RENEWED GOI EFFORTS TO COMBAT TIP

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 002373 SIPDIS DEPT PLEASE PASS TO USAID G/TIP: MARK TAYLOR; G: DAVID YOUNG; S/GWI: SABA GHORI; SCA/RA: JMAZZONE E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/16/2019 TAGS: PGOV KCRM KCOR ELAB KWMN KOCI PHUM KTIP SOCI IN SUBJECT: RENEWED GOI EFFORTS TO COMBAT TIP Classified By: Acting DCM Uzra Zeya for Reasons 1.4 (B and D) ¶1. (SBU) Summary: The Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA),which plays a significant role in the GOI's trafficking in persons (TIP) efforts, seems to be taking renewed steps to overcome India's TIP challenge. In September, the MHA issued two advisories, one on violence against women and another on human trafficking, aimed at focusing the attention of Indian states on these issues and giving them guidance. The MHA has also expanded its Anti-Human Trafficking Cell from six to ten officials, and requested additional funding from the Planning Commission which has expressed its support for robust anti-TIP efforts. The GOI continues to sensitize police in India by giving them training and raising their awareness of TIP. The MHA may be receptive to USG police training on TIP (See Action Request in Paragraph 8). End Summary. NEW HOME MINISTRY ADVISORIES -------------- ¶2. (SBU) In an October 21 meeting, Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) Director Dr. Praveen Singh shared information with Poloff on the GOI's recent anti-TIP efforts. In September, the MHA issued an advisory on preventing and combating human trafficking in India. This was the first such advisory on TIP by the GOI and was formulated in consultation with the Ministries of Women and Child Development, Labor and Employment, and Health and Family Welfare. Key points of the TIP advisory include implementation of legal provisions of the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act, the Juvenile Justice Act, Prohibition of Child Marriage; capacity building of state machinery; prevention of trafficking; investigation and prosecution; and rescue/rehabilitation measures. The GOI also issued an advisory the same month on "Measures Needed to Curb Crime Against Women," the first advisory concerning women in over five years. (Note: In India's federal structure, law enforcement is primarily a state responsibility. The Home Ministry, however, can urge state governments to focus on certain topics by providing them guidance and helping them secure GOI resources. End Note.) ¶3. (C) Singh told Poloff the MHA issued the advisories to convey a strong signal on these issues to state governments. To demonstrate the GOI's renewed focus on TIP, she (protect) showed Poloff internal GOI memoranda. In a July 2009 memorandum to Deputy Chairman Montek Singh Ahluwalia of the Planning Commission, Home Minister P. Chidambaram highlighted weaknesses in law enforcement and requested additional funds for anti-trafficking efforts. Dr. Singh told Poloff that Ahluwalia agreed in principle to the request and asked the MHA to create a more ambitious program. he stressed that, though the GOI is committed to anti-TIP efforts, chronic poverty in India continues to provide a large and vulnerable pool of trafficking victims. ANTI-HUMAN TRAFFICKING CELL EXPANDS -------------- ¶4. (SBU) To strengthen implementation of the advisory, Singh stated that the MHA has expanded its Anti-Human Trafficking Cell (AHTC) from a staff of six officials to ten, headed by a Joint Secretary, a Deputy Secretary (from the Indian Police Service),a Director, section officers, and support staff. (Note: Expansion of the AHTC is one of the recommendations for the GOI in the USG TIP Report. End Note.) Since the Planning Commission quickly committed additional funding for the AHTC, Singh said that the AHTC should become fully staffed within two months. She further emphasized that because TIP is a top priority for Home Minister Chidambaram, there has been rapid progress in setting up a full-fledged AHTC. ¶5. (SBU) The AHTC, Singh told Poloff, will serve as a central point for the MHA to communicate with its Anti-Human Trafficking Officers, located in each Indian state. The AHTC's responsibility includes the monitoring of actions taken by state governments regarding both TIP and crimes against women. States are required to submit quarterly reports to the AHTC. In conjunction with the National Crime Records Bureau, the GOI's ultimate objective is to connect all 14,000 of its linguistically diverse and geographically dispersed police stations across the nation to improve interstate coordination and investigation of crimes, including TIP, through a computerized tracking and network system. The GOI has earmarked approximately USD 440 million in funds---an unprecedented amount---for states to implement this ambitious project. NEW DELHI 00002373 002 OF 002 ¶6. (SBU) Singh stated that MHA Joint Secretary N.S. Kalsi chaired an inter-ministerial meeting with state anti-human trafficking officers in Delhi in August, to discuss the functioning of anti-trafficking cells in states and measures to effectively prevent and combat human trafficking. Singh showed Poloff a copy of the minutes of the meeting that detailed the various anti-TIP activities of central, state, and local authorities. GOI EFFORTS TO SENSITIZE THE POLICE -------------- ¶7. (SBU) Singh stressed that sensitizing police officers to TIP issues remains critical since police generally are not very literate and are preoccupied with competing priorities. Thus, GOI efforts in this direction include 18 MHA, Bureau of Police Research and Development (BPRD),and UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC)-conducted training workshops to expand the anti-trafficking capabilities of 5,419 law enforcement personnel in several states. Three other national/regional level workshops on TIP trained 107 law enforcement personnel. The GOI conducted six "Training-of-Trainers" TIP awareness programs for 207 law enforcement officers in Punjab, Assam, Delhi, Pune, Chennai, and Moradabad. Singh stated the GOI will host a national seminar on combating TIP in November---now postponed to early January---that will include participants from GOI ministries, UN agencies, the police, state AHT units, and possibly NGOs. The seminar's main objective is to review existing legislation and examine the need for a comprehensive anti-TIP law. COMMENT/ACTION REQUEST -------------- ¶8. (SBU) As the October 2010 date for the Commonwealth Games approaches, the GOI seems increasingly concerned about its international image. Singh confided that the GOI plans to host an international conference on TIP in Delhi in the near future. Poloff asked Singh whether MHA would be receptive to U.S. TIP training for Indian law enforcement officials. Singh said that she welcomed U.S proposals. Post recommends the Department explore TIP-related law enforcement training programs that we can offer India, such as those conducted by the Department of Justice. There is likely to be some pushback to such cooperation in parts of the Indian bureaucracy, but we think we have a forward leaning partner in Dr. Praveen Singh, who appears to be personally committed to improving the GOI's anti-TIP efforts. BIO NOTE -------------- ¶9. (SBU) Dr. Praveen Singh has been in her current position for five months. She joined the Indian Administrative Service (Railroad Division) 18 years ago from the Haryana cadre and is on deputation to the Home Ministry. She represented the GOI at meetings of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons, and Related Transnational Crimes. Singh holds a degree in biology and speaks fluent English and Hindi. WHITE