DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: INTERIM TIP ASSESSMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SANTO DOMINGO 006198

SIPDIS

STATE FOR WHA/CAR, WHA/PPC, G/TIP;

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN DR
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: INTERIM TIP ASSESSMENT

REF: STATE 228298


1. The following interim trafficking in persons (TIP)
assessment (paras 2-7) addresses the questions in paragraph
6L of reftel.


2. The Government of the Dominican Republic has made progress
in addressing TIP, particularly in the development of a
comprehensive anti-TIP strategy and in increased
investigation of TIP-related offenses. Progress has
accelerated since the change of administrations on August 16.
The Fernandez administration has appointed several highly
regarded senior officials who offer promise in the fight
against TIP and TIP-related corruption, including Attorney
General Francisco Dominguez Brito and National Police Chief
Manuel de Jesus Perez Sanchez, the former head of the police
human rights office.


3. The Dominican government has continued to improve its
capacity to investigate and prosecute TIP. The national
anti-TIP strategy is now coordinated by the Attorney General,
who has designated Assistant Attorney General Frank Soto to
handle the day-to-day issues. Director General of Migration
Carlos Amarante Baret has established a designated anti-TIP
unit that has begun to coordinate with similar units in the
Attorney General,s Office and in the National Police. In
October, the Attorney General,s Office formed a special
cyber-crimes unit to counter child pornography. A new Minors
Code was implemented in October, increasing penalties for the
sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of minors to as much as
30 years.


4. Dominican authorities have conducted several raids and
interventions under the new anti-trafficking law passed in

2003. For example, police in Santiago and Montecristi closed
down bars that were fronts for prostitution rings in October,
rescuing four children. A child prostitution organization in
Boca Chica was closed down in June. More than 20 children
were rescued and four people detained. In addition, the
Dominican Navy detained about 1800 illegal migrants in the
waters between the Dominican Republic and Puerto Rico in the
last six months, many of whom were potentially victims of
trafficking. Authorities have more vigorously investigated
these migrant smuggling cases, in one case successfully using
evidence collected by the U.S. Coast Guard and the Dominican
Navy to support arguments for the pre-trial detention of
smuggling organizers.


5. High profile cases are still pending in the courts,
including the Boca Chica child prostitution case and the
cases of Congressman Radhames Ramos Garcia and accused alien
smuggler Maria Martinez Nunez. The Boca Chica child
prostitution case went before an investigating magistrate in
October, who found that the prosecution has sufficient
evidence to bring the case before a trial judge. The
defendants are appealing this decision. The latest hearing
in the Ramos Garcia case took place on November 10 before the
Supreme Court. The four defendants and subpoenaed witness
were present, but the defense raised several procedural
objections that the court will consider before hearing
additional testimony. Martinez Nunez is currently in prison
awaiting trial, where she has been since August 2003.


6. Senior Dominican officials have spoken out publicly
against TIP. President Fernandez has declared several times
at public events the intention of his administration to
proceed against traffickers. At the inauguration of an
international conference on TIP hosted by the International
Organization for Migration (IOM) in late October, Attorney
General Dominguez Brito called for stiffest possible
penalties for traffickers and emphasized his commitment to
fighting TIP. His comments were widely reported in the
press. Officials held a town-hall style meeting on TIP in
Boca Chica, a resort town known as a hotspot for sexual
tourism. The meeting brought together participants from the
Attorney General,s Office, Foreign Ministry, National
Police, Tourist Police, and other organizations with about 40
community leaders to discuss the dangers of TIP and encourage
community involvement in identifying and reporting suspected
traffickers and victims. A similar program is planned for
the beach resort of Sosua.


7. The Dominican government continues to support training on
TIP issues for officials. The week-long IOM conference was
attended by representatives from the Attorney General,s
Office, Migration Directorate, Foreign Ministry, Ministry of
Women, National Police and Armed Forces, and other
secretariats and agencies with TIP-related responsibilities.

SIPDIS
The administration has established anti-TIP training as a
permanent part of the required curriculum at the Diplomatic
and Consular School, and the Foreign Ministry has now offered
the course eight times. In October five judges and six
prosecutors attended a series of capacity-building seminars
on TIP held by local non-governmental organization Fundacion
Institucionalidad y Justicia (FINJUS).
HERTELL