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RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 1436

UNCLAS BOGOTA 001457 

SIPDIS 

SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 

FOR ADM AID, WHA/AND, WHA/PPC,G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, 
CA/FPP 

E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB CO
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA'S SEVENTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN 
PERSONS (TIP) REPORT 

REF: SECSTATE 202745 

This report is sensitive but unclassified. Please handle 
accordingly. 

¶1. (U) Embassy point of contact on trafficking in persons is 
human rights officer Scott Fagan, phone number (57-1) 
383-2122, fax number (57-1) 315-2163.  Officer spent 52 hours 
preparing report. 

¶2. (U) Responses below are to questions in paragraphs 27-30 
ofreftel. 

------- 
SUMMARY 
------- 

¶3. (SBU) During the reporting period, the Government of 
Colombia (GOC) increased its prosecutions for trafficking in 
persons to 63, up from 25 last year, and increased the number 
of convictions from 2 to 10.  The GOC also has 49 additional 
investigations underway.  The GOC will open an 
Anti-Trafficking Operations Center (COAT) in summer 2007 to 
serve victims.  The GOC supported public campaigns on 
trafficking prevention, and helped develop a comprehensive 
"Guide to Assistance for Victims of Trafficking in Persons in 
Colombia." The National Strategy on Trafficking in Persons is 
complete and awaiting implementation. 

-------- 
Overview 
-------- 

27.A. (SBU) Colombia is a significant source of trafficking 
victims, primarily women and children destined for sexual 
exploitation, according to both government and NGO reports. 
Some Colombian men are trafficked for forced labor. Post has 
received some unconfirmed reports that Colombia is also a 
transit country for victims from Ecuador and China, and 
possibly other Andean countries, but no specific cases were 
reported during the reporting period. The vast majority of 
trafficking cases never see prosecution or investigation due 
to victims failing to report the crime once they have escaped 
the trafficking situation. Colombian victims are recruited 
primarily through offers of employment, study, or marriage. 
These offers are made through personal contact and 
advertisements in the press.  Post has received reports that 
members of criminal organizations who owe a debt to their 
organization will occasionally offer to introduce traffickers 
to family members to facilitate recruitment, and receive debt 
relief in compensation.  Colombian victims are trafficked to 
Japan, Spain, Ecuador, Panama, Hong Kong, Singapore, 

Malaysia, Germany, Peru, Chile, Sweden, Switzerland, Brazil, 
Thailand, the United Kingdom, Argentina, Italy, Portugal, the 
Netherlands, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela, the United 
States, China, El Salvador, Costa Rica, thePhilippines, 
Mexico, Israel, and Jamaica.  Victims are principally 
trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation, forced 
labor, and forced servitude (land or debt peonage, servile 
marriage). Trafficking occurs within Colombia's borders, and 
some NGOs report that it also occurs in areas of Colombia 
where there is not sufficient law enforcement control over 
illegal armed groups. 

The GOC Inter-institutional Committee for the Fight against 
Trafficking in Persons (ICFTP), established informally in 
2003 and formally in 2005, has designed a database to track 
and monitor statistics on trafficking in persons cases.  The 
database was stalled due to hardware and software problems, 
but the ICFTP has contracted a new firm to overcome the 
problems, and plan to have the system operational by August 
¶2007.  In the past, the Department of Administrative Security 
(DAS), which has responsibilities similar to the FBI, has 
estimated that there were between 45,000-50,000 Colombian 
women working as prostitutes overseas, some victims of 
trafficking, with an average of 2-10 victims departing the 
country per day.  These numbers however, according to both 
the DAS and NGOs, are impossible to verify.  Information 
about trafficking in persons can be obtained from the 
Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia), DAS, the Ministry of 
Interior and Justice (MININT), or the Supreme Council of the 
Judiciary (Consejo Superior de la Judicatura, or CSJ).  None 
of these sources have complete data because (a) they do not 
coordinate tracking of cases -- for example an arrest made by 
the DAS which is considered to have been for the crime of 
trafficking may be later reclassified by the Fiscalia to have 
only been for organized crime because trafficking cannot be 
proven; and (b) the Government of Colombia relies heavily on 
international organizations and NGOs to initiate contact with 
victims, who may never report their case of trafficking as a 
crime.  Groups most at risk of being trafficked were 
displaced people, women in rural areas who don't have access 
to mass media, and people whose relatives were members of 
criminal organizations. 

27.B. (SBU) Colombia is committed to fighting trafficking in 
persons, and has established a comprehensive interagency 
program to coordinate this fight with international and 
non-governmental organizations.  In 2005, Colombia passed Law 
985, which criminalized the act of transporting a person with 
the goal of exploitation, regardless of whether the victim 
had initially given consent to travel for a certain purpose. 
The law also adopted measures for prevention, protection and 
assistance to victims or potential victims; formally 

established the ICFTP; increased sentences for those 
convicted to between 13 and 23 years in prison and fines 
between 800 to 1,500 times the minimum salary; proposed a 
national strategy against trafficking in persons; 
strengthened units involved in investigating and prosecuting 
trafficking crimes; set up a national system of information 
on trafficking; and appropriated funds to combat trafficking. 
The ongoing internal armed conflict in Colombia has an impact 
on trafficking because it creates displacement of 
populations, making them more vulnerable.  Also, internal 
armed actors and criminal gangs are responsible for 
trafficking in arms, drugs, and people.  While exact numbers 
are not known, it is suspected that people in the country who 
were displaced as a result of the conflict are the most 
likely victims of trafficking.  According to UNHCHR, 74 
percent of the displaced are women and children, who 
represent the majority of trafficking victims in Colombia. 
While the government began to develop and action plan for the 
protection of victims, it is currently in draft form awaiting 
formal approval.  The IOM estimates that approximately 60 
percent of trafficking is within the country. 

27.C. (SBU) The Government is hampered in its fight against 
trafficking by limited resources.  As a result, it relies 
heavily on NGOs and international organizations in the fight 
against trafficking.  Some NGOs have reported in the past 
that corruption of government officials was a problem -- for 
example, in some places it is not difficult to fraudulently 
obtain authentic documents to conceal a victim's identity for 
purpose of travel -- but none considered corruption related 
to trafficking to be endemic in government institutions. 
There were no specific corruption cases raised during the 
reporting period.  The Government gives limited assistance to 
victims through shelters, the Ministry of Interior and 
Justice, the Family Welfare Institute and the Ministry of 
Social Protection, but it does not have enough money to 
provide protection to victims through the Fiscalia's 
protection program to induce a higher number of them to press 
charges against their oppressors. 

27.D. (SBU) The Government has six entities that work to 
combat trafficking and monitor prosecution, prevention and 
victim protection: the Ministry of Interior and Justice 
(MININT) which presides over the ICFTP; the Administrative 
Department of Security (DAS), which houses the offices that 
monitor migration and coordinate with INTERPOL; the Unit to 
Combat Trafficking in Persons, Sexual Violence and Child 
Victims in the Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia); the 
Grupo Humanitas inside the Judicial Police section of the 
Colombian National Police; the Family Welfare Institute 
(ICBF); and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).  Each 
group maintains its own statistics.  Some offices (DAS, 

MININT and Humanitas) have produced reports in the past of 
their work to combat trafficking.  The ICFTP continues to 
work to consolidate GOC policy to combat trafficking and make 
its findings on trends in trafficking known to the 
public as soon as data collection is regularized and the 
results studied, but steps remain before the database system 
is fully operational and the data is available. 

---------- 
PREVENTION 
---------- 

28.A. (SBU) The GOC acknowledges that trafficking is a 
problem in Colombia. 

28.B.  Fourteen agencies are members of the ICFTP: MININT, 
MFA, Ministry of Social Protection (MSP), Ministry of 
Education, DAS, CNP, Office of the Prosecutor General, the 
Office of the Inspector General (Procuraduria), the Office of 
the Human Rights Ombudsman (Defensoria), Interpol, ICBF, the 
Presidential Advisor for Equality of Women, The Department of 
Defense organization FONDELIBERTAD, and the Special 
Administrative Unit for Information and Financial Analysis. 
The MININT presides over the ICFTP. 

28.C. (SBU) In 2006, the Government supported IOM public 
campaigns on trafficking prevention. The campaign advertised 
an IOM national hot line to prevent trafficking and report 
violators.  The GOC also worked with IOM, as well as other 
NGOs and civil society organizations, to develop and publicly 
release a comprehensive "Guide to Assistance for Victims of 
Trafficking in Persons in Colombia." The IOM, the UN Office 
on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and several NGOs conducted 
informational campaigns to target potential victims and raise 
awareness.  For example, the IOM continued to place large 
posters in airports, bus stations, foreign consulates, and 
travel agencies as well as professionally producing public 
service announcements on radio and television. 

28.D. (SBU) The Vice President's Program on Women has a 
micro-enterprise lending program to help women heads of 
households maintain a stable income, and the MSP works with 
UNICEF and the International Labor Organization to prevent 
child labor in the country.  It is estimated that 2.5 million 
children under 18 are working in Colombia, and that only 20 
percent of those are working legally in conditions approved 
by the Government. 

28.E. (SBU) The GOC maintains an open dialogue with 
non-governmental organizations, relevant organizations and 
elements of civil society on trafficking.  The IOM and UNODC 
actively participate in policy dialogue. 


28.F. (SBU) The IOM continued to train Colombian passport 
officials, and immigration officials from Colombia and 
foreign embassies, to detect patterns of trafficking, with 
special emphasis on border areas in Brazil, Ecuador, 
Venezuela and Panama.  Since Colombia is primarily a source 
or transit country, officials are more sensitized in 
detecting potential victims who are departing rather than 
arriving.  The NGO The Hope Foundation (Fundacion Esperanza) 
in particular has aggressively targeted airport officials and 
related travel companies to raise sensitivity about 
trafficking victims. 

28.G. (SBU) The mechanism for GOC coordination is the ICFTP. 
The MININT presides over the ICFTP.  The GOC does not have a 
public corruption task force, but there are internal affairs 
offices within the Fiscalia and the Police, and the 
Defensoria has the authority to conduct disciplinary 
investigations in every government entity. 

28.H. (SBU) Law 985 established the responsibility of the 
ICFTP to create a national action plan to address trafficking 
in persons.  The fourteen member agencies of the ICFTP (see 
para. 28.B) developed the plan with participation of civil 
society and NGOs.  The National Strategy plan was completed 
in August 2006. 

-------------------------------------------- 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
-------------------------------------------- 

29.A. (SBU) Law 985, which was passed on August 26, 2005, is 
entitled "For which measures are adopted against trafficking 
in persons and norms for the attention and protections of 
victims of the same," and prohibits trafficking for any 
economic or other benefit, such as sexual exploitation, 
prostitution, work or other forced services, slavery or 
practices analogous to slavery, forced servitude, 
exploitation through mendicancy, servile marriage, the 
extraction of organs, sexual tourism or any other form of 
exploitation.  The law prohibits internal and transnational 
trafficking.  The law covers the full scope of trafficking 
crimes and is being implemented.  Other laws that are still 
in effect to punish trafficking in persons include: 

-- Law 599 of 2000, which made penalties for trafficking for 
purposes of prostitution equivalent to those for rape and 
sexual assault, carrying penalties of 6 to 8 years in prison 
and fines of up to 100 times the monthly minimum wage. 

--  Law 747 of July 2002 which broadened the definition of 
trafficking in persons and provided for prison sentences 

between 10 and 15 years and fines up to 1,000 times the 
monthly minimum wage.  According to this law, forcing someone 
into prostitution is punishable by 5 to 9 years in prison and 
a fine of up to 500 times the monthly minimum wage.  These 
penalties can be increased up to one-half if the victim is 
under 14 years of age, if the criminal plans to take the 
victim out of the country, or if the criminal is a family 
member.  Penalties are also increased if the victim is under 
18 years of age.  Child pornography in any form is also 
criminalized with punishments of up to 10 years in prison and 
a fine of up to 1,000 times the monthly minimum salary. These 
penalties are increased by half if the minor is 12 years or 
younger. 

-- Law 890 of 2004, which entered into force on January 1, 
2005, further increased these penalties to 13 to 23 years in 
prison and fines of up to 1,500 times the monthly minimum 
wage. These penalties can be increased by up to one-third if 
there are aggravated circumstances, such as if the crime is 
committed against a minor (less than 18 years of age), the 
victim is mentally challenged, or the trafficker is a family 
member or public servant.  If the victim is under 12 years of 
age, the penalty is increased by half.  Additional charges of 
illegal detention, violation of the right to work in 
dignified conditions, and violation of personal freedom also 
may be brought against traffickers. 

-- The Colombian Penal Code of 2000, article 219, which 
prohibits organizing or facilitating sexual tourism and 
provides penalties of three to eight years' imprisonment. 

29.B. (SBU) Penalties against traffickers are described in 
paragraph 29.A. 

29.C. (SBU) Penalties against traffickers of labor 
exploitation are included in penalties in paragraph 29.A 

29.D. (SBU) In 2000, Law 599 (see para. 29.A) made the 
punishments for trafficking for purposes of prostitution 
equivalent to those for rape and sexual assault. 

29.E. (SBU) Prostitution by adults is not considered a crime 
in Colombia, although the activities of pimps and other 
enforcers are criminalized.  The legal minimum age for 
prostitution is 18 years.  Prostitution is permitted in 
so-called "tolerance zones" in various cities.  In these 
areas, the Institute of Urban Development monitors 
establishments of prostitution.  The operation of 
prostitution establishments is monitored and operating 
without a license is severely punished. 

29.F. (SBU) During the reporting period, the ICFTP and the 

Fiscalia stated that there were 49 investigations underway 
(34 under the old system, and 15 under the new accusatory 
system). There were 63 prosecutions, up from 25 last year. 
The Fiscalia reported 10 convictions during the reporting 
period for trafficking in persons crimes, up from 2 
convictions in 2005. (Post is awaiting information on 
sentences.) 

29.G. (SBU) The IOM and Colombian NGOs estimate that 
international organized crime networks are responsible for 
the bulk of transnational trafficking.  Other cases, such as 
for servile marriage, have been traced to internet dating 
services and family exploitation.  Domestically, organized 
crime networks -- some related to foreign terrorist 
organizations (FTOs) -- are also responsible for trafficking 
for sexual exploitation or organized begging.  Human Rights 
NGOs estimate 11 thousand children have been forcibly 
recruited into illegal armed groups, while the Inspector 
General's Office has estimated approximately 25 thousand 
children were working as sex workers, some percentage of 
which are victims of trafficking.  Many displaced people are 
trafficked for labor exploitation by local criminal gangs 
when they arrive in their new destinations.  The GOC arrested 
2 people who were internally trafficking displaced persons to 
the northern coast for sexual exploitation in June 2006 and 
seized their assets. The Hope Foundation estimates agencies 
for employment, travel, and tourism are often either 
knowingly or innocently facilitating trafficking in persons. 
Insubordinate government officials are suspected to be 
involved in trafficking, especially in providing fraudulent 
travel documents.  It is suspected that the profits from 
trafficking either go to private individuals or to criminal 
networks, some of which are run by FTOs. 

29.H. (SBU) The government actively investigates trafficking 
cases.  When information is passed regarding a possible case 
of trafficking in persons, it is analyzed according to 
protocols of investigation under the direction and 
coordination of the Prosecutor General's Office.  The 
National Police and DAS/Interpol, which has an eight-person 
unit dedicated to investigating trafficking in persons 
crimes, take the lead in such investigations. 

29.I. (SBU) The MFA and ICBF provide specialized training to 
MFA officials working overseas to help them recognize 
potential victims of trafficking and prepare a criminal 
report for authorities in Colombia.  The training does not 
include special sensitivity for child victims.  The GOC 
worked with the U.K. Embassy and the UNODC to set up a series 
of mock trials to train judges and prosecutors on how to 
prosecute trafficking crimes.  By the end of the series, 
judges and prosecutors believed they were well prepared to 

prosecute the cases, but officials will continue to receive 
the training. 

29.J. (SBU) The GOC cooperates with other governments in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking in persons.  The 
GOC cooperates with host country governments where it has 
embassies and when victims of trafficking are identified and 
request repatriation.  Fiscalia and DAS/INTERPOL offices work 
with counterparts in other countries to conduct 
investigations.  The Fiscalia and DAS worked with Venezuela, 
Ecuador, Panama, Italy and Spain on investigation of 
trafficking during the reporting period. 

29.K. (SBU) The GOC can extradite persons charged with 
trafficking in other countries.  The GOC can extradite its 
own nationals.  However, there were no such extraditions for 
persons charged with trafficking in the period March 
2006-February 2007, and no requests for such extraditions, 
according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 

29.L. (SBU) See paragraph 27.C. 

29.M. (SBU) Government officials neither facilitate nor 
condone trafficking in any official capacity.  The GOC 
investigates all cases of corruption that are brought to its 
attention.  Neither the DAS nor the Prosecutor General's 
Office has received any information about the involvement, or 
possible involvement, of government officials in trafficking 
in persons. No government officials have been prosecuted for 
involvement in trafficking or trafficking-related corruption. 

29.N. (SBU) The Colombian Penal Code of 2000 prohibits 
organizing or facilitating sexual tourism and provides 
penalties of three to eight years' imprisonment.  The Penal 
Code does not have extraterritorial coverage.  The Penal Code 
does not differentiate between sexual tourism for the purpose 
of relations with children or adults.  During the reporting 
period, the Government investigated one American for child 
pornography (investigation is ongoing), but did not prosecute 
or deport/extradite any foreign pedophiles. 

29.O. (SBU) Colombia has ratified the following international 
instruments: 

-- The ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, 
on January 15, 2005; 

-- ILO Convention Number 29, in 1969; 

-- ILO Convention 105, in 1963; 

-- The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of 

the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and 
Child Pornography, in November 2003; and 

-- The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking 
in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the 
UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, in 
August 2004. 

-- The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination 
of all Forms of Discrimination against Women, in 2006. 

------------------------------------ 
PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
------------------------------------ 

30.A. (SBU) Since Colombia is primarily a source and transit 
country, there is no demand for provision of temporary or 
permanent residency status or relief from deportation. 
Colombia does not have specially-designated victim care or 
victim health care facilities. 

30.B. (SBU) The GOC provides limited funds to NGOs to provide 
food, shelter and clothing to victims under 18, in a few 
cities.  The GOC also maintains a close relationship with the 
IOM and NGOs like The Hope Foundation and provides them 
information on cases related to victims or potential victims 
of trafficking in persons domestically and abroad. 

30.C. (SBU) Colombia is not a destination country.  There 
have been no reported cases of referral of the transfer of 
victims who have been detained, arrested or placed in 
protective custody by law enforcement authorities to NGOs 
that provide short- or long-term care.  Overseas, Colombian 
consulates worldwide are supposed to provide legal and social 
assistance to Colombian citizens in need, including victims 
of trafficking.  The GOC has contracted legal advisors and 
social workers to help support Colombians abroad.  However, 
this type of assistance can only be provided in consular 
districts with at least 10,000 resident Colombians.  The 
assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and/or the 
Embassy begins the moment information is provided by a family 
member or friend in Colombia or the victim gets in touch with 
the Embassy.  The Embassy then coordinates with host 
government authorities to provide immediate protection. 

30.D. (SBU) Colombia is not a destination country.  There 
have been no reported cases the rights of internal 
trafficking victims being denied, though NGOs were concerned 
about a lack of protection for those internally trafficked 
persons that wished to pursue legal remedies. 

30.E. (SBU) The GOC encourages victims to assist in the 

investigation and prosecution of trafficking.  The DAS, for 
example, set up a special interview room in Bogota's El 
Dorado Airport for returning victims so that they could be 
fully debriefed and counseled on their rights, and on how to 
press charges. The right of victims to seek civil action 
against their traffickers is not impeded.  However, many 
victims, fearing for their own safety or that of their 
families, are often reluctant to come forward.  Colombia does 
not have a victim restitution program, though NGOs have 
programs to help victims reintegrate into society. 

30.F. (SBU) The government provides protection to victims and 
witnesses through the Fiscalia.  The program is activated 
when (a) a victim or witness files charges (i.e., they submit 
a "denuncia" to a competent legal authority) against an 
alleged trafficker, and/and (b) after an investigation, the 
denuncia is found to have enough merit to warrant the 
Fiscalia bringing penal charges against the alleged 
trafficker.  The program includes provision of secure housing 
and an economic stipend for the victim or witness.  As 
agreement for participation in the program, the victim or 
witness must agree not to leave the housing where they have 
been placed.  The GOC does not provide shelter to trafficking 
victims, though it does help victims find housing.  Other 
services are described in paragraph 30.H. and 30.I, below. 

30.G. (SBU) Please see paragraphs 29.I. and 30.C. 

30.H. (SBU) In both domestic and international cases, MININT 
is responsible for providing safe passage for victims to 
return to their homes, lodging if it is needed, medical and 
psychological attention, access to financial and employment 
assistance, and information and legal support for the entire 
judicial process.  The ICBF provides legal, medical and 
psychological services for child victims in Colombia, the 
majority of whom are trafficked internally.  MININT maintains 
a close relationship with The Hope Foundation and The Rebirth 
Foundation because victims often prefer to approach a private 
organization rather than a government office.  MININT has 
developed and approved plans to open a Anti-Trafficking 
Operations Center (COAT) by summer 2007, that will serve as a 
central repository of assistance information, 
anti-trafficking programming, and a call-center for 
trafficking assistance and prevention. 

30.I. (SBU) The principal organizations that work with 
victims of trafficking are the IOM, The Hope Foundation, and 
The Rebirth Foundation.  The level of cooperation received by 
the organizations from the GOC is very good.  The IOM and the 
Hope Foundation have provided short-term assistance to 
trafficking victims, including educational information, 
social support, and counseling.  The IOM also provided 

victims with job training and employment opportunities 
through programs in 13 departments, and helped victims obtain 
medical and psychological care.  The Rebirth Foundation 
continues its work to contribute to the eradication of the 
sexual exploitation of children and adolescents.  Its current 
activities include outreach work through the targeting of 
areas where children in prostitution are known to be found, 
funding a day center which offers education, health care and 
activity-based workshops in a variety of areas, and 3 
long-term shelters which help to adapt children from street 
life to the routines of living in a house with others and 
encourages social integration and friendship.  Vocational 
skills, educational training, and therapy are also provided. 
DRUCKER 

=======================CABLE ENDS============================