The case against Dominique Strauss-Kahn is an extreme example of alleged
sexual assault by an elite member of the international community. But
the charges against him also shine a light on how diplomats and
international officials have been accused of abusing maids or nannies in
the United States, and have largely escaped prosecution.
Foreign diplomats have been the subject of at least 11 civil lawsuits and one criminal prosecution related to abuse of domestic workers in the last five years, according to a Reuters review of U.S. federal court records. The allegations range from slave-like work conditions to rape, and the vast majority of the diplomats in these cases avoided prison terms and financial penalties.
FORESHADOWING STRAUSS-KAHN
A case, filed in April 2007 by a Tanzanian maid against Alan Mzengi, a minister-counselor at the Tanzanian Embassy, and his wife, Stella, helped spark an inquiry into alleged abuse by foreign diplomats in the United States. A July, 2008, study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that 42 employees of foreign diplomats alleged they had been abused. The actual number was probably higher, the GAO found, because domestic workers are often fearful of reporting abuse.
The maid in the Tanzanian case, Zipora Mazengo, alleged that the Mzengis held her as "a virtual prisoner in their residence, stripping her of her passport, refusing to permit her to leave the house unaccompanied." According to the suit, which was filed in federal court in Washington, they paid her nothing for four years and forced her to work in their catering business. She claimed she escaped after making a desperate plea for help to a customer of the catering business, who provided cab fare.
A U.S. magistrate judge awarded Mazengo more than $1 million in back pay and attorneys' fees. Alan Mzengi moved to cancel the award, arguing "it was not necessary to respond because he was a diplomat" with immunity under the Vienna Convention. In April 2008, a federal judge denied the motion in part, finding that the Mzengis' catering business was exempt from diplomatic immunity. But instead of paying the award, the Mzengis left the country.
A December 2009 State Department cable made available by Wiki Leaks, and provided to Reuters by a third party, shows the U.S. government has asked the Tanzanian government to investigate the case. "While payment of the lost wages to Ms. Mazengo is our first priority, we also hope that any diplomat who has treated his domestic staff in such an abusive manner would face appropriate sanction upon his return home," the cable said. In an e-mail, a State Department official said discussions with the Tanzanian government are ongoing. The Tanzanian Embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
The State Department has said it plans to get tough on alleged abuse of domestic workers by foreign diplomats. "Whether they're diplomats or national emissaries of whatever kind, we all must be accountable for the treatment of the people that we employ," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a speech on February 1 to the Interagency Taskforce to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
Read the whole story at Reuters.com
Foreign diplomats have been the subject of at least 11 civil lawsuits and one criminal prosecution related to abuse of domestic workers in the last five years, according to a Reuters review of U.S. federal court records. The allegations range from slave-like work conditions to rape, and the vast majority of the diplomats in these cases avoided prison terms and financial penalties.
FORESHADOWING STRAUSS-KAHN
A case, filed in April 2007 by a Tanzanian maid against Alan Mzengi, a minister-counselor at the Tanzanian Embassy, and his wife, Stella, helped spark an inquiry into alleged abuse by foreign diplomats in the United States. A July, 2008, study by the U.S. Government Accountability Office found that 42 employees of foreign diplomats alleged they had been abused. The actual number was probably higher, the GAO found, because domestic workers are often fearful of reporting abuse.
The maid in the Tanzanian case, Zipora Mazengo, alleged that the Mzengis held her as "a virtual prisoner in their residence, stripping her of her passport, refusing to permit her to leave the house unaccompanied." According to the suit, which was filed in federal court in Washington, they paid her nothing for four years and forced her to work in their catering business. She claimed she escaped after making a desperate plea for help to a customer of the catering business, who provided cab fare.
A U.S. magistrate judge awarded Mazengo more than $1 million in back pay and attorneys' fees. Alan Mzengi moved to cancel the award, arguing "it was not necessary to respond because he was a diplomat" with immunity under the Vienna Convention. In April 2008, a federal judge denied the motion in part, finding that the Mzengis' catering business was exempt from diplomatic immunity. But instead of paying the award, the Mzengis left the country.
A December 2009 State Department cable made available by Wiki Leaks, and provided to Reuters by a third party, shows the U.S. government has asked the Tanzanian government to investigate the case. "While payment of the lost wages to Ms. Mazengo is our first priority, we also hope that any diplomat who has treated his domestic staff in such an abusive manner would face appropriate sanction upon his return home," the cable said. In an e-mail, a State Department official said discussions with the Tanzanian government are ongoing. The Tanzanian Embassy did not respond to a request for comment.
The State Department has said it plans to get tough on alleged abuse of domestic workers by foreign diplomats. "Whether they're diplomats or national emissaries of whatever kind, we all must be accountable for the treatment of the people that we employ," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said in a speech on February 1 to the Interagency Taskforce to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
Read the whole story at Reuters.com
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