EAP: INSTRUCTIONS FOR 2009 TIP INTERIM ASSESSMENT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 STATE 111958 SENSITIVE SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM KTIP KWMN PGOV PHUM SMIG RP CB CH FM SUBJECT: EAP: INSTRUCTIONS FOR 2009 TIP INTERIM ASSESSMENT REF: NONE 1.(U) This is an action cable; action request in paras 5 and ¶6. 2.(SBU) The Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended in 2003, requires the Secretary of State to submit a "Special Watch List" of countries on the TIP Report that either 1) had moved up a tier on the TIP Report over the last year or 2) were ranked on Tier 2 but a) had not shown evidence of increasing efforts to address severe forms of TIP from the previous year, b) were placed on Tier 2 because of commitments to carry out additional future actions over the coming year, or c) had a significant or significantly increasing number of victims of severe forms of TIP. 3.(SBU) The "Special Watch List" has been submitted to Congress, as required, along with the President's determinations for sanctions of Tier 3 countries. The TVPA, as amended, now requires the Secretary to submit to Congress an Interim Assessment on the Special Watch List countries no later than February 1, 2010. 4.(SBU) The Interim Assessment, which the Department plans to release on January 5, 2010, will serve as a narrowly-focused progress report, assessing only a country's key deficiency(s) highlighted in the June 2009 TIP Report. Measuring progress or lack of progress in addressing these deficiencies (the basis for which the country was placed on the Watch List initially) is the main purpose of the Interim Assessment. This will not/not serve as a large-scale analysis of anti-trafficking efforts in the relevant country. Similarly, it will not describe the trafficking problem in that country (readers can refer to the 2009 TIP Report for that). Finally, it will not mention Tiers or allude to progress in achieving a higher tier or, conversely, forecast a fall to a lower tier. 5.(U) Action Request for Action Addressees: Please answer the questions addressed to your Post in para 6 in concise analytical terms, citing examples of the progress (or lack thereof) sparingly. Post's submission should not exceed four or five paragraphs. The final Interim Assessment will include a narrative of no more than half a page on each country's progress. Please provide these responses to the Department via front-channel cable -- slugged for EAP/RSP and G/TIP -- no later than November 16. ¶6. (U) Interim Assessment Requirements: ¶A. FOR EMBASSY BEJING: Please summarize the progress, or lack thereof, the Government of China has made in (a) revising anti-trafficking laws and the National Plan of Action to criminalize and address all forms of labor and sex trafficking in a manner consistent with international standards; (b) significantly improving efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses and convicting and punishing trafficking offenders, including public officials complicit in trafficking; (c) increasing efforts to address labor trafficking, including prosecuting and punishing recruiters and employers who facilitate forced labor and debt bondage, and providing protection services to victims of forced labor; (d) continuing to increase cooperation with foreign governments on cross-border trafficking cases; (e) adopting proactive procedures to identify victims of trafficking among vulnerable groups, such as migrant workers and foreign women and children arrested for prostitution; (f) increasing efforts to protect and rehabilitate both sex and labor trafficking victims; (g) providing foreign victims with legal alternatives to removal to countries in which they may face hardship of retribution; (h) conducting a campaign to reduce the demand for forced labor and commercial sex acts; and (i) adhering to its obligations as party to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, including by not expelling North Koreans protected under those treaties and by cooperating with UNHCR in the exercise of its functions. Please report on any other significant developments. ¶B. FOR EMBASSY PHNOM PENH: Please summarize the progress, or lack thereof, the Government of Cambodia has made in (a) training law enforcement and other government officials to place greater emphasis on enforcing the human trafficking provisions in the February 2008 law; (b) significantly improving the number of prosecutions, convictions and punishments of trafficking offenders; (c) substantially STATE 00111958 002 OF 002 improving efforts to prosecute, convict and criminally punish public officials complicit in trafficking; (d) holding labor recruiting agencies criminally responsible for labor trafficking induced by fraudulent recruitment; (e) improving interagency cooperation and collaboration, particularly between government officials and law enforcement officers working on trafficking; (f) increasing efforts to proactively identify victims of trafficking among vulnerable groups such as foreign women and children arrested for prostitution; (g) instituting procedures to ensure that victims are not arrested, incarcerated, or otherwise punished for acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked; and (h) conducting a public awareness campaign aimed at reducing demand by the local population and Asian visitors for commercial sex acts. Please report on any other significant developments. ¶C. FOR EMBASSY KOLONIA: Please summarize the progress, or lack thereof, the Government of the Federated States of Micronesia has made in (a) developing and implementing a comprehensive federal anti-human trafficking law; (b) creating or supporting campaigns to educate and inform the public about the dangers of trafficking; (c) monitoring the practices of overseas employment recruiters and investigating recruiters who may be involved in trafficking; and (d) developing an internal structure which ensures victims' access to protective services. Please report on any other significant developments. ¶D. FOR EMBASSY MANILA: Please summarize the progress, or lack thereof, the Government of the Philippines has made in (a) significantly improving efforts to prosecute, convict, and punish trafficking offenders, including officials complicit in trafficking; (b) dedicating more resources to efforts to prosecute trafficking cases; (c) assessing methods to measure and address domestic labor trafficking; (d) implementing anti-trafficking awareness campaigns directed at domestic and foreign clients of the sex trade in the Philippines; (e) dedicating increased funding for the Inter-Agency Council Against Trafficking and improving anti-trafficking coordination between government agencies; (f) disseminating information on the 2003 law throughout the country; and (g) training law enforcement officers and prosecutors on the use of the 2003 law. Please report on any other significant developments. CLINTON