MONITORING G/TIP FY 08 GRANT PROGRAM

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BEIJING 003490 SIPDIS EAP/CM SPATCH; EAP/RSP; G/TIP JZINN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM SMIG KTIP KCRM KWMN CH SUBJECT: MONITORING G/TIP FY 08 GRANT PROGRAM REF: STATE 112160 1.(SBU) Summary: On December 3, 2009 EmbOff met with the Beijing University Women's Law Studies and Legal Aid Center (LAC) Director Guo Jianmei to discuss the progress of the G/TIP-funded program to enhance awareness in China about rescuing, restoring and assisting victims of trafficking through training of legal and criminal justice professionals and women's groups. After reviewing the scope of the LAC's work, Embassy Beijing assesses that there is adequate staffing and resources to carry out the G/TIP-funded project's objectives although insufficient funding from their U.S. partner has forced them to modify their planned training session. LAC staff also assured the Embassy that the recent dissolution of ties between the LAC and Beijing University would not jeopardize the LAC's contributions to the program. End summary. Performance Assessment -------------- 2.(SBU) December 3, Embassy officials met with Guo Jianmei, Beijing University Women's Law Studies and Legal Aid Center (LAC) Director to conduct an overview of LAC's use of a FY 08 G/TIP grant. Also attending the meeting were Deputy Director Li Ying, International Exchange and Project Coordinator Lin Lixia, and LAC lawyer Zhang Weiwei. Guo highlighted the LAC's role in facilitating communication among women's groups throughout China and providing a database for contacts and information. Also discussed were the LAC's plans to write a quarterly newsletter specifically geared toward trafficking issues and plans to make a documentary of trafficking victims telling their stories for broadcast on China's national television network, CCTV. After reviewing the scope of the LAC's work as described in the grant proposal and its progress on related projects, Embassy Beijing assesses that there staffing and resources are adequate to carry out the G/TIP-funded project's objectives, although insufficient funding from their U.S. partner has forced them to modify their planned training session. The LAC's reputation as a recognized leader in the NGO community, good working relationships and access to resources in China make it a viable candidate for funding consideration. Funding and Training Workshop Budget -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The FY 08 G/TIP grantee, University Enterprises, Inc. (UEI),is a Sacramento based firm that is partnered with LAC to carry out a trafficking training program in China. Guo noted that University Enterprises, Inc. had agreed to transfer $26,000 USD to LAC had set up a bank account to facilitate the transfer. However, as of December 15, 2009, UEI had yet to release any funds to the LAC. Guo explained that the delay in the transfer was at the request of the LAC and was because LAC did not wish its ongoing efforts to sever ties with Beijing University to affect the money transfer. ¶4. (SBU) According to Guo, UEI had set aside approximately $1,000.00 to fund a training program in Kunming, Yunnan Province but added that the sum was insufficient to pay for a planned 3-day training program. As a result, LAC was compelled to truncate the training to 2 days, thereby forcing participants to work into the evening on both days to make up for the time lost. The list of invitees had also been cut from 40 to approximately 25. Li indicated that this decision was directly due to the limited budget provided by UEI. The LAC acknowledged the project goal to have 40 attendees for the Year 1 training and pledged to work with Yunnan women's federation leaders and their contacts at UEI to reach that goal. ¶5. (SBU) Lin had drawn up a list of potential attendees which she provided to EmbOff. That list complied with the grant requirements to reach out to legal and criminal justice professionals as well as security and social welfare departments and community and aid station workers. It is noteworthy that the proposal stated that the attendees for the Year 1 training program would be "selected from those regions heavily affected by human trafficking, such as Yunnan Province." The LAC maintained that, until the funding issue was resolved, it would be best to wait before extending invitations to attendees beyond Yunnan. Training Materials and Casebook -------------- ¶6. (SBU) Lin could not comment on the status of the training manual or other materials currently being written by Dr. Ren Xin at UEI HQ in Sacramento. Guo was waiting for the materials to arrive so they could be translated into Chinese BEIJING 00003490 002 OF 002 in time for the training. UEI had not yet provided a projected arrival date for the material. (Comment: This fact could indicate a possible lack of adequate communication from UEI to the LAC and should be monitored in subsequent follow-up visits. End comment.)7. (SBU) The plan outlined in the UEI grant proposal would require training attendees to submit in advance of the training trafficking casework that would be compiled into a casebook . The consensus among the LAC staff was that no one would attend the training with such a demand because the issue of human trafficking was politically sensitive and no one would be willing to submit anything in writing that could be construed as exposing China's failure to control human trafficking. To overcome this predicament, the LAC proposed having staff members take notes throughout the training about individual cases discussed that could later be turned into a casebook. Dissolution of Ties with Beijing University -------------- ¶8. (SBU) In late November 2009, Beijing University officials instructed the LAC to focus on academic research and stop taking on legal casework or disassociate from the university. Guo believed the most effective engine to drive forward legal advocacy and reform is through casework. As a result, the LAC is in the process of disassociating from the university and is looking to affiliate itself with another outside entity. Neither Guo nor her staff saw this break with Beijing University as slowing or stopping their work on the human trafficking program. GOLDBERG