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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TASHKENT 001226 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP MEGAN HALL AND SCA/RA JESSICA MAZZONE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PREL PHUM KTIP KCRM KWMN UZ
SUBJECT: UZBEKISTAN:  PROSECUTOR GENERAL PUBLISHES MAJOR 
TIP REPORT IN STATE-RUN PRESS 
 
REF: TASHKENT 900 
 
¶1. (U) On October 17 Uzbekistan Prosecutor General Rashitjon 
Qodirov prominently published a major 3,000 word report on 
trafficking in persons (TIP) in the state-controlled 
newspaper "Narodnoe Slovo" (People's Word).  This is the 
first high-profile action by Qodirov in his capacity as the 
Chairman of the National Inter-Agency Commission on TIP, 
which was established this summer in accordance with the 
comprehensive anti-TIP law adopted by Uzbekistan this March 
(reftel).  The article also ran in the Uzbek language paper 
"Inson va Qonun" (Humanity and Law) on October 21, and was 
picked up by the BBC and Agence France Presse. 
 
¶2. (U) The report included updated statistics on human 
trafficking in Uzbekistan for the first nine months of 2008, 
a remarkably fast release date that shows the Government of 
Uzbekistan has gotten much better organized in tracking the 
problem.  Through the first three quarters of the year a 
total of 1,449 Uzbek citizens were trafficked, of which 1,283 
(88.5 percent) were men and 166 (11.5 percent) were women. 
Twenty-eight of the victims were minors, according to the 
report.  This publicly challenges the widely held assertion 
in Uzbekistan that mostly women are trafficked, which will 
help raise awareness in a country where up to three million 
mostly illegal migrants of the population of 27 million are 
working abroad.  It also confirms that, while sex trafficking 
has gotten the bulk of the attention from the international 
community, labor trafficking of male workers to Kazakhstan 
and Russia occurs on a much larger scale. 
 
¶3. (U) The report also included fresh data on law enforcement 
efforts to combat TIP.  In the first nine months of 2008, 436 
criminal cases were opened and 339 traffickers "were brought 
to account" and prosecuted.  The offenders consisted of 203 
men and 136 women; the disproportionately high number of 
females arrested likely reflects a domestic law enforcement 
focus on sex exploitation cases, whereas the scope of labor 
exploitation among men is only now coming to light.  Male 
victims may also be recruited in larger numbers after they 
are abroad, so there may be fewer opportunities to target and 
arrest recruiters in Uzbekistan.  (Note:  This is the most 
extensive and rapidly released data we have seen on any topic 
in Uzbekistan, which is likely driven by a desire to 
demonstrate to the international community -- especially the 
U.S. -- that there are robust efforts to prosecute offenders. 
 End note.) 
 
¶4. (U) Qodirov mentions in the report that "as the main 
route, criminals use bypassing roads into Kazakhstan and 
Kyrgyzstan, and from there they traffic victims into foreign 
countries using forged documents."  He added that "there is a 
need for taking a set of measures aimed at fighting 
trafficking, eliminating its causes and conditions, and 
minimizing its consequences."  The report recounts the 
efforts Uzbekistan has taken in the past year, including the 
adoption of a law, formation of the National Inter-agency 
Commission, adoption of a national action plan, adoption of 
the UN Protocol on TIP, and the introduction of criminal code 
amendments that strengthened penalties.  He noted that the 
March law requires victim assistance programs and indicated 
that implementation of this provision is underway.  In the 
meantime, the report said that hotlines have already been 
established in the Ministry of Labor and Social Protection as 
well as the State Customs Committee "in order to provide 
public access to accurate information." 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
 
¶5. (U) The published report from the Prosecutor General, 
including real-time data, demonstrates that the recently 
created National Inter-Agency Commission on TIP appears to be 
 
TASHKENT 00001226  002 OF 002 
 
 
off to a fast start in getting its arms around the issue and 
coordinating a policy response.  The prominent coverage of 
the victim figures, prosecution statistics, and background 
information in the state-controlled press also contributes to 
greater awareness among the general public about the TIP 
issue. 
 
NORLAND