BRAZIL MAKES PROGRESS AGAINST TIP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 SAO PAULO 000018 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR WHA/BSC, INL, DRL, G/TIP E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREF KCRM PHUM ELAB KTIP BR SUBJECT: BRAZIL MAKES PROGRESS AGAINST TIP REF: A. 08 Sao Paulo 276 B. 08 Brasilia 962 ¶C. 08 Sao Paulo 678 UNCLASSIFIED ¶1. (U) Summary: The year 2008 saw continued improvement in the fight against Trafficking in Persons (TIP) in Brazil. Despite prickly reactions to U.S. pressure, as evidenced by discussions between U.S. and Brazilian officials during a June G/TIP visit (Reftels A and B),the fight against human trafficking expanded into new areas as a result of growing cooperation on anti-TIP initiatives by federal, state and local governments. In addition, Brazil is seeing increased attention to TIP in academic circles and a rise in promising anti-TIP public-private partnerships. A bottom-up approach to anti-TIP efforts in Brazil holds promise for additional progress as we use grant monies and information programs to reinforce the positive anti-TIP networks that the Brazilians are developing. End Summary. MOMENTUM IN THE FIGHT AGAINST TIP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶2. (U) The GOB is paying closer attention to TIP at the federal, state and local levels. Brazil was the site of a number of anti-trafficking conferences in late-2008 hosted by both government officials and NGO's: --In November, Justice Secretary, Romeu Tuma Junior hosted the "First International Seminar on Irregular Migration and TIP" in Brasilia. The conference exposed government and law enforcement officials to European TIP investigation methods. --Also in November, Rio de Janeiro hosted the "Third World Congress Against Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents." A coalition of NGO's and GOB agencies including the Ministries of Justice, Health, Foreign Affairs, Human Rights, Social Development, Tourism and Education sponsored the conference, which attracted high level guests (septel on event forthcoming). Among the panelists and 3,000 conference attendees was Dilma Rousseff, potential Presidential candidate for Brazil's 2010 elections and current Chief of Staff to President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva. Governors and governor's representatives from the states of Rio de Janeiro, Bahia, Sergipe, Para, Goias, Amazonas, Roraima, Rondonia, Mato Grosso and Alagoas also attended. --In December, the State of Sao Paulo hosted its own conference on TIP entitled "Forming a Network to Confront Trafficking in Persons and the Sexual Exploitation of Children and Adolescents," where Consulate General Poloff made a presentation of U.S. TIP policies and announced G/TIP's grants. Consulate participation was well received by participants, who fully support the strong USG position on this issue (Ref C). BRAZIL DEVELOPS TIP DATABASE / ANTI-TIP CENTERS - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶3. (U) With the support of the Justice Secretary, Brazil has established a national database on TIP. At the Sao Paulo Anti-TIP conference, Mauricio Correo of the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) announced that the database would track both victim and trafficker information with a goal of profiling traffickers and, ultimately, attacking the source of TIP profits (Reftel C). ¶4. (U) As part of the MOJ's National Plan for Public Security and Citizenship (Pronasci),the Ministry established two anti-TIP centers in Rio de Janeiro and Recife and plans to open additional anti-TIP centers in Sao Paulo, Para and Goias states. Each center provides victims with assistance and develops local policies for combating TIP in its region. These facilities, generally located in or near a high crime or at-risk area, have the support of the local police force and community leaders. A social worker, psychologist and legal consultant staff each center. FEDERAL AND STATE COOPERATION ON THE RISE SAO PAULO 00000018 002 OF 003 - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶5. (U) At the Sao Paulo anti-TIP conference, state officials announced a new anti-TIP advertising campaign funded by the MOJ, the Ministry of Tourism and the Sao Paulo State Secretariat of Justice and Citizen's Defense. The campaign, set to kick-off this month, targets at-risk populations (especially the traditional Afro-Brazilian settlements known as Quilombos) and the many truck and taxi-drivers that ply the nation's highways and are often associated with trafficking (Reftel C). In press reports, Justice Secretary Romeu Tuma Junior announced that while this program starts in Sao Paulo, he plans to expand it to other states to strengthen the national fight against TIP. THE ACADEMIC COMMUNITY STARTS TO TAKE ON TIP - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶6. (U) TIP is garnering increasing interest from the academic community. A number of universities offering public administration graduate degree programs are adding TIP and its related problems as well as methodologies for combating the problem to their course curriculums. At the Sao Paulo anti-TIP conference, one participant announced that the Higher School of the Public Ministry (Escola Superior do Ministerio Publico) (ESMP) was contemplating offering a graduate degree in anti-TIP. (Comment: Conference participants indicated to Poloff that the panelist may have gotten ahead of himself, since putting together a full degree program is quite demanding. Nonetheless, this suggests academic institutions could be encouraged to study TIP, particularly in connection with migration and human rights. End Comment.) ¶7. (U) The federal government is making efforts to encourage TIP studies. In 2008, the MOJ offered cash prizes in its first essay contest on TIP. In an effort to stimulate academic interest in and attention to TIP, the MOJ awarded six students (three graduate students and three undergraduate students) cash prizes for essays on combating TIP, assisting TIP victims and addressing TIP from a policy perspective. The Sao Paulo winner, Nathalia Justo, was awarded R$2000 (US$870) for her third prize winning essay in the undergraduate category. Justo argued that combating TIP should be integrated into the framework of Brazil's foreign policy initiatives. ¶8. (U) TIP is also increasingly a subject of academic research. Assistant Professor Rafael da Silva Oliveira of the University of Roraima recently presented his study on the trafficking of women for sexual exploitation from Roraima state (the northern most state of Brazil) into Venezuela and Guyana. Based on his findings, development of an interstate highway infrastructure between Manaus (the capital of bordering Amazonas state),Roraima, and extending north into Venezuela led to an increase of illicit activity of many types. He lamented that the police are so focused on attacking the smuggling of drugs, gemstones and fuel that they have limited capacity to target TIP. He noted that police often fail to realize that the highly organized crime rings that smuggle women are also often the same rings that are forcing the women to smuggle drugs and other items out of Brazil. Da Silva echoed the sentiments of many Sao Paulo contacts in noting that police still need additional training to identify adequately TIP, and to understand its links to other types of crimes. PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS ON THE RISE - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶9. (U) Private corporations are increasingly joining the fight against TIP in Brazil. Several years ago, the Federal Police released a report that noted nearly 2,000 "points of vulnerability" where sexual exploitation can occur along Brazilian roadways. Most of these vulnerability points are along major interstate highways near gas stations, nightclubs and bars frequented by truck drivers. Childhood Brazil, an NGO that works to protect children from sexual exploitation commissioned a study with the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS) to interview truck drivers and help find ways to tackle this problem. The UFRGS study interviewed 239 truckers in six states and concluded that many truckers do not have a clear SAO PAULO 00000018 003 OF 003 understanding of what sexual exploitation is, much less a sense that it is wrong. They noted that over 60% of truckers admitted to having sex with a prostitute while on the road and nearly 37% admitted to sex with a minor. ¶10. (U) In order to educate the truckers, Childhood Brazil, in partnership with the Ethos Institute, started the "On the Right Track" program. They solicited the major corporations moving goods over Brazilian roadways and asked them to help stop child sexual exploitation by educating their truckers. Currently, 400 Brazilian companies have voluntarily entered the fight against child sexual exploitation (and, by extension, against TIP). In practice, each company selects an individual to act as a "multiplier." The multiplier is educated by Childhood Brazil about sexual exploitation and then returns to their company and, in turn, holds seminars for the truckers to educate them. They try to help truckers develop empathy for the victim's situation through information and by asking the drivers to imagine the victim as their son or daughter. To date, Childhood Brazil estimates that approximately 400,000 truckers have attended meetings or received literature about the problem through the "On the Right Track" program. BOTTOMS UP APPROACH HAS MOMENTUM - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶11. (U) Comment: Though TIP clearly remains a significant problem in Brazil and elements in Brasilia criticize U.S. TIP policies, the GOB has given significant attention to the issue and continues to expand its efforts. The growing synergies at the local and state levels between elements of the federal government, state governments, academia and NGOs in the fight against human trafficking suggest that a bottom-up approach to anti-TIP efforts will yield progress in Brazil as we use grant monies and information programs to reinforce the positive anti-TIP networks that the Brazilians are developing. End Comment. ¶12. (U) This cable was cleared by Embassy Brasilia. WHITE