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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 GEORGETOWN 000132 
 
SIPDIS 
 
WHA/PPC - MICHAEL PUCCETTI 
G/TIP 
JUSTICE FOR OPDAT (ROBERT LIPMAN) 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12598: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM SMIG SNAR KWMN KCRM KJUS GY
SUBJECT: PROPOSAL FOR TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS INCLE PROJECT 
 
REF: 05 STATE 221183 
 
¶1. Below is Embassy Georgetown's proposal for an FY 2006 INCLE 
funded anti-trafficking in persons program to build the capacity 
of the Guyanese criminal justice system: 
 
¶A.  Title: Technical Assistance Proposal to Increase the Capacity 
          of Guyana's Criminal Justice System to Combat 
          Trafficking in Persons by Advancing and Strengthening 
          Its Institutional Capacity to Investigate, Prosecute, 
          and Adjudicate Such Cases 
 
¶B.  Name of Recipient Organization/Government Agency: 
 
     U.S. Department of Justice 
     Office of Overseas Prosecutorial, Development, 
       Assistance and Training (OPDAT) 
 
     Attention: 
 
     Robert Lipman, Program Manager 
     Phone:  (202) 514-0950 
     e-mail:  Robert.Lipman@usdoj.gov 
 
     Beth Truebell: 
     Phone:    202-514-3253 
     e-mail:   Beth.Truebell@usdoj.gov 
 
       This proposal was prepared in partnership with: 
 
     Edward P. Luchessi 
     Economic/Commercial Officer 
     U.S. Embassy 
     Georgetown, Guyana 
     Phone:  011-592-225-4900 ex. 220 
     e-mail:  LuchessiEP@state.gov 
 
 
¶C.  Duration of the Project and whether project is new or 
ongoing: 
 
     This is a new project with a proposed duration of two (2) 
     years. 
 
¶D.  Description: 
 
The proposed technical assistance is designed to increase the 
capacity of Guyana's criminal justice system to combat 
trafficking in persons (TIP).  This will be accomplished by 
advancing and strengthening Guyana's institutional capacity to 
investigate, prosecute, and adjudicate TIP cases.  The program 
has five components: 
 
  1) A multi-phase component with an objective of enhancing the 
  capacity of law enforcement and civil society (prosecutors, 
  investigators, border officials, victim service providers, and 
  other relevant stakeholders and NGOs) to investigate and 
  prosecute human trafficking and respond appropriately to 
  victims.  This component will consist primarily of a series of 
  workshops in which U.S. experts (for example, a prosecutor, an 
  investigator, and a victim-witness expert) help their Guyanese 
  counterparts create an Operations and Tactics Handbook to 
  Combat Trafficking in Persons.  This handbook, when completed, 
  will describe the best practices for Guyanese investigators, 
  prosecutors, victim service providers, and other relevant 
  stakeholders and NGOs.  The process of developing this 
  handbook will build cooperation between and among criminal 
  justice sector agencies and relevant stakeholders in civil 
  society so that all relevant entities (prosecutors, 
  investigators, border officials, victim service providers, and 
  other relevant stakeholders and NGOs) collaborate effectively 
  to combat human trafficking.  The OPDAT trainers/facilitators 
  will explain the importance of maintaining a host country 
  interagency law enforcement working group to combat human 
  trafficking and will provide concrete suggestions for 
  incorporating the interagency law enforcement working group 
  concept into the Operations and Tactics Handbook.  The 
  Operations and Tactics Handbook, when completed, can also 
  serve as the core document for the training of Guyanese law 
  enforcement (prosecutors, investigators, border officials, 
  etc.) on human trafficking.  During the course of the 
  workshops it is expected that weaknesses in Guyana's 
  legislative regime will be identified and that the U.S. 
  trainers will make suggestions for legislative changes to 
  enhance Guyana's capacity to combat trafficking in persons, 
  such as criminal code reforms and civil forfeiture of property 
  used to commit crimes (or acquired with the proceeds of 
  crime).  (Note: Both the U.S. and the U.K. have enacted and 
  implemented civil forfeiture legislation.).  In addition to 
  facilitating the development of the operations handbook, this 
  component of the program will include practical exercises, 
  such as exercises on conducting searches for evidence, 
  investigative teamwork and investigative planning, and 
  interviewing victims.  OPDAT will closely coordinate this 
  component of the program with Embassy Georgetown's Pol/Econ 
  Office. 
 
  2) A multi-phase "judicial exchange" program spanning two 
  years to facilitate the use of "best practices" by Guyanese 
  judges and magistrates in the adjudication of cases involving 
  trafficking in persons.  This program will consist of a series 
  of workshops to sensitize Guyanese judges and magistrates to 
  the seriousness of the crime of trafficking in persons and to 
  help Guyanese judges and magistrates prepare a "benchbook" of 
  best practices for adjudicating human trafficking cases.  The 
  workshops would be conducted by U.S. judges in collaboration 
  with Guyanese judges and magistrates (including 
  representatives of the Magistrate Court, the High Court of the 
  Supreme Court of Judicature, and the Court of Appeals).  After 
  the initial workshop, Guyanese judges and magistrates selected 
  by Embassy Georgetown would be invited to spend one week 
  "shadowing" a U.S. judge to observe how criminal cases are 
  fairly and effectively adjudicated in the U.S. under the U.S. 
  federal rules of criminal procedure; it is anticipated that 
  eight Guyanese judges (approximately one each quarter) will be 
  able to shadow U.S. judges over the two-year period. OPDAT 
  will closely coordinate this component of the program with 
  Embassy Georgetown's Pol/Econ Office. 
 
  3) A public affairs event for policymakers, judges, law 
  enforcement executives, other important government officials, 
  journalists and other members of the news media of Guyana to 
  promote political will to combat trafficking in persons.  This 
  public affairs event, which will be co-hosted by Embassy 
  Georgetown and the Government of Guyana, will emphasize that 
  human trafficking is both a global and regional issue. Among 
  other things, this event is intended to enhance political 
  support for intensified efforts by Guyanese law enforcement to 
  combat human trafficking.  OPDAT will closely coordinate this 
  component of the program with Embassy Georgetown's Public 
  Affairs Office. 
 
  4) A public awareness program in which college and high school 
  students (and, possibly, other students) are encouraged to 
  write articles and create posters about trafficking in 
  persons.  Efforts will be undertaken to have select articles 
  published and select posters duplicated and posted.  This 
  component of the program will promote public awareness of 
  human trafficking in an effort to enhance prevention, 
  protection, and prosecution.  Among other things, such 
  increased public awareness is expected to increase the flow of 
  actionable information about human trafficking to Guyanese law 
  enforcement.  OPDAT will closely coordinate this component of 
  the program with Embassy Georgetown's Public Affairs Office. 
 
  5) Project monitoring and evaluation (see evaluation plan, 
  below) 
 
The program is entirely sustainable because the technical 
assistance will, in essence, provide the recipients the "know 
how" to identify, document and implement the "best practices" for 
investigating, prosecuting, and adjudicating cases involving 
human trafficking within the available resources and within the 
present legal regime of Guyana.  Suggestions will also be 
provided on how to expand those existing resources (through civil 
forfeiture) and strengthen the existing legal regime (through 
criminal code reform).  All these activities are sustainable 
because, once the technical assistance provides the host country 
officials the requisite "know how," the host country officials 
will be able to sustain and expand the program essentially 
without cost. 
 
¶E.   Justification:  The following summary is derived from the 
Department of State's 2005 "Trafficking in Persons Report" and 
other sources.  Guyana is a country of origin, transit, and 
destination for young women and children trafficked primarily for 
the purpose of sexual exploitation.  Much of the trafficking 
takes place in remote areas of the country's interior, or 
involves Amerindian girls from the interior trafficked to coastal 
areas to engage in prostitution and involuntary domestic 
servitude.  Girls promised employment as domestics, waitresses, 
and bar attendants are trafficked into prostitution; young 
Amerindian men are exploited under forced labor conditions in 
timber camps.  Guyanese girls and young women are trafficked for 
sexual exploitation to Suriname and other countries in the 
region, such as Barbados, Trinidad & Tobago, and Venezuela.  Most 
foreign victims come from bordering regions of Brazil, and may be 
trafficked through Guyana to Suriname. 
 
The Government of Guyana does not fully comply with the minimum 
standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is 
making significant efforts to do so.  Guyana showed appreciable 
progress over the last year, particularly through its enactment 
of anti-trafficking legislation, improvements in government 
coordination, and aggressive public awareness campaigns. 
Government law enforcement actions against traffickers remained 
inadequate despite some progress during the reporting period.  In 
2004, authorities arrested and released on bail one suspected 
trafficker pending indictment; no traffickers were prosecuted or 
convicted.  Guyana should work with NGOs to improve services for 
victims; it should also more aggressively investigate and 
prosecute traffickers. 
 
The Government of Guyana made good faith efforts to assist 
trafficking victims over the last year, though protection of 
victims remained inadequate.  Police initially jailed and fined 
four victims under immigration laws.  The Ministry of Labour, 
Human Services, and Social Security secured their release after 
determining the four were victims and not traffickers, and 
arranged for their repatriation.  As a result of this case, the 
Commissioner of Police and Ministry officials stated that they 
would coordinate more closely and ensure that victims are 
referred to the Ministry for assistance. 
 
According to a recent news report, Guyana's Minister of Labour, 
Human Services and Social Security stated that eight persons were 
brought before the courts in trafficking in persons (TIP) cases, 
but that there was an ongoing problem when TIP cases were handled 
by courts located in Guyana's outlying areas. The minister said 
she planned to ask "the powers that be" to have all the TIP cases 
handled by one court in the city; the minister had previously 
told the media that it would also be better if one prosecutor 
dealt with all such issues.  The minister also said she was 
concerned with the police response to human trafficking, as there 
were about ten reported cases that had not yet been investigated 
by the police.  She noted that in some instances the matters were 
pending for so long that the perpetrators had been able to 
abscond. 
 
The proposed technical assistance is designed to help Guyana 
identify and implement procedures that will mitigate in a 
sustainable way the criminal justice system deficiencies noted 
above. 
 
¶F.  Performance indicators: 
 
  -    Development by relevant stakeholders (prosecutors, 
     investigators, border officials, victim service providers, and 
     other relevant stakeholders and NGOs) of an Operations and 
     Tactics Handbook to Combat Trafficking in Persons describing the 
     best practices for Guyanese investigators, prosecutors, victim 
     service providers, and other relevant stakeholders and NGOs 
     consistent with the legal regime and resources available in 
     Guyana 
 
  -    Implementation by relevant stakeholders (prosecutors, 
     investigators, border officials, victim service providers, and 
     other relevant stakeholders and NGOs) of some or all the best 
     practices identified in the an Operations and Tactics Handbook t 
     Combat Trafficking in Persons (described above) 
 
  -    Use of relevant portions of the Operations and Tactics 
     Handbook to Combat Trafficking in Persons (described above) by 
     Guyana in the training of its law enforcement (prosecutors, 
     investigators, border officials, etc.) 
 
  -    Development by the Guyanese judiciary of a benchbook 
     describing best practices for the fair and efficient adjudicatio 
     of cases involving human trafficking, including the appropriate 
     treatment by the court system of victim-witnesses 
 
  -    Implementation by the Guyanese judiciary of some or all the 
     best practices described in the benchbook (described above) on 
     the fair and efficient adjudication of cases involving human 
     trafficking 
 
  -    Development by students of Guyana of articles and posters on 
     human trafficking -- specifically, articles and posters designed 
     to enhance prevention, protection, and prosecution; select 
     articles are published and select posters are duplicated and 
     posted 
 
  -    Favorable newspaper or other media coverage of the public 
     affairs event highlighting that human trafficking is a global an 
     regional problem 
¶G.  Evaluation Plan:  Project monitoring and evaluation will be 
undertaken on a continuous basis by OPDAT and Embassy Georgetown; 
a quarterly report prepared by OPDAT will be submitted to Embassy 
Georgetown and G/TIP.  The project monitoring and evaluation will 
include regular phone calls, e-mails, and other forms of 
communication between OPDAT and Embassy Georgetown; to the extent 
necessary, OPDAT will conduct on-site evaluations.  The project 
monitoring and evaluations, including the quarterly report, will 
address the progress of the project and how U.S. tax dollars are 
helping in the fight against trafficking in persons. 
 
¶H.  Budget breakout: his will fund the following: 
 
¶1. Six (6) workshops for prosecutors and other law enforcement 
Per diem   Days      No. of trainers    Sub-total 
$196           6         4              $4,704 
 
Airfare    Local     No. of trainers    Sub-total 
$1,800         $100      4              $7,600 
 
Site expenses per workshop              $2,500 
(room rental, coffee breaks, A-V equipment, etc.) 
Cost per workshop                       $14,804 
 
                                             ------- 
Six (6) workshops        6                   $88,824 
 
¶2. Four (4) workshops for Judges (to be held in Guyana) 
 
Number of Workshops  Cost per workshop       ------- 
     4                $14,804 (see above)    $59,216 
 
¶3. Judicial exchanges (Eight Guyanese judges and magistrates 
"shadow" U.S. judges) 
 
Per diem   Days     Sub-total 
$250       7        $1,750 
 
Airfare    Local    Sub-total 
$1,800     $100     $1,900 
 
Cost per judge      $3,650 
                                             ------- 
Total cost for eight judges                  $29,200 
 
¶4. Public Affairs Event 
 
Per diem   Days      No. of trainers    Sub-total 
$196           4     3                  $2,352 
 
Airfare    Local     No. of trainers    Sub-total 
$1,800    $100      3                   $5,700 
 
Site expenses                           $3,000 
(room rental, coffee breaks, A-V equipment, etc.) 
------- 
Total cost for event                         $11,052 
 
¶5. Workshops for college students and other students 
 
Per diem   Days      No. of trainers    Sub-total 
$196       6          4                 $4,704 
 
Airfare    Local     No. of trainers    Sub-total 
$1,800     $100      4                  $7,600 
 
Site expenses for three days            $1,500 
(room rental, coffee breaks, A-V equipment, etc.) 
 
Cost of 3 days of workshops in one week  $13,804 
                                             ------- 
Six trips to Guyana over two years           $82,824 
 
                                             ------- 
¶6. Materials and other expenses              $20,000 
(Stationary supplies, duplication, shipping, materials, etc.) 
 
Total program expenses                  $291,116 
 
OPDAT overhead at 12% of expenses       $34,934 
                                             -------- 
TOTAL PROGRAM COST                           $326,050 
 
¶I.   Type and amount of host government contribution:  The core 
philosophy of this program is that the components of Guyana's 
criminal justice system and other relevant stakeholders - 
including the courts, investigators, prosecutors, victim service 
providers, NGOs, and other relevant stakeholders - are in the 
best position to know the legal regime of Guyana and the 
resources available in Guyana and, therefore, they are in the 
best position to determine the best practices for investigating, 
prosecuting, and adjudicating cases involving human trafficking 
within the constraints of that legal regime and the available 
resources.  OPDAT, in coordination with Embassy Georgetown will 
be the catalyst for the identification of best practices and the 
host government will make a significant contribution of manpower 
(by judges, prosecutors, investigators, etc.) in the 
identification, documentation, and implementation of those best 
practices. 
¶J.  Proposed funding mechanism: Letter of Agreement (LOA) (or 
Amended Letter of Agreement (ALOA) / Inter-Agency agreement with 
the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) (Office of Overseas 
Prosecutorial Development, Assistance and Training (OPDAT)). 
 
¶K.  Embassy point of contact: 
 
     Edward P. Luchessi 
     Economic/Commercial Officer 
     U.S. Embassy 
     Georgetown, Guyana 
     Phone:  011-592-225-4900 
     e-mail:  LuchessiEP@state.gov 
 
¶L.  Other donors:  None 
 
BULLEN