DRC: TIP TIER 2 WATCH LIST ACTION PLAN (2009-2010)

UNCLAS STATE 104673

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP PREL KCRM KWMN PHUM SMIG CG
SUBJECT: DRC: TIP TIER 2 WATCH LIST ACTION PLAN (2009-2010)

REF: A. A. 2008 STATE 132759

B. B. 2007 STATE 150188

C. C. 2009 STATE 005577

D. D. 2009 STATE 62182


1. (U) This is an action request (see paras 2-4).


2. (SBU) Begin action request: Drawing from points in para
8, Post is requested to approach appropriate host government
officials to highlight the United States' strong commitment
to continue to work with the Government of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo to help strengthen its efforts to
combat and prevent trafficking in persons (TIP) and to assist
victims. Post is requested to convey the recommendations in
para 9 as a non-paper and draw from the talking points in
para 8 to explain to the host government the need for prompt
action on the recommendations for a positive review in the
interim assessment that the Department will release to
Congress by February 2010 and for movement out of the Tier 2
Watch List in next year's Report.


3. (SBU) Action request continued: Post is further
requested to emphasize to the Government of the Democratic
Republic of the Congo that these recommendations are often
referred to as "high-priority" items for Tier 2 Watch List
removal. However, sustained and significant anti-trafficking
efforts by the government throughout the year will remain the
basis for determining next year's tier placement. The
interim assessment for Special Watch List countries (to
include Tier 2 Watch List countries) will provide a progress
report regarding the government's actions to address the
short list recommendations designed to address the concerns
that resulted in the country's placement on the Tier 2 Watch
List in the 2009 TIP Report (high-priority items),but there
will be no changes in tier ratings at that time. We will
reconsider the government's tier placement when we conduct
our annual full assessment for the March 2009-2010 reporting
period next spring.


4. (SBU) Action request continued: The Department
recognizes that Post may choose to use this opportunity to
provide additional recommendations, beyond the
recommendations for moving out of the Tier 2 Watch List. In
such a case, we request that Post make clear to the
government which are the "high-priority" items to move off of
the Tier 2 Watch List. (For posts, background information:
G/TIP will be asking for posts to report on the country's
progress in meeting these recommendations by no later than
November 15, 2009, in order to compile narratives for the
interim assessment.)


5. (SBU) In preparation for the interim assessment and 2010
TIP Report, the Department is asking posts to work with host
governments throughout the year to collect as many statistics
as possible on law enforcement actions and judicial
proceedings related to TIP crimes, specifically the
Department requests data on investigations, prosecutions,
convictions, and sentences (e.g., fines, probation, length of
prison sentences imposed, asset seizure information when
available). Whether a government collects and provides this
data consistent with the government's capacity to obtain such
data is considered in determining whether the government
qualifies for Tier 1. Law enforcement statistics, when
available, are a good way of highlighting how well a
government enforced its law and demonstrates strengths and
weaknesses in various approaches. Please note that host
governments and embassies must interpret data terms provided
by host governments such as indictments, charges, cases
disposed, cases submitted for prosecution, etc., to ensure
that they fit into one of the following categories:
investigations, prosecutions, convictions or sentences.

The Department cannot accept "trafficking-related" law
enforcement statistics (e.g, statistics on prostitution or
smuggling offenses) because their direct correlation to
trafficking crimes is not clear. The Department will accept
only law enforcement data that fall into the following
categories: (1) investigations, prosecutions, convictions,
and sentences for offenses that are explicitly defined as
trafficking; and (2) investigations, prosecutions,
convictions, and sentences for offenses that are not defined
explicitly as trafficking but in which the competent law
enforcement or judicial authority has specific evidence
indicating that the defendant was involved in trafficking.


6. (SBU) The Department is also asking Posts to engage with
host governments on efforts to address amendments made by the
2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act
(TVPRA). As indicated in reftel C, the TVPRA of 2008
contains a provision requiring that a country that has been
included on Tier 2 Watch List for two consecutive years after
the date of enactment of the TVPRA of 2008 be ranked as Tier

3. Thus, any automatic downgrade to Tier 3 pursuant to this
provision would take place, at the earliest, in the 2011 TIP
Report (i.e., a country would have to be ranked Tier 2 Watch
List in the 2009 and 2010 Reports before being subject to
Tier 3 in the 2011 Report). The new law allows for a waiver
of this provision for up to two additional years upon a
determination by the President that the country has developed
and devoted sufficient resources to a written plan to make
significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the
minimum standards.


7. (SBU) Please keep in mind the TIP Report measures host
government efforts. In order for anti-trafficking activities
financed or conducted principally by parties outside the
government to be considered for tier placement purposes, Post
needs to demonstrate a concrete role or tangible value-added
by a host government in such activities carried out by NGOs,
international organizations, or posts.


8. (U) Background Points:

Begin talking points:

-- The Obama Administration views the fight against human
trafficking, both at home and abroad, as a critical piece of
our foreign policy agenda. We are committed to making
progress on this issue in the months ahead by working closely
with partners in every country.

-- The U.S. Government's Trafficking Victims Protection Act
requires the State Department to submit an annual report to
Congress on the status of foreign governments, efforts to
combat trafficking in persons. Pursuant to the Trafficking
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (TVPRA),the
Department created a special category for Tier 2 countries
that do not show increasing efforts from the previous year,
have a very significant number of victims, or whose Tier 2
rating is based on commitments to take additional steps over
the next year.

-- Also as mandated by the TVPRA, by February 2010 the
Department will submit to Congress an interim assessment. At
the end of 2009 in preparation for that submission, the
Department will conduct an assessment of Tier 2 Watch List
countries' progress in responding to the specific issues of
concern that resulted in the Tier 2 Watch List rating.

-- We offer the following recommended actions to tackle
specific shortcomings highlighted in the 2009 TIP Report. We
believe these to be within the reasonable ability of your
government to fulfill in the near-term and encourage you to
take prompt action for a positive narrative in the interim
assessment. New tier evaluations will not occur at the
interim assessment. We will reconsider a government,s tier
placement when we conduct our annual full assessment for the
2009-2010 reporting period next spring. Prompt, appropriate,
and significant actions will lead to a more favorable tier
placement; conversely, failure to address the issues
mentioned above may lead to a Tier 3 placement.

-- We would welcome the Government of the Democratic Republic
of the Congo,s comments on these recommendations and any
other ideas you might have to advance our common struggle
against trafficking in persons.

End talking points.


9. (SBU) Begin Action Plan:

The Government of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has
acceded to the U.N. Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. This
Protocol contains a number of provisions, including those
relating to protection of trafficking victims,
criminalization of trafficking offenses, and prevention of
trafficking. The government must work toward full
implementation of the Protocol, including adopting
legislative measures to criminalize trafficking in persons as
defined in the Protocol.

-------------- --------------
Recommended steps for the Democratic Republic of the Congo to
combat human trafficking more effectively:
-------------- --------------

--------------
Investigation and Prosecution
--------------

-- Increase efforts to arrest and prosecute trafficking
offenders, especially those individuals exploiting children
in prostitution, forced mining, or child soldiering. Utilize
the recently enacted Child Protection Code (Law 09/001) to
prosecute cases involving child trafficking, including
trafficking for the purposes of commercial sexual
exploitation, soldiering, and domestic servitude.

-- Apply the 2006 statute against sexual violence (Law 6/018)
to the investigation and prosecution of sexual trafficking
cases, especially against those who facilitate child
prostitution, i.e. those individuals who house and maintain
control over children in prostitution. This includes the
government officials who facilitate prostitution from major
hotels in Kinshasa.

-- Punish and document any action taken against military or
other law enforcement personnel found unlawfully using local
populations, especially children, to perform forced labor,
such as carrying food and supplies, or even forced
agricultural work or mining.

-- Thoroughly investigate and start prosecuting any public
officials suspected of perpetrating trafficking abuses or
colluding with human traffickers.

-- Actively seek partnerships with international donors to
develop training programs on investigation and prosecution of
human trafficking offenses for civilian and military
investigators and magistrates.


--------------
Services for Children
--------------

-- Expand the creation and operation of care centers for
vulnerable children, i.e. for orphans, child soldiers, street
children, or child laborers.

-- Demobilize all remaining children from the FARDC,
including all previously existing integrated brigades, newly
integrated brigades, and non-integrated brigades.
Incorporate child soldier demobilization as an essential
objective of all programs adopted by the Ministry of
Defense,s disarmament, demobilization, and reintegration
(DDR) unit.

-- Follow-up with children who have been demobilized to
determine whether they have successfully reintegrated into
civilian life (e.g., the child,s basic needs are being met;
s/he has returned to school, or received vocational training
and obtained employment; s/he has not been re-recruited; and
s/he is not engaging in criminal or other destructive
behavior).

-- Investigate the situation of children in prostitution in
the country. In partnership with local or international NGOs
or religious entities, implement measures to extend
short-term protective services to these children.


--------------
Legislative Proposals
--------------

-- Step up efforts to implement the new Child Protection Code.

-- Develop a legislative proposal to comprehensively address
all forms of human trafficking. The law should define
trafficking, specify who can be considered a trafficker, and
outline a punishment scheme for various trafficking acts.

-- Develop a national action plan to combat human trafficking.


--------------
Education and Public Awareness
--------------

-- Take steps to raise awareness about human trafficking
among the general population. Some suggestions are: 1)
incorporate trafficking awareness campaigns into the national
educational system and informal educational opportunities for
children; 2) using media outlets, such as radio and
television, to air brief informational spots or public
service announcements; 3) display posters in public places
depicting the dangers of human trafficking, how to report a
case, or where to go to seek assistance; and 4) recruit
influential citizens, such as sports figures and musicians,
to record public service announcements.

-- Forcefully and publicly condemn the use of forced labor
and debt bondage in the mining sector. Together with
concession holders, develop a plan for educating mine
operators and workers about the illegality of utilizing such
labor.
CLINTON