FY 2009 PEDOPHILIA CERTIFICATION

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 000104 SIPDIS DEPT FOR IO/RHS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: AORC PHUM SOCI SUBJECT: FY 2009 PEDOPHILIA CERTIFICATION REF: 08 SECSTATE 131870 ¶1. Per reftel request, US Embassy Santo Domingo confirms that UN agency INSTRAW (UN International Research and Training Institute for the Advancement of Women),is located in the Dominican Republic. INSTRAW provided post with a list of twenty-five (25) civil society organizations with which it had some form of "affiliation" in 2008. INSTRAW officials, being well aware of the annual reftel request, provided assurances that, as an agency focused on the advancement of women, support for pedophilia among its affiliated NGOs is not accepted. Accordingly, INSTRAW does not grant any official status, accreditation, or recognition to any organization which promotes and condones or seeks the legalization of pedophilia or has any subsidaries or member organizations that do. Post spent some 2 hours of staff time on this. Contact B Sickles in ECOPOL if needed. BULLEN