BOLIVIA -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND

UNCLAS STATE 060497 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG BL SUBJECT: BOLIVIA -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND DEMARCHE REF: A. STATE 59732 ¶B. STATE 005577 ¶1. This is an action cable; see paras 5 through 7 and 10. ¶2. On June 16, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the Secretary will release the 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report at a press conference in the Department's press briefing room. This release will receive substantial coverage in domestic and foreign news outlets. Until the time of the Secretary's June 16 press conference, any public release of the Report or country narratives contained therein is prohibited. ¶3. The Department is hereby providing Post with advance press guidance to be used on June 16 or thereafter. Also provided is demarche language to be used in informing the Government of Bolivia of its tier ranking and the TIP Report's imminent release. The text of the TIP Report country narrative is provided, both for use in informing the Government of Bolivia and in any local media release by Post's public affairs section on June 16 or thereafter. Drawing on information provided below in paras 8 and 9, Post may provide the host government with the text of the TIP Report narrative no earlier than 1200 noon local time Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA countries and OOB local time Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts. Please note, however, that any public release of the Report's information should not/not precede the Secretary's release at 10:00 am EDT on June 16. ¶4. The entire TIP Report will be available on-line at www.state.gov/g/tip shortly after the Secretary's June 16 release. Hard copies of the Report will be pouched to posts in all countries appearing on the Report. The Secretary's statement at the June 16 press event, and the statement of and fielding of media questions by G/TIP,s Director and Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Ambassador-at-Large Luis CdeBaca, will be available on the Department's website shortly after the June 16 event. Ambassador de Baca will also hold a general briefing for officials of foreign embassies in Washington DC on June 17 at 3:30 p.m. EDT. ¶5. Action Request: No earlier than OOB local time Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA posts and OOB local time on Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts, please inform the appropriate official in the Government of Bolivia of the June 16 release of the 2009 TIP Report, drawing on the points in para 9 (at Post's discretion) and including the text of the country narrative provided in para 8. For countries where the State Department has lowered the tier ranking, it is particularly important to advise governments prior to the Report being released in Washington on June 16. ¶6. Action Request continued: Please note that, for those countries which will not receive an "action plan" with specific recommendations for improvement, posts should draw host governments' attention to the areas for improvement identified in the 2009 Report, especially highlighted in the "Recommendations" section of the second paragraph of the narrative text. This engagement is important to establishing the framework in which the government's performance will be judged for the 2010 Report. If posts have questions about which governments will receive an action plan, or how they may follow up on the recommendations in the 2009 Report, please contact G/TIP and the appropriate regional bureau. ¶7. Action Request continued: On June 16, please be prepared to answer media inquiries on the Report's release using the press guidance provided in para 11. If Post wishes, a local press statement may be released on or after 10:30 am EDT June 16, drawing on the press guidance and the text of the TIP Report's country narrative provided in para 8. ¶8. Begin Final Text of Bolivia,s country narrative in the 2009 TIP Report: -------------- BOLIVIA (TIER 2) -------------- Bolivia is principally a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. A large number of Bolivians are trafficked to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Spain, and the United States for forced labor in sweatshops, factories, and agriculture. In a case discovered in May 2008, more than 200 Bolivian workers were trafficked to Russia for forced labor in the construction industry. Within the country, young Bolivian women and girls are trafficked from rural to urban areas for commercial sexual exploitation. Members of indigenous communities are particularly at risk of forced labor within the country, especially on ranches, sugar cane, and Brazilian nut plantations. Bolivian children are trafficked internally for forced labor in mining, agriculture, and as domestic servants. Some reports indicate that parents have sold or hired out their children into farm labor exploitation near border areas with Peru. Weak controls along Bolivia,s extensive borders make the country an easy transit point for undocumented migrants, some of whom may be trafficked. The Government of Bolivia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated significant anti-trafficking progress last year by increasing law enforcement actions against trafficking offenders and maintaining prevention campaigns. The government continues to lag, however, in ensuring that victims have access to adequate protective services. Recommendations for Bolivia: Continue to intensify anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts, particularly relating to allegations of forced labor of adults and children; increase victim services across the country; amend anti-trafficking laws to provide greater legal protections for victims; develop formal procedures for identifying victims among potential trafficking populations; and increase public awareness about the dangers of human trafficking, particularly among young Bolivians seeking work abroad. Prosecution -------------- The Government of Bolivia made strong efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes last year. The government prohibits all forms of human trafficking through Law 3325, an anti-trafficking law enacted in 2006, which prescribes penalties of eight to 12 years, imprisonment. The law contains aggravated penalties for trafficking offenses involving minors; organized criminal groups; and public employees responsible for protecting children. The law,s prescribed penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes such as rape. The Bolivian national police investigated 229 cases involving human trafficking in 2008, which is a 49 percent increase over the preceding year. Of these, 178 were forwarded for criminal prosecution; 114 remain in investigative status at the prosecutor,s office; 47 are in different stages within the criminal courts; 10 have gone to trial and are pending final court adjudication; and seven have resulted in guilty verdicts, with two defendants being sentenced to three and seven years respectively. Such results demonstrate increased efforts from 2007, when the government secured five convictions against trafficking offenders. The majority of the government,s anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts focused on the commercial sexual exploitation of children, though several cases dealt with allegations of forced labor. In a noteworthy case involving the trafficking of 255 Bolivian workers to Russia, eight officials of a Bolivian company involved in their recruitment, along with three Russian nationals, have been charged with trafficking for labor exploitation. The government operated four specialized anti-trafficking police units in La Paz, El Alto, Santa Cruz, and Cochabamba. Bolivian police stepped up brothel raids which resulted in the rescue of 215 children exploited in prostitution. This represents an increase in the number of victims rescued when compared to 2007 and a threefold increase since 2006. In September 2008, the government passed legislation to create a national database on human trafficking crime statistics, as well as a clearinghouse for information on missing children, some of whom may be trafficked. The new law also directs the national police to form specialized anti-trafficking units in each department of the country. No criminal investigations or prosecutions of public officials allegedly involved with trafficking-related activity were initiated last year, though some officials reportedly took bribes to facilitate the illegal movement of persons, including suspected human trafficking. Protection -------------- The Bolivian government sustained modest efforts to protect trafficking victims over the last year. Temporary and long-term services for victims remain unavailable, however, in many parts of the country, especially outside larger cities such as La Paz and Santa Cruz, which have small municipal shelters capable of caring for trafficking victims on a short-term basis. The government has no dedicated programs to assist the large numbers of Bolivians trafficked abroad and later repatriated to the country. The government generally encourages victims to assist with the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers. However, some trafficking victims reportedly have been jailed or otherwise penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. The government lacks effective procedures for identifying trafficking victims among vulnerable populations such as prostituted women in brothels, and does not provide foreign trafficking victims with legal alternatives to deportation to countries where they may face hardship or retribution. Prevention -------------- The government sustained prevention and public awareness efforts by conducting anti-trafficking education campaigns directed primarily at school children, reaching approximately 3,000 students. The government also worked closely with NGOs, international organizations, and other governments, including the United States, on prevention activities. No efforts to reduce demand for commercial sex acts were reported during the year. Bolivian troops deployed with peacekeeping operations abroad receive human rights training, including information relating to the unlawful commercial sexual exploitation of minors. ¶9. Post may wish to deliver the following points, which offer technical and legal background on the TIP Report process, to the host government as a non-paper with the above TIP Report country narrative: (begin non-paper) -- The U.S. Congress, through its passage of the 2000 Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended (TVPA), requires the Secretary of State to submit an annual Report to Congress. The goal of this Report is to stimulate action and create partnerships around the world in the fight against modern-day slavery. The USG approach to combating human trafficking follows the TVPA and the standards set forth in the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (commonly known as the "Palermo Protocol"). The TVPA and the Palermo Protocol recognize that this is a crime in which the victims, labor or services (including in the "sex industry") are obtained or maintained through force, fraud, or coercion, whether overt or through psychological manipulation. While much attention has focused on international flows, both the TVPA and the Palermo Protocol focus on the exploitation of the victim, and do not require a showing that the victim was moved. -- Recent amendments to the TVPA removed the requirement that only countries with a "significant number" of trafficking victims be included in the Report. Beginning with the 2009 TIP Report, countries determined to be a country of origin, transit, or destination for victims of severe forms of trafficking are included in the Report and assigned to one of three tiers. Countries assessed as meeting the "minimum standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking" set forth in the TVPA are classified as Tier 1. Countries assessed as not fully complying with the minimum standards, but making significant efforts to meet those minimum standards are classified as Tier 2. Countries assessed as neither complying with the minimum standards nor making significant efforts to do so are classified as Tier 3. -- The TVPA also requires the Secretary of State to provide a "Special Watch List" to Congress later in the year. Anti-trafficking efforts of the countries on this list are to be evaluated again in an Interim Assessment that the Secretary of State must provide to Congress by February 1 of each year. Countries are included on the "Special Watch List" if they move up in "tier" rankings in the annual TIP Report -- from 3 to 2 or from 2 to 1 ) or if they have been placed on the Tier 2 Watch List. -- Tier 2 Watch List consists of Tier 2 countries determined: (1) not to have made "increasing efforts" to combat human trafficking over the past year; (2) to be making significant efforts based on commitments of anti-trafficking reforms over the next year, or (3) to have a very significant number of trafficking victims or a significantly increasing victim population. As indicated in reftel B, 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. -- Countries classified as Tier 3 may be subject to statutory restrictions for the subsequent fiscal year on non-humanitarian and non-trade-related foreign assistance and, in some circumstances, withholding of funding for participation by government officials or employees in educational and cultural exchange programs. In addition, the President could instruct the U.S. executive directors to international financial institutions to oppose loans or other utilization of funds (other than for humanitarian, trade-related or certain types of development assistance) with respect to countries on Tier 3. Countries classified as Tier 3 that take strong action within 90 days of the Report's release to show significant efforts against trafficking in persons, and thereby warrant a reassessment of their Tier classification, would avoid such sanctions. Guidelines for such actions are in the DOS-crafted action plans to be shared by Posts with host governments. -- The 2009 TIP Report, issuing as it does in the midst of the global financial crisis, highlights high levels of trafficking for forced labor in many parts of the world and systemic contributing factors to this phenomenon: fraudulent recruitment practices and excessive recruiting fees in workers, home countries; the lack of adequate labor protections in both sending and receiving countries; and the flawed design of some destination countries, "sponsorship systems" that do not give foreign workers adequate legal recourse when faced with conditions of forced labor. As the May 2009 ILO Global Report on Forced Labor concluded, forced labor victims suffer approximately $20 billion in losses, and traffickers, profits are estimated at $31 billion. The current global financial crisis threatens to increase the number of victims of forced labor and increase the associated "cost of coercion.8 -- The text of the TVPA and amendments can be found on website www.state.gov/g/tip. -- On June 16, 2009, the Secretary of State will release the ninth annual TIP Report in a public event at the State Department. We are providing you an advance copy of your country's narrative in that report. Please keep this information embargoed until 10:00 am Washington DC time June ¶16. The State Department will also hold a general briefing for officials of foreign embassies in Washington DC on June 17 at 3:30 pm EDT. (end non-paper) ¶10. Posts should make sure that the relevant country narrative is readily available on or though the Mission's web page in English and appropriate local language(s) as soon as possible after the TIP Report is released. Funding for translation costs will be handled as it was for the Human Rights Report. Posts needing financial assistance for translation costs should contact their regional bureau,s EX office. ¶11. The following is press guidance provided for Post to use with local media. Q1: Why was Bolivia given a ranking of Tier 2? A: The Government of Bolivia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated significant anti-trafficking progress last year by increasing law enforcement actions against trafficking offenders and maintaining prevention campaigns. The government continues to lag, however, in ensuring that victims have access to adequate protective services. Q2: What is the nature of Bolivia,s trafficking problem? A: Bolivia is principally a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. A large number of Bolivians are trafficked to Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Spain, and the United States for forced labor in sweatshops, factories, and agriculture. In a case discovered in May 2008, more than 200 Bolivian workers were trafficked to Russia for forced labor in the construction industry. Within the country, young Bolivian women and girls are trafficked from rural to urban areas for commercial sexual exploitation. Members of indigenous communities are particularly at risk of forced labor within the country, especially on ranches, sugar cane, and Brazil nut plantations. Bolivian children are trafficked internally for forced labor in mining, agriculture, and as domestic servants. Some reports indicate that parents have sold or hired out their children into farm labor exploitation near border areas with Peru. Q3: How can Bolivia improve its anti-trafficking efforts? A: To advance its efforts to combat human trafficking, the Government of Bolivia could: continue to intensify anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts, particularly relating to allegations of forced labor of adults and children; increase victim services across the country; amend anti-trafficking laws to provide greater legal protections for victims; develop formal procedures for identifying victims among potential trafficking populations; and increase public awareness about the dangers of human trafficking, particularly among young Bolivians seeking work abroad. ¶12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the preceding action requests. CLINTON