INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Sca: Instructions for 2009 Tip Interim Assessment

Published: Thu 5 Nov 2009 07:19 PM
VZCZCXRO2059
PP RUEHDBU
DE RUEHC #4330/01 3102205
ZNR UUUUU ZZH ZDS
P 051919Z NOV 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT PRIORITY 1767-1769
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO PRIORITY 6212-6214
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA PRIORITY 1978-1980
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE PRIORITY 1460-1462
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD PRIORITY 4527-4529
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI PRIORITY 7623-7625
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT PRIORITY 1603-1605
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 STATE 114330
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
C O R R E C T E D COPY CAPTION
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM KTIP KWMN PGOV PHUM SMIG AJ BG CE IN PK TI UZ
SUBJECT: SCA: INSTRUCTIONS FOR 2009 TIP INTERIM ASSESSMENT
STATE 00114330 001.2 OF 003
1.(U) This is an action cable; action request in paras 5 and
6.
2.(SBU) The Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended in
2003, requires the Secretary of State to submit a "Special
Watch List" of countries on the TIP Report that either 1) had
moved up a tier on the TIP Report over the last year or 2)
were ranked on Tier 2 but a) had not shown evidence of
increasing efforts to address severe forms of TIP from the
previous year, b) were placed on Tier 2 because of
commitments to carry out additional future actions over the
coming year, or c) had a significant or significantly
increasing number of victims of severe forms of TIP.
3.(SBU) The "Special Watch List" has been submitted to
Congress, as required, along with the President's
determinations for sanctions of Tier 3 countries. The TVPA,
as amended, now requires the Secretary to submit to Congress
an Interim Assessment on the Special Watch List
countries no later than February 1, 2010.
4.(SBU) The Interim Assessment, which the Department plans to
release on January 5, 2010, will serve as a narrowly-focused
progress report, assessing only a country's key deficiency(s)
highlighted in the June 2009 TIP Report. Measuring progress
or lack of progress in addressing these deficiencies (the
basis for which the country was placed on the Watch List
initially) is the main purpose of the Interim Assessment.
This will not/not serve as a large-scale analysis of
anti-trafficking efforts in the relevant country. Similarly,
it will not describe the trafficking problem in that country
(readers can refer to the 2009 TIP Report for that).
Finally, it will not mention Tiers or allude to progress in
achieving a higher tier or, conversely, forecast a fall to a
lower tier.
5.(U) Action Request for Action Addressees: Please answer
the questions addressed to your Post in para 6 in concise
analytical terms, citing examples of the progress (or lack
thereof) sparingly. Post's submission should not exceed four
or five paragraphs. The final Interim Assessment will
include a narrative of no more than half a page on each
country's progress. Please provide these responses to the
Department via front-channel cable -- slugged for SCA/RA and
G/TIP -- no later than November 16.
6.(U) Interim Assessment Requirements:
A. FOR EMBASSY DHAKA: Please summarize the progress, or lack
thereof, the Government of Bangladesh has made in: a)
integrating anti-labor trafficking objectives into national
anti-trafficking policies and programs; b) significantly
increasing criminal prosecutions and
punishments for all forms of labor trafficking, including
those involving fraudulent labor recruitment and forced child
labor; c) continuing to investigate and prosecute government
officials who may be suspected of complicity in trafficking;
d) greatly improving oversight of Bangladesh,s 700
international recruiting agencies to ensure they are not
promoting practices that contribute to labor trafficking; and
e) providing protection services for adult male trafficking
victims and victims of forced labor. Please report on any
other significant
developments.
B. FOR EMBASSY NEW DELHI: Please summarize the progress, or
lack thereof, the Government of India has made in: a)
continuing to expand central and state government law
enforcement capacity to conduct intrastate and interstate law
enforcement activities against trafficking and bonded labor;
b) considering expanding the Central Ministry of Home Affairs
cell8 on trafficking to coordinate law enforcement
efforts to investigate and arrest traffickers who cross state
and national lines; c) significantly increasing law
enforcement efforts to
decrease official complicity in trafficking, including
prosecuting, convicting, and punishing complicit officials
with imprisonment; d) continuing to increase law enforcement
STATE 00114330 002.2 OF 003
efforts against sex traffickers, including prosecuting,
convicting, and punishing traffickers with imprisonment; e)
improving central and state government implementation of
protection programs and compensation schemes to ensure that
certified trafficking victims actually receive benefits,
including compensation for victims of forced child labor and
bonded labor, to which they are entitled under national and
state law; and f) increasing the quantity and breadth of
public awareness and related programs to prevent both
trafficking for labor and commercial sex. Please report on
any other
significant developments.
C. FOR EMBASSY ISLAMABAD: Please summarize the progress, or
lack thereof, the Government of Pakistan has made in: a)
significantly increasing law enforcement activities,
including adequate criminal punishment, against bonded labor,
forced child labor, and fraudulent labor recruiting for
purposes of trafficking; b) continuing to vigorously
investigate, prosecute, and punish acts of government
complicity in trafficking at all levels; and c) expanding
victim protection services for victims of forced labor and
sex trafficking. Please report on any other significant
developments.
D. FOR EMBASSY COLOMBO: Please summarize the progress, or
lack thereof, the Government of Sri Lanka has made in: a)
vigorously investigating and prosecuting suspected
trafficking offenses and convict and punish trafficking
offenders, particularly those responsible for recruiting
victims with fraudulent offers of employment and excessive
commission fees; b) following through with the creation of
the national anti-trafficking task force; c) developing and
implementing through training of law enforcement personnel
formal victim referral procedures; and d) ensuring that
victims of trafficking found within Sri Lanka are not
detained or otherwise penalized for unlawful acts committed
as a direct result of their being trafficked. Please report
on any other significant developments.
E. FOR EMBASSY DUSHANBE: Please summarize the progress, or
lack thereof, the Government of Tajikistan has made in: a)
vigorously investigating and prosecuting trafficking
offenses, especially those involving labor trafficking, and
convict and punish trafficking offenders with imprisonment;
b) ensuring better coordination between law enforcement and
security institutions, particularly the State Committee on
National Security; c) prosecuting and convicting government
officials who participate in or facilitate trafficking in
persons and ensure they serve time in prison; d) ensuring
identified victims are not assaulted or re-victimized by
government officials and ensure such allegations of assault
are fully investigated and culpable offenders are prosecuted
and criminally punished; e) providing financial or in-kind
assistance to existing trafficking shelters; f) being
directly involved in trafficking awareness campaigns, and
ensuring that anti-trafficking information appears in
government media outlets; g) prohibiting the forced or
coerced labor of children and adults in the annual cotton
harvest by monitoring school and university attendance,
inspecting cotton fields during the harvest, and enforcing
existing laws prohibiting the use of forced labor; h) making
efforts to improve trafficking data collection and analysis;
and i) developing a victim identification and referral
mechanism. Please report on any other significant
developments.
F. FOR EMBASSY ASHGABAT: Please summarize the progress, or
lack thereof, the Government of Turkmenistan has made in: a)
implementing the 2007 Law on the Battle Against Trafficking
in Persons by completing revisions to the national criminal
code to prescribe penalties for both sex and labor
trafficking as defined in the 2007 Law on the Battle Against
Trafficking in Persons; b) vigorously investigating,
prosecuting, and convicting trafficking offenders; c)
investigating individual instances of government officials
complicit in the facilitation of trafficking d) providing
victim identification, victim referral, and victim
sensitivity training for border guards and police; e)
providing financial assistance to anti-trafficking
organizations assisting victims; f) continuing to expand and
improve systematic victim identification and referral
procedures; g) establishing safeguards and training
procedures to ensure victims are not punished for acts
committed as a direct result of trafficking, such as
migration violations; and h) conducting a trafficking
STATE 00114330 003.2 OF 003
awareness campaign to inform the general public about the
dangers of trafficking. Please report on any other
significant developments.
G. FOR EMBASSY TASHKENT: Please summarize the progress, or
lack thereof, the Government of Uzbekistan has made in: a)
taking substantive action to end the use of forced labor
during the annual cotton harvest; b) implementing the
national anti-trafficking action plan; c) continuing to work
with UNICEF and improve cooperation with ILO to reduce the
reliance on forced labor during the annual cotton harvest; d)
allowing international experts to conduct an independent
assessment of the use of forced labor during the annual
cotton harvest; e) investigating, prosecuting, convicting,
and sentencing government officials complicit in trafficking;
f) providing financial or in-kind support to anti-trafficking
NGOs to provide assistance and shelter for victims; g) taking
steps to establish additional shelters outside of
Tashkent; h) and continuing efforts to improve the collection
of law enforcement trafficking data. Please report on any
other significant developments.
CLINTON
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