LATVIA--2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND

UNCLAS STATE 060607 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: ELAB KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG KPAO KTIP LG SUBJECT: LATVIA--2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND DEMARCHE REF: A. 2009 STATE 59732 ¶B. 2009 STATE 5577 ¶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 Latvia 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 Latvia 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 Latvia 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 Latvia's country narrative in the 2009 TIP Report: -------------- Latvia (TIER 2 Watch List) -------------- Latvia is a source and destination country for women trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Latvian women are trafficked to Germany, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Italy, Spain, Denmark, Switzerland, Greece, Ireland, and Japan for commercial sexual exploitation. Latvian teenage girls are trafficked within the country for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Latvia is a destination country for women trafficked from Belgium and Portugal for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and for women from Thailand who may have been trafficked for the purpose of forced labor. The Government of Latvia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Despite these efforts, the government did not show evidence of progress in prosecuting and punishing trafficking offenders and assisting victims of trafficking; therefore, Latvia is placed on Tier 2 Watch List. During the reporting period, the results of the government's efforts to investigate sex and labor trafficking crimes and prosecute those responsible declined. It also cancelled funding for one NGO that had been providing victim care and it deported three potential victims of labor trafficking before their claims were completely vetted. Recommendations for Latvia: Provide government-funded assistance to a greater number of trafficking victims; increase efforts to identify victims of trafficking among vulnerable populations, such as women and girls in prostitution, and refer these victims for assistance; ensure law enforcement, border guards, and labor inspectors receive labor trafficking training; ensure that a majority of convicted traffickers serve some time in prison; take steps to expand available victim services to areas outside of Riga; work with NGOs to improve services available to victims of trafficking; and increase efforts to raise awareness about both sex and labor trafficking. Prosecution -------------- The results of the Government of Latvia's law enforcement efforts decreased in 2008. Latvia prohibits all forms of trafficking through Section 154-1 and 154-2 of its Criminal Law, which prescribe penalties of from 3 to 15 years' imprisonment. These prescribed penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. The government also uses non-trafficking related laws to prosecute traffickers. Authorities initiated 17 trafficking investigations, including at least one case of forced labor, compared to 21 trafficking investigations in 2007. Authorities prosecuted 15 individuals and convicted 11 traffickers in 2008, a decrease from 28 convictions in 2007. Only 3 of the 11 trafficking offenders convicted in 2008 are serving time in prison; eight traffickers were given suspended sentences or fines and served no time in prison. One trafficker was sentenced to up to three years' imprisonment and two traffickers were sentenced to 5 to 10 years' imprisonment. In 2007, seven convicted traffickers served sentences ranging from 1 to 10 years' imprisonment and 21 traffickers served no time in prison. Despite several labor trafficking cases reported by police in 2008, the government did not try any suspected labor trafficking offenders. Protection -------------- The government demonstrated mixed efforts to assist victims during the reporting period. Although the government increased the total amount of money spent for victim assistance, the number of victims provided with government-funded assistance remained the same; the government discontinued funding for all but one anti-trafficking NGO operating in the country during the reporting period, reducing Latvia's overall ability to identify and assist victims of trafficking. The Government of Latvia spent $58,500 of $81,000 budgeted for victim assistance in 2008, an increase from $23,000 spent in 2007. However, only 12 of 28 identified victims of trafficking qualified for government-funded assistance due to a cumbersome application process; the remaining 16 victims received assistance from privately-funded NGOs. The government offered foreign victims temporary legal alternatives to their removal to countries where they may face hardship or retribution; victims who agree to assist law enforcement may apply for temporary residency and work permits. No victims applied for or received the 30-day reflection period during the reporting period. The residency permits of three Thai women, initially identified as trafficking victims, were abruptly terminated after the victims' alleged traffickers requested that the government cancel their work permits. The victims were quickly deported and the police stopped their investigation into their allegations of forced labor. The government identified and referred 17 victims to NGOs for assistance in 2008, compared to 10 in 2007; however, the NGO community expressed concerns that victim-screening mechanisms used by law enforcement did not adequately identify victims of trafficking from vulnerable populations living in Latvia including street children, women in prostitution, and foreign migrant populations. Twenty-one out of 28 victims identified in 2008 were Latvian women trafficked abroad; seven of these identified victims were exploited in Latvia. The government encouraged victims to participate in investigations against their traffickers; in 2008, 14 victims assisted with law enforcement investigations. One trafficking victim benefited from the government's witness protection program. The government did not penalize victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their being trafficked. Prevention -------------- Latvia again demonstrated modest efforts to prevent trafficking in persons during the reporting period. The Ministry of Education placed human trafficking as an education topic in the human rights curriculum of all high schools in Latvia. The government funded and the Latvian State Tourism Agency distributed information sheets and travel guides for tourists that included information designed to discourage sex tourism in Latvia. -------------- ¶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." -- 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 Latvia given a ranking of Tier 2 Watch List? A: Latvia is placed on Tier 2 Watch List because the government did not show evidence of progress in prosecuting and punishing trafficking offenders and assisting victims of trafficking. During the reporting period, the results of the government's efforts to investigate sex and labor trafficking crimes and prosecute those responsible declined. It also cancelled funding for one NGO that had been providing victim care and it deported three potential victims of labor trafficking before their claims were completely vetted. Q2: What are the legal justifications for placing a country on Tier 2 Watch List? A: A country may be placed on Tier 2 Watch List if it is assessed that it does not comply with the minimum standards to eliminate trafficking in persons, but is making significant efforts to do so and there is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year, including increased investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of trafficking crimes, increased assistance to victims, and decreasing evidence of complicity in severe forms of trafficking by government officials. Q3: What can Latvia do to improve its fight against trafficking in persons? A: To improve its efforts in the coming year, the Latvian government could: provide government-funded assistance to a greater number of trafficking victims; increase efforts to identify victims of trafficking among vulnerable populations, such as women and girls in prostitution, and refer these victims for assistance; ensure law enforcement, border guards, and labor inspectors receive labor trafficking training; ensure that a majority of convicted traffickers serve some time in prison; take steps to expand available victim services to areas outside of Riga; work with NGOs to improve services available to victims of trafficking; and increase efforts to raise awareness about both sex and labor trafficking. ¶12. The Department appreciates posts' assistance with the preceding action requests. CLINTON