Keep Us Strong WikiLeaks logo

Currently released so far... 5422 / 251,287

Articles

Browse latest releases

Browse by creation date

Browse by origin

A B C D F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W Y Z

Browse by tag

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z
QA
YM YI YE

Browse by classification

Community resources

courage is contagious

Viewing cable 10CAIRO211, Tenth Annual Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Report - Cairo

If you are new to these pages, please read an introduction on the structure of a cable as well as how to discuss them with others. See also the FAQs

Understanding cables
Every cable message consists of three parts:
  • The top box shows each cables unique reference number, when and by whom it originally was sent, and what its initial classification was.
  • The middle box contains the header information that is associated with the cable. It includes information about the receiver(s) as well as a general subject.
  • The bottom box presents the body of the cable. The opening can contain a more specific subject, references to other cables (browse by origin to find them) or additional comment. This is followed by the main contents of the cable: a summary, a collection of specific topics and a comment section.
To understand the justification used for the classification of each cable, please use this WikiSource article as reference.

Discussing cables
If you find meaningful or important information in a cable, please link directly to its unique reference number. Linking to a specific paragraph in the body of a cable is also possible by copying the appropriate link (to be found at theparagraph symbol). Please mark messages for social networking services like Twitter with the hash tags #cablegate and a hash containing the reference ID e.g. #10CAIRO211.
Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
10CAIRO211 2010-02-16 15:03 2011-02-16 21:09 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Cairo
VZCZCXRO4573
OO RUEHROV
DE RUEHEG #0211/01 0471508
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O R 161508Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY CAIRO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0264
INFO ARAB ISRAELI COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 CAIRO 000211 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
PASS TO G/TIP, NEA/RA, NEA/ELA, INL, DRL, PRM, USAID, AND G LAURA PENA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB KTIP KCRM PGOV PREF PHUM KFRD KWMN KMCA SMIG
ASEC, EAID, EG 
SUBJECT: Tenth Annual Trafficking In Persons (TIP) Report - Cairo 
Submission 
 
REF: 10 STATE 2094 
 
1. (U) This cable contains U.S. Embassy Cairo's response to 
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) contribution requirements (reftel A). 
The following text contains responses to paragraphs 23-29 in the 
original tasking cable. 
 
 
 
2. (U) THE COUNTRY'S TIP SITUATION: 
 
 
 
-- A.   Available sources of information include the press, the 
Egyptian government, UN organizations, and independent TIP experts. 
We regularly discuss TIP with officials in the Egyptian Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs (MFA), Ministry of State for Family and Population 
(MSFP), the Public Prosecutor's Office, the Ministry of Justice, 
the International Organization for Migration and UNICEF. 
 
 
 
In 2010, the National Council for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) - 
a unit of the MSFP - conducted a study of "summer marriages," a 
practice whereby Egyptian girls and young women enter into 
short-term marriages with tourists, many from other Arab countries. 
In conjunction with the release of the study, the NCCM launched a 
media campaign to raise societal and government awareness of the 
practice, including establishing a "hotline" for reporting 
instances of the practice and to counsel victims. 
 
 
 
In 2010, the National Commission for Combating Trafficking in 
Persons, composed of 16 agencies in the Government, entered into an 
agreement with various UN agencies to provide financial support to 
the National Center for Criminological and Social Research's 
efforts to carry out a comprehensive study on TIP to determine the 
nature and scope of the problem in Egypt.  The anticipated 
completion date for the study is the fall of 2010. 
 
 
 
Our sources are generally reliable, but several are likely to 
reflect the government's view of the situation. 
 
 
 
-- B. Egypt is a country of origin for street children and others 
trafficked domestically and there are reports that Egypt is used as 
a transit country for Eastern European women being trafficked to 
Israel. 
 
 
 
Trafficking occurs within the country's borders, but does not occur 
in territories outside the government's control.  Street children 
are the most vulnerable population.  Street children are trafficked 
locally where they may be forced to beg and participate in 
prostitution.  Some independent analysts estimated that there may 
be as many as one million street children in Egypt.  Government 
experts believe the number to be lower and cite a study conducted 
by the government in 2009, with financial and technical assistance 
from the World Bank and the Arab Urban Development Institute, which 
identified approximately 5200 street children in central Cairo. 
 
 
 
There are many cases of child marriages where poor families, often 
living in villages, marry their daughters -some below 18, the legal 
age of marriage - to older men from the Arabian Gulf in return for 
money, which is used to assist the families financially. There are 
no statistics on the scope of this practice.  Children are subject 
to domestic servitude, but there are no reliable statistics. 
Children are also recruited for seasonal agricultural work.  Some 
children employed in domestic and agricultural work may face 
conditions of involuntary servitude, restrictions on movement, 
non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse. 
Instances of child sex tourism are reported in Cairo, Alexandria 
and Luxor. There have been no changes in destinations for 
trafficking. 
 
CAIRO 00000211  002 OF 010 
 
 
The Government of Egypt does not fully comply with minimum 
standards for the elimination of trafficking, but is undertaking 
significant actions to do so. In July 2007, the government 
established the National Coordinating Committee to Combat and 
Prevent Trafficking in Persons which improved inter-governmental 
coordination on anti-trafficking initiatives. In 2009, the 
Committee completed drafting a comprehensive law to criminalize all 
forms of trafficking in persons. The draft is currently under 
consideration by Egypt's Parliament, and Egypt's ruling National 
Democratic Party announced in November 2009 that passage of the law 
is one of the party's priorities for the 2009-2010 legislative 
session. 
 
 
 
The Egyptian Government in June 2008 passed amendments to its Child 
Law, which criminalized trafficking of children.  In 2009, two 
marriage registrars were prosecuted under the law for facilitating 
marriages of hundreds of under-age Egyptian girls, primarily to 
foreigners.  An additional 22 registrars were arrested and are 
reportedly under investigation by Egypt's Public Prosecutor for 
facilitating hundreds of other marriages, in violation of the Child 
Law.  In early 2010, five people were arrested for facilitating an 
under-age marriage including the victim's parents, the "husband," a 
marriage "broker" and the registrar. 
 
 
 
Since the passage of the Child Law amendments, the Public 
Prosecutor's office conducted training for 125 prosecutors working 
on children's cases.  The three-day training program, organized 
with the assistance of USAID, defined trafficking in children, 
addressed prosecutor responsibilities for protecting child victims, 
educated prosecutors about street children, and addressed the need 
to provide health and psychological care for child victims. The 
Public Prosecutor's office prepared a handbook that was distributed 
to all prosecutors working with children, which explains how to use 
the child law amendments to prosecute cases. 
 
 
 
In 2008, the National Committee for Childhood and Motherhood (NCCM) 
formed a special anti-trafficking unit using USD 1 million in USAID 
funds made available through the Ministry of International 
Cooperation.  The establishment of this unit strengthened measures 
to prevent and combat trafficking in children through:  1) 
legislative reform, 2) capacity building of governmental and civil 
society organizations to address issues related to child 
trafficking; 3) raising public awareness and community 
responsibility; 4) establishing a mechanism for data collection and 
analysis; and 5) protecting and rehabilitating children at risk and 
their families. NCCM's TIP Unit will also develop a national plan 
of action to combat child trafficking. The unit's goal is to 
provide protection and assistance to victims and children at risk, 
rehabilitate victims of trafficking, provide training and 
awareness, establish a database and coordinate activities of 
governmental and non governmental bodies.  The National Council for 
Women also established a special unit for TIP to push for policies 
to protect women from becoming trafficking victims. 
 
 
 
-- C. The conditions that people are trafficked into depend on the 
type of trafficking. Street children remain on the streets, but are 
subject to abuse. There are reports that women from Eastern Europe 
are moved from Cairo to the Sinai Peninsula and then to Israel. 
Such reports are difficult to verify. 
 
 
 
-- D. Street children, young females from economically 
underprivileged families, female refugees, and Eastern European 
females going to Israel through Egypt are most at risk of being 
trafficked. 
 
 
 
-- E. Traffickers are street children, family members, marriage 
 
CAIRO 00000211  003 OF 010 
 
 
brokers, and external organized crime groups (i.e. purportedly 
moving women from Eastern Europe through Egypt to Israel). Victims 
in Egypt are usually trafficked because they are vulnerable and 
lack the ability to protect themselves, such as street children, 
young girls from impoverished families, and refugees. Traffickers 
may use money as a motivation for trafficking. In the case of early 
marriages, young females (some, but not all, below the legal 
marriage age) may accept marriage to older men, often from the 
Gulf, in return for financial assistance to themselves and their 
families. In the case of street children, traffickers may approach 
potential victims to make them part of the group or the gang. There 
are no national or official agencies that traffic victims. 
 
 
 
3. (U) SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS: 
 
 
 
-- A.   The government now recognizes the trafficking of street 
children and "summer" marriages as domestic slavery issues. 
Government officials previously noted that Egypt has been used as a 
transit country for Eastern European women trafficked to Israel. 
The government will host the first visit to Egypt by the UN Special 
Rapportuer on Trafficking in Person's in April 2010. 
 
 
 
-- B. Multiple government agencies are involved in anti-trafficking 
efforts especially under the auspices of the National Coordinating 
Committee to Combat and Prevent Trafficking in Persons. The lead 
agency for the Committee is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
However, 15 agencies are also involved including the Ministry of 
Justice, Public Prosecutor's Office, the National Council for 
Childhood and Motherhood, National Council for Criminological and 
Social Studies, Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Social 
Solidarity, Ministry of Tourism, Ministry of Health, Ministry of 
Information, Ministry of Manpower and Migration, Ministry of 
Education and the National Council for Women. 
 
 
 
-- C. The lack of financial resources is a significant impediment 
to the implementation of trafficking laws. 
 
 
 
Additionally, the lack of training for first responders (police) 
has impeded implementation, although in 2008 and 2009 IOM and 
Egypt's Ministry of Interior collaborated to provide TIP training 
to police officials.  Prosecutors and judges could also use 
training to help prosecute cases under trafficking laws, although 
in 2009 the Public Prosecutor's office successfully prosecuted two 
cases involving marriage registrars and a case involving 
prostitution and street children. 
 
 
 
Egypt lacks data and statistics on the nature and scope of 
trafficking, although in 2009, as discussed above, the government, 
in cooperation with UN agencies, initiated a national study to 
evaluate the scope of the issue.  Overall corruption is a problem, 
but it is not directly related to trafficking in persons.  The 
government lacks resources to aid victims, but in 2009, in 
cooperation with the IOM, the Ministry of Health allocated public 
hospital facilities and personnel to establish a trafficking 
victim's resource center.  Egypt's Ministry of State for Family and 
Population (MSFP), working with NGOs, established in August 2009 in 
Cairo's low-income Dar Al Salaam area a rehabilitation center for 
victims of child trafficking. 
 
 
 
-- D. The government does not systematically monitor 
anti-trafficking efforts in terms of prosecution, prevention and 
protection. 
 
 
 
--E.  The government has a well-developed birth registration and 
national identity card system.  The 2008 Child Law amendments 
 
CAIRO 00000211  004 OF 010 
 
 
addressed an inadequacy in the system by facilitating the 
registration of births out of wedlock.  The NCCM has a national 
program to encourage poor, rural families to register births. 
 
 
 
--F.  The government is unable to systematically maintain and 
gather data on TIP and related prosecutions, in part because of the 
lack of comprehensive legislation.  Local TIP experts rely on 
anecdotal and press accounts of prosecutions. 
 
 
 
4. (U) INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS: 
 
 
 
-- A. The Child law: Enacted in 1996. It was law no. 12 of 1996 and 
amended to law number 126 of 2008 
 
 
 
Child Law Amendments: 
 
 
 
Article 7 to penal code provision no. 291:  Violating the rights of 
a child to be protected from trafficking is unlawful. This includes 
trafficking, sexual abuse, commercial or economic abuse and use of 
a child in research and scientific experiments. Whoever sells, buys 
or presents a child for sale, and whoever sells the child as a 
slave, assaults a child sexually or commercially or uses a child in 
forced labor or for any illegal gains is punishable by at least 5 
years of imprisonment and a fine no less than 50,000 LE and not 
more than 200,000 LE. (USD 9,000-36,000). The penalty applies even 
if the act was committed abroad.  The same penalty applies on those 
who incite such acts even if the crime was not committed based on 
this incitement.  The penalty is multiplied if committed by an 
organized transnational crime group. 
 
 
 
Child Law 
 
 
 
Article 64: Takes into consideration the non-violation of provision 
18(b) of the Education Law no 139 of 1981. It is unlawful to employ 
a child under the age of 15 and it is unlawful to train a child 
before reaching the age of 13. The Governor of a specific 
Governorate can ask the Minister of Education to permit children 
aged 12-14 to engage in seasonal work  as long as it does not 
affect the children's health, growth and school attendance. 
 
 
 
Article 65: It is unlawful to employ a child in any work that can 
by its nature or its conditions risk the health, well-being or 
morality of a child. It is particularly unlawful to employ a child 
in the worst forms of child labor as stipulated in the agreement 
number 182 of 1999. A child should be subject to medical check-up 
before employment. The medical check-up should be conducted at 
least once a year. The employment must not lead to pain, physical 
or psychological impairments to the child and not deprive a child 
from the right to education, leisure, development. The employer is 
obligated to provide health insurance for the child and to protect 
him/her from any harm that could take place during work. A child's 
annual leave is 7 days longer than adults and should not be delayed 
or canceled. 
 
 
 
Article 66: A child should not be employed for more than 6 hours a 
day and there should be at least one break for lunch or rest for at 
least one hour during the day. A child should not work for more 
than 4 hours consecutively. A child should not work overtime or 
during weekly or official holidays. 
 
 
 
Prostitution law:  Enacted in 1961 and called the Law for Combating 
 
CAIRO 00000211  005 OF 010 
 
 
Prostitution. 
 
 
 
Prostitution Law: 
 
 
 
Article 1(a):  Any person who incites a male or a female to 
practice debauchery or prostitution or tempts them to engage in 
these practices is punished with a minimum of one year of 
imprisonment and a maximum of three years, and a fine between 100 
LE and 300 LE (USD 18-55). 
 
 
 
Article 1 (b): If the victim is below 21 years of age the 
imprisonment should be at least one year and maximum five years. 
The same penalty applies to any individual who uses, deceives, or 
encourages a male or a female to commit debauchery or prostitution 
through deception, force, threat, misuse of authority or any means 
of coercion. The penalty also applies to whoever keeps a male or a 
female without their consent in a place for prostitution or 
debauchery. 
 
 
 
Article 3: Whoever incites or facilitates a male or a female below 
the age of 21 to travel outside Egypt to work in debauchery or 
prostitution is punished by imprisonment of at least one year and 
at most five years, and a fine between 100 LE and 500 LE. (USD 
18-91). 
 
 
 
Article 9: Imprisonment of at least three months and a maximum of 
three years, and a fine between 25 LE to 300 LE (USD 5-55) applies 
to: 
 
Any person who rents or provides a place for prostitution or 
debauchery. 
 
 
 
Any person who furnishes a venue that facilitates prostitution or 
debauchery whether with the person's consent or by allowing others 
to encourage prostitution or debauchery. 
 
 
 
Any person who habitually practices debauchery or prostitution. 
 
 
 
When arrested, the person may be sent for medical examination. If 
the person proves to have any venereal infectious diseases, he/she 
will be kept in a medical facility until he/she heals from the 
disease. A verdict maybe issued to put the convicted person in a 
special institution after serving the sentence until an 
administrative entity orders his/her release.  However, the person 
may not be kept more than three years. 
 
 
 
Venues used for prostitution or debauchery will be closed. The 
closing duration should not exceed three months. 
 
 
 
On June 7, 2008, Egypt passed amendments to the current Child Law 
criminalizing the trafficking of children. Under the child law 
amendments, an individual who sells, buys, or offers a child for 
sale may be sentenced to at least five years' imprisonment and 
fined up to LE 200,000 ($36,000). 
 
 
 
A Ministry of Justice decree bans marriages of Egyptian girls to 
foreigners, if the age gap is more than 25 years.  The government 
prosecutes trafficking-related cases under laws prohibiting 
commercial sexual exploitation, with penalties of up to seven years 
 
CAIRO 00000211  006 OF 010 
 
 
imprisonment and forced labor. 
 
 
 
The government has drafted and submitted to Parliament a 
comprehensive trafficking law.  The law will criminalize all forms 
of trafficking in persons and will define all people as possible 
victims, not just children. 
 
 
 
-- B. Prostitution law:  Enacted in 1961 and called the Law for 
Combating Prostitution. 
 
 
 
Prostitution Law: 
 
 
 
Article 1(a):  Any person who incites a male or a female to 
practice debauchery or prostitution or tempts them to engage in 
these practices is punished with a minimum of one year of 
imprisonment and a maximum of three years, and a fine between 100 
LE and 300 LE (USD 18-55). 
 
 
 
Article 1 (b): If the victim is below 21 years of age the 
imprisonment should be at least one year and maximum five years. 
The same penalty applies to any individual who uses, deceives, or 
encourages a male or a female to commit debauchery or prostitution 
through deception, force, threat, misuse of authority or any means 
of coercion. The penalty also applies to whoever keeps a male or a 
female without their consent in a place for prostitution or 
debauchery. 
 
 
 
Article 3: Whoever incites or facilitates a male or a female below 
the age of 21 to travel outside Egypt to work in debauchery or 
prostitution is punished by imprisonment of at least one year and 
at most five years, and a fine between 100 LE and 500 LE. (USD 
18-91). 
 
 
 
Article 9: Imprisonment of at least three months and a maximum of 
three years, and a fine between 25 LE to 300 LE (USD 5-55) applies 
to: 
 
 
 
Any person who rents or provides a place for prostitution or 
debauchery. 
 
 
 
Any person who furnishes a venue that facilitates prostitution or 
debauchery whether with the person's consent or by allowing others 
to encourage prostitution or debauchery. 
 
 
 
Any person who habitually practices debauchery or prostitution. 
 
 
 
When arrested, the person may be sent for medical examination. If 
the person proves to have any venereal infectious diseases, he/she 
will be kept in a medical facility until he/she heals from the 
disease. A verdict maybe issued to put the convicted person in a 
special institution after serving the sentence until an 
administrative entity orders his/her release.  However, the person 
may not be kept more than three years. 
 
 
 
Venues for prostitution or debauchery will be closed.  The closing 
duration should not exceed three months. 
 
CAIRO 00000211  007 OF 010 
 
 
-- C. The Unified Labor Law does not define "forced labor." 
Therefore, there are no specific provisions against it.  The 
Egyptian Government investigates labor recruiters and agents.  If 
there is any wrongdoing, the case may be referred for prosecution 
under various penal code provisions, including "swindling." There 
are occasional reports of confiscation of passports of foreign 
workers, although such reports are limited because, according to 
independent TIP experts, Egypt's large labor force and low wages 
makes Egypt a relatively unattractive destination for labor 
migrants and there is no formal labor sponsorship (Kafala) system 
in the country. 
 
 
 
-- D.  Those who exploit, use or incite victims under 21-years old 
to practice prostitution shall be sentenced to not less than one 
year and not more than five years imprisonment.  Anyone who uses 
any means of coercion, threat, or abuses this authority over the 
victim in order to exploit him/her sexually shall be subject to not 
less than one year and not more than seven years in prison. The 
maximum penalty level of seven years imprisonment is used if the 
perpetrators committed crimes against two or more victims. 
According to article 267 of the Penal Code, rape is punishable by 
15 years in prison if the perpetrator uses any means for coercion 
or threat, 25 years in prison if committed by family member or 
guardian, and death if accompanied by the abduction of the victim. 
 
 
 
-- E. Since May 2009, there have been a number of high profile 
prosecutions for trafficking related offenses.  In May 2009, an 
Alexandria court, using the 2008 amendment to Egypt's Child Law and 
other penal code provisions, convicted two men of forcing eight 
street children into prostitution.  The court sentenced one 
trafficker to life and the other to fifteen years in prison.  In 
October 2009, Egyptian courts, also using the 2008 Child Law 
amendments, convicted and sentenced to prison two marriage 
registrars for illegally facilitating the marriages of more than 
100 under-age girls to foreign men (ref B). 
 
 
 
In November, local press reported that as part of an on-going 
investigation into under-age marriages, an additional 21 marriage 
registrars - suspected of illegally recording over 800 such 
marriages in 2009 - had been arrested. 
 
 
 
In February, the Public Prosecutor initiated criminal proceedings 
against five suspects for facilitating the marriage of an under-age 
girl to an older man from Saudi Arabia.  The defendants include the 
victims' parents, the Saudi "husband," a marriage "broker," and a 
lawyer who facilitated the marriage.  All were reportedly charged 
with violating the Child Law. 
 
 
 
-- F. During the year, the NCCM continued to provide TIP training 
to government employees.  NCCM's TIP Unit trained an estimated 500 
prosecutors, judges, police officers Ministry of Tourism employees, 
police officers, labor inspectors and social workers. 
 
 
 
--G. The Prosecutor General told us that the Egyptian government 
will cooperate with other governments in the investigation and 
prosecution of trafficking cases. 
 
 
 
--H. The government provided no specific information on 
extraditions. 
 
 
 
-- I. There is no evidence of government involvement in or 
tolerance of trafficking, on a local or institutional level. 
 
CAIRO 00000211  008 OF 010 
 
 
-- J. There is no evidence government officials are involved in 
trafficking. 
 
 
 
--K.  There were no allegations that Egyptian peacekeepers were 
involved in trafficking. 
 
 
 
-- L.   There are anecdotal reports from independent experts of 
child sex tourism in Cairo, Alexandria, and Luxor but no statistics 
are available.  There are no reports of Egyptians involved in 
extraterritorial sex tourism. 
 
 
 
5. (U) PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS: 
 
 
 
-- A.  The Government is constrained by lack of resources. There is 
a medical file started for each child victim.  The Ministry of 
Social Solidarity and NGO's provide basic health care for victims. 
El Orman Orphanage, a private facility operated by an NGO, houses 
children in need of protection. 
 
 
 
-- B.  There are care facilities, although resources may not be 
sufficient to meet the needs of all victims. In 2009, the Ministry 
of Health (MoH) entered into an agreement with the IOM to establish 
a trafficking victim's care center in a Cairo public hospital, 
staffed with MoH employees trained in identifying and assisting 
trafficking victims.  The center, due to open in March 2010, will 
serve as a pilot for other centers and will provide care to both 
domestic and foreign trafficking victims.   Egypt's Ministry of 
State for Family and Population (MSFP), working with NGOs, 
established in August 2009 in Cairo's low-income Dar Al Salaam area 
a rehabilitation center for victims of child trafficking. 
 
 
 
The Ministry of Social Solidarity provides shelters, but they are 
only open during the day, and do not provide residence for victims 
at night. Juvenile detention centers are in bad condition, and 
juveniles may be subject to incarceration with adults. 
 
 
 
Street children generally refuse to stay in shelters. Child victims 
may also be referred to their guardians. Egypt's Ministry of State 
for Family and Population (MSFP), working with local NGOs, 
established in August 2009 in Cairo's low-income Dar Al Salaam area 
a rehabilitation center for victims of child trafficking. 
 
 
 
The Ministry of Social Solidarity offers day-time shelters.  In 
2008, NCCM launched a special center for rehabilitation of victims 
of trafficking in persons. Other public shelters such as Hope 
Village provide assistance to victims.   NCCM also operates a free 
hotline that operates 24 hours per day, 365 days per year.  Street 
children and victims of violence and abuse can call to receive 
assistance. 
 
 
 
-- C.  The Ministry of Social Solidarity and NGO's provide basic 
health care for victims.  NCCM receives partial funding from the 
government, but it is a quasi-governmental body. 
 
 
 
-- D. Foreign trafficking victims may be returned to their 
countries of origin through their embassies in Cairo, but they are 
not treated as criminals. 
 
CAIRO 00000211  009 OF 010 
 
 
-- E. The government does not provide longer-term sheltering or 
housing benefits to victims.  It also does not currently provide 
resources to aid the victims in rebuilding their lives, although 
the MOH is scheduled to open a treatment center for victims in 
March 2010. 
 
 
 
-- F. The government does not have a formal referral process to 
transfer victims detained, arrested, or placed in protective 
custody by law enforcement authorities to institutions that provide 
short- or long-term care.  However, according to the government 
judges may make such referrals. 
 
 
 
-- G. There are no estimates on the number of trafficking victims. 
Some independent experts estimate that there may be as many as one 
million street children in Egypt who are potentially at risk for 
trafficking, but there are no statistics on the actual trafficking 
cases among street children or other forms of trafficking.   The 
government is currently carrying out a comprehensive study, 
scheduled for completion in fall 2009, to determine the scope of 
human trafficking. 
 
 
 
-- H. The government's law enforcement, immigration, and social 
services personnel do not have a formal system of proactively 
identifying victims of trafficking.  However, in 2008 and 2009, the 
IOM conducted trafficking victim identification training programs 
for officials of Egypt's State Security Investigative Service. 
 
 
 
-- I. There is an effort under way to educate police and first 
responders to the need to respect the rights of and protect victims 
of trafficking.  The IOM's training of police and the Prosecutor 
General's Handbook are two examples of this effort.  However, in 
practice street children and prostitutes may be treated as 
criminals rather than victims especially by the security apparatus. 
 
 
 
-- J. The government encourages street children to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenses. However, in 
other cases the government may not push victims to testify due to 
familial and societal ramifications. 
 
 
 
-- K. NCCM TIP Unit began training for government officials on TIP 
focusing on prosecutors and judges. NCCM's TIP Unit also completed 
a manual to spread awareness of the selling and trafficking of new 
born babies in hospitals.  NCCM will follow up with training to 
nurses, doctors and psycho-social specialists in hospitals. 
There is no immigration control for identification of potential 
victims at the airport. 
 
 
 
-- L. The government does not provide assistance, such as medical 
aid, shelter, or financial help, to its nationals who are 
repatriated as victims of trafficking. 
 
 
 
-- M.   IOM is working through the MOH with trafficking victims. 
UNICEF works with street children, who are at risk for becoming 
trafficking victims. 
 
 
 
6. (U) PREVENTION: 
 
 
 
-- A. There is no organized campaign to prevent trafficking. 
However, there has been wide media reporting on trafficking in 
persons, much of it related to the efforts of First Lady Suzanne 
 
CAIRO 00000211  010 OF 010 
 
 
Mubarak. 
 
 
 
-- B. The government does not monitor immigration and emigration 
patterns for evidence of trafficking. 
 
 
 
-- C. The National Commission for Combating Trafficking in Persons 
led by Ministry of Foreign Affairs was established to coordinate 
and communicate between various agencies on the issue.  It has also 
been charged with drafting the comprehensive trafficking law. 
 
 
 
-- D. The National Commission and NCCM's TIP Unit both are 
formulating a national plan of action to address trafficking in 
persons. IOM and UN agencies have been included in the process. 
 
 
 
-- E: We have no information on government actions to reduce the 
demand for commercial sex acts. 
 
 
 
-- F. Egyptian nationals do not often participate as consumers in 
child sex trafficking. 
 
 
 
-- G. No Information.  However, we have no reports on Egyptian 
troops in UNAMID or UNMIS being involved in trafficking. 
 
 
 
7. (U) Partnerships 
 
 
 
-- A.  First Lady Suzanne Mubarak - through her International 
Women's Peace Initiative - is a leader internationally in the fight 
against human trafficking. 
 
 
 
--B.  We are not aware off government efforts to assist other 
countries' anti-trafficking efforts. 
SCOBEY