NEW HUMAN TRAFFICKING OBSERVATIONS FROM KEY NGO

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 TASHKENT 001829

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP (MEGAN HALL AND BRITTANY BROWN),INL (ANDREW
BUHLER); ABU DHABI/DUBAI FOR TIP OFFICER; ASTANA FOR
ALMATY/USAID

E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/23/2017
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREL KCRM KWMN AE RS KZ GG IS TH
TU, UZ
SUBJECT: NEW HUMAN TRAFFICKING OBSERVATIONS FROM KEY NGO

REF: A. TASHKENT 1652


B. TASHKENT 1806

Classified By: Poloff Tim Buckley for reasons 1.4 (B, D)


1. (C) Summary. On October 16, DCM, poloff, and visiting
G/TIP officer met with anti-TIP NGO Istiqbolli Avlod to
discuss new trends. New data on assistance from the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) to Uzbek
victims through the NGO indicates that the UAE is still the
largest destination for sexually exploited females, although
labor trafficking among men and women to Kazakhstan and
Russia is sharply increasing. Istiqbolli Avlod cited tougher
laws and enforcement for a decrease in trafficking to Israel,
and Georgia gets high marks from NGO staff (despite anecdotal
accounts it is a major transit point for Uzbeks). The NGO
reported overcrowding at its Tashkent shelter, based in part
on increased trafficking in the Karakalpakstan region
(victims often come to Tashkent for help) as well as
extensive efforts to seek out victims in the UAE and help
them return. Istiqbolli Avlod said the GOU is more
cooperative than before and has adopted more sensitive
investigative policies which help victims. Increased signs
of willingness to engage on the TIP issue needs to be
followed through with key legislation. End summary.

RECENT DATA
--------------


2. (SBU) The local anti-TIP NGO Istiqbolli Avlod provided
updated data for 2005, 2006, and the first three quarters of
2007 on the number of trafficking victims assisted by the
IOM. A total of 1,275 Uzbek TIP victims received assistance
from IOM from 2005 through September 2007, of which 85% were
females. However, the number of known male victims is
sharply increasing, from 30 in 2005 and 58 in 2006 to 101
thus far in 2007. In 2007 IOM has already assisted 371
victims from Uzbekistan. Uzbekistan continues to be almost
entirely a source country for trafficking; since 2005 IOM
assisted only two victims in-transit and none whose final
destination was Uzbekistan. The vast majority (81 percent)
of assisted victims since 2005 were sexually exploited
females, whereas all male victims and the remaining female
victims were exploited for labor.


3. (SBU) The UAE remains the biggest destination for
trafficked Uzbeks, accounting for 551 (43 percent) of the
1,275 cases assisted by IOM. There are fewer Uzbeks bound
for Israel, dropping from 34 cases in 2005 to 11 in 2006 and
four so far through the first three quarters of 2007. NGO
staff attributed this to tough new Israeli laws and vigorous
prosecution. The number of cases involving Kazakhstan has
sharply increased, from 22 in 2005 to 52 in 2006 and 85 so
far in 2007 (the majority were males). This is not
surprising given the increasing economic disparity between
the neighboring countries and the corresponding increase in
labor migration north from Uzbekistan. Similarly, the number
of IOM-assisted Uzbek victims trafficked to Russia climbed
from 14 in 2005 to 43 through the third quarter of 2007; the
number is evenly split between males and females. Other
major destinations for Uzbek trafficking victims are Thailand
(70) and Turkey (67),and there have been smaller numbers of
Uzbeks trafficked to many other European and Asian countries.


THROUGH GEORGIA TO UAE
--------------


4. (C) IOM assisted only eight Uzbeks trafficked through
Georgia since 2005, however the MFA cited Georgia as a major
transit point and source of illegal documents in an October
16 meeting with poloff and visiting G/TIP officer (reftel B).
The same day, DCM, poloff, and G/TIP officer interviewed a

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young Uzbek woman who was just repatriated from the UAE,
which she says she reached via Tbilisi. She was part of a
group of five who traveled from Tashkent almost four years
ago. The accompanying trafficker provided false Georgian
travel documents on the flight to Tbilisi, where she spent
three weeks before onward travel to the Emirates. Ultimately
arrested in the UAE for immigration violations, she spent six
months in prison in Sharjah before acknowledging she was an
Uzbek citizen and accepting IOM assistance. Nodira Karimova,
Director of Istiqbolli Avlod, says the victims' fear and
reluctance to talk is a major impediment in providing timely
assistance and identifying more traffickers. She also noted
that Georgia has an excellent reputation among activists for
investigating TIP cases.

ACTIVIST FREQUENTLY VISITS UAE
--------------


5. (C) Karimova, whose outstanding defense of victims has
been detailed in the Department's TIP Report, personally
travels to the UAE at least twice a year to visit prisons and
identify victims in need of assistance. Her efforts result
in spikes in the number of Uzbek victims repatriated to
Tashkent, which in turn places added burdens on her
organization's shelter, one of only two operating in
Uzbekistan. Karimova said "my great dream is to have a
representative in the UAE full-time," and she noted that IOM
does not operate an office there. She also stated there is a
desperate need for a TIP shelter in the UAE, and she told
stories of how she scrambled to find temporary lodging from
charitable contacts for women that come forward or are
awaiting repatriation assistance. Karimova feels the Uzbek
Consulate in Dubai does a decent job of providing prompt
documentation for Uzbek victims, however there is no
financial assistance available and they must turn to IOM.
(Note: Karimova's next visit to the UAE will be in December
and she would welcome the opportunity to liaise with Embassy
Abu Dhabi/Consulate Dubai's anti-TIP officer. End note.)

KARAKALPAKSTAN SEES TIP INCREASE
--------------


6. (C) The census of the Tashkent TIP shelter on October 16
was 13, compared with six at the time of poloff's previous
visit in September (reftel A). The capacity of the shelter
is eight, so some women are doubling up on couches or
sleeping on the floor. Karimova noted that four of the 13
women are from Karakalpakstan province in northwest
Uzbekistan near the Aral Sea. She said that labor
exploitation trafficking to Kazakhstan is on the rise in this
region because of the particularly poor economic conditions
in the Aral Sea zone and the geographic and linguistic
proximity to Kazakhstan (the Karakalpak dialect is
linguistically closer to Kazakh than to Uzbek). Many buses
in Nukus, the provincial capital, have signs offering
employment in Kazakhstan. Karimova reports that there is a
partner NGO based in Nukus "that does a wonderful job," but
they have not been able to officially register. Poloff
raised this issue with MFA the same day, and although MFA
disputed the information, they offered to look into the issue
(reftel B).

GOU MORE COOPERATIVE
--------------


7. (C) Karimova noted continued progress in working
cooperatively with the GOU, particularly "joint efforts with
the prosecutor's office," which has begun requesting the
participation of Istiqbolli Avlod's in-house attorney when
interviewing victims during investigations. She said this
results in more professional, dignified treatment of victims
by investigators, and the victims are more likely to talk
freely when the attorney is present. This is significant

TASHKENT 00001829 003 OF 003


because the prosecutors do not pursue a case if the victim
does not offer complete testimony, and only two of the women
presently at the shelter are willing to tell their stories to
authorities. There are still lingering problems with
investigators who "treat the women as prostitutes" and feel
"they knew what they were getting themselves into," but she
credited substantial progress to the series of INL and
USAID-funded trainings held throughout the country. The GOU
also cited improved awareness from these trainings and
requested a wider scope of USG programs (reftel B).


8. (C) Karimova also appreciates the GOU's restraint in
prosecuting returned TIP victims, who can be fined up to USD
500 for illegal border crossing stemming from their outbound
travel but are otherwise not punished. She said it is
actually much better for returning victims to "lose" their
passports and return on consulate-issued travel documents, in
which case the illegal exit stamps are not an issue. She
implied that GOU officials are well aware of this practice
but go easy on the victims, which the NGO sees as a welcome
sign of compassion.

COMMENT
--------------


9. (C) Karimova said her GOU contacts were angered by this
year's Tier 3 designation, but it is a good sign that she
feels her NGO "is treated more and more like a partner."
There are increasing signs that the GOU may be willing to
engage further on the TIP issue, especially in expanded
training programs, although the GOU needs to follow through
on introducing, passing, and implementing draft legislation,
enhancing prosecutorial efforts, and providing assistance to
victims. The new data on the number of IOM-assisted
trafficking victims indicates that TIP will remain a problem
in Uzbekistan for the foreseeable future, especially labor
trafficking. End comment.

NORLAND