ROMANIA--2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND

UNCLAS STATE 060624

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG KPAO KTIP RO
SUBJECT: ROMANIA--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 ROMANIA 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 ROMANIA
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 ROMANIA 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 ROMANIA's country narrative in the
2009 TIP Report:

--------------
ROMANIA (TIER 2)
--------------

Romania is a source, transit, and destination country for
men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Romanian
men, women, and children are trafficked to Spain, Italy,
Greece, the Czech Republic, and Germany for commercial sexual
exploitation, forced begging, and forced labor in the
agriculture, construction, and service sectors. Men and
women from Romania are trafficked to Cyprus, the Netherlands,
Slovakia, Poland, Portugal, Belgium, and Turkey, Sweden,
Hungary, and Denmark for the purposes of commercial sexual
exploitation and forced labor. Romanian men, women, and
children are trafficked within the country for commercial
sexual exploitation and forced labor including forced begging
and petty theft. In 2008, sixty-nine percent of victims
identified were trafficked for forced labor. Romania is a
destination country for a small number of women from Moldova,
Colombia, and France trafficked into forced prostitution and
a small number of men from the Democratic Republic of the
Congo and Honduras trafficked for forced labor.

The Government of Romania does not fully comply with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
however, it is making significant efforts to do so. In 2008,
the government significantly increased its funding of NGOs
providing victim assistance, made notable improvements in
victim referrals by law enforcement, and continued efforts to
raise awareness of both sex and labor trafficking. The
government also demonstrated strong cooperation with foreign
law enforcement counterparts, resulting in the disruption of
several high-profile trafficking rings. However, the number
of victims who received government-funded assistance
significantly decreased in 2008. Although 69 percent of
identified victims were trafficked for the purpose of labor
exploitation, the government was again unable to report
significant efforts to address labor trafficking. The
Government of Romania announced plans in March 2009 to
reorganize the government's lead anti-trafficking agency --
the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons (NAATIP).
Experts expressed concern that the proposed reorganization
could reduce the authority and independence of NAATIP, and
could negatively affect government cooperation with NGOs, and
victim treatment, assistance, and protection.

Recommendations for Romania: Take concerted steps to
investigate and punish acts of labor trafficking; increase
the number of victims provided access to government-funded
assistance; and provide victim sensitivity training for
judges.

Prosecution
--------------

Romania sustained its law enforcement efforts over the
reporting period. Romania prohibits all forms of trafficking
in persons through Law no. 678/2001, which prescribes
penalties of 3 to 15 years' imprisonment. These penalties
are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties
prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. In 2008,
authorities investigated 494 new cases, up from 232 new cases
in 2007. The government prosecuted 329 individuals for
trafficking in 2008, compared to 398 individuals prosecuted
in 2007. During the reporting period, Romania convicted 125
trafficking offenders, down from 188 individuals convicted in

2007. During the reporting period, 106 of the 125 convicted
traffickers served some time in prison; 19 traffickers were
given suspended sentences and served no time in prison. In
2008, forty-eight traffickers were sentenced to one to five
years' imprisonment, 56 traffickers were sentenced to five to
10 years' imprisonment, and two traffickers were sentenced to
more than 10 years' imprisonment. There were no reports that
government officials were involved in trafficking during the
reporting period.

Protection
--------------

Romania demonstrated adequate efforts to protect and assist
victims of trafficking during the reporting period. In 2008,
the government provided $270,000 in support to four NGOs to
provide assistance to victims of trafficking compared to
$72,000 in 2007. Three hundred-six victims were provided
with government-funded assistance, down from 669 victims
assisted by the government in 2007. An additional 234
victims were assisted by non-government funded programs. In
2008, the government identified 1,240 victims, compared to
1,662 victims identified in 2007. In 2008, there were at
least 649 identified victims of forced labor and at least 287
identified victims of sexual exploitation. The government
operated nine shelters for victims of trafficking, though
their quality varied and most victims preferred to go to
NGO-operated shelters. Victims were encouraged to
participate in trafficking investigations and prosecutions;
1,053 victims assisted such law enforcement efforts in 2008.
Foreign victims receive a 90-day reflection period to decide
whether they would like to cooperate in a criminal
proceeding. Law enforcement proactively identified and
referred 540 victims of trafficking for assistance. While
the rights of victims were generally respected and victims
were not punished for acts committed as a result of being
trafficked, some judges were disrespectful toward female
victims of sex trafficking which discouraged victims from
participating in trafficking cases.

Prevention
--------------

Romania continued its efforts to raise awareness and prevent
human trafficking during the reporting period. The
government, in conjunction with NGOs, conducted two demand
reduction campaigns that specifically targeted clients of the
sex trade. The government also worked with counterparts in
the Czech Republic and IOM to raise awareness about Romanians
trafficked to the Czech Republic for forced labor. In 2008,
the government provided 24 trafficking awareness training
sessions for Romanian troops prior to their deployment abroad
on international peacekeeping missions.

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


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 Romania given a ranking of Tier 2?

A: The Government of Romania does not fully comply with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Despite
this progress, the number of victims who received
government-funded assistance significantly decreased in 2008
and although 69 percent of identified victims were trafficked
for the purpose of labor exploitation, the government was
again unable to report significant efforts to address labor
trafficking. The Government of Romania announced plans in
March 2009 to reorganize the government's lead
anti-trafficking agency -- the National Agency against
Trafficking in Persons (NAATIP). Experts expressed concern
that the proposed reorganization could reduce the authority
and independence of NAATIP, and could negatively affect
government cooperation with NGOs, and victim treatment,
assistance, and protection.

Q2: What progress has Romania made in the past year?

A: In 2008, the government significantly increased its
funding of NGOs providing victim assistance, made notable
improvements in victim referrals by law enforcement, and
continued efforts to raise awareness of both sex and labor
trafficking. The government also demonstrated strong
cooperation with foreign law enforcement counterparts,
resulting in the disruption of several high-profile
trafficking rings.

Q3: What can Romania do to improve its fight against
trafficking in persons?

A: To improve its anti-trafficking performance, the Romanian
government could: take concerted steps to investigate and
punish acts of labor trafficking; increase the number of
victims provided access to government-funded assistance; and
provide victim sensitivity training for judges.


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