VZCZCXYZ0047
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDG #2600/01 3251957
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 211957Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY SANTO DOMINGO
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9671
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHPU/AMEMBASSY PORT AU PRINCE PRIORITY 4744

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 002600 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/PPC, G (ACBLANK), G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL PGOV KCRM KWMN ELAB DR
SUBJECT: DOMINICAN REPUBLIC INTERIM TIP ASSESSMENT 
 
REF: STATE 148925 
 
¶1. As requested refel, following is a summary of Dominican 
progress toward rectifying key deficiencies identified in the 
June 2007 TIP report. 
 
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¶2. Increasing efforts to investigate, prosecute, convict and 
sentence trafficking offenders, including public officials 
allegedly complicit in trafficking 
 
Year to date statistics show 16 active investigations, 3 
prosecutions (at least 1 continued from 2006), and 0 
convictions  (no case has yet reached its final disposition) 
under anti-trafficking law 137-03.  Other investigations are 
taking place under other laws, including a new law 
criminalizing the electronic distribution of child 
pornography, but no arrests have been made.  Currently, no 
government officials (law enforcement, military, or civilian) 
are under investigation or indictment for engaging in or 
facilitating trafficking.  In this regard and more generally, 
officials point to the closed nature of certain ethnic 
communities as a hindrance to effective investigation. 
 
It has been suggested by Dominican interlocutors that 
cultural acceptance of trafficking causes underreporting by 
victims (who tend not to see themselves as such), resulting 
in fewer complaints to investigate. 
 
In September, the Directorate of Migration (Immigration) 
announced that roughly 400 employees had been terminated over 
the previous 3 years following a generalized suspicion of 
illegal activity.  The Embassy understands that information 
leading to these dismissals related more to alien smuggling 
and probably did not satisfy the burden of proof for criminal 
prosecution. 
 
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¶3. Improving efforts to gather law enforcement data on 
trafficking cases throughout the country 
 
Electronic case tracking systems are increasingly being 
deployed throughout the provinces to improve law enforcement 
performance in all areas, including anti-trafficking. 
, 
In July, the Dominican government, in combination with the 
Ricky Martin Foundation, the Inter-American Development Bank, 
and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), 
launched a publicity campaign for the Attorney General's 
anti-trafficking hotline.  The hotline, in existence since 
2005, is a Spanish-language resource for information on 
prevention, as well as a mechanism for gathering tips and 
formal accusations. 
 
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¶4. Dedicating more government resources for the protection of 
trafficking victims, particularly shelter services 
 
The Dominican government has not yet dedicated increased 
resources for the specific protection of trafficking victims; 
like many countries in the region it suffers from severe 
resource constraints across the entire range governmental and 
social services.  This situation will undoubtedly worsen in 
the aftermath of Tropical Storm Noel, whose extended rains 
caused serve flooding resulting in estimated reconstruction 
costs of several billion dollars.  Notwithstanding the bleak 
budget environment, the government has concluded that a 
single-use shelter for trafficking victims would be useful. 
The government has also begun releasing foreign-national 
trafficking victims into the custody of the IOM, which 
provides them with temporary shelter and arranges 
psyco-social services.  The government no longer places 
undocumented foreign-national victims in custody (other than 
for a brief initial period) prior to the victims' ultimate 
deportation.  The important step is one that the Embassy and 
IOM have strongly advocated.  This partnership will address a 
major weakness in the current system, which is the inability 
of government prosecutors to obtain actionable witness 
statements. 
 
The government has increased the number of general purpose 
shelters available to female victims of violence.  It is not 
clear to what extent these shelters are utilized by Dominican 
trafficking victims.  In the absence of a dedicated shelter, 
the government has begun to refer some Dominican trafficking 
victims to Dominican NGOs for psyco-social services. 
 
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¶5. Developing clear, formal, and proactive procedures for 
identifying trafficking victims among vulnerable populations, 
such as persons detained for immigration or prostitution 
violations. 
 
Basic training is provided to immigration officials on 
identifying trafficking victims at ports of entry.  Likewise, 
training emphasizing prevention and assistance is provided to 
Dominican consuls that will be stationed abroad.  Training on 
identifying trafficking victims is not included in the 
curriculum of the National Police, though training is in the 
planning stages for police units working in border areas. 
Training has not been provided to CESFRONT, the new 
quasi-military border patrol operating fixed checkpoints on 
the Haitian border, nor has it been provided to any other 
Dominican military unit engaged in checkpoint operations. 
 
A recent presidential mandate has formalized and expanded an 
ad hoc interagency working group with the goal of developing 
a clear, formal, and coordinated national strategy to combat 
trafficking, part of which will include improved mechanisms 
for victim identification and training strategies.  The group 
will meet for the second time in late November. 
 
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¶6. Other significant developments 
 
In April, the Dominican legislature passed legislation 
criminalizing the electronic dissemination, sale, and/or 
purchase of child pornography. 
BULLEN