GOB Ready to Cooperate to Fight TIP

UNCLAS MINSK 000162

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP, PRM, DRL

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM KWMN PHUM PGOV BO
SUBJECT: GOB Ready to Cooperate to Fight TIP

Ref: Minsk 0094


1. (U) In a surprisingly cooperative gesture, GOB
officials willingly shared information on the GOB's
efforts to combat trafficking in persons (TIP) in an
informal setting on February 10. DCM invited
representatives from local NGO's and international
organizations as well as GOB officials from the Border
Guard Committee and the Ministries of Interior, Foreign
Affairs, and Labor and Social Security to an "Anti-TIP
Coffee" at her residence to discuss TIP in Belarus and
to obtain specific information for the annual 2005-2006
TIP Report. [Comment: It was surprising that so many
government representatives came to DCM's residence
which has been featured on Belarus Television "news"
programs as a place where the opposition has met to
take orders from the Embassy. End Comment.] The
guests, and the GOB officials in particular, readily
provided valuable information on GOB progress to combat
TIP, willingly answered questions drawn from the
instructions of the 2005-2006 TIP Report and even
presented Pol/Econ Chief with a prepared statement
summarizing GOB anti-TIP measures. [Note: This ease of
information sharing differs drastically from GOB
procedures in more sensitive issues such as alleged GOB
human rights abuses. The GOB almost always requires a
formal diplomatic note followed by a brief meeting at
the appropriate Ministry or government entity for any
information requests.] Though to a great extent, the
NGO and government representatives did not take
advantage of the opportunity to mingle, but rather
talked among themselves.


2. (SBU) Yury Fedorov from the State Border Guard
Troops Committee told Poloff that the presidential
decrees issued over the past year have made it easier
for the GOB to prosecute traffickers. [Note: The
latest counter-TIP measures by the GOB are comprised
mainly of several presidential decrees that increase
penalties for traffickers, define the status of
trafficking victims and mandate measures to provide
protection and medical care and to guarantee social
security to these victims.] As a result, Fedorov said
that the GOB has increased its number of prosecutions
of traffickers in 2005, with the border guards
initiating five such criminal trials. However, in
response to DCM's question about the effectiveness of
the new decrees, Ministry of Labor and Social Issues
representative Irina Chutkova noted that while it was
positive that the decrees regulated labor practices
that could be questionable, she indicated nonverbally
that the decrees were over-the-top. The GOB is still
working to improve their laws to combat TIP. MOI
representative Oleg Pekarskiy informed Pol/Econ Chief
that the GOB is currently trying to gather examples of
anti-TIP legislation from well-developed countries who
have a successful track record of fighting TIP and
requested examples of anti-TIP legislation from the
United States.


3. (SBU) Comment: Similar to fighting money laundering
and terrorism finance (reftel),combating TIP remains
an issue of mutual interest between the GOB and the
United States. The GOB is clearly interested in
demonstrating its efforts to combat TIP, perhaps in an
effort to garner U.S. support for Belarus' anti-TIP
information coordination plan entitled, "Global
Partnership Against Slavery and Human Trafficking in
21st Century," that President Lukashenko launched at
the 2005 UNGA.

Phlipot