VZCZCXRO6851
PP RUEHBZ RUEHDU RUEHJO RUEHMR RUEHRN
DE RUEHLS #0768/01 3070500
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 030500Z NOV 09
FM AMEMBASSY LUSAKA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 7408
INFO RUCNSAD/SOUTHERN AF DEVELOPMENT COMMUNITY COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 LUSAKA 000768 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR AF/S, G/TIP STEPHANIE KRONENBURG 
 
PROGRAM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KWMN KOCI SMIG SOCI PREF ZA
SUBJECT: G/TiP:  KEEPING ZAMBIA ENERGIZED 
 
REF:  09 LUSAKA 102, 08 LUSAKA 1100 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary/Action Request:  Zambian authorities and civil 
society are energized around efforts to operationalize the 2008 
Anti-Human Trafficking Act and 2009 Anti-TiP Policy, interlocutors 
impressed upon G/TiP Reports Officer Stephanie Kronenburg during her 
October 12-17 visit.  With prevention messages clearly getting out, 
2010 will be a crucial year to test Zambia's resolve to consolidate 
Tier 2 status through implementation of sustainable victim 
protection and prosecution programs.  Action Request:  Post requests 
G/TiP consideration of FY2010 INCLE and ESF fund allocation to 
harness Zambia's forward momentum on anti-TiP and prevent 
backsliding.  End summary/action request. 
 
 
 
----------------------------------------- 
Anti-TiP:  STRUCTURE AND STUMBLING BLOCKS 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Having admitted that it has a trafficking problem (Ref A) 
and decided to put itself firmly on the road to recovery, Zambia is 
designing the architecture to render the 2008 Anti-Trafficking Act 
and 2009 Plan of Action effective.  Ministry of Home Affairs Deputy 
Director of Research and Planning Esau Mashow and his team briefed 
G/TiP Reports Officer Kronenburg and Emboff on the ongoing creation 
of Zambia's national anti-TiP steering committee, chaired by Home 
Affairs.  The GRZ envisions a flexibly thin structure to oversee and 
monitor National Plan implementation, and will draw upon the 
cross-sectoral expertise of civil society organizations for 
protection and prevention roles, Esau said. 
 
¶3. (SBU) The anti-trafficking effort has spurred revision of other 
legislation, particularly acts relating to child welfare, Law 
Development Commission officer Sharon Williams told Emboff 
separately.  Zambia is in the midst of a project to look at 
child-related legislation through an anti-trafficking lens, she 
said, and drafts of adoption and other codes will soon make their 
way through Parliament. 
 
¶4. (SBU) Despite Zambia's efforts to put a competent national 
structure in place to combat trafficking in persons, lack of 
practical knowledge and budget remain formidable stumbling blocks. 
Opposition MP Chishimba Kambwili, who has been outspoken on 
trafficking issues, expressed fear that the anti-TiP Act could start 
to gather dust if police investigators lack training on 
evidence-gathering, prosecutors are unaware of how to get 
convictions under the Act, and the government fails to allocate 
funds to operationalize the legislation.  Kambwili's fears were 
echoed by Zambian government counterparts and NGOs alike. 
 
 
----------------------- 
POLICE AND PROSECUTIONS 
----------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) With passage of the new anti-trafficking law, Zambian 
authorities are monitoring the ability of police and prosecutors to 
take full advantage of its provisions to punish traffickers. 
Zambian Police Victim Support Unit (VSU) National Coordinator 
Tresford Kasale (himself a beneficiary of RSO-sponsored 
anti-trafficking training at ILEA in Botswana in 2007, one of 18 
police and immigration officers to receive such training since 2005) 
  and Esau Mashow of Home Affairs pointed out that the legislation 
is a powerful tool -- if investigators and prosecutors know how to 
use it.  Kasale noted with satisfaction that Zambian Police have 
benefited from IOM-run training and that efforts would be made to 
ensure officers would be assigned to border posts or otherwise apply 
their skills. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Kronenburg and Conoff met one such officer at the Sakania 
border crossing with the DRC.  Police Officer in Charge Peter Mbewe 
had attended training while working with the Ndola VSU and brought 
both anti-trafficking knowledge and provocative posters to his new 
border assignment. (Note: Mbewe was one of seven officers assembled 
by Officer in Charge Ernest Chanda on Immigration headquarters 
notice, a sign that the border postings have both an interest in 
anti-TiP and take their jobs seriously.  End note).  Mbewe observed 
that victim counseling is key to securing prosecutions.  Chanda 
added that anti-trafficking awareness helps avoid exploitation by 
traffickers of his calm post where officers rely mostly on picking 
strange faces out of routine border crossers. 
 
¶7. (SBU)  While VSU experience and G/TiP-sponsored IOM training make 
a difference, Zambia is still building a core contingent of trained 
officers, and allocation of those human resources to appropriate 
posts is spotty.  At the much busier Kasumba-Lesa crossing, none if 
 
LUSAKA 00000768  002 OF 002 
 
 
the officials had gone through VSU training.  Worse still, none was 
aware of provisions of the new law calling for victim protection. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Whereas Zambian authorities previously had to cobble 
together various elements of the penal code to levy some form of 
deportation notice or fine on traffickers, Home Affairs contacts 
note, the new 2008 Act defines the elements of a trafficking crime 
and provides for punishment. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Zambian courts are just starting to hear cases under the 
new legislation.  A Namibian citizen is currently being tried under 
charges of trafficking children to Namibia for farm and domestic 
labor.  Note:  Zambian Social Welfare officials plan a visit to 
these children following Embassy inquiries into the case.  End note. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- 
"BREAK THE CHAIN" - PREVENTION AND PROTECTION 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶10. (SBU) While the GRZ is formulating its overall comprehensive 
prevention-oriented media strategy, recent "Break the Chain" 
campaigns, including a radio soap opera (Ref A) already seem to have 
made an impact.  A group of female high-school students from the 
government-run Chibote School clearly articulated their role as 
anti-trafficking sensitization "Community Ambassadors" and had a 
lively exchange with Kronenburg at the American Corner in Kitwe. 
The students were joined by representatives from the YWCA, which 
plays a major role as government partner in victim protection. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Visits to secure YWCA shelters for victims of gender 
violence and trafficking in Lusaka and Kitwe highlighted the 
importance of the IOM-sponsored hotline in victim referrals and the 
need for additional shelters.  GRZ Social Welfare Director Rose 
Matupo said that the GRZ envisions the establishment of shelters in 
eight of Zambia's nine provinces, with initial emphasis on border 
areas.  In the meantime, the government relies on YWCA facilities. 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
PROOF IN THE THREE P'S:  KEEPING ZAMBIA ON TRACK 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶12. (SBU) Comment:  While GRZ and NGO interlocutors energetically go 
about implementing the Anti-TiP Act, we are still in the optimistic 
phase where it seems that only good can prevail in the fight against 
traffickers.  IOM, ILO, UNICEF and RSO training are helping to 
create a cadre of professionals well-versed in basic prevention, 
prosecution and protection anti-TiP skills. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Keeping that momentum up and ensuring that Zambia keeps 
out of the watchlist category means mustering available resources at 
a time when political will and public interest are high.  Zambia 
needs to deliver on promises to provide more comprehensive victim 
support and develop the skills needed to successfully investigate 
crime and prosecute traffickers.  To this end, Post advocates 
consideration of Zambia in the list of countries eligible for FY2010 
ESF and INCLE funding to complement work being done both under the 
UN Joint Program and with current G/TiP resources.  End comment. 
 
¶14. (U) Stephanie Kronenburg was not able to clear this cable. 
 
BOOTH