UZBEKISTAN INFORMATION FOR THE SEVENTH ANNUAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 TASHKENT 000352

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR SCA/CEN, SCA/RA, G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI
JUSTICE FOR OPDAT/LEHMANN

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ASEC ECON EFIN ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PHUM PREF
SMIG, UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN INFORMATION FOR THE SEVENTH ANNUAL
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

REF: STATE 202745

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SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY


1. (SBU) Post,s submission for the seventh annual
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report begins in paragraph 4.
This information covers the period from March 2006 to March

2007. The information provided in the report has been
gathered from numerous sources, including the GOU,
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe Tashkent
Office, the International Organization for Migration (IOM),
USAID, local TIP-focused NGOs, and local press reports.


2. (SBU) Embassy Tashkent's TIP point of contact is:

Alexander D. Schrank
Political/Economic Officer
Tel: (998-71) 120-5450
Fax: (998-71) 120-6335
Email: schrankad@state.gov


3. (SBU) Number of hours spent on report preparation:

P/E officer: 30 hours
Consul: 1 hour
USAID: 3 hours
PAS: 1 hour
DCM: 2 hours


4. (SBU) Post's response is keyed to the questions provided
in paras 27-30 of reftel:

--------------
OVERVIEW
--------------


A. Uzbekistan is a source country, and to lesser extent a
transit country, for trafficking in persons. Statistical
data and information on trafficking activities and trends are
scant and incomplete. An International Organization for
Migration (IOM) study completed in fall 2005 estimated that
over half a million Uzbeks are victims of trafficking for
labor and sexual exploitation annually. The study, which was
funded by USAID, cited the absence of effective mechanisms to
regulate labor migration as a key factor in exacerbating the
labor trafficking problem. The study also noted that 90% of
the surveyed victims of sexual exploitation hide the truth of
their experience from friends and relatives. There are no
comprehensive statistics available on the extent or magnitude
of the problem. The available sources of information
regarding TIP are: the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD),
Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA),Uzbek Border Guards,
Customs Committee, General Prosecutor's Office, media
sources, private citizens, human rights activists,
Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE)
Tashkent office, International Organization for Migration
(IOM),TIP-focused NGO Istiqbolli Avlod, and various other
NGOs working on TIP. Since the Andijon violence in May 2005,
the Uzbek Government, including law enforcement and judicial

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officials, has been less willing to meet with U.S. Embassy
officials to discuss TIP and many other issues.

Men are mainly trafficked to illegal labor markets in
Kazakhstan and Russia, generally in the construction,
agricultural (tobacco and cotton),and service sectors. An
IOM report published in May 2005 highlighted an increase in
labor trafficking from Uzbekistan to southern regions of
Kazakhstan. It noted that the majority of these migrants
work without contracts, receiving only partial or in some
cases no pay for their labor. Victims of labor trafficking
typically cross the border by truck or bus to Kazakhstan.
There have also been reports of men being taken by train to
Russia and Ukraine. Kyrgyzstan is also a labor trafficking
destination, according to NGO and GOU sources. NGO and GOU
sources reported that Shymkent, Kazakhstan; Moscow, Russia;
Baku, Azerbaijan; Tbilisi, Georgia; and Osh, Kyrgyzstan
served as transit points. Under Uzbek law, the only
permitted form of overseas employment is through contracts
arranged through the Ministry of Labor. The Ministry
arranges for thousands of Uzbek citizens to work abroad. The
majority of contracts are for jobs in South Korea. All other
labor migration is illegal, and the Government has prosecuted
individuals for working illegally abroad. Potential migrant
workers must seek middlemen to facilitate employment abroad,
thus opening the door to traffickers. Since 2002, Uzbekistan
has occasionally restricted overland travel by its citizens
to Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. Many individuals traveling for
employment cross the border illegally.

Uzbekistan is a source country for both labor and sexual
trafficking. The typical sexual trafficking victim in
Uzbekistan is a young woman (age 17-30). According to NGOs,
the Government, the media, and information gathered by the
Embassy, most female victims of sexual exploitation were
trafficked to the United Arab Emirates, Kazakhstan, Russia,
Thailand, Turkey, Israel, India, Malaysia, South Korea, and
Japan. Many reports of women being trafficked abroad
indicate that the victims traveled by air and left from
Tashkent. There have also been many reports indicating that
some women travel first to Kyrgyzstan to obtain false
documents and then depart from Osh. Many victims have been
unwilling to become involved in legal proceedings that could
result in their testimony becoming public due to both
societal pressure and the fear of retaliation from their
traffickers. Victims are also well aware that under Uzbek
law, female smugglers convicted of most first criminal
offenses are automatically amnestied. Because many human
traffickers are women, this practice further discourages
victims from participating in legal proceedings. Uzbekistan
is a transportation hub for travel to Thailand, Malaysia,
Indonesia, India, South Korea, and the United Arab Emirates
(UAE),which has led to transiting of trafficked persons from
neighboring countries.

According to the Government and NGOs, internal trafficking
generally takes place from rural to urban areas. Internal
trafficking exists in agriculture, construction, domestic
servitude, and other forms of unskilled labor. Methods used

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include withholding of pay and/or identity documents, such as
passports. In order to work legally in a particular region
or city, a citizen must register with the local
administration and obtain a permission stamp in his or her
passport. Those living and working in a city without that
stamp are doing so illegally and are subject to fines, jail
time, and removal from the city. Traffickers threaten to
inform the police of people who are working illegally. This
is especially true in Tashkent city. According to IOM, sex
trafficking most often originates in Tashkent, Bukhara, and
Samarkand, while labor trafficking originates mainly from
Karakalpakstan, Surkhandarya and Samarkand. IOM also has
reported increased sex and labor trafficking from the
Ferghana Valley.

The GOU has stated that labor trafficking constitutes the
majority of cases and that trafficking for sexual
exploitation has increased. Information provided by NGOs and
media reporting suggests that both labor and sexual
trafficking are increasing, particularly as economic
conditions deteriorate. There is anecdotal evidence that in
many villages with high unemployment most of the men have
left to work abroad, leaving only the elderly, women, and
children. However, there are no comprehensive data
definitively showing this upward trend. One high level GOU
official said that little can be done to stop trafficking,
since, in many cases, people can only find work abroad. This
official and others have acknowledged that the deterioration
of the economy is making the fight against trafficking more
difficult.


B. Often traffickers make contacts with the victims through
family members. Several victims have said that their friends
introduced them to recruiters. Traffickers are also known to
pose as entrepreneurs and businesspeople. Agents in
nightclubs or prostitution rings solicit women, some of whom
are already engaged in prostitution. Victims are offered
jobs and decent salaries relative to low local salaries.
Labor trafficking victims are typically moved across the
border to Kazakhstan by bus or truck, or to Russia by train,
whereas sexual trafficking victims are often given plane
tickets and are met by their future trafficker upon arrival
in the destination country. False documents are being used
to move some victims, particularly from Osh, Kyrgyzstan.

Government officials continue to actively cooperate with NGOs
in fighting TIP. This is evidenced by the participation of
Government officials in anti-TIP training, the nationwide
educational campaign, and the direct cooperation of
Government officials with TIP-focused NGOs. The Ministry of
Internal Affairs has a special criminal investigation unit
and a criminal prevention unit tasked with preventing TIP.
There is a willingness to take action against Government
officials linked to TIP, especially at the lower provincial
level where corruption is common. Recognizing its own
limited resources, the Government is willing to make use of
others' resources (NGOs and international organizations) to
fight TIP.


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The Government inter-agency working group on TIP, formerly
supported by the OSCE with INL funding, has been inactive
since mid-2005. The MVD's specialized Anti-Trafficking Unit
has taken consistent measures to fight trafficking.
Officials from the MVD, Prosecutor's Office, Ministry of
Education, Ministry of Health, and Ministry of Labor, are
also cooperating with NGOs in a public information campaign
to raise awareness. The draft action plan to combat TIP
remains with the Presidential Apparatus. The Government
continues to direct border guards at airports to give more
scrutiny to unaccompanied young women traveling to the UAE,
Turkey, South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia; it authorizes
them to deny such women permission to leave the country.
Likewise, the Office of Passports and Exit Visas under the
MVD has ordered its officers to scrutinize applications of
young men and women traveling abroad for work.


C. Government officials addressing the issue of trafficking
must cope with cultural taboos, corruption, lack of
resources, and poorly developed criminal investigative
techniques. Progress has been made on overcoming cultural
taboos in discussing sexual trafficking; officials at both
the local and national level have addressed the topic
publicly. However, labor trafficking is still a delicate
subject that many Uzbek officials do not wish to discuss in
depth. They will admit it is a problem, but go no further.
Lack of funds and human resources greatly limits the
Government's ability to address TIP. Even though officials
have addressed the problem publicly, they lack experience and
expertise on combating TIP. There are no available
statistics regarding the number of Government officials
involved directly or indirectly in TIP. However, overall
corruption is a problem. The MVD and the Prosecutor's Office
have both received U.S. Government training in criminal
investigative techniques, including the handling of crime
witnesses and victims.

The Government has not allocated sufficient funding to
support many prevention and education programs. Government
officials have been working closely with TIP-focused NGOs
supported by IOM and USAID to establish prevention programs.
The Consular Department of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs
has continued to develop an assistance and repatriation
program designed to make it easier for Uzbek trafficking
victims abroad to return. In some cases the time frame for
identifying victims and issuing certificates of return has
been reduced from six months to two weeks, eliminating long
detentions; often this has been the result of close
cooperation with a local NGO. One NGO reported that the
police, MFA, Consular Department, border guards, and overseas
diplomatic missions began notifying it of women returning
from abroad who appeared as if they might be victims of
trafficking. The NGO is regularly allowed to assist groups
of women returning from abroad at the airport and help them
through entry processing. In Karakalpakstan, the MVD has
distributed brochures warning of the dangers of trafficking
and provided other travel-related information to all
first-time passport recipients. The brochures are available
in Russian, Uzbek and Karakalpak.

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D. (SBU) The GOU regularly monitors anti-trafficking efforts
conducted by relevant ministries. MVD, prosecutors, and MFA
officials speak publicly about trafficking during speeches,
news releases, and news conferences. Often the speeches take
place during training sessions on combating TIP. IOM started
anti-trafficking operations in Tashkent in 2003. IOM's local
NGO partners operate ten TIP-focused hotlines throughout
Uzbekistan, which received over 16,406 calls in 2006.

--------------
PREVENTION
--------------


A. The GOU has repeatedly acknowledged publicly that TIP
exists and is a problem in Uzbekistan. It has done this
during press conferences, as well as anti-TIP training
seminars and conferences. The Government expresses concern
that trafficking may become a serious problem if not
comprehensively addressed. The Government is clear that the
trafficking problems that have arisen in other parts of the
former Soviet Union are also of great concern. The
Government believes that the focus should also be on transit
and destination countries, and that more effective
multilateral mechanisms are needed for combating trafficking.


B. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, MVD, NSS, Border Guards,
Customs Committee, Ministry of Labor, General Prosecutor's
Office, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Social Welfare, Oliy
Majlis (Parliament),and National Women's Affairs Committee
are involved in anti-trafficking efforts. Mahallas
(neighborhood government associations) and
Government-sponsored youth organizations also take part in
prevention efforts.


C. In 2006 there was an increase in newspaper articles,
television programs, and radio shows discussing trafficking
in persons. In December 2006, for example, a
Government-produced television program titled "Victims of
Fraud" aired several times in Uzbek and Russian on national
television. It featured a trafficker named Zulfiya Rajapova
confessing to having trafficked young women to the UAE via
Osh, Kyrgyzstan. In November 2006 a program produced in
cooperation with the NSS and MVD discussed trafficking cases
in Navoi Province, and included extensive interviews with
Government officials. It also aired on multiple occasions in
Uzbek and Russian during prime time.

The state radio also continued airing awareness campaigns
that are sponsored jointly by the MVD and IOM, particularly
in the regions. Regional television stations worked with
NGOs to air informational public service announcements (PSAs)
regarding the dangers of TIP and to advertise ten regional
TIP hotlines run by the NGOs. An NGO in Surkhondarya
received an Embassy Democracy Commission grant to conduct
radio PSAs raising awareness about trafficking. The
Government likewise cooperated with NGOs and allowed them to
place posters warning about the dangers of TIP on public
buses, passport offices, in subway cars, and consular

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sections abroad. The Government has likewise paid to
translate these posters into the Karakalpak language and
distribute them for those living in the westernmost region of
Uzbekistan. The Government permitted NGOs to advertise ten
regional TIP hotlines on local television stations. As a
result of these awareness campaigns, IOM's ten hotlines were
deluged with a total of 16,406 calls during 2006. The
majority of these calls were inquiries about employment
abroad, and IOM sources said that 1,312 callers specified
trafficking in their calls. The GOU also jointly runs
awareness programs in schools and colleges. Many schools
have cooperated with a local NGO to hold summer camps on
raising awareness of trafficking.

Consequently, the GOU formed "coordinating units" in Nukus,
Termez, Jizzak, Navoi, Bukhara, Samarkand, Syrdarya Province,
and a joint unit for Namangan and Andijon. These units
combine the efforts of NGOs and the government and include
representatives from the MVD, Ministry of Health, Ministry of
Education, Ministry of Labor, Prosecutor's Office, and local
NGOs. Religious leaders in Jizzak Province have also been
trained to speak out against trafficking in persons. Imams
have mentioned the dangers of trafficking during Friday
prayers.


D. The Government has participated in numerous training
events and seminars involving MFA, MVD, NSS, and Prosecutor's
Office personnel, as well as the Women's Committee and the
national Government-sponsored youth organization Kamolot. On
February 22-23, 2007, a local NGO conducted a highly
successful INL-funded training for MVD anti-TIP department
heads from around the country. The same NGO has also
conducted a wide range of trainings for neighborhood
officials and Women's Committee representatives, holding 13
workshops in January 2007 and 20 in February 2007. The
Government likewise supports educational programming via
state-controlled mass media and informational posters in
public and Government spaces.


E. The Government cooperates with TIP-focused NGOs. GOU
officials have publicly acknowledged TIP-focused NGOs as
partners and have asked for their cooperation in preventing
trafficking, prosecuting traffickers, and protecting the
trafficked.


F. (SBU) The Government receives border security assistance
from a variety of U.S. Government agencies, including the
Departments of State and Defense. However, its borders
remain poorly guarded and vulnerable to traffickers.
Corruption is endemic at all levels, and paying bribes is
common. There are anecdotal accounts of drug traffickers
bribing customs and border officials, and it is likely that
these same officials would turn a blind eye to human
trafficking as well. The Government has directed border
guards at airports to give more scrutiny to unaccompanied
young women traveling to the Persian Gulf, Turkey, Israel,
South Korea, Malaysia, and Indonesia, authorizing them to
deny such women permission to leave the country. However,
the majority of Border Guards and Customs officials are not

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well trained in how to detect victims and prevent TIP, and
many still deny that Uzbekistan has a TIP problem.


G. (SBU) The interagency Anti-TIP Working Group, composed of
representatives from the MVD, NSS, and Prosecutor's Office,
has been dormant since May 2005. The MVD also has a
specialized Anti-TIP Unit devoted to prosecution and
prevention, according to MVD sources. The Government has
cooperative agreements with the Governments of Russia,
Germany, China and India. These agreements allow for
cooperation on a range of issues, including anti-trafficking.
The GOU has said that it has cooperative relationships with
the Governments of Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan on the
trafficking issue. An alliance treaty signed by the GOU and
Russia in November 2005 provides for cooperation in the
struggle against illegal migration, including "illegal
transport of persons." The Government works with Interpol
Tashkent, OSCE Tashkent, and IOM to prevent and monitor
trafficking.


H. The Government has developed a draft national action plan
on TIP, which it planned to include as part of its new
anti-TIP legislation. The MVD, NSS, MFA, Ministry of Labor,
Ministry of Health, Supreme Court, Ministry of Education,
General Prosecutor's Office, and NGOs were involved in its
development. However the draft is still sitting with the
Presidential Apparatus, and has not been finalized or signed.
MVD sources have repeatedly expressed the need for such
legislation in order to more effectively execute their
duties. Amendments to Article 135 of the Criminal Code (The
Recruitment of People for Exploitation),submitted to the
Presidential Apparatus in summer 2005, remain unsigned, and
have yet to be presented in Parliament.

--------------
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS
--------------


A. The law prohibits all crimes associated with trafficking,
including trafficking of minors, and provides for penalties
of five to eight years imprisonment for trafficking-related
crimes. At present the Uzbek Criminal Procedure Code
addresses several trafficking-related offenses. The most
common charge is Article 135 (The Recruitment of People for
Exploitation). The Government reported that additional
offenses that have been or can be used in TIP prosecutions
included Article 137 (Kidnapping); Article 138 (Forced
Illegal Imprisonment); Article 209 (Official Forgery);
Article 210 (Reception of Bribe) and Article 211 (Giving of a
Bribe). Recruitment for trafficking is punishable by 6
months to 3 years' imprisonment and fines of up to
approximately 1,900,000 soum (approximately $1,520). The
recruitment charge could be levied against international or
domestic traffickers. All law enforcement agencies are
charged with upholding the anti-trafficking provisions of the
criminal code. The current laws are not adequate to cover
the full scope of TIP, and specific anti-trafficking
legislation has been under review in the Presidential
Apparatus since early 2005, according to GOU sources. The

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Parliament did not discuss any specific TIP legislation in

2006.


B. Trafficking-related crimes come with penalties of between
five to eight years in prison. However, under proposed
amendments to the criminal code submitted to the Presidential
Apparatus in early 2005, sentences would range from 10 to 15
years. MVD officials have said that these proposed
amendments are critical to ensuring that convicted
traffickers are not amnestied. Typically, amnesties are
extended to those convicted of "light" crimes, meaning those
with prison terms less than ten years. Under the proposed
amendments, therefore, traffickers would no longer be
amnestied. MVD officials have expressed frustration at
convicting traffickers and then seeing them amnestied.
Another reason that traffickers receive amnesties is because
the majority of them are women, who receive an automatic
amnesty for their first offense.


C. There are no specific penalties for labor trafficking
offenses. However, someone using deceptive recruitment
practices could be eligible for prosecution under other laws
dealing with trafficking-related crimes.


D. Penalties for sexual assault range from three to seven
years imprisonment. Sexual assault of a person under 14
years of age is punishable by 15 to 20 years in prison.
Sexual assault by multiple persons carries up to 15 years.


E. According to the Uzbek Criminal Code, prostitution is not
criminalized. However, owning and operating brothels, as
well as pimping, are criminalized.


F. The Government has not provided detailed statistics on
2006 trafficking prosecutions, other than to state that law
enforcement officials prosecuted "tens" of traffickers for
TIP-related crimes. According to the Government, 148 people
were convicted for TIP-crimes in 2005, which according to the
Prosecutor's Office had represented a significant increase
over the three previous years (147 total). In 2005 the MVD
registered 250 crimes under Article 135 (recruiting people
for exploitation),adding that 268 people were detained on
the basis of these crimes, and that 675 people were
recognized as victims. In 2005 the GOU stated that TIP
activity related to sexual exploitation was growing, as
evidenced by the fact that 196 of the total number of victims
that year were sexually exploited. Many convicted
traffickers do not serve complete sentences; they are
amnestied. Amnesties are typically extended to those
convicted of "light" crimes ("light" under the Uzbek system
means those with prison terms less than ten years) and women.
Since the present trafficking-related sentences range from
5-8 years and the majority of convicted traffickers are
women, convicted traffickers often receive amnesties.


G. Information to date suggests that some trafficking
operations are small scale. Traffickers have been known to
pose as business people. In the majority of cases, the
trafficker is known to the victim or is introduced to the

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victim by relatives or friends. The majority of traffickers
are women. NGOs have reported scant information about
local-level Government officials' involvement in
trafficking-related bribery and fraud. There are no reports
of profits from trafficking being channeled to armed groups,
terrorist organizations, judges, banks, etc.


H. The Government actively investigated cases of trafficking
in 2006, but does not provide details on techniques. The NSS
and MVD may use electronic surveillance, undercover
operations, and mitigated punishment or immunity techniques
if properly authorized. The criminal code does not prohibit
the police from engaging in covert operations.


I. Due to lack of resources and skills, training usually
requires the support of the United States, NGOs, various
embassies, and international organizations.


J. The Government has cooperative relationships and
agreements with several countries and is party to the Minsk
Convention. The Government works very closely with Interpol
Tashkent on combating TIP. The GOU readily acknowledges that
it needs more cooperative relationships and agreements with
countries of destination in order to more effectively
prosecute trafficking. MVD officers have expressed strong
interest in strengthening their relations with counterparts
in Russia, Kazakhstan and the UAE. Through an INL-funded
program, IOM plans to organize meetings to help build these
connections.


K. There are no known requests for extradition of accused
traffickers. The Government has extradition agreements with
several countries. The Government may extradite its citizens
to another country if there is a bilateral extradition treaty
in place.


L. The Government is not tolerant of trafficking. NGOs have
obtained anecdotal information regarding low level, local
corruption usually involving forged or fake travel documents
or marriage certificates.


M. There is no evidence of direct Government involvement in
trafficking. However, some Government employees may have
accepted bribes from traffickers to facilitate their
operations. According to unconfirmed information from NGOs,
local officials have falsified or sold travel documents in
the past. These allegations usually involve the issuance of
exit visas. There is scant information from NGOs alleging
that, at the local level, individual police officers have
received bribes from traffickers. According to a February
2007 report in the newspaper "Hurriyat," Lieutenant Colonel
Jalol Khodjiev, an investigator at the Ministry of Internal
Affairs branch at Tashkent Airport, was sentenced to ten
years in prison for demanding a $500 bribe from a repatriated
victim of trafficking.


N. Uzbekistan does not have an identified child sex tourism
problem.


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O. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of
the Child (CRC) on the sale of children, child prostitution,
and child pornography is still under consideration by the
Government. The Government has signed and ratified the UN
Convention Against Transnational Crime and the Protocol on
Trafficking. It was signed on December 13, 2000. On June
28, 2001, Uzbekistan signed the Protocol on Trafficking. The
Government has also signed the Protocol on Illegal
Trafficking of Migrants. In addition, the Government
ratified two TIP-related ILO Conventions: the 1930 Forced
Labor Convention (No 29) and the 1957 Convention on Abolition
of Forced Labor (No 105). Uzbekistan ratified these on July
12, 1992, and December 15, 1997, respectively.

--------------
PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS
--------------


A. The Government provides no direct support to victims
within Uzbekistan. The Government lacks funding for such
support. We have learned that a preliminary dialogue has
begun between the Government and International Organization
for Migration. The Government has told the Embassy that it
is interested in investigating the possibility of supporting
Tashkent's shelter for victims of trafficking. This would be
a positive step. Tashkent's shelter is currently funded by
USAID and operated by IOM through a local NGO. The Foreign
Ministry assists victims in returning to Uzbekistan from
abroad. Airport police contact a women's NGO in Tashkent
when they identify suspected trafficking victims or in cases
of the return of known female deportees. The Tashkent
shelter housed 73 victims in 2006 (and provided assistance to
10 other victims who lived outside the shelter).


B. The Government lacks funding for widespread support for
victims.


C. The NGO Istiqbolli Avlod ("Future Generation"),as well as
IOM, are in regular contact with Consular and airport
officials regarding returning TIP victims. Their staffs are
regularly allowed to greet and assist returning victims.
Since the opening of the Tashkent victims' shelter in
December 2004, IOM has provided victims with more long-term
assistance. IOM and Istiqbolli Avlod reported assisting 681
trafficking victims in 2006, of whom 473 returned to
Uzbekistan. (Note: This figure is double the number of
victims IOM assisted in 2005. End note.) IOM officials are
also in regular contact with Uzbek consular officials in the
UAE, Thailand, Turkey, Malaysia and China.


D. Trafficking victims are not jailed or prosecuted. Upon
arrival, victims are typically allowed a few days to rest
before filing police reports. However, victims are requested
to sign documentation stating that they left the country
illegally, but they are immediately amnestied and not charged
with this crime. The Prosecutor's Office and the MVD have
reported that they recognize the importance of not treating
victims as criminals. Various training sessions, which
emphasize the victim-based approach, have also allowed

TASHKENT 00000352 011.2 OF 011


investigation level officers to see the value of the
victim,s testimony.


E. The Government encourages victims to give statements and
assist with investigations. MVD officials have made clear
that voluntary cooperation of victims is critical to building
trafficking cases. Victims may seek civil redress, file
civil suits, and/or seek legal action against traffickers.
There are no formal programs in place to effectively protect
victims who might be material witnesses. There is no victim
restitution program.


F. The Government provides minimal protection to victims or
witnesses. Government officials have visited one NGO's
office and provided guidance to returned victims about
answering the phone and questions from strangers. An MVD
officer has also provided victims with his cellular phone
number to call in case of an emergency.


G. The Government, in general, does not provide specialized
training to its personnel in recognizing or aiding TIP
victims. In February 2007, the heads of all MVD
anti-trafficking departments participated in an INL-funded
training implemented by a local NGO. In January-February
2007 neighborhood committees and Women's Committee officials
also received training. The Government regularly provided
in-kind contributions for training, such as venues and
transportation for NGO representatives. IOM officials speak
with Uzbek Consuls abroad at least once a week.


H. The Government provides little financial assistance to
repatriated nationals who are victims of trafficking. The
government does, however, assist victims in returning to
Uzbekistan. According to Uzbek law, girls under the age of
18 qualify for assistance during repatriation, but the sums
are small. In February we learned that the Government had
begun a preliminary dialogue with the International
Organization for Migration about the possibility of the
Government supporting Tashkent's shelter for victims of
trafficking. As of the drafting of this report however, no
concrete assistance has yet been provided.


I. NGOs working with trafficking victims include IOM,
Istiqbolli Avlod, and a variety of OSCE grantees. As of
February 2007, IOM provided airfare to return 67 victims to
Uzbekistan from various countries. According to Istiqbolli
Avlod, they have assisted 681 trafficking victims' in 2006,
of which 473 returned to Uzbekistan. IOM provides a shelter
for victims that is staffed by a full time doctor and
psychologist and part time trainers to assist them in their
repatriation. Cooperation between certain local NGOs and the
local authorities remains strong; IOM and other TIP-focused
NGOs are in close, regular contact with GOU officials,
meeting returning victims at the airport and assisting them
with their readjustment.

PURNELL