TRAFFICKING -- PROTECTING MIGRANTS A TOP PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 JAKARTA 001854 SIPDIS DEPT FOR EAP, EAP/MTS, EAP/MLS, EAP/RSP, G/TIP, DRL, PRM/RSP NSC FOR D. WALTON E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PGOV ELAB KWMN PREL ID SUBJECT: TRAFFICKING -- PROTECTING MIGRANTS A TOP PRIORITY FOR GOI REF: A. STATE 112504 ¶B. STATE 112185 ¶1. SUMMARY: The GOI has reiterated that protecting Indonesian migrant labor is a key foreign policy priority. At a recent conference in Bandung, GOI officials reviewed the steps that they are taking to protect migrants and to counter trafficking. Civil society representatives at the event argued that the government needed to apply more funding toward anti-trafficking programs and improve coordination among ministries. Labor Attache helped provide the international perspective on trafficking involving Indonesians. The U.S. government was repeatedly cited for its support of anti-trafficking programs. END SUMMARY. ENGAGING THE PRIMARY STAKEHOLDERS ¶2. Representatives from key stakeholders sent representatives to the October 28-30 GOI conference on protecting migrants and countering trafficking in persons held in Bandung, West Java. The 60-plus participants included officials from the ministries of foreign affairs, social welfare, manpower, health, women's empowerment, immigration, law and human rights, and the coordinating ministry for the people's welfare. Representatives of the Attorney General's Office, the Supreme Court, and the national police were also in attendance. A wide variety of civil society representatives also participated, as did Interpol. Labatt participated, as did representatives of the IOM and the UN system. GOI UNDERLINES IMPORTANCE OF PROTECTING MIGRANT LABOR ¶3. Indonesian government representatives underscored that protecting Indonesian migrant labor is a key foreign policy priority. (Note: Over 10 million Indonesians work internationally, many of them in the Middle East and Malaysia.) The Coordinating Ministry of Social Welfare Director General explained that her ministry had recently completed a draft national action plan that addressed countering trafficking in persons. Echoing a similar theme of high-level governmental concern, an official from the Ministry of Manpower said his ministry had been spurred to action in order to address the concerns outlined in the 2009 U.S. TIP report and the 2009 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. CIVIL SOCIETY PERSPECTIVE ¶4. Civil society representatives at the event welcomed the 
GOI's plans. They underscored the importance of countering trafficking and the need for the GOI to provide more protection for migrants. They also argued that the government needed to apply more funding for anti-trafficking programs and improve coordination among ministries. Moreover, it was often not clear at what level of the government decisions were being made regarding policy and/or funding. AN INTERNATIONAL PERSPECTIVE ¶5. International representatives underscored that the GOI had made progress, but needed to do even more. Labatt reviewed recommendations made in the most recent G/TIP report and stressed that Indonesia should do more to enforce laws already on the books. She explained that because Indonesia is a major source country it was imperative that Indonesia take steps to close down illegal labor recruiting companies -- for both domestic and international workers. That said, Laboff went on to applaud the GOI's clear determination to fight trafficking, including with close international cooperation. ¶6. (U) Both the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) representatives agreed that the GOI had taken positive steps to prevent trafficking in persons through awareness-raising programs. The government needed to do more to apprehend, prosecute and convict traffickers. Traffickers were primarily Indonesian nationals who engaged in domestic and international forced labor. Some trafficking was done clandestinely but, most worrisome, were illegal labor recruiters who operated openly, with apparent impunity. The IOM and UNODC agreed that Indonesia did not need any new laws but must more fully implement the laws that it had. These comments were in line with the 2009 G/TIP report on JAKARTA 00001854 002 OF 002 Indonesia. USG SUPPORT APPRECIATED--AND NEEDED ¶7. (U) All participants agreed that USG support for anti-trafficking programs was vital. UNODC and IOM said at the beginning of their presentations that their research and programs had been funded by the USG. Officials from the Indonesian police explained how they had benefited from U.S.-funded training. NGOs urged the government to learn from the USG on how best to prevent, protect and prosecute. The NGOs were most pleased with the speed with which the USG responded, via various international NGOs such as Save the Children, to their requests for funding. ¶8. (U) Against the backdrop of these accolades, Mission appreciates G/TIP's continued support of programs in Indonesia (ref b). Labatt will continue to meet with NGOs in order to solicit their proposals for additional anti-trafficking grants (ref a). HUME