Cablegate: Response On Draft E.O. 13126 List

VZCZCXYZ0009
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHLP #1184 2262126
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 142126Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY LA PAZ
TO RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 1463
INFO RUEHAC/AMEMBASSY ASUNCION 9148
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 6542
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 0505
RUEHBU/AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES 7715
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 4761
RUEHPE/AMEMBASSY LIMA 5095
RUEHMN/AMEMBASSY MONTEVIDEO 6373
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 7380
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 2138
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS LA PAZ 001184

SIPDIS

DOL/ILAB - BRANDIE SASSER AND CHARITA CASTRO
DRL/ILCSR - MARK MITTELHAUSER
WHA/PPC - SCOTT MILLER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB EIND ETRD PHUM SOCI PGOV PREL BL
SUBJECT: RESPONSE ON DRAFT E.O. 13126 LIST

REF: STATE 80911

1. Following review of the Department of Labor's (DOL) draft
revised EO 13126 list of products for Bolivia (reftel), post
has concluded that child labor in Bolivia in the sugar cane
and Brazil nut sectors does not constitute forced or
indentured labor as defined in E.O. 13126.

2. Post understands that the primary source for DOL's Bolivia
list is a 2005 ILO report (Enganche y Servidumbre por Deudas
en Bolivia). We met with local ILO officials to review their
report and to seek an update on their findings. ILO National
Coordinator of Child Labor Maria Elena Reyes and an ILO
specialist who worked on the 2005 report, Rosario Baptista,
indicated that child labor in these sectors is voluntary and
non-contractual, in contrast to the labor situation of
parents who work in these sectors.

3. Post has no further information that indicates that
children working in the Bolivian sugar cane and Brazil nut
sectors are forced to do so or that they work as indentured
labor.

CREAMER

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