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DID CUBA TRAFFICK DOCTORS TO ESWATINI?

19/12/2021 16:55:00 Mfanukhona Nkambule

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MBABANE – Were Cuban doctors and other health professionals deployed to the country’s health institutions victims of human trafficking?

The United States Government (USG) has said “Cuban nationals working on medical missions in Eswatini may have been forced to work by the Cuban government.” USG urged its counterpart, the Government of Eswatini, to train law enforcement agents, social workers and other front-line officials to proactively identify victims among vulnerable populations, including Cuban medical workers. This is contained in the Eswatini Trafficking in Persons Report for 2021, which was released by the US Department of State.

There are currently about 21 medical specialists from Cuba working in the country’s health institutions. The US Department of State leads the United States’ global engagement to combat human trafficking and supports the coordination of anti-trafficking efforts across America.

government

According to a separate report on Cuba, released by the United Department of State, observers and former participants reported that government officials forced or coerced individuals to participate and remain in the Cuban government’s labour export programmes, particularly the foreign medical missions programmes managed by the Unidad Central de Cooperacion Medica (UCCM), the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of Foreign Trade and Investment. USG stated that the Cuban government has not addressed its exploitative and coercive policies in these missions, which were clear indicators of human trafficking.

report

Washington stated in its report that Havana employed between 34 000-50 000 health care professionals in more than 60 countries in Africa, the Americas, Asia, Europe, and the Middle East in foreign medical missions. It said they were employed through contracts with foreign governments and, in some countries, with international organisations serving as intermediaries or providing funds for their work. The information, according to the US Government, was sourced from officials from the Cuban Government. According to the Cuban government as quoted by USG in its report, 75 per cent of its exported workforce consisted of medical professionals.

missions

Experts estimated the Cuban government collected E90 billion (US$6 billion) to E120 billion (US$8 billion) annually from its export of services, namely the foreign medical missions programme. It is reported that Cuba stated that the postings were voluntary, and some participants also had pointed out that such postings were voluntary and better paid compared to low paying jobs within Cuba, where basic wages for a doctor are E815 (US$55) a month. However, observers report the government does not inform participants of the terms of their contracts or allow them to retain a copy of their contracts, heightening their risk of forced labour.

portion

It is said that workers receive only a portion of their salary ranging from five to 25 per cent, and these funds are retained in Cuban bank accounts – often in Cuban pesos rather than the hard currency the government is paid for their services, which are relinquished if the participant leaves the programme. Washington DC said that the Cuban government acknowledged that it withheld passports of overseas medical personnel in Venezuela; the government provided identification cards to such personnel. Interviewed Cuban medical personnel claimed they worked long hours without rest and face substandard and dangerous working and living conditions in some countries, including a lack of hygienic conditions and privacy, and were forced to falsify medical records. Observers reported that Cuban authorities coerced some participants to remain in the programme, including by withholding their passports and medical credentials; restricting their movement; using ‘minders’ to conduct surveillance of participants outside of work.

authorities

It also alleged that authorities threatened to revoke their licences to practise medicine in Cuba; retaliated against their family members in Cuba if participants left the programme; or imposed criminal penalties, exile, and family separation if participants did not return to Cuba as directed by government supervisors.
Sources told the USG that from March to mid-June 2020, the government used the pandemic as an opportunity to expand the reach of its exploitative export medical services, sending more than 2 770 workers to 26 countries to provide medical care. By September 2020, official government media reported medical missions in 39 countries (22 in the Americas), in addition to the 28 000 health workers already in 58 countries.

All agreements were made under unclear financial arrangements. In addition to the medical missions, the government profited from other similarly coercive labour export programmes, including dance teachers and sports coaches in Venezuela, engineers in South Africa, forestry technicians in Angola, and merchant mariners across the world. It is stated in the report that traffickers used Eswatini as a transit country to transport foreign victims, primarily Mozambicans, to South Africa for forced labour.

Dr. Vusi Magagula, the Director of Health Services in the Ministry of Health, said the engagement of Cuban medical personnel was a government-to-government arrangement. He did mention that government offered allowances to them, and the amounts of money involved were not disclosed.

issues

He said the issue was so sensitive that it could be best if Lizzie Nkosi, the Minister of Health was telephoned for comment. “It’s beyond my jurisdiction, I cannot give details,” he said. Nkosi, the Minister of Health, said: “In Cuba, doctors are not forced to go and work in any country; that is a lie. I don’t see it anywhere in the report.” That was after the report had been sent to her for perusal. “I have seen the report on anti-trafficking work in the country. I don’t see any connection with Cuban doctors. How are you connecting it?” the minister further asked.

When the allegations against Cuba and Eswatini were marked in bold in the report for her to easily identify them, the minister said: “Finally, please confirm with the US Embassy if this is an official report by their government.” Nomphumelelo Lukhele, the Head of Secretariat at the Prevention of People Trafficking and People Smuggling at the Prime Minister’s Office, said: “We are aware of the TIP report as cited. No case of this nature has been reported.” She had been asked whether the United States Department of State or US Embassy to Eswatini ever made enquired about trafficking of Cuban doctors to the country. Thabile Mdluli, the Deputy Government Press Secretary, said government viewed the issue of people trafficking very seriously.

information

She encouraged anyone with information on such allegations to come forward or report to the appropriate structures so that an investigation could be instituted.
Ordinarily, the US Embassy does not comment on official documents released by the government. Another allegation is that traffickers reportedly forced Mozambican women into commercial sex in Eswatini or transport them through Eswatini to South Africa. “Traffickers entrap Swati forced labour and sex trafficking victims with promises of economic opportunities in Eswatini or abroad, particularly South Africa,” reads the report.

The US Government stated that some traffickers forced emaSwati, including orphaned girls and girls from poor families, into commercial sex in South Africa after voluntarily migrating in search of work. Reports suggest labour brokers fraudulently recruit and charge excessive fees to emaSwati for work in South African mines, means often used to facilitate trafficking crimes, according to the report. Certain men from Eswatini in border communities were reportedly recruited for forced labour in South Africa’s timber industry. The US Government listed the following interventions as its prioritised recommendations to Eswatini. Increase investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of trafficking, including internal cases and allegedly complicit officials.

victims

Improve shelter and care for trafficking victims, including by developing shelter policies or guidelines and allowing victims freedom of movement. Cease the practice of forcing victims to remain in the country to assist with law enforcement efforts. Implement the national anti-trafficking action plan. Address leadership issues at the anti-trafficking secretariat and enable the taskforce to fulfill its statutory responsibilities. Identify key NGO partnerships for protective services and strengthen coordination. Train law enforcement, social workers, and other front-line officials to proactively identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations, including Cuban medical workers.

Improve trafficking data collection and analysis of anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts. Conduct anti-trafficking public awareness campaigns. The Americans said Eswatini didnot fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but acknowledged that it was making significant efforts to do so.
This was evidenced by government’s demonstration of overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity. In addition, the government identified trafficking victims, referred them to care, and allocated funding for victim services.

However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas as it did not have adequate shelter facilities or guidelines to ensure quality of care for trafficking victims, and officials demonstrated an inconsistent understanding of victim protection, at times further traumatising victims. The government did not make efforts to implement its anti-trafficking national action plan, the USG stated. It further said labour inspections, particularly in the informal sector, and oversight of the labour recruitment process remained insufficient.

enforcement

The government maintained anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts; it was observed and highlighted in the report from America. The 2009 People Trafficking and People Smuggling (Prohibition) Act criminalised sex trafficking and labour trafficking, prescribing penalties of up to 20 years’ imprisonment for offences involving an adult victim, and up to 25 years’ imprisonment for those involving a child victim.

These penalties were sufficiently stringent, and with regard to sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. The Sexual Offences and Domestic Violence Act prescribed penalties of up to 20 years’ imprisonment, a fine of up to E100 000 or both, for the commercial sexual exploitation of an adult and up to 25 years’ imprisonment with no option of a fine if the offence involved a child.

There were reports of trafficking-related government corruption, including immigration officials seeking bribes to issue government documents such as visas.
USG alleged that systemic judicial issues, including weak data and evidence collection, a shortage of judges and courtrooms, and defence attorneys’ tactics to create protracted trials, contributed to delays in all cases, including trafficking. It is said that rural woman often faced substantial obstacles obtaining relief for various crimes because communities pursued family intervention first and then traditional courts, which viewed female victims of crime as “unruly” and “disobedient.”

report

It is also mentioned in the report that the government maintained victim protection efforts, identifying and referring four trafficking victims to care, compared to six in the previous reporting period. It is reported that all the identified victims were girls, including three from Eswatini and one from Mozambique. The government first referred identified victims to a government facility for initial food, clothing, toiletries, psychosocial support, and medical care. It then reunified the three emaSwati with their families. The government owned one facility that provided short-term care for victims of crime, including trafficking, and had a second training facility with a residential component that could house victims. It is said that the shelters, however, lacked operational guidelines and were of an insufficient quality to house victims, particularly for longer term stays; shelter residents did not have a choice of shelter or freedom of movement within the shelters, according to the USG.