MACAU TIP: NGO AND GOVERNMENT EVENTS RAISE

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 HONG KONG 000556 SIPDIS DEPT FOR G/TIP, DRL, INL, EAP/RSP, EAP/CM E.O. 12958: DECL: 03/17/2034 TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM SMIG HK MC CH SUBJECT: MACAU TIP: NGO AND GOVERNMENT EVENTS RAISE AWARENESS, KNOWLEDGE Classified By: Consul General Joe Donovan for reasons 1.4 (B,D). ¶1. (SBU) Summary and Comment: Macau NGO Good Shepherd Sisters (GSS) organized the second State Department-funded anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) event to coincide with International Women's Day, March 8. The outdoor exhibition was held at a public square and drew an estimated crowd of 200 people, a strong turnout for Macau on a cold and damp day. The all-day event featured anti-TIP videos, a ten-panel display on the different types of human trafficking, and posters submitted by secondary school students. In her keynote address, Secretary for Administration and Justice Florinda Chan reaffirmed the Macau government's commitment to fighting human trafficking, and promised the GSS they are "not alone" in the plight to end trafficking. The government's interdepartmental Human Trafficking Deterrent Measures Concern Committee on March 11 also organized a seminar for outside experts and NGOs to share their expertise with a largely law enforcement and judicial audience in areas Macau has identified as deficient in their current anti-TIP efforts. The successful staging of the two events demonstrate a growing interest in, and commitment to combat, human trafficking from various sectors of Macau society. End summary and comment. -------------- Local NGO Takes Message to the Public -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Director of the Good Shepherd Sisters (GSS) Women's Shelter in Macau Sr. Juliana Devoy organized the second State Department-funded anti-human trafficking event there March 8. The outdoor exhibition was the final event covered by a Women's Issues Grant awarded to GSS in 2008. GSS estimates at least 200 people came through the public square to visit the information booths and panel displays explaining human trafficking, and watch performances and multi-media broadcasts, a strong turnout for Macau on an unseasonably cold and damp day. A contest opened to all secondary school students in Macau to design a poster representing their views on human trafficking generated 55 diverse entries addressing various aspects of trafficking. Sr. Juliana told us students were encouraged to draw from online information on human trafficking and praised the students for "really getting" the importance of trafficking issues. ¶3. (SBU) Macau's second-highest official, Secretary for Administration and Justice Florinda Chan, in her keynote address reaffirmed the government's continued commitment to combating human trafficking and reviewed the government's recent anti-trafficking measures. Chan called on all members of society to join the government in the fight, specifically praising the GSS for their well-established services for, and protection of, women in need. Chan promised the GSS they were "not alone" in their anti-human trafficking efforts, stressing that the government will do its part. Senior officials from the Social Welfare Bureau and the Judiciary Police, the primary unit responsible for investigating trafficking crimes, also attended the event. -------------- Government Learns from Outside Experts, NGOs -------------- ¶4. (SBU) Macau's interdepartmental Anti-Trafficking Deterrent Measures Committee organized a seminar for more than 125 front-line law enforcement, social welfare, and judicial personnel to learn from experts from the Netherlands, Portugal and Hong Kong March 11. The head of the Netherlands' National Crime Squad Gert Buist discussed methods Holland uses to detect traffickers and victims at border entry points, addressing an area Macau authorities acknowledge they need to improve. He also outlined the Netherlands' integrated investigation model, involving close collaboration between the crime squad, immigration, border police, and social crime investigation units. A prosecutor from Portugal's Public Prosecutions Office, Euclides Simones, shared his nation's experience in applying both domestic laws and international protocols to prosecuting human trafficking crimes. ¶5. (C) Sr. Juliana and NGO representatives highlighted the importance of public-private partnerships in the fight against human trafficking, a concept the Macau government is slowly beginning to embrace. International Social Services (ISS) Hong Kong Director of Development Adrielle Panares discussed the long, effective collaboration it has with Hong Kong immigration and police in outreach to potential trafficking victims. During a lunch hosted by the concern committee following the seminar, anti-trafficking committee HONG KONG 00000556 002 OF 002 members expressed interest in exploring with ISS setting up services similar to those in Hong Kong. Panares acknowledged these discussions are nascent, but she was optimistic ISS may be invited to assist in the anti-human trafficking fight, a breakthrough in ISS' relations with the Macau government. DONOVAN