Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06ULAANBAATAR396
2006-05-24 07:51:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Ulaanbaatar
Cable title:  

TIP Seminar Raises Awareness, Coordination

Tags:  PHUM EAID KCRM KWMN SMIG ELAB MG 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0041
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUM #0396/01 1440751
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 240751Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9909
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4995
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 2253
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2106
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0749
UNCLAS ULAANBAATAR 000396 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM EAID KCRM KWMN SMIG ELAB MG
SUBJECT: TIP Seminar Raises Awareness, Coordination

Ref: Ulaanbaatar 173

-------
Summary
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UNCLAS ULAANBAATAR 000396

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM EAID KCRM KWMN SMIG ELAB MG
SUBJECT: TIP Seminar Raises Awareness, Coordination

Ref: Ulaanbaatar 173

--------------
Summary
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1. A hands-on seminar aimed at countering trafficking in
persons (TIP) in Mongolia was held in Ulaanbaatar on April
26-27. The training - held by The Asia Foundation (TAF) and
the U.S. Embassy - brought together law enforcement and
government officials, human rights lawyers, and
representatives of civil society for two days of lectures,
breakout sessions, and question and answer time with
experts. Participants learned and practiced how to
interview and counsel trafficking victims, and they created
framework procedures for cross-border repatriation. The
seminar is part of TAF's ongoing ESF-funded efforts, which
will continue to provide additional training, raise
awareness, and gather better data about TIP. End summary.

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Background on TIP in Mongolia
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2. Trafficking in persons for commercial and sexual
exploitation is widely suspected to be increasing in
Mongolia. Victims are trafficked from, through, and within
the country. Real data regarding the scope and incidence of
the problem, however, is poor. Widely-quoted studies are
based largely on subjective and anecdotal evidence, and
there is a pressing need for quantitative and more rigorous
analysis.


3. However, the significance of trafficking as a crime
transcends its relatively low (but growing) incidence in
Mongolia, due to its connections to corruption, money
laundering and violent crime. Trafficking in persons points
to weaknesses in the legal system and law enforcement that
might be exploited by organized crime groups or even
terrorism.

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TAF's Anti-Trafficking Project in Mongolia
--------------


4. TAF began implementation of a project, funded with ESF
through USAID, to counter trafficking in late 2005. The
project will assist in preventing trafficking in persons,
protecting victims, and prosecuting perpetrators, while also
raising awareness to as a way of deterring recruitment and
preventing victimization. TAF is training Government of
Mongolia (GoM) officials to identify and detect TIP-related

criminal activity, and is building ties with a regional
network of public, private and non-governmental
organizations that will assist in victim protection and
other interventions. With strong embassy endorsement, TAF
submitted a ESF proposal to EAP in early February to augment
its existing efforts, including boosting aid to TIP victims.

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A Hands-on Seminar
--------------


5. As a major step in carrying out the project's ambitious
agenda, TAF and the U.S. Embassy held a hands-on seminar on
TIP issues in Ulaanbaatar on April 26-27. The seminar
brought together law enforcement and government officials,
human rights lawyers, and representatives of civil society
for two days of lectures, breakout sessions, and question
and answer time with the experts. The two-day event taught
participants to distinguish between illegal migration,
smuggling, prostitution and trafficking; to identify and
interdict trafficking by analyzing case studies; and to
examine and develop best practices to prevent trafficking
and protect victims. Participants learned and practiced how
to interview and counsel trafficking victims, and they
created framework procedures for cross-border repatriation.
Counter-trafficking interventions will partner law
enforcement and civil society organizations in order to
ensure an effective and coordinated response. This event
stemmed from and built on the success of an earlier
consultative group meeting held by TAF and the Ministry of
Social Welfare and Labor in March 20061. In that meeting, a
partnership between civil society, government and law
enforcement officials was formed to jointly quantify the
incidence of trafficking, to educate the public, and to take
action.

--------------
Planned Future Efforts
--------------


6. TAF plans to coordinate future counter trafficking
training closely with enforcement-related training designed
and delivered through the Asia-Pacific Center for Security
Studies (APCSS) in Honolulu, Hawaii. The APCSS has trained
a number of Mongolian public sector officials and, together
with TAF, will develop a proposal to conduct in-country
counter trafficking training late in 2006. TAF is already
working locally to develop investigative training for the
police.


7. Another major initiative will be to gather better data
about trafficking in Mongolia in order to help the police,
the courts, and civil society better target prevention,
protection, and enforcement efforts. To this end, TAF is
working with civil society organizations to define the
origins of trafficking. Together, they have documented and
analyzed a series of trafficking cases based upon interviews
with victims, human rights lawyers, and law enforcement
officials. TAF is now developing an anti-trafficking
benchmarking tool to identify the incidence of trafficking
within, to, and from Mongolia. The first benchmarking study
will be completed by August 2006. TAF is also working with
USAID's Regional Development Mission/Asia (RDM/A) to
coordinate a fact-finding and network-forging trip to Macau
and Hong Kong. Such a trip will be crucial to gaining a
better understanding of the nature of trafficking from
Mongolia, and to assisting local NGOs and government to
conceive and implement solutions.


8. Finally, TAF is working with local advocacy
organizations to develop and disseminate prevention and
awareness messages through multi-media campaigns and public
events. TAF will develop a counter-trafficking website to
improve information sharing and collaboration between
government and non-governmental organizations, and will link
this site to The Asia Foundation regional anti-trafficking
web portal (www.tipinasia.info) to strengthen regional
cooperation.

SLUTZ





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