EL SALVADOR: 2008 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

UNCLAS SAN SALVADOR 000316 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR G/TIP/BARBARA FLECK AND WHA/CEN HILLARY THOMPSON DEPT FOR G, G/TIP, INL, DRL, ORM, AND WHA/PPC E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PHUM PREF SMIG ES ASEC SUBJECT: EL SALVADOR: 2008 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT REF: STATE 02731 ¶1. (U) The following is post's response to Reftel. The text directly tracks reftel Paragraph 27-30 and relevant subsections. ¶2. (SBU) Responses to checklist items follow. Note internal paragraph numbering. -------------- -------------- Paragraph 27 - Overview of activities to eliminate TIP -------------- -------------- ¶A. El Salvador is a country of origin, transit, and destination for trafficked persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation and forced labor. The majority of victims are females -- children and adolescents-- trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation. Most TIP victims come from El Salvador and other Central American countries. The full extent of trafficking in El Salvador is unknown. During the reporting period, El Salvador's National Civilian Police (PNC) reported that it had investigated TIP cases involving 49 female and 10 male victims. The Salvadoran TIP shelter reported that it has assisted 104 victims since it opened in April 2006, the vast majority of whom were children and adolescents. Within El Salvador, the majority of TIP victims are women and girls who are trafficked from the countryside to population centers to serve as prostitutes. Sources of information on TIP in El Salvador are civil society organizations and government agencies including the National Civilian Police (PNC),the Salvadoran Institute for the Comprehensive Development of Children and Adolescents (ISNA), the Attorney General's Office (FGR),and the Salvadoran Institute for Women's Development (ISDEMU). ¶B. The extent of trafficking is unknown, and reliable statistics on the problem are not available. There is no evidence that there has been a significant change in the scope or type of trafficking during the reporting period. In El Salvador, traffickers target females from 12 to 18 years old, persons from low-income rural and urban areas, adolescents without formal education, unemployed young men, and young foreign girls. According to immigration authorities, traffickers are often owners of topless bars and brothels and employment agencies that offered inducements for work in beauty salons, gyms, and factories or as maids or models. During the reporting period, there was some evidence that traffickers also offered victims agricultural work. According to law enforcement officials, there is some evidence that members of organized crime are involved in trafficking. Most victims were Salvadoran nationals, but some foreign victims entered into the country on their own from Nicaragua, Honduras, and other neighboring countries in response to job offers as domestic servants and were forced into prostitution upon arrival. ¶C. The National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons is a task force made up of the government agencies responsible for addressing trafficking in persons. Its members include the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Education, Ministry of Public Security, Ministry of Labor, National Civilian Police, the Attorney General's Office, ISNA, and ISDEMU. The Committee collected data on trafficking, and its member agencies conducted extensive anti-trafficking training, information programs, and provided assistance to victims. The coordinating agency is the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. ¶D. The government's ability to address trafficking is hampered primarily by financial constraints. It is unable to devote sufficient funding toward efforts to prevent trafficking, to investigate trafficking cases, and to prosecute traffickers. Corruption in the judiciary also undermines public confidence in criminal prosecutions and judicial redress for trafficking victims. Although the PNC and the Attorney General's office have reinforced their TIP units with some human and financial resources, there are no designated budgets for TIP within these institutions. Additionally, the government lacks the resources to strengthen and improve public awareness campaigns and to improve attention to victims. ¶E. The National Plan to Eliminate Trafficking in Persons (2008-2010) was drafted in December 2007 and will allow Salvadoran agencies to monitor the government's anti-TIP efforts. ISNA regularly gathers detailed information on the educational level, health status and family status of minor TIP victims. The National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons meets once a month to monitor Salvadoran efforts to combat TIP and to make information available to international organizations and the public. Social stigma and fear of retribution prevents adequate reporting by TIP victims and collection of comprehensive data on TIP. -------------- -------------- Paragraph 28 - Investigation and prosecution of traffickers -------------- -------------- ¶A. Article 367B of the Penal Code specifically prohibits trafficking in persons for sexual and non-sexual purposes. Article 367C provides increased penalties for aggravated circumstances, such as when the accused is an authority figure, if the victim is a minor, or if the victim has diminished capacity. The law applies to internal and transnational trafficking. In addition to trafficking, perpetrators can be charged with pandering, deprivation of liberty, and child endangerment. Article 367B of Salvadoran criminal code states: The one that for himself or as a member of a national or international organization for the purpose of obtaining an economic benefit recruits, transports, moves, welcomes or receives (people),outside or within the national territory, to carry out any activity of sexual exploitation, keep them in work or forced servitude, in similar practices to slavery, or for the extraction of (human) organs, fraudulent adoptions, or forced marriages, will be punished by imprisonment from four to eight years. When the victim is under 18 years or is of diminished mental capacity, the term will increase up to one-third of the above mentioned maximum. Anyone that facilitates, promotes or supports any of the above-mentioned activities will be punished by imprisonment from three to six years. When the described actions take place in commercial locations or any location that requires a special permit from a competent authority, such authority will revoke the permit and will proceed to immediately close it. (unofficial translation) The Spanish text of article 367B of the Salvadoran Criminal Code which entered into force in January 2004, is as follows: TRATA DE PERSONAS Art. 367B.- El que por si o como miembro de una organizacion nacional o internacional con el proposito de obtener un beneficio economico reclute, transporte, traslade, acoja o recepte personas, dentro o fuera del territorio nacional, para ejecutar cualquier actividad de explotacion sexual, mantenerlas en trabajos o servicios forzados, en practicas analogas a la esclavitud, o para extraccion de organos, adopciones fraudulentas o celebracion de matrimonios forzados, sera sancionado con pena de cuatro a ocho anos de prision. Cuando la victima sea persona menor de dieciocho anos o incapaz, la pena se aumentara hasta en una tercera parte del maximo senalado. Todo aquel que facilitare, promoviere o favoreciere cualquiera de las actividades anteriores sera sancionado con pena de tres a seis anos de prision. Cuando las acciones descritas se realizaren en locales comerciales o de cualquier naturaleza que requiera permiso de autoridad competente, esta debera revocarlo procediendo al cierre inmediato del mismo. Salvadoran law does not provide for civil penalties in TIP cases. ¶B. Article 367B of the Salvadoran Penal Code provides penalties for trafficking for sexual exploitation of four to eight years in prison. Penalties can be increased up to one third of the maximum penalty if the victim is a minor or the trafficker is a public official or law enforcement agent, or if the crime was committed as part of abuse of authority in domestic, educational or labor relations; or if as a consequence of the crime the victim dies or is deprived of his or her freedom of transit. During 2007 the PNC arrested 27 persons on trafficking charges. The Attorney General's Office prosecuted 46 new cases of trafficking and reported that five people were convicted and sentenced to six to eight years in prison. ¶C. Article 367B of the Salvadoran penal code provides penalties for trafficking for labor exploitation of four to eight years in prison. Penalties can be increased up to one third of the maximum penalty if the victim is a minor or the trafficker is a public official or law enforcement agent, or if the crime was committed as part of abuse of authority in domestic, educational or labor relations; or if as a consequence of the crime the victim dies or is deprived of his or her freedom of transit. Forced or compulsory labor is also prohibited by the Salvadoran Constitution, except in cases of public calamity and other instances specified by law. All forms of slavery or practices similar to slavery are forbidden under a general provision of the Salvadoran Constitution, as well as the criminal code. ¶D. The criminal code provides penalties of 6 to 20 years in prison for rape. If the victim is younger than 15 years old, or is of diminished mental capacity, unconcious, or incapable of resisting, the sentence rnges from 14 to 20 years. The Salvadoran criminl code establishes prison sentences from 3 to 10 ears for other types of sexual assault. If rape r sexual aggression is committed a member of thevictim's family, the penalty could be increased byup to one third of the maximum penalty. Accordig to the Chief TIP Prosecutor, Salvadoran prosecutors often prefer to prosecute criminals under rape charges rather than TIP charges because the mandated sentences are stronger for rape cases. ¶E. Prostitution is not a crime. Pandering, when a third party is involved in arranging a liaison between a prostitute and a client, is illegal, as is forced prostitution. In general, pandering laws are not enforced. Prior to the enactment of the TIP law in October 2004, TIP cases were typically tried as pandering. For the most part, TIP cases are correctly identified as trafficking and prosecuted under the TIP law. ¶F. During the reporting period, the PNC arrested 27 persons on trafficking charges. The Attorney General's Office prosecuted 46 new cases of trafficking. The Attorney General reported that five people were convicted on trafficking charges and sentenced to between six and eight years in prison. ¶G. The GOES provides specialized training for government officials to recognize, investigate, and prosecute trafficking. Additionally, the Office of International Migration (OIM),the International Labor Organization (ILO), and the International Law Enforcement Academy (ILEA) have trained Salvadoran public officials on TIP. ¶H. The Salvadoran government cooperates with other governments in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases. The government reported that during the reporting period it cooperated in investigations with the United States, Guatemala, Nicaragua, and Belize. ¶I. To date, no government has requested the extradition of a Salvadoran national for trafficking offenses. ¶J. Post has no evidence of government involvement in or tolerance of trafficking at any level. ¶K. During the reporting period, we know of one case of a government official involved in trafficking. In February 2008, one former PNC officer was sentenced to seven years imprisonment for TIP. ¶L. Under a UN mandate, El Salvador has contributed ten contingents of troops to peacekeeping operations in Iraq. There have been no reports of Salvadoran nationals being involved in TIP or exploitation of TIP victims in Iraq. ¶M. Post has no evidence that El Salvador is a child sex tourism destination. -------------- -------------- Paragraph 29 - Protection and assistance to victims -------------- -------------- ¶A. The government assists foreign trafficking victims by providing shelter and counseling. We have received no reports of victims requesting temporary or permanent residency status. ¶B. The government of El Salvador has victim care facilities accessible to trafficking victims. Foreign victims are given the same access to care as domestic victims. The government had a specialized facility dedicated to victims of trafficking. At present, the shelter, formerly run by Huellas Foundation, is being operated by the Salvadoran Institute for Comprehensive Development of Children and Adolescents (ISNA), an agency that provides care to trafficking victims and to children who are orphans, abandoned, or homeless. The government is currently searching for a new facility to house TIP victims. The government of El Salvador did not specify the amount of money spent to assist TIP victims. The government has also established a Shelter Committee, which is composed by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Public Security and Justice through the Migration Directorate, ISNA, the Salvadoran Institute for Women's Development (ISDEMU),the Attorney General's Office, the PNC, the Public Defender's Office, and the International Organization for Migration (IOM). ¶C. During the reporting period, the government terminated its contract with the Huellas Foundation to run its TIP shelter. The GOES currently administers the facility directly. ¶D. All minors encountered under suspicious circumstances, e.g., in a brothel, are placed in the custody of ISNA whether they identify themselves as victims or not. Adults found in suspicious circumstances are questioned away from the scene. If they identify themselves as victims, they are transferred to the TIP shelter for evaluation and treatment. Officers from the PNC witness protection program provide 24-hour protection to the TIP shelter. The PNC Border Unit has trained personnel to identify TIP victims at the border. ¶E. The government conducts undercover operations and raids of establishments involved in the commercial sex trade to ascertain the possibility that prostitutes have been trafficked. The police also act on tips provided by the public. ¶F. El Salvador protects TIP victims and they are not subject to prosecution or detention. Foreign victims who request to return home without pressing charges are repatriated via the Foreign Ministry and the IOM. ¶G. Victims are encouraged by the government to assist the investigation and prosecution of trafficking, although many refuse to do so. During the reporting period, 76 victims participated in judicial procedures. Salvadoran law does not explicitly grant foreign TIP victims the right to work, but we have no knowledge that any TIP victim has ever made that request. The GOES does not maintain a victim restitution fund. ¶H. The government provides security protection to all victims and witnesses who request it. Some were accommodated in a special shelter for TIP victims where they received psychological and medical care. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs did not provide information on the number of victims assisted by government-funded assistance programs or non government-funded assistance programs. ¶I. The government provides training for government officials in identifying TIP violations and assisting victims. The government also provides training and assistance to its embassies and consulates in foreign countries that are destination or transit countries for TIP. Additionally, El Salvador is an active member of the Regional Conference on Migration. El Salvador has a TIP agreement with Guatemala, and the Salvadoran Consulate in Tapachula, Mexico is part of the network against TIP. El Salvador has drafted guidelines for its Foreign Service on combating TIP. ¶J. The GOES maintains "Protection Consulates" (Consulados de Proteccion) along the major human smuggling and trafficking routes between El Salvador and the U.S. These consulates arrange immediate medical care for all injured Salvadorans, including TIP victims. After victims are repatriated, they have the option of seeking additional GOES-funded medical attention, or returning to their residence. If they are indigent, the GOES provides temporary housing, financial, and job placement support. ¶K. The IOM is the most active anti-TIP NGO in El Salvador. In addition to providing training, they monitor trafficking patterns and fund repatriation of TIP victims. -------------- Paragraph 30 - Prevention -------------- ¶A. The GOES readily acknowledges TIP as a problem, and condemns it in all forms without reservation. ¶B. During the reporting period, the government ran anti-trafficking information and education campaigns. In June 2007, the government, in conjunction with the ILO, implemented a pilot program in schools for students from 7th to 9th grades. It trained 701 teachers and 28,040 students. Students performed a play that represented the risks and disadvantages of sexual commercial exploitation. The government also launched an awareness campaign about the risks of illegal migration and TIP. This campaign was launched with the support of IOM, UNICEF, and the ILO. The PNC trained 209 police officers in shelter issues, migrant's rights, trafficking in persons, and gender issues. Additionally, ISNA, AG, and PNC trained 1377 police officers in procedures to combat TIP. ¶C. The GOES, via the TIP task force, maintains working relations with the International Organization for Migration (IOM),the International Labor Organization (ILO),UNICEF, the InterAmerican Women's Commission, USAID, PASCA (Canadian AID),and local NGOs including Save the Children, Catholic Relief Services, the Salvadoran National Women's Coordinator (CONAMUS),the Institute for Women's Studies (CEMUJER),and the Human Rights Institute of the University of Central American (IDHUCA). Post has observed that the GOES works well with the NGO community and includes them in the formulation of policy towards TIP. ¶D. The PNC and the Directorate General of Migration jointly patrol key locations to prevent and combat TIP. Additionally, the PNC Border division studies migration profiles in order to detect migration flows and to recognize TIP cases. Border personnel conduct careful interviews with adults traveling with minors in order to detect irregularities. If necessary, cases are referred to the Migration Investigation Unit, which has a TIP agent. If TIP is suspected, the case is referred to the PNC. ¶E. The National Committee Against Trafficking in Persons (the TIP task force) is comprised of 15 government agencies concerned with trafficking, including: the Foreign Ministry (Ministerio de Relaciones Exteriores); Ministry of Justice (Ministerio de Justicia y Paz); Ministry of Finance (Hacienda); Ministry of Education (Educacion); Ministry of Labor (Trabajo); Ministry of Health (Salud); Ministry of Tourism (Tourismo); the National Civilian Police (Policia Nacional Civil); Migration (Migracion); Family Assistance (Secretaria Nacional de la Familia); the Attorney General's office (Fiscal General); the Public Defender's office (Procuraduria General); the National Assembly (Asamblea Legislativa); child protective services (Instituto Salvadoreno para el Desarollo Integral de la Ninez); and women's protective services (Instituto Salvadoreno para el Desarollo de la Mujer. The government of El Salvador has a coordination and communication protocol that involves all the members of the TIP committee. The Foreign Ministry chairs the group, while each agency has jurisdiction over its responsibilities. The government has a corruption committee coordinated by the National Council for Sustainable Development and an Ethics Committee that oversees public officials. ¶F. The government's national action plan to address TIP, the National Plan to Eliminate Trafficking in Persons (2008-2010) was drafted in 2007. The members of the National Committee Against TIP were involved in developing the plan. Several NGOS were consulted in the process including the Human Rights Institute of the Central America University (IDHUCA) and CEMUJER, a women's NGO. The government conducted several briefings to disseminate their action plan. ¶G. The government has launched awareness campaigns and has established a reporting hotline under the auspices of the OIM and the Border Unit of the PNC. ¶H. N/A ¶I. The government did not provide any information on measures it has adopted to insure that its nationals who are deployed abroad do not engage in or facilitate severe forms of trafficking or exploit victims of such trafficking. ¶3. (U) Per reftel request, post estimates the following personnel time spent on this report: Political Assistant (FSN-10) 40 hours, Political Officer (FS-03) 40 hours, Labor Officer (FS-04) 4 hours, Political Officer (FS-02) 1 hour, Political Counselor (FS-02) 1 hour. ¶4. (U) Embassy San Salvador POC for trafficking is Political Officer/Deputy INL Director John Speaks, Tel. 503-2501-2042, Fax. 503-2501-2775, E-mail: SPEAKSJT@STATE.GOV GLAZER