware of any forced labor issues surrounding the Pygmies, 
but discrimination continues to be a problem.  Post continues to 
seek information on this issue. 
REDDICK