TIP in Turkey: Developments in regional law

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001776

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, EUR/PGI, EUR/SE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD PREF TU TIP IN TURKEY
SUBJECT: TIP in Turkey: Developments in regional law
enforcement cooperation


1. (U) Summary: Turkey's Mobile Training Team is training
law enforcement authorities in the Balkans, Caucasus, and
Central Asia on measures to counter human smuggling and
trafficking in persons. The foreign ministers of Turkey and
Georgia recently signed a protocol on cooperation in anti-
trafficking efforts. While continuing to push bilateral
protocols, the GOT has been active in regional and
international fora, and some GOT officials would prefer to
rely on regional bodies to address common problems with TIP.
End Summary.


2. (U) The Mobile Training Team (MTT) formed by the Turkish
Military Forces Partnership for Peace Training Center
Command (TSK-BIOEM) has launched a program training law
enforcement authorities in the Balkans, Central Asia, and
the Caucasus on ways to combat human smuggling and human
trafficking. The first stage of the program will take place
March 7-April 15, 2005, and train law enforcement personnel
in Georgia, Azerbaijan, Macedonia, Romania, Albania, and
Ukraine. The second stage scheduled for July-August 2005
will cover Bulgaria, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan,
Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and Moldova.


3. (U) The training program covers general information on
human trafficking, investigation techniques, operational
activities and analysis, preventive measures, and
international cooperation on combating human trafficking.
During this program, experts from the Turkish General Staff,
Turkish Land Forces, General Directorate of Security, and
Gendarmerie aim to share their experience in the struggle
against human smuggling and human trafficking with the other
countries and improve cooperation.


4. (U) Another positive development in regional cooperation
against TIP is the recent protocol signed between Turkey and
Georgia. On March 10, Foreign Minister of Georgia Salome
Zourabichvili met with FM Abdullah Gul and signed a protocol
providing for cooperation between the two countries in anti-
TIP efforts. While draft protocols have been sent to the
main source countries in the region (Ukraine, Moldova,
Russian Federation, Bulgaria, Romania, Azerbaijan, Georgia,
Belarus, Uzbekistan),to date the only other country to sign
the counter-trafficking protocol is Belarus. Moldova and
Ukraine have expressed interest in signing protocols as
well. The protocol signed by FM Gul and Zourabichvili must
be ratified before taking effect.


5. (SBU) Comment: While Interior Ministry officials still
cling to the idea that a bilateral protocol must be signed
in order to ensure meaningful cooperation, they also
highlight cooperation in recent operations (particularly
between Ukraine and Turkey) and international settings. MFA
Migration Department Head Iskender Okyay recently expressed
hope that Turkey can move away from bilateral protocols and
focus on regional fora (such as BSEC) to enhance cooperation
on anti-trafficking efforts. It remains to be seen whether
the Interior Ministry will give up its insistence on
protocols in favor of a regional approach. End comment.


6. (U) The text of the anti-TIP protocol provided by the MFA
follows. BEGIN TEXT:

PROTOCOL BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY AND GEORGIA ON THE
IMPLEMENTATION OF THE NINTH ARTICLE OF THE AGREEMENT ON
COMBATING TERRORISM, ORGANIZED CRIME AND OTHER MAJOR CRIMES
BETWEEN THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY, GEORGIA AND THE REPUBLIC OF
AZERBAIJAN

Pursuant to Article 9 of the "Agreement among and the
Republic of Turkey, Georgia and the Republic of Azerbaijan
on Combating Terrorism, Organized Crime and Other Major
Crimes", the Republic of Turkey and Georgia hereinafter
referred as "Parties";

Deeply concerned by the fact that trafficking in human
beings, which constitutes one of the transnational organized
crimes and is spread out every other day in the world and in
our region, provides huge profits to organized crime
networks and is also related to narcotics and arms
trafficking, as well as smuggling of migrants;

Realizing that trafficking in human beings can be coped
with, through timely and effective international
cooperation;

Emphasizing the importance of providing judicial,
humanitarian, psychological and medical assistance to
victims of trafficking in human beings, facilitating their
return to their countries and assuring their reintegration
and taking the necessary measures in arresting the
perpetrators and creating public awareness;

Recognizing the importance of the efforts in stopping the
trafficking in human beings by bringing to light the crime
networks;

Stressing the need to strengthen the cooperation and
coordination between the Republic of Turkey and Georgia in
combating trafficking in human beings;

Have agreed, to promote measures, in accordance with their
respective national legislation and procedures with a view
to:


1. Completing the necessary national legal infrastructure in
the field of trafficking in human beings and taking the
other necessary administrative and institutional measures;


2. Establishing a regional network between the Non-
Governmental Organizations (NGO) in the countries which face
this problem;


3. Supporting the victims of trafficking in human beings,
following the establishment of the conditions by the Parties
in the framework of humanitarian, psychological and medical
care;


4. Ensuring the victims to testify in the framework of the
national legal systems of the Parties, in order to arrest
the perpetrators and protecting these victims;


5. Creating public awareness and awareness in the relevant
institutions on trafficking in human beings;


6. Creating awareness, in their respective countries, among
the persons traveling abroad and might be subject to
trafficking in human beings;


7. Designating point of contacts in their respective
countries, where information on victims of trafficking in
human beings will be collected and which will coordinate the
issue of trafficking in human beings and sharing the
collected information with the other Party;


8. Training of law enforcement agents in combating
trafficking in human beings, organizing joint training
programmes, exchanging experts of each country and
increasing cooperation opportunities;


9. Providing cooperation between the scientific and academic
institutions, exchanging experts of each country in order to
share experience and knowledge;


10. Tasking the competent authorities in the two countries
with the implementation of this Protocol.

This Protocol shall enter into force upon notification in
writing by both Parties to each other that they have
completed their national procedures.

Each Party may propose amendments to the present Protocol.
Amendments shall enter into force upon their acceptance by
all parties in accordance with the provisions of the above
mentioned paragraph.

Each Party may give notice of withdrawal from the Protocol
by written notification to the other Party.

In witness whereof the undersigned, being duly authorized
thereto by the Governments of the Republic of Turkey and
Georgia, have signed this Protocol.

Done in Ankara, on March 10, 2005, in two copies, each of
them in Turkish, Georgian and English languages, all texts
being equally authentic.

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF THE REPUBLIC OF TURKEY
ABDULLAH GUL
DEPUTY PRIME MINISTER AND MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS

FOR THE GOVERNMENT OF GEORGIA
SALOME ZOURABICHVILI
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS
END TEXT.

EDELMAN