VZCZCXRO2746
PP RUEHAST
DE RUEHTA #1147/01 1220057
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 020057Z MAY 07
FM AMEMBASSY ASTANA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9300
INFO RUEHAST/USOFFICE ALMATY
RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 2044
RUEHUNV/USMISSION UNVIE VIENNA 0050
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA 0951
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 1728

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ASTANA 001147 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR SCA/RA (LEE), INL/AAE (ALTON), SCA/CEN (OMARA), G/TIP 
(LEMAR-MEREDITH) 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: SMIG ELAB KCRM PHUM PREL
SUBJECT: KAZAKHSTAN: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS DONOR COORDINATION 
MEETING 
 
¶1.  Summary: On April 24, the International Narcotics and Law 
Enforcement office (INL) hosted the inaugural Trafficking in Persons 
(TIP) Donor Coordination Meeting in Astana.  Participating 
organizations are listed in para. 12.  INL Astana, as TIP 
Coordinating Office in the Emfaswy, invkted internathno`l a ca 
representatives an$ OK`/&f)c)QLS toshARe0i~Vruylaof i~lQQQkkg~lmnkre.vtmlgerr/&$Tjc rcvhqucss and religious leaders; repatriation of victims of 
trafficking; and managing campaigns to reach out to the public and 
provide information on TIP.  The INL Manager for TIP programs 
described projects with law enforcement, procurators, judges, and 
other security services to improve detection, investigation, 
prosecution, and conviction of traffickers through training and 
enhancing institutional capacity, including the establishment of an 
Anti-TIP Center within the Ministry of Internal Affairs Legal 
Institute. 
 
¶3.  IOM is the main partner and a primary implementer of anti-TIP 
activities in Kazakhstan for the Embassy INL Office and USAID. 
Katerina Badikova, Acting IOM Chief of Mission, briefed participants 
not only on IOM's TIP programs but also on the wide range of other 
activities related to assisting displaced persons, refugees, 
irregular, and regular migrants.  (Note: Of no small importance is 
IOM's role in collecting and analyzing non-official TIP statistics, 
in part through the information obtained through the NGO network 
funded by USAID.  Post uses this information extensively when 
preparing input for the annual TIP Report for Kazakhstan. End 
note.) 
 
¶4.  Eurasia Foundation Central Asia (EFFCA) representative Jeff 
Erlich briefed the group on his organization's Labor Migration 
Program.  He pointed out that EFCA supports NGOs which in turn offer 
assistance to labor migrants, and EFCA also provides labor migration 
training directly to civil society and government officials.  Erlich 
pointed out the connection between illegal labor migration and 
trafficking and advocated for closer ties with attending 
organizations to achieve complementary goals. 
 
¶5.  According to Tatiana Aderkhina, Program Officer for Child 
Protection, UNICEF concentrates its anti-TIP efforts on development 
of specific methods to assess child trafficking including 
unaccompanied minors, street children, children involved in begging, 
informal markets, prostitution etc.  For this purpose Aderhkina 
reported that UNICEF plans to conduct an assessment study to cover 
both internal and external trafficking and look at both children who 
have been trafficked and those at high risk.  The results of this 
survey will be available in July and, depending on the extent of the 
problem, UNICEF may raise the issue with the GOK to seek possible 
solutions. 
 
¶6.  OSCE Centre Human Dimension Officer Eugenia Benigni explained 
that the OSCE supports initiatives on combating trafficking that 
include organizing conferences aimed at raising TIP awareness among 
the general public, NGOs, and local authorities; and training for 
law enforcement officers through practical exercises.  She said that 
future activities will include cooperative programs with NGOs and 
the introduction of a national referral mechanism for TIP victims to 
provide them with a pathway to assistance. 
 
--------------------- 
INDIRECT TIP INTEREST 
--------------------- 
 
 
ASTANA 00001147  002 OF 003 
 
 
¶7.  First Secretary and Chief of the Astana Office of the Turkish 
Embassy, Mehmet Ucar, informed the group that his mission does not 
have an anti-TIP program and considers it better to address 
trafficking in the source countries, not a destination country like 
Turkey.  He described the difficulties of intercepting trafficked 
individuals given the ease with which Central Asian countries can 
obtain a visa to Turkey.  However, Ucar claimed that the Turkish 
government's efforts to combat overall crime would impact 
trafficking as well.  He said that Turkey is increasing cooperation 
against organized crime and terrorism, trafficking and smuggling, 
begging and forced stealing, purse and bag snatching.  Cooperation 
may be possible with the UNICEF program which focuses on children. 
Ucar said that to implement its programs, the Turkish government is 
promoting law enforcement training for officers from Turkey and 
countries in the Central Asia region at the Turkish International 
Academy against Drugs and Organized Crime (TADOC). 
 
¶8.  UNODC Regional Project Coordinator, Nina Keremi focused on the 
trafficking - HIV/AIDS nexus.  She highlighted the high risk of AIDS 
for trafficked women and requested information on HIV/AIDS testing 
at TIP shelters established by IOM in Kazakhstan.  Baidikova 
responded that all victims using the shelters are given medical 
assistance including HIV/AIDS testing if desired.  Not all do, but 
out of 200 people tested in 2006 one victim tested positive for HIV 
and every fourth victim tested positive for STD. 
 
¶9.  Erlich of EFCA concurred with the idea that women trafficked for 
prostitution or enslaved were at higher risk of HIV/AIDS and noted 
the same problem occurs with illegal immigrants who cannot seek 
medical care or have no recourse to police protection when sexually 
or otherwise abused.  He suggested that adding an HIV component to a 
migration project would be a worthwhile match of two compatible 
projects. 
 
¶10.  Amir Yelchibekov, UNDP Country Manager, reported that his 
organization did not have a anti-TIP program but he suggested it 
would be a good idea to conduct a joint training on trafficking for 
Border Guards at the Merke railway station on the 
Kazakhstan-Kyrgyzstan border as they are the first people who face 
migrants entering the country.  INL Officer pointed out that recent 
experience combining anti-TIP training for Border Guards with MVD 
Officers and others was less than successful for the Border Guards. 
Continuing, he said training Border Guards to recognize trafficked 
individuals through suspicious documents or other characteristics 
was a useful suggestion and that INL had conducted fraudulent 
documents training for Border Guards several times over the past 
year but more could always be useful. 
 
 
------------------------------------ 
MEETING OUTCOMES - LET'S DO IT AGAIN 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶12.  The participants decided that for further coordination of 
anti-TIP activities, donors will meet on a quarterly basis.  INL TIP 
Program Manager volunteered to develop and distribute a Joint 
Activity Calendar to include information about particular TIP events 
organized by each donor.  The calendar will be updated and 
distributed to the participants on a monthly basis.  The Quarterly 
meetings and monthly updated calendar will help donors to schedule 
their activities in a more efficient manner, avoid duplication of 
efforts to combat trafficking in persons. 
 
 
--------------------------- 
PARTICIPATING ORGANIZATIONS 
--------------------------- 
 
¶13.  Regional INL Officer, U.S. Agency for International Development 
(USAID), International Organization for Migration (IOM), United 
Nations Development Program (UNDP), United Nations Office for Drug 
and Crime (UNODC), United Nations Children's Emergency Funds 
(UNICEF), Organization for Security Cooperation in Europe(OSCE), 
Eurasia Foundation of Central Asia(EFCA), Turkish Embassy.  Special 
guests of the meeting were the representatives of the General 
Procurator's Office and the Ministry of Interior. 
 
------- 
COMMENT 
------- 
 
¶14.  The broad participation and active interest of the attendees 
are a good basis for to continued dialogue on trafficking.  The 
attendance of GOK representatives was a strong indication of GOK 
interest in combating TIP. 
 
ASTANA 00001147  003 OF 003 
 
 
 
ORDWAY