Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09STATE60528
2009-06-11 22:14:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Secretary of State
Cable title:  

PALAU -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND

Tags:  KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG PS 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO7003
OO RUEHKR
DE RUEHC #0528/01 1622242
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 112214Z JUN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY KOROR IMMEDIATE 1649
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 STATE 060528 

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG PS
SUBJECT: PALAU -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND
DEMARCHE

REF: (A) STATE 59732 (B) STATE 005577

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 STATE 060528

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG PS
SUBJECT: PALAU -- 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 Palau 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 Palau
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 pm EDT.



5. Action Request: No earlier than 12 noon local time on
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 Palau 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 Palau,s country narrative in the 2009
TIP Report:

--------------
Palau (TIER 2)
--------------

Palau is a transit and destination country for a small number
of women trafficked from the Philippines and the People,s
Republic of China (PRC) for purpose of commercial
exploitation, and for a small number of men from the
Philippines, the PRC and Bangladesh for the purpose of forced
labor. Some employers recruit foreign men and women to work
in Palau through fraudulent representation of contract terms
and conditions of employment. These foreign workers
willingly migrate to Palau for jobs in domestic service,
agriculture, or construction, but are subsequently coerced to

STATE 00060528 002 OF 005


work in situations significantly different than what their
contracts stipulated ) excessive hours without pay,
confiscation of their travel documents, and the withholding
of salary payments as a means of controlling their movement;
these conditions may be indicative of involuntary servitude.
Some workers are also threatened by their employers, and some
women expecting to work as waitresses or clerks, are forced
into commercial sexual exploitation in karaoke bars and
massage parlors. Since the late 1990s, the Philippines
government banned its nationals from migrating to Palau to
serve as domestic workers.

The Government of Palau does not fully comply with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
however, it is making significant efforts to do so. During
the reporting period, the government continued its law
enforcement and prosecution efforts against trafficking
offenders. Victim services and efforts to raise public
awareness of human trafficking, however, remained limited.

Recommendations for Palau: Increase efforts to investigate,
prosecute, and punish trafficking offenders; monitor
employment agents recruiting foreign men and women for work
in Palau to prevent trafficking for labor exploitation;
establish formal procedures to identify and refer trafficking
victims to protective services; work with NGOs or
international organizations, as appropriate, to provide
additional services to victims; and develop and conduct
anti-trafficking information and education campaigns.

Prosecution
--------------
The Government of Palau made minor progress in its law
enforcement and prosecution efforts against trafficking
offenders during the reporting period. The Anti-Smuggling
and Trafficking Act of 2005 prohibits all forms of
trafficking in persons. Its sufficiently stringent
penalties, ranging from ten to 50 years, imprisonment and
fines up to $500,000, are commensurate with penalties
prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. Despite
limited resources and a relatively small number of victims,
Palau prosecuted and convicted four trafficking offenders in

2007. These traffickers had forced 15 Filipinas and nine
Chinese waitresses into commercial sexual exploitation and
subjected them to food deprivation, confinement, and illegal
salary deductions. One of the traffickers appealed his
conviction in 2008. In February 2009, the conviction was
reversed and the case against the trafficker was dismissed
without prejudice, meaning it can be refiled. There were no
other investigations, prosecutions, or convictions during the
reporting period. The government did not train law
enforcement officers to proactively identify victims or to
identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations,
such as foreign women in prostitution.

Protection
--------------
The government of Palau offered minimal protective services
to victims of trafficking over the reporting period. No
long-term protective services were available to victims, and
Palauan government agencies did not employ formal procedures
to identify and refer trafficking victims for the services
which were available. The government did not identify or
assist any victims of trafficking during the year although it
has done so in the past. A religious organization provided
limited assistance to victims of any crime. In the past, its
services were available to trafficking victims and would be
made available again, as needed. Palauan law does not
penalize victims for illegal acts committed as a direct
result of being trafficked, and encourages victims to assist
in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking
offenders. The government does not remove victims to
countries where they may face hardship or retribution. In
2007, Filipina and Chinese victims were offered the choice of
remaining in Palau and seeking different employment or
returning home.

Prevention
--------------
The government made no discernable efforts to prevent human
trafficking through planned campaigns to educate the public
about its dangers, but publicized its anti-trafficking
activities at least twice during the year. Government
agencies cooperated with each other, with foreign
governments, and with international organizations on
trafficking matters. No detailed information about Palau,s
national plan to address trafficking was available at the
time of this Report,s drafting. Palau Customs, Immigration
and Police have formed a four-person training team which has
created an identity crime training program for government
employees, to help them recognize false documents which might
be used by traffickers. Palau also improved its immigration
controls, in part to deter trafficking in persons, in

STATE 00060528 003 OF 005


accordance with its participation in the Pacific Regional
Immigration Identity Project and the Pacific Immigration
Directors Conference. The government made no discernable
efforts to address the demand for commercial sex acts or the
demand for forced labor during the reporting period. Palau
has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.

--------------



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)

STATE 00060528 004 OF 005


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."

-- 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 Palau placed on the 2009 Report? Why was it
given a ranking of Tier 2?

A: Palau was placed on the TIP Report this year because
there is evidence that it is a country of origin, transit, or
destination for victims of severe forms of trafficking.
Palau was given a Tier 2 ranking because the Government of
Palau does not fully comply with the minimum standards for
the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making
significant efforts to do so. During the reporting period,
the government continued its law enforcement and prosecution
efforts against trafficking offenders. Victim services and
efforts to raise public awareness of human trafficking,
however, remained limited.

Q2: What is the nature of the trafficking situation in Palau?

A: Palau is a transit and destination country for a small
number of women trafficked from the Philippines and the
People,s Republic of China (PRC) for purpose of commercial
exploitation, and for a small number of men from the
Philippines, the PRC and Bangladesh for the purpose of forced
labor. Some employers recruit foreign men and women to work
in Palau through fraudulent representation of contract terms
and conditions of employment. These foreign workers
willingly migrate to Palau for jobs in domestic service,
agriculture, or construction but are subsequently coerced to
work in situations significantly different than what their
contracts stipulated ) excessive hours without pay,
confiscation of their travel documents, and the withholding
of salary payments are used as a means of controlling their
movement. Some workers are also threatened by their
employers and some women expecting to work as waitresses or
clerks are forced into commercial sexual exploitation in
karaoke bars and massage parlors. Since the late 1990s,
Palau has been the subject of a Philippines government
deployment ban for domestic helpers.

Q3: How can Palau improve its anti-trafficking efforts?

A: The Government of Palau could increase efforts to
investigate, prosecute, and punish trafficking offenders;

STATE 00060528 005 OF 005


monitor employment agents recruiting foreign men and women
for work in Palau for compliance with existing labor laws;
establish formal procedures to identify and refer trafficking
victims to protective services; work with NGOs or
international organizations to provide additional services to
victims; and develop and conduct anti-trafficking information
and education campaigns.


12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the
preceding action requests.
CLINTON