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.

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Local NGO Takes Message to the Public
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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.

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Government Learns from Outside Experts, NGOs
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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

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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