Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09DAMASCUS554
2009-08-06 11:50:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Damascus
Cable title:  

EMBASSY DAMASCUS OPENS DIALOGUE WITH MFA ON TIP

Tags:  PHUM PGOV PREF PREL KTIP KWMN SCUL SCOI ID 
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VZCZCXYZ0056
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DE RUEHDM #0554/01 2181150
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 061150Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 6687
INFO RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD PRIORITY 0001
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA PRIORITY 0070
RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0661
RUEHML/AMEMBASSY MANILA PRIORITY 0102
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0624
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0702
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA PRIORITY 0057
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0681
RHEHAAA/WHITE HOUSE WASHDC PRIORITY
C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000554 

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, DRL/NESCA
LONDON FOR LORD, PARIS FOR MILLER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/06/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREF PREL KTIP KWMN SCUL SCOI ID
IZ, RP, SY
SUBJECT: EMBASSY DAMASCUS OPENS DIALOGUE WITH MFA ON TIP
ISSUES

REF: A. DAMASCUS 00479

B. DAMASCUS 00471

C. DAMASCUS 00062

Classified By: CDA Raymond Maxwell for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000554

SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, DRL/NESCA
LONDON FOR LORD, PARIS FOR MILLER

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/06/2019
TAGS: PHUM PGOV PREF PREL KTIP KWMN SCUL SCOI ID
IZ, RP, SY
SUBJECT: EMBASSY DAMASCUS OPENS DIALOGUE WITH MFA ON TIP
ISSUES

REF: A. DAMASCUS 00479

B. DAMASCUS 00471

C. DAMASCUS 00062

Classified By: CDA Raymond Maxwell for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d)


1. (C) Summary: MFA International Organizations Chief Mr.
Milad Attiyeh hosted Emboffs on August 5 to discuss SARG
progress on combating trafficking in persons (TIP). The
Embassy had requested the meeting to explain the philosophy
behind, and function of, the Department's annual TIP report.
Emboffs used the opportunity to elaborate on the TIP report's
recommendations for Syria on "prevention, prosecution, and
protection." Attiyeh's overarching message was that the SARG
had already demonstrated its desire to combat the problem and
would continue to do so in the future with the passage of a
new TIP law. Trafficking, he stressed, was not systemic in
Syria, but a by-product of the U.S. occupation of Iraq, which
had forced many desperate refugees in Syria to turn to
prostitution for economic reasons. Emboffs stressed the need
for direct, open communication between the Embassy and
relevant SARG agencies on trafficking crimes and raised the
idea of a potential future visit by G/TIP officers. Attiyeh
said he would get back to us on these suggestions. End
Summary.

--------------
Embassy Stresses Need for Continuing Dialogue
--------------


2. (C) Milad Attiyeh, Chief of the International
Organizations Department (an MFA bureau office) agreed to
meet Pol/Econ Chief and Poloff covering human rights on
August 5 in response to the Embassy's dipnoted request of
July 26. In the spirit of re-engagement characterizing the
current bilateral relationship, Pol/Econ Chief explained, the
Embassy hoped for cooperation with its SARG counterparts on
using the recent publication of the Department's annual
Trafficking in Persons Report by beginning a dialogue on

Syrian efforts to combat trafficking in persons. The TIP
report's publication had coincided with advances toward the
passage of anti-TIP draft legislation in Syria, the increased
coordination between SARG agencies and international NGOs
like the International Organization for Migration (IOM),and
improving bilateral relations. These positive developments
indicated now was the time to begin talking about how
information sharing might enhance anti-TIP measures and, by
extension, positively influence the preparation of next
year's report. We suggested an officer from G/TIP might be
able to visit Damascus, meet with SARG counterparts, and see
first hand the progress made with shelters if there was
interest from the SARG.


3. (C) Despite the new rapprochement between the U.S. and
Syria, however, Pol/Econ Chief emphasized that dialogue alone
would be insufficient without continuing SARG actions. But
if we did not start a dialogue now, he said, it would be
difficult to shape Washington's view of TIP-related
developments in Syria.

--------------
SARG Criticism of Report
--------------


4. (C) Attiyeh observed the MFA's position on the
re-engagement process mirrored the Embassy's, adding "the new
openness and the new administration are both going in the
right direction and we can build on that to discuss regional
issues." He stopped short, however, of agreeing a fresh
dialogue on TIP-specific issues was needed. Exhibiting a
familiarity with the TIP report on Syria, Attiyeh quickly
pointed out the report's language was too general and lacked
specific examples in support of its "accusations."
"Trafficking," he sniffed, is not a historical phenomenon in
Syria, but a current one. To address the problem required
looking at the "root cause" -- namely, the U.S. occupation of


Iraq. The influx of refugees from Iraq into Syria had caused
this "new problem." Many Iraqi women and children had come
to Syria and out of economic desperation involved themselves
in prostitution.

--------------
SARG Anti-TIP Achievements
--------------


5. (C) The SARG was very "keen" on pursuing anti-trafficking
efforts as its past actions had proven, Attiyeh argued. For
three years, he said, a host of ministers and
parliamentarians, including himself, had worked with IOM to
draft the TIP law. Now the law was with the Prime Minister's
office and would next be sent to the Parliament for
endorsement. In the international arena, Syria had ratified
the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime as
well as the Convention's supplemental Protocol to Prevent,
Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. (Note: the SARG
ratified both the Convention and the Protocol on April 8,
2009.)


6. (C) Even though the TIP law remained in draft form, Syrian
law enforcement were alert to traffickers and had arrested,
prosecuted, and sentenced individuals for TIP-related
crimes, Attiyeh reported. In response to our questions, he
admitted neither the Ministry of Justice nor the Ministry of
Interior provided statistics on such arrests and convictions,
but stated trafficking was clearly illegal under other Penal
Code statutes and that arrests were, indeed, occurring.


7. (C) Attiyeh produced a list of all the
workshops/conferences the SARG had co-sponsored with IOM
since the beginning of their collaborative relationship in

2005. He observed this cooperation had led to the opening of
two shelters for victims of trafficking, one in Damascus
(reftels) and one in Aleppo. (Note: IOM reported the Aleppo
shelter was not open yet, but undergoing refurbishment. IOM
predicted the opening would be months out since staffing and
training had yet to take place.) Regarding a visit from
G/TIP, Attiyeh would only go so far as to say "I take your
point and will get back to you on whether we can do this."
He also stressed that Syria was tackling trafficking crimes
because of its own commitment to law and order, not because
it felt any international pressure to do so.

--------------
The U.S. Perspective
--------------


8. (C) Pol/Econ Chief agreed with Attiyeh that Syria had made
progress on anti-TIP measures and hoped those efforts would
become codified, enter into the government's institutional
framework, and inform its relations with like-minded NGOs and
other community stakeholders. He stressed direct
communication at a working level between SARG and Embassy
counterparts might add to this coordination and also help
Washington appreciate more fully current and future SARG
achievements.


9. (C) Attiyeh quietly concurred Washington should be better
informed of events on the ground, but quickly re-asserted,
"We have to focus on the 'root cause,'" the American
occupation of Iraq. Pol/Econ Chief acknowledged the SARG's
focus on this issue, and pointed to the USG's close
coordination with and funding of UNHCR and other U.N.
organizations as a sign of our sustained commitment to
providing humanitarian relief to Iraqi refugees. He
explained Washington's focus on formal preventive measures,
transparency in police interdiction and judicial processes,
and the importance of robust efforts to protect victims --
not just victims of sex-related trafficking, but also the
many domestics fraudulently trafficked into and within Syria
from countries like the Philippines and Indonesia.


10. (C) Comment: Working-level meetings with our MFA

counterparts are rare. We therefore are encouraged by the
MFA's willingness to open dialogue on a highly sensitive
subject like trafficking. We hope to exploit this opening by
showing dialogue with the U.S., in light of the SARG's
positive steps toward acknowledging and confronting
TIP-related issues, can lead to mutually beneficial outcomes.
In the wake of the E.O. 13441 renewal, the SARG will likely
perceive any TVPA sanctions resulting from its Tier 3 rating
in the 2009 TIP Report negatively.


11. (C) Comment, continued: Washington now has a choice
between pursuing an additional and immediate sanctions
regime, or granting the SARG more time to formalize
in-process anti-TIP measures. New sanctions would certainly
communicate how seriously Washington and, especially,
Congress view TIP. At the same time, they might dissuade the
SARG from agreeing to a G/TIP visit and pursuing further
discussions with us on this subject. End Comment
MAXWELL