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 KINGSTON 002059 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CAR (BENT) AND WHA/PPC (PUCCETTI) 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP (OWEN AND ETERNO) 
SOUTHCOM FOR POLAD AND J7 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM KWMN OPRC PHUM PREL SMIG JM TIP
SUBJECT: GOJ LAUNCHES TIP PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGN 
 
REF: A. STATE 97853 
 
     ¶B. KINGSTON 01904 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  Summary: The GOJ on August 30 launched a yearlong public 
awareness campaign to educate its citizens about the dangers 
of trafficking in persons (TIP).  In a move that appears to 
indicate the GOJ's determination to make sustained efforts 
against trafficking, the Cabinet Office organized a public 
forum at Emancipation Park in Kingston with National Security 
Minister Peter Phillips as the keynote speaker.  With 
Information Minister Burchell Whiteman, senior police 
officers, and representatives of international organizations 
and local NGOs in attendance, the tenor of the event was 
positive and constructive, and seemed to demonstrate that the 
GOJ has moved beyond its initial, defensive response to its 
June 3 downgrade to Tier 3 status (Ref A).  End Summary. 
 
¶2.  At a public forum organized by the Office of the Cabinet 
and the National Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Task Force, the 
GOJ on August 30 launched a one-year campaign to educate the 
Jamaican public about the threat of trafficking in persons. 
The event was attended by National Security Minister Peter 
Phillips, Information Minister Burchell Whiteman, Assistant 
Police Commissioner Charles Scarlette, and representatives of 
the Bureau of Women's Affairs and the Child Development 
Agency.  Charge also delivered remarks at the event, as did 
Nidia Casati, Chief of Mission, International Organization 
for Migration. 
 
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USG Calls for Greater Cooperation 
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¶3.  In remarks prepared for the event, Charge d'Affaires 
stressed the importance of a sustained public awareness 
campaign in Jamaica in order for citizens to be able to 
identify and combat trafficking in their own communities.  He 
highlighted the USG's contribution to the issue in the form 
of a USD 250,000 public education campaign administered by 
USAID in 2004 and 2005.  He also underlined the importance of 
law enforcement action to convict traffickers,  including 
"swift and decisive action" against "unscrupulous airline 
employees or nightclub owners, corrupt officials, or deviant 
international tourists."  He acknowledged existing USG-GOJ 
efforts to combat drug and gun trafficking and money 
laundering, and called for similar cooperation to stem human 
trafficking. 
 
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Phillips Promises GOJ Action 
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¶4.  In the keynote address, National Security Minister Peter 
Phillips, whose ministry has assumed responsibility for 
combating TIP, identified human trafficking as a problem 
inherent to the increased flows of capital and people that 
are a part of globalization.  He told the audience that, 
although there exists no comprehensive estimate of the extent 
of the problem in the Caribbean, Jamaica has a responsibility 
to fight the problem as a member of the international 
community.  Phillips further stressed that, given its history 
with slavery, Jamaica should be at the forefront of the fight 
against trafficking, a modern-day form of slavery. 
 
¶5.  Phillips, who was acting as Prime Minister while P.J. 
Patterson was off the island, demonstrated a strong grasp of 
the subject matter, drawing an important distinction between 
cross-border and internal trafficking and labeling both as 
serious problems in Jamaica.  Citing a component of the 
trafficking definition that is often overlooked in the local 
context, he added that all children under 18 are trafficking 
victims if they are engaged, even consensually, in commercial 
sexual activity.  Phillips said definitively that the GOJ 
does not condone trafficking in persons, which he said 
weakens the country's moral fiber and economic standing.  He 
concluded by saying that the GOJ was ready to play its part 
in the fight against trafficking, and that it would begin to 
take definitive measures to do so, including investigations 
of establishments suspected of participating in trafficking 
and related activities.  Phillips also announced that, with 
the support of a USD 150,000 grant from the Inter-American 
Development Bank, the GOJ would undertake its own 
comprehensive study of trafficking in Jamaica. 
 
¶6.  The GOJ spent approximately USD 15,000 on the event, 
which was not well attended by the public due to poor 
publicity and a thunderstorm that passed overhead about 30 
minutes before the program began.  However, a strong media 
presence, including television, radio, and newspaper, ensured 
broad exposure after the fact.  The hosts made several 
references to the fact that there would be more public 
awareness events in the next 12 months. 
 
¶7.  Comment:  Minister Phillips' remarks were notably 
constructive and demonstrated a fairly thorough understanding 
of trafficking, in contrast to obviously disingenuous remarks 
he made in July (Ref B).  Because Phillips was serving as 
acting Prime Minister in P.J. Patterson's absence, and 
because he launched his campaign for the People's National 
Party presidency on August 21, his remarks may also have been 
delivered in that light.  However, the GOJ's sustained 
response over the last three months to Department's Tier 3 
Action Plan seem to indicate that the public forum, and 
Phillips' comments, are more than just window-dressing.  We 
will continue to monitor and report on the extent of GOJ 
follow-through after the Presidential Determination on Tier 3 
countries is made in September.  End Comment. 
TIGHE