SRI LANKA: THE FIFTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 COLOMBO 000454

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, SA/INS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM ELAB ASEC PREF KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: THE FIFTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN
PERSONS (TIP) REPORT

REF: SECSTATE 273089

(U) This message is sensitive but unclassified -- please
handle accordingly.


1. (U) Mission's submission for the fifth annual Anti-
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for Sri Lanka follows.
Responses are keyed to questions in Reftel. Mission point
of contact is poloff Andrea Tomaszewicz, telephone
+94.11.2.448.007 x2425, fax +94.11.2.471.092.

Paragraph 18: Sri Lanka Overview
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2. (SBU) A -- Sri Lanka is not a country of transit for
internationally trafficked men, women or children but some
indications show that it is a source and destination country
for a small number of internationally trafficked women.
Women and children of Sri Lanka are trafficked internally
for domestic and sexual exploitation. The trafficking
appears to be taking place in government controlled areas as
well as in areas not controlled by the government of Sri
Lanka. The Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) forcibly
conscripted children for purposes of forced labor and
military activities. There are no reliable statistics
available on the magnitude of this issue but at least one
hundred children were recruited soon after the December 2004
tsunami. The sources of information on trafficking in

SIPDIS
persons can be obtained from the National Child Protection
Authority (NCPA),the newly established Child Protection
Unit of the Attorney General's Department, Sri Lanka Police,
local and international NGOs and the press. The NCPA
provides statistics related to cases involving children only
although the data provided by them are fairly reliable.

B -- The reports indicate that women from Thailand, China,
Russia and countries of the Newly Independent States are
trafficked into Sri Lanka for commercial sexual
exploitation. A fair number of women are trafficked to the
Middle East countries and a smaller number to Singapore,
Hong Kong and South Korea for hard domestic labor and sexual
exploitation. Children are trafficked internally.

C -- During the year, the extent of trafficking has not
decreased. Officials remain vigilant toward the potential of
increased child trafficking in the wake of the December 2004
tsunami.

SIPDIS

D -- The Child Protection Unit of AG's Dept and the NCPA,
supported by the Woman and Child Care unit of the Sri Lanka
Police, conduct surveys on trafficking issues but currently
no reliable surveys on trafficking in Sri Lanka are
available.

E -- Women from other countries are trafficked into Sri
Lanka for the purpose of prostitution. During the year, the
reports indicate one Russian woman who was trafficked into
the country by a Sri Lanka national was subject to threats
and the withholding of her documents. Officials have little
additional information on the circumstances surrounding
trafficking victims' travel to and stay in Sri Lanka.

F -- Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment and private
recruitment agencies hire significant numbers of women,
close to one million, for domestic labor in Middle East
countries. In limited instances, a small number of women are
hired under false pretences and forced for other purposes
than domestic work. They often travel legally to their
employment destination.

G -- The policies of the new government elected in April
2004 have indicated that there is political will throughout
the government, including at the highest levels, to combat
trafficking in persons. The government provided additional
human resources to the Anti-Human Smuggling Investigation
Bureau that was established under the previous government in

2003. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued to assign
Welfare Officers to Sri Lanka Missions abroad to aid and
assist women who are victims of trafficking.

H -- With the change of government in April 2004, and the
subsequent changes in administration personnel, there is no
evidence of any government official involved in human
trafficking. However, reports indicate that certain airline
officials and NGO representatives have been allegedly
involved in trafficking in persons.

I -- The government's greatest limitation in addressing
trafficking is lack of financial resources available and
inadequate funding for police and other institutions. The
resource situation may worsen due to the economic losses
faced by the government in the aftermath of the tsunami
tragedy. Lack of detailed survey information on the
trafficking situation also hampers the government's ability
to appropriately allocate scarce resources.

J -- While Sri Lanka Police routinely monitors anti-
trafficking efforts, the government generally does not issue
any assessment of these efforts. The NCPA will often issue
press releases about the success of some of its legal and
law enforcement operations.

K -- In Sri Lanka, prostitution is not legalized and the
activities of prostitutes are criminalized. The activities
of related parties, such as brothel owners, pimps, clients
and enforcers are also criminalized.

Paragraph 19: Prevention
--------------


3. (SBU) A -- The government in Sri Lanka acknowledges that
trafficking is a problem in the country.

B -- The government agencies involved in anti-trafficking
efforts are: the Department of Immigration and Emigration,
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Employment
and Labor, Sri Lanka Police, Sri Lanka Customs, National
Child Protection Authority.

C -- The Child Protection Unit of the Attorney General's
Dept. is engaged in conducting awareness programs among law
enforcement authorities, schools and other civil society
organizations. They have extended their services to UNICEF
and have provided their resources to train senior police
officers to handle investigations with greater
effectiveness. The NCPA, as part of its overall efforts to
address child welfare, includes child trafficking as part of
its educational campaigns. The International Organization
for Migration (IOM) conducts information campaign and
workshops, and employs a threefold strategy to combat
trafficking in persons: prevention, protection and
assistance to victims and capacity building.

D -- The government of Sri Lanka does not actively support
corollary programs to combat trafficking, as officials do
not consider trafficking a major problem.

E -- The government, with the limited resources available,
does support prevention programs.

F -- The officials of international NGOs, indigenous
community-based organizations working to combat trafficking,
and officials of government agencies involved in anti-
trafficking efforts maintain a positive working
relationship.
G -- The Sri Lankan government makes every effort to
adequately monitor its borders but the government is
prevented from monitoring activities in areas controlled by
the LTTE in the north and east. Emigration and Immigration
officials use a computerized monitoring system at the
airport to monitor travel patterns and prevent traffickers
from leaving the country, if they are the suspects in a
current investigation. The law enforcement agencies
responsible for anti-trafficking issues respond
appropriately.

H -- The government has an anti-trafficking working group to
coordinate and communicate among responsible government
agencies, but there is no task force formed to monitor
trafficking issues. The government has a Commission to
Investigate Allegations of Bribery or Corruption.

I -- The Sri Lanka government is not part of any
multinational or international working group but is working
within the South Asia Association for Regional Cooperation
(SAARC) to develop a regional anti-trafficking convention.

J -- The government of Sri Lanka does not have a national
plan of action to address trafficking in persons.

K -- Within the government, no one person or entity has been
given the responsibility for developing any anti-trafficking
programs. With respect to children, the NCPA and the newly
formed Child Protection Unit of the AG's dept. are using
their limited resources to develop an action plan to address
child trafficking.

Paragraph 20: Investigations and Prosecution
--------------


4. (SBU) A -- Section 360C of the Penal Code, amended by
Act No. 22 of 1995, criminalizes trafficking in persons,
defined as the buying or selling or bartering of a person
for money or other consideration; and also doing certain
acts for the purpose of promoting, facilitating or inducing
the buying or selling or bartering or the placement in
adoption of any person for money or any other consideration.
Under Section 360A of the Penal Code, internal and
transnational forms of prostitution are also criminalized.
Additionally, Section 45A(1) of the Immigrants and Emigrants
Act addresses human smuggling offenses.

B -- Trafficking for sexual exploitation is punishable by
imprisonment between 2 and 20 years, with fines ranging from
approximately USD 100 to 500. Trafficking for labor
exploitation is punishable by 6 months to 5 years
imprisonment and fines approximately USD 500 to 2,000.

C -- For sexual assault, imprisonment ranges between 7 and
20 years, plus potential monetary compensation to the
victim. These penalties are similar to those for
trafficking.

D -- The government has investigated and arrested people for
cases involving trafficking during the past year. (Note: The
government has prosecuted and convicted significant numbers
of people involved in migrant smuggling, pedophilia and
prostitution, who may have been involved in trafficking in
persons, during the past year.)

E -- Information reveals that individuals and small groups
are behind trafficking efforts, but no reliable information
on the issue exists. In cases of illegal migration, evidence
suggests that travel agencies may be involved with
traffickers. There are no reports of profits of trafficking
being channeled for other purposes other than personal gain.
F -- Notwithstanding its limited resources, the government
actively investigates cases of trafficking and, by
implementing a computerized immigration system that enables
agencies to input names of suspected traffickers, the
government takes initiative to track down suspected
trafficking agents. The CyberWatch Project that monitors
internet sites and chat rooms, instituted by the NCPA, has
helped to arrest individuals on suspicion of trafficking.
G -- The government does not provide any specialized
training in trafficking issues. Individually, police
bureaus, such as the Anti-Human Smuggling Unit of the
Criminal Investigation Department and the Women's and the
Children's Bureau, along with the NCPA, conduct specialized
training for their staff. During September 2004, a U.S.
Government sponsored conference was held in Colombo on
trafficking in persons for criminal justice personnel in Sri
Lanka.

H -- The government of Sri Lanka cooperates with other
governments in the investigation and/or prosecution of
trafficking cases. On many occasions, the government has
worked very closely with the Italian and Pakistani
governments to combat human smuggling operations. In
cooperation with the American and the Australian
governments, the NCPA has prosecuted a U.S. national and an
Australian national alleged to be pedophiles.

I -- The government has not extradited anyone charged with
trafficking to other countries, as the situation has not
occurred. The government would likely extradite anyone
charged with such offenses, if requested by other
governments. The government has extradition agreements with
Commonwealth countries.

J -- There is no credible evidence of government involvement
in or tolerance, of trafficking in persons. Unsubstantiated
reports allude to immigration officers in involvement of
such cases.

K -- There has been insufficient evidence to arrest or
otherwise prosecute government officials suspected of being
involved in trafficking in persons.

L -- The government has arrested two foreign nationals, an
American and an Australian, on charges of pedophilia. They
are in prison in Sri Lanka awaiting trial.

M -- The GSL ratified ILO Convention 182 in February 2000.
-- The GSL ratified ILO Convention 29 in 1950.
-- The GSL ratified ILO Convention 105 in January 2003.
-- The GSL has signed the Optional Protocol to the
Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of
children, child prostitution and child pornography.
-- The GSL has signed the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress
and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially women and
children, supplementing the UN Convention against
Transnational Organized Crime.

Paragraph 21: Protection and Assistance to Victims
-------------- --------------


5. (SBU) A -- The government does not have enough
resources, capacity and ability to assist victims of
trafficking. There are rehabilitation camps and community
centers which offer some medical and counseling services for
victims of internal trafficking.

B -- The government does not provide funding or any other
forms of support to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to
victims. To child victims registered with the NGOs, the
government provides a three USD/per month food supplement.

C -- Children who are victims are transferred to
institutions such as the Salvation Army under the care of
the Ministry of Social Services' Department of Probation and
Child Care unit.

D - Women arrested on suspicion of being trafficked into Sri
Lanka for the purpose of prostitution are sometimes released
upon paying a fine. There are no reports of harassment of
victims. In a recent case of a large number of Chinese
women arrested for alleged prostitution, police officials
plan on deporting the women due to the type of visas they
held. In general, however, trafficked victims are allowed
to stay in Sri Lanka following their release.

E -- The government encourages victims to assist in the
investigation and prosecution of trafficking by providing
information to arrest the traffickers. The victims can file
Fundamental Rights cases and seek financial restitution.
There are no restrictions on obtaining other employment or
leaving the country if a victim is a witness in a case
against a former employer.

F -- In connection with some Sri Lankan diplomatic missions,
especially in Middle Eastern countries, the Sri Lankan
government operates shelters for Sri Lankans who are victims
of sexual or labor exploitation.

G -- The government does not provide any specialized
training as such for its officials in trafficking issues.
Individually, police bureaus, such as the Anti-Human
Smuggling Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department and
the Women's and the Children's Bureau, along with the NCPA,
conduct specialized training for their staff. During
September 2004, a U.S. Government sponsored conference was
held in Colombo on trafficking in persons for criminal
justice personnel in Sri Lanka.

H -- For Sri Lankans who are victims of trafficking, either
through sexual or labor exploitation, the GSL will provide
some compensation to the victims who registered with the Sri
Lankan Foreign Employment Bureau prior to departing.

I -- Save the Children Foundation, ESCAPE, Don Bosco,
Salvation Army, ILO, IOM, American Solidarity Center and a
number of community-based organizations work with
trafficking victims. The government works closely with these
organizations to develop a relationship with local
authorities, but it is the NGO that makes the initial
effort.

I -- (continued) While the government maintains its
commitment to address trafficking in persons issues, the GSL
devotes much more of its resources to two related issues:
human smuggling and domestic violence. In comparison to
these two pressing social problems, the government believes
that trafficking in persons is less severe. Additionally,
of the large numbers of women who obtain foreign employment,
anecdotal evidence points to only a small percentage of
these women being subjected to abuse.

LUNSTEAD