VZCZCXRO6316
PP RUEHAST
DE RUEHTA #1061/01 1151024
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 251024Z APR 07
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9199
INFO RUEHAST/USOFFICE ALMATY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ASTANA 001061 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP (HALL), INL/AAE (ALTON), SCA/CEN (OMARA) 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SNAR PINT KCRM KZ
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN RESOLVES TO IMPROVE TIP RESPONSE 
 
REF: 06 ASTANA 368 
 
¶1.  Summary:  On April 3-4, Kazakhstani judges, police officers, and 
prosecutors brought together under an INL program to review Spring 
2006 Anti-TIP legislation for a second time resolved to propose 
further improvements in anti-trafficking laws, including legislation 
to cover human exploitation; allow for provision of government 
financial assistance to victims; and increase the criminal penalty 
for trafficking, operating a trafficking business, or facilitating 
trafficking.  The group recommended non-legislative approaches as 
well, including expanded public outreach to warn of the dangers of 
TIP; expanded anti-TIP cooperation between NGOs and domestic law 
enforcement, within Kazakhstan's police forces, and between police 
forces of source, transit, and destination countries; and continued 
dialogue between legislators, police, NGOs, and civil society.  If 
the thoughts of the mid-level law enforcement, government officials, 
and NGO participants are any indication, the government of 
Kazakhstan continues to place great emphasis on combating TIP.  The 
GOK devotes human and financial resources to create the 
institutional structures and social attitudes necessary to solve 
this problem.  Most importantly, the agencies and departments in the 
government are constantly seeking to improve efforts through 
reaching out to tap the expertise of other nations and organizations 
and nurturing Kazakhstani institutions as well. End summary. 
 
¶2.  In early April, INL and IOM implemented a two-day Anti-TIP 
Legislation Review Conference at the Karaganda MVD Legal Institute 
devoted to the improvement and implementation of anti-trafficking 
legislation in Kazakhstan.  This was the second review (Reftel) that 
aimed to gauge implementation of spring 2006 amendments to 
legislation criminalizing TIP.  Conference participants discussed 
initial outcomes of recent amendments to the anti-trafficking in 
person legislation in Kazakhstan.  Building on the basis that 
trafficking in persons is a crime against human rights stipulated by 
the Constitution of Kazakhstan which threatens the safety of the 
state and its citizens, participants concluded that the GOK has made 
significant efforts over the last year in combating trafficking in 
persons, including new legislation, establishing the anti-TIP 
center, and the creation and implementation of the national plan to 
combat trafficking.  They further assessed that the GOK wants to 
continue to improve measures and methods of combating trafficking 
and other related crimes, and is ready to protect victims of 
trafficking.  The participants reached the following five 
conclusions: 
 
2.1.  The GOK should continue to improve legislation to prosecute 
traffickers and protect victims of trafficking based on analysis of 
actual law enforcement, prosecution, and judicial experience in 
cases of trafficking in persons.  Based on participants' analysis 
and experience, the GOK should develop new or expand existing 
legislation to include: 
 
a) combating other human exploitation such as parents or organized 
crime gangs forcing children to beg; 
b) provision of government assistance (including financial) and 
support to victims of trafficking; 
c) increase the penalty for human trafficking and for promoting 
criminal businesses; 
d) contain the development of illegal businesses that support 
trafficking in persons, such as provision of commercial sex services 
or abetting illegal migration; 
e) strengthen control over legal businesses that may support 
trafficking in persons, such as those providing mediation services 
(including those located abroad), entertainment services, tourist 
services, donor assistance services, marriage services, etc. 
 
2.2.  Prevent trafficking in persons by improving: 
a) detection of TIP crimes, analysis of TIP related information, 
understanding of other needs of targeted groups, methods of public 
outreach to inform these groups about the risks of human 
trafficking, recommendations about how to avoid victimization; 
b) prevention of crimes related to trafficking in persons; 
c) prevention of victimization of potentially targeted groups, 
re-victimization and stigmatization of victims, and intolerance to 
the crimes related to trafficking in persons by informing 
Kazakhstani citizens and visitors about trafficking in persons. 
 
2.3.  Develop cooperation between government agencies in criminal 
prosecution against traffickers in all jurisdictions, including the 
countries of origin, transit and destination; 
 
2.4.  Improve forms and methods of cooperation of government 
agencies, including law enforcement agencies and international and 
non-governmental organizations providing assistance to victims of 
trafficking and facilitating their repatriation and rehabilitation; 
 
2.5.  Continue the dialogue on issues related to improvement of 
legislation and law enforcement practices on detecting and 
investigating cases of trafficking in persons and other related 
crimes. 
 
 
ASTANA 00001061  002 OF 002 
 
 
¶3.  The conference was hosted by the Karaganda MVD Legal Institute, 
the same location where INL collaborated with the GOK to create an 
Anti-TIP Center to train mid-level officers to recognize and combat 
TIP.  The participants included judges, police officers and other 
members of the security services, procurators, academicians, and 
NGOs.  An additional goal of the conference was to encourage 
criminal law and law enforcement specialists to develop educational 
materials and training programs to be included in the curricula of 
law enforcement academies, law institutes and colleges. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶4.  Conversations on the margins of the legislative review session 
revealed that while understanding is still lacking on how to 
investigate and prosecute a TIP case so the trafficker is 
successfully convicted, the desire to improve is great. 
Furthermore, as officers and prosecutors get more experience about 
what constitutes a proper, legal case against a trafficker, 
conviction rates should rise.  For the time being, trafficking cases 
in Kazakhstan are often prosecuted under other clauses of the 
Criminal Code because of the greater likelihood of getting a 
conviction.  The conviction still puts the criminal behind bars but 
artificially reduces the TIP conviction rate. Post believes that 
with continued training and more collaboration among law enforcement 
agencies, a growing percentage of cases will be prosecuted under TIP 
legislation and will result in convictions. 
 
ORDWAY