VZCZCXYZ0006
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHVN #0857/01 3301028
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 261028Z NOV 07
FM AMEMBASSY VIENTIANE
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 1660

UNCLAS VIENTIANE 000857 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM KWMN ELAB PHUM PGOV PREL LA
SUBJECT: LAOS: TIP INTERIM ASSESSMENT 
 
REF: STATE 148541 
 
¶1. Summary: While the GOL has made great strides in getting its 
legal house in order to combat human trafficking, and has also make 
progress in protecting returning trafficking victims, it needs to do 
more to address the growing problem of internal human trafficking. 
Post does not have updated information on prosecutions and has 
nothing new to report. The paragraphs below address the specific 
areas listed in Refel, paragraph 6, part E. End summary. 
 
¶2. Anti-trafficking legislation:  Although Laos does not have a 
single, comprehensive law against human trafficking, current 
legislation criminalizes the offense with stiff penalties, and 
includes specific provisions against force, fraud, and coercion. 
Under the Law on the Development and Protection of Women, Part IV 
"The Protection of Women and Children Against Trafficking and 
Domestic Violence," Chapter 1, Article 24, defines trafficking as 
the "recruitment, hiding, moving, transportation, transfer, 
harboring, or receipt of women within or across national borders, by 
means of deception, the giving or receiving of bribes, threats, the 
use of force, the use of other forms of coercion, abduction, debt 
bondage or by other means, for forced labor, prostitution, 
publishing pornography and what is in the contradiction to fine 
national culture, the removal of various body parts, or for other 
unlawful purposes."   According to the law, trafficking "shall be 
regarded to have occurred" if the victims are children [of either 
gender] under age 18, "even though there is no deception, threat, 
force, or debt bondage."  Laws to criminalize trafficking of all 
persons, including men, are also found under Article 134 of the 
Criminal Code, using the same definition.  This article repeats the 
provision that crimes against children under age 18 are considered 
trafficking offenses even in the absence of force, fraud, coercion, 
or "financial constraints." There is an additional law passed in 
2005 to specifically address trafficking in children across 
international borders. 
 
Penalties for trafficking offenses include "privation of liberty" 
for 5 to 15 years and fines of 1000-5000 USD (note per capita income 
in Laos is approximately $570 per annum).  The penalty becomes 15-20 
years imprisonment and fines of 10,000-50,000 USD under certain 
circumstances, including if the trafficker is a repeat offender, 
part of an organized group, the victim is a child, there is more 
than one victim in the case, the victim is seriously injured, 
physically maimed or has "lost mental faculties," or if the 
perpetrator is a close relative of the victim.  Finally, if the 
victim dies, contracts AIDS, or is permanently disabled, the 
trafficker can be sentenced to death or life in prison and will face 
higher fines.  The state can seize the assets of human traffickers 
in all cases. 
 
¶3.  Eliminating the practice of fining trafficking victims returning 
to Laos:  In 2005, the Prime Minister ordered an end to the practice 
of fining or otherwise punishing victims of trafficking.  In early 
2007, the GOL abolished the rule requiring Lao citizens to get an 
exit permit to depart the country.  The change in the law greatly 
assisted in reducing the practice of fining trafficking victims and 
migrant laborers, as local and immigration authorities can no longer 
"punish" victims for a violation of domestic law in failing to 
procure that permit.  According to Post's contacts with IOM, various 
UN agencies, and NGOs involved in anti-trafficking work, provincial 
and district authorities have "gotten the message,"  albeit 
grudgingly. None of the organizations we spoke to could identify a 
specific instance of identified trafficking victims forced to pay 
fines to local authorities for returning home.  (Monitoring of 
returned victims, incidentally, has greatly improved, with IOM and 
AFESIP both working with local Departments of Labor and Social 
Welfare to track reintegration procedures and programs.)  The 
Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare and other GOL parties continue 
to instruct provincial authorities that they cannot fine returning 
trafficking victims. 
 
¶4.   Combatting internal trafficking:  The primary focus of the GOL 
continues to be on trafficking across international borders.  There 
have been a few recent instances of efforts to address internal 
trafficking, including statements on the importance of combating 
internal trafficking by senior Lao government officials, but the 
bulk of the work is still centered on victims returning from abroad. 
While this is consistent with the current research on trafficking 
patterns for Laos, internal trafficking is likely to grow with the 
development of improved transportation networks.  The Law Women's 
Union shelter, one of three shelters for trafficking victims in 
Laos, provides assistance primarily to victims of internal 
trafficking or domestic violence.  Some small efforts to prevent 
internal trafficking and educate local authorities continue, as in 
the case of the June workshop for officials from the Ministry of 
Communication, Transport, Post and Construction and their local 
counterparts from northern provinces in June (road construction up 
north is seen as a potential risk factor for human trafficking). 
 
¶5.  Prosecution, including of public officials complicit in human 
trafficking: Post does not have new official information on law 
enforcement activity at this time.  We will provide more information 
on the data when we have it from the Ministry of Public Security. 
 
¶6.  New developments:  AFESIP and the Ministry of Labor and Social 
Welfare broke ground on a shelter for victims of trafficking in 
Savannakhet province, which should open next year.  This will not 
only expand the resources available to provide services to victims 
but also allows victims to be cared for closer to home and will 
assist with monitoring reintegration efforts in the south. 
(Currently there are three shelters for trafficking victims, all in 
Vientiane.)   In June, the Lao Bar Association began a legal aid 
clinic for victims of human rights abuses, including trafficking 
victims.  The Bar Association is currently working on one case for a 
victim of internal trafficking and one of cross-border trafficking. 
Neither case has been referred to the police yet. The legal aid 
clinic, although small, is a promising avenue for victims of 
internal trafficking, since they do not have any formal 'screening' 
procedures that would identify them to the authorities and may need 
additional assistance in navigating the legal procedures to bring 
their traffickers to justice. Also in June, the GOL hosted a 
conference by U.S. professor Dr. Robin Haarr with over 100 
officials, including representatives from the Ministry of Public 
Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Labor and Social 
Welfare, and a number of other offices.  At the workshops, Dr. 
Haarr, Associate Professor of Criminal Justice & Police Studies at 
Eastern Kentucky University, reviewed the internationally-accepted 
definitions of trafficking and described the dynamics, causes, and 
impact of human trafficking on individuals and communities.  Dr. 
Haarr traveled to Savannakhet to hold a similar workshop with about 
40 local officials. 
 
Post will cover additional significant developments in further 
detail when we submit our information for the annual TIP report. 
 
 
HUSO