GOJ OFFERS MIXED RESPONSE ON TIP, CONCERNED ABOUT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 KINGSTON 001444

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAR (BENT) AND WHA/PPC (PUCCETTI)
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP (OWEN) AND (ETERNO)
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD AND J7

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM KWMN OPRC PHUM PREL SMIG JM TIP
SUBJECT: GOJ OFFERS MIXED RESPONSE ON TIP, CONCERNED ABOUT
SANCTIONS

REF: A. STATE 97853

B. KINGSTON 01041

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SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) On May 31 and June 2, emboffs met with GOJ officials
to discuss the imminent release, on June 3, of the 2005
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. The different meetings
yielded varying responses. On May 31, Charge met with
National Security Minister Peter Phillips at the Minister's
request. Phillips and other GOJ attendees sought
clarification of the USG's definition of trafficking,
lamented a lack of involvement in Post's TIP report
preparations, and expressed concern at the possibility of
Tier 3 sanctions. Charge responded with details of the
trafficking issue that should already have been clear to the
GOJ participants based on repeated previous communications
from Post. On June 2, the eve of the public release of the
TIP Report, poloff met with Pamela Ingleton at the Ministry
of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT) to deliver Ref A
talking points, Tier 3 Action Plan, and the Jamaica country
narrative of the 2005 TIP Report. Ingleton, who has a
thorough understanding of the issue and the Department's TIP
reporting process, was not surprised by the news that Jamaica
was downgraded to Tier 3. End Summary.

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NATIONAL SECURITY MINISTER CONCERNED ABOUT SANCTIONS
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2. (SBU) Early on May 31, Charge, accompanied by P/E Chief,
met with National Security Minister Peter Phillips at the
Minister's request to discuss the imminent release of the
Trafficking in Persons report. Phillips was joined by
Ministry of National Security (MNS) Permanent Secretary Gil
Scott, Immigration/Passport Director Carol Charlton, and
Woodrow Smith, MNS Principal Director for Security,
Intelligence, and Operations.


3. (SBU) Phillips began by noting Embassy TIP consultations
with numerous GOJ ministries and agencies. He said that the
GOJ did not wish to ignore the trafficking issue, but
professed to be unclear about the existence of "trafficking
across our borders." Phillips also expressed concern that a
downgrade of Jamaica to Tier 3 could endanger USG security
assistance badly needed by the Jamaica Defense Force and the
Jamaica Constabulary Force. He and Scott wondered aloud why
MNS had not been consulted in the preparation of the TIP
report. Like Phillips, Charlton professed to be unaware of a
trafficking issue across Jamaica's borders, and she and Scott
said that they found confusing the USG's definition of
"trafficking" as used in the TIP report.


4. (SBU) Charge replied to the Minister by noting that
trafficking in persons need not involve the crossing of
borders; typically, it involved the recruitment,
transportation, deception, coercion, and/or exploitation of
individuals, including minors, for labor or for sex. He
emphasized the USG's interest in working with the GOJ to
address the trafficking problem, and cited the formation of
the GOJ National Task Force (Ref B) as a positive step.
Charge said that a Department team would visit Jamaica in
July to assess progress on anti-trafficking issues and to
meet with GOJ officials and NGOs. Phillips and Scott said
they welcomed the opportunity to meet with the team. Because
the meeting took place more than 24 hours before the
Washington release of the TIP Report, Charge did not inform
Phillips of the downgrade to Tier 3, nor did he provide an
embargoed copy of the country narrative.


5. (SBU) P/E Chief reminded Scott that he had discussed
trafficking with Scott, Smith, and Charlton in that very room
in August 2004; that Scott had said during that meeting that
he would soon provide an official letter describing the GOJ
response to the 2004 TIP report; that emboffs had followed up
numerous times ) including in writing to MNS ) seeking MNS
input to take into account in preparing the 2005 TIP Report;
and that MNS had never provided the promised information. He
briefly outlined the Embassy's extensive consultations over
many months with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign
Trade (MFAFT),and USAID Mission Director's engagement of
senior Finance Ministry officials ) including the Finance
Minister himself ) about TIP. P/E Chief handed Phillips a
copy of recent articles in the Jamaican press reporting the
existence of TIP in Jamaica, noting that trafficking problems
affect many countries ) including the U.S. He cited a
recent case in New Hampshire in which Amcit employers had
abused Jamaican seasonal workers, a case which involved
elements of TIP. The Amcits, he said, were arrested,
convicted and were serving prison sentences for their crimes.


6. (U) At Smith's request, P/E Chief agreed to send him a
copy of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of

2000. Post included a copy of TVPA, along with the 2003
amendment, in a packet containing the 2005 TIP report and Ref
A talking points that we provided to Phillips on June 2.

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FOREIGN MINISTRY TAKES DOWNGRADE IN STRIDE
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7. (SBU) On June 2, poloff met with Pamela Ingleton at the
Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade (MFAFT) to
deliver the Jamaica country narrative of the 2005 TIP Report,
Ref A talking points, and suggested Action Plan. Poloff
added that a Department team would visit Jamaica in July to
meet with government and NGO representatives, and that the
GOJ should be prepared to discuss its progress toward
fighting TIP at that time. Ingleton, who has responsibility
for the MFAFT's TIP portfolio, accepted the Tier 3 rating as
the consequences of an administration that, while it has
always cared deeply about the exploitation of its women and
children, has only recently begun to take significant steps
toward combating the problem. She added that she is pleased
with the GOJ's recent efforts to address trafficking and
hopes to make significant progress in coming months.


8. (SBU) Ingleton took the opportunity to explain that the
GOJ's National Task Force on TIP, created in April (Ref B),
has held two meetings since its formation, and has spun off
specialized subcommittees in an effort to act quickly on the
matter. The Ministry of National Security has been
designated the national authority on TIP, and is coordinating
the efforts of the Task Force, which also includes
representatives from the Immigration Department, the Child
Development Agency, the Ministry of Health, the Ministry of
Development, the Cabinet Office, the Attorney General's
Office, the Bureau of Women's Affairs, the Ministry of
Industry & Tourism, the Jamaica Information Service, and the
MFAFT. Ingleton added that the Task Force is now preparing
to engage NGOs to assist in the fight against TIP, and that
poloff would also be invited to participate. When asked, she
agreed to prepare for poloff a written record of the Task
Force's activities to date.


9. (SBU) Near the end of the meeting, Ingleton was called
briefly from the room by her supervisor, Sheila
Sealy-Monteith, Director of the Caribbean and Americas
Department at MFAFT and ambassador-designate to Mexico. When
she returned, Ingleton explained that the Task Force was
preparing a response to the TIP Report for Jamaica's
Ambassador to Washington, Gordon Shirley, and that Prime
Minister Patterson wished to clear on the document before it
was sent. Ingleton explained that the Prime Minister had
recently taken an interest in the issue, and that his
involvement had prompted much urgency within the Task Force.
She cited as another positive development the publication in
the June 2 issue of the Jamaica Observer of an article titled
"Report child abuse or face prosecution." Ingleton explained
that the article, which highlighted a series of seminars to
educate the public on the year-old Child Care and Protection
Act, was published by the Jamaica Information Service and was
run without charge by the newspaper as a public service
announcement.

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MIXED PUBLIC REACTION TO TIER 3 DOWNGRADE
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10. (SBU) On the afternoon of June 3, Jamaica's downgrade to
Tier 3 was featured heavily on the country's popular evening
radio programs, with emboffs participating in telephone
interviews. Most programs sought clarification of the term
trafficking, and all expressed concern over the associated
implications of a Tier 3 rating. Weekend newspapers
similarly focused on "heavy U.S. sanctions" faced by the GOJ,
but generally represented the contents and findings of the
report accurately. The first GOJ officials to respond
publicly to the report were Minister of Health John Junor and
Minister of Information Burchell Whiteman. Junor was quoted
on radio and in newspapers as saying that there is "no
tangible evidence" of trafficking and that the Tier 3 ranking
is unwarranted. Whiteman appeared surprised but less
defensive, suggesting that the downgrade to Tier 3 may have
resulted from a "difference in terms of reference," and
pointing out that there has been a recent increase in
convictions for cases of sexual abuse. Representatives of
local NGOs also provided comment to the news media. Betty
Ann Blaine, director of People's Action for Community
Transformation (PACT),a USAID-funded local NGO, expressed
disappointment that this year's tier rating did not reflect
her organization's efforts to combat TIP. However, she
generally supported the report's findings, pointing out that,
one year after the passage of the Child Care and Protection
Act, "most Jamaicans (know) nothing about human trafficking."


11. (SBU) On June 5, local newspapers reported that the
Ministry of National Security issued a statement on behalf of
the GOJ that called the 2005 Report "unfair" and "highly
prejudicial because it negates the significant actions taken
by the Government over the last several months to combat this
problem locally." The statement added that "there is no
record of these cases being reported to any law enforcement
agency in Jamaica," and went on to request that the USG
provide additional details of alleged trafficking cases as a
first step toward working together on the issue. While
apparently denying the problem, the GOJ also stated that "we
believe it is extremely important to eradicate and punish
those who may be profiting from the unlawful trade of
persons, as well as from any other form of exploitation of
individuals." The statement added that the GOJ has taken
steps to combat trafficking in recent months, including the
formation of a national task force, which has proposed a
number of anti-trafficking measures.

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COMMENT
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12. (SBU) Charge's meeting with Phillips had positive and
negative aspects. Despite extensive Embassy engagement with
senior MNS officials, with MFAFT's proactive TIP action
officer, and with others, Phillips clearly had been poorly
briefed by his staff on the trafficking issue. Scott, Smith,
and Charlton were somewhat disingenuous in claiming confusion
about the trafficking definition. We have discussed it with
them previously, and we waited in vain for them to respond to
our repeated requests to receive their response to the 2004
TIP Report. On the positive side, if nothing else Phillips's
genuine concern at what Jamaica stands to lose in terms of
assistance should ensure that he will throw his ministerial
weight behind GOJ efforts to address the TIP Action Plan.


13. (SBU) Poloff's meeting with Ingleton, and her contrasting
response to the downgrade, highlights what appears to be poor
coordination between GOJ agencies on this issue. As a
result, despite the GOJ's understanding of and commitment to
combating trafficking at an official level, the public
response to the June 3 release of the TIP Report was
predictably inconsistent and somewhat paradoxical. It is no
surprise, however, that senior GOJ officials publicly
defended Jamaica's record and demanded "tangible evidence" of
a trafficking problem in Jamaica, while the GOJ
simultaneously professed concern for trafficking victims and
cited actions that have and will be taken to combat the
problem locally. There remains a clear need to raise the
awareness of human trafficking on Jamaica's national agenda.
End Comment.
ROBINSON