USG'S TIP REPORT: DRIVING ARMENIA'S ANTI-TIP

UNCLAS YEREVAN 000214 SIPDIS SENSITIVE DEPT FOR G/TIP, DRL AND EUR/CARC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL KCRM AM KTIP HSTC SUBJECT: USG'S TIP REPORT: DRIVING ARMENIA'S ANTI-TIP COMMISSION ACTIVITIES Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. ¶1. (SBU) On February 9 the State Inter-Agency Anti- Trafficking Commission met to discuss GOAM efforts on combating trafficking in persons (TIP) throughout 2005 in advance of the submission of the USG annual TIP Report. Members of the Commission representing state bodies (Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, Department for Migration and Refugees, and others),as well as international organizations and the local Hope and Help NGO reported on their anti-TIP activities in 2005. The discussions at the meeting revealed an obvious lack of communication between the agencies, which they acknowledged, and pledged to work to improve. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which chairs the commission, urged the agencies to provide a detailed summary of their anti-trafficking activities over the past year in order to submit the information to the Embassy for potential inclusion in the TIP report. -------------- --- COMMENT: REPORT PROVIDES URGENCY TO GOAM EFFORTS -------------- --- ¶2. (SBU) This meeting of the Commission, as well as previous such gatherings, demonstrates that the USG's TIP report is one of the principal driving forces for the activities of the Government Anti-TIP Commission. A representative of Armenian law-enforcement noted that assigning permanent staff under the Commission to work on human trafficking would be the best way to make the work of the Commission more effective. As the Commission reviews the implementation of the National Action Plan on Combating Trafficking (2004-2006) and prepares its own report and recommendations to the Government, it is clear that the USG's report is serving as a catalyst for interagency anti-TIP cooperation and is setting the Commission up as a more effective tool in coordinating the GOAM efforts on fighting TIP. EVANS