US embassy cable - 03KATHMANDU26

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 KATHMANDU 000026 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, SA, PRM AND INL 
LONDON FOR POL/REIDEL 
 
E.O 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KWMN, KCRM, PHUM, PREL, SMIG, ELAB, KPAO, EAID, NP, Trafficking in Persons 
SUBJECT: NEPAL: FY2003 ANTI-TRAFFICKING PROJECT PROPOSALS 
 
REF: A. STATE 241260 
     B. STATE 170908 
 
1.  Summary: Post's anti-trafficking-in-persons (TIP) 
project proposals for FY2003 provide for improved formal and 
non-formal educational opportunities for girls; a public 
awareness campaign targeting urban migrants, media outlets, 
transport providers and rehabilitation centers; and 
improvement in legal provisions and procedures related to 
trafficking.  Funding required is estimated at 900,000 USD. 
End summary. 
 
2.  Following are Post's FY-2003 TIP Project Proposals: 
 
[Begin submission.] 
 
--------------------- 
PROJECT 1: PREVENTION 
--------------------- 
 
A. Preventing Trafficking of Women and Girls Through 
Literacy 
 
B. World Education, the Center for Population and 
Development Activities (CEDPA) and/or local NGOs 
 
C. One Year (2003-2004) 
 
D. Objectives 
 
The primary objective of the project is to assist in the 
prevention of trafficking in girls by addressing one of the 
problem's root causes: lack of education.  Specific goals 
include: 
 
-- providing basic literacy skills to out-of-school and at- 
risk girls to expand opportunities for employment outside 
trafficking; 
 
-- raising individual and community awareness of girl 
trafficking, child labor and discriminatory practices that 
lead to exploitation; 
 
-- improving at-risk population's understanding of relevant 
laws and legal procedures; 
 
-- working with ongoing educational projects to provide 
vocational training for vulnerable girls. 
 
E. Justification 
 
In Nepal, lack of education is a major factor contributing 
to the trafficking of women and girls.  It is generally 
understood that girls, when grown, will marry and leave 
home, bringing little income back to the family; and that 
their major responsibilities will be in the area of 
housekeeping and child care, where the benefits of education 
are not recognized.  Investment in female education is 
therefore often considered wasteful. 
 
However, INGO research has found that trafficked girls 
largely originate from illiterate households, particularly 
where there are illiterate mothers and sisters.  The average 
female literacy rate outside Kathmandu is only 25 percent, 
compared to the male literacy rate of 50 percent, and in at 
least one district severely affected by trafficking, an NGO 
study discovered that the literacy rate for girls was only 6 
percent.  Limited opportunities for employment lead some 
girls and/or their families to view trafficking as a viable 
income-generating alternative, and limited education means 
that many girls and their parents are unaware of the 
possible dangers involved, including infection with 
HIV/AIDS. 
 
Promotion of female education as a tool for prevention of 
trafficking is predicated on the idea that formal education 
not only prepares girls for work and for life, but also 
improves their understanding and awareness of the world 
around them.  The proposed program aims at increasing the 
literacy rate of out-of-school girls by enrolling them in 
non-formal education classes to provide basic reading and 
writing skills, as well as information on health and social 
issues.  The program will also encourage families to enroll 
daughters in the formal educational system to enhance their 
opportunities in life. 
 
The proposed program expands on the Girls' Access to 
Education (GATE) program currently being administered by 
CEDPA and World Education. The program initially targeted 
7,500 girls from seven districts, and first-year evaluations 
have demonstrated a significant increase in both literacy 
and awareness of trafficking.  The positive impact of the 
GATE program merits extension to other trafficking-prone 
districts identified by the Ministry of Women, Children and 
Social Welfare.  Under the auspices of this proposed 
project, existing GATE materials will be reviewed, and other 
appropriate subject matter, such as information about legal 
provisions applicable to trafficking, will be added to the 
curriculum.  Vulnerable girls identified through this 
program will be provided with vocational training for 
employment opportunities. 
F. Performance Measurements 
-- Increase in the number of adolescent girls achieving 
literacy; 
 
-- Graduation from the program of a significant number of 
girls, followed by a transition to formal schooling; 
 
-- Widespread and improved awareness of trafficking and the 
dangers involved; 
 
-- Exploration by girls of more and varied life options due 
to higher levels of education and vocational training 
received. 
 
G. Budget Breakdown 
 
Post estimates the cost of this prevention project to be 
approximately 250,000 USD. 
 
-- Review of existing materials and development of new 
curricula: 10,000 USD 
 
-- Expansion of program in targeted areas: 240,000 USD 
 
H. Host Government Contribution 
 
The Government of Nepal is currently working with the US 
Department of Labor (DOL) and the International Labor 
Organization (ILO) on a time-bound program to eliminate the 
worst forms of child labor by 2005.   Improvement of the 
educational system and expansion of access to education are 
integral components of the project.  The GON has also 
recently publicly reaffirmed its commitment to combating 
trafficking in women and children. 
 
Though significant host government resources are engaged in 
the fight against Nepal's Maoist insurgency, Post 
anticipates that the GON will support education and anti- 
trafficking initiatives to the fullest possible extent, and 
should be able to provide classrooms or other facilities for 
non-formal education classes. 
 
I. Private donors will provide twenty-five percent matching 
funds. 
 
J. Proposed Funding Mechanism: Post prefers that USAID or 
the US DOL directly administer funding for this project, 
working through grants to established international non- 
governmental organizations. 
 
--------------------------- 
PROJECT 2: PUBLIC AWARENESS 
--------------------------- 
 
A. Focused Awareness-Raising Programs to Reduce Trafficking 
Incidents and Improve Reintegration Services 
 
B. US and local NGOs 
 
C. One Year (2003-2004) 
 
D. Objectives 
 
-- Raise awareness regarding trafficking among a targeted 
audience including transport workers, recent migrants to 
urban areas and service providers at rehabilitation centers; 
 
-- Enable target audience to apply learned knowledge to 
reduce trafficking incidents; 
 
-- Enhance service-provider knowledge of successful 
approaches for rehabilitation/reintegration of rescued 
girls. 
 
E. Justification 
The proposed project intends to raise awareness of the 
seriousness of trafficking in persons among several targeted 
groups, as well as to provide suggested methods for both 
combating the problem and assisting its victims.  Focus 
groups and planned activities are as follows: 
 
-- Internally displaced urban migrants:  The continued 
spread of Maoist violence has produced a vulnerable 
population of urban refugees seeking safety in Nepal's towns 
and cities.  Forced recruitment by the Maoists, lack of 
employment opportunities and school closures have led 
thousands of rural Nepalis, especially children and young 
adults, to flee their homes for urban centers.  To survive, 
some of the refugees take jobs at dance clubs, restaurants, 
garment factories or other industries that serve as 
recruitment centers for traffickers.  Others, with little or 
no prior exposure to information about trafficking, are 
targeted by traffickers at overcrowded government schools. 
 
School-level awareness programs have previously proven 
successful in educating students about recruitment methods 
employed by traffickers and the dangers involved in 
trafficking.  The proposed project will deliver appropriate 
awareness programs to displaced students and workers in 
selected industries, focusing on recent urban migrants. 
Restaurant and factory owners, as well as schoolteachers, 
will be encouraged to assist in the organization of 
orientation programs. 
 
-- Transport workers: Rickshaw pullers and the drivers of 
horse-carts, buses and taxis are often made unwitting 
accomplices in trafficking, by transporting vulnerable girls 
to the exit points along Nepal's border with India. 
Employees in the transportation sector, once educated about 
recently oriented to the problem, have lamented their former 
involvement in the trade and have encouraged further 
training for their colleagues to enable them to recognize 
potential victims and report them to the police.  Training 
for rickshaw pullers and horse-cart drivers was specifically 
recommended, as they are the workers transporting girls 
along back roads and less-traveled routes, and not on the 
major highways where active surveillance groups or police 
posts routinely check for trafficking. 
 
The proposed project will provide basic orientation to 
approximately 1000 transport workers from 10 border 
districts.  Existing Information Education Communication 
(IEC) materials will be used for the project. 
 
-- Media outlets: Media play a crucial role in bringing 
issues to the attention of policy makers and the general 
public, but ineffective reporting on trafficking has kept 
Nepal's major media outlets from becoming a strong tool in 
combating the problem.  Media personnel lack both sufficient 
understanding of the issue and training in research and 
investigation.  They often base their reports solely on 
police information, which may not fully reflect societal 
concerns or protect victims. 
 
The proposed program will develop and present workshops to 
train journalists in better reporting techniques and to help 
develop media messages to draw attention to the issue of 
trafficking.  Media campaigns including billboards and 
newspaper ads have proven effective in drawing attention to 
other social issues such as HIV/AIDS, and similar programs 
are proposed for this project.  Workshops will also 
emphasize the need for regular reporting of successful 
prosecution to help deter potential traffickers and to 
encourage victims to report the crime. 
 
-- Service providers (rehabilitation centers): Successful 
rehabilitation and reintegration of rescued and/or returning 
victims of trafficking has been difficult in Nepal for 
several reasons, including social and cultural reluctance to 
accept returnees.  A growing unemployment problem has also 
made it difficult for operators of shelters and 
rehabilitation centers to assist returning victims in 
transitioning to a new life.  However, some strategies, such 
as providing refuge in "second stage homes," have been 
successful in other countries and may offer a viable 
alternative in Nepal.  The proposed project will introduce 
"best practices" to operators of shelters and rehabilitation 
centers, and assist with modification of programs to fit the 
needs of Nepal. 
 
F. Performance Measurements 
 
-- Development of awareness campaign targeting urban 
migrants, and participation by industry leaders and 
schoolteachers; 
 
-- Completion of transport worker orientation, and increase 
in cases reported by them; 
 
-- Increased quality and quantity of articles on 
trafficking, including regular reporting on prosecution of 
traffickers; 
 
-- Adoption of "best practices" by shelters and 
rehabilitation centers, and improved rate of successful 
reintegration. 
 
G. Budget Breakdown 
 
Post estimates the cost of this public awareness project to 
be approximately 400,000 USD. 
 
-- Awareness program targeting urban migrants: 100,000 USD 
 
-- Training for transportation workers: 125,000 USD 
 
-- Media workshops: 125,000 USD 
 
-- "Best practices" orientation for rehabilitation centers 
and shelters: 50,000 USD 
 
H. Host Government Contribution 
 
As indicated in Project 1, significant host government 
resources are engaged in the fight against Nepal's Maoist 
insurgency.  However, Post anticipates that the GON will be 
able to provide government facilities for workshops and 
trafficking programs, as well as offering a subsidized rate 
for awareness-raising efforts in government media outlets. 
 
I. Private donors will provide twenty-five percent matching 
funds. 
 
J. Proposed Funding Mechanism: Post prefers that USAID 
directly administer funding for this project. 
 
---------------------- 
PROJECT 3: PROSECUTION 
---------------------- 
 
A. Fostering a Better Legal Environment for Prevention and 
Prosecution of Trafficking in Persons 
 
B. UNICEF, USDOJ 
 
C. Two Years (2003-2005) 
 
-- Year One: Develop training curriculum for police and 
district court prosecutors, focusing on appropriate 
treatment of victims.  Offer guidance on how best to utilize 
current laws and procedures to protect victims and 
effectively prosecute trafficking cases. 
 
-- Year Two: Assist police and Office of the Attorney 
General in integrating new TIP training program into 
permanent curriculum.  Provide technical assistance in 
developing new bilateral or multilateral agreements to 
prosecute trafficking cases, and in developing new legal 
procedures to better protect the rights of victims and 
witnesses. 
 
D. Objectives 
 
The proposed project is intended to improve police and 
prosecutorial procedures for dealing with victims of 
trafficking in persons, and to provide technical assistance 
to the GON in the development of cooperative agreements for 
the prosecution of this transnational crime.  Specific goals 
include: 
 
-- improving police procedures for dealing with victims of 
trafficking in persons; 
 
-- advising Nepali prosecutors and police on the best way to 
utilize available legal means to protect the privacy of 
victims and other individuals willing to testify in anti- 
trafficking cases; 
 
-- offering TIP-specific training to prosecutors at the 
district court level; 
-- illustrating the value of in camera interviews and other 
legal devices to protect victims' privacy, and encouraging 
Nepali courts to allow similar procedures; 
 
-- providing sample documents and technical expertise to GON 
negotiators, to assist with the formulation of bilateral or 
multilateral agreements on prosecution of traffickers. 
 
E. Justification 
 
Despite GON commitment to fight trafficking in persons, 
successful termination of related legal cases has been 
hampered by weak international agreements, complicated 
regulations and ineffective prosecution.  A special court 
dedicated to the prosecution of certain social crimes such 
as trafficking in persons has been abolished, and 
prosecutorial authority has reverted to the district courts, 
where government prosecutors often have no training in 
successful techniques for trying such cases.  Local police 
cannot investigate complaints without permission from 
prosecutors, and the resultant delay gives criminals time to 
flee the jurisdiction or dispose of evidence. 
 
Women and children who have filed complaints have been 
"doubly victimized" when police and prosecutors have failed 
to protect their privacy or their rights.  Victims' names 
and photographs are released by police and published in 
newspapers, with reports stating that they have been working 
as prostitutes and/or are HIV positive.  Such victims face 
social and cultural discrimination, limited opportunities 
for employment and difficulties in reintegration to their 
village and families.  Nepali law requires the accuser to 
appear in court and attest to a statement, but lacks 
protection for victims and other witnesses.  As a result, 
many women and children are too frightened to file 
complaints or are threatened into changing their statements 
in court, compromising the prosecution of the case. 
 
The proposed project is intended better to equip district 
prosecutors for trying trafficking cases, and to train local 
police in sensitivity toward victims.  Recognizing that even 
the most sympathetic authorities are constrained by a lack 
of legal protection for the victims and witnesses, the 
program will also seek to improve laws and procedures to 
protect victims' privacy and to maximize the utilization of 
currently available protections.  The project will also 
address weaknesses in multilateral and bilateral agreements 
that allow neighboring countries to serve as havens for 
traffickers facing prosecution in Nepal. 
 
F. Performance Measurements 
 
-- Development of a training curriculum for local police and 
completion of first-round training; 
 
-- Publication of police training materials to be used on a 
regular basis, and successful turnover of training program 
to GON instructors; 
 
-- Increase in number of trafficking complaints filed by 
victims; 
 
-- Increase in number of cases successfully prosecuted; 
 
-- Adoption of stronger legal protections for victims and 
witnesses in trafficking cases; 
 
-- Successful extradition and prosecution of traffickers 
from neighboring countries. 
 
G. Budget Breakdown 
 
Post estimates the cost of this prosecution project to be 
approximately 250,000 USD. 
 
-- Development of training program for local police, and 
publication of training materials: 75,000 USD 
 
-- Expert guidance to prosecutors on utilization of current 
laws, to prosecute cases and protect victims: 75,000 USD 
 
-- Assistance with development of future witness protection 
provisions: 50,000 USD 
 
-- Assistance with formulation of stronger bilateral and 
multilateral agreements to allow for extradition and 
prosecution of traffickers: 50,000 USD 
H. Host Government Contribution 
 
Post anticipates that the GON will be able to provide 
facilities for training local police and prosecutors, and 
will encourage participation and cooperation of senior level 
officials from the police and Attorney General's office in 
discussions on the maximization of current privacy 
protections and development of future provisions and 
agreements. 
 
I. No private donor funds have been solicited at this time. 
 
J. Proposed funding mechanism: Post would prefer to work 
directly with the USDOJ to provide expert guidance to 
prosecutors and GON negotiators, and with UNICEF and local 
NGOs for the development and delivery of police sensitivity 
training. 
 
[End submission.] 
 
3. For all proposals, Embassy Kathmandu point of contact is 
Political/Economic Officer Sarah Welborne (Tel: 977-1-411- 
179, ext 4572; E-mail: welbornese@state.gov.) 
 
MALINOWSKI