KAZAKHSTAN: G/TIP ACTION PLAN SEEN AS A (MOSTLY) GOOD

UNCLAS ASTANA 002113

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

SCA/CEN (O'MARA),SCA/RA (PLLEIDERER),G/TIP (FARAJ),INL/AAE
(BUHLER)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KCRIM KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: G/TIP ACTION PLAN SEEN AS A (MOSTLY) GOOD
ROADMAP

REF: STATE 99409


1. (SBU) On July 26 INL Officer delivered the TIP Action Plan
demarche providing recommendations for increasing Kazakhstan's
conviction and sentencing of traffickers, and improving assistance
to victims to Ministry of Justice Office Director Elvira
Abilkhasimovna Azimova. INL Officer provided a copy of the action
plan as a non-paper.


2. Azimova responded positively, actively proposing ways that
Kazakhstan could cooperate with the embassy to address the action
points provided in reftel. To prepare for the interim report later
this year she agreed to work more closely with embassy to provide
complete and accurate data but noted that conviction statistics were
somewhat cyclic, not following an annual calendar. Azimova
cautioned however that improving the conviction rate through
ministerial involvement in court cases was an abrogation of the
status of the independent judiciary and would not happen. She
offered that the government of Kazakhstan was actively looking for a
tested mechanism to establish and implement grants to NGO to create
a mechanism to provide assistance to victims. INL will follow up on
this request which will improve assistance to victims of
trafficking.


3. (SBU) Azimova said Kazakhstan did consider trafficking a serious
crime and was attacking this issue, pointing to the collaborative
work between the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the embassy on
training police officers. INL Officer agreed that much action had
been undertaken and while prosecutions had increased other results,
i.e. convictions and sentences to prison seemed meager. Furthermore,
while training police is a necessary step it is not sufficient and
training of procurators and judges is critical to ensuring that
guilty traffickers were properly tried, convicted, and sentenced.


4. (SBU) Azimova cautioned that the training would not guarantee
additional convictions of traffickers. Kazakhstan had an
independent judiciary and the government would not attempt to
influence court proceedings to achieve more convictions. INL
Officer rejoined that training for procurators and judges was not an
attempt to influence cases but to improve the professional capacity
of court officers to try and adjudicate TIP crimes.

MILAS