Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09ASHGABAT1326
2009-10-22 09:58:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Ashgabat
Cable title:  

TELEPHONE HOTLINES: TREND OR TOOL?

Tags:  PHUM KTIP PGOV TX 
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RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHAH #1326/01 2950958
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 220958Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3633
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE
RUCNCIS/CIS COLLECTIVE
RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 5794
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 3505
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 3369
RUEHIT/AMCONSUL ISTANBUL 4036
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1204
RHMCSUU/CDR USCENTCOM MACDILL AFB FL
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 4010
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC
RUEKJCS/JOINT STAFF WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001326 

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KTIP PGOV TX
SUBJECT: TELEPHONE HOTLINES: TREND OR TOOL?

REF: ASHGABAT 557

ASHGABAT 00001326 001.2 OF 002


UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASHGABAT 001326

SENSITIVE

SIPDIS

STATE FOR SCA/CEN, DRL

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KTIP PGOV TX
SUBJECT: TELEPHONE HOTLINES: TREND OR TOOL?

REF: ASHGABAT 557

ASHGABAT 00001326 001.2 OF 002



1. (U) Sensitive but Unclassified. Not for Internet distribution


2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Using international donor community funding,
local NGOs Ynam, Keik Okara, and the National Red Crescent Society
of Turkmenistan have established or plan to set up telephone
hotlines to provide the public with counseling services and legal
assistance on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and domestic violence
issues. Such hotlines not only serve as critical tools for people
to address their problems but also help to prevent crime by
equipping the public with information on how to avoid becoming a
victim. It was unexpected that Turkmen authorities gave permission
for these hotlines. This is undeniably a positive step toward
increasing tolerance toward NGOs and demonstrating the value they
play in society. END SUMMARY.

IOM EXPERIENCE


3. (SBU) The International Organization for Migration (IOM) opened a
TIP hotline in Turkmenistan in January 2009. The hotline is open 12
hours a day and receives an average of 5-7 calls daily. IOM
provided a grant of $3000 to a local NGO, Ynam, which already had
its own hotline, in order to provide additional TIP-related and
labor migration assistance. Ynam's hotline assistance initially
included some counseling services, legal advice, and reproductive
health counseling (reftel).


4. (SBU)IOM Turkmenistan developed an initiative to establish a
telephone hotline to raise the population's awareness of TIP in June
2006, borrowing from the experience of other Central Asian IOM
offices. Mainly, people ask questions such as, "We want to go to
Turkey to work. What is needed?" IOM is currently working with the
government to establish a direct hotline number that would enable
people in the provinces to call without incurring long-distance
charges. According to Tahir Seidov, Senior Program Assistant of IOM
in Turkmenistan, "Once the direct number is set up, the number of
TIP victims might increase, due to awareness, especially in rural
areas." Seidov thinks that the hotline will also help to uncover
human traffickers.


5. (SBU) IOM works with the following seven NGOs and International
Organizations on anti-trafficking in Turkmenistan: Keik Okara,
Bilgirje, Ynam, Lachin, Women's Union, Youth Union, Bosfor, and

National Red Crescent Society of Turkmenistan. So far, IOM has
assisted 16 TIP victims in 2009. According to Seidov, TIP-related
crimes are committed against citizens of Turkmenistan mainly in
Turkey and Russia. When a TIP victim from Turkmenistan is
discovered, for instance, in Turkey, the IOM Office in Turkey
informs IOM Turkmenistan that a TIP victim will be arriving on a
certain air flight. IOM Turkmenistan then informs the Turkmen
Migration Service and its partner NGOs, who then meet the victim and
provide counseling services. Due to a lack of sufficient financing,
IOM does not yet have a shelter, but is working to establish one.
IOM also published and disseminated various information bulletins on
TIP prevention. Seidov noted that Turkmen Government assistance
from the MFA and Migration Services has markedly improved over the
last two years. IOM cooperates with both registered and
unregistered organizations. It informs MFA of its projects, but
does not need to register them.

RED CRESCENT EXPERIENCE


6. (SBU) In October 2009, the National Red Crescent Society of
Turkmenistan (NRCST) completed the OSCE-funded four-month project
"Raising Awareness of Population on TIP." For the project, NRCST
conducted Training of Trainers sessions on TIP and a working meeting
with state authorities on implementation of anti-trafficking
mechanisms. The next phase of the project, if implemented, would
envisage setting up a hotline in five cities where it has provincial
offices. Once established, NRCST would like to make the hotline
available in all 47 of its district branches and in large cities.
According to NRCST officials, however, the hotline would be called a

ASHGABAT 00001326 002.2 OF 002


hotline on migration issues because many people in rural areas would
be confused by the term TIP.


7. (SBU) Leila Toiliyeva, Project Manager for NRCST, said that
during train-the-trainer sessions, 80 percent of the questions were
related to the provision of legal consultation for relatives of
those who left to work or study abroad and then disappeared. They
were looking for advice on how to find their lost family members.
She asserted that public organizations are needed to provide
counseling services to TIP victims. She also opined that it is
important to conduct TIP prevention activities before potential
travelers leave the country, since Turkmenistan is a country of
origin for TIP victims. NRCST has already trained five people in
each province of Turkmenistan and published a brochure entitled:
"TIP - What should we know?" that also contains telephone numbers
for each NRCST provincial office where people can get assistance on
TIP issues. Toiliyeva underscored the importance of working jointly
with Migration Service and other law-enforcement authorities
increase TIP awareness. While there is a law on anti-trafficking,
Turkmenistan's Criminal Code adopted in the early 1990s lacks
articles on anti-trafficking, without them, it is difficult to
legally define the term "TIP victim."

KEIK OKARA EXPERIENCE


8. (SBU) A local NGO Keik Okara recently launched an OSCE-funded,
six month project for a telephone hotline on domestic violence. The
project envisions counseling and legal consultations, and domestic
violence training sessions. According to Deputy Director of Keik
Okara Sabir Agabalayev, 70 percent of incoming calls are calls on
other issues, and only 30 percent are calls on domestic violence.
Although, primarily women are victims of domestic violence, men also
call reporting problems. At this stage, Keik Okara provides only
consultation services. An announcement about the launch of the
hotline will be published in local newspapers, and the Ministry of
Justice (MoJ) has registered the project. According to Agabalayev,
MoJ registration means that the authorities recognize the problem,
which is a change compared to the standard "there are no problems in
Turkmenistan" attitude.


9. (SBU) COMMENT: A new trend of launching telephone hotlines on
TIP, domestic violence, and other acute problems in Turkmenistan is
a positive step. The existence of these hotlines indicates that the
authorities recognize the problems and are taking action to address
them with the help of international organizations and local NGOs.
The hotlines may serve as an effective tool for allowing Turkmen
victims of crime to get the assistance citizens of some other
countries already can receive. END COMMENT.

CURRAN