MACAU/HUMAN TRAFFICKING: PRESSING AHEAD WITH

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 002123 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP/CM, G/TIP, DRL E.O. 12958: DECL: 11/19/2033 TAGS: KCRM KFRD KWMN PHUM SMIG MC SUBJECT: MACAU/HUMAN TRAFFICKING: PRESSING AHEAD WITH VICTIM ASSISTANCE, AWARENESS PROGRAMS REF: HONG KONG 1148 Classified By: Consul General Joe Donovan for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d). ¶1. Summary and comment: The Macau Special Administrative Region Government (MSARG) is making progress on assistance programs for human trafficking victims and on increasing public awareness of the trafficking in persons (TIP) issue. Having passed their landmark anti-TIP law in June (reftel), MSARG social welfare departments have taken initial steps to institutionalize services such as shelters, psychological counseling, financial and medical aid for TIP victims. Social service providers are looking to the United Nations for training to help them improve and target their programs. MSARG officials are now considering the rehabilitation and reintegration needs of victims, to include possibly offering training on marketable vocational skills. Successful implementation of rehabilitation programs would be a significant advancement of Macau's anti-TIP program. The Macau government continues to utilize all forms of media in its public awareness efforts, with the government's Consultative Commission on Women's Affairs increasingly active in raising TIP's public profile. That said, the MSARG will need to intensify and diversify its public awareness efforts to encourage the general public to be active stakeholders in fighting TIP. To date, neither of the two TIP-designated hotlines have generated any investigations. End summary and comment. -------------- Initial Victim Assistance Services in Place -------------- ¶2. (C) In an October 28 meeting, Social Welfare Bureau (SWB) President Ip Peng Kin outlined the social, financial and medical assistance programs for trafficking in persons (TIP) victims the Macau Special Administrative Region Government (MSARG) has established since June. SWB has designated 21 beds in a special section of an existing women's shelter for victims of trafficking in persons (TIP). Since July, the shelter has received 16 TIP-related victims, most of them between the ages of 16-20. SWB personnel encourages all victims to undergo a complete medical exam that includes testing for sexually-transmitted diseases (STDs). If doctors discover STDs, they would issue free medication. Ip told us half of the 16 victims have accepted medical treatment. Victims may also get psychological counseling upon request. ¶3. (SBU) Macau does not offer a legal alternative to repatriation for foreign victims of trafficking. As most TIP victims found in Macau are from the Chinese mainland, the MSARG relies on China's Ministry of Foreign Affairs to confirm a victim's identity and country of origin for repatriation. SWB told us most victims are eager to return to their home country but are often too ashamed to return to their family village or town because of their previous work. SWB policy is not to question victims' claims but to simply provide transportation to their desired destination. ¶4. (C) TIP victims will not be repatriated by the MSARG until they have provided a statement to the police, which can be used in lieu of testifying in court under Macau's civil law system. During this interim period, victims remain at the shelter at which they receive a weekly allowance and enjoy freedom of movement but must return to the shelter by 10 p.m. Victims determined to be at high-risk of being harmed by their traffickers if found are placed under 24-hour police protection at a separate shelter. As of a November 3 meeting, Judicial Police (JP) Criminal Investigations Department head Chau Wai Kuong told us JP has not yet needed to provide this level of protection. ¶5. (C) With these initial programs and services in place, SWB is exploring ways to expand its assistance capacity and improve its TIP-specific services. They are working with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to arrange training on effective ways to adapt the UNODC Toolkit to Combat Trafficking in Persons to Macau's needs. At the October 28 meeting, SWB personnel told us they currently did not provide vocational skills training that could help TIP victims attain gainful employment after returning to their home country. Human Trafficking Deterrent Measures Committee coordinator Vong Chun-fat, however, told us in a November 3 meeting that the MSARG was considering starting this type of training but provided no further details. (Comment: Implementing such vocational training would be a significant development; it would signify MSARG is broadening its focus from prosecution and protection to include rehabilitation and reintegration of trafficking victims into society. End comment.) HONG KONG 00002123 002 OF 002 -------------- Public Awareness Campaigns -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Macau is making strides to increase public awareness of the TIP issue. Television, radio and newspaper announcements continue to highlight the new law and alert the public to the two hotlines available to handle TIP-related issues. SWB's Ho told us SWB recently funded the non-governmental organization Macau Women's General Association to develop and publish a TIP quiz contest in Macau's most-widely read Chinese language newspaper, the Macau Daily News. Participants who correctly answer a certain number of questions will win prizes. The Consultative Commission on Women's Affairs (CCWA),an advisory body that reports to the Chief Executive, in recent months has heightened its role as a major stakeholder on TIP issues. In September, CCWA organized a seminar at which the MSARG Legal Affairs Bureau briefed members and guests on the new anti-TIP law and measures to assist and protect victims. The CCWA also has stepped in to sponsor a day-long seminar being organized by local NGO Good Shepherd Sisters (GSS) for November 25 that is expected to have over 150 attendees. (Note: The seminar originally was to be the second and final State Department-funded seminar under a Women's Issues Grant given to GSS but CCWA's sponsorship has freed up U.S. funds to be used for another awareness event tentatively planned for March 2009. End note.) ¶7. (C) GSS Director Sister Juliana Devoy told us CCWA members who attended the first GSS seminar held in June (reftel) were so impressed with the presentations and content that they wanted to offer Macau government funds to help expand the scope and reach of the November seminar. For example, part of the funding will pay for simultaneous translation of the English presentations into Cantonese. Sister Juliana is "amazed" at the speed at which a normally slow-paced Macau government has committed to tackling the TIP problem. She, however, feels the MSARG needs to intensify its public awareness efforts because TIP is a new issue for the public, and many people still do not understand the role they can play in combating TIP. Her point is underscored by the fact that neither of the two TIP hotlines have generated any investigations, according to Chau. DONOVAN