Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
10KOLONIA12
2010-02-17 03:17:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Kolonia
Cable title:  

ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT FOR THE FEDERATED

Tags:  KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO5215
RR RUEHKN
DE RUEHKN #0012/01 0480317
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 170317Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY KOLONIA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 2424
INFO RUEHC/USAID WASHDC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHKN/AMEMBASSY KOLONIA 2793
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 KOLONIA 000012

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP, G-LAURA PENA
EAP/ANP
INL
DRL
PRM

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB
KMCA, FM
SUBJECT: ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT FOR THE FEDERATED
STATES OF MICRONESIA

REF: STATE 2094

Post submits the following information for the 2010 Trafficking
in Persons (TIP) Report. All answers are keyed to reftel.


25. THE COUNTRY'S TIP SITUATION:

25.A. What is (are) the source(s) of available information on
human trafficking? What plans are in place (if any) to
undertake further documentation of human trafficking? How
reliable are these sources?
Department of Justice officials and local law enforcement
provide the best sources of available information. These
officials, in turn, maintain good communications with the FBI
and NCIS offices in Guam, the Australian Federal Police, and the
New Zealand Police. Local officials have no plans in place to
undertake further documentation of human trafficking. Post
finds local sources to be very reliable, if not wholly
effective, and post maintains a good working relationship with
local officials.

25.B. Is the country a country of origin, transit, and/or
destination for men, women, or children subjected to conditions
of commercial sexual exploitation, forced or bonded labor, or
other slave-like conditions?
No. The FSM is neither a country of origin, transit nor
destination for trafficking victims. No Micronesians were
identified as trafficking victims in the past year, nor were any
trafficked persons discovered within the FSM's borders. In last
year's TIP report, post relayed rumors that Chinese prostitutes
were servicing fishermen in the FSM. Local law enforcement
officials now discount these rumors and no longer believe that
Chinese prostitutes are operating within the country's borders.
Micronesians have the right to travel to, live, and work in the
United States without visas, thereby eliminating the economic
reason to become a victim of trafficking. Micronesians don't
need a "broker" to set them up with jobs in the United States
that may or may not exist, they can just board a plane and go.

Nor is the FSM a destination country for traffickers. Its
remote location and small economy, coupled with stringent
foreign investment rules, ensure a very small market for
imported foreign labor.

Are citizens or residents of the country subjected to such
trafficking conditions within the country?
No.

If so, does this internal trafficking occur in territory outside
of the government's control (e.g. in a civil war situation)?
From where are people recruited or from where do they migrate
prior to being subjected to these exploitative conditions? To
what other countries are people trafficked and for what
purposes? 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)?
N/A.

25.C. To what kind of conditions are the trafficking victims
subjected?
N/A

25.D. Vulnerability to TIP: Are certain groups of persons more
at risk of human trafficking (e.g. women and children, boys
versus girls, certain ethnic groups, refugees, IDPs, etc.)? If
so, please specify the type of exploitation for which these
groups are most at risk.
In 2008, in the only known case of trafficking in the FSM's
history, traffickers offered waitress jobs in Guam to ten young
women from the island of Chuuk, only to put them to work in
brothels. Extrapolating from that single incident it may be
that young women are at higher risk. No additional at-risk
groups were identified in the reporting period.

25.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 gain
direct access to victims? For example, are the traffickers
recruiting victims through lucrative job offers? Are victims
sold by their families, or approached by friends of friends?

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Are victims "self- presenting" (approaching the exploiter
without the involvement of a recruiter or transporter)? If
recruitment or transportation is involved, what methods are used
to recruit or transport 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?
Neither post nor local law enforcement officials know of any
traffickers currently operating within the FSM, nor have any
recruitment efforts become apparent within the past year.


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

26.A. Does the government acknowledge that human trafficking is
a problem in the country? If not, why not?
The government acknowledges the possibility that trafficking
could become a problem in the future. The complete lack of
trafficking victims leads the government to conclude it is not
currently a major problem.

26.B. Which government agencies are involved in efforts to
combat sex and labor trafficking - including forced labor - and,
which agency, if any, has the lead in these efforts?
The FSM National Police would take the lead in any trafficking
case. Other agencies that might pursue trafficking cases
include the Transnational Crime Unit (TCU),FSM Customs, FSM
Immigration and the police forces of the four individual states
(Yap, Chuuk, Pohnpei and Kosrae).

26.C. What are the limitations on the government's ability to
address these problems in practice? For example, is funding for
police or other institutions inadequate?
Given the low level of trafficking activity, funding appears
adequate for the FSM's law enforcement efforts. Eighty-six
national police officers serve a country of 108,000 residents.
Local state police forces augment the country's law enforcement
capacity.

Is overall corruption a problem?
Corruption remains a problem in the FSM, but it has no impact on
the country's trafficking situation.

Does the government lack the resources to aid victims?
No trafficking victims have been identified within the FSM, but
potential funding problems may lie with other anti-trafficking
activities, e.g. training, public outreach, etc.

26.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?
Law enforcement officials periodically discuss the issue on an
informal basis. The government lacks any formal mechanism to
monitor trafficking activity.

26.E. What measures has the government taken to establish the
identity of local populations, including birth registration,
citizenship, and nationality?
Each Micronesian state maintains its own registrar's office
containing birth, death, and marriage records. Citizenship
accrues at birth if at least one parent is an FSM citizen.
Micronesian nationality is confirmed upon presentation of the
appropriate documentation before immigration and other
government personnel.

26.F. To what extent is the government capable of gathering the
data required for an in-depth assessment of law enforcement
efforts? Where are the gaps? Are there any ways to work around
these gaps?
The government is probably capable of in-depth assessments of
its law enforcement efforts, but claims it lacks the funding to
do so. An expanded TCU could work around those gaps. However,
there are no plans to expand that unit at this time.


27. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS:

27.A. Existing Laws against TIP: Does the country have a law or
laws specifically prohibiting trafficking in persons -- both

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sexual exploitation and labor?
No.

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?
N/A

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?
The national criminal code is very limited and it rarely pursued
criminal complaints. Criminal law enforcement is mostly left to
the four states, and each state has laws that could be used in a
trafficking case. For example, there are laws against false
imprisonment, criminal coercion, kidnapping, and even the making
of "threats." To date, no trafficking case has been uncovered
within the FSM, so these laws have yet to be applied in a
trafficking situation.

27.B. Punishment of Sex Trafficking Offenses: What are the
prescribed and imposed penalties for the trafficking of persons
for commercial sexual exploitation, including for the forced
prostitution of adults and the prostitution of children?
Neither the national government nor the four states have laws
that specifically outlaw commercial sexual exploitation.

27.C. Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses: What are the
prescribed and imposed penalties for labor trafficking offenses,
including all forms of forced labor?
Neither the national government nor the four states have laws
that specifically outlaw labor trafficking.

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 compelled service in the
destination country?
The FSM is not a source country for labor migrants. In fact,
Micronesians can live and work in the United States without
visas.

If your country is a destination for labor migrants
(legal/regular or illegal/irregular),are there laws punishing
employers or labor agents who confiscate workers' passports or
travel documents for the purpose of labor trafficking, switch
contracts without the worker's consent as a means to keep the
worker in a state of compelled service, or withhold payment of
salaries as means of keeping the worker in a state of compelled
service?
The FSM is not a destination country for labor migrants. The
country's small economy provides few jobs. In fact, the FSM
experiences an annual net loss of labor and population as its
young people freely emigrate to the U.S.

27.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)
Neither the national government's truncated criminal code nor
the criminal codes of the states specifically proscribe "rape."
However, all four states outlaw sexual assault and use a
definition that includes rape as it is commonly understood.
Chuuk State imposes a fine of up to 9 years imprisonment and/or
a $10,000 fine for sexual assault using a deadly weapon, five
years and/or $5,000 if the perpetrator is unarmed.
Pohnpei State allows for a 10 year sentence and/or a $10,000
fine if the victim suffers "serious bodily or psychological
injury" and/or the perpetrator had accomplices and/or a deadly
weapon was used. If those factors are not present the penalty

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is five years imprisonment and/or a $5,000 fine.
In Kosrae State, a defendant may receive a 10 year sentence
and/or a $20,000 fine upon conviction if the sexual assault
resulted in "serious bodily or psychological injury," five years
and/or a $5,000 fine if no such injury occurs.
Yap State requires "serious bodily or psychological injury" or
the use of a "dangerous weapon" to impose its most severe
penalty for sexual assault: ten years and/or a $10,000 fine.
When neither factor is present Yap imposes a five year prison
sentence and/or a $5,000 fine.

27.E. Law Enforcement Statistics: Did the government take legal
action against human trafficking offenders during the reporting
period?
No, the government uncovered no trafficking cases or undertook
any prosecutions 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 trafficking offenders 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).
N/A

What were the actual punishments imposed on convicted
trafficking offenders? Are they serving the time sentenced? If
not, why not?
U.S. Federal Attorneys in Guam brought charges against four
individuals in the 2008 trafficking (see 25.D. above). In 2009,
two defendants pled guilty and will testify at the trial of
their two accomplices sometime in 2010.

27.F. Does the government provide any specialized training for
law enforcement and immigration officials on identifying and
treating victims of trafficking? Or training on investigating
and prosecuting human trafficking crimes? Specify whether NGOs,
international organizations, and/or the USG provide specialized
training for host government officials.
Yes. This year's Police Academy featured training on
recognizing trafficking victims, as well as the difference
between human trafficking and smuggling. The Academy also
discussed trafficking interdiction techniques. The Joint
Inter-Agency Task Force - West (JIATF-West),sponsored by the
U.S. Naval Pacific Command, provided anti-TIP training to the
Transnational Crime Unit (TCU) as part of its overall support of
the TCU's activities.

27.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.
Law enforcement officials expressed their willingness to
cooperate should the need arise. However, the government
neither received nor initiated any requests for cooperation
regarding human trafficking during the reporting period.

27.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.
The FSM government can legally extradite anyone to stand trial
for any criminal offense, including trafficking, as long as
there is an extradition treaty in place. [NOTE: The US and the
FSM have a bilateral extradition treaty. End note.] However,
the government received no requests to arrest and/or extradite
any suspected traffickers during the reporting period.

27.I. Is there evidence of government involvement in or
tolerance of trafficking, on a local or institutional level? If
so, please explain in detail.
No.

27.J. If government officials are involved in human trafficking,

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what steps has the government taken to end such complicity?
N/A

Please indicate the number of government officials investigated
and prosecuted for involvement in trafficking or
trafficking-related criminal activities during the reporting
period.
None.

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.
N/A

27.K. 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.
N/A. FSM citizens may serve in the U.S. military at will, but
the country itself has no military and thus, does not contribute
troops to peacekeeping efforts.

27.L. If the country has an identified problem of child sex
tourists coming to the country, what are the countries of origin
for sex tourists?
The FSM has no problem with child sex tourism.

How many foreign pedophiles did the government deport/extradite
to their country of origin?
None.

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?
N/A. No Micronesian citizen is known to have been prosecuted
for child sex tourism anywhere in the world.


28. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS:

28.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?
While the FSM lacks specific laws protecting trafficking victims
or witnesses, there are general material witness laws that give
the government the right to detain and protect witnesses. How
well these laws would work in a trafficking situation is
unknown, however, as no trafficking cases have been prosecuted
in the FSM.

28.B. Does the country have victim care facilities (shelters or
drop-in centers) which are accessible to trafficking victims?
No.

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?
N/A

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.
None.


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28.C. Does the government provide trafficking victims with
access to legal, medical and psychological services? If so,
please specify the kind of assistance provided.
While no trafficking victims have been identified, the
government offers legal services, i.e. a government supplied
lawyer, to the victims of any crime. It does not offer medical
or psychological services.

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.
No.

28.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.
While no foreign trafficking victims have been uncovered, FSM
law gives a judge the right to issue an order allowing the
victim of any crime to stay.

28.E. Does the government provide longer-term shelter or housing
benefits to victims or other resources to aid the victims in
rebuilding their lives?
No.

28.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)?
No.

28.G. What is the total number of trafficking victims identified
during the reporting period? (If available, please specify the
type of exploitation of these victims - e.g. "The government
identified X number of trafficking victims during the reporting
period, Y or which were victims of trafficking for sexual
exploitation and Z of which were victims of nonconsensual labor
exploitation.)
Zero.

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?
N/A

28.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)?
Government officials admit they have nothing formal in place,
but assert that law enforcement officials would ask any foreign
prostitutes whether they had been trafficked. (No foreigners
have ever been arrested for prostitution in the FSM.)

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?
N/A

28.I. Are the rights of victims respected? Are trafficking
victims detained or jailed? If so, for how long? Are victims
fined?
N/A, no trafficking victims have ever been identified in the
FSM, and there are no legal provisions in place to fine or
incarcerate victims.

28.J. Does the government encourage victims to assist in the
investigation and prosecution of trafficking?
Unknown, no trafficking victims have ever been identified in the
FSM.

How many victims assisted in the investigation and prosecution
of traffickers during the reporting period?

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N/A

May victims file civil suits or seek legal action against
traffickers?
While no specific civil remedy for trafficking victims exists in
the state and national legal codes, each state's code does
provide general redress for personal injury caused by another.

Does anyone impede victim access to such legal redress?
No.

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?
N/A, no trafficking victims have ever been identified in the FSM.

Are there means by which a victim may obtain restitution?
A victim may bring an act of personal injury in a civil court.

28.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?
The Police Academy teaches its recruits techniques to identify
and assist trafficking victims, and the TCU received U.S.
sponsored TIP training in the past year.

Does the government provide training on protections and
assistance to its embassies and consulates in foreign countries
that are destination or transit countries?
No.

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 to assistance, payment for transportation
home).
None.

28.L. Does the government provide assistance, such as medical
aid, shelter, or financial help, to its nationals who are
repatriated as victims of trafficking?
No.

28.M. Which international organizations or NGOs, if any, work
with trafficking victims?
None.

What type of services do they provide? What sort of cooperation
do they receive from local authorities?
N/A


29. PREVENTION:

29.A. Did the government conduct anti-trafficking information or
education campaigns during the reporting period?
No.

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.)
N/A

29.B. Does the government monitor immigration and emigration
patterns for evidence of trafficking?
Immigration authorities claim to look for evidence of
trafficking, and upper management at the Division of Immigration
and Labor attended seminars that discussed trafficking, but no
formal mechanisms are in place.

29.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?
No formal mechanisms exist, but there is excellent rapport

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between the National Police and other agencies. Should they
uncover a trafficking case they could easily solicit information
from other government sources, i.e. Immigration and Customs.
The Transnational Crime Unit (TCU),with its access to FBI
databases and its contacts with other international law
enforcement agencies, could obtain and/or relay information
among international sources.

29.D. Does the government have a national plan of action to
address trafficking in persons?
No.

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?
N/A

29.E. Required of all Posts: What measures has the government
taken during the reporting period to reduce the demand for
commercial sex acts? (please see ref B, para. 9(3) for examples)
None.

29.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?
None.

29.G. Required of posts in countries that have contributed over
100 troops to international peacekeeping efforts (Argentina,
Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil,
Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Cote d'Ivoire,
Croatia, Denmark, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, Finland,
France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Guatemala, India, Indonesia,
Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Korea (ROK),Malawi, Malaysia,
Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Norway, Pakistan,
Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal,
Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo,
Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay,
Yemen, Zambia, and
Zimbabwe): 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."
N/A


30. PARTNERSHIPS

30.A. Does the government engage with other governments, civil
society, and/or multilateral organizations to focus attention
and devote resources to addressing human trafficking? If so,
please provide details.
No.

30.B. What sort of international assistance does the government
provide to other countries to address TIP?
None.



33. Required for posts in countries that have been the subject
of allegations regarding unlawful child soldiering (by
government forces, government-supported militias armed groups,
or independent militias armed groups) in the TIP Report, the
Human Rights Report, or both : Report if the following occurred:
conscription or forced recruitment of persons under the age of
18 into governmental armed forces; voluntary recruitment of any
person under 15 years of age into governmental armed forces; the
extent to which any person under the age of 18 took a direct
part in hostilities as a member of governmental armed forces;
recruitment (forced or voluntary) of persons under the age of 18
by armed groups distinct from those of the governmental armed
forces, including paramilitary forces, illegal paramilitary
groups, guerrillas, or other armed groups. Describe trends

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toward improvement of the above-mentioned practices, including
steps and programs the government undertook or the continued or
increased tolerance of such practices, including the role of the
government in engaging in or tolerating such practices. Report
abuse of children recruited by armed forces or the armed groups
noted above (e.g., sexual abuse or use for forced labor).
Describe the manner and age of conscription. In discussing
activities of armed groups distinct from those of governmental
armed forces, explain the position of the government towards the
armed group (opposition, tolerance, support, etc.) in detail.
N/A

Point of contact for this report is William Douglass, tel. no.
691-320-2187, fax number 691-320-2186. Number of hours spent on
this report, approximately 40. Rank of officer preparing
report: 02.
PRAHARP