INTER-AGENCY GROUP DISCUSSES ANTI-TIP MEASURES

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 000521

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/CEN, DRL, PRM, G/TIP

E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/20/2016
TAGS: KCRM SMIG ELAB ECON KWMN PGOV PHUM UZ
SUBJECT: INTER-AGENCY GROUP DISCUSSES ANTI-TIP MEASURES

REF: A) 05 TASHKENT 2966 B) TASHKENT 453

Classified By: AMB. JON R. PURNELL, FOR REASONS 1.4 (B, D).



1. (SBU) Summary: Amendments to the Uzbek criminal code for
strengthening Trafficking-In-Persons (TIP) legislation are
still under consideration, the current composition of the
inter-agency TIP working group is still unknown, and there
are no plans to register the International Organization for
Migration,s (IOM) Tashkent office. The GOU seems eager to
demonstrate its commitment to fighting TIP, but did not
provide significantly new information to supplement our
submission for the annual TIP report. End summary.


2. (SBU) On March 9, Poloff met with Deputy Minister of Labor
Botir Alimukhamedov, Nodir Kurbanov of the Ministry of
Internal Affairs (MVD) Department for Investigation and
Counter-Terrorism, and Chief of the MFA,s Consular
Department Ilhom Abdulkhuseynov to discuss TIP.
Alimukhamedov told Poloff that he hoped that the
Department,s annual TIP report would be &objective.8 He
said that the proposed amendments to the criminal code for
strengthening TIP legislation are &still under
consideration8 and recommended that we speak to the Ministry
of Justice for more information. The Deputy Minister was
unable to provide the current composition of the INL-funded
OSCE-sponsored inter-agency working group on TIP. (Note:
Several members of the working group have been reassigned
since the group's last meeting, which was before the May 2005
Andijon violence. End note.)


3. (SBU) Kurbonov said that 160 people work in the MVD's
department for combating TIP. Kurbonov also said that MVD
has good relations with IOM and the anti-TIP NGO Istiqbolli
Avlod. Despite this, Alimukhamedov told Poloff that there is
no plan to officially register the International Organization
for Migration,s (IOM) Tashkent office, because &it is not
an official UN organization8 and &there is already a UN
office in Tashkent.8 Alimukhamedov also pointed out that
his ministry already works with the International Labor
Organization,s resident representative.


4. (SBU) Alimukhamedov responded to U.S. concern about
amnesties for female traffickers by emphasizing that no hard
criminals or repeat offenders have been amnestied. Kurbonov
added that his department is still searching for the
traffickers responsible for the group of 60 Uzbek women
arrested by Kyrgyz law enforcement in Osh in February. The
MVD helped arrange the return of the women.


5. (SBU) Regarding external labor migration, the Deputy
Minister expressed hope that Uzbekistan,s entry into the
Eurasian Economic Community (EurAsEc) would help harmonize
migration legislation. He estimated that 300,000 Uzbeks
leave each year to work abroad. (Note: Based on IOM
estimates (ref A) of the number of Uzbeks working abroad,
this figure is likely on the low end. End note.) The Deputy
Minister added that the absence of a visa regime for travel
to Russia and Kazakhstan makes it difficult to know exactly
how many Uzbeks work in those countries. He added that some
laborers who come and go from Russia might have been double
counted by agencies that monitor migration flows. He also
noted that other migrants often travel as &tourists.8


6. (C) Abdulkhuseynov told Poloff that the MFA is actively
working to simplify repatriation procedures for victims of
trafficking and to reduce or abolish fees for obtaining
certificates of return. He said that all consular officers
have been instructed to assist in returning victims of
trafficking. He commented that, according to the Russian NGO
&Angel Coalition,8 there are currently only 17 Uzbek girls
waiting to be returned from the UAE. (Note: Local IOM
officials told Poloff that there are several hundred Uzbek
women in UAE prisons. End note.) Abdulkhuseynov asked
Poloff for information on measures taken to tackle TIP to the
U.S., and also asked what the OSCE was doing to prevent TIP
from source countries in Eastern Europe. (Comment: This
interest in the U.S. TIP situation seemed
politically-motivated, reflective of the GOU,s criticism of
the Department,s annual human rights report for not
containing information about U.S. problems. End comment.)


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7. (C) Comment: The GOU is eager to demonstrate that it is
committed to tackling TIP, perhaps as a reaction to the
Department's strongly worded Interim TIP Assessment.
However, this meeting did not provide significantly new
information to supplement our submission for the annual TIP
report (ref B). End comment.

PURNELL