AMBASSADOR DELIVERS ESF FUNDING TO LOCAL NGO

C O N F I D E N T I A L CARACAS 000880 SIPDIS SIPDIS HQSOUTHCOM ALSO FOR POLAD DEPT PASS TO AID/OTI RPORTER FRC FT LAUDERDALE FOR CLAMBERT COPENHANGEN FOR DLAWTON DEPT PASS TO G/TIP AETERNO AND MPUCCETTI E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/30/2016 TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KCRM KWMN SNAR VE SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR DELIVERS ESF FUNDING TO LOCAL NGO REF: A. A/ STATE 48527 ¶B. B. STATE 43530 Classified By: Classified By: Robert Downes, Political Counselor, for R eadon 1.4(d). ¶1. (U) In accordance with the Economic Support Fund (ESF) grant approved by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the Ambassador delivered on March 29 a check in the amount of USD 129,375 to Venezuelan NGO Women's Association for Well-Being and Reciprocal Assistance (AMBAR). (Note: AMBAR was presented with a novelty check for the ceremony; actual funding will be dispersed in two payments: the first on March 31, and the second in six months after the completion of financial and progress reports.) AMBAR will utilize the ESF grant to implement an anti-trafficking project entitled "A House and a Home", a facility expected to provide psychological, medical, legal, and educational and professional training services to victims of trafficking. AMBAR President Nury Pernia with assistance from Lilian Aya Ramirez, Director of the Ministry of Interior and Justice's (MIJ) Crime Prevention Unit, secured a 20-year lease for an MIJ building located in the 23 de Enero area of Caracas to house the new facility. Aya Ramirez recently asked AMBAR President Nury Pernia to assist in BRV efforts to document the extent of trafficking in Venezuela, particularly in areas like 23 de Enero where trafficking of children and adolescents is believed to be a significant problem. ¶2. (U) During a brief press conference with local press, the Ambassador said that "every country, society, government and religion in the world" condemns human trafficking. He emphasized the importance of providing government assistance to organizations that offer support to trafficking victims, particularly vulnerable members of society such as women, children and adolescents. When asked if he believed Venezuela's TIP problem improved during 2005, the Ambassador said he remained hopeful that the problem improved globally during the past year. All countries, he continued, have an obligation to eliminate human trafficking, including the United States and Venezuela. ¶3. (C) Comment: While the project is sure to help victims of trafficking, we also note it is a winner for showing USG support for civil society and cooperating with the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela (BRV) on an area of common interest. Despite increasing BRV harassment of beneficiaries of USG assistance, we are optimistic that the BRV will not train its sites on the NGO as it is one of the few organizations in Venezuela with the institutional capacity to investigate human trafficking, something that the BRV purports to combat. Moreover, the BRV may actually increase cooperation with AMBAR is it seeks to demonstrate its full compliance with the minimum standards outlined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). BROWNFIELD