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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 COLOMBO 000215 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, SCA/RA 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM ELAB ASEC PREF KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD CE
SUBJECT: SRI LANKA: THE EIGHTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 
(TIP) REPORT 
 
REF:  STATE 02731 
 
¶1.  (U) Mission's submission for the eighth annual Anti-Trafficking 
in Persons (TIP) Report for Sri Lanka follows.  Responses are keyed 
to questions in Reftel.  Mission point of contact is poloff Amy 
Trimble, telephone +94-11-249-8822, fax +94-11-249-8820. 
 
Paragraph 27: Sri Lanka Overview 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2.  (SBU) A -- Sri Lanka is a country of transit, a source country, 
and a destination country for a small number of internationally 
trafficked men, women and children. Women and children of Sri Lanka 
are trafficked internally for domestic labor and sexual 
exploitation. The trafficking takes place in government-controlled 
areas as well as in areas controlled by the Liberation Tigers of 
Tamil Eelam (LTTE), a designated Foreign Terrorist Organization 
under U.S. law.  The LTTE has conscripted children, both through 
recruitment and abductions, for purposes of forced labor and 
military activities. According to a 2007 UN report, the government 
has not undertaken adequate efforts to address the anti-LTTE Karuna 
faction's recruitment of children into its paramilitary in 
government-controlled areas.  The GSL has, however, appointed an 
inter-ministerial Committee to Inquire into Allegations of Abduction 
and Recruitment of Children for Use in Armed Conflict, and has 
investigated 47 cases specifically cited by UN Special Adviser on 
Children and Armed Conflict Alan Rock.  In 37 of those cases, the 
children have been returned home.  The GSL also operates 2 
rehabilitation centers specifically for children involved in armed 
conflict, and plans to open three more. 
 
A cont'd -- Reports also indicate that women from Thailand, China, 
Russia and countries of the Newly Independent States are trafficked 
into Sri Lanka for commercial sexual exploitation.  Some Sri Lankan 
women are trafficked to the Middle East countries and a smaller 
number to Singapore, Hong Kong and South Korea for hard domestic 
labor and sexual exploitation.  Children are trafficked internally. 
There are no reliable statistics available on the magnitude of this 
problem. Sources of information on trafficking in persons include 
the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), the Child Protection 
Unit of the Attorney General's Department, Sri Lankan Police, local 
and international NGOs, and the press. 
 
B -- According to government and NGO sources, trends in trafficking 
did not change significantly from the last reporting period. 
Despite a law passed in April 2006 to criminalize trafficking in 
persons, there were no reliable statistics on the crime of 
trafficking disaggregated from human smuggling, illegal immigration, 
prostitution, procurement, or kidnapping.  Victims subjected to 
trafficking generally came from poor, rural communities, with 
minimal educational opportunities.  Internally Displaced Persons and 
war widows remained especially vulnerable.  Some women who came to 
cities seeking garment industry work were trafficked into commercial 
sex work, and some women seeking employment as domestics overseas 
were sent abroad under false promises and forced into exploitative 
labor conditions or commercial sex work.  Although the Bureau of 
Foreign Employment has a mandate to vet recruitment agents, 
sub-agents are not vetted.  Reports indicated some sub-agents acted 
unscrupulously, recruiting women from villages under false 
pretenses.  The women, often illiterate, were unaware of the 
conditions of the contracts they signed, and often their travel 
documents were confiscated when they arrived at their place of 
employment.  However, of the estimated 1 million Sri Lankan women 
who obtain foreign employment, statistics indicate only 5 to 10 
percent encounter problems.  These also include issues unrelated to 
trafficking per se. 
 
C -- The Sri Lankan Police, Attorney General's Office, Ministry of 
 
COLOMBO 00000215  002 OF 006 
 
 
Foreign Employment, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Child 
Development and Women's Empowerment, the Bureau of Foreign 
Employment (BFE), and the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA) 
increased their involvement in anti-trafficking efforts in 2007.  In 
July 2007, the Foreign Secretary designated the Secretary of the 
Ministry of Child Development and Women's Empowerment as the GSL 
focal point on trafficking-related issues.  The above-mentioned 
agencies participated in a seminar in December 2007, hosted by the 
Secretary for Child Development and Women's Empowerment, which 
 
SIPDIS 
focused on improving GSL awareness and coordination on TIP.  The GSL 
has welcomed U.S. efforts to fund IOM projects that provide law 
enforcement training on TIP and a case management database to better 
track TIP data. 
 
D -- The government lacked resources to provide proper training to 
law enforcement officials or adequate compensation or support for 
trafficking victims.  Law enforcement officials addressed the end 
results of trafficking such as commercial sex work or child labor. 
However, trafficking itself was rarely investigated, perhaps due to 
police unawareness of the degree of the problem, exacerbated by 
limited resources.  The GSL's current law enforcement priority is 
its fight against terrorism.  As the country's ethnic conflict 
continues to escalate, police are focused on preventing LTTE attacks 
against civilians.  Nonetheless, with a better database and improved 
training of law enforcement officials, the government expects to 
increase law enforcement actions against trafficking. 
 
E -- The Child Protection Unit of the Attorney General's Office and 
the NCPA conducted a survey in 2007 on commercial sexual activities 
involving children, but the report has not yet been published. 
Currently no reliable surveys on trafficking in Sri Lanka are 
available.  The government does not maintain separate statistics on 
human smuggling, abductions, and trafficking, making it difficult 
for NGOs to gain access to accurate data.  IOM, with U.S.-funding, 
is currently working with the GSL to develop a case management 
database to more closely monitor trafficking cases. 
 
 
Paragraph 28:  Investigations and 
Prosecution Of Traffickers 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU)  A -- In April 2006, the government amended the penal code 
through Act No 16, criminalizing all forms of trafficking in 
persons. The new legislation, developed in consultation with IOM, 
brought Sri Lanka's penal code in line with UN guidelines on TIP. 
Section 360C of the Penal Code, amended by Act No. 22 of 1995, 
criminalizes trafficking in persons, defined as the buying or 
selling or bartering of a person for money or other consideration, 
and also engaging in certain acts for the purpose of promoting, 
facilitating or inducing the buying or selling or bartering or the 
placement in adoption of any person for money or any other 
consideration.  Under Section 360A of the Penal Code, internal and 
transnational forms of prostitution are also criminalized. 
Additionally, Section 45A(1) of the Immigrants and Emigrants Act 
addresses human smuggling offenses. 
 
B -- Trafficking for sexual exploitation is punishable by 
imprisonment between 2 and 20 years, with fines ranging from 
approximately USD 100 to 500.  There were no convictions for sex 
trafficking during the reporting period. 
 
C -- The April 2006 amendment to the penal code covering trafficking 
calls for labor exploitation to be punishable by 2 to 10 years' 
imprisonment.  It also establishes the punishment for debt bondage, 
serfdom, forced or compulsory labor, or slavery as imprisonment for 
a term not exceeding twenty years and a monetary fine.  When 
children are the victims of such crimes or are recruited for 
 
COLOMBO 00000215  003 OF 006 
 
 
involvement in armed conflict, the punishment is imprisonment for a 
term not exceeding thirty years and a monetary fine.  A creditor 
cannot require manual labor in exchange for debt repayment.  There 
were no convictions for labor trafficking during the reporting 
period. 
 
D -- For sexual assault, imprisonment ranges between 7 and 20 years, 
plus potential monetary compensation to the victim.  These penalties 
are similar to those for trafficking. 
 
E -- In Sri Lanka, prostitution is not legalized and the activities 
of prostitutes are criminalized. The activities of related parties, 
such as brothel owners, pimps, clients, and enforcers, are also 
criminalized. These laws are not regularly enforced, in part because 
law enforcement is focused on preventing terrorism. 
 
F -- NGO representatives noted that the government does not usually 
use existing anti-trafficking legislation to prosecute cases. 
Rather, perpetrators are brought up on charges of human smuggling. 
(Note:  The Attorney General's office noted that trafficking in 
persons is a bailable offense under the penal code.  Further, few 
Sri Lankans are ever convicted of any offense once they receive 
bail.  Human smuggling is not a bailable offense, but carries a 
lighter maximum sentence.)  The government launched a criminal 
investigation of the recruitment agent responsible for sending 
housemaid Rizanna Nafeek abroad when she was underage.  The GSL is 
also investigating a subagent involved in a case where three Muslim 
children were trafficked abroad.  According to the Legal Division of 
the Foreign Employment Bureau, disciplinary action was taken against 
350 labor recruiters engaging in fraudulent recruitment practices, 
but no criminal investigations were launched.  The Women and 
Children's Bureau of the Police and the NCPA investigated and acted 
on complaints of commercial and non-commercial sex acts involving 
children.  We are unable to obtain a total number of trafficking 
cases investigated or prosecuted during the reporting period from 
the police or Attorney General's office.  Trafficking crimes are not 
disaggregated from other criminal violations and accurate figures on 
trafficking-related investigations and prosecutions are not kept. 
The lack of convictions for TIP offenses reflects systemic problems 
with Sri Lanka's judicial system; the overall conviction rate is 
less than 5 percent. 
 
G -- The government does not provide centralized training in 
trafficking issues.  Individually, police bureaus, such as the 
Anti-Human Smuggling Unit of the Criminal Investigation Department 
and the Women's and the Children's Bureau, along with the NCPA, 
conduct specialized training for their staff.  NCPA conducts a 
four-hour training course for local police at the In-Service 
Training Centers at the district-level Police Training Colleges 
where they are able to reach new recruits.  On invitation, they will 
conduct training at the Police Higher Training Institute or the 
Police College.  A U.S.-funded IOM project provided specialized 
anti-trafficking training to 50 law enforcement officers, who will 
in turn train another 500 officers.  The Australian government 
provided human smuggling training, which covered TIP, to twenty 
police officers. 
 
H - There were no cases of GSL cooperation with other governments in 
the investigation and/or prosecution of trafficking cases during the 
reporting period.  In the past, the government has worked very 
closely with the Italian and Pakistani governments to combat human 
smuggling operations. In 2005, in cooperation with the American and 
the Australian governments, the NCPA prosecuted a U.S. national and 
an Australian national alleged to be pedophiles. 
 
I -- The government has not extradited anyone charged with 
trafficking to other countries, as the situation has not occurred. 
The government would likely extradite any foreigner charged with 
 
COLOMBO 00000215  004 OF 006 
 
 
such offenses, if requested by other governments. The government has 
extradition agreements with Commonwealth countries. 
 
J -- There is no credible evidence of government involvement in, or 
tolerance of, trafficking in persons. Unsubstantiated reports allude 
to immigration officers in involvement of such cases. 
 
K -- There has been insufficient evidence to arrest or otherwise 
prosecute government officials suspected of being involved in 
trafficking in persons. 
 
L -- 108 Sri Lankan peacekeeping soldiers were repatriated in 
November 2007 after being accused of sexual misconduct, some cases 
involving minors, in Haiti.  The GSL has promised to investigate the 
charges. 
 
M -- The Attorney General's office does not maintain statistics on 
cases of foreign pedophiles.  In 2004, the government arrested two 
foreign nationals, an American and an Australian, on charges of 
pedophilia.  In 2005, a British citizen was charged with pedophilia. 
 The American was deported to the U.S.  The other two remain in 
prison in Sri Lanka awaiting trial. Sri Lanka's child sexual abuse 
laws do not have extra-territorial coverage. 
 
Paragraph 29:  Protection and Assistance 
to Victims 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) A -- The government does not provide assistance, such as 
protection from deportation or temporary residency, to foreign 
trafficking victims. 
 
B -- The government does not have the resources, capacity, or 
ability to assist victims of trafficking adequately. There are 
rehabilitation camps and community centers which offer some medical 
and counseling services for victims of trafficking.  The GSL runs 
five "certified schools" to rehabilitate children trafficked for sex 
work.  The schools offer counseling and vocational training to 
victims.  In addition, the GSL operated 13 women's rehabilitation 
centers which offer shelter and counseling services to victims of 
domestic abuse.  Repatriated trafficking victims are also counseled 
at these centers.  In July 2007, a shelter for female victims of 
violence, including women who were abused during overseas 
employment, was opened south of Colombo.  Local District Secretaries 
provide health and judicial services to child victims in their 
districts, and the NCPA provides psychological services to child 
victims.  In addition, some NGOs run shelters and rehabilitation 
facilities. 
 
C -- The government does not provide funding or material support to 
foreign or domestic NGOs for services to victims. The government 
provides a three USD/per month food supplement to child victims 
registered with the NGOs. 
 
D -- The government's law enforcement and social services personnel 
do not have a formal system in place to identify potential 
trafficking victims.  NGOs occasionally receive reports of victims 
and offer assistance, and the government is cooperative in these 
cases. 
 
E -- Not applicable. 
 
F -- Women arrested on suspicion of being trafficked into Sri Lanka 
for the purpose of prostitution are sometimes released upon paying a 
fine.  They are usually deported for immigration violations (working 
while on a tourist visa). 
 
G -- The government encourages victims to assist in the 
 
COLOMBO 00000215  005 OF 006 
 
 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking by providing 
information to arrest the traffickers. Sri Lankan victims can file 
Fundamental Rights cases and seek financial restitution. There are 
no restrictions on obtaining other employment or leaving the country 
if a victim is a witness in a case against a former employer.  There 
is no victim restitution program. 
 
H -- The government did not provide victim or witness protection to 
victims of trafficking.  A Victim and Witness Protection Bill is in 
preparation.  The government reportedly plans to bring it to a vote 
in Parliament in March 2008.  In February 2008, the Ministry of 
Child Development and Women's Empowerment set up a hotline for 
complaints about child labor, parental neglect, corporal punishment 
and sexual abuse.  Child victims are transferred to institutions 
such as the Salvation Army under the escort of the Ministry of 
Social Services' Department of Probation and Child Care Services. 
 
I -- The government does not provide any specialized training as 
such for its officials in identifying victims of trafficking or 
provision of assistance to trafficking victims.  The Ministry of 
Foreign Employment has assigned labor attaches to some embassies and 
consulates abroad to provide assistance to migrant workers and 
trafficking victims.  However, limited resources and heavy caseloads 
sometimes result in minimal assistance being provided.  The GSL 
maintains migrant worker safe houses at several embassies and 
provides transportation home for victims of labor exploitation. 
According to the Foreign Employment Bureau, 3500 migrant workers 
made use of these safe houses during the reporting period.  In 
February 2008, the GSL arranged for 96 Sri Lankan house maids in a 
detention camp in Riyadh to return home, providing airfare for 17 of 
them. Also in February 2008, the GSL arranged for the return home of 
165 migrant workers from an embassy safe house in Kuwait. 
 
J -- For Sri Lankans who are victims of trafficking, either through 
sexual or labor exploitation, the government will provide some 
compensation to those who registered with the Sri Lankan Foreign 
Employment Bureau prior to departing.  The Foreign Employment Bureau 
continued a program, established in 2006, requiring private foreign 
employment agencies to submit deposits of bonds to register their 
companies.  The deposits may be used to assist any migrant worker 
stranded overseas due to trafficking or other migration emergency 
circumstances.  The agency will lose its deposit if it is proven 
responsible for a trafficking incident. 
 
K -- Save the Children Foundation, ESCAPE, Don Bosco, Salvation 
Army, ILO, IOM, American Solidarity Center, Women in Media 
Collective, Women in Need, PEACE, Caritas, and a number of 
community-based organizations work with trafficking victims.  The 
government works closely with these organizations to develop a 
relationship with local authorities, but it is the NGO that makes 
the initial effort.  The GSL does not have the resources to provide 
funding to these groups for trafficking victim assistance programs. 
 
 
Paragraph 30:  Prevention 
------------------------- 
 
¶5.  (SBU) A -- The government in Sri Lanka acknowledges that 
trafficking is a problem in the country.  While the government 
maintains its commitment to address trafficking in persons issues, 
resource constraints, a lack of coordination among concerned 
ministries, and inadequacies of the judicial system make tackling 
TIP a challenge for the GSL.  Nonetheless, the government has made 
efforts to address the issue.  In 2006, the government signed 
Memoranda of Understanding (MOUs) with Jordan, Malaysia, and South 
Korea on cooperation to reduce the incidence of trafficking of Sri 
Lankan nationals to those countries.  MOUs were signed with United 
Arab Emirates and Qatar in 2007 and are under negotiation with 
 
COLOMBO 00000215  006 OF 006 
 
 
Libya, Italy, Kuwait and Egypt. In August 2007, the Bureau of 
Foreign Employment (BFE) began requiring all foreign employment 
contracts to be signed by the BFE, the worker, and the recruitment 
agent in the presence of a BFE officer.  This procedure allows the 
BFE officer to ensure that the worker understands the terms of the 
contract and permits closer scrutiny of agents and subagents. 
 
B  --  The Child Protection Unit of the Attorney General's 
Department conducted awareness programs among law enforcement 
authorities, schools and other civil society organizations. The 
NCPA, as part of its overall efforts to address child welfare, 
includes child trafficking as part of its educational campaigns.  In 
2007, the NCPA, Tourist Board, and Attorney General's department 
conducted 26 awareness campaigns on child sexual exploitation among 
teachers and students, hotel staff, taxi and three-wheeler drivers 
and casual tourism workers such as "beach boys." 
 
C -- The officials of international NGOs, indigenous community-based 
organizations working to combat trafficking, and officials of 
government agencies involved in anti-trafficking efforts maintain a 
positive working relationship. 
 
D -- The Government does not currently monitor immigration and 
emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking.  IOM is working 
with the Department of Immigration and Emigration in a U.S.-funded 
program to institute a computerized database that will permit the 
government to monitor migration trends and identify potential 
victims of trafficking.  The government has welcomed IOM's 
assistance and is making efforts to institutionalize the new system. 
 The Sri Lankan government makes every effort to adequately monitor 
its borders, but remains unable to monitor activities in areas 
controlled by the LTTE in the north and east. 
 
E -- The government, with the help of IOM, established a TIP Working 
Group in late 2007.  The Secretary of Child Development and Women's 
Empowerment chairs the group, which includes representatives from 
the Sri Lanka Police, Attorney General's Office, Foreign Employment 
Bureau and NCPA, as well as several NGOs involved in combating TIP. 
The government has a Commission to Investigate Allegations of 
Bribery or Corruption. 
 
F -- The government of Sri Lanka does not have a national 
plan of action to address trafficking in persons. The GSL, with 
support from IOM, hosted a TIP meeting in December 2007 which 
brought together GSL officials from throughout the government, as 
well as representatives from interested NGOs, to discuss formulating 
a national policy on TIP.   In October 2006, the Tourist Board of 
Sri Lanka partnered with UNICEF to launch a National Action Plan 
Project to eradicate child sex tourism, including trafficking of 
children for exploitation, in Sri Lanka.  The Ministry of Tourism, 
UNICEF, Hoteliers' Association, Airlines, the Police, Department of 
Immigration and Emigration, and authorities of sea and air ports 
participated in drawing up this National Action Plan. 
 
G -- The GSL has not taken any specific actions to reduce demand for 
commercial sex acts. 
 
H -- Not applicable. 
 
I -- The government has not adopted any specific measures to ensure 
that its nationals who are deployed abroad as part of peacekeeping 
missions do not engage in or facilitate trafficking.  Following the 
repatriation of 108 Sri Lankan peacekeepers from Haiti on charges of 
sexual misconduct, the NCPA has sought assurances from the Sri 
Lankan Army that it will provide awareness training to future 
peacekeepers. 
 
BLAKE