TURKMENISTAN: GOOD INTENTIONS BUT SCANT PROGRESS

C O N F I D E N T I A L ASHGABAT 000020 SIPDIS STATE FOR INL/G TIP AND SCA/CEN E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/06/2020 TAGS: KTIP PHUM PREL PGOV TK TX SUBJECT: TURKMENISTAN: GOOD INTENTIONS BUT SCANT PROGRESS IN THE HUMAN TRAFFICKING BATTLE Classified By: Charge d'Affaires Sylvia Reed Curran. Reasons 1.4 (b) an d (d) ¶1. (C) In a January 6 conversation with Poloff, Tahyr Seidov, IOM's Senior Program Assistant for Turkmenistan, said that despite a "real willingness" on the part of many officials to confront Turkmenistan's human trafficking problem, factors like denial and an overall "lack of preparedness" made it difficult to attain real progress in the last year. The Turkmen government prosecuted no alleged trafficking perpetrators in 2009. ¶2. (C) Seidov said that his office was contacted by and assisted more victims in the last 12 months than in 2008, and that all of them (25 in total) had been victims of sex trafficking or forced labor schemes in Turkey. In several cases, Turkish authorities referred the victims to IOM's office in Istanbul, who arranged for their repatriation to Turkmenistan. On arrival in Ashgabat, the victims were met at the airport by IOM and the NGO Keik Okara, who provide temporary shelter in local hotels or apartments. IOM also assists the victims in applying for a new passport or identity documents, and another NGO, Bildirgen, assists with their rehabilitation and reintegration. (NOTE: There are no shelters available for trafficking victims in Turkmenistan, although the National Red Crescent Society is planning to construct the first one in Lebap province under an IOM project funded by the Norwegian government. END NOTE.) Under another IOM project, the NGO Inam runs a busy hotline for trafficking victims in Turkmenistan, reportedly getting many calls each day. 300,000 TURKMEN IN TURKEY ¶3. (C) In recent years, all of the trafficking victims with whom IOM has had contact were exploited in Turkey or the Russian Federation, although Seidov said that there were unconfirmed cases (according to local NGOs) of Turkmen citizens having been lured to the UK with promises of employment or opportunities for study and then falling victim to trafficking schemes. Seidov met recently with the Turkmen consul in Istanbul, a personal friend, who estimated to him that there are 300,000 Turkmen citizens residing illegally in Turkey. AMENDING THE CRIMINAL CODE ¶4. (C) Seidov said that one of the impediments to bringing cases against alleged traffickers in Turkmenistan continues to be the lack of specific trafficking provisions in the penal code. His office, again with funding provided by the Norwegian government, is working to assist the Turkmenistan government in making the necessary amendments. In this regard, Seidov met recently with Shirin Ahmedova of the government's Institute of Democracy and Human Rights, and said that she is "very optimistic" that the amendments will be enacted in 2010. ¶5. (C) COMMENT: Seidov said that while the Turkmen government has made little discernable progress in the battle against trafficking in the last year, more and more officials have expressed privately to him that the country's leaders recognize the gravity of the problem and are starting to look at its root causes, principally the high unemployment rate among young people. Officially, however, the government continues to deny the existence of a trafficking problem in Turkmenistan, insisting that it "couldn't happen here." END COMMENT. CURRAN