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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001304 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR SCA/INS 
MCC FOR D NASSIRY AND E BURKE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PTER PHUM MOPS CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA:  GOVERNMENT OUTLINES EFFORTS TO COMBAT 
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 
 
REF: A. COLOMBO 1188 
     ¶B. STATE 113842 
     ¶C. COLOMBO 1031 
     ¶D. COLOMBO 943 
     ¶E. STATE 71163 
 
¶1.  (SBU)  Summary.  DCM and Poloff recently met with GSL 
officials from the Foreign Employment Bureau, the National 
Child Protection Authority, the Ministry of Women's 
Empowerment and Child Development, and the Sri Lanka Police 
to present the Department's TIP Action Plan and follow up on 
an August 23 meeting with the Foreign Secretary on this 
issue.  Our GSL interlocutors outlined steps they have 
already taken to address TIP and additional measures that are 
underway.  Officials throughout the GSL have a clear 
understanding of the TIP problem and are eager to work with 
the U.S. to make improvements.  End Summary. 
 
FEB Closely Monitors Migrant Labor 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (U)  DCM and Poloff met with Chairman of the Foreign 
Employment Bureau (FEB) Kingsley Ranawaka on August 29. 
Ranawaka noted FEB's efforts to ensure that migrant workers 
are placed in legitimate positions.  He said the FEB must 
approve the employment contracts of all Sri Lankans traveling 
abroad on a work visa.  In an effort to make recruitment 
agents more accountable for their placements, he has recently 
changed FEB regulations to require that the agent appear 
before an FEB officer with the worker and sign the employment 
contract. He noted that disreputable foreign agents, once 
identified by Embassy officials, are placed on a "blacklist" 
so that contracts involving those agents will no longer be 
approved.  The Workers Welfare Fund, he added, pays to send 
10 to 15 abused workers per month back to Sri Lanka.  These 
workers are met at the airport by FEB officers and provided 
financial assistance.  Ranawaka said he is working to 
establish new guidelines that would ensure medical care for 
returnees and a system to monitor their rehabilitation. 
 
Raising Awareness of Child Trafficking and Prostitution 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
 
¶3.  (U)  On September 4, Poloff met with Chairman of the 
National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) Jagath Wellawatta. 
 He emphasized the NCPA's efforts to raise awareness of child 
trafficking for sex tourism along the coastal belt of Sri 
Lanka.  The NCPA is conducting awareness programs in 
Anuradhapura and Kandy this year.  In addition, NCPA plans to 
visit 23 vocational training centers set up by the Foreign 
Employment Bureau to speak to young women about the risks of 
trafficking associated with foreign employment.  The NCPA is 
working to make sure victim assistance services are available 
to children, including special hospital wards for child 
prostitution victims and seven "certified schools" which 
provide shelter and rehabilitation for children who are 
rescued from prostitution.  The NCPA has its own police unit, 
which investigates cases of child trafficking and 
prostitution. 
 
A New GSL TIP Focal Point 
-------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U)  On September 9, Poloff met again with Secretary of 
the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Development 
Indrani Sugathadasa, whom the Foreign Secretary recently 
designated as the GSL focal point on TIP issues.  Sugathadasa 
encouraged the Embassy to raise the issue of human 
trafficking with the Inspector General of Police.  She noted 
that the police have the largest role to play in ensuring 
that offenders are held accountable.  She agreed with the 
 
COLOMBO 00001304  002 OF 002 
 
 
Foreign Secretary's earlier suggestion (ref A) that a GSL TIP 
working group would improve interagency coordination, and 
undertook to follow up on the idea in October.  She also 
offered to organize a GSL-hosted roundtable event, including 
NGOs and the diplomatic community, to raise awareness on TIP. 
 She highlighted for Poloff the efforts of the Worker's 
Welfare Fund and Sri Lankan embassies abroad in providing 
assistance to migrant workers who find themselves in 
difficult situations.  Once they return, she added, migrant 
workers can make use of shelters that offer rehabilitation 
services for abused women, including psychiatric care.  She 
noted that one shelter opened in Kalutara in June and another 
will open soon near Colombo. 
 
Police Eager to Tackle TIP 
--------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (U)  On September 17, DCM, ARSO, and Poloff met Inspector 
General of Police Victor Perera and senior police officials 
who have direct oversight of anti-trafficking functions.  The 
police noted that training on TIP has been expanded 
significantly, including increased in-service training, 
district level anti-trafficking training through the Women's 
and Children's Bureau, and a NCPA training program.  An 
anti-trafficking program has also been incorporated into the 
basic training program for police officers.  The officials 
said a pending bill on witness protection and victim 
assistance, once passed, will make it much easier for them to 
investigate trafficking cases and improve Sri Lanka's 
conviction rate.  They expect the new legislation to embolden 
more victims to testify against their abusers.  The police 
highlighted a number of recently launched investigations of 
recruitment agents and sub-agents involved in trafficking 
cases. 
 
¶6.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  Officials throughout the GSL seem to 
have a clear understanding of the TIP problem in Sri Lanka, 
and of what needs to be done to address it.  They have taken 
steps over the past few years to make legal and procedural 
changes that will improve the country's TIP record.  The 
officials we met seemed eager to work with the U.S. to make 
further improvements.  The police, in particular, impressed 
us as being highly motivated to fight trafficking.  Our 
assistance will help address resource and capacity 
constraints within the GSL to ensure continued progress. 
Emboffs have discussed with GSL officials the development of 
benchmarks with which to measure progress in fighting 
trafficking (ref A).  We will forward these proposed 
benchmarks in the near future to G/TIP for review. 
BLAKE