ARGENTINA: 2009 TIP Interim Assessment Response

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001302 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV PHUM KCRM KTIP KWMN SMIG AR SUBJECT: ARGENTINA: 2009 TIP Interim Assessment Response REF: STATE 110433 ¶1. Per Reftel instructions, below is post's interim assessment of Argentina's progress in its efforts to combat trafficking in persons (TIP). Our response is keyed to points found in reftel. A) Implementing the new anti-trafficking law: As of August 21, 2009, coordination for the Office for Rescue and Caring of Victims of Trafficking falls under the Secretary of Justice within the Ministry of Justice, Security and Human Rights. The Office is comprised of an interdisciplinary group of specialists from all security forces, psychologists, social workers, policy experts, doctors, and lawyers. As a result of this coordination, psychologists, social workers, and policy experts are included in law enforcement raids or immediately included in cases where a victim has managed to escape and goes to the authorities. This assists in the identification of victims and enables the authorities to provide the physical and mental support they need. Shelter for rescued victims is coordinated through the Office, and psychologists remain with victims throughout the process - including for initial interviews and legal testimony. After providing video testimony (so that the victim will not have to face the trafficker),the victim is assisted by programs geared toward victims of trafficking and child sex exploitation run by the Ministry of Social Development. According to the Specialized Prosecutors' Office for the Investigation of Kidnapping and Trafficking in Persons crimes (UFASE),lack of action by municipal governments regarding the enforcement of a 1932 federal law prohibiting brothels is directly connected with the core of the trafficking problem. In May, Santa Rosa municipality in La Pampa province ordered the closure of brothels and night bars in order to combat trafficking in persons. B) Intensifying law enforcement efforts to dismantle trafficking networks: While the statistics are not broken down in a manner that would enable us to single out arrests and rescues specifically during the interim reporting period, from the enactment of the law on trafficking on April 28, 2008 until the end of October 2009, there have been 319 raids resulting in 344 arrests; 190 of the raids have occurred since January 1, 2009, resulting in 199 arrests. In the same time periods 488 trafficking victims have been rescued (359 adults, 129 minors); 331 of those have been rescued since January 1, 2009 (258 adults, 73 minors). C) Increasing judicial and prosecutorial efforts to investigate, prosecute, convict, and punish trafficking offenders, including corrupt officials who may facilitate or be involved with trafficking: On November 27 in Santa Fe province, Julia Nunez was sentenced to 10 years in jail in Argentina's first conviction for human trafficking. As a result of testimony during the trial, prosecutors have decided to investigate two more individuals in relation to the case. Another TIP case was scheduled to begin in Eldorado City, Misiones province on November 25. According to the Federal Office of Rescue and Support to Victims of Trafficking, courts initiated 318 TIP case; 8 of which are scheduled for oral trial (meaning that a lower court has already determined there are sufficient grounds to prosecute). Partial statistics provided by the Ministry of Justice and Human Rights in Misiones province in late July indicated there were 33 individuals indicted for TIP nationwide - 15 in Buenos Aires province, 10 in Misiones, 6 in the city of Buenos Aires, 1 in Salta, and 1 in Corrientes. According UFASE chief Marcelo Colombo, that number had increased to 34 by mid-November. On August 11, Prosecutor General Esteban Righi approved a standardized protocol for the investigation of TIP cases, a set of guidelines drafted by UFASE and the Specialized Prosecutors' Office for the Integral Assistance to Victims of Crime (OFAVI). This protocol helps orientate federal prosecutors' work when investigating human trafficking cases and interviewing the victims, taking appropriate action to secure private interviews, with the presence of a multi-professional group of experts. The protocol provides guidelines for identifying trafficking cases throughout all their stages: recruitment, transportation, receiving, lodging, and exploitation of victims. On August 24, Prosecutor General Righi signed a resolution instructing federal prosecutors to seek the closure of all brothels. Righi also instructed prosecutors to request judges of TIP cases involving sexual exploitation seize control of the location in question, holding the premises as property bond until the case is decided by the judiciary, thus preventing the resumption of operations with new potential victims. He also urged the Justice Minister and the Interior Minister to take appropriate action to help provinces and municipalities bring their legislation into compliance. Additionally, Righi ordered prosecutors to identify and press charges against any officials that may have participated in or covered up TIP crimes. In late May a Federal Court of Appeals in Mar del Plata, Buenos Aires province, ruled that TIP victims cannot provide consent when their social or economic background limits free choice. In the case decided, the court determined that despite the Paraguayan and Dominican girls' consent to work as prostitutes, their living conditions demonstrated they were kept as slaves rather than sexual workers, and therefore their original consent could not be considered valid. D) Increasing investigations of forced labor and domestic servitude crimes: The National Migrations Office under the Ministry of the Interior reported that in the city of Buenos Aires alone, they carried out 11,076 inspections during the year to monitor living and working conditions of migrants residing in the country, far surpassing the 906 inspections performed during 2008. E) Dedicating more resources for victims assistance: Trafficking victims' needs are attended to by the Office for Rescue and Caring of Victims of Trafficking - including food and clothing. Shelter is coordinated between the Office and local authorities. In some cases, NGOs run shelters that are operated with local government financing. A soon-to-open shelter in Cordoba province will benefit from training and technical assistance provided by the Maria de los Angeles Foundation. The Stop Trafficking and Human Smuggling NGO (RATT)signed an agreement with the City of Buenos Aires to run a shelter for minors who are victims of TIP; the location is currently being renovated and authorities hope to have it open by February 2010. A shelter run by the Maria de los Angeles Foundation in Tucuman was up and running prior to this reporting period. F) Sustaining anti-trafficking training for law enforcement, judges, and other public officials, including labor inspectors. The Ministry of Justice, Security and Human Rights provides ongoing training to officials and law enforcement officers through its "Victims against Violence Program." During the year, the following training seminars took place: - "Prevention and Combat of Human Trafficking Seminar" addressed to law enforcement agents in the provinces of Misiones, Salta, and Santa Cruz. - TIP training for judges and prosecutors in Santa Fe province conducted by experts in the Office for Rescue and Support of Victims of Human Trafficking and the UFASE. - Seminar on TIP and Victims Assistance addressed to police agents and other law enforcement officials in Formosa province by the Office for Rescue and Support of Victims of Human Trafficking, the Secretariat of Interior Security and the National Border Patrol. - Participation of the "Victims against Violence program" at the first Regional Seminar on Trafficking in the framework of the XXI Specialized Meeting of Women in MERCOSUR which took place in Asuncion, Paraguay, in May. - Seminar on Prevention and Fight against Trafficking in Persons for law enforcement agents hosted jointly by the Victims against Violence program and the Government of Santa Cruz province in May. - With USG support, in September the NGO Unidos por la Justicia trained 30 judges and prosecutors with trainers from other NGOs observing. Additionally, since May 2009, NGO Maria de los Angeles Foundation has trained 300 police officers and will be training another 100 by the end of December 2009. G) Improving data collection on trafficking: The Federal Office for Rescue and Support of Victims of Human Trafficking collects information and produces statistical reports regarding raids or action on trafficking cases by all four federal law enforcement agencies: the Federal Police, the Border Patrol Office, the National Coast Guard, and the Police for Airport Security through a centralized database. The Office shares these reports with the federal courts. The database is for internal use of the Office only. The National Migration Office (NMO) signed agreements with the General Prosecutor's Office and some provincial judicial branches to make their database available to prosecutors and judges. In the coming months, the NMO is scheduled to sign a similar agreement with the National Supreme Court. The "sistema integral de captura migratoria" (integral system for migration register) database is a cross-reference database developed to provide information about the entry, exit, and movement of people; the means of transportation used; prior administrative or judicial records the person may have; and the names of people accompanying the individual when entering or exiting the country. All information is available for prosecutors and judges. H) Other significant developments: On November 26, the City of Buenos Aires passed a law making March 26-April 3 the "Week for the Fight against Trafficking." The dates were selected to coincide with the anniversaries of a fire in a clandestine factory that resulted in the death of a woman and four children who were victims of forced labor (March 26) and the disappearance of Marita Veron on April 3, 2002 (believed to be a victim of sexual trafficking). The goal of the week is to raise public awareness of human trafficking issues. MARTINEZ