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

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 RANGOON 001236 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR EAP/MLS, G/TIP, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 10/26/2015 
TAGS: KCRM KWMN PHUM ELAB PGOV EAID BM NGO
SUBJECT: BURMA: TIP NGOS WORKING WITH TIGHTER RESTRICTIONS 
 
REF: A. RANGOON 1215 
     ¶B. RANGOON 1186 
     ¶C. RANGOON 1001 
 
Classified By: Econoff TLManlowe for Reason 1.4 (b,d) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary: Representatives of international NGOs and UN 
agencies working on Trafficking-in-Persons (TIP) projects 
told Mark Taylor, G/TIP's Senior Coordinator, about the 
difficulties they face in Burma, including expired MOUs with 
the government, restricted travel for expatriate staff, and 
pressure to move away from border areas where much of the 
repatriation work is done.  Although some organizations have 
had recent activities curtailed, and many representatives 
expressed discomfort with the capriciousness of government 
controls, all planned to continue their work in country, and 
suggested new opportunities for USG assistance for direct 
repatriation and local capacity building.  The NGOs generally 
approved of the GOB's new anti-trafficking law, promulgated 
in early September, but doubted the regime's implementation 
abilities.  End summary. 
 
Progress Being Made in a Difficult Environment 
--------------------------------------------- - 
¶2. (C) In an October 3-4 visit, G/TIP Senior Coordinator Mark 
Taylor and Econoff met representatives from international 
NGOs and UN agencies active in anti-trafficking projects in 
Burma.  Most viewed the GOB's new anti-trafficking law 
positively, but remained skeptical about the ability of 
authorities to implement its provisions.  All NGO 
representatives described operational and procedural 
difficulties, particularly expired MOUs that had not been 
renewed for years, giving them scant legal cover if they were 
ever enforced.  Different GOB counterparts accounted for some 
of the variety in difficulties each NGO faced, with the 
Department of Social Welfare seen as weak and delaying, and 
the Ministry of Health viewed as the most reasonable and 
helpful.  Even semantics are a TIP issue in Burma, with 
UNICEF officers avoiding the term "child labor" so as not to 
offend GOB sensitivities. 
 
¶3. (C) Despite the uncertain environment, NGOs have been able 
to accomplish many tasks, including the following: 
 
-- Save the Children (STC-UK) officials said that, in 
January, they assisted with the government-to-government 
repatriation of forty-three Burmese women from Thailand; in 
June, they assisted five more women, and in September, 
twenty-three women were repatriated from China, where they 
were sent as brides for forced marriages.  At a Rangoon 
repatriation center, STC-UK gives initial training in life 
skills and follows up with medical, psycho/social and income 
generation assistance once the victims return to their 
villages.  The GOB had told STC-UK that it could no longer 
perform anti-trafficking work at their sites in fourteen 
townships near the border because STC-UK had no TIP-related 
MOU.  STC-UK continues its TIP work at these locations, 
however, using the cover of its MOU on HIV/AIDS work.  STC-UK 
is conducting a study on migration into China, and plans to 
expand into Burma's central dry zone to work with children 
trafficked for entertainment, domestic work, and factory 
labor. 
 
-- World Vision (WV) receives victims returned across the 
border in non-government repatriations and also retrieves 
victims from government repatriation centers.  Working with 
village organizations including churches, NGOs and Buddhist 
groups, WV assesses the village support base and provides 
appropriate services.  To strengthen organizations working in 
areas with no STC or WV representation, WV trains local GOB 
and NGO partners, primarily in the areas of family support 
and needs assessments.  The organization also works with 
communities to help them develop and fund their own 
anti-trafficking programs.  WV described more opportunities 
for direct intervention with victims, and noted that their UK 
Department for International Development (DFID) funding will 
expire in December 2005. 
 
-- Representatives from the Australian government's Asian 
Regional Cooperation to Prevent People Trafficking (ARCPPT) 
project and the UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) briefed 
about the establishment of seven GOB border liaison offices, 
which can become platforms to fight human, as well as drug, 
trafficking.  ARCPPT also trains law enforcement personnel, 
including members of the special anti-trafficking unit, 
providing basic investigative skills, as well as specialized 
skills in human trafficking.  The GOB plans to post officers 
at "hot spots" on the border.  While pleased with the 
addition of twenty new officers to the GOB's police 
anti-trafficking unit, the ARCPPT regional trainer said these 
new officers had no investigative background and that he 
hoped to assume his intended role as operational advisor to 
the unit soon. 
 
-- Dr. Ei Kalya Moore, National Project Coordinator of the UN 
Interagency Project on Human Trafficking (UNIAP) Burma 
Office, said her primary responsibilities are to act as the 
Secretariat for the COMMIT (Coordinated Mekong Ministerial 
 
SIPDIS 
Initiative Against Trafficking); coordinate donor relations 
and technical support; and monitor and evaluate the GOB's 
development of its National Plan of Action on trafficking. 
UNIAP also acts as the coordinating body between government 
and non-government bodies in the Task Force for Repatriation 
and coordinator of an INGO Working Group that meets quarterly 
to define goals and coordinate strategies. 
 
Work Became Harder After the October 2004 Purge 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
¶4. (C) Many NGO reps noted that their difficulties increased 
after the October 2004 purge of former PM Khin Nyunt and many 
members of the Military Intelligence (MI) network under him. 
All interlocutors said that the new officials who replaced MI 
exert much closer control over NGO activities and are 
stricter on enforcing conditions in their MOUs (Ref C).  Not 
only have expatriates faced increased obstacles visiting 
program sites, but even some local staff face travel 
restrictions.  For example, UNICEF officers said their 
dialogue with the GOB about child soldiers had halted since 
late last year, with no signs of an intent to resume.  Also, 
WV attributed the recent closure of its Mandalay drop-in 
center for street children to the local Military Commander's 
personal reaction to a perceived slight to his wife.  WV has 
since found it harder to get approval for its projects (Ref 
B).  Initial GOB cooperation with the ILO on forced labor 
declined after May 2005, and the ILO Liaison Officer 
reconfirmed that the army continues to commit some of the 
worst of the country's labor abuses, including conscripting 
child soldiers.  The ILO reported on October 28 that the GOB 
plan to end its cooperation with the international 
organization. (Ref A). 
 
INGOs Identify Needs 
-------------------- 
¶5. (C) NGO interlocutors acknowledged that significant 
actions have been taken by the GOB to fight TIP, such as 
government-to-government repatriations, GOB membership in 
COMMIT, and acceptance of outside advice in drafting their 
new TIP Law.  The majority of substantive work, however, is 
performed by international NGOs.  Drawing on their experience 
in the field, NGO representatives identified numerous areas 
requiring more support, including direct assistance and 
continuing care for victims, awareness raising activities, 
development of educational and training materials, training 
of personnel staffing repatriation centers, and the extension 
of programs into the dry zone in central Burma.  G/TIP has 
provided approximately $216,500 in funding to UNIAP and World 
Vision for multi-year programs that will expire in 2006. 
 
Comment: Reaching Victims, Avoiding the Regime 
--------------------------------------------- - 
¶6. (C) Burma remains a Tier 3 TIP state for a reason. 
Although the most significant form of trafficking in Burma is 
state-sanctioned forced labor, cross-border trafficking for 
domestic servitude, commercial labor and the sex trade, along 
with internal trafficking, continue apace.  Despite passage 
of the new TIP Law, the GOB does not have the capability or 
resources to adequately prevent or prosecute trafficking 
cases, or to protect and reintegrate victims.  International 
NGOs try hard to fill that gap.  The USG can continue to 
support effective anti-TIP efforts without benefiting the GOB 
by working through international NGOs that provide rigorous 
accountability and monitoring to ensure the funding is spent 
directly on the victims.  In spite of stricter controls, much 
good work is continuing.  The expiration of funding from 
other sources provides an opportunity for the USG to continue 
its efforts to demonstrate how this issue can effectively be 
addressed in Burma and to keep it from becoming an even 
greater problem for neighboring states.  End comment. 
 
¶7. (U) This cable was approved in draft by Mr.Taylor. 
VILLAROSA