MACEDONIA: CONTINUED ANTI-TIP MOMENTUM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 SKOPJE 000991 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR G/TIP JENNIFER DONNELLY, EUR/SCE PFEUFFER E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PREL MK SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: CONTINUED ANTI-TIP MOMENTUM REF: A. SKOPJE 974 ¶B. SECSTATE 167709 SUMMARY ¶1. (SBU) A week after the Minister of Interior (MOI) agreed to adopt our seven priority recommendations for combating/preventing trafficking-in-persons (TIP) in Macedonia (ref A),we are seeing continued positive momentum in government anti-TIP efforts. According to the latest MOI statistics, there were 24 police raids on 64 bars which uncovered 221 potential TIP victims in Macedonia in the period April 20-December 20. Those actions led to 30 prosecutions against 77 defendants on TIP-related charges, 49 of whom have already been convicted and sentenced. Five police officers and one Ministry of Justice employee currently are on trial for involvement in alien smuggling operations. In an unprecedented move, the Ministry of Defense (MOD) has requested anti-TIP training for its troops deployed in Afghanistan and Iraq. End summary. URGING SUSTAINED ANTI-TIP EFFORTS -- AIMING FOR TIER I ¶2. (SBU) In a December 13 meeting with Minister of Interior Jankuloska, the DCM presented post's seven priority recommendations for fighting TIP, based on G/TIP's draft action guide for Macedonia (ref A). On December 20, Post's TIP Officer met with the MOI's senior anti-TIP official, Kire Todorovski, to follow-up and to convey the points in the Department's final TIP Action Guide (ref B). Todorovski provided the following updates on implementation of anti-TIP priority action recommendations: --One MOI and one Ministry of Labor and Social Policy (MLSP) employee currently are taking part in training at the International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) in Vienna on the use of a comprehensive database on TIP criminals and TIP victims. This is the first step toward the implementation of Macedonia's TIP database, which will be fully functional in January 2008. --Unlike in previous years, when the GOM was not cooperative in sharing TIP-related information, Todorovski provided a detailed TIP report for the period April 20-December 20. According to his information, there were 24 police raids on 64 bars which uncovered 221 potential TIP victims and 213 smuggled migrants. Almost half of the potential TIP victims (94) were Macedonian citizens, and 16 were minors. There were no foreign minors in the group. The spike in the number of raids resulted in 30 TIP-related prosecutions against 77 defendants. Out of those defendants, 49 already have been convicted and sentenced. Five policemen and one MOJ employee currently are on trial for involvement in alien smuggling operations. --All relevant ministries have reviewed and approved the TIP Standard Operational Procedures (SOPs) drafted by an inter-ministerial working group with the help of OSCE. The GOM plans to adopt the SOPs, for government-wide implementation, at its next session in December. --As part of a high-level anti-TIP week in January or February 2008, the GOM plans to unveil the TIP SOPs during an official ceremony in which the Prime Minister, the Minister of Interior, the Minister of Justice and the Minister of Labor and Social Policy are expected to take part. --The head of the MOI's Anti-TIP Sector is leading a working group, which includes NGO partners, to draft a proposal for improving GOM services provided in TIP victims shelters. The working group is expected to look at various options for more efficient GOM-NGO cooperation in the running of the shelters, including combining the operations of the MOI-run Transit Center for foreign victims and the NGO-run shelter for internal TIP victims. --Parliament has committed to pass by mid-January the draft law for amending the Criminal Code, which will criminalize all TIP-related acts involving minors. The draft is currently under discussion by a parliamentary committee. SKOPJE 00000991 002 OF 002 --In an attempt to deal with the challenge of clearly distinguishing between Art. 418-b (smuggling) and Art. 418-a (TIP) cases, Todorovski is meeting this month with Ministry of Justice (MOJ) representatives to discuss the possibility of including language in verdicts for Art. 418-b crimes, when applicable, that indicates that the smuggled persons likely were TIP victims. ANTI-TIP TRAINING FOR DEPLOYED TROOPS ¶3. (SBU) In addition to the GOM's heightened focus on TIP, our DAO is working with the MOD to develop an anti-TIP awareness module for Macedonian combat forces serving in Afghanistan and Iraq. The MOI's Todorovski and Post's TIP Officer are working to produce a culturally appropriate brochure to be handed out to deploying soldiers. In addition, the Macedonian MOD has requested "Force Protection" training, once in theater, that includes anti-TIP training (an unprecedented action by the MOD in our recent experience). MILOVANOVIC