VZCZCXRO2988
OO RUEHAST RUEHBI RUEHCI RUEHDBU RUEHLH RUEHPW
DE RUEHNE #4450/01 2740826
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 010826Z OCT 07
FM AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 8598
INFO RUCNCLS/ALL SOUTH AND CENTRAL ASIA COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NEW DELHI 004450 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G: ACBLANK, G/TIP: MTAYLOR, SCA/INS, DRL 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM KWMN PREL PHUM OTRA SOCI IN
SUBJECT: MWCD SECRETARY TO G/TIP - NEW INITIATIVES WILL 
HAVE IMPACT ON TIP IN INDIA 
 
 
THIS IS THE CORRECTED COPY OF NEW DELHI 4442. 
 
¶1. Summary:  On September 17, Ambassador Mark Lagon, 
Coordinator of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking 
in Persons (G/TIP), met with Deepa Jain Singh, Secretary of 
the Ministry for Women and Child Development (MWCD). 
Ambassador Lagon presented Singh with the latest version of 
the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.  In doing so, he 
highlighted the key issues in human trafficking for India: 
bonded labor, corruption and government officials, and 
national law enforcement coordination.  Singh noted that none 
of those areas fall within the scope of her office's 
responsibilities, but she nonetheless was sympathetic to the 
challenges faced there.  She asserted that her office was 
doing all that it could to address the issue of human 
trafficking, especially on the issue of rescue and 
rehabilitation, and mentioned several key GOI initiatives. 
End Summary. 
 
Ministry of Women and Child Development Initiatives 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶2. In a meeting with Ambassador Mark Lagon on September 17, 
MWCD Secretary Deepa Jain Singh acknowledged the three 
priority areas mentioned by Ambassador Lagon (bonded labor, 
official corruption, law enforcement), but noted in an aside 
that none of those issues fell within the purview of MWCD. 
Instead, she focused on several MWCD programs aimed at 
addressing the protection side of the human trafficking 
problem in India.  First, she referred to the achievements of 
the Swadhar program, which provides funding for rescue and 
rehabilitation services for victims of trafficking throughout 
the country but relies on NGOs for implementation.  Singh 
acknowledged the limitations of the program and certain 
difficulties in implementation, but indicated that an 
evaluation of the program was in process.  Second, she 
discussed her office's work with its counterparts in the 
Government of Bangladesh to repatriate Bangladeshi victims of 
trafficking brought into India.  If successful, MWCD hopes to 
use the same model in its relations with other neighboring 
countries, such as Nepal. 
 
¶3. In highlighting MWCD,s efforts to push adoption of 
amendments to the Immoral Traffic Prevention Act (ITPA), 
Singh expressed disappointment that the amendments weren,t 
considered under Parliament,s &monsoon session,8 but was 
optimistic that they would be submitted in the winter session 
and ultimately passed into law.  Those amendments incorporate 
more fulsome provisions addressing the demand side of 
trafficking for prostitution, including stiffer criminal 
penalties for clients.  Law enforcement will be a key 
component in the fight to arrest both traffickers and 
clients, and Singh said that MWCD had encouraged Home Affairs 
to expand the current &nodal cell8 to coordinate the 
national law enforcement effort against TIP into a larger and 
more effective office. 
 
Protecting Migrant Workers 
-------------------------- 
 
¶4. Singh also responded to Ambassador Lagon's question about 
the plight of domestic female workers in the Gulf states. 
She commented on the work of the Ministry of Overseas Indian 
Affairs (MOIA)and its efforts to assist migrant Indian 
workers.  MOIA has established programs to educate migrant 
workers about the risks of human trafficking before they ever 
leave India, and Singh noted that the GOI is engaged in a 
dialogue with many Gulf States regarding the treatment of 
migrant workers. 
 
Eliminating Impunity Through Awareness 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶5. Ambassador Lagon highlighted the importance of law 
enforcement in the struggle to eliminate impunity from 
prosecution and hold traffickers accountable.  Singh 
countered that in a country like India, governance and issues 
of accountability would always remain a concern if political 
will was lacking.  She maintained that the Indian government 
was not resisting the adoption of stronger law enforcement 
measures, and stated, "Before you can have resistance, you 
first have to have some knowledge."  Her office has thus 
taken steps to sensitize political leaders, both at the 
national and local levels, in an effort to raise awareness 
about human trafficking.  Singh also rearked that useful 
policy initiatives must involve the local population, 
including women Panchayati (village) leaders. 
 
¶6. Comment: Singh's comments suggest that while the central 
government remains committed to tackling the issue of human 
 
NEW DELHI 00004450  002 OF 002 
 
 
trafficking in India, India's size and scale as well as its 
federal democratic system make implementation of the 
country's laws a difficult exercise. Additionally, at the 
federal level, the division of this issue among several 
government agencies and the lack of a central coordinator for 
trafficking policy proves to be an unacknowledged obstacle in 
the formulation of a cohesive policy.  However, the work of 
the MWCD, further documents the strides the GOI has made in 
addressing the problem of trafficking.  End Comment. 
 
¶7. Ambassador Lagon was not able to clear this cable before 
departing India. 
WHITE