This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 RECIFE 000113 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI BR TIP
SUBJECT: ANTI-TIP AND ANTI-ORGAN TRAFFICKING CONFERENCE IN BRAZIL 
SHOWS CONFUSION AND CONCERN 
 
¶1. (U) Summary. Noting Brazil's prominent role as an exporting 
and a recipient country, speakers at the August 11-12 
trafficking in persons (TIP) symposium in Recife, Pernambuco 
sponsored by the Latin American Institute for the Protection and 
Defense of Human Rights (ILADH) NGO cited financial gain as the 
main cause for human and organ trafficking. Criminal impunity 
and a lack of awareness were cited as the principal obstacles in 
the fight against these crimes. While praising a number of 
international and state-led efforts, most speakers criticized 
the GOB for a lack of initiative and coordination. End summary. 
 
¶2. (U) Speakers at the conference included ILADH and other NGOs, 
academics, police, and Pernambucan state government 
representatives. A number of state and federal senators and 
representatives also gave presentations. Most speakers stressed 
the seriousness of TIP and organ trafficking and Brazil's 
important role as a recipient and exporting country: there are 
241 different destinations for those trafficked out of Brazil 
alone. According to Pernambucan women's police delegate Dr. 
Claudia Molina in Pernambuco, which leads northeastern Brazil in 
the number of trafficked persons, 73% of victims are teenage 
girls between just 11 and 17 years old. 
 
¶3. (U) Speakers agreed that financial gain was the main 
motivation for TIP activities. TIP victims -- who may be 
previous victims of violence, drug abusers, or suffering from a 
lack of perspective due to age or other factors -- participate 
due to an inferior position relative to the trafficker, said one 
presenter. These victims were said to value the prospect of 
money ("I want to buy a house for my parents") and of a better 
life, especially those planning to go to the US. Traffickers 
were also said to value the opportunity to make "easy money," 
sometimes in coordination with drug trafficking, participants 
said. 
 
¶4. (U) Speakers noted that organ trafficking participants were 
similarly motivated. Raimundo Pimentel, a Pernambuco state 
representative and the head of its anti-organ trafficking 
center, pointed out that in Brazil a kidney originally could 
earn a donor $10,000, but now obtains only about $3,000, purely 
due to market incentives. In the United States, however, a 
kidney can earn up to $30,000, clearly a much stronger 
incentive. 
 
¶5. (U) Almost every speaker noted that the main problem in 
combating TIP and organ trafficking is a lack of awareness about 
their seriousness and complexity. Pimentel remarked that some of 
those who had sold their organs were not even aware it is 
illegal. Eduardo Pannunzio, a human rights lawyer with ILADH, 
pointed out that many people confuse "human trafficking" with 
"alien smuggling" and "prostitution." Antonio Rodrigues de 
Freitas Junior, an associate professor at the University of Sao 
Paulo and the head of the Justice Department of the Sao Paulo 
state government, also pointed out that there is a tendency to 
see TIP and organ trafficking through the prism of gender, 
equality, or affirmative action despite the fact that human 
trafficking is not the same as prostitution and that more men 
than women are involved in organ trafficking. 
 
¶6. (U) Unfortunately, those involved in TIP and organ 
trafficking often are able to avoid punishment due to family 
involvement in the crimes, the globalized nature of the markets 
for sex and organs, and judicial and police failures. Eriosvaldo 
Dias, the head of the Human Rights Division of the Federal 
Police in Brasilia, argued that to many Brazilian police 
officers TIP seems "incipient - the police LIKE prostitutes!" 
Molina added that some police do not provide assistance to 
victims because they believe "the girls are used to it" or are 
dismissive of homosexual TIP victims. 
 
¶7. (U) Many speakers also faulted the GOB for failing to make 
human trafficking a priority, particularly in light of the 
recent corruption scandal in Brazil. Pannunzio noted that the 
latest information on the GOB's website about its anti-TIP 
efforts is six months old, and various speakers criticized the 
lack of country-wide and inter-departmental coordination. Molina 
and Karin Kashima of the Center for the Defense of Children and 
Adolescents in Bahia state concentrated on society's failure to 
change cultural opinions. Kashima argued that it is Brazilian 
society's responsibility to keep children and adolescents from 
being victimized and to provide protection and legal assistance. 
 
¶8. (U) At the same time, however, speakers argued that some 
international, state, and NGO programs have produced results. 
Pannunzio argued that the US Government has lead the 
international fight against TIP, with international committees 
mobilizing, identifying, financing, and carrying out various 
anti-TIP projects in Brazil. Ricardo Lins of the Pernambucan 
Social Defense Secretary's anti-trafficking program noted that 
since 2003 Pernambuco state has created an interinstitutional 
committee for prevention and a code of conduct against people 
trafficking - Lins's organization is currently following 80 TIP 
cases. In addition, the state government and ILADH are 
collaborating on a book to teach teenagers about the potential 
dangers of being trafficked, and they have hired 10 former 
victims to provide assistance. Suely Arruda of the Pernambuco 
Legal Medical Institute (coroner's office) described her 
office's efforts to educate and provide supplies to hospitals 
for the proper identification of newborn babies, in order to 
avoid false adoptions or baby smuggling. From just 2,488 total 
identifications completed in 2003, the number reached 10,204 in 
2004 and is on track to achieve a similar figure this year. With 
regard to organ trafficking, Pimentel noted that Pernambuco 
state carried out the first convictions in the world for a case 
that involved the participation of, among others, a doctor, a 
translator, a travel agent, and a policeman. The Israeli leader 
received an 11-year sentence with no possibility of parole and a 
fine for his participation in the crime. The others, all 
Brazilians, received lesser sentences. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Comment: ILADH is run by Analia Ribeiro, a former GOB 
official under the Cardoso administration and an active anti-TIP 
advocate. The conference's focus on state TIP and organ 
trafficking programs and disregard for GOB programs was expected 
and did not adequately consider many positive GOB developments 
to combat TIP, such as increasing assistance to victims and 
launching nationwide TIP awareness campaigns. Pannunzio's 
observation that it is difficult to distinguish between "people 
trafficking," "alien smuggling," and "prostitution" was one of 
the most important thoughts at the conference, given that the 
professionals themselves confused the topics - particularly with 
regard to the comments about the police (see paragraph six). As 
both he and Kashima noted, the issues of TIP and organ 
trafficking are really a question of liberty, and understanding 
the asymmetry of the power relationship between the victim and 
the trafficker will be key to acknowledging the crimes in their 
own right. However, Mr. Pannunzio's opening comment that to be 
trafficked is akin to "feeling for weeks or months on end the 
dehumanization that one feels when confronting an immigration 
officer" seemed way off mark and discredited somewhat what was 
otherwise an excellent presentation. End comment. 
 
¶10. (U) This cable was coordinated with Embassy Brasilia. 
 
 
 
 
SWAVELY