TURKMENISTAN: ASHGABAT HOSTS REGIONAL UN

UNCLAS ASHGABAT 001471 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR INL; G/TIP AND SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM DPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: ASHGABAT HOSTS REGIONAL UN CONFERENCE ON HUMAN TRAFFICKING ¶1. (U) The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) held a three-day, regional conference on human trafficking in Ashgabat this week. OSCE and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) also sponsored the event, intended to promote cooperation and information and intelligence sharing between governments in the region, including mechanisms for mutual legal assistance in trafficking cases. Representatives from 27 countries -- the UAE alone sent seven delegates -- attended the conference, including U.S. trafficking experts from the Department of Justice and USCIS. ¶2. (SBU) Many of the country presentations, on topics like "National Legislation and Practice," "National Casework Practices," and "Mutual Legal Assistance," reflected the somewhat inchoate state of legislation, practices and attitudes towards trafficking in some countries in the region. Many of the presentations were dry, with sections of legislation quoted verbatim, but no real reference to actual stories or trafficking victims, or specifics about how particular cases were handled. At least two particpants complained of the Uzbek government's "lack of cooperation" with them in trafficking cases. Some of the presentations digressed altogether from the topic of trafficking, with emphasis on financial crimes and other ancillary subjects. ¶3. (SBU) The U.S. presentation on National Legislation and Practice was made by Susan French, a prosecutor with the Department of Justice Human Trafficking Unit. She emphasized the USG's "victim-centered approach" to prosecuting trafficking cases and included a powerpoint presentation on the human trafficking problem in the U.S., which is deemed to be "modern day slavery." In building a case, she underscored the importance of prosecutors developing a rapport with trafficking victims early on, and noted that an estimated 15,000-20,000 persons are trafficked to and within the U.S. each year. Her presentation included details of labor and sex trafficking cases prosecuted by her office, with startling images of labor conditions, as well as the housing and living conditions of trafficking victims in their home countries. Several participants commented later on the "powerful" impact of the U.S. presentation, and respect for the manner in which the USG openly approaches and discusses trafficking that occurs within its borders. ¶4. (SBU) COMMENT: Notwithstanding some imperfect aspects, the real value of UNODC's gathering was in bringing together law enforcement and judicial personnel to discuss the issue of trafficking from a variety of perspectives. Interestingly, the Turkmen press made no reference to the term "trafficking" in news reports of the event, describing it rather as a conference on "mutual legal assistance." END COMMENT. CURRAN