VZCZCXRO0013
PP RUEHCHI RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJA #0778 0790829
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 200829Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3908
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0551
RUEHPB/AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY 3323
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 1403
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHDC

UNCLAS JAKARTA 000778 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR G/TIP,G,INL,DRL,PRM,EAP/RSP 
ALSO FOR USAID ANE/SPOTS, AME/SEA, IGAT/WID,DCHA/DG 
DEPT OF JUSTICE FOR ICITAP AND OPDAT 
DEPT PASS TO DEPT OF LABOR FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL ID
SUBJECT: INDONESIA PASSES ANTI-TRAFFICKING BILL 
 
REF: A. JAKARTA 590 
     ¶B. 06 JAKARTA 13324 
 
¶1. (U) On March 20, the Indonesian House of Representatives 
(DPR) passed a comprehensive anti-trafficking bill during a 
morning plenary session.  The bill enjoyed the full support 
of all ten political factions in the DPR and was ratified 
without a vote.  Muhaimin Iskandar, the Deputy Chairman of 
the DPR and Chairman of the National Awakening Party (PKB), 
presided over the plenary session.  The Minister for Justice 
and Human Rights Minister, Hamid Awaluddin, as well as the 
Minister for Women's Empowerment, Meutia Hatta, also attended 
the plenary.  Both their ministries figured prominently in 
the drafting of the law and advocated forcefully for its 
speedy passage.  The bill will become law either as soon as 
the President signs it, or in 30 calendar days, whichever 
comes first.  The bill's passage represents the culmination 
of over two years worth of intense anti-trafficking 
collaboration between Post, its NGO partners, and the GOI. 
 
NEVER OVER UNTIL IT'S OVER IN THE DPR 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) As reported in Ref A, the special parliamentary 
committee drafting the anti-trafficking legislation completed 
its work in the middle of February and cleared what appeared 
to be the last major obstacle to its passage.  However, 
despite assurances from the Ministry of Women's Empowerment 
and key parliamentarians involved with the legislation that 
the bill would reach a plenary session on March 20, the 
Chairman of the parliamentary body charged with scheduling 
legislation for plenary sessions - FX Soekarno - told us as 
recently as March 2 that it would not reach plenary on March 
20; he offered only that "it should happen this year."  In 
the wake of this highly discouraging assessment, we 
intensified our already extensive bill advocacy efforts.  The 
Charge d'Affaires and other Mission personnel met with or 
talked to the President's office, every ministry involved 
with the legislation, the Chairman of the DPR's office, and 
other key decision makers.  By March 9, FX Soekarno had 
reversed course and called us to say the bill would be 
considered before a plenary by March 20. 
 
A SOLID, WELL RESPECTED LAW 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) Indonesian and international anti-trafficking NGOs 
were actively involved in the drafting of the bill and have 
expressed satisfaction with its scope and authority.  The 
drafters worked assiduously to craft the bill so that law 
enforcement officials could easily understand and enforce the 
regulations.  The special parliamentary committee that 
drafted the legislation garnered praise from across the civil 
society spectrum for the lengths to which it sought out and 
accepted input from anti-trafficking experts.  The bill gives 
law enforcement personnel the tools and the mandate to combat 
all forms of trafficking, including debt bondage and sexual 
exploitation. 
 
¶4. (U) By the standards of Indonesian law making, the TIP 
bill moved from start to finish at a respectable clip.  The 
fact that the administration and dedicated parliamentarians 
worked as vigorously as they did to push the trafficking bill 
through a notoriously languorous DPR reflects the strong 
level of political support that exists for the 
anti-trafficking fight. 
 
HEFFERN