VZCZCXYZ0041
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHUM #0396/01 1440751
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 240751Z MAY 06
FM AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9909
INFO RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 4995
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 2253
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2106
RUEHHK/AMCONSUL HONG KONG 0749

UNCLAS ULAANBAATAR 000396 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM EAID KCRM KWMN SMIG ELAB MG
SUBJECT: TIP Seminar Raises Awareness, Coordination 
 
Ref: Ulaanbaatar 173 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. A hands-on seminar aimed at countering trafficking in 
persons (TIP) in Mongolia was held in Ulaanbaatar on April 
26-27.  The training - held by The Asia Foundation (TAF) and 
the U.S. Embassy - brought together law enforcement and 
government officials, human rights lawyers, and 
representatives of civil society for two days of lectures, 
breakout sessions, and question and answer time with 
experts.  Participants learned and practiced how to 
interview and counsel trafficking victims, and they created 
framework procedures for cross-border repatriation.  The 
seminar is part of TAF's ongoing ESF-funded efforts, which 
will continue to provide additional training, raise 
awareness, and gather better data about TIP. End summary. 
 
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Background on TIP in Mongolia 
------------------------------ 
 
¶2.  Trafficking in persons for commercial and sexual 
exploitation is widely suspected to be increasing in 
Mongolia.  Victims are trafficked from, through, and within 
the country.  Real data regarding the scope and incidence of 
the problem, however, is poor.  Widely-quoted studies are 
based largely on subjective and anecdotal evidence, and 
there is a pressing need for quantitative and more rigorous 
analysis. 
 
¶3.  However, the significance of trafficking as a crime 
transcends its relatively low (but growing) incidence in 
Mongolia, due to its connections to corruption, money 
laundering and violent crime.  Trafficking in persons points 
to weaknesses in the legal system and law enforcement that 
might be exploited by organized crime groups or even 
terrorism. 
 
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TAF's Anti-Trafficking Project in Mongolia 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶4.  TAF began implementation of a project, funded with ESF 
through USAID, to counter trafficking in late 2005.  The 
project will assist in preventing trafficking in persons, 
protecting victims, and prosecuting perpetrators, while also 
raising awareness to as a way of deterring recruitment and 
preventing victimization.  TAF is training Government of 
Mongolia (GoM) officials to identify and detect TIP-related 
criminal activity, and is building ties with a regional 
network of public, private and non-governmental 
organizations that will assist in victim protection and 
other interventions.  With strong embassy endorsement, TAF 
submitted a ESF proposal to EAP in early February to augment 
its existing efforts, including boosting aid to TIP victims. 
 
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A Hands-on Seminar 
------------------ 
 
¶5.  As a major step in carrying out the project's ambitious 
agenda, TAF and the U.S. Embassy held a hands-on seminar on 
TIP issues in Ulaanbaatar on April 26-27.  The seminar 
brought together law enforcement and government officials, 
human rights lawyers, and representatives of civil society 
for two days of lectures, breakout sessions, and question 
and answer time with the experts.  The two-day event taught 
participants to distinguish between illegal migration, 
smuggling, prostitution and trafficking; to identify and 
interdict trafficking by analyzing case studies; and to 
examine and develop best practices to prevent trafficking 
and protect victims.  Participants learned and practiced how 
to interview and counsel trafficking victims, and they 
created framework procedures for cross-border repatriation. 
Counter-trafficking interventions will partner law 
enforcement and civil society organizations in order to 
ensure an effective and coordinated response.  This event 
stemmed from and built on the success of an earlier 
consultative group meeting held by TAF and the Ministry of 
Social Welfare and Labor in March 20061.  In that meeting, a 
partnership between civil society, government and law 
enforcement officials was formed to jointly quantify the 
incidence of trafficking, to educate the public, and to take 
action. 
 
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Planned Future Efforts 
---------------------- 
 
¶6.  TAF plans to coordinate future counter trafficking 
training closely with enforcement-related training designed 
and delivered through the Asia-Pacific Center for Security 
Studies (APCSS) in Honolulu, Hawaii.  The APCSS has trained 
a number of Mongolian public sector officials and, together 
with TAF, will develop a proposal to conduct in-country 
counter trafficking training late in 2006.  TAF is already 
working locally to develop investigative training for the 
police. 
 
¶7.  Another major initiative will be to gather better data 
about trafficking in Mongolia in order to help the police, 
the courts, and civil society better target prevention, 
protection, and enforcement efforts.  To this end, TAF is 
working with civil society organizations to define the 
origins of trafficking.  Together, they have documented and 
analyzed a series of trafficking cases based upon interviews 
with victims, human rights lawyers, and law enforcement 
officials. TAF is now developing an anti-trafficking 
benchmarking tool to identify the incidence of trafficking 
within, to, and from Mongolia.  The first benchmarking study 
will be completed by August 2006.  TAF is also working with 
USAID's Regional Development Mission/Asia (RDM/A) to 
coordinate a fact-finding and network-forging trip to Macau 
and Hong Kong.  Such a trip will be crucial to gaining a 
better understanding of the nature of trafficking from 
Mongolia, and to assisting local NGOs and government to 
conceive and implement solutions. 
 
¶8.  Finally, TAF is working with local advocacy 
organizations to develop and disseminate prevention and 
awareness messages through multi-media campaigns and public 
events.  TAF will develop a counter-trafficking website to 
improve information sharing and collaboration between 
government and non-governmental organizations, and will link 
this site to The Asia Foundation regional anti-trafficking 
web portal (www.tipinasia.info) to strengthen regional 
cooperation. 
 
SLUTZ 
 
 
 
 
 
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