URUGUAY TAKES TIP REPORT IN STRIDE; WANTS TO DO

UNCLAS MONTEVIDEO 000345

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT ALSO FOR WHA/BSC
G/TIP FOR BARBARA FLECK AND MARK FORSTROM
WHA/PPC FOR SCOTT MILLER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREL ELAB KCRM PHUM SMIG KWMN PGOV UY
SUBJECT: URUGUAY TAKES TIP REPORT IN STRIDE; WANTS TO DO
BETTER

REF: A. STATE 57481 B. STATE 58560 C. MONTEVIDEO 92

SUMMARY
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1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Poloffs provided a copy of the 2008 report
and discussed trafficking in persons in separate meetings
with the MFA Office of Human Rights, the Deputy Minister of
Culture and Education and the Director of Immigration. GOU
officials were ready for positive dialog about the report,
stressed that the GOU takes TIP very seriously, and while the
need for more action remains, Uruguay feels it is among the
leaders in Latin American for combating TIP. Media coverage
on the TIP report was fact-based and included extensive
quotes directly from the translated text provided on the
Embassy's website and press release. Embassy also
distributed translated copies of the report to government,
civil society and other interested parties. END SUMMARY.

IS THERE A TIER ONE AND HALF?
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2. (SBU) In separate meetings on June 3 and 4, poloffs met
with the Deputy Minister of Education and Culture Filipe
Michelini (his ministry has the lead on domestic human rights
issues),the Director of Immigration Jesus Roberto de Mello
and his deputy Beatriz Pintos, and with Cristina Mansilla
from the MFA's human rights office. All of these officials
agreed that trafficking in persons was an important issue for
the GOU and that while more needs to be done, the government
continues to make progress. Michelini and Pintos appreciated
the important dialog the annual TIP report offered, although
they reiterated the GOU's long-held preference for
multi-lateral reports over "unilateral" ones such as ours.
Each of the officials highlighted the interagency committee
they participated in, the National Committee for the
Eradication of Commercial and Non-Commercial Sexual
Exploitation of Children and Adolescents. This committee
regularly brings together four ministries, at least three
NGOs, and two UN representatives to address and follow this
aspect of trafficking.


3. Our interlocutors felt that Uruguay was a leader on
anti-TIP issues in South America, with strong national laws,
stiff sentences, active prosecutions wherever possible and
support of victim protection efforts within the capacity of
its limited resources. Michelini also stressed that the GOU
actively participated in international fora to combat human
trafficking. For example, Uruguay will host the second annual
OAS meeting on trafficking in persons later this year, and it
embraces training opportunities from the U.S. and other
countries with advanced law enforcement and immigration
techniques.


4. (SBU) Pintos and de Mello took particular issue with the
standard report text for Tier Two countries that states, the
GOU "does not fully comply with minimum standards for the
elimination of trafficking." While she admitted Uruguay's
limitations in combating (due primarily to limited resources)
trafficking, this stark language struck her as unfair as the
"significant efforts of Uruguay were hardly less than
minimum."

MEDIA REACTION
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5. (U) Media coverage on the TIP report was fact-based and
included extensive quotes directly from the translated text
provided on the Embassy's website and statement by the
Ambassador issued in our press release. Three leading dailies
reported the increase in anti-TIP measures over the last
year, especially the passage of new TIP legislation that was
a specific recommendation in previous versions of the TIP
Report. Each paper directly quoted from Ambassador Baxter's
June 4 press statement that congratulated the GOU, but
stressed the need for continued collaborative efforts. One
report focused on the need for assistance to victims, noting
that Uruguayan experts also have been calling for improvement
in this area.


6. (U) The TIP report's release was timely, following recent
extensive media coverage of several TIP-related crimes
including the high profile arrests in the case of a young
girl who was prostituted by her parents, and an 11-year old
girl who was drugged by a family friend who then took
pornographic photos of her.

COMMENT
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7. (SBU) COMMENT: The GOU took the report seriously, and
expressed its interest in continuing our dialog on TIP and
human rights issues in general. While its resources are
limited, it wants to do more. GOU officials consider
themselves to be ahead of the curve within the region and
want to and they point out that trafficking is a relatively
new concept and growing phenomenon. The GOU would likely
embrace any assistance or training offered to improve its
capacity to eliminate trafficking in persons. Post will
continue to seek ways to work with the GOU and civil society
to support this, such as the proposal to combat TIP submitted
by IOM in ref C. END COMMENT.

Baxter