Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
05RECIFE113
2005-08-31 19:14:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Consulate Recife
Cable title:  

ANTI-TIP AND ANTI-ORGAN TRAFFICKING CONFERENCE IN BRAZIL

Tags:  PHUM PGOV SOCI BR TIP 
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This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RECIFE 000113 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI BR TIP
SUBJECT: ANTI-TIP AND ANTI-ORGAN TRAFFICKING CONFERENCE IN BRAZIL
SHOWS CONFUSION AND CONCERN

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RECIFE 000113

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI BR TIP
SUBJECT: ANTI-TIP AND ANTI-ORGAN TRAFFICKING CONFERENCE IN BRAZIL
SHOWS CONFUSION AND CONCERN


1. (U) Summary. Noting Brazil's prominent role as an exporting
and a recipient country, speakers at the August 11-12
trafficking in persons (TIP) symposium in Recife, Pernambuco
sponsored by the Latin American Institute for the Protection and
Defense of Human Rights (ILADH) NGO cited financial gain as the
main cause for human and organ trafficking. Criminal impunity
and a lack of awareness were cited as the principal obstacles in
the fight against these crimes. While praising a number of
international and state-led efforts, most speakers criticized
the GOB for a lack of initiative and coordination. End summary.


2. (U) Speakers at the conference included ILADH and other NGOs,
academics, police, and Pernambucan state government
representatives. A number of state and federal senators and
representatives also gave presentations. Most speakers stressed
the seriousness of TIP and organ trafficking and Brazil's
important role as a recipient and exporting country: there are
241 different destinations for those trafficked out of Brazil
alone. According to Pernambucan women's police delegate Dr.
Claudia Molina in Pernambuco, which leads northeastern Brazil in
the number of trafficked persons, 73% of victims are teenage
girls between just 11 and 17 years old.


3. (U) Speakers agreed that financial gain was the main
motivation for TIP activities. TIP victims -- who may be
previous victims of violence, drug abusers, or suffering from a
lack of perspective due to age or other factors -- participate
due to an inferior position relative to the trafficker, said one
presenter. These victims were said to value the prospect of
money ("I want to buy a house for my parents") and of a better
life, especially those planning to go to the US. Traffickers
were also said to value the opportunity to make "easy money,"
sometimes in coordination with drug trafficking, participants
said.


4. (U) Speakers noted that organ trafficking participants were
similarly motivated. Raimundo Pimentel, a Pernambuco state
representative and the head of its anti-organ trafficking
center, pointed out that in Brazil a kidney originally could
earn a donor $10,000, but now obtains only about $3,000, purely
due to market incentives. In the United States, however, a

kidney can earn up to $30,000, clearly a much stronger
incentive.


5. (U) Almost every speaker noted that the main problem in
combating TIP and organ trafficking is a lack of awareness about
their seriousness and complexity. Pimentel remarked that some of
those who had sold their organs were not even aware it is
illegal. Eduardo Pannunzio, a human rights lawyer with ILADH,
pointed out that many people confuse "human trafficking" with
"alien smuggling" and "prostitution." Antonio Rodrigues de
Freitas Junior, an associate professor at the University of Sao
Paulo and the head of the Justice Department of the Sao Paulo
state government, also pointed out that there is a tendency to
see TIP and organ trafficking through the prism of gender,
equality, or affirmative action despite the fact that human
trafficking is not the same as prostitution and that more men
than women are involved in organ trafficking.


6. (U) Unfortunately, those involved in TIP and organ
trafficking often are able to avoid punishment due to family
involvement in the crimes, the globalized nature of the markets
for sex and organs, and judicial and police failures. Eriosvaldo
Dias, the head of the Human Rights Division of the Federal
Police in Brasilia, argued that to many Brazilian police
officers TIP seems "incipient - the police LIKE prostitutes!"
Molina added that some police do not provide assistance to
victims because they believe "the girls are used to it" or are
dismissive of homosexual TIP victims.


7. (U) Many speakers also faulted the GOB for failing to make
human trafficking a priority, particularly in light of the
recent corruption scandal in Brazil. Pannunzio noted that the
latest information on the GOB's website about its anti-TIP
efforts is six months old, and various speakers criticized the
lack of country-wide and inter-departmental coordination. Molina
and Karin Kashima of the Center for the Defense of Children and
Adolescents in Bahia state concentrated on society's failure to
change cultural opinions. Kashima argued that it is Brazilian
society's responsibility to keep children and adolescents from
being victimized and to provide protection and legal assistance.


8. (U) At the same time, however, speakers argued that some
international, state, and NGO programs have produced results.
Pannunzio argued that the US Government has lead the
international fight against TIP, with international committees
mobilizing, identifying, financing, and carrying out various
anti-TIP projects in Brazil. Ricardo Lins of the Pernambucan
Social Defense Secretary's anti-trafficking program noted that
since 2003 Pernambuco state has created an interinstitutional
committee for prevention and a code of conduct against people
trafficking - Lins's organization is currently following 80 TIP
cases. In addition, the state government and ILADH are
collaborating on a book to teach teenagers about the potential
dangers of being trafficked, and they have hired 10 former
victims to provide assistance. Suely Arruda of the Pernambuco
Legal Medical Institute (coroner's office) described her
office's efforts to educate and provide supplies to hospitals
for the proper identification of newborn babies, in order to
avoid false adoptions or baby smuggling. From just 2,488 total
identifications completed in 2003, the number reached 10,204 in
2004 and is on track to achieve a similar figure this year. With
regard to organ trafficking, Pimentel noted that Pernambuco
state carried out the first convictions in the world for a case
that involved the participation of, among others, a doctor, a
translator, a travel agent, and a policeman. The Israeli leader
received an 11-year sentence with no possibility of parole and a
fine for his participation in the crime. The others, all
Brazilians, received lesser sentences.


9. (SBU) Comment: ILADH is run by Analia Ribeiro, a former GOB
official under the Cardoso administration and an active anti-TIP
advocate. The conference's focus on state TIP and organ
trafficking programs and disregard for GOB programs was expected
and did not adequately consider many positive GOB developments
to combat TIP, such as increasing assistance to victims and
launching nationwide TIP awareness campaigns. Pannunzio's
observation that it is difficult to distinguish between "people
trafficking," "alien smuggling," and "prostitution" was one of
the most important thoughts at the conference, given that the
professionals themselves confused the topics - particularly with
regard to the comments about the police (see paragraph six). As
both he and Kashima noted, the issues of TIP and organ
trafficking are really a question of liberty, and understanding
the asymmetry of the power relationship between the victim and
the trafficker will be key to acknowledging the crimes in their
own right. However, Mr. Pannunzio's opening comment that to be
trafficked is akin to "feeling for weeks or months on end the
dehumanization that one feels when confronting an immigration
officer" seemed way off mark and discredited somewhat what was
otherwise an excellent presentation. End comment.


10. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Brasilia.




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