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UNCLAS COLOMBO 000367 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, SCA/RA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM ELAB ASEC PREF KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: THE SEVENTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 
(TIP) REPORT 
 
REF:  STATE 202745 
 
(U) This message is sensitive but unclassified -- please 
handle accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (U) Mission's submission for the seventh annual Anti-Trafficking 
in Persons (TIP) Report for Sri Lanka follows.  Responses are keyed 
to questions in Reftel.  Mission point of contact is poloff Anamika 
Chakravorty, telephone +94-11-249-8822, fax +94-11-249-8820. 
 
Paragraph 27: Sri Lanka Overview 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) A -- Sri Lanka is a country of transit, a source country, 
and a destination country for a small number of internationally 
trafficked men, women and children. Women and children of Sri Lanka 
are trafficked internally for domestic labor and sexual 
exploitation. The trafficking takes place in government controlled 
areas as well as in areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization 
under U.S. law.  The LTTE conscripted children, both through 
recruitment and abductions, for purposes of forced labor and 
military activities. According to a 2006 UN report, the government 
has not taken adequate efforts to control the anti-LTTE Karuna 
faction's recruitment of children into its paramilitary. 
 
A cont'd -- Reports also indicate that women from Thailand, China, 
Russia and countries of the Newly Independent States are trafficked 
into Sri Lanka for commercial sexual exploitation.  A fair number of 
Sri Lankan women are trafficked to the Middle East countries and a 
smaller number to Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea for hard 
domestic labor and sexual exploitation.  Children are trafficked 
internally. There are no reliable statistics available on the 
magnitude of this issue. The sources of information on trafficking 
in persons can be obtained from the National Child Protection 
Authority (NCPA), the Child Protection Unit of the Attorney 
General's Department, Sri Lankan Police, local and international 
NGOs, and the press. The NCPA provides fairly reliable statistics on 
cases involving children. 
 
B -- According to government and NGO sources, trends in trafficking 
did not change from the last reporting period.  Despite a law passed 
in April 2006 to criminalize trafficking in persons, there were no 
reliable statistics on the crime of trafficking as disaggregated 
from human smuggling, illegal immigration, prostitution, 
procurement, or kidnapping.  However, there remains political will 
throughout the government, including at high levels, to combat 
trafficking in persons. The government provided human resources to 
the Anti-Human Smuggling Investigation Bureau that was established 
in 2003. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs continued to assign Welfare 
Officers to Sri Lanka Missions abroad to aid and assist women who 
are victims of trafficking. 
 
B cont'd -- Victims subjected to trafficking came from poor, rural 
communities, with minimal educational opportunities.  Internally 
Displaced Persons and war widows remained especially vulnerable. 
Some women who came to cities seeking garment industry work were 
trafficked into commercial sex work, and some women seeking 
employment as domestics overseas were taken under false promises and 
forced into slave labor conditions or commercial sex work.  Although 
the Bureau of Foreign Employment has a mandate to vet recruitment 
agents, sub-agents are not vetted.  Reports indicated some 
sub-agents acted unscrupulously, recruiting women from villages 
under false pretenses.  The women, often illiterate, were unaware of 
the parameters of the contracts they signed, and many times their 
travel documents were confiscated when they arrived at their place 
of employment.  However, of the estimated 1 million Sri Lankan women 
who obtain foreign employment, statistics indicate only 5 to 10 
percent encounter problems, including issues unrelated to 
trafficking per se. 
 
C -- The government lacked resources to provide proper training to 
law enforcement officials or adequate compensation or support for 
trafficking victims.  Law enforcement officials addressed the end 
results of trafficking such as commercial sex work or child labor. 
However, trafficking itself was rarely investigated, perhaps due to 
police unawareness of the degree of the problem, exacerbated by 
limited resources. 
 
D -- The Child Protection Unit of AG's Dept and the NCPA, supported 
by the Woman and Child Care unit of the Sri Lanka Police, conduct 
surveys on trafficking issues but currently no reliable surveys on 
trafficking in Sri Lanka are available.  Also, the government does 
not have separate statistics on human smuggling, abductions, and 
trafficking, making it difficult for NGOs to gain access to accurate 
data. 
 
Paragraph 28:  Prevention 
------------------------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) A -- The government in Sri Lanka acknowledges that 
trafficking is a problem in the country.  However, NGO 
representatives noted that the government does not usually use 
existing anti-trafficking legislation to prosecute cases.  Rather, 
perpetrators are brought up on charges of abduction or procurement. 
While the government maintains its commitment to address trafficking 
in persons issues, the GSL devotes much more of its resources to two 
related issues-- human smuggling and domestic violence-- which it 
considers more severe. 
 
B -- The government agencies involved in anti-trafficking efforts 
are: the Department of Immigration and Emigration, the Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of Employment and Labor, the Attorney 
General's Office, the Ministry of Justice, Sri Lankan Police, Sri 
Lankan Customs, National Child Protection Authority. 
 
C -- In 2006, the Foreign Employment Bureau instituted a program 
requiring private foreign employment agencies to submit deposits of 
bonds to register the companies.  The deposits may be used to assist 
any migrant worker stranded overseas due to trafficking or other 
migration emergency circumstances. The agency will lose its deposit 
if it is proven responsible for a trafficking incident. Also in the 
last year, the Foreign Employment Bureau signed Memoranda of 
Understanding with Jordan, Malaysia, and South Korea, to limit 
incidences of Sri Lankans being trafficked to these countries and to 
cooperate on the issue. The Government of Sri Lanka is preparing to 
sign an MoU with Dubai in 2007. 
 
C cont'd -- In October 2006, the Tourist Board of Sri Lanka 
partnered with UNICEF to launch a National Action Plan Project to 
eradicate child sex tourism in Sri Lanka. The Ministry of Tourism, 
UNICEF, Hoteliers' Association, Airlines, the Police, Department of 
Immigration and Emigration, and authorities of sea and air ports 
participated in drawing up this National Action Plan.  In addition, 
the Child Protection Unit of the Attorney Genera's Department 
conducted awareness programs amonglaw enforcement authorities, 
schools and other cvil society organizations. They extended their 
services to UNICEF and provided resources to train senior police 
officers to handle investigations with greater effectiveness. The 
NCPA, as part of its overall efforts to address child welfare, 
includes child trafficking as part of its educational campaigns. 
 
D -- While the government of Sri Lanka does not actively support 
corollary programs to combat trafficking, it does, with the limited 
resources available, support prevention programs, usually in 
partnership with NGOs.  The International Organization for Migration 
(IOM) conducts information campaigns and workshops, and employs a 
 
threefold strategy to combat trafficking in persons: prevention, 
protection and assistance to victims and capacity building.  The 
American Solidarity Center and International Labor Organization 
operate in Sri Lanka and make information on trafficking readily 
available, and several local NGOs provide assistance to victims as 
 
part of their larger outreach efforts to women who have suffered 
domestic or physical abuse. 
 
E -- The officials of international NGOs, indigenous community-based 
organizations working to combat trafficking, and officials of 
government agencies involved in anti-trafficking efforts maintain a 
positive working relationship. 
 
F -- IOM is working with the Department of Immigration and 
Emigration to institute a computerized database that will permit to 
government to monitor migration trends and identify potential 
victims of trafficking.  The government has welcomed IOM's 
assistance and is making efforts to institutionalize the new system. 
 Also, when the Department of Immigration and Emigration next prints 
Disembarkation Cards, a new clause will be included stating "Sri 
Lanka has a Zero Tolerance policy towards child abuse." 
The Sri Lankan government makes every effort to adequately monitor 
its borders, but remains unable to monitor activities in areas 
controlled by the LTTE in the north and east. 
 
G -- There is no coordinating mechanism or group to specifically 
address trafficking in persons.  While there is an "anti-trafficking 
working group," NGO representatives asserted that the body primarily 
addresses human smuggling and illegal immigration rather than 
trafficking. The government has a Commission to Investigate 
Allegations of Bribery or Corruption. 
 
H -- The government of Sri Lanka does not have a national 
plan of action to address trafficking in persons. 
 
 
Paragraph 29:  Investigations and Prosecution 
  Of Traffickers 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶4. (SBU)  A -- Section 360C of the Penal Code, amended by Act No. 22 
of 1995, criminalizes trafficking in persons, defined as the buying 
or selling or bartering of a person for money or other 
consideration, and also engaging in certain acts for the purpose of 
promoting, facilitating or inducing the buying or selling or 
bartering or the placement in adoption of any person for money or 
any other consideration.  Under Section 360A of the Penal Code, 
internal and transnational forms of prostitution are also 
criminalized.  Additionally, Section 45A(1) of the Immigrants and 
Emigrants Act addresses human smuggling offenses.  The IOM provided 
the Attorney General's office with legal consultation, and in 
January 2006, the office introduced legislation to further bolster 
Sri Lanka's penal code in accordance with UN guidelines on 
trafficking.  In April 2006, the government enacted a law 
specifically criminalizing all forms of trafficking in persons.  The 
April 2006 law fully addresses trafficking, including for the 
purpose of removing organs. 
 
B -- Trafficking for sexual exploitation is punishable by 
imprisonment between 2 and 20 years, with fines ranging from 
approximately USD 100 to 500. The amendment to the penal code 
covering trafficking, written in collaboration with IOM and enacted 
in April, calls for labor exploitation to be punishable by 2 to 10 
years' imprisonment. 
 
C -- A law implemented in 2006 establishes the punishment for debt 
bondage, serfdom, forced or compulsory labor, or slavery as 
imprisonment for a term not exceeding twenty years and a monetary 
fine. When children are the victims of such crimes or are recruited 
for involvement in armed conflict, the punishment is imprisonment 
for a term not exceeding thirty years and a monetary fine.  A 2006 
amendment to the penal code also states that a creditor cannot 
require manual labor in exchange for debt repayment. 
 
D -- For sexual assault, imprisonment ranges between 7 and 20 years, 
plus potential monetary compensation to the victim. These penalties 
 
are similar to those for trafficking. 
 
E -- In Sri Lanka, prostitution is not legalized and the activities 
of prostitutes are criminalized. The activities of related parties, 
such as brothel owners, pimps, clients, and enforcers, are also 
criminalized. 
 
F -- The government investigated and arrested people for 
trafficking-related cases during the past year, including issues of 
migrant smuggling, pedophilia and prostitution.  The Women and 
Children's Bureau of the Police reported that it is prosecuting the 
owners of two bars in which trafficking victims were engaged in 
commercial sex work under the April 2006 anti-trafficking 
regulations.  The police said these prosecutions would serve as 
"test cases" to highlight the new law and learn the degree of its 
efficacy.  The cases remain pending. 
 
G -- Anecdotal accounts from police and NGOs revealed that 
individuals and small groups were behind trafficking efforts, but no 
reliable information on the issue exists. In cases of illegal 
migration, evidence suggests that some travel agencies may be 
involved with traffickers. There are no reports of profits of 
trafficking being channeled for other purposes other than personal 
gain. 
 
H -- Notwithstanding its limited resources, the government actively 
investigates cases of trafficking and, by implementing a 
computerized immigration system that enables agencies to input names 
of suspected traffickers, the government takes initiative to track 
down suspected trafficking agents. The CyberWatch Project that 
monitors internet sites and chat rooms, instituted by the NCPA, has 
helped to arrest individuals on suspicion of trafficking. 
 
I -- The government does not provide any centralized training in 
trafficking issues.  Individually, police bureaus, such as the 
Anti-Human Smuggling Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department 
and the Women's and the Children's Bureau, along with the NCPA, 
conduct specialized training for their staff. 
 
J -- The government of Sri Lanka cooperates with other governments 
in the investigation and/or prosecution of trafficking cases. On 
many occasions, the government has worked very closely with the 
Italian and Pakistani governments to combat human smuggling 
operations. In 2005, in cooperation with the American and the 
Australian governments, the NCPA prosecuted a U.S. national and an 
Australian national alleged to be pedophiles. 
 
K -- The government has not extradited anyone charged with 
trafficking to other countries, as the situation has not occurred. 
The government would likely extradite any foreigner charged with 
such offenses, if requested by other governments. The government has 
extradition agreements with Commonwealth countries. 
 
L -- There is no credible evidence of government involvement in, or 
tolerance of, trafficking in persons. Unsubstantiated reports allude 
to immigration officers in involvement of such cases. 
 
M -- There has been insufficient evidence to arrest or otherwise 
prosecute government officials suspected of being involved in 
trafficking in persons. 
 
N -- In 2004, the government arrested two foreign nationals, an 
American and an Australian, on charges of pedophilia.  In 2005, a 
British citizen was charged with pedophilia.  The American was 
deported to the U.S., and the other two remain in prison in Sri 
Lanka awaiting trial. 
 
O -- The GSL ratified the SAARC Convention on Preventing and 
Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution in 
December 2004 
    -- The GSL ratified ILO Convention 105 in January 2003. 
 
    -- The GSL ratified ILO Convention 182 in February 
 ¶2000. 
    -- The GSL ratified ILO Convention 29 in 1950. 
    -- The GSL has signed the Optional Protocol to the 
Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child 
prostitution and child pornography. 
    -- The GSL has signed the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress 
and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially women and children, 
supplementing the UN Convention against Transnational Organized 
Crime. 
 
Paragraph 30:  Protection and Assistance to Victims 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶5.  (SBU) A -- The government does not have enough resources, 
capacity and ability to assist victims of trafficking. There are 
rehabilitation camps and community centers which offer some medical 
and counseling services for victims of internal trafficking.  In 
addition, some NGOs run shelters and rehabilitation facilities. 
 
B -- The government does not provide funding or material support to 
foreign or domestic NGOs for services to victims. To child victims 
registered with the NGOs, the government provides a three USD/per 
month food supplement.  Children who are victims are transferred to 
institutions such as the Salvation Army under the escort of the 
Ministry of Social Services' Department of Probation and Child Care 
Services. 
 
C -- The government's law enforcement and social services personnel 
do not have a formal system in place to identify potential 
trafficking victims.  NGOs occasionally receive reports of victims 
and offer assistance, and the government is cooperative in these 
cases. 
 
D -- Women arrested on suspicion of being trafficked into Sri Lanka 
for the purpose of prostitution are sometimes released upon paying a 
fine.  There are no reports of harassment of victims. 
 
E -- The government encourages victims to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking by providing 
information to arrest the traffickers. Sri Lankan victims can file 
Fundamental Rights cases and seek financial restitution. There are 
no restrictions on obtaining other employment or leaving the country 
if a victim is a witness in a case against a former employer.  There 
is no victim restitution program. 
 
F -- In connection with some Sri Lankan diplomatic missions, 
especially in Middle Eastern countries, the Sri Lankan government 
operates shelters for Sri Lankans who are victims of sexual or labor 
exploitation.  The Bureau of Foreign Employment appoints labor 
attaches to Sri Lankan diplomatic missions abroad to address the 
concerns of migrant Sri Lankan workers, but limited resources 
sometimes lead to heavy caseloads and minimal assistance being 
provided.  In early 2007 the Executive Secretary of the Ministry of 
Women's Empowerment and Child Protection traveled to several Middle 
Eastern Countries to visit Sri Lankan women in prisons and shelters 
there. 
 
G -- The government does not provide any specialized training as 
such for its officials in trafficking issues.  Individually, police 
bureaus, such as the Anti-Human Smuggling Unit of the Criminal 
Investigation Department and the Women's and the Children's Bureau, 
along with the NCPA, conduct specialized training for their staff. 
 
H -- For Sri Lankans who are victims of trafficking, either through 
sexual or labor exploitation, the government will provide some 
compensation to the victims who registered with the Sri Lankan 
Foreign Employment Bureau prior to departing. 
 
I -- Save the Children Foundation, ESCAPE, Don Bosco, Salvation 
Army, ILO, IOM, American Solidarity Center, Women in Media 
 
Collective, Women in Need, PEACE, Caritas, and a number of 
community- based organizations work with trafficking victims. The 
government works closely with these organizations to develop a 
relationship with local authorities, but it is the NGO that makes 
the initial effort.