US embassy cable - 05PORTAUPRINCE542

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 PORT AU PRINCE 000542 
 
SIPDIS 
 
G/TIP FOR RACHEL OWEN, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, WHA/PPC 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, KWMN, ELAB, SMIG, ASEC, KFRD, PREF, HA, Trafficking in Persons 
SUBJECT: HAITI: SUBMISSION FOR FIFTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN 
PERSONS REPORT 
 
REF: 04 STATE 273089 
 
1. The following responses are Post's responses to questions 
raised in reftel. 
 
2.  Overview of Haiti's activities to eliminate trafficking 
in persons: 
A. Trafficking in persons in Haiti mainly involved the 
internal movement of children from the countryside into urban 
areas for domestic labor in a practice called, in Creole, 
&restavek8 (derived from the French words &rester avec8 
meaning to stay with).  In 2005, poor, rural families 
continued to send their children to work as domestics for 
wealthy families or less poor family members in the hopes 
that the child would enjoy a better quality of life and 
receive an education.  Girls, between the ages of six and 
fourteen, are more vulnerable for placement in urban 
households, while boys usually fulfill agricultural servitude 
roles.  The informal practice has existed in Haiti for 
centuries and is directly related to the country's poverty 
and lack of economic alternatives. While some restaveks 
received adequate care including an education, the Ministry 
of Social Affairs and NGOs believed that many employers 
compelled the children to work long hours, provided them 
little nourishment, and frequently beat and abused them. The 
majority of restaveks worked in homes where the yearly income 
was very low, so conditions, food, and education for 
nonbiological children were not priorities.  Although not all 
&restaveks8 are victimized in this process, significant 
numbers are sexually exploited or otherwise abused. Reliable 
figures are difficult to obtain, but the Government of Haiti 
estimates that from 90,000 to 120,000 children are restaveks; 
UNICEF estimates that there are between 250,000-300,000 
restaveks in the country.  A recent USAID-funded study 
conducted by Glenn Smucker and Gerald Murray estimated that 
currently 700,000 Haitian children live away from their 
parents outside of the home. 
B. While most trafficking occurs within the country's 
borders, Haitian children also are trafficked into the 
Dominican Republic where some are similarly exploited.  Large 
numbers of Haitian economic migrants illegally enter the 
Dominican Republic where some become trafficking victims. The 
most recent study of trafficking across the border, conducted 
jointly by UNICEF and IOM in August 2002, found that between 
2,000 and 3,000 Haitian children were sent to the Dominican 
Republic each year. 
On a smaller scale, Haiti is a transit and destination 
country. Women from the Dominican Republic are trafficked 
into Haiti for prostitution. Reports indicate that many of 
these women travel voluntarily, but some are victims of 
trafficking. 
C. There was evidence that, due to the political crisis in 
2004, there was an increase in the number of Haitians 
trafficked across the border into the Dominican Republic. 
D. USAID Haiti funded a study of trafficking in Haitian 
Children conducted by Glenn Smucker and Gerald Murray.  The 
study focused on the restavek system in Haiti and the 
cross-border movement of Haitian children to work in the 
Dominican Republic.   Various new data from the 
Smucker-Murray study are cited throughout this report. 
Additionally, UNICEF plans to conduct a study on child 
trafficking in Haiti in 2005 and to coordinate with the 
Interim Government of Haiti (IGOH) to conduct a study on 
adoptions in Haiti. 
E. See paragraph 2B. 
F. See paragraph 2B. 
G. Despite the political crisis in 2004 and the slow pace of 
international donor assistance to the IGOH, there was 
political will on behalf of the IGOH to combat trafficking in 
persons.  On May 13, Interim President Boniface Alexandre 
denounced the restavek practice and called on his cabinet to 
take a more proactive role in the fight against trafficking 
in persons when he addressed a rally in commemoration of 
International Children's Day. 
The IGOH designated the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor 
(MAST) as the coordinating entity for anti-TIP efforts, with 
the Minister's Chief of Cabinet as head of the efforts.  The 
MAST budget for FY 2005 was increased by 68%, to $42.4 
Million USD, with specific line items for the protection of 
vulnerable children.  Under the Interim Cooperation Framework 
(international donor assistance implementation mechanism), 
MAST developed a two-year action plan of $1.2 Million USD for 
the construction and equipment of ten regional shelters 
throughout Haiti, and protection of children in vulnerable 
situations or in conflict with the law.  Recently, with the 
assistance from the UN peacekeeping force in Haiti, MAST was 
able to open one of these shelters in Gonaives, the Northwest 
town hard-hit by floods in September 2004.   MAST also 
reopened a fifty-year old shelter in Carrefour, that was 
closed in 2001 due to lack of operating funds, and dispersed 
$15,000 USD for refurbishing and furnishing the shelter. 
The social welfare and adoptions branch of MAST, the 
Institute des Biens Etre Social (IBESR), continued with their 
efforts to prevent fraudulent adoptions of Haitian minors by 
foreigners by conducting a vigorous media campaign to educate 
the public about the practice.  IBESR also rehabilitated and 
staffed its Northern regional office in Cap Haitien. 
The Haitian National Police's Brigade for the Protection of 
Minors (BPM) continued to fulfill its mandate of protecting 
vulnerable children in and around Port-au-Prince.  The BPM's 
staff went from 33 members to 21, due to discouragement over 
lack of resources to conduct the mission; the remaining 
members appear to be motivated and dedicated despite the 
circumstances.  The Brigade had only one operational vehicle 
in 2004; therefore it was not able to conduct patrols in 
other parts of the country or in vulnerable cities on the 
border.  So far, in 2005, the BPM has handled 30 cases of 
child abuse victims or children in trouble with the law.  BPM 
members frequently complain they lack a place to keep the 
children they rescue from abusive situations. 
The aftermath of February 29, 2004 left the already weak, 
corrupt and overwhelmed justice system in a shambles, from 
which it has yet to recover.  The international community has 
begun a system of judicial reform that will be implemented 
over a number of years.  Despite its current state, the 
Ministry of Justice managed to make minimal efforts in this 
area.  The Ministry updated and circulated memoranda to 
magistrates and district attorneys around the country in an 
awareness-raising campaign.  The memoranda reminded the 
guardians of the justice system of their judicial obligation 
to enforce existing regulations governing international 
travel of unaccompanied minors. 
Although Haiti has neither signed nor ratified international 
conventions concerning child labor, the IGOH is working with 
UNICEF to adopt a domestic children's code, which is in 
compliance with international conventions.  Currently, Haiti 
does not have a seated parliament to pass laws as the 
mandates of parliamentarians expired in January 2004; 
however, UNICEF is exploring the possibility of having the 
children's code made into law through a presidential decree. 
H. There was no evidence that the authorities were complicit 
in trafficking of persons. 
I.  Following the collapse of the Aristide regime in February 
2004 and the violence that surrounded it, Haiti's interim 
government was sworn in on March 17, 2004.  The interim 
government's main task is to guide the country to national 
elections in Fall 2005. It has faced many challenges to its 
transitional authority from illegally armed elements, despite 
the presence of UN peacekeepers.  In May and September, the 
country experienced two devastating floods in Mapou and 
Gonaives, which created a new category of orphans in Haiti. 
Also, assistance from the international community that was 
pledged to the country in July 2004 has only recently started 
to arrive. 
J. The IGOH works with various NGOs on monitoring and 
improving its anti-trafficking activities, particularly the 
Pan-American Development Foundation (PADF) and UNICEF (See 
2.G.).  UNICEF also funds a child protection advisor to the 
state human rights ombudsmen's office, the Office of the 
Protector of the Citizen (OPC). 
K. Prostitution is illegal in Haiti. 
3. Prevention: 
A. The Interim Government of Haiti does acknowledge that 
trafficking is a problem and has taken steps to address the 
issue with international assistance. 
B. The Ministries of Labor and Social Welfare, IBESR, 
Ministries of Interior, Justice, Foreign Affairs, Haitian 
National Police's Brigade for the Protection of Minors. 
C. See paragraph 2.G.  Other public awareness campaigns 
(billboards and radio spots) targeting the restavek practice 
are run by NGOs such as PADF and UNICEF, with the 
collaboration of the IGOH. 
D. In its reopened shelter in Carrefour, the government plans 
on providing vocational skills training to the children who 
will be housed there.  More shelters, however, are necessary. 
E. The IGOH has limited resources to conduct other prevention 
programs other than those mentioned in paragraph 3D. 
F. NGOs like PADF and international organizations such as the 
UNICEF coordinate well with IGOH officials on the restavek 
issue.  (See paragraphs 2.G and 2.J). 
G.  As part of an initiative launched in 2003 to increase 
vigilant control of the border, the HNP and the Ministry of 
Interior have border control agents posted at the 
international airport to watch for children who might be 
traveling unaccompanied and/or without their parents. 
Despite this progress, effective control of the 
Haitian/Dominican border remains problematic due to vast 
expanses of the border that are difficult to patrol and 
corrupt officials on both sides of the border. 
H.  See Paragraph 2.G. 
I.  IGOH officials around the country have participated in 
training sessions sponsored by PADF.  The training sessions 
focus on educating governmental and domestic non-governmental 
entities on recognizing instances of trafficking, protecting 
vulnerable populations, and rescuing returned trafficked 
victims from the Dominican Republic.  Other participating 
NGOs included catholic Relief Services (CRS) and the Support 
Group for Refugees and Repatriates (GARR).  The BPM would 
benefit greatly from international training to increase its 
functional capacity.  Also see paragraph 2.G. 
J.  See Paragraph 3.I. 
K.  Yes; the Chief of Cabinet of the Minister of Labor and 
Social Affairs is charged with coordinating and developing 
the GOH's anti-trafficking programs with the appropriate 
entities (See Paragraph 2.G). 
4. Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers: 
A. Yes, there is a law prohibiting trafficking in children. 
A broader law prohibiting trafficking in all persons was 
introduced to Parliament in 2004 but was not passed before 
parliamentary mandates expired (See paragraph 2.G). 
B. Post is not aware of a penalty provision in the law. 
C.  The Penal Code mandates judges to sentence a rapist to 
anywhere between three and nine years in jail.  The penalty 
for the rape of a minor is a life sentence in jail with hard 
labor. 
D.   The BPM arrested a man suspected of trafficking in 
children in Pilate, a border town in the North, in January 
2004; the suspect escaped prison in the aftermath of 
Aristide's departure on February 29, 2004, when police 
released the country's entire prison population.  In August, 
the BPM arrested a Haitian citizen suspected of trafficking 
Haitian children internationally through his orphanage.  Due 
to the weak state of the judicial system, the suspected 
trafficker has yet to be sentenced and remains in preventive 
detention in a Petionville jail. 
E. Concerning the internal trafficking of restaveks, there is 
not one entity behind the activity.  Rather, the arrangements 
are made ad hoc between the families of the children and the 
receiving families.  Post is not aware of any organized 
trafficking rings bringing children or other trafficking 
victims to Haiti from other countries. 
F.  The Bureau for the Protection of Minors (BPM) is 
operational but its ability to investigate cases of 
trafficking is extremely limited due to lack of resources 
(See paragraph 2.G). 
G. PADF conducts a training program for the various GOH 
officials and ministries involved in anti-trafficking 
activities (See paragraph 3.I). 
H. Post is not aware of IGOH's cooperation with other 
governments on trafficking prosecutions. 
I.   See paragraph 4H. 
J. There is no evidence of government involvement in or 
tolerance of trafficking. 
K. Not applicable. 
L. Not applicable. 
M.  During Parliament's special session convened in October 
2003, Parliament ratified two international instruments: The 
Inter-American Convention Against the Traffic of Minors and 
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in 
Persons, especially Women and Children.  (See Paragraph 2G). 
5. Protection and Assistance to Victims: 
A. The IBESR lacks the resources to provide temporary shelter 
to rescued restaveks while offering them educational, medical 
and psychological services.  The reopened center in Carrefour 
hopes to alleviate capacity restraints (see paragraph 2.G). 
Haiti still lacks a sufficient number of shelters to 
effectively handle victims who require assistance. 
Information is not available on possible trafficking victims 
from other countries. 
B. No such funding or support exists. 
C. See paragraph 5.A. 
D. Most of the victims are children rescued from abusive 
restavek situations ) the government does not treat them as 
criminals. 
E. Since there have been no arrests or prosecutions under the 
anti-trafficking in children law, there is no knowledge of 
such activities. 
F. Rescued restaveks are placed in available shelter space 
provided by NGOs, until the government's shelter in Carrefour 
is fully operational.  Protection for witnesses does not 
apply to Haiti since there have been no arrests or 
prosecutions. 
G. The PADF training program for GOH officials includes 
training on recognizing potential trafficking victims, 
especially targeted at border officials (See paragraph 3.I). 
H. Post is not aware of any repatriated nationals who were 
victims of trafficking. 
I. The government's social services agency, IBESR, cooperates 
with a number of NGOs in providing services, such as 
resettlement and job training to rescued restaveks, most 
notably Foyer Maurice Sixto. (See paragraph 5.F). 
6. Embassy Human Rights Officer Dana Banks is the point of 
contact on trafficking issues.  She can be reached at (509) 
222-0200, ext. 8270, IVG 271, and fax number (509) 223-9038. 
7. Approximately 34 hours were spent on attending meetings, 
compiling information and drafting the report. 
GRIFFITHS