TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS - NEW ZEALAND 2009

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 41 WELLINGTON 000038



SIPDIS

SENSITIVE



DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G-ACBlank, INL, DRL, PRM, EAP/ANP, EAP/RSP



DEPARTMENT PASS USAID



E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: PHUM, PREF, ASEC, SMIG, ELAB, KCRM, KWMN, KFRD, KTIP, NZ



SUBJ: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS - NEW ZEALAND 2009



WELLINGTON 00000038 001.2 OF 041





ZFR-ZFR-ZFR-ZFR



Please ZFR Wellington 0038 and blank all associated MCNs. The report

restarted on section 18 and can't be corrected.





See Wellington 0041 for the correct version of the report.







WELLINGTON 00000038 002 OF 041





RESPONSE:



There is no objective evidence (victim interviews, arrests,

convictions, etc.) indicating that New Zealand is a country of

origin or transit in transnational trafficking, though New Zealand's

legal sex industry likely makes it a potential country of

destination -- primarily for women of Asian ethnicity engaged in the

legal sex industry. This suspicion is based on the existence of

non-resident aliens (usually Asian women) working illegally in New

Zealand's legal sex industry. However, it is difficult for

government officials and NGOs to prove such women are trafficking

victims because the sex workers seek to avoid detection (in order to

remain in New Zealand) or do not consider themselves victims.



The number of domestic trafficking victims is also small (estimated

to be less than 100),and consists of underage sex workers, and

illegal migrants working in the agricultural sector. As with

potential transnational trafficking victims in the sex industry,

domestic trafficking victims also seek to avoid detection or do not

consider themselves victims. Therefore, making an accurate estimate

of the number of victims is difficult.



NGOs involved in addressing underage prostitution agree that there

are no reliable data concerning the number of victims in New

Zealand. However, there is NGO consensus that the number is

relatively small -- primarily young people engaging in prostitution

on an opportunistic and intermittent basis, and working in the

street more so than in brothels.



Another source of information concerning prostitution is the

Prostitution Law Review Committee (PLRC),which was established with

the adoption of the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) in 2003. The PLRC

was required by the legislation to issue a five-year report on the

status and effectiveness of the PRA, which was published in May,

2008. In preparing its report, the PLRC relied on information

provided by the government, the Christchurch School of Medicine, the

Victoria University's Crime and Justice Research Center, the New

Zealand Prostitutes Collective, and other NGOs.



With respect to underage prostitution, the PLRC reported that:



-- There were 2,332 sex workers within the major centers of

prostitution in NZ, namely Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch,

Hawke's Bay and Nelson. Of those, the PLRC estimated that 1.3

percent (approximately 30) were under 18 years of age.



-- Underage prostitutes work primarily in the street sector (as

opposed to brothels),which makes them more difficult to detect and

more likely to be victims of abuse and unhealthy working

conditions.



There have not been changes in the TIP situation since the last TIP

report.



-- C. What kind of conditions are the victims trafficked into?



RESPONSE:



With respect to women of Asian ethnicity illegally engaging in the

legal prostitution industry and working in licensed brothels (see

response to "23-D" below),the safety and HEALTH conditions would be

similar to that of legal sex workers, though trafficking victims

might be compelled or intimidated to participate because of debts

incurred abroad or as a condition of receiving assistance in

immigrating into New Zealand. As noted in "23-A" above, there have

been no adult trafficking victims discovered within the New Zealand

sex industry since 2002.



Concerning underage prostitutes, these young women are generally

working in the street and outside of legal brothels. They are,



WELLINGTON 00000038 003 OF 041





therefore, more vulnerable to abuse and are more likely to be

working in unhealthy and dangerous conditions. Illegal migrants

working in the agricultural sector are similarly vulnerable to abuse

and poor working conditions.



In all cases (underage prostitutes, migrant sex workers and migrant

farm workers),such potential trafficking victims are unlikely to

report intimidation, abuse or working conditions for fear of

detection, loss of income, and possible deportation.



-- D. Vulnerability to TIP: Are certain groups of persons more at

risk of being trafficked (e.g. women and children, boys versus

girls, certain ethnic groups, refugees, IDPs, etc.)?



RESPONSE:



Women of Asian ethnicity have the greatest risk of being trafficked

into New Zealand, primarily for prostitution (though, as mentioned

previously, none have been detected since 2002). This assessment is

based on the nationality of foreign women who are found to be

engaging illegally in prostitution (i.e., while in New Zealand on

temporary residence status). The women illegally engaging in

prostitution often originate from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and

Thailand.



With regard to underage prostitution, the persons most at risk are

young New Zealand women (under 18 years old) from homes in which

there were problems with child abuse, domestic violence, alcoholism

and dysfunctional families.



Victims of transnational trafficking in the agricultural sector are

most likely low-skilled men and women from Asia and Pacific Island

Countries who have entered the country illegally.



-- E. Traffickers and Their Methods: Who are the

traffickers/exploiters? Are they independent business people?

Small or family-based crime groups? Large international organized

crime syndicates? What methods are used to approach victims? For

example, are they offered lucrative jobs, sold by their families, or

approached by friends of friends? What methods are used to move the

victims (e.g., are false documents being used?). Are employment,

travel, and tourism agencies or marriage brokers involved with or

fronting for traffickers or crime groups to traffic individuals?



RESPONSE:



There have been no proven cases of transnational trafficking since

2002.



With respect to underage prostitution, the government and NGOs

suggest that it is opportunistic and street based.



According to the director of the Mangere East Family Services Center

(MEFSC) in Auckland, youth who engage in prostitution do so on an

episodic basis rather than full-time, and only a few are pimped by

gangs. Almost all underage prostitutes, according to MEFSC, are

street workers rather than operating within a brothel (where

detection is more likely). The young people engage in prostitution

in order to obtain money for needed expenses and then cease the

activity until the need arises again. They do not view themselves

as prostitutes. MEFSC claims that detecting underage sex workers is

made more difficult by the popularity of cellular phone texting.

Street-based sex workers use texting to arrange meetings with

clients without making contact in public areas (at least after the

initial contact).



ECPAT agrees with the MEFSC assessment concerning the number and

nature of underage prostitution in New Zealand. Almost all of the

underage prostitutes work in the street on a temporary and

opportunistic basis, according to ECPAT, though a few are reported



WELLINGTON 00000038 004 OF 041





to be trafficked among gangs.



Iosis Family Solutions (Iosis) in Auckland, which has worked with

underage sex workers for several years, estimated that number of

"hard core" underage prostitutes in Auckland is low, though the

number of young girls who occasionally engage in prostitution on an

opportunistic basis is larger. According to Iosis, girls in the

latter group do not consider themselves to be prostitutes, as they

engage in such activity only on holidays or whenever they desire

some extra money.



The opinions of the NGOs cited above are echoed by the PLRC's 2008

report described in the response to "23-B."





24. SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS:



-- A. Does the government acknowledge that trafficking is a problem

in the country? If not, why not?



RESPONSE:



The government acknowledges that transnational trafficking is a

potential problem, but it has not discovered a transnational

trafficking victim since New Zealand's anti-trafficking law became

effective in 2002. Nevertheless, New Zealand has used reasonable

efforts to detect trafficking victims who may enter the country.

The government credits its lack of a transnational trafficking

problem largely to the country's geography. As a remote island

nation, New Zealand has the advantage of not sharing a common border

with another country. Consequently, anti-trafficking resources can

be targeted on the country's limited number of air and sea entry

locations.



As stated in "23-B" above, the government's definition of

trafficking does not include underage prostitution which, it admits,

is a limited problem. The government works to prevent and prosecute

such exploitation under other laws dealing with the abuse and

exploitation of children, and with underage prostitution.



-- B. Which government agencies are involved in anti-trafficking

efforts and which agency, if any, has the lead?



RESPONSE:



The Department of Labour-Immigration has the lead role in New

Zealand's anti-trafficking efforts and also chairs the government's

Interagency Working Group (IWG) on People Trafficking discussed in

"24-D" below. The Department of Labour-Immigration, the New Zealand

Police, the New Zealand Customs Service, and the Ministry of Justice

have responsibility for enforcement and prosecution of the laws

governing trafficking. In addition, trafficking issues are covered

by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of

Women's Affairs and the Ministry of Social Development. The

independent Human Rights Commission also participates to a limited

degree.



With respect to the geographical jurisdiction of government agencies

engaged in anti-trafficking efforts, New Zealand Customs and the

Department of Labour-Immigration concentrate on the territorial sea

and on border entry points. The New Zealand Defence Forces monitor

international waters and New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone for

vessels bound for New Zealand.



-- C. What are the limitations on the government's ability to

address this problem in practice? For example, is funding for

police or other institutions inadequate? Is overall corruption a

problem? Does the government lack the resources to aid victims?



RESPONSE:



WELLINGTON 00000038 005 OF 041







The government is not constrained by fiscal or other resources in

addressing human trafficking issues. Instead, the difficulty for

New Zealand is balancing its desire to eliminate all forms of

trafficking (which is a relatively small problem in New Zealand)

against the competing need to address other significant social

problems that affect a much larger portion of the population, such

as domestic violence, child abuse, gang violence, drug abuse, and

the disproportionate number of Maoris on unemployment and welfare

rolls, in prison, among school dropouts, in infant mortality

statistics, and among single-parent households.



Overall corruption was not a problem. New Zealand has a number of

legislative, administrative, and enforcement structures in place to

prevent and prosecute bribery and corruption, to include the Police

Financial Intelligence Unit; the Serious Fraud Office; the Office of

the Ombudsmen; the Inland Revenue Department; the Office of the

Controller and Auditor-General; the Department of Internal Affairs;

and the State Services Commission. There are other agencies as

well, such as the Ministry of Justice, which lead policy initiatives

against corruption and bribery.



New Zealand is perceived to be ONE of the world's three least

corrupt countries (along with Denmark and Sweden) according to the

latest annual survey by Transparency International. The index

defines corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain

and measures the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist

among a country's public officials and politicians.



The government provides and funds an extensive network of victim

support and social services for victims of crimes, to include

victims of trafficking. That network is sufficient to assist

victims of trafficking and is explained in detail within the

responses that follow.



-- D. To what extent does the government systematically monitor its

anti-trafficking efforts (on all fronts --prosecution, victim

protection, and prevention) and periodically make available,

publicly or privately and directly or through regional/international

organizations, its assessments of these anti-trafficking efforts?



RESPONSE:



In 2008, the government adopted a Plan of Action to combat

trafficking, and the government's implementation efforts continue.

The Plan of Action was developed and implemented by the IWG, which

is comprised of the ministries and departments that are engaged in

anti-trafficking efforts. In addition, the Plan of Action process

solicited input from NGOs and civil society groups. The purpose of

the Plan of Action is to review, refine and enhance the government's

anti-trafficking strategies and framework, including its monitoring

and evaluation strategies. Another goal is to uncover and deter

trafficking by creating public awareness of trafficking issues.



With respect to the domestic exploitation of underage prostitutes,

the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) established the Prostitution Law

Review Committee (PLRC) to review the operation of the PRA and its

impact on the commercial sex industry. The PLRC published its

5-year report in 2008 and will report again in 2018.



The government's efforts to prevent and address trafficking are also

reported within the Bali Process, at relevant UN meetings (such as

the UNHCR and the IGC),to regional and international organizations

(such as the International Organization for Migration and the

Pacific Immigration Directors Conference),and on a government

public access web site.





25. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS:





WELLINGTON 00000038 006 OF 041





For questions A-D, posts should highlight in particular whether or

not the country has enacted any new legislation since the last TIP

report.



-- A. Existing Laws against TIP: Does the country have a law or laws

specifically prohibiting trafficking in persons -- both for sexual

exploitation and labor? If so, please specifically cite the name of

the law(s) and its date of enactment and provide the exact language

[actual copies preferable] of the TIP provisions. Please provide a

full inventory of trafficking laws, including non-criminal statutes

that allow for civil penalties against alleged trafficking crimes

(e.g., civil forfeiture laws and laws against illegal debt). Does

the law(s) cover both internal and transnational forms of

trafficking? If not, under what other laws can traffickers be

prosecuted? For example, are there laws against slavery or the

exploitation of prostitution by means of force, fraud, or coercion?

Are these other laws being used in trafficking cases?



RESPONSE:



New Zealand has adopted the definition of trafficking set out in the

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,

especially Women and Children. That definition only covers

transnational forms of trafficking. Other than this notable

difference with U.S. law, the New Zealand anti-trafficking

legislation is comprehensive and covers all aspects of transnational

trafficking, including reception, concealment or harboring of

persons.



Measures to punish forms of domestic trafficking not addressed by

the laws punishing transnational trafficking are included under

other New Zealand laws. These domestic trafficking laws (though

the word "trafficking" is not used) deal with crimes involving

abduction, assault, kidnapping, rape, engaging or coercing underage

prostitutes, and exploitation of laborers within New Zealand

borders.



The key anti-trafficking legislative provisions (dealing with

transnational trafficking) are found in Part 5 of the Crimes Act of

1961. The relevant provisions are sections 98 (dealing in slaves),

98A (participation in organized criminal group),98B (definitions),

98C (smuggling migrants),98D (trafficking in persons),98E

(aggravating factors),and 98F (Attorney-General's consent

required).



Section 98 of the Crimes Act of 1961 makes dealing in slavery an

offense. Sections 98A, 98C and 98D are offenses for which a person

may be extradited from a country with which New Zealand has an

extradition treaty.



In 2005, the government added section 98AA to comply with New

Zealand's obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention

on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

It establishes an offense for dealing in people less than 18 years

for sexual exploitation or engagement in forced labor.



Section 16 of the Prostitution Reform Action of 2003 prohibits

inducing or compelling persons to provide commercial sexual services

or earnings from prostitution.



In February 2002, New Zealand passed legislation criminalizing human

smuggling and trafficking. The Transnational Organized Crime Bill

was adopted on June 17, 2002 as an amendment to the Crimes,

Extradition, Immigration, Passports and Mutual Assistance in

Criminal Matters Amendment Acts.



In addition, the Crimes Act prohibits sexual conduct with young

people under 18 both within and outside NZ (section 144A),and

criminalizes the organization or promotion of child sex tours

(section 144C).



WELLINGTON 00000038 007 OF 041







The government has proposed a civil forfeiture law, called the

Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Bill, that would authorize the

government to seize instruments used in, or the proceeds derived

from, all of the crimes listed above. The bill is currently

awaiting its second reading before Parliament.



-- B. Punishment of Sex Trafficking Offenses: What are the

prescribed and imposed penalties for trafficking people for sexual

exploitation?



RESPONSE:



The penalty for offenses relating to all types of trafficking is

contained in section 98D of the Crimes Act of 1961 and imposes a

term of imprisonment not exceeding 20 years, a fine not exceeding

USD 250,000 (NZD 500,000) or both.



No penalties were imposed under this law within the reporting

period.



-- C. Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses: What are the

prescribed and imposed penalties for trafficking for labor

exploitation, such as forced or bonded labor? If your country is a

source country for labor migrants, do the government's laws provide

for criminal punishment -- i.e. jail time -- for labor recruiters

who engage in recruitment of workers using knowingly fraudulent or

deceptive offers with the purpose of subjecting workers to

trafficking in the destination country? If your country is a

destination for labor migrants, are there laws punishing employers

or labor agents who confiscate workers' passports or travel

documents for the purpose of trafficking, switch contracts without

the worker's consent as a means to keep the worker in a state of

service, or withhold payment of salaries as means of keeping the

worker in a state of service?



RESPONSE:



In 2002, the government added sections 98A-98F into the Crimes Act

in order to implement of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and

Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and the

Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.



Section 98C prohibits the smuggling of unauthorized migrants into

New Zealand or any other country. Section 98D prohibits the

trafficking of persons into New Zealand or any other country.



In 2005, the government added section 98AA to comply with New

Zealand's obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention

on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

It prohibits the use of people less than 18 years in forced labor.

The scope of 98AA is broad and covers not only the selling,

bartering, transferring, hiring or renting of a person under 18

years of age, but also prohibits:



-- engaging or permitting a person under 18 years to be engaged in

forced labor;



-- detaining, confining, receiving, transporting, removing or

importing a person under 18 years for trafficking purposes; or



-- inducing a person who is under 18 years (or the guardian or

caregiver of such a person) to sell, rent, or give himself or

herself for any of the specified purposes.



Violations of section 98 carry a maximum penalty of 20 years

imprisonment and/or a fine not exceeding USD 250,000 (NZD 500,000),

with the exception of 98AA, which carries a maximum penalty of 14

years imprisonment.





WELLINGTON 00000038 008 OF 041





The Immigration Act of 1987 provides that an employer must not

either knowingly, or without reasonable excuse, employ a non-citizen

who is not entitled to work in New Zealand (section 39). Section 39A

prohibits employer exploitation of illegal migrants within New

Zealand and carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment

and/or a fine of USD 50,000 (NZD 100,000). Among other things, the

Immigration Act of 1987 makes it a crime to:



-- exploit persons not legally entitled to work in New Zealand by

failing to comply with minimum employment standards regarding wages,

holiday pay or wage deductions (reinforces existing law in section

39A of the Immigration Act of 1987, above); and



-- prevent a person from obtaining their legal entitlements, or

force a person to leave his/her employment or country through such

means as confiscating passports, tickets or travel documents,

preventing outside communication or keeping him/her confined to the

workplace.



-- D. What are the prescribed penalties for rape or forcible sexual

assault? (NOTE: This is necessary to evaluate a foreign

government's compliance with TVPA Minimum Standard 2, which reads:

"For the knowing commission of any act of sex trafficking . . . the

government of the country should prescribe punishment commensurate

with that for grave crimes, such as forcible sexual assault (rape)."

END NOTE)



RESPONSE:



Sexual violation (i.e., rape or sexual contact) of an adult is

punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed 20 years and

differs from the penalties for trafficking in the following

respects:



-- Unlike trafficking convictions, it does not carry a potential

monetary fine.



-- The minimum sentence for a sexual violation is 8 years. There is

no minimum sentence for trafficking offenses.



-- A person who has been convicted of sexual violation may be

detained without bail ("preventive detention") if the offender has a

history of sexual offenses or poses a risk to the community. A

person who is convicted of a trafficking offense is not eligible to

be placed in preventive detention.



Sexual violation of a child carries a maximum potential penalty of

ten years if the child is under 16 years of age; and fourteen years

if the child is under 12 years of age.



-- E. Law Enforcement Statistics: Did the government prosecute any

cases against human trafficking offenders during the reporting

period? If so, provide numbers of investigations, prosecutions,

convictions, and sentences imposed, including details on plea

bargains and fines, if relevant and available. Please note the

number of convicted traffickers who received suspended sentences and

the number who received only a fine as punishment. Please indicate

which laws were used to investigate, prosecute, convict, and

sentence traffickers. Also, if possible, please disaggregate

numbers of cases by type of TIP (labor vs. commercial sexual

exploitation) and victims (children under 18 years of age vs.

adults). If in a labor source country, did the government

criminally prosecute labor recruiters who recruit workers using

knowingly fraudulent or deceptive offers or by imposing fees or

commissions for the purpose of subjecting the worker to debt

bondage? Did the government in a labor destination country

criminally prosecute employers or labor agents who confiscate

workers' passports/travel documents for the purpose of trafficking,

switch contracts or terms of employment without the worker's consent

to keep workers in a state of service, use physical or sexual abuse



WELLINGTON 00000038 009 OF 041





or the threat of such abuse to keep workers in a state of service,

or withhold payment of salaries as a means to keep workers in a

state of service? What were the actual punishments imposed on

persons convicted of these offenses? Are the traffickers serving

the time sentenced? If not, why not?



RESPONSE:



There have been no prosecutions under New Zealand's anti-trafficking

laws since they were instituted in 2002, as no evidence of

transnational trafficking has been found. However, the government

has prosecuted and convicted individuals under the Prostitution

Reform Act (PRA) for using children in prostitution. In addition,

the government conducted compliance visits within brothels to check

for underage sex workers and foreign nationals working as

prostitutes (both of which are prohibited under the PRA).



For the period from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008, the

government made 21 compliance visits to sex industry premises.

These included brothels, homes and any premises associated with the

sex industry. During those visits authorities found nine foreign

nationals working illegally in the sex industry. Of those, the

government revoked ONE entry permit (the holder then departed NZ or

was deported) and three persons without entry permits either

departed NZ or were deported. Three had temporary permits revoked

but are still unlawfully in New Zealand. The two remaining holders

of entry permits were allowed to remain in New Zealand on

humanitarian grounds or given a second chance.



Since the PRA came into force in June 2003 and until March 2008 (the

most recent data available),99 charges have been filed under the

various PRA provisions relating to the illegal operation of

brothels. Ninety-two of those charges (which involved multiple

charges for ONE offender) related to the illegal use of persons

under 18 years of age in prostitution.



Prosecutions of brothel owners/operators since adoption of the PRA

in 2003 have risen over the years. In 2004 (the first full year

under the PRA),there were 36 prosecutions. This reflected the

initial Police effort to enforce compliance under the new

legislation. Prosecutions then tapered to nine in 2005, but

increased every subsequent year to 13 in 2006, and 34 in the

2007/2008 reporting period. The number of prosecutions during the

2008/2009 reporting period was not publicly available by the

deadline for this report.



Thirty-six of the 99 charges resulted in convictions; 19 charges are

still active. The remaining 44 charges were either withdrawn, the

accused was acquitted or the charges were otherwise not proven. Of

the 36 offenders convicted, 11 were placed in custody, 20 were

sentenced to community work, two were placed under supervision, four

were given monetary fines, and ONE was discharged (an offender may

have received more than ONE type of penalty).



In July a Christchurch brothel owner was charged with exploiting

underage girls in prostitution. The two girls, ages 16 and 17,

worked at the brothel for more than a year. This was the first

occasion that prosecutors applied the law banning sexual slavery,

adopted in 2006 in accordance with the United Nations Convention on

the Rights of the Child. The case remained pending at the end of the

reporting period.



In November authorities charged a New Plymouth brothel owner with

several offenses relating to his employment of a 15-year-old girl as

a prostitute during a six-month period in 2005. The case remained

pending at the end of the reporting period.



In December the Tauranga District Court sentenced a 19-year-old Bay

of Plenty man to 27 months' imprisonment for assisting and receiving

earnings from his 15-year-old girlfriend, who engaged in



WELLINGTON 00000038 010 OF 041





prostitution in 2006 and 2007.



With respect to investigating underage prostitution, Police may

legally ask any person for identity and age, but there is no

requirement that persons carry proof of identity or age in New

Zealand. Police always have the option to take an unaccompanied

child into custody for questioning if Police determine that it is

necessary for the physical or mental HEALTH of the child or if the

child is impaired. Since many underage prostitutes do not see

themselves as victims and do not cooperate with Police, Police may

find it difficult to indict violators who use underage prostitutes.

Despite these difficulties, Police do not consider them to be undue

impediments to their ability to identify underage sex workers. In

fact, according to Police, the PRA has allowed them to have greater

contact with local prostitutes and more likely to hear about

underage sex workers or anyone who is being coerced into

prostitution.



The Police are able to enter a brothel and make a compliance

investigation after obtaining a warrant to do so. In order to

obtain a warrant, Police must have "grounds to suspect" that a

violation is occurring or has occurred, which is a lower standard

than that governing Police entry into other types of businesses

(where Police must have "grounds to believe"). The rationale is to

provide Police with greater powers of access to prevent harm to sex

workers. However, if a violation of immigration law is suspected, a

police officer (who is also an immigration officer under the PRA)

can enter a brothel without a warrant. According to the Police, the

PRA has not limited their ability to investigate possible illegal

activities associated with brothels when Police have found it

necessary to do so.



Even though New Zealand's anti-trafficking law only applies to

transnational trafficking, the government employs an extensive

statutory regime to protect workers from domestic trafficking or

exploitation, and from working in unsafe or unhealthy work

environments. These protections apply to all workers employed in

New Zealand, whether or not they are legally entitled to be in New

Zealand.



The overall framework for employment relations is contained in the

Employment Relations Act of 2000, which sets provisions for

bargaining, freedom of association, bargaining, personal grievance

rights and procedures for employment problem resolution. The HEALTH

and Safety in Employment Act 1992 establishes the framework for

occupational safety and HEALTH in workplaces.



There were 264 horticulture and viticulture compliance inspections

made during 2008. This includes Regional Seasonal Employer (RSE)

compliance, educational and audit inspections. From 2005 to present

(the government has not isolated the figures for 2008),the

government has brought 263 charges against labor recruiters: 257

relating to fraudulent and deceptive offers; and six relating to

violations of the Immigration Act.



-- F. Does the government provide any specialized training for

government officials in how to recognize, investigate, and prosecute

instances of trafficking? Specify whether NGOs, international

organizations, and/or the USG provide specialized training for host

government officials.



RESPONSE:



Department of Labour-Immigration onshore operational staff who may

be in a position to detect suspected trafficking activity receive

training on identifying indicators. Additional operational training

on identifying indicators of trafficking and trafficking victim

interviewing techniques was delivered to Immigration compliance

officers in the past year. Information on trafficking indicators

has also been incorporated into briefings for these officers before



WELLINGTON 00000038 011 OF 041





each enforcement operation.



Further, the profile developed for Operation Spotlight (see "27-B"

below),which provides a useful tool at the border to identify

potential sex workers before they enter the country, has been

incorporated into training for border officers.



The Department of Labour-Immigration plans to implement other

training/awareness measures to ensure that a wider number of staff

are aware of and understand the dimensions of human trafficking.

These measures include a trafficking intranet site, presentations by

managers, and internally circulating information on trafficking

indicators.



Additional training to be delivered to Immigration Officers as part

of the Plan of Action includes extending training to all frontline

onshore and offshore staff on trafficking indicators in visa

applications. The Plan of Action also includes an effort to better

coordinate training programs between agencies to ensure a consistent

approach to suspected trafficking crimes.



In 2008, the New Zealand Police developed training on human

trafficking offences as part of the Criminal Investigation Branch

(CIB) training program. This training will be implemented in 2009

and will be provided to all new detectives as they pass through CIB

training. The training program will be complemented by an intranet

site which will be available to all Police staff with some material

also being included on the New Zealand Police public website. The

Police have also sent officers to Australia for training in this

area with the Australian Federal Police.



The New Zealand Customs Service has a formal Memorandum of

Understanding with the New Zealand Police that covers information

sharing, joint operations and joint training opportunities. The

Department of Labour-Immigration has a similar arrangement with the

New Zealand Police.



--G. Does the government cooperate with other governments in the

investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases? If possible,

provide the number of cooperative international investigations on

trafficking during the reporting period.



RESPONSE:



The Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act of 1992 allows New

Zealand to co-operate with other governments in the investigation

and prosecution of criminal activities, including trafficking,

without the need for bilateral mutual legal assistance treaties.

The Act sets out the extent to which New Zealand is able to request

or provide assistance, to include the gathering of evidence,

identifying and locating persons, and executing warrants. The New

Zealand Police also provide informal assistance to their

counterparts around the world through Interpol channels.



New Zealand has not made or received any requests relating to

trafficking under this act to date.



-- H. Does the government extradite persons who are charged with

trafficking in other countries? If so, please provide the number of

traffickers extradited during the reporting period, and the number

of trafficking extraditions pending. In particular, please report on

any pending or concluded extraditions of trafficking offenders to

the United States.



RESPONSE:



Trafficking is an extraditable offence under New Zealand's

Extradition Act of 1999 which allows New Zealand to extradite

offenders. To date, New Zealand has never received a request to

extradite or otherwise surrender a person charged with a trafficking



WELLINGTON 00000038 012 OF 041





offense.



New Zealand's Extradition Act of 1999 reserves the government's

right to refuse extradition of a New Zealand national. Despite

this, the government has not, as a matter of general practice,

refused to extradite New Zealand nationals.



-- I. Is there evidence of government involvement in or tolerance of

trafficking, on a local or institutional level? If so, please

explain in detail.



RESPONSE:



There is no evidence of government involvement in or tolerance of

trafficking.



-- J. If government officials are involved in trafficking, what

steps has the government taken to end such participation? Please

indicate the number of government officials investigated and

prosecuted for involvement in trafficking or trafficking-related

corruption during the reporting period. Have any been convicted?

What sentence(s) was imposed? Please specify if officials received

suspended sentences, or were given a fine, fired, or reassigned to

another position within the government as punishment. Please

indicate the number of convicted officials that received suspended

sentences or received only a fine as punishment.



RESPONSE:



Not applicable.



-- K. Is prostitution legalized or decriminalized? Specifically,

are the activities of the prostitute criminalized? Are the

activities of the brothel owner/operator, clients, pimps, and

enforcers criminalized? Are these laws enforced? If prostitution

is legal and regulated, what is the legal minimum age for this

activity? Note that in countries with federalist systems,

prostitution laws may be under state or local jurisdiction and may

differ among jurisdictions.



RESPONSE:



Prostitution in New Zealand was decriminalized by the Prostitution

Reform Act (PRA) of 2003, which placed the sex industry under a

regulatory regime. That regulatory structure is enforced.



The PRA prohibits persons under 18 years of age and foreign

nationals from working in the commercial sex industry. Prostitutes

under 18 are not prosecuted (they are considered victims),but other

parties involved in the transaction may be prosecuted -- e.g., for

facilitating, receiving payment for, or receiving sexual services

from, a person under 18. Additional charges may result where there

is a lack of consent or a person is induced or compelled to provide

commercial sexual services or earnings.



When a client engages a person under the age of 18 to provide sexual

services, the defendant has the burden of proving that he/she took

adequate steps to ascertain whether the person was 18 years or

older.



Law enforcement personnel, including immigration officers, inspect

brothels to ensure that persons working in the industry are not

foreign nationals in New Zealand on temporary permits. In the

course of carrying out these inspections, officers screen for

victims of trafficking, to include underage sex workers.



The PRA prohibits the granting of an immigration permit if the

person has provided or intends to provide commercial sexual

services; has acted or intends to act as an operator of a business

of prostitution; or has invested in or intends investing in a



WELLINGTON 00000038 013 OF 041





business of prostitution. It is also a condition of every temporary

immigration permit or limited purpose permit that the holder may not

provide commercial sexual services, act as an operator of a New

Zealand business of prostitution or invest in a New Zealand business

of prostitution.



The PRA repealed the offenses of brothel keeping and living off the

proceeds of prostitution. However, brothel owners/operators may be

charged with the following offenses under the PRA: using persons

under 18 years of age; providing sexual services where there is a

lack of consent; inducing or compelling a person to provide

commercial sexual services or earnings; or failing to meet

obligations under the HEALTH and Safety in Employment Act of 1992

(including but not limited to safe sex practices).



If a brothel owner/operator uses a person under 18 years of age, he

or she is also subject to penalties under the Crimes Act for sexual

exploitation of a person under 18.



Various provisions of the Crimes Act might also apply where: there

is violence, or threats of violence or damage to property; or a

person abducts or kidnaps a person with the intent to have sexual

contact.



-- L. For countries that contribute troops to international

peacekeeping efforts, please indicate whether the government

vigorously investigated, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced

nationals of the country deployed abroad as part of a peacekeeping

or other similar mission who engaged in or facilitated severe forms

of trafficking or who exploited victims of such trafficking.



RESPONSE:



The government has no evidence to suggest, nor has Post obtained any

reports to indicate, that NZDF personnel deployed in Timor-Leste,

Afghanistan or similar missions have been involved in trafficking or

related activities during the reporting period.



-- M. If the country has an identified problem of child sex tourists

coming to the country, what are the countries of origin for sex

tourists? How many foreign pedophiles did the government prosecute

or deport/extradite to their country of origin? If your host

country's nationals are perpetrators of child sex tourism, do the

country's child sexual abuse laws have extraterritorial coverage

(similar to the U.S. PROTECT Act) to allow the prosecution of

suspected sex tourists for crimes committed abroad? If so, how many

of the country's nationals were prosecuted and/or convicted during

the reporting period under the extraterritorial provision(s) for

traveling to other countries to engage in child sex tourism?



RESPONSE:



There have been no reported problems with child sex tourists or

foreign pedophiles entering New Zealand. None have been deported or

extradited.



With respect to New Zealand citizens engaging in child sex tourism

abroad, New Zealand has extraterritorial coverage under section 144A

of the Crimes Act of 1961 in that situation, and the government has

cooperated in the prosecution of New Zealand citizens who have

engaged in child sex tourism overseas. It is also an offense under

section 144C of the Crimes Act of 1961 to organize or promote child

sex tours.



Since 2002, there have been two persons charged within New Zealand

for the crime of sexual conduct with a child that occurred outside

New Zealand. ONE person was convicted (in 2007) and sentenced to a

term of 820 days imprisonment. The charge against the other person

was withdrawn.





WELLINGTON 00000038 014 OF 041





Both ECPAT and Stop Demand (an anti-prostitution NGO) have expressed

concern that the government has not directed sufficient resources to

enforce its sex tourism law. ECPAT pointed out that New Zealand has

only ONE officer assigned in Bangkok to cover the entire Asia,

Southeast Asia and Pacific Island region with respect to trafficking

and sex tourism. At the same time, ECPAT acknowledged that New

Zealand, being a relatively small country with a relatively small

trafficking problem, has difficulty justifying additional resources

for that purpose.



The government features information on its extraterritorial child

sex tourism legislation on the government travel advisory website.







26. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS:



-- A. What kind of protection is the government able under existing

law to provide for victims and witnesses? Does it provide these

protections in practice?



RESPONSE:



Please see the responses to "26-B" and "26-C" below.



-- B. Does the country have victim care facilities (shelters or

drop-in centers) which are accessible to trafficking victims? Do

foreign victims have the same access to care as domestic trafficking

victims? Where are child victims placed (e.g., in shelters, foster

care, or juvenile justice detention centers)? Does the country have

specialized care for adults in addition to children? Does the

country have specialized care for male victims as well as female?

Does the country have specialized facilities dedicated to helping

victims of trafficking? Are these facilities operated by the

government or by NGOs? What is the funding source of these

facilities? Please estimate the amount the government spent (in

U.S. dollar equivalent) on these specialized facilities dedicated to

helping trafficking victims during the reporting period.



RESPONSE:



The New Zealand Council of Victim Support Groups provides 24-hour

emotional support, personal advocacy and information to all people

affected by crime and trauma throughout New Zealand, regardless of

gender, age or immigration status. Victims with special needs, such

as emotional support or counseling, are referred by relevant

authorities to a specialist provider of care services.



The New Zealand government is unaware of any situation during the

reporting period when a person accessing these services or

facilities claimed to be a victim of trafficking.



-- C. Does the government provide trafficking victims with access

to legal, medical and psychological services? If so, please specify

the kind of assistance provided. Does the government provide

funding or other forms of support to foreign or domestic NGOs and/or

international organizations for providing these services to

trafficking victims? Please explain and provide any funding amounts

in U.S. dollar equivalent. If assistance provided was in-kind,

please specify exact assistance. Please specify if funding for

assistance comes from a federal budget or from regional or local

governments.



RESPONSE:



All crime victims in New Zealand, including trafficking victims, are

protected under the New Zealand's Victim's Rights Act of 2002

regardless of their immigration status. Under this act, the New

Zealand Police would provide any suspected trafficking victim with

his or her immediate welfare needs, such as food and shelter. In



WELLINGTON 00000038 015 OF 041





addition, a victim would be informed of services to which he or she

is entitled, such as physical and mental HEALTH services,

counseling, legal services, and access to legal remedies, including

restitution (see the response to "27-J" below).



For ongoing care and case management, the victim's support would be

coordinated by the Ministry of Social Development - Family and

Community Services. This would include legal, medical and

psychological services provided by government agencies in

conjunction with various NGOs.



The Ministry of Social Development's operational arm, Child Youth

and Family Services, would provide any children who are identified

as victims of trafficking with the appropriate care and support

services. This would include immediate needs such as supervision and

housing, as well as all other welfare needs.



The IWG is considering an approach within the Plan of Action to make

trafficking victims a separate formal category of victim, with an

immigration status. This approach would provide trafficking victims

with a greater range of support services over the longer term. The

IWG states that victim assistance will continue to be a regular

agenda item at IWG meetings and consideration of measures that

extend or enhance victim support will be on-going.



New Zealand Aid for International Development (NZAID) is the

government agency responsible for managing New Zealand's

international development assistance. In line with its human rights

policy, NZAID supports activities to combat human trafficking

through its contributions to the following entities (all funds from

the NZ federal budget):



-- USD 100,000 (NZD 200,000) to the Asia Pacific Forum of National

Human Rights Institutions annually.



-- USD 200,000 (NZD 400,000) to the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human

Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (participating

countries are: Cambodia, China, Lao, Myanmar, Thailand, and

Vietnam).



The government also contributed or dedicated USD 14.9 million (NZD

29.8 million) for the period 2007 to 2009 to organizations which, as

a part of their mandate, work to detect or prevent trafficking or

provide assistance to trafficking victims. Those organizations

include UNICEF, UNFPA, OHCHR AND UNIFEM.



In December, the government facilitated the voluntary repatriation

of nine citizens of India who had been lured to the island of Niue

(an independent state freely associated with New Zealand) with false

promises of well-paid work on an established farm, and eventual

access to New Zealand. The government of New Zealand denied the

migrants access to New Zealand and, as the government of Niue would

not repatriate the migrants, New Zealand did so at the cost of USD

71,000 (NZD 35,500) and under the supervision of the IOM.



The government partnered with local bodies in New Zealand, typically

regional councils, to provide support services to migrants and

refugees, which would include potential trafficking victims. In

2008, the government contributed USD 2.95 million (NZD 5.9 million)

toward those services.



-- D. Does the government assist foreign trafficking victims, for

example, by providing temporary to permanent residency status, or

other relief from deportation? If so, please explain.



RESPONSE:



The Department of Labour-Immigration is able to provide victims,

including foreign trafficking victims, with immigration status

appropriate to their situation. Immigration would assess a victim on



WELLINGTON 00000038 016 OF 041





a case-by-case basis and the victim would be eligible for a

temporary permit. For example, the government has provided crime

victims with temporary entry permits, including limited purpose

entry permits (to testify in court, for example). In some cases

relating to visa holders who are illegally engaged in the sex

industry (and may be potential and unproven victims of trafficking),

the violators are often allowed to remain in New Zealand subject to

the terms of their visa. Likewise, illegal migrant farm workers who

have been exploited (though not necessarily trafficked) are

sometimes allowed to remain in the country.



-- E. Does the government provide longer-term shelter or housing

benefits to victims or other resources to aid the victims in

rebuilding their lives?



RESPONSE:



Please see the responses to "26-B" and "26-C" above.



-- F. Does the government have a referral process to transfer

victims detained, arrested or placed in protective custody by law

enforcement authorities to institutions that provide short- or

long-term care (either government or NGO-run)?



RESPONSE:



Depending on the status of the victim, he or she would be referred

to the Department of Corrections (if detained) which has a range of

social service and witness protection options available, or to an

NGO (if not detained) such as the Women's Refuge, Victims Support,

or Refugee Services.



-- G. What is the total number of trafficking victims identified

during the reporting period? Of these, how many victims were

referred to care facilities for assistance by law enforcement

authorities during the reporting period? By social services

officials? What is the number of victims assisted by

government-funded assistance programs and those not funded by the

government during the reporting period?



RESPONSE:



No transnational trafficking victims were identified during the

reporting period. With respect to domestic victims, children

engaged in prostitution were referred to Child and Protective

Services or to parents. No numbers were available.



-- H. Do the government's law enforcement, immigration, and social

services personnel have a formal system of proactively identifying

victims of trafficking among high-risk persons with whom they come

in contact (e.g., foreign persons arrested for prostitution or

immigration violations)? For countries with legalized prostitution,

does the government have a mechanism for screening for trafficking

victims among persons involved in the legal/regulated commercial sex

trade?



RESPONSE:



Please see the response to "27-B" below concerning the government's

screening efforts to help detect potential trafficking victims among

those seeking to enter New Zealand illegally.



Immigration officers have received training on anti-trafficking

legislation and its implementation, including the necessity of

providing victims with information on social services. The officers

conduct interviews with potential victims and coordinate with the

New Zealand Police and other social services agencies.



-- I. Are the rights of victims respected? Are trafficking victims

detained or jailed? If so, for how long? Are victims fined? Are



WELLINGTON 00000038 017 OF 041





victims prosecuted for violations of other laws, such as those

governing immigration or prostitution?



RESPONSE:



The government is conscientious about protecting the rights of crime

victims, including potential trafficking victims. In any potential

trafficking case, the government's policy is to try to obtain the

victim's collaboration in prosecuting the person responsible, ensure

that the victim's accommodation needs are met, and issue a temporary

permit where appropriate to enable the victim to remain lawfully in

New Zealand to serve as a legal witness if needed.



The Victims' Rights Act of 2002 provides specific statutory

recognition to the role of victims in the criminal justice system.

The Act provides that government officials in the criminal justice

system should:



-- treat victims with courtesy, compassion, and respect for their

personal dignity and privacy;



-- offer access to counseling and social services; and



-- inform victims and their families of the progress of the criminal

proceedings, the charges laid, the victim's role as a prosecution

witness, the date and place of certain events surrounding hearings,

and the final disposition of proceedings.



Under the Act, any information that should be given to the victim

can be given to a support person when the victim cannot receive it

or is not capable alone of understanding it.



When the government finds underage young persons engaged in

prostitution, it considers them victims rather than criminals. The

government has put in place measures to ensure that there are

support services available for young persons who are involved in, or

at risk of, commercial sexual exploitation.



As mentioned in "26-D" above, migrants who are illegally engaged in

prostitution and illegal migrant farm workers who are potential

trafficking victims may, on a case by case basis, be allowed to

remain in New Zealand.



-- J. Does the government encourage victims to assist in the

investigation and prosecution of trafficking? How many victims

assisted in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers during

the reporting period? May victims file civil suits or seek legal

action against traffickers? Does anyone impede victim access to

such legal redress? If a victim is a material witness in a court

case against a former employer, is the victim permitted to obtain

other employment or to leave the country pending trial proceedings?

Are there means by which a victim may obtain restitution?



RESPONSE:



While no trafficking victims were detected during the reporting

period, such victims would be handled under New Zealand's existing

mechanism for assisting crime victims. If the government becomes

aware of an instance of trafficking, it is government policy to

solicit the cooperation of the victim so long as it would not

jeopardize the success of the investigation. Although the

government would have an interest in persuading the victim to remain

in New Zealand, the government would not seek to prevent a victim of

trafficking from leaving the country if the person desires to leave

of her/his own volition.



Victims may use the judicial system to seek restitution against

traffickers. In addition, following criminal prosecution of a

trafficker, the court may order the trafficker to make reparation to

the victim. The court is required by law to consider reparation in



WELLINGTON 00000038 018 OF 041





all criminal cases and it must impose reparation unless satisfied

that it would result in undue hardship for the offender or the

dependents of the offender, or because of any other special

circumstances.



For example, in 2000 the Human Rights Commission successfully

represented a Thai sex trafficking victim to the New Zealand

Disputes Tribunal, and the victim recovered the NZD 6000 she paid

traffickers for what she believed would be restaurant work.



-- K. Does the government provide any specialized training for

government officials in identifying trafficking victims and in the

provision of assistance to trafficked victims, including the special

needs of trafficked children? Does the government provide training

UNCLASSIFIED

PROG 02/13/09

CDA:DJKEEGAN

PE:GREX

PE:MMCKEAN



AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON

SECSTATE WASHDC

INFO AMEMBASSY CANBERRA

AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY

AMEMBASSY SUVA

AMEMBASSY BANGKOK

AMEMBASSY BEIJING

AMCONSUL AUCKLAND

AMCONSUL HONG KONG

AMCONSUL CHENGDU

AMCONSUL GUANGZHOU

AMCONSUL SHANGHAI

AMCONSUL SHENYANG

AIT TAIPEI

DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC

DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC

DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC

DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC



SIPDIS

SENSITIVE



DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G-ACBlank, INL, DRL, PRM, EAP/ANP, EAP/RSP



DEPARTMENT PASS USAID



E.O. 12958: N/A

TAGS: PHUM, PREF, ASEC, SMIG, ELAB, KCRM, KWMN, KFRD, KTIP, NZ



SUBJ: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS - NEW ZEALAND 2009



REF: 08 STATE 132759



1. (SBU) Following are responses for the Trafficking in Persons

(TIP) report for New Zealand, keyed to reftel:



Begin Responses

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



23. THE COUNTRY'S TIP SITUATION:



-- A. What is (are) the source(s) of available Information on

trafficking in persons? What plans are in place (if any) to

undertake further documentation of human trafficking? How reliable

are these sources?



RESPONSE:



Information relating to trafficking in New Zealand is derived from

the government through: the Department of Labour, which has



WELLINGTON 00000038 019 OF 041





responsibility for immigration, customs and border security, and

which is the country's lead agency in preventing and combating

trafficking; the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade; the Ministry

of Justice; the New Zealand Police; the Department of Prime Minister

and Cabinet; the Ministry of Health; the Ministry of Social

Development; and the Ministry of Women's Affairs.



Trafficking information is also obtained from New Zealand media

reports and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as ECPAT

(Eliminate Child prostitution, Pornography And Trafficking),

Stop-Demand, the Salvation Army, the Mangere East Family Services

Center (MEFSC),Save the Children, and Iosis Family Solutions.



Post considers information from the government, media and NGOs to be

reliable although incomplete in some areas.



There is no credible statistical information or survey data relating

to the nature and amount of transnational and domestic trafficking

in New Zealand. However, all agree the incidence rate is not high.





Police inspections of brothels occasionally identify illegal sex

workers, but none has been identified as a trafficking victim in

recent times. The last confirmed case and prosecution for

transnational trafficking occurred in 2002.



The only attempt to quantify the number of underage prostitutes in

New Zealand was conducted by the Prostitution Law Review Committee

(PLRC),which is reported in the response to "23-B" below. However,

the PLRC estimate of underage prostitution is far from exact as it

relied on studies using anecdotal information from interviewees and

because the study was not conducted nationwide (it only examined

larger communities).



Without statistical data, it is difficult to accurately determine

the number of underage prostitutes. According to the New Zealand

Prostitutes Collective (NZPC) and Stop Demand, many young people

under 18 who frequent red light districts are assumed to be involved

in sex work, but only a few of the youths are actually engaged in

prostitution.



-- B. Is the country a country of origin, transit, and/or

destination for internationally trafficked men, women, or children?

Does trafficking occur within the country's borders? If so, does

internal trafficking occur in territory outside of the government's

control (e.g. in a civil war situation)? To where are people

trafficked? For what purposes are they trafficked? Provide, where

possible, numbers or estimates for each group of trafficking

victims. Have there been any changes in the TIP situation since the

last TIP Report (e.g. changes in destinations)?



RESPONSE:



There is no objective evidence (victim interviews, arrests,

convictions, etc.) indicating that New Zealand is a country of

origin or transit in transnational trafficking, though New Zealand's

legal sex industry likely makes it a potential country of

destination -- primarily for women of Asian ethnicity engaged in the

legal sex industry. This suspicion is based on the existence of

non-resident aliens (usually Asian women) working illegally in New

Zealand's legal sex industry. However, it is difficult for

government officials and NGOs to prove such women are trafficking

victims because the sex workers seek to avoid detection (in order to

remain in New Zealand) or do not consider themselves victims.



The number of domestic trafficking victims is also small (estimated

to be less than 100),and consists of underage sex workers, and

illegal migrants working in the agricultural sector. As with

potential transnational trafficking victims in the sex industry,

domestic trafficking victims also seek to avoid detection or do not



WELLINGTON 00000038 020 OF 041





consider themselves victims. Therefore, making an accurate estimate

of the number of victims is difficult.



NGOs involved in addressing underage prostitution agree that there

are no reliable data concerning the number of victims in New

Zealand. However, there is NGO consensus that the number is

relatively small -- primarily young people engaging in prostitution

on an opportunistic and intermittent basis, and working in the

street more so than in brothels.



Another source of information concerning prostitution is the

Prostitution Law Review Committee (PLRC),which was established with

the adoption of the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) in 2003. The PLRC

was required by the legislation to issue a five-year report on the

status and effectiveness of the PRA, which was published in May,

2008. In preparing its report, the PLRC relied on information

provided by the government, the Christchurch School of Medicine, the

Victoria University's Crime and Justice Research Center, the New

Zealand Prostitutes Collective, and other NGOs.



With respect to underage prostitution, the PLRC reported that:



-- There were 2,332 sex workers within the major centers of

prostitution in NZ, namely Auckland, Wellington, Christchurch,

Hawke's Bay and Nelson. Of those, the PLRC estimated that 1.3

percent (approximately 30) were under 18 years of age.



-- Underage prostitutes work primarily in the street sector (as

opposed to brothels),which makes them more difficult to detect and

more likely to be victims of abuse and unhealthy working

conditions.



There have not been changes in the TIP situation since the last TIP

report.



-- C. What kind of conditions are the victims trafficked into?



RESPONSE:



With respect to women of Asian ethnicity illegally engaging in the

legal prostitution industry and working in licensed brothels (see

response to "23-D" below),the safety and HEALTH conditions would be

similar to that of legal sex workers, though trafficking victims

might be compelled or intimidated to participate because of debts

incurred abroad or as a condition of receiving assistance in

immigrating into New Zealand. As noted in "23-A" above, there have

been no adult trafficking victims discovered within the New Zealand

sex industry since 2002.



Concerning underage prostitutes, these young women are generally

working in the street and outside of legal brothels. They are,

therefore, more vulnerable to abuse and are more likely to be

working in unhealthy and dangerous conditions. Illegal migrants

working in the agricultural sector are similarly vulnerable to abuse

and poor working conditions.



In all cases (underage prostitutes, migrant sex workers and migrant

farm workers),such potential trafficking victims are unlikely to

report intimidation, abuse or working conditions for fear of

detection, loss of income, and possible deportation.



-- D. Vulnerability to TIP: Are certain groups of persons more at

risk of being trafficked (e.g. women and children, boys versus

girls, certain ethnic groups, refugees, IDPs, etc.)?



RESPONSE:



Women of Asian ethnicity have the greatest risk of being trafficked

into New Zealand, primarily for prostitution (though, as mentioned

previously, none have been detected since 2002). This assessment is



WELLINGTON 00000038 021 OF 041





based on the nationality of foreign women who are found to be

engaging illegally in prostitution (i.e., while in New Zealand on

temporary residence status). The women illegally engaging in

prostitution often originate from China, Taiwan, Hong Kong and

Thailand.



With regard to underage prostitution, the persons most at risk are

young New Zealand women (under 18 years old) from homes in which

there were problems with child abuse, domestic violence, alcoholism

and dysfunctional families.



Victims of transnational trafficking in the agricultural sector are

most likely low-skilled men and women from Asia and Pacific Island

Countries who have entered the country illegally.



-- E. Traffickers and Their Methods: Who are the

traffickers/exploiters? Are they independent business people?

Small or family-based crime groups? Large international organized

crime syndicates? What methods are used to approach victims? For

example, are they offered lucrative jobs, sold by their families, or

approached by friends of friends? What methods are used to move the

victims (e.g., are false documents being used?). Are employment,

travel, and tourism agencies or marriage brokers involved with or

fronting for traffickers or crime groups to traffic individuals?



RESPONSE:



There have been no proven cases of transnational trafficking since

2002.



With respect to underage prostitution, the government and NGOs

suggest that it is opportunistic and street based.



According to the director of the Mangere East Family Services Center

(MEFSC) in Auckland, youth who engage in prostitution do so on an

episodic basis rather than full-time, and only a few are pimped by

gangs. Almost all underage prostitutes, according to MEFSC, are

street workers rather than operating within a brothel (where

detection is more likely). The young people engage in prostitution

in order to obtain money for needed expenses and then cease the

activity until the need arises again. They do not view themselves

as prostitutes. MEFSC claims that detecting underage sex workers is

made more difficult by the popularity of cellular phone texting.

Street-based sex workers use texting to arrange meetings with

clients without making contact in public areas (at least after the

initial contact).



ECPAT agrees with the MEFSC assessment concerning the number and

nature of underage prostitution in New Zealand. Almost all of the

underage prostitutes work in the street on a temporary and

opportunistic basis, according to ECPAT, though a few are reported

to be trafficked among gangs.



Iosis Family Solutions (Iosis) in Auckland, which has worked with

underage sex workers for several years, estimated that number of

"hard core" underage prostitutes in Auckland is low, though the

number of young girls who occasionally engage in prostitution on an

opportunistic basis is larger. According to Iosis, girls in the

latter group do not consider themselves to be prostitutes, as they

engage in such activity only on holidays or whenever they desire

some extra money.



The opinions of the NGOs cited above are echoed by the PLRC's 2008

report described in the response to "23-B."





24. SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS:



-- A. Does the government acknowledge that trafficking is a problem

in the country? If not, why not?



WELLINGTON 00000038 022 OF 041







RESPONSE:



The government acknowledges that transnational trafficking is a

potential problem, but it has not discovered a transnational

trafficking victim since New Zealand's anti-trafficking law became

effective in 2002. Nevertheless, New Zealand has used reasonable

efforts to detect trafficking victims who may enter the country.

The government credits its lack of a transnational trafficking

problem largely to the country's geography. As a remote island

nation, New Zealand has the advantage of not sharing a common border

with another country. Consequently, anti-trafficking resources can

be targeted on the country's limited number of air and sea entry

locations.



As stated in "23-B" above, the government's definition of

trafficking does not include underage prostitution which, it admits,

is a limited problem. The government works to prevent and prosecute

such exploitation under other laws dealing with the abuse and

exploitation of children, and with underage prostitution.



-- B. Which government agencies are involved in anti-trafficking

efforts and which agency, if any, has the lead?



RESPONSE:



The Department of Labour-Immigration has the lead role in New

Zealand's anti-trafficking efforts and also chairs the government's

Interagency Working Group (IWG) on People Trafficking discussed in

"24-D" below. The Department of Labour-Immigration, the New Zealand

Police, the New Zealand Customs Service, and the Ministry of Justice

have responsibility for enforcement and prosecution of the laws

governing trafficking. In addition, trafficking issues are covered

by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of

Women's Affairs and the Ministry of Social Development. The

independent Human Rights Commission also participates to a limited

degree.



With respect to the geographical jurisdiction of government agencies

engaged in anti-trafficking efforts, New Zealand Customs and the

Department of Labour-Immigration concentrate on the territorial sea

and on border entry points. The New Zealand Defence Forces monitor

international waters and New Zealand's Exclusive Economic Zone for

vessels bound for New Zealand.



-- C. What are the limitations on the government's ability to

address this problem in practice? For example, is funding for

police or other institutions inadequate? Is overall corruption a

problem? Does the government lack the resources to aid victims?



RESPONSE:



The government is not constrained by fiscal or other resources in

addressing human trafficking issues. Instead, the difficulty for

New Zealand is balancing its desire to eliminate all forms of

trafficking (which is a relatively small problem in New Zealand)

against the competing need to address other significant social

problems that affect a much larger portion of the population, such

as domestic violence, child abuse, gang violence, drug abuse, and

the disproportionate number of Maoris on unemployment and welfare

rolls, in prison, among school dropouts, in infant mortality

statistics, and among single-parent households.



Overall corruption was not a problem. New Zealand has a number of

legislative, administrative, and enforcement structures in place to

prevent and prosecute bribery and corruption, to include the Police

Financial Intelligence Unit; the Serious Fraud Office; the Office of

the Ombudsmen; the Inland Revenue Department; the Office of the

Controller and Auditor-General; the Department of Internal Affairs;

and the State Services Commission. There are other agencies as



WELLINGTON 00000038 023 OF 041





well, such as the Ministry of Justice, which lead policy initiatives

against corruption and bribery.



New Zealand is perceived to be ONE of the world's three least

corrupt countries (along with Denmark and Sweden) according to the

latest annual survey by Transparency International. The index

defines corruption as the abuse of public office for private gain

and measures the degree to which corruption is perceived to exist

among a country's public officials and politicians.



The government provides and funds an extensive network of victim

support and social services for victims of crimes, to include

victims of trafficking. That network is sufficient to assist

victims of trafficking and is explained in detail within the

responses that follow.



-- D. To what extent does the government systematically monitor its

anti-trafficking efforts (on all fronts --prosecution, victim

protection, and prevention) and periodically make available,

publicly or privately and directly or through regional/international

organizations, its assessments of these anti-trafficking efforts?



RESPONSE:



In 2008, the government adopted a Plan of Action to combat

trafficking, and the government's implementation efforts continue.

The Plan of Action was developed and implemented by the IWG, which

is comprised of the ministries and departments that are engaged in

anti-trafficking efforts. In addition, the Plan of Action process

solicited input from NGOs and civil society groups. The purpose of

the Plan of Action is to review, refine and enhance the government's

anti-trafficking strategies and framework, including its monitoring

and evaluation strategies. Another goal is to uncover and deter

trafficking by creating public awareness of trafficking issues.



With respect to the domestic exploitation of underage prostitutes,

the Prostitution Reform Act (PRA) established the Prostitution Law

Review Committee (PLRC) to review the operation of the PRA and its

impact on the commercial sex industry. The PLRC published its

5-year report in 2008 and will report again in 2018.



The government's efforts to prevent and address trafficking are also

reported within the Bali Process, at relevant UN meetings (such as

the UNHCR and the IGC),to regional and international organizations

(such as the International Organization for Migration and the

Pacific Immigration Directors Conference),and on a government

public access web site.





25. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS:



For questions A-D, posts should highlight in particular whether or

not the country has enacted any new legislation since the last TIP

report.



-- A. Existing Laws against TIP: Does the country have a law or laws

specifically prohibiting trafficking in persons -- both for sexual

exploitation and labor? If so, please specifically cite the name of

the law(s) and its date of enactment and provide the exact language

[actual copies preferable] of the TIP provisions. Please provide a

full inventory of trafficking laws, including non-criminal statutes

that allow for civil penalties against alleged trafficking crimes

(e.g., civil forfeiture laws and laws against illegal debt). Does

the law(s) cover both internal and transnational forms of

trafficking? If not, under what other laws can traffickers be

prosecuted? For example, are there laws against slavery or the

exploitation of prostitution by means of force, fraud, or coercion?

Are these other laws being used in trafficking cases?



RESPONSE:



WELLINGTON 00000038 024 OF 041







New Zealand has adopted the definition of trafficking set out in the

Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,

especially Women and Children. That definition only covers

transnational forms of trafficking. Other than this notable

difference with U.S. law, the New Zealand anti-trafficking

legislation is comprehensive and covers all aspects of transnational

trafficking, including reception, concealment or harboring of

persons.



Measures to punish forms of domestic trafficking not addressed by

the laws punishing transnational trafficking are included under

other New Zealand laws. These domestic trafficking laws (though

the word "trafficking" is not used) deal with crimes involving

abduction, assault, kidnapping, rape, engaging or coercing underage

prostitutes, and exploitation of laborers within New Zealand

borders.



The key anti-trafficking legislative provisions (dealing with

transnational trafficking) are found in Part 5 of the Crimes Act of

1961. The relevant provisions are sections 98 (dealing in slaves),

98A (participation in organized criminal group),98B (definitions),

98C (smuggling migrants),98D (trafficking in persons),98E

(aggravating factors),and 98F (Attorney-General's consent

required).



Section 98 of the Crimes Act of 1961 makes dealing in slavery an

offense. Sections 98A, 98C and 98D are offenses for which a person

may be extradited from a country with which New Zealand has an

extradition treaty.



In 2005, the government added section 98AA to comply with New

Zealand's obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention

on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

It establishes an offense for dealing in people less than 18 years

for sexual exploitation or engagement in forced labor.



Section 16 of the Prostitution Reform Action of 2003 prohibits

inducing or compelling persons to provide commercial sexual services

or earnings from prostitution.



In February 2002, New Zealand passed legislation criminalizing human

smuggling and trafficking. The Transnational Organized Crime Bill

was adopted on June 17, 2002 as an amendment to the Crimes,

Extradition, Immigration, Passports and Mutual Assistance in

Criminal Matters Amendment Acts.



In addition, the Crimes Act prohibits sexual conduct with young

people under 18 both within and outside NZ (section 144A),and

criminalizes the organization or promotion of child sex tours

(section 144C).



The government has proposed a civil forfeiture law, called the

Criminal Proceeds (Recovery) Bill, that would authorize the

government to seize instruments used in, or the proceeds derived

from, all of the crimes listed above. The bill is currently

awaiting its second reading before Parliament.



-- B. Punishment of Sex Trafficking Offenses: What are the

prescribed and imposed penalties for trafficking people for sexual

exploitation?



RESPONSE:



The penalty for offenses relating to all types of trafficking is

contained in section 98D of the Crimes Act of 1961 and imposes a

term of imprisonment not exceeding 20 years, a fine not exceeding

USD 250,000 (NZD 500,000) or both.



No penalties were imposed under this law within the reporting



WELLINGTON 00000038 025 OF 041





period.



-- C. Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses: What are the

prescribed and imposed penalties for trafficking for labor

exploitation, such as forced or bonded labor? If your country is a

source country for labor migrants, do the government's laws provide

for criminal punishment -- i.e. jail time -- for labor recruiters

who engage in recruitment of workers using knowingly fraudulent or

deceptive offers with the purpose of subjecting workers to

trafficking in the destination country? If your country is a

destination for labor migrants, are there laws punishing employers

or labor agents who confiscate workers' passports or travel

documents for the purpose of trafficking, switch contracts without

the worker's consent as a means to keep the worker in a state of

service, or withhold payment of salaries as means of keeping the

worker in a state of service?



RESPONSE:



In 2002, the government added sections 98A-98F into the Crimes Act

in order to implement of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and

Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children and the

Convention against Transnational Organized Crime.



Section 98C prohibits the smuggling of unauthorized migrants into

New Zealand or any other country. Section 98D prohibits the

trafficking of persons into New Zealand or any other country.



In 2005, the government added section 98AA to comply with New

Zealand's obligations under the Optional Protocol to the Convention

on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

It prohibits the use of people less than 18 years in forced labor.

The scope of 98AA is broad and covers not only the selling,

bartering, transferring, hiring or renting of a person under 18

years of age, but also prohibits:



-- engaging or permitting a person under 18 years to be engaged in

forced labor;



-- detaining, confining, receiving, transporting, removing or

importing a person under 18 years for trafficking purposes; or



-- inducing a person who is under 18 years (or the guardian or

caregiver of such a person) to sell, rent, or give himself or

herself for any of the specified purposes.



Violations of section 98 carry a maximum penalty of 20 years

imprisonment and/or a fine not exceeding USD 250,000 (NZD 500,000),

with the exception of 98AA, which carries a maximum penalty of 14

years imprisonment.



The Immigration Act of 1987 provides that an employer must not

either knowingly, or without reasonable excuse, employ a non-citizen

who is not entitled to work in New Zealand (section 39). Section 39A

prohibits employer exploitation of illegal migrants within New

Zealand and carries a maximum penalty of seven years imprisonment

and/or a fine of USD 50,000 (NZD 100,000). Among other things, the

Immigration Act of 1987 makes it a crime to:



-- exploit persons not legally entitled to work in New Zealand by

failing to comply with minimum employment standards regarding wages,

holiday pay or wage deductions (reinforces existing law in section

39A of the Immigration Act of 1987, above); and



-- prevent a person from obtaining their legal entitlements, or

force a person to leave his/her employment or country through such

means as confiscating passports, tickets or travel documents,

preventing outside communication or keeping him/her confined to the

workplace.





WELLINGTON 00000038 026 OF 041





-- D. What are the prescribed penalties for rape or forcible sexual

assault? (NOTE: This is necessary to evaluate a foreign

government's compliance with TVPA Minimum Standard 2, which reads:

"For the knowing commission of any act of sex trafficking . . . the

government of the country should prescribe punishment commensurate

with that for grave crimes, such as forcible sexual assault (rape)."

END NOTE)



RESPONSE:



Sexual violation (i.e., rape or sexual contact) of an adult is

punishable by a term of imprisonment not to exceed 20 years and

differs from the penalties for trafficking in the following

respects:



-- Unlike trafficking convictions, it does not carry a potential

monetary fine.



-- The minimum sentence for a sexual violation is 8 years. There is

no minimum sentence for trafficking offenses.



-- A person who has been convicted of sexual violation may be

detained without bail ("preventive detention") if the offender has a

history of sexual offenses or poses a risk to the community. A

person who is convicted of a trafficking offense is not eligible to

be placed in preventive detention.



Sexual violation of a child carries a maximum potential penalty of

ten years if the child is under 16 years of age; and fourteen years

if the child is under 12 years of age.



-- E. Law Enforcement Statistics: Did the government prosecute any

cases against human trafficking offenders during the reporting

period? If so, provide numbers of investigations, prosecutions,

convictions, and sentences imposed, including details on plea

bargains and fines, if relevant and available. Please note the

number of convicted traffickers who received suspended sentences and

the number who received only a fine as punishment. Please indicate

which laws were used to investigate, prosecute, convict, and

sentence traffickers. Also, if possible, please disaggregate

numbers of cases by type of TIP (labor vs. commercial sexual

exploitation) and victims (children under 18 years of age vs.

adults). If in a labor source country, did the government

criminally prosecute labor recruiters who recruit workers using

knowingly fraudulent or deceptive offers or by imposing fees or

commissions for the purpose of subjecting the worker to debt

bondage? Did the government in a labor destination country

criminally prosecute employers or labor agents who confiscate

workers' passports/travel documents for the purpose of trafficking,

switch contracts or terms of employment without the worker's consent

to keep workers in a state of service, use physical or sexual abuse

or the threat of such abuse to keep workers in a state of service,

or withhold payment of salaries as a means to keep workers in a

state of service? What were the actual punishments imposed on

persons convicted of these offenses? Are the traffickers serving

the time sentenced? If not, why not?



RESPONSE:



There have been no prosecutions under New Zealand's anti-trafficking

laws since they were instituted in 2002, as no evidence of

transnational trafficking has been found. However, the government

has prosecuted and convicted individuals under the Prostitution

Reform Act (PRA) for using children in prostitution. In addition,

the government conducted compliance visits within brothels to check

for underage sex workers and foreign nationals working as

prostitutes (both of which are prohibited under the PRA).



For the period from January 1, 2008 through December 31, 2008, the

government made 21 compliance visits to sex industry premises.



WELLINGTON 00000038 027 OF 041





These included brothels, homes and any premises associated with the

sex industry. During those visits authorities found nine foreign

nationals working illegally in the sex industry. Of those, the

government revoked ONE entry permit (the holder then departed NZ or

was deported) and three persons without entry permits either

departed NZ or were deported. Three had temporary permits revoked

but are still unlawfully in New Zealand. The two remaining holders

of entry permits were allowed to remain in New Zealand on

humanitarian grounds or given a second chance.



Since the PRA came into force in June 2003 and until March 2008 (the

most recent data available),99 charges have been filed under the

various PRA provisions relating to the illegal operation of

brothels. Ninety-two of those charges (which involved multiple

charges for ONE offender) related to the illegal use of persons

under 18 years of age in prostitution.



Prosecutions of brothel owners/operators since adoption of the PRA

in 2003 have risen over the years. In 2004 (the first full year

under the PRA),there were 36 prosecutions. This reflected the

initial Police effort to enforce compliance under the new

legislation. Prosecutions then tapered to nine in 2005, but

increased every subsequent year to 13 in 2006, and 34 in the

2007/2008 reporting period. The number of prosecutions during the

2008/2009 reporting period was not publicly available by the

deadline for this report.



Thirty-six of the 99 charges resulted in convictions; 19 charges are

still active. The remaining 44 charges were either withdrawn, the

accused was acquitted or the charges were otherwise not proven. Of

the 36 offenders convicted, 11 were placed in custody, 20 were

sentenced to community work, two were placed under supervision, four

were given monetary fines, and ONE was discharged (an offender may

have received more than ONE type of penalty).



In July a Christchurch brothel owner was charged with exploiting

underage girls in prostitution. The two girls, ages 16 and 17,

worked at the brothel for more than a year. This was the first

occasion that prosecutors applied the law banning sexual slavery,

adopted in 2006 in accordance with the United Nations Convention on

the Rights of the Child. The case remained pending at the end of the

reporting period.



In November authorities charged a New Plymouth brothel owner with

several offenses relating to his employment of a 15-year-old girl as

a prostitute during a six-month period in 2005. The case remained

pending at the end of the reporting period.



In December the Tauranga District Court sentenced a 19-year-old Bay

of Plenty man to 27 months' imprisonment for assisting and receiving

earnings from his 15-year-old girlfriend, who engaged in

prostitution in 2006 and 2007.



With respect to investigating underage prostitution, Police may

legally ask any person for identity and age, but there is no

requirement that persons carry proof of identity or age in New

Zealand. Police always have the option to take an unaccompanied

child into custody for questioning if Police determine that it is

necessary for the physical or mental HEALTH of the child or if the

child is impaired. Since many underage prostitutes do not see

themselves as victims and do not cooperate with Police, Police may

find it difficult to indict violators who use underage prostitutes.

Despite these difficulties, Police do not consider them to be undue

impediments to their ability to identify underage sex workers. In

fact, according to Police, the PRA has allowed them to have greater

contact with local prostitutes and more likely to hear about

underage sex workers or anyone who is being coerced into

prostitution.



The Police are able to enter a brothel and make a compliance



WELLINGTON 00000038 028 OF 041





investigation after obtaining a warrant to do so. In order to

obtain a warrant, Police must have "grounds to suspect" that a

violation is occurring or has occurred, which is a lower standard

than that governing Police entry into other types of businesses

(where Police must have "grounds to believe"). The rationale is to

provide Police with greater powers of access to prevent harm to sex

workers. However, if a violation of immigration law is suspected, a

police officer (who is also an immigration officer under the PRA)

can enter a brothel without a warrant. According to the Police, the

PRA has not limited their ability to investigate possible illegal

activities associated with brothels when Police have found it

necessary to do so.



Even though New Zealand's anti-trafficking law only applies to

transnational trafficking, the government employs an extensive

statutory regime to protect workers from domestic trafficking or

exploitation, and from working in unsafe or unhealthy work

environments. These protections apply to all workers employed in

New Zealand, whether or not they are legally entitled to be in New

Zealand.



The overall framework for employment relations is contained in the

Employment Relations Act of 2000, which sets provisions for

bargaining, freedom of association, bargaining, personal grievance

rights and procedures for employment problem resolution. The HEALTH

and Safety in Employment Act 1992 establishes the framework for

occupational safety and HEALTH in workplaces.



There were 264 horticulture and viticulture compliance inspections

made during 2008. This includes Regional Seasonal Employer (RSE)

compliance, educational and audit inspections. From 2005 to present

(the government has not isolated the figures for 2008),the

government has brought 263 charges against labor recruiters: 257

relating to fraudulent and deceptive offers; and six relating to

violations of the Immigration Act.



-- F. Does the government provide any specialized training for

government officials in how to recognize, investigate, and prosecute

instances of trafficking? Specify whether NGOs, international

organizations, and/or the USG provide specialized training for host

government officials.



RESPONSE:



Department of Labour-Immigration onshore operational staff who may

be in a position to detect suspected trafficking activity receive

training on identifying indicators. Additional operational training

on identifying indicators of trafficking and trafficking victim

interviewing techniques was delivered to Immigration compliance

officers in the past year. Information on trafficking indicators

has also been incorporated into briefings for these officers before

each enforcement operation.



Further, the profile developed for Operation Spotlight (see "27-B"

below),which provides a useful tool at the border to identify

potential sex workers before they enter the country, has been

incorporated into training for border officers.



The Department of Labour-Immigration plans to implement other

training/awareness measures to ensure that a wider number of staff

are aware of and understand the dimensions of human trafficking.

These measures include a trafficking intranet site, presentations by

managers, and internally circulating information on trafficking

indicators.



Additional training to be delivered to Immigration Officers as part

of the Plan of Action includes extending training to all frontline

onshore and offshore staff on trafficking indicators in visa

applications. The Plan of Action also includes an effort to better

coordinate training programs between agencies to ensure a consistent



WELLINGTON 00000038 029 OF 041





approach to suspected trafficking crimes.



In 2008, the New Zealand Police developed training on human

trafficking offences as part of the Criminal Investigation Branch

(CIB) training program. This training will be implemented in 2009

and will be provided to all new detectives as they pass through CIB

training. The training program will be complemented by an intranet

site which will be available to all Police staff with some material

also being included on the New Zealand Police public website. The

Police have also sent officers to Australia for training in this

area with the Australian Federal Police.



The New Zealand Customs Service has a formal Memorandum of

Understanding with the New Zealand Police that covers information

sharing, joint operations and joint training opportunities. The

Department of Labour-Immigration has a similar arrangement with the

New Zealand Police.



--G. Does the government cooperate with other governments in the

investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases? If possible,

provide the number of cooperative international investigations on

trafficking during the reporting period.



RESPONSE:



The Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act of 1992 allows New

Zealand to co-operate with other governments in the investigation

and prosecution of criminal activities, including trafficking,

without the need for bilateral mutual legal assistance treaties.

The Act sets out the extent to which New Zealand is able to request

or provide assistance, to include the gathering of evidence,

identifying and locating persons, and executing warrants. The New

Zealand Police also provide informal assistance to their

counterparts around the world through Interpol channels.



New Zealand has not made or received any requests relating to

trafficking under this act to date.



-- H. Does the government extradite persons who are charged with

trafficking in other countries? If so, please provide the number of

traffickers extradited during the reporting period, and the number

of trafficking extraditions pending. In particular, please report on

any pending or concluded extraditions of trafficking offenders to

the United States.



RESPONSE:



Trafficking is an extraditable offence under New Zealand's

Extradition Act of 1999 which allows New Zealand to extradite

offenders. To date, New Zealand has never received a request to

extradite or otherwise surrender a person charged with a trafficking

offense.



New Zealand's Extradition Act of 1999 reserves the government's

right to refuse extradition of a New Zealand national. Despite

this, the government has not, as a matter of general practice,

refused to extradite New Zealand nationals.



-- I. Is there evidence of government involvement in or tolerance of

trafficking, on a local or institutional level? If so, please

explain in detail.



RESPONSE:



There is no evidence of government involvement in or tolerance of

trafficking.



-- J. If government officials are involved in trafficking, what

steps has the government taken to end such participation? Please

indicate the number of government officials investigated and



WELLINGTON 00000038 030 OF 041





prosecuted for involvement in trafficking or trafficking-related

corruption during the reporting period. Have any been convicted?

What sentence(s) was imposed? Please specify if officials received

suspended sentences, or were given a fine, fired, or reassigned to

another position within the government as punishment. Please

indicate the number of convicted officials that received suspended

sentences or received only a fine as punishment.



RESPONSE:



Not applicable.



-- K. Is prostitution legalized or decriminalized? Specifically,

are the activities of the prostitute criminalized? Are the

activities of the brothel owner/operator, clients, pimps, and

enforcers criminalized? Are these laws enforced? If prostitution

is legal and regulated, what is the legal minimum age for this

activity? Note that in countries with federalist systems,

prostitution laws may be under state or local jurisdiction and may

differ among jurisdictions.



RESPONSE:



Prostitution in New Zealand was decriminalized by the Prostitution

Reform Act (PRA) of 2003, which placed the sex industry under a

regulatory regime. That regulatory structure is enforced.



The PRA prohibits persons under 18 years of age and foreign

nationals from working in the commercial sex industry. Prostitutes

under 18 are not prosecuted (they are considered victims),but other

parties involved in the transaction may be prosecuted -- e.g., for

facilitating, receiving payment for, or receiving sexual services

from, a person under 18. Additional charges may result where there

is a lack of consent or a person is induced or compelled to provide

commercial sexual services or earnings.



When a client engages a person under the age of 18 to provide sexual

services, the defendant has the burden of proving that he/she took

adequate steps to ascertain whether the person was 18 years or

older.



Law enforcement personnel, including immigration officers, inspect

brothels to ensure that persons working in the industry are not

foreign nationals in New Zealand on temporary permits. In the

course of carrying out these inspections, officers screen for

victims of trafficking, to include underage sex workers.



The PRA prohibits the granting of an immigration permit if the

person has provided or intends to provide commercial sexual

services; has acted or intends to act as an operator of a business

of prostitution; or has invested in or intends investing in a

business of prostitution. It is also a condition of every temporary

immigration permit or limited purpose permit that the holder may not

provide commercial sexual services, act as an operator of a New

Zealand business of prostitution or invest in a New Zealand business

of prostitution.



The PRA repealed the offenses of brothel keeping and living off the

proceeds of prostitution. However, brothel owners/operators may be

charged with the following offenses under the PRA: using persons

under 18 years of age; providing sexual services where there is a

lack of consent; inducing or compelling a person to provide

commercial sexual services or earnings; or failing to meet

obligations under the HEALTH and Safety in Employment Act of 1992

(including but not limited to safe sex practices).



If a brothel owner/operator uses a person under 18 years of age, he

or she is also subject to penalties under the Crimes Act for sexual

exploitation of a person under 18.





WELLINGTON 00000038 031 OF 041





Various provisions of the Crimes Act might also apply where: there

is violence, or threats of violence or damage to property; or a

person abducts or kidnaps a person with the intent to have sexual

contact.



-- L. For countries that contribute troops to international

peacekeeping efforts, please indicate whether the government

vigorously investigated, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced

nationals of the country deployed abroad as part of a peacekeeping

or other similar mission who engaged in or facilitated severe forms

of trafficking or who exploited victims of such trafficking.



RESPONSE:



The government has no evidence to suggest, nor has Post obtained any

reports to indicate, that NZDF personnel deployed in Timor-Leste,

Afghanistan or similar missions have been involved in trafficking or

related activities during the reporting period.



-- M. If the country has an identified problem of child sex tourists

coming to the country, what are the countries of origin for sex

tourists? How many foreign pedophiles did the government prosecute

or deport/extradite to their country of origin? If your host

country's nationals are perpetrators of child sex tourism, do the

country's child sexual abuse laws have extraterritorial coverage

(similar to the U.S. PROTECT Act) to allow the prosecution of

suspected sex tourists for crimes committed abroad? If so, how many

of the country's nationals were prosecuted and/or convicted during

the reporting period under the extraterritorial provision(s) for

traveling to other countries to engage in child sex tourism?



RESPONSE:



There have been no reported problems with child sex tourists or

foreign pedophiles entering New Zealand. None have been deported or

extradited.



With respect to New Zealand citizens engaging in child sex tourism

abroad, New Zealand has extraterritorial coverage under section 144A

of the Crimes Act of 1961 in that situation, and the government has

cooperated in the prosecution of New Zealand citizens who have

engaged in child sex tourism overseas. It is also an offense under

section 144C of the Crimes Act of 1961 to organize or promote child

sex tours.



Since 2002, there have been two persons charged within New Zealand

for the crime of sexual conduct with a child that occurred outside

New Zealand. ONE person was convicted (in 2007) and sentenced to a

term of 820 days imprisonment. The charge against the other person

was withdrawn.



Both ECPAT and Stop Demand (an anti-prostitution NGO) have expressed

concern that the government has not directed sufficient resources to

enforce its sex tourism law. ECPAT pointed out that New Zealand has

only ONE officer assigned in Bangkok to cover the entire Asia,

Southeast Asia and Pacific Island region with respect to trafficking

and sex tourism. At the same time, ECPAT acknowledged that New

Zealand, being a relatively small country with a relatively small

trafficking problem, has difficulty justifying additional resources

for that purpose.



The government features information on its extraterritorial child

sex tourism legislation on the government travel advisory website.







26. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS:



-- A. What kind of protection is the government able under existing

law to provide for victims and witnesses? Does it provide these



WELLINGTON 00000038 032 OF 041





protections in practice?



RESPONSE:



Please see the responses to "26-B" and "26-C" below.



-- B. Does the country have victim care facilities (shelters or

drop-in centers) which are accessible to trafficking victims? Do

foreign victims have the same access to care as domestic trafficking

victims? Where are child victims placed (e.g., in shelters, foster

care, or juvenile justice detention centers)? Does the country have

specialized care for adults in addition to children? Does the

country have specialized care for male victims as well as female?

Does the country have specialized facilities dedicated to helping

victims of trafficking? Are these facilities operated by the

government or by NGOs? What is the funding source of these

facilities? Please estimate the amount the government spent (in

U.S. dollar equivalent) on these specialized facilities dedicated to

helping trafficking victims during the reporting period.



RESPONSE:



The New Zealand Council of Victim Support Groups provides 24-hour

emotional support, personal advocacy and information to all people

affected by crime and trauma throughout New Zealand, regardless of

gender, age or immigration status. Victims with special needs, such

as emotional support or counseling, are referred by relevant

authorities to a specialist provider of care services.



The New Zealand government is unaware of any situation during the

reporting period when a person accessing these services or

facilities claimed to be a victim of trafficking.



-- C. Does the government provide trafficking victims with access

to legal, medical and psychological services? If so, please specify

the kind of assistance provided. Does the government provide

funding or other forms of support to foreign or domestic NGOs and/or

international organizations for providing these services to

trafficking victims? Please explain and provide any funding amounts

in U.S. dollar equivalent. If assistance provided was in-kind,

please specify exact assistance. Please specify if funding for

assistance comes from a federal budget or from regional or local

governments.



RESPONSE:



All crime victims in New Zealand, including trafficking victims, are

protected under the New Zealand's Victim's Rights Act of 2002

regardless of their immigration status. Under this act, the New

Zealand Police would provide any suspected trafficking victim with

his or her immediate welfare needs, such as food and shelter. In

addition, a victim would be informed of services to which he or she

is entitled, such as physical and mental HEALTH services,

counseling, legal services, and access to legal remedies, including

restitution (see the response to "27-J" below).



For ongoing care and case management, the victim's support would be

coordinated by the Ministry of Social Development - Family and

Community Services. This would include legal, medical and

psychological services provided by government agencies in

conjunction with various NGOs.



The Ministry of Social Development's operational arm, Child Youth

and Family Services, would provide any children who are identified

as victims of trafficking with the appropriate care and support

services. This would include immediate needs such as supervision and

housing, as well as all other welfare needs.



The IWG is considering an approach within the Plan of Action to make

trafficking victims a separate formal category of victim, with an



WELLINGTON 00000038 033 OF 041





immigration status. This approach would provide trafficking victims

with a greater range of support services over the longer term. The

IWG states that victim assistance will continue to be a regular

agenda item at IWG meetings and consideration of measures that

extend or enhance victim support will be on-going.



New Zealand Aid for International Development (NZAID) is the

government agency responsible for managing New Zealand's

international development assistance. In line with its human rights

policy, NZAID supports activities to combat human trafficking

through its contributions to the following entities (all funds from

the NZ federal budget):



-- USD 100,000 (NZD 200,000) to the Asia Pacific Forum of National

Human Rights Institutions annually.



-- USD 200,000 (NZD 400,000) to the UN Inter-Agency Project on Human

Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region (participating

countries are: Cambodia, China, Lao, Myanmar, Thailand, and

Vietnam).



The government also contributed or dedicated USD 14.9 million (NZD

29.8 million) for the period 2007 to 2009 to organizations which, as

a part of their mandate, work to detect or prevent trafficking or

provide assistance to trafficking victims. Those organizations

include UNICEF, UNFPA, OHCHR AND UNIFEM.



In December, the government facilitated the voluntary repatriation

of nine citizens of India who had been lured to the island of Niue

(an independent state freely associated with New Zealand) with false

promies of well-paid work on an established farm, and eventual

access to New Zealand. The government of New Zealand denied the

migrants access to New Zealand and, as the government of Niue would

not repatriate the migrants, New Zealand did so at the cost of USD

71,000 (NZD 35,500) and under the supervision of the IOM.



The government partnered with local bodies in New Zealand, typically

regional councils, to provide support services to migrants and

refugees, which would include potential trafficking victims. In

2008, the government contributed USD 2.95 million (NZD 5.9 million)

toward those services.



-- D. Does the government assist foreign trafficking victims, for

example, by providing temporary to permanent residency status, or

other relief from deportation? If so, please explain.



RESPONSE:



The Department of Labour-Immigration is able to provide victims,

including foreign trafficking victims, with immigration status

appropriate to their situation. Immigration would assess a victim on

a case-by-case basis and the victim would be eligible for a

temporary permit. For example, the government has provided crime

victims with temporary entry permits, including limited purpose

entry permits (to testify in court, for example). In some cases

relating to visa holders who are illegally engaged in the sex

industry (and may be potential and unproven victims of trafficking),

the violators are often allowed to remain in New Zealand subject to

the terms of their visa. Likewise, illegal migrant farm workers who

have been exploited (though not necessarily trafficked) are

sometimes allowed to remain in the country.



-- E. Does the government provide longer-term shelter or housing

benefits to victims or other resources to aid the victims in

rebuilding their lives?



RESPONSE:



Please see the responses to "26-B" and "26-C" above.





WELLINGTON 00000038 034 OF 041





-- F. Does the government have a referral process to transfer

victims detained, arrested or placed in protective custody by law

enforcement authorities to institutions that provide short- or

long-term care (either government or NGO-run)?



RESPONSE:



Depending on the status of the victim, he or she would be referred

to the Department of Corrections (if detained) which has a range of

social service and witness protection options available, or to an

NGO (if not detained) such as the Women's Refuge, Victims Support,

or Refugee Services.



-- G. What is the total number of trafficking victims identified

during the reporting period? Of these, how many victims were

referred to care facilities for assistance by law enforcement

authorities during the reporting period? By social services

officials? What is the number of victims assisted by

government-funded assistance programs and those not funded by the

government during the reporting period?



RESPONSE:



No transnational trafficking victims were identified during the

reporting period. With respect to domestic victims, children

engaged in prostitution were referred to Child and Protective

Services or to parents. No numbers were available.



-- H. Do the government's law enforcement, immigration, and social

services personnel have a formal system of proactively identifying

victims of trafficking among high-risk persons with whom they come

in contact (e.g., foreign persons arrested for prostitution or

immigration violations)? For countries with legalized prostitution,

does the government have a mechanism for screening for trafficking

victims among persons involved in the legal/regulated commercial sex

trade?



RESPONSE:



Please see the response to "27-B" below concerning the government's

screening efforts to help detect potential trafficking victims among

those seeking to enter New Zealand illegally.



Immigration officers have received training on anti-trafficking

legislation and its implementation, including the necessity of

providing victims with information on social services. The officers

conduct interviews with potential victims and coordinate with the

New Zealand Police and other social services agencies.



-- I. Are the rights of victims respected? Are trafficking victims

detained or jailed? If so, for how long? Are victims fined? Are

victims prosecuted for violations of other laws, such as those

governing immigration or prostitution?



RESPONSE:



The government is conscientious about protecting the rights of crime

victims, including potential trafficking victims. In any potential

trafficking case, the government's policy is to try to obtain the

victim's collaboration in prosecuting the person responsible, ensure

that the victim's accommodation needs are met, and issue a temporary

permit where appropriate to enable the victim to remain lawfully in

New Zealand to serve as a legal witness if needed.



The Victims' Rights Act of 2002 provides specific statutory

recognition to the role of victims in the criminal justice system.

The Act provides that government officials in the criminal justice

system should:



-- treat victims with courtesy, compassion, and respect for their



WELLINGTON 00000038 035 OF 041





personal dignity and privacy;



-- offer access to counseling and social services; and



-- inform victims and their families of the progress of the criminal

proceedings, the charges laid, the victim's role as a prosecution

witness, the date and place of certain events surrounding hearings,

and the final disposition of proceedings.



Under the Act, any information that should be given to the victim

can be given to a support person when the victim cannot receive it

or is not capable alone of understanding it.



When the government finds underage young persons engaged in

prostitution, it considers them victims rather than criminals. The

government has put in place measures to ensure that there are

support services available for young persons who are involved in, or

at risk of, commercial sexual exploitation.



As mentioned in "26-D" above, migrants who are illegally engaged in

prostitution and illegal migrant farm workers who are potential

trafficking victims may, on a case by case basis, be allowed to

remain in New Zealand.



-- J. Does the government encourage victims to assist in the

investigation and prosecution of trafficking? How many victims

assisted in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers during

the reporting period? May victims file civil suits or seek legal

action against traffickers? Does anyone impede victim access to

such legal redress? If a victim is a material witness in a court

case against a former employer, is the victim permitted to obtain

other employment or to leave the country pending trial proceedings?

Are there means by which a victim may obtain restitution?



RESPONSE:



While no trafficking victims were detected during the reporting

period, such victims would be handled under New Zealand's existing

mechanism for assisting crime victims. If the government becomes

aware of an instance of trafficking, it is government policy to

solicit the cooperation of the victim so long as it would not

jeopardize the success of the investigation. Although the

government would have an interest in persuading the victim to remain

in New Zealand, the government would not seek to prevent a victim of

trafficking from leaving the country if the person desires to leave

of her/his own volition.



Victims may use the judicial system to seek restitution against

traffickers. In addition, following criminal prosecution of a

trafficker, the court may order the trafficker to make reparation to

the victim. The court is required by law to consider reparation in

all criminal cases and it must impose reparation unless satisfied

that it would result in undue hardship for the offender or the

dependents of the offender, or because of any other special

circumstances.



For example, in 2000 the Human Rights Commission successfully

represented a Thai sex trafficking victim to the New Zealand

Disputes Tribunal, and the victim recovered the NZD 6000 she paid

traffickers for what she believed would be restaurant work.



-- K. Does the government provide any specialized training for

government officials in identifying trafficking victims and in the

provision of assistance to traffiked victims, including the special

needs of trafficked children? Does the government provide training

on protections and assistance to its embassies and consulates in

foreign countries that are destination or transit countries? What

is the number of trafficking victims assisted by the host country's

embassies or consulates abroad during the reporting period? Please

explain the type of assistance provided (travel documents, referrals



WELLINGTON 00000038 036 OF 041





to assistance, payment for transportation home).



RESPONSE:



Immigration officers receive training on anti-trafficking

legislation and its implementation, including the necessity of

providing victims with assistance and information on social

services.



Representatives of the Department of Labour-Immigration and the

Human Rights Commission have participated in and conducted numerous

training workshops in recognizing victims and perpetrators of

trafficking. The government is an active participant in

international fora concerning human trafficking, including the Bali

Process and the Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights

Institutions and others.



The Department of Labour-Immigration conducts border control

training workshops and document examination training for the

immigration and border control staff of countries in the

Asia-Pacific region. Immigration also provides passenger screening

training to staff of airlines serving New Zealand and the Pacific.

(Please see the response to "25-F" above for more details concerning

these training programs.)



Government diplomats assigned to countries where trafficking is

likely to occur or where New Zealand works closely with other

governments on trafficking (Bali Process countries, those working at

the UN, or other relevant organizations such as IOM) receive a

briefing on trafficking issues before departing for their

assignment.



There were no trafficking victims who were New Zealand citizens and

who were assisted by New Zealand's embassies or consulates abroad

during the reporting period.



-- L. Does the government provide assistance, such as medical aid,

shelter, or financial help, to its nationals who are repatriated as

victims of trafficking?



RESPONSE:



No New Zealand nationals have been repatriated as trafficking

victims during the reporting period. However, repatriated victims

would be entitled to the services and programs available to all

crime victims in New Zealand.



-- M. Which international organizations or NGOs, if any, work with

trafficking victims? What type of services do they provide? What

sort of cooperation do they receive from local authorities?



RESPONSE:



Several NGOs are prepared to work with trafficking victims, both

transnational and domestic. These NGOs include

national/international organizations such as the Salvation Army,

IOM, Save the Children, ECPAT, the New Zealand Prostitutes

Collective, and Stop Demand; and local community organizations such

as Mangere East Family Services Center, Iosis Family Solutions, and

Shakti Community Council. These organizations offer a wide range of

counseling, shelter and referral services. All of the organizations

indicate a high level of cooperation by national and local

governments.



With respect to underage prostitution, the Mangere East Family

Services Center (MEFSC) in Auckland launched a new program in 2008.

MEFSC partnered with the New Zealand Prostitutes Collective to

establish a program called "Street Reach." This privately-funded

program provides counseling services to prostitutes (especially

younger sex workers) to help them deal with psychological and



WELLINGTON 00000038 037 OF 041





emotional problems that are associated with women who enter

prostitution, and which are often caused by growing up in situations

involving child abuse, family violence, alcoholism and dysfunctional

families. The goal is to assist prostitutes in addressing those

problems and thereby give up the profession.



NGOs have not reported any difficulties with or reluctance by the

government in addressing trafficking issues. ECPAT, for example,

praised MFAT and the police for their cooperation and leadership on

trafficking and child-related issues.





27. PREVENTION:



-- A. Did the government conduct anti-trafficking information or

education campaigns during the reporting period? If so, briefly

describe the campaign(s),including their objectives and

effectiveness. Please provide the number of people reached by such

awareness efforts, if available. Do these campaigns target

potential trafficking victims and/or the demand for trafficking

(e.g. "clients" of prostitutes or beneficiaries of forced labor)?

(Note: This can be an especially noteworthy effort where

prostitution is legal. End Note.)



RESPONSE:



There were no government-run anti-trafficking information and

education campaigns specifically targeting transnational

trafficking, underage prostitution or exploitation of migrant

workers during the reporting period. However, the government is

attempting to raise general awareness of trafficking issues as part

of its Plan of Action process, which began in 2008 and is discussed

in other sections of this report. That process has involved public

consultations with NGOs and civil society, and has resulted in the

publication of the Plan of Action's purpose and progress on the

Department of Labour-Immigration web site.



-- B. Does the government monitor immigration and emigration

patterns for evidence of trafficking? Do law enforcement agencies

screen for potential trafficking victims along borders?



RESPONSE:



The government regularly monitors immigration and emigration

patterns and conducts onshore and off-shore passenger screening as

an integral element of detecting and preventing trafficking. The

Government has in place an Advance Passenger Processing (APP) system

that requires airlines to identify passengers who may be seeking to

enter New Zealand illegally before they embark on an aircraft.



In countries that are considered to be a high-risk source of

trafficked victims and where a visa is required to travel to New

Zealand (Taiwan, Thailand and mainland China),New Zealand

immigration officials focus special attention on detection of

trafficking during the visa approval process. Immigration officials

also coordinate with Australian immigration officials, who have the

same concerns in their country.



In countries that are considered to be a high-risk source of

trafficked victims but where a visa is not required to travel to New

Zealand (such as Hong Kong and Malaysia),immigration officials rely

on APP to help target likely trafficking victims for special

scrutiny.



New Zealand also participates in the APEC Regional Movement Alert

System (RMAS) which allows the automated checking of passport

details (of those countries participating in RMAS) to detect

invalid, lost and stolen passports.



In January, the Customs Service and the Department of



WELLINGTON 00000038 038 OF 041





Labour-Immigration launched a passenger profiling initiative called

Operation Spotlight at New Zealand's main international gateway,

Auckland International Airport, to interdict visa-free travelers

entering New Zealand who may have the intent of working illegally in

the sex industry. Passengers are targeted both remotely (while en

route to NZ, based on their ticketing profile) and at the physical

border via traditional face-to-face methods. Passengers that match

the alert profile at the primary line are referred by Customs to

secondary questioning by Immigration. Several incoming passengers

were denied entry during the program's trial phase in 2008.



Immigration also works closely with the New Zealand Customs Service

in the National Targeting Centre to develop passenger profiles and

prepare alerts against passengers of interest at the airport entry

points.



The Immigration Border Operations Centre (IBOC) monitors passengers

using two systems. The first is the Advanced Passenger Profiling

(APP) system. APP is linked to both the airline check-in system and

to the Department of Labour-Immigration database. If there is a

passenger alert on the database, an alert is transmitted to APP that

instructs airlines to not board the passenger. As a result of APP,

1347 passengers were offloaded before embarking for New Zealand

between January 1, 2008 and December 31, 2008.



The second system used by IBOC is the Risk Targeting Program (RTP),

which uses electronic passenger profiling. This system targets

people who are potentially travelling with false passports. RTP

refers a significant number of individuals to Onshore Border

Operations for investigation upon arrival (individuals who fit a sex

worker profile is ONE example). Onshore Border Operations then

conduct face-to-face interviews with the individuals referred by

RTP.



To date, no trafficking cases have been identified through either

system of offshore border profiling.



-- C. Is there a mechanism for coordination and communication

between various agencies, internal, international, and multilateral

on trafficking-related matters, such as a multi-agency working group

or a task force?



RESPONSE:



At the domestic level:



As mentioned in "24-D" above and "27-D" below, the government's Plan

of Action to combat trafficking established an Inter-agency Working

Group (IWG) on People Trafficking, that includes the Department of

Labour-Immigration, the Police, the Customs Service, the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of

Social Development, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of

Women's Affairs.



The Customs Service has a formal Memorandum of Understanding with

the Police that covers information sharing, joint operations and

joint training opportunities, which includes trafficking-related

issues. The Department of Labour-Immigration has a similar

arrangement with the Police.



At the international level:



-- The government's efforts to prevent trafficking are reported and

coordinated within the Bali Process and at relevant UN meetings (New

Zealand hosted the Bali Process steering group meeting in November

2008);



-- The government participates in the Pacific Regional Immigration

Identity Project (PRIIP) with Palau, Kiribati, the Cook Islands and

Samoa to improve identity management services and better detect,



WELLINGTON 00000038 039 OF 041





measure, investigate and prevent the use of identity fraud

(especially immigration identity fraud and thereby trafficking)

within the Pacific region;



-- The government is a member of the International Organization for

Migration (IOM) and consults with the IOM in developing and

implementing New Zealand's National Plan of Action to prevent

trafficking in persons; and



-- The government is a member of the Intergovernmental Consultations

on Migration, Asylum and Refugees (IGC),a forum that meets to

exchange information, practical approaches, and policy debate on

issues relevant to the management of migratory flows (to include

trafficking).



-- D. Does the government have a national plan of action to address

trafficking in persons? If the plan was developed during the

reporting period, which agencies were involved in developing it?

Were NGOs consulted in the process? What steps has the government

taken to implement the action plan?



RESPONSE:



In June 2008, the government released its Plan of Action to address

trafficking prevention, victim protection, prosecution of

traffickers, and victim reintegration. The agencies involved in

developing the Plan of Action were part of an Inter-agency Working

Group (IWG) on People Trafficking that included the Department of

Labour-Immigration, the Police, the Customs Service, the Ministry of

Foreign Affairs and Trade, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of

Social Development, the Ministry of Health, and the Ministry of

Women's Affairs. The IWG continues to implement, coordinate and

monitor the Plan of Action.



Upon release of the Plan of Action, the government initiated a

consultation process wherein it conducted three public

"consultations" in June and July in New Zealand's three larges

cities -- Auckland, Wellington, and Christchurch -- to solicit civil

society and NGO input for additional action. Approximately 30 NGOs

actively participated in the process. The government, through

regular meetings of the IWG, is continuing to develop, fine tune and

look for opportunities to expand the Plan of Action.



Thus far under the Plan of Action, the NZ Department of

Labor-Immigration has undertaken anti-trafficking enhancements that

include:

-- Briefing and debriefing all compliance officers on indicators of

trafficking activity before and after each field operation;

-- An intelligence collection plan incorporated into each compliance

operation; and

-- Monitoring of open sources and classified reporting for

trafficking intelligence and trends.

The Department of Labour also has the following initiatives under

development:

-- Efforts to raise trafficking awareness for the wider departmental

staff, including management communications and the delivery of

presentations by branch managers;

-- Development of modular style legal and practical lessons for

staff, to be designed in conjunction with New Zealand Police based

on an existing Police template that will be modified to meet

department needs; and

-- Collaboration with Police to identify various structures and

agreements that need to be formalized -- e.g., a standardized

referral process when a victim of suspected trafficking is

identified.



Other initiatives being considered include a public awareness

campaign and formalized visa arrangements for identified trafficking

victims.





WELLINGTON 00000038 040 OF 041





One goal of the Department is to "mainstream" anti-trafficking

efforts into existing practices. This is intended to increase

awareness of trafficking prevention among Department staff at all

levels -- particularly offshore visa officers, border security

officers, compliance officers and labor and HEALTH inspectors.



-- E: What measures has the government taken during the reporting

period to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts? (see ref B,

para. 9(3) for examples)



RESPONSE:



With the adoption of the PRA in 2003, the government's purpose was

to reduce the demand for, and improve the government's ability to

detect and prevent, underage prostitution and the exploitation of

foreign nationals who may be trafficked into prostitution. In

addition, the government attempted to promote the human rights,

welfare, and occupational HEALTH and safety of sex workers.



The PRA also established the Prostitution Law Review Committee

(PLRC) to monitor the operation of the PRA and its impact on the sex

industry. ONE of the PLRC's functions is to assess the adequacy of,

and recommend improvements to, programs to assist persons in

avoiding or ceasing work in the sex industry.



-- F. Required of all Posts: What measures has the government taken

during the reporting period to reduce the participation in

international child sex tourism by nationals of the country?



RESPONSE:



During the reporting period, no new measures were undertaken.

However, the government remains ready to prosecute its citizens

under New Zealand law for acts of child sex tourism while abroad.



New Zealand has extraterritorial coverage under section 144A of the

Crimes Act of 1961 with respect to child sexual abuse laws and New

Zealand has cooperated in the prosecution of New Zealand citizens

who have engaged in child sex tourism overseas. It is also an

offense under section 144C of the Crimes Act of 1961 to organize or

promote child sex tours.



The government featured information on New Zealand's

extraterritorial child sex tourism legislation on the government

travel advisory website.



In addition, the Police Department of Internal Affairs' Censorship

Compliance Unit actively investigated cases of child pornography and

images of child sex abuse on the Internet, and prosecuted

offenders.



-- G. Required of posts in countries that have contributed over 100

troops to international peacekeeping efforts: What measures has the

government adopted to ensure that its nationals who are deployed

abroad as part of a peacekeeping or other similar mission do not

engage in or facilitate severe forms of trafficking or exploit

victims of such trafficking? If posts do not provide an answer to

this question, the Department may consider including a statement in

the country assessment to the effect that "An assessment regarding

Country X's efforts to ensure that its troops deployed abroad for

international peacekeeping missions do not engage in or facilitate

trafficking or exploit trafficking victims was unavailable for this

reporting period."



RESPONSE:



Personnel of the New Zealand Defence Force (NZDF) are obligated to

comply with the NZDF Code of Conduct. A Code of Conduct card is

issued to each member of the NZDF, containing a summary of the Laws

of Armed Conflict, which incorporates the requirement to: "Treat all



WELLINGTON 00000038 041 OF 041





Civilians and persons deprived of their liberty humanely, protect

them from abuse, and respect their property."



In the event that evidence of such activity would be discovered, the

government would treat that activity as a crime under New Zealand

law. The NZDF Discipline Act of 1971 makes all offences under NZ

Law applicable to members of the NZDF, wherever they may be

assigned.



Prior to deployment into mission areas, all NZDF personnel undergo

pre-deployment training to prepare the service member for operations

in the specific mission area. This training includes briefings on

cultural and legal issues. It is government policy that if NZDF

personnel are entering an area known for trafficking, then specific

in-theatre briefings would occur on deployment.



End Responses

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



2. (U) Embassy POC for trafficking in persons issues is Political

Officer Gary Rex: telephone 0064-4-462-6043; fax 0064-4-472-3537;

RexGL@state.gov.



3. (U) Post estimates that Rex spent 50 hours in preparation of

this TIP report response cable.



KEEGAN