VZCZCXRO2026 
RR RUEHIK RUEHPOD RUEHYG 
DE RUEHNT #0629/01 1571230 
ZNR UUUUU ZZH 
R 051230Z JUN 08 
FM AMEMBASSY TASHKENT 
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9747 
INFO RUEHZG/NATO EU COLLECTIVE 
RUEHAD/AMEMBASSY ABU DHABI 0163 
RUEHAH/AMEMBASSY ASHGABAT 4015 
RUEHTA/AMEMBASSY ASTANA 0228 
RUEHEK/AMEMBASSY BISHKEK 4630 
RUEHLM/AMEMBASSY COLOMBO 0501 
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0416 
RUEHDBU/AMEMBASSY DUSHANBE 0512 
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 2515 
RUEHKT/AMEMBASSY KATHMANDU 0540 
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 1175 
RUEHDE/AMCONSUL DUBAI 0180 
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC 
RUEHVEN/USMISSION USOSCE 2492 
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC 
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC 0084 
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHDC 
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 TASHKENT 000629 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INL ANDREW BUHLER; G/TIP FOR MEGAN HALL; SCA/RA 
FOR JESSICA MAZZONE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SOCI UZ
SUBJECT: ANTI-TIP MOMENTUM CONTINUES WITH WORKSHOP IN 
TASHKENT 
 
REF: TASHKENT 580 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: The United Nations Office on Drugs and 
Crime (UNODC) Regional Office for Central Asia sponsored an 
anti-trafficking in persons (TIP) workshop on May 30-31 in 
Tashkent, following up on a UNODC anti-TIP workshop co- 
sponsored with the Organization for Security and 
Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) on May 14-15. Government of 
Uzbekistan (GOU) officials provided few additional details 
regarding their implementation efforts, but significant GOU 
participation suggests continuing momentum on anti-TIP 
issues following the passage of national anti-TIP 
legislation in April. Continuing efforts to promulgate 
related criminal code amendments and a national anti-TIP 
action plan will provide important benchmarks against which 
to assess more fully the GOU,s anti-TIP commitments over 
the coming months. End Summary. 
 
¶2. (U) UNODC sponsored a workshop on May 30-31 in Tashkent 
on "Countering Human Trafficking in the Republic of 
Uzbekistan." GOU law enforcement and legislative officials, 
NGO representatives, international organization officials, 
and diplomats attended the two-day workshop. GOU attendees 
included representatives from the Ministry of Internal 
Affairs (MVD), the Justice Ministry, the Prosecutor- 
General,s Office, the National Security Service, the 
Legislative Chamber of the Supreme Assembly (the lower 
house of parliament), the Supreme Court, and the National 
Center for Human Rights. This workshop came on the heels of 
a high profile international conference in Tashkent 
organized jointly by UNODC and OSCE on May 14-15 entitled 
"Promoting Law Enforcement and Judicial Cooperation Among 
Source, Transit, and Destination Countries to Combat Human 
Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling to and from Central 
Asia." The most recent workshop provided participants with 
an opportunity to look more specifically at anti-TIP 
activities in Uzbekistan. 
 
Criminal Code Amendments Still Pending 
-------------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (U) GOU officials revealed little new information about 
anticipated anti-TIP criminal code amendments or a national 
action plan to implement Uzbekistan,s new law on countering 
human trafficking that was enact on April 17, 2008 
(reftel). Mr. A.U. Asomov, Senior Prosecutor in the Office of 
the Prosecutor General, said in his presentation that GOU 
agencies continue to work collaboratively to draft criminal 
code amendments that will strengthen the legal basis for 
investigating and prosecuting TIP-related crimes, and he 
noted that draft amendments were in their "final stages." 
Another GOU official noted that an inter-agency committee has 
been tasked with drafting a national anti-TIP action plan; 
President Karimov, however, has yet to propose an official 
to head that committee. 
 
¶4. (U) Much of the discussion on the need for additional 
anti-TIP amendments focused on the legal liability of human 
trafficking victims. A number of attendees expressed 
concern that repatriated victims might still be liable for 
criminal or administrative penalties for "illicit border 
crossings" and other illegal migration charges, noting that 
such liability would deter trafficking victims from coming 
forward and revealing their exploiters. Although GOU 
officials explained that it has been their practice to 
exempt trafficking victims from liability, one attendee 
referred to a specific case in which a victim had been 
charged with illegal migration. Noting that victim 
exemption from liability will help them carry out effective 
anti-TIP investigations, GOU officials indicated that a 
provision to exempt victims from legal liability would be 
included in the draft criminal code amendments. (Comment: 
It was unclear whether the draft already contained an 
exemption provision or whether the remarks reflected GOU 
intent to amend the draft further.) GOU officials also 
recognized that greater efforts needed to be made to raise 
public awareness of this exemption. 
 
GOU Officials Reveal Limited Details on Anti-TIP Activities 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
 
¶4. (U) During his presentation, Asomov also provided data 
on recent GOU anti-TIP activities. For 2006, he reported 
that GOU agencies opened 165 TIP-related criminal cases 
involving 515 victims (380 women and 135 men), with 168 
people charged with TIP-related crimes. In 2007, GOU 
agencies reportedly filed charges against 330 individuals 
in 385 TIP-related criminal cases involving 1,023 victims 
(800 men, 223 women). (Comment: These statistics reflect 
GOU officials, comments that labor exploitation is a 
growing problem vis-a-vis trafficking related to sexual 
exploitation.) 
 
¶5. (U) GOU officials also provided further details on 
implementation of the April 2008 anti-TIP legislation. 
Nodir Kurbanov, Senior Investigative Office of MVD,s 
special anti-TIP unit, said in his presentation that his 
unit remains the primary investigative body for anti-TIP 
crimes in Uzbekistan. He noted that MVD works closely with 
local law enforcement officials to investigate TIP-related 
crimes and conducts nine regional seminars annually with 
local law enforcement agencies to exchange experiences and 
best practices. According to Kurbanov, collecting 
information on traffickers and creating a TIP database are 
among MVD,s greatest challenges to implementing national 
anti-TIP laws. 
 
¶6. (U) While GOU officials offered few new details on plans 
to establish a national rehabilitation center for 
repatriated TIP victims, Kurbanov noted that the Uzbek NGO 
Istiqbolli Avlod (IA) will assist MVD with the physical and 
psychological rehabilitation of victims. Kurbanov 
emphasized that MVD has a very good relationship with IA 
(reftel). National Security Service (NSS) representative 
N.E. Khodjaev said that the NSS, which includes the Border 
Guards, will also play a significant role in GOU anti-TIP 
activities, particularly as they relate to organized crime. 
Khodjaev noted that travel and labor agencies often provide 
cover for illegal trafficking activities in Uzbekistan and 
remain significant targets of NSS anti-TIP operations. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Coming on the heels of the larger May 14-15 anti- 
TIP workshop co-sponsored by UNODC and OSCE, significant 
GOU participation in the May 30-31 UNODC workshop suggests 
continuing momentum on human trafficking matters following 
the passage of national anti-TIP legislation in April. NGO 
participation at the conference, particularly that of 
Istiqbolli Avlod, reinforces our earlier perception that 
TIP issues may be one of the few bright spots for GOU-NGO 
cooperation (reftel). GOU-provided figures also indicate a 
significant increase in anti-TIP investigations and 
prosecutions over 2006-2007, suggesting a growing interest 
in countering human trafficking. In the coming months, 
progress on related criminal code amendments and a national 
anti-TIP action plan will provide additional opportunities 
to assess GOU commitment to this issue. 
 
NORLAND