US embassy cable - 05MAPUTO395

UNCLAS MAPUTO 000395 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
G/TIP FOR RYOUSEY, AF/RSA FOR RZUEHLKE, AF/S FOR HTREGER 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, KWMN, SMIG, MZ, Trafficking in Persons 
SUBJECT: MOZAMBIQUE: ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN CHILDREN LAW 
MOVING AHEAD 
 
REF: A. MAPUTO 305 
 
B. MAPUTO 378 
Sensitive but Unclassified. Not for distribution on the 
Internet. 
 
1. (SBU) Summary. On March 24 Ambassador LaLime and USAID 
Director Jay Knott, accompanied by visiting SFRC committee 
staffer Heather Flynn, paid a courtesy call to Mozambique's 
new Minister of Justice, Esperanca Machavela. The visit 
addressed a series of subjects, including the need for 
anti-trafficking in persons legislation. The Minister 
cautioned that drafting and approving anti-trafficking 
legislation would be a lengthy process, but said that her 
organization would submit a pre-proposal on anti-trafficking 
to the Council of Ministers during the second semester of 
this year. The Embassy learned separately today that the 
director of the Ministry of Justice's Legal Reform unit -- 
the government unit in charge of drafting new legislation in 
Mozambique -- said that the MOJ planned specifically to 
submit a proposal to parliament for an anti-trafficking in 
children law during the second semester. This proposal would 
be based on findings made in a study on children's rights and 
a series of public forums carried out by the GRM and donors 
in 2004. End summary. 
 
2. (SBU) While meeting with the Ambassador, the new Minister 
admitted that trafficking-in-persons does occur in 
Mozambique, and that legal solutions were needed. She said 
that she had reviewed and agreed with the agenda set forth in 
2004 by the Ministry of Justice's Legal Reform Unit, on which 
trafficking in persons was listed as a priority issue for new 
legislation. The Minister ended the meeting by stating that 
a pre-proposal on trafficking would be submitted to the 
Council of Ministers in the next couple of months. The 
Minister said her legal team would work with the Ministry of 
Women and Social Action. Finally, she cautioned that 
drafting and approving legislation could be a long process, 
since the legal team at her Ministry would be busy this year 
drafting and reviewing new laws and regulations to comply 
with Mozambique's new 2004 constitution. 
 
3. (U) (Note: The Ministry of Women and Social Action is the 
host agency for Mozambique's National Council for the 
Advancement of Women. This Council was formed in April 2004, 
and is comprised of Ministers from nine key agencies, plus 
civil society representatives. The council, according to its 
charter in the Mozambican federal register, is the Mozambican 
body in charge of "taking measures to prevent prostitution, 
trafficking, and other forms of exploitation of women, girls, 
and children." The Council met once in 2004, and is 
scheduled to meet in April 2005. End note.) 
 
4. (U) In his comments reported in the press earlier this 
week, Abdul Carimo, the long-standing Director of the Legal 
Reform division at the Ministry of Justice, was more specific 
about the Ministry's plans for addressing trafficking this 
year. Carimo said that a preliminary anti-trafficking in 
children law would be presented to the National Assembly 
within the next two months. In addition, starting in April 
2005, the Legal Reform division would be carrying out a 
public consultative process in three provinces, a necessary 
precursor to the adoption of any significant new legislation 
in Mozambique. He added that a law on trafficking in minors 
could be approved either by the Council of Ministers or by 
the National Assembly, although the former option is much 
easier. The public debate on trafficking and the proposed 
law would be based on findings on child rights gathered by 
the GRM, in partnership with UNICEF and the University of 
Witwaterstrand, over the course of 2004. 
LALIME