TIP REVIEW MEETING WITH HOME SECRETARY

UNCLAS DHAKA 006150 SIPDIS SENSITIVE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM SUBJECT: TIP REVIEW MEETING WITH HOME SECRETARY ¶1. (SBU) USAID Mission Director George and PolOff met with Secretary of Home Affairs Safar Raj Hossain and Additional SIPDIS Home Secretary Mohammed Mohsin Khan on December 4 to review BDG anti-TIP performance..A representative from the police Anti-Tip Monitoring Unit also attended. ¶2. (SBU) The participants reviewed the status of the BDG's progress on anti-TIP prosecutions. The police anti-TIP unit had selected 146 trafficking cases to monitor, and broke them down into five phases, each with 20-36 cases. Prosecutors chose to pursue their "best" cases first -- the ones for which they had the most compelling evidence and testimony. As they progressed through the latter phases, their rate of convictions has plummeted. In the first phase, the government won convictions in 15 of 19 cases brought to trial. In the fifth phase, they have lost four of four cases, although they are still investigating 26 cases. In all, the government has won 63 cases, and lost 59 -- a conviction rate of just over 51%. ¶3. (SBU) Asked what they saw as the causes of the declining conviction rate, and some solutions for this problem, the Bangladeshis replied that officers at the district and national levels lack training and resources. There are also problems with the judiciary, they said. Prosecutors are not properly trained, the courts have not been cooperative in scheduling continuous trials, and the huge volume of cases is causing long delays. ¶4. (SBU) USAID MIssion Director George suggested developing a National Plan of Action for combating TIP, and that AID might be able to help sponsor a conference to develop such a plan. The plan, he said, would involve reviewing best practices from neighboring countries and include all relevant ministries. He agreed to investigate the possibility of arranging additional training for police units involved in anti-trafficking. He urged the BDG to acquire additional computers, and the appropriate software, to store and analyze anti-trafficking data. Better data collection and analysis would aid everyone in identifying where resources out to be focused. ¶5. (SBU) COMMENT: Charge will raise our concern over the falling TIP conviction rate at a December 19 meeting with Home Minister of State Babar. CHAMMAS