VZCZCXRO9183
PP RUEHLMC
DE RUEHMU #2717/01 3531902
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 191902Z DEC 06
FM AMEMBASSY MANAGUA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 8462
RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE
INFO RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORP WASHDC
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MANAGUA 002717 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE PASS TO GTIP DRL IWI PRM WHA/CEN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM KFRD KWMN PHUM PREL
SUBJECT: NICARAGUA KICKS OFF "CALL AND LIVE" ANTI-TRAFFICKING CAMPAIGN
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: The Inter American Development Bank (IDB), 
the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the Ricky 
Martin Foundation, and UNICEF launched the Nicaraguan "Llama 
y Vive" (Call and Live) anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) 
campaign December 6 with the participation of the Ministries 
of Government and Family.  The campaign includes a 
youth-oriented media communications strategy to raise 
awareness and promote the use of a free 24-hour emergency 
hotline.  Representatives of the Llama y Vive initiative 
expressed concern about Nicaragua's vulnerability to 
trafficking, the lack of awareness of the existence of the 
phenomenon, and its consequences for human rights and 
development.  While acknowledging the campaign was a first 
step in the prevention phase, they also stressed it was "not 
enough" and  called for greater civil society and government 
collaboration to combat the scourge of human 
trafficking.   The IOM credited the State Department's Office 
of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) for its role in 
introducing a pilot program for the Return and Reintegration 
of TIP Victims in Central America. 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY CONTINUED: Subsequent discussions held the 
week of December 11-15, with the Minister of Family, Vice 
Minister of Government, and the Director of the Nicaraguan 
Women's Institute (INIM) indicate that the 133 hotline is not 
well advertised, has suffered technical difficulties and is 
not always reliable, and may not be sufficiently staffed or 
administered.  According to some accounts, the hotline only 
works in Managua, which counters the campaign's pledge to 
provide assistance to people at risk of being trafficked 
along Nicaragua's borders.  Further, shelters that are run 
out of the Ministry of Family are set up only to assist 
children and adolescents, and thus unlikely to meet the needs 
of trafficked women. END SUMMARY 
 
133 HOTLINE--CALL AND LIVE, IT'S FREE AND CONFIDENTIAL 
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¶3. (U) Poloff attended the December 6 launching of the Llama 
y Vive anti-trafficking campaign, a collaborative project 
sponsored by the IDB, Ricky Martin Foundation, IOM, UNICEF, 
and the Ministries of Family and Government.  The Llama y 
Vive initiative is part of a regional effort to provide a 
mechanism for the prevention and protection of trafficking 
victims aimed primarily at vulnerable women, adolescents, and 
individuals seeking to find work outside of Nicaragua.  The 
campaign seeks to enable and encourage potential victims and 
witnesses to report and denounce trafficking incidents by 
providing a free and confidential hotline under the slogan of 
"call and live."  The Ministry of Family had already 
established a free 24-hour emergency hotline #133 to help 
children and youth at risk, and in conjunction with the Llama 
y Vive initiative is extending the use of the hotline to 
serve victims of trafficking and sexual exploitation. The 133 
hotline ostensibly will be staffed by lawyers, psychologists, 
and social workers trained to provide assistance to victims 
of trafficking.  In addition, the Ministry of Family is to 
provide transportation service that will take victims to 
shelter. 
 
¶4. (U) The campaign features the images of pop culture in its 
mass media strategy to disseminate information about the 
risks and dangers of trafficking.  The popular Puerto Rican 
entertainer Ricky Martin is the Llama y Vive spokesman and 
face in several TV commercials, videos, radio ads, and other 
forms of outreach.  The campaign also includes short 
vignettes of testimonials by trafficking survivors, and 
portrays those who fall into the hands of traffickers as the 
"slaves of our time." 
 
"NO KNOWLEDGE OF PHENOMENON" 
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¶5. (U) The interlocutors of the opening event warned that Nicaragua is especially vulnerable as a source country due to extreme poverty, level of education, lack of opportunity, and geographic location. Citing the dearth of knowledge about the existence of modern day slavery in Central America, Mirna Llevano of the IDB underscored the need for civil society, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and the media to work together to "create awareness" in order to address the problem. She noted that the communications campaign was aimed primarily at prevention but was "not enough," asserting that more needs to be done on the prosecution side and for the protection of victims. She lamented that trafficking was not yet defined as a punishable offense in Nicaragua. Citing the success of Llama y Vive in Peru, where the campaign was first launched five months ago, Llevano wants to see similar results in Nicaragua. She opined that anti-trafficking efforts ought to be incorporated into the modernization of Nicaragua and other developing countries. The Llama y Vive campaign will be extended to Ecuador, Costa Rica, and El Salvador. Further on it will be introduced in Colombia, Mexico, and in Latino communities in the United States.
 
¶6. (U) In her remarks, Vice Minister of Government Deyanira 
Arguello reiterated the concern about Nicaragua's 
vulnerability to trafficking in persons and need to promote 
greater awareness of and education about the issue. 
Touting the role of the National Anti-Trafficking Coalition 
to strengthen police action along the border, and the 
actions by the Ministry of Education to teach children and 
adolescents about the dangers of trafficking, Arguello 
pledged the current government's commitment to fighting 
modern day slavery. She hopes that the incoming government 
will continue to deal seriously with the issue.  Arguello 
extolled the Llama y Vive initiative as the first time NGOs 
and the government have joined forces to effect 
"transcendental change." 
 
¶7. (U) UNICEF representative Debora Comini presented 
statistics on the number of children affected by the 
phenomenon and highlighted the devastating consequences it 
posed for Nicaragua's development.  According to Comini, 
available statistics give only part of the story; for every 
trafficking incident reported, there are probably 
three more that go unreported.  She praised the Ministries of 
Family and Government for their commitment, and pointedly 
called upon the National Assembly to complete the task of 
reforming the Penal Code to guarantee that trafficking 
offenders receive punishment that is proportional to the 
crime. 
 
OFF LINE, GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS EXPRESS SKEPTICISM 
 
¶8. (SBU) Follow-up discussions poloff had separately with the 
Minister of Family, Ligia Teran de Astorga; Executive 
Director of INIM, Maria Ester Vanegas Lopez; and Vice 
Minister Arguello, revealed capacity weaknesses at the 
government level that would affect the feasibility of the 
anti-trafficking initiative.  The vice minister shared her 
skepticism about operation of the hotline, noting that the 
133 emergency line set up by the Ministry of Family (under 
Teran's leadership) was not fully functional nor reliable. 
In addition, she revealed that 133 is inadequately staffed 
and that often there was no vehicle available to provide 
transportation for the callers in peril.  She said the 
success of the Llama y Vive campaign will depend on whether 
the Ministry of Family can improve the hotline service. As 
head of the women's institute, Vanegas expressed concern 
about the lack of resources and political will to address the 
issue. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Vanegas claimed public knowledge about the hotline 
was limited, and that it was primarily established to provide 
a line of support for children and adolescents.  Arguello 
indicated that the existing government-run shelters were only 
for children and not equipped to assist women who were either 
trafficked or suffered other forms of abuse.  Teran, in 
contrast, was far more upbeat about the hotline as a service 
to assist children and adolescents, but explained that #133 
was "only available in Managua," a statement at odds with the 
media campaign which suggests the service is set up to assist 
prevention throughout the country. 
 
U.S. PRAISED FOR ASSISTANCE WITH REINTEGRATION OF VICTIMS 
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¶10. (U) While Llama y Vive focuses primarily on the prevention phase of the anti-trafficking in persons strategy, Raul Rivas of IOM took the opportunity of the forum to also discuss a separate pilot project underway to address the protection of victims phase. Citing the need for governments and international organizations to work in partnership to combat trafficking, Rivas credited the involvement of the State Department's Office of Population, Refugees, and Migration (PRM) in implementing the Return and Reintegration of Victims of Trafficking, program.
 
COMMENT 
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¶11. (SBU) The Llama y Vive initiative is a positive development in employing NGO and government cooperation to raise awareness and generate media coverage to address the prevention side of trafficking in persons. However, given the Nicaraguan government's limited resources, the campaign may be advertising a service that does not exist. Concerns raised by representatives of the Ministry of Government and the Nicaraguan Institute for Women (INIM) suggest a disconnect between a flashy media campaign and reality. At the same time, by increasing awareness of the problem, international organizations, civil society, and the media can help play a key role as a check on the government's commitment to deal with the trafficking phenomenon.
 
TRIVELLI