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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #2727 3061534
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 021511Z NOV 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0000
INFO RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0000

UNCLAS STATE 112727 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM UNHCR
SUBJECT: RESPONSE TO THE OFFICE OF THE HIGH COMMISSIONER 
FOR HUMAN RIGHTS REGARDING HRC RESOLUTION 11/3 - GENEVA 
LOG 67-2009 
 
¶1.  Action request:  Mission Geneva is requested to convey to 
the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), 
the text of the letter in paragraph 3.  This is in response 
to Mr. Ibrahim Wani's letter of July 10, 2009, requesting 
input from the United States on Human Rights Council 
Resolution 11/3 on "Trafficking in persons, especially women 
and children." 
 
¶2.  In paragraph 10 of the above mentioned resolution, the 
HRC requests the Office of the High Commissioner on Human 
Rights to "collect the views of member states on the 
Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and 
Human Trafficking, as well as on experiences and emerging 
good practices while applying them." A compilation of these 
views will be made available in a report at the next Human 
Rights Council. 
 
¶3.  Begin text of letter. 
 
Mr. Ibrahim Wani 
Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights 
Geneva, Switzerland 
 
Dear Mr. Wani, 
 
The United States welcomes the opportunity to respond to the 
July 10, 2009 letter of the United Nations Office of the High 
Commissioner for Human Rights.  This response briefly 
highlights some of our many efforts as well as some of our 
challenges in combating human trafficking.  For more 
information, please go to 
www.usdoj.gov/olp//human trafficking.htm to access the 
Attorney General's Report to Congress and Assessment of U.S. 
Government Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons. 
 
Question 1:  Has your Government used the Recommended 
Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and Human 
Trafficking in developing and implementing anti-trafficking 
strategies and activities within your country?  If so, has 
your government found the application of a human rights-based 
approach to combating trafficking effective in your 
anti-trafficking efforts? 
U.S. policy and legislation is largely consistent with the 
Recommended Principles and Guidelines on Human Rights and 
Human Trafficking. The centerpiece of U.S. Government efforts 
to eliminate trafficking in persons is the Trafficking 
Victims Protection Act of 2000(TVPA) (Public Law 106-386), 
which took effect on October 28, 2000, and was further 
amended in 2003, 2005, and 2008.  This law criminalized all 
forms of human trafficking with strong penalties. 
Additionally, it provided a range of protections for foreign 
and domestic victims of trafficking and it expanded the U.S. 
government,s domestic and international assistance efforts. 
Based on our experience over the last several years we have 
found that pursuing a victim-centered approach is essential 
to an effective national response to human trafficking. 
Question 2:  In applying the Recommended Principles and 
Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, what are 
the experiences and emerging good practices which helped to 
improve the measures taken to prevent trafficking, and 
protect and support victims of trafficking?  How has your 
Government measured success in combating human trafficking 
from a human rights perspective thus far? 
The United States has federal, state and local taskforces 
involved in combating human trafficking.  The United States 
established the President,s Interagency Taskforce on 
Trafficking in Persons, which is supported by the Senior 
Policy Operating Group, to oversee our national 
anti-trafficking efforts.  Since 2004, the U.S. Department of 
Justice has funded 45 regional anti-trafficking taskforces in 
25 states, that bring together federal, state, and local law 
enforcement authorities, other governmental agencies, and 
non-governmental victim service providers, to engage in a 
proactive, coordinated outreach effort to identify more 
victims and strengthen trafficking investigations and 
prosecutions.  The U.S.also conducts trainings, technical 
assistance, and, in some cases, financial support to 
anti-trafficking coalitions in over 25 localities to conduct 
public awareness activities and mobilize local resources.  An 
additional 28 unfunded regional task forces were separately 
created to focus specifically on the rescue and restoration 
of domestic child victims of prostitution, which has resulted 
in 818 children being rescued and restored since that program 
began in 2003. 
PREVENTION OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 
 
In 2004, the U.S. Government, through the Department of 
Health and Human Services (HHS), launched the &Rescue and 
Restore Victims of Trafficking8 campaign as a national 
effort to raise awareness about human trafficking through the 
media, coalition)building, and training.  This campaign also 
includes the National Human Trafficking Resource Center 
(NHTRC), a national telephone and e-mail hotline that 
provides assistance to victims of trafficking, law 
enforcement, social services providers, and Good Samaritans 
24 hours a day, 7 days a week.  From December 2007 through 
September 2008 alone, the NHTRC received a total of 4,147 
calls, including 553 tips regarding possible human 
trafficking incidents, 398 requests for victim care 
referrals, 949 calls seeking general human trafficking 
information, and 167 requests for training and technical 
assistance.  Of calls referencing potential trafficking 
situations, 40 percent referenced trafficking of foreign 
nationals, while nearly 18 percent referenced trafficking of 
U.S. citizens or Legal Permanent Residents (LPR). 
HHS also initiated a U.S. Domestic Trafficking in Persons 
Notification Pilot Program to increase public awareness of 
and victim assistance for U.S. citizen and LPR trafficking 
victims.  The Notification Pilot Program provided suspected 
trafficking victims with information regarding  benefits and 
services for which U.S. citizens may be eligible, simply by 
virtue of their  citizenship.  As a result, eight 
participating NGOs identified 240 suspected U.S. domestic 
trafficking victims, all of whom received HHS Notification. 
Protection and Support for Trafficked Persons 
In the U.S. experience we have found that restoring victims, 
both physically and psychologically, provides the added 
benefit of enabling them to more fully participate in a 
successful prosecution of the people who exploited them. 
Victims are the most important source of evidence.  U.S. 
juries are far more likely to convict a trafficker when they 
can hear the victim testify firsthand as to the harm they 
suffered at the hands of their perpetrators.  Using the 
victim-centered approach, U.S. law enforcement has continued 
to earn the trust of trafficking victims and empowered them 
to participate in the investigation and successful 
prosecution of the traffickers. 
There are trained professional victim-witness specialists and 
coordinators in every federal investigative and prosecutorial 
office, as well as in nearly every state jurisdiction, to 
facilitate communication between law enforcement and 
victim-witnesses, and to facilitate the effective 
implementation of a victim-centered approach.  It is the duty 
of these coordinators to facilitate the provision of services 
to the victim, and to minimize, insofar as possible, 
unnecessary pain and inconvenience to victims and witnesses. 
Foreign child victims of trafficking in persons, and foreign 
adult victims who cooperate with reasonable requests for 
assistance from U.S. law enforcement authorities, are 
eligible for benefits and services under any federally funded 
program to the same extent as an individual who is admitted 
to the United States as a refugee.  Victims may be eligible 
to receive cash assistance; medical, dental and mental health 
services; food vouchers; housing assistance; job search 
assistance; career counseling; and occupational skills 
training.  Unaccompanied foreign child  victims of 
trafficking are eligible for specialized foster care and 
receive comprehensive services, including intensive case 
management, safety planning, medical and mental health 
services, independent living skills, career/college 
counseling, English language training, referral to pro bono 
immigration legal services, social integration, cultural and 
religious preservation, and family reunification services, if 
appropriate.  Similar benefits and services are available to 
certain family members who are legally entitled to join them 
in the United States.  From fiscal year (FY) 2001 through FY 
2008, 1,696 foreign victims of trafficking received 
certification (adults) or letters of eligibility (for 
children) from the Department of Health and Human Services 
(HHS) to receive the benefits described above.  Victims 
awaiting certification are eligible to receive immediate 
federal assistance through the HHS Per Capita Services 
contract, which provides &anytime, anywhere8 case 
management services to pre-certified and certified victims. 
Currently, the contract has 105 subcontracts with NGO service 
providers in 127 locations across the United States. 
The United States has a long record of working 
collaboratively with non-governmental service organizations 
on a variety of victim issues.  The TVPA requires that U.S. 
federal agencies addressing trafficking issues engage in 
consultation and advocacy with governmental and 
nongovernmental organizations.  Many of the services offered 
to victims are rendered through grants and contracts from the 
federal government to non-governmental service organizations. 
   These grants and contracts totaled $119 since 2004 when we 
began tracking the funding levels for these domestic 
programs. 
U.S. federal law provides protection for trafficking victims 
by prohibiting the release to the public of the names and 
identifying information of trafficked persons and their 
family members when the trafficking victims, safety is at 
risk or they face a danger of additional harm.  Federal law 
also provides that all crime victims have the right to be 
treated with fairness and with respect for the victim,s 
dignity and privacy.  Department of Justice officials are 
barred from revealing any private victim information to 
anyone who does not need to know it. 
Federal law also permits a federal judge to close a courtroom 
to all who do not have a direct interest in the case when a 
child testifies or if the judge finds that requiring the 
child to testify in open court would cause substantial 
psychological harm to the child or would result in the 
child,s inability to effectively communicate.  Federal 
courts are required to keep confidential any documents in 
connection with a case involving a child victim or witness 
that disclose identifying information about the child. 
U.S. federal law provides mandatory restitution for 
trafficking victims.  Victims may also be eligible for 
compensation from state crime victim compensation funds. 
Federal law also allows for seizure and forfeiture of a 
defendant,s assets that derive from illegal trafficking 
activities.  Finally, federal law specifically authorizes 
trafficking victims to file civil lawsuits in federal court 
to recover damages against traffickers. 
Immigration relief for foreign victims of trafficking 
The U.S. provides three types of immigration relief to 
foreign trafficking victims.  First, federal law enforcement 
officials can seek &Continued Presence8 for victims to 
remain in the U.S. temporarily if they may be potential 
witnesses in an investigation or prosecution but lack legal 
immigration status.  An extension can be requested by federal 
law enforcement.  Since FY 2001, approximately 1,599 victims 
received continued presence. Second, trafficking victims can 
apply for a &T &nonimmigrant visa for themselves and 
certain members of their family, which would allow them to 
live and work legally in the U.S for four years.  Since FY 
2001, 1,544 victims and 1,404 family members received the T 
visa.  Third, certain crime victims, including victims of 
trafficking and victims of certain other crimes, who have 
suffered substantial physical or mental abuse while in the 
United States may be eligible for a U nonimmigrant visa, 
which would also allow victims to live and work legally in 
the United States for four years.  If law enforcement needs 
further assistance from a victim-witness, an extension can be 
requested.  The Department of Homeland Security recently 
published a regulation that will enable T and U nonimmigrants 
to seek legal permanent residence in the United States. 
 
Repatriation of victims of trafficking in persons 
U.S. federal officials have assisted in maintaining housing 
and victim benefits pending repatriation of witnesses in 
trafficking investigations. Federal officials also have 
assisted in the repatriation process itself by liaising with 
foreign governments and NGOs to facilitate the victims, 
return and to ensure that the victims are not re-trafficked. 
The U.S. Department of State,s Bureau of Population, 
Refugees, and Migration (PRM) funds the Return, 
Reintegration, and Family Reunification Program for Victims 
of Trafficking, which is carried out by the International 
Organization for Migration.  Since its inception in 2005, 
PRM,s program has benefitted 250 persons from 35 countries. 
Question 3:  In applying the Recommended Principles and 
Guidelines on Human Rights and Human Trafficking, what, if 
any, are the challenges your Government has experienced in 
achieving results to combat human trafficking? 
The Department of Health and Human Services funded a 
literature review titled &Human Trafficking Into and Within 
the United States8 
http://aspe/hhs.gov/hsp/07/Humantrafficking/ 
litRev/index.shtml which includes a section on challenges in 
accessing and providing services.  Challenges include: 
availability of translators, especially if a victim,s native 
language is unique; complications inherent in building trust 
between a traumatized victim and his/her case manager; 
victims, complex needs especially when a group of victims 
strains an NGO service provider,s capacity; and ensuring 
that all levels of law enforcement are trained to identify 
and protect potential victims, rather than treat them as 
criminals. 
¶4.  Department appreciates Mission's assistance. 
CLINTON