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