HIGHLIGHTS FROM OAS TIP MEETING

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E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/21/2016
TAGS: PGOV PREL VE
SUBJECT: HIGHLIGHTS FROM OAS TIP MEETING

Classified By: Political Counselor Robert Downes for reasons 1.4 (d).

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SUMMARY
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1. (U) On March 14-17, the Organization of American States
(OAS) held its first Meeting of the National Authorities on
Trafficking In Person (TIP) on Margarita Island, Venezuela.
During their opening remarks, Attorney General, Isaias
Rodriguez, and Venezuela'a Deputy Permanent Representative to
the OAS, Nelson Pineda Prada, both identified poverty and
inequality as the catalysts behind human trafficking. NGO
representatives underscored the importance of enhanced
coordination between civil society and national authorities,
and the importance of establishing state to state
partnerships to combat TIP. BRV and US delegates clashed
during working group meetings to finalize language in the
conclusions and recommendations document. With few
exceptions, the composition of member-state delegations did
not exceed the technical level. End Summary.

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CHACON A NO SHOW, EVENTS PROCEED AS PLANNED
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2. (U) Tuesday, March 14 marked the opening of the first OAS
Meeting of National Authorities on Trafficking in Persons on
Margarita Island, Venezuela. Although the headline speaker
for the occasion, Interior and Justice Minister Jesse Chacon,
was a no show at the opening ceremony, Venezuela's Attorney
General, Isaias Rodriguez, and Deputy Permanent
Representative to the OAS, Nelson Pineda Prada, made brief
comments on the BRV's behalf. During their 10-minute opening
remarks, both Rodriguez and Pineda identified poverty and
inequality as the catalysts behind human trafficking.
Trafficking in persons, or neo-slavery, is a by-product of
the efforts of "empires", to maintain world domination
through continued exploitation of poor populations, according
to Rodriguez. Corruption at all levels, Pineda commented,
combined with a lack of international and national anti-TIP
legislation also facilitated the phenomenon of human
trafficking. Other noted BRV officials present during the
opening ceremony were Vice-Minister for North America, Maria
Pilar Hernandez, and Vice Minister for Legal Security at the
Ministry of Interior and Justice, Rafael Jimenez. OAS
Assistant Secretary General Albert Ramdin provided closing
remarks. With the exception of Belize and Canada, whose
delegations were headed by their Ambassadors to the OAS,
member-states limited representation for the event to the
technical level.

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NGOS HAVE THEIR SAY
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3. (U) General sessions were divided into five topical areas:
implementation of international legal instruments,

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prosecuting perpetrators, protction of and assistance to
victims, exchange of nformation and experiences, and
establishment orimprovement of statistical data. NGO
representaives emphasized the importance of coordination
beween civil society and national authorities, estabishing
state to state partnerships, publicizing est practices, and
improving data collection tecniques in the fight to combat
human trafficking. Head of the US delegation, T. March Bell,
while cknowledging NGO recommendations, underscored the
challenges associated with inter-state and multi-gency
cooperation.


4. (U) Dr. Judy Okawa, fro the Center for Traumatic Stress
Studies in Washngton, cautioned that at the risk of
"retraumitiztion", victims should not be forced to
participae in legal cases until they are completely
comfotable. Law enforcement officials, government
auhorities, judges and mental health professionals, he
continued, must be properly trained on the menal impact of
human trafficking and the power of sychological coercion.

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BRV-USG DISAGREE ON LANGUAE OF FINAL DOCUMENT
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5. (U) The BRV's insistence tht human trafficking is driven
by poverty and ineuity persisted during working group
meetings to inalize language included in the conclusions and
recommendations document. US delegates argued that by
focusing explicitly on poverty and inequality, member-states
would ignore a number of "risk factors", including corruption
and intimidation, that also contributed to the scourge of
human trafficking. BRV delegates adamantly opposed the
United State's assertions and at one point, the working
group's chairperson, BRV Deputy Permanent Representative to
the OAS Pineda, gave a 10-minute commentary explaining the
significance of incorporating "poverty" into the final
document. After a lengthy discussion failed to facilitate a
consensus, member-states agreed to incorporate poverty and
inequity into the document, and to reflect the US
delegation's objection to the adopted language. (Note: US
delegates also disagreed with a paragraph that urged
member-states to support the working group's efforts on
negotiations of the Social Charter of the Americas and its
Plan of Action.)

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USG'S "ZERO TOLERANCE" APPROACH MAKES HEADLINES
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6. (U) Head of the US delegation, Bell, fielded an array of
questions from local media sources, including BRV financed
and supported Telesur, regarding the US government's
expectations for the meeting, US recommendations for the
final document, and US mechanisms for combating trafficking
within its borders. Bell emphasized the importance of a
victim-centered approach to assistance, community-level
advocates, and cross-border partnerships. On March 16,

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Bell's comments regarding the need for member-states to
establish "zero-tolerance" anti-trafficking legislation to
punish individuals who are either directly or indirectly
involved in human trafficking, including government
officials, law enforcement personnel, and government
contractors, appeared in local newspaper, "Sun of Margarita".


7. (U) The Delegation has cleared the substance of this
cable.

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COMMENT
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8. (C) Surprisingly, the BRV did not utilize the OAS TIP
meeting as a platform for lengthy criticism of US foreign
and domestic policies. We caution, however, that the BRV's
more restrained actions in Margarita are not indicative of
greater acceptance for US initiatives to promote and monitor
human rights efforts within and beyond its borders. It is
more probable that BRV officials refrained from verbally
attacking the US delegation during the OAS meeting in
Margarita because such actions would have countered BRV
efforts to portray itself as a "victim", rather than a
provocateur, of US "aggression" before the international
community. Furthermore, the BRV's frequent postponement of
this event annoyed several member-states, and as a result,
Venezuelan officials appeared more focused on demonstrating
their ability to host an international event than spouting
anti-US rhetoric.
BROWNFIELD