US embassy cable - 05MAPUTO434

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 MAPUTO 000434 
 
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: POLICE ARREST MEN SELLING A YOUNG BOY, 
GOVERNMENT PREPARES FOR CHILD TRAFFICKING LEGISLATIVE 
CAMPAIGN 
 
REF: A. MAPUTO 305 
 
B. MAPUTO 378 
C. MAPUTO 395 
Corrected Copy - Summary. 
 
1. Sensitive But Unclassified - not for placement on the 
Internet. 
 
2. (SBU) Summary. Mozambique continued to take steps in March 
2005 to detain potential traffickers and toward upgrading its 
laws to expressly prohibit trafficking. On March 21 
Mozambican police arrested two Mozambican men for trying to 
sell an 11-year old boy. Also, post learned that in 2004 the 
Mozambican border police made two arrests of Mozambicans 
transporting children over the Ressano Garcia-Komaatipoort 
border into South Africa; border police officials described 
these cases as trafficking. Mozambican authorities have a 
system in place at the South African border to identify 
suspicious, potential traffickers in persons. On March 23 
the Ministry of Justice announced to local newspapers that it 
planned to draft legislation outlawing trafficking in 
children in the second quarter of 2005, following completion 
of a 2004 study on children's rights (ref C). Finally, the 
government also participated in follow-up seminars on 
children's protection legislation last week, which indicated 
further engagement on the issue. End Summary. 
 
3. (U) On March 21, in the northern port city of Quelimane, 
police used an informant posing as a buyer in order to arrest 
two men attempting to sell an 11-year old boy named Raimundo 
Isaias for 150 million meticais ($7,500.) News of this 
arrest was first reported in the Mozambican press on March 
29. Post contacts with Quelimane police and the journalist 
reporting the case indicate that the boy had been abducted 
locally, and that the sellers were of Mozambican nationality. 
Police used allegations of earlier sales in the area in 
making the arrest. This arrest marks the first time in the 
city's history that someone has been arrested for selling a 
child. 
 
4. (SBU) Post also learned that in late 2004 Mozambican 
border police at Ressano Garcia made two arrests of 
Mozambican men charged with illegally transporting young boys 
(three total) over the border into South Africa. According 
to Ressano Garcia Chief of Police Felix Namburete, the young 
boys, aged 10-12, had been abducted from their parents in the 
Maputo area and did not know where they were going. Since 
Mozambique does not have an explicit anti-trafficking law, 
the adults were charged with kidnapping and their cases were 
sent to the provincial prosecutor's office. Subsequent post 
interviews indicate that the charges were apparently dropped, 
but the boys were safely returned to their parents. 
(Comment: Post reported in reftel A that 53 abductions and 
452 disappearances of children were reported in 2004, but no 
official cases of trafficking due to the lack of a specific 
law on the subject. Mozambican law enforcement officials and 
NGO advocates frequently say, however, that several of the 
abductions/disappearances are actually trafficking cases, and 
that the police do make an effort to investigate and stop 
abductions. This case can be seen as an example of that 
point. End Comment.) 
 
5. (SBU) Mozambican and South African authorities have 
strengthened information sharing on trafficking in the past 
year. On March 30 Emboff met with the Mozambican military's 
commander of border troops, Emidio Gedeao, along with the 
Director of Migration, Panachade Momade. They explained that 
individuals crossing the border who are suspected of 
trafficking are listed and their names and activities 
forwarded to South African authorities. Across the border 
from Ressano Garcia, the South African Captain of Police in 
Komaatipoort, A. Nhambi, confirmed via telephone interview 
with post that he was in possession of a list of suspected 
traffickers and that South African and Mozambican police meet 
regularly on the subject. He was aware of the 
trafficking-related arrests made by Mozambican police in 2004. 
 
6. (U) As reported in ref C, on March 23 the Legal Reform 
Unit of the Ministry of Justice announced that it would 
prepare legislation outlawing trafficking in children in the 
second semester of 2005, and would begin a series of public 
forums on the issue in April 2005. The legislation will be 
based on findings of a study on the rights of the child, 
which the government carried out in partnership with UNICEF 
in 2004. The study focused on strengthening Mozambican law 
on several children's and women's rights-related issues, 
including child abuse, abduction, trafficking, and child 
labor. The study included a formal investigative component 
and also a series of forums on children's rights throughout 
Mozambique; final recommendations were issued in November 
2004. (Comment: The public willingness of the Ministry of 
Justice to move forward with legislation this year is a 
welcome step in the right direction. It had appeared that 
the GRM-UNICEF campaign for improving children's rights had 
stalled, after ranking judges on the Mozambican Supreme Court 
had made public criticisms -- they said existing laws were 
sufficient -- of the study's findings. End comment.) 
Ministry of Justice Legal Reform Unit Director Dr. Abdul 
Carimo indicated to post on March 31 that, despite the 
Supreme Court objections, the Legal Reform Unit will continue 
to move forward with drafting of several new laws that were 
recommended by the study, including a law outlawing 
trafficking in children. One law recommended by the study 
concerning domestic violence against women and children has 
already been drafted and submitted for public debate. Other 
laws will move forward over the course of the year, he said. 
 
7. (U) On March 29 the GRM's Ministries of Women and Social 
Action, Justice, and Education, along with representatives of 
key NGOs and various donors, participated in a workshop to 
further address legal initiatives to promote the rights of 
women and children. This was a follow-up meeting to the 
GRM-UNICEF campaign of 2004. The meeting was also used as a 
precursor to the meeting of the National Council for the 
Advancement of Women, scheduled for April 12. The National 
Council, an inter-ministerial body, includes many civil 
society organizations represented at the workshop. It is 
responsible for promoting the advancement of women generally 
and for addressing trafficking in women specifically. Post 
learned at this workshop that the Mozambican Attorney 
General's office has a project in process to place this year 
a Mozambican in the Attorney General's counterpart office in 
South Africa (near the border), to help vulnerable women and 
children migrants. 
LALIME