R 262058Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY PANAMA
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 3036
DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
INFO WESTERN HEMISPHERIC AFFAIRS DIPL POSTS
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AMCONSUL ISTANBUL

UNCLAS PANAMA 000163 
 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EIND ELAB ETRD PHUM SOCI KTIP PM
SUBJECT: PANAMA: OBJECTION TO THE INCLUSION OF PORNOGRAPHY 
ON TVPRA DRAFT LIST 
 
REF: A. PANAMA 89 
     ¶B. 2/24/09 EMAIL FROM DOL/ILAB CHARITA CASTRO TO 
        POLCOUNS BRIAN NARANJO 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  (SBU) Post appreciates the opportunity to review the 
documents used by DOL to determine whether a "significant 
incidence" of child labor is used in Panama to produce 
pornography, but is troubled by the conclusions drawn from 
these sources.  Of the two sources that post was able to 
obtain, one was almost seven years old and reported only five 
cases of minors involved in the production of pornography. 
The other source reported 22 investigations of child 
pornography cases during the reporting period, but included 
no details as to whether the reported incidents involved the 
production of pornography or its use or distribution, all of 
which are criminalized under Panamanian law.  Post urges DOL 
to reconsider its finding of a "significant incidence" of 
child labor in the production of pornography in Panama.  As 
stated in REFTEL A, none of post's NGO or government 
interlocutors on labor issues, including child labor issues, 
believe that the inclusion of pornography is credible or 
indeed that this matter constitutes a significant problem in 
Panama. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) Inclusion of pornography on the list of goods 
produced by child labor or forced labor in violation of 
international standards (the "List") will put the Embassy in 
the untenable position of having to diplomatically defend a 
decision that is neither understood by post nor supported by 
a single player in the field, including our natural allies in 
the NGO community and the extensive UN entities that have 
their regional headquarters here in Panama.  Simply put, this 
Embassy would be severely limited in its ability to 
effectively or credibly advance the diplomacy to support a 
DOL finding that there is a "significant incidence" of child 
labor in the production of pornography in Panama, let alone 
advance an effective diplomatic strategy to address what 
problems do exist.  The designation that there is a 
"significant incidence" of child labor used in Panama to 
produce pornography will result in explosively salacious 
press reporting, undermine notable efforts being made by the 
GOP to combat trafficking in persons, and prove to be an 
unwarranted irritant in our bilateral relations with the GOP. 
 
 
--------------------- 
Use of the Guidelines 
--------------------- 
 
¶3.  (U) Of the sources cited by DOL, post was able to obtain 
the 2002 report entitled "The Commercial Sexual Exploitation 
of Girls, Boys and Adolescents in Panama" and Panama's 
Country Report on Human Rights Practices for 2007, but was 
unable to obtain the other two ILO/IPEC documents prior to 
this response.  At this time, post can therefore make only a 
limited analysis under the criterion established in the 
guidelines set forth in the Federal Register (the 
"Guidelines"), as encouraged by DOL.  Under the Guidelines, 
post takes issue with both of the cited sources. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
No Significant Incidence of Child Labor 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (SBU) DOL relies on a 2002 report entitled "The 
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents 
in Panama" to find a significant incidence of child labor 
used in pornography in Panama.  Post finds this finding 
highly problematic since, according to the report, a total of 
five minors, one male and four females, had posed naked for 
photos or videos during the reporting period.  Aside from the 
mention of these five cases, there was no other information 
relating to child pornography included in the report.  Post 
does not consider this to be a "significant incidence" that 
child labor was used in the production of pornography in 
Panama by any reasonable measure.  Indeed, post is of the 
opinion that this document serves to support its finding that 
there is not a significant incidence of child labor being 
used in the production of pornography in Panama.  Moreover, 
the report is nearly seven years old.  Post is not aware of 
the numbers cited in the other two ILO/IPEC studies but is in 
the process of obtaining those documents and will provide a 
response SEPTEL. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Panama's Country Report on Human Rights Practices 
for 2007 reported only that 22 cases of child pornography had 
been investigated by Panama's Sex Crimes Unit during the 
reporting period.  No additional information of any kind was 
provided regarding the details of these cases.  The 
production, use and dissemination of child pornography are 
criminalized under Panama's Penal Code.  The GOP provided no 
details regarding whether these investigations involved the 
production, use or dissemination of child pornography, and it 
cannot be assumed by the DOL that all of these cases, or even 
the majority, involved production.  The probative value of 
this evidence is limited, especially in light of the lack of 
corroboration by dedicated actors in the field.  If the 
numbers relied upon by DOL are sufficient to be interpreted 
as a "substantial incidence" of child pornography, it is 
curious that more countries were not included on the list. 
 
----------------------- 
Extent of Corroboration 
----------------------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) Of the four cited sources, three are ILO/IPEC 
studies.  Post does not have access to two of these 
documents, but is in the process of obtaining them from 
ILO/IPEC representatives in Panama.  If these two additional 
ILO/IPEC documents corroborate the findings in "The 
Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and Adolescents 
in Panama," it cannot reasonably be asserted that there is a 
"significant incidence" of child labor used in the production 
of pornography in Panama.  In an interview, representatives 
of the ILO office in Panama specifically reported that they 
were not aware of the production of child pornography as a 
problem in Panama, and anecdotally cited hearing of two or 
three cases in the last few years, one of which involved an 
American citizen in the Bocas del Toro region.  Indeed, the 
ILO representative corroborated the numbers in the 2002 
report relied upon by DOL that cited only five cases for the 
year.  Interviews with representatives of UNICEF, the 
Ministry of Labor, the Committee for the Eradication of Child 
Labor and the Protection of Adolescent Workers (CETIPPAT) and 
the NGO Casa Esperanza ("House of Hope") reported similarly 
that they were not aware of the use of child labor in the 
production of pornography in Panama outside of a few limited, 
isolated cases.  Casa Esperanza is a well-funded and 
well-regarded NGO that provided outreach to 5,000 working 
children in 2008 and had a presence throughout the country, 
including in 40 communities in the indigenous regions. 
 
-------------------- 
Outdated Information 
-------------------- 
 
¶7.  (U) The guidelines state that "information older than 
seven years will generally not be considered" in determining 
what goods are included on the List.  Two of the four sources 
cited by DOL were published in 2002.  Both of these sources 
are now nearly seven years old; at the time of publication of 
the List, the information in these sources will be eight 
years old. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Initiatives to Combat Child Pornography 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶8.  (U) Under the Guidelines, evidence of government or third 
party initiatives that are effective in significantly 
reducing the use of child labor in the production of 
pornography will be considered by the DOL in determining 
whether to include a good or country on the List.  Post 
asserts that the incidence of the use of child labor in the 
production of pornography is already low, and would like to 
cite several measures recently taken by Panama intended to 
prevent any increases in such practices: 
 
-- Panama enacted a new Penal Code reform package that went 
into effect in May, 2008, under Law 26.  The new law 
specifically prohibited trafficking in persons for sexual 
exploitation, both internally and transnationally.  Article 
181 of the new law prohibited the creation, exhibition or 
distribution of child pornography, punishable by 5 to 10 
years in prison; this penalty increased to 10 to 15 years if 
the victim was under the age of 14.  Article 182 prohibited 
the possession of child pornography, punishable by 3 to 5 
years in prison. 
 
-- Panama's Labor Code protected children from commercial 
sexual exploitation.  In general, minors under 18 years of 
age were prohibited from engaging in work that by its nature 
or conditions threatened morality. Executive Decree 19 was 
enacted on June 12, 2006 and incorporated into Panamanian law 
an official list of worst forms of child labor, as required 
by Article 4 of ILO Convention No. 182.  The worst forms of 
child labor specified in the decree included work involving 
sexual abuse or exposure to immoral acts.  Article 5 of 
Decree 19 granted power to the appropriate authorities to 
identify and sanction violators.  Engaging a minor in a worst 
form of child labor was a crime under the Penal Code.  Under 
Article 215D of law 38, employment of a minor in conditions 
dangerous to health, safety or morality was punishable by a 
sentence of two to six years in prison. 
 
-- Panama was a party to the following international 
conventions: Convention on the Rights of Children (1989), 
approved under Law 15, November 6, 1990; Interamerican 
Convention on Trafficking in Minors (1994), approved under 
Law 37, June 25, 1998; ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms 
of Child Labor (1999), approved under Law 18, June 15, 2000; 
Protocol to Prevent, Repress and Sanction Trafficking in 
Persons, Especially Women and Children (2000), approved under 
Law 23, 2004; and the Optional Protocol of the Convention on 
Children's Rights With Regard to the Sale of Children, Child 
Pornography and the Use of Children in Pornography (2000), 
approved under Law 47, December 13, 2000. 
 
-- The Ministry of Social Development ("MIDES") provided 
shelter and other services to minor victims of commercial 
sexual exploitation by using its own shelters and the 
shelters of NGOs that it subsidized. MIDES provided funding 
to 43 children's shelters operated by NGOs in seven provinces 
in 2008, and a budget of USD 600,000 was earmarked for this 
purpose for 2009. A new emergency shelter specifically for 
minor victims of trafficking was being built at GOP emergency 
housing facility Creo en Milagros ("I Believe in Miracles"), 
funded by a trafficking in persons grant provided by the USG. 
 The Puertas Abiertas ("Open Doors") shelter, also subsidized 
by MIDES, was specifically used for minor trafficking 
victims.  It provided specialized treatment to minor victims 
of commercial sexual exploitation, including psychological 
support and legal assistance, and through its comprehensive 
program entitled "Tu Dignidad Valor" (Your Dignity has 
Value).  This shelter reported providing services to six 
minor victims of commercial sexual exploitation in 2008 and 
101 victims of sexual abuse. 
 
-- A Panama City program known as "toque de noche" (touch the 
night), picked up unaccompanied minors after 9 p.m. and took 
them to shelters where appropriate. 
 
-- The GOP conducted public awareness campaigns disseminated 
through television, radio and newspapers, billboards in 
Panama City and at the Tocumen International Airport, and in 
movie theaters and on lottery tickets.  These campaigns 
included the following messages: "Commercial Sexual 
Exploitation is a Crime Punished with Prison Time" and "The 
Exploiter is the Guilty One."  The National Commission for 
the Prevention of Crimes of Commercial Sexual 
Exploitation("CONAPREDES"), MIDES, the National Council for 
Journalism and ILO/IPEC disseminated 60,000 copies of a TIP 
awareness-raising circular in El Siglo newspaper, with the 
main slogan "Play it Smart. Commercial Sexual Exploitation is 
a Crime.  Report it."  CONAPREDES, the Ministry of Education 
and ILO/IPEC created a poster aimed at students with the 
slogan "Breaking the Silence," that included a hotline number 
and urged them to report commercial sexual exploitation. The 
Ministry of Government and Justice collaborated with ILO/IPEC 
to produce a video entitled "The Role of the National Police 
in Facing Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Girls, Boys and 
Adolescents" and also engaged in a campaign using posters 
placed in strategic places. According to the GOP, the purpose 
of these campaigns was to sensitize the population and to 
create a culture of intolerance to these crimes. 
 
-- In June, the GOP introduced its "National Plan for the 
Prevention and Elimination of Sexual and Commercial 
Exploitation of Children and Adolescents, 2008-2010" (the 
"National Plan"), that set national goals and provided a 
blueprint for the inter-agency coordination of efforts 
against commercial sexual exploitation. 
 
-- CONAPREDES was created in 2008 to combat commercial sexual 
exploitation and was headed by the Attorney General and 
included representative members from MIDES, and the 
Ministries of Government and Justice, Education, Health, and 
Finance.  The presiding magistrate of the Supreme Court of 
Childhood and Adolescence was a member, as well as the 
National Assembly's President of the Committee on Women, 
Children's Rights, Youth and Family; the Director of the 
Technical and Judicial Police; the coordinator of the 
Executive Branch; and representatives from the Ombudsman's 
Office, the National Council of Childhood and Adolescence and 
the Lawyer's Guild.  On November 1, CONAPREDES opened a 
technical office staffed with 3 full-time employees to 
implement the National Plan.  CONAPREDES signed a work plan 
with UNICEF to develop metrics in order to quantifiably 
measure the success of the National Plan.  CONAPREDES was in 
the process of creating a "Coalition Table" to include 
Panama's national defense, security and police organizations. 
 
-- An information network was created between the Attorney 
General's designated trafficking in persons prosecutors to 
facilitate the sharing of data between prosecutors and other 
agencies in order to assist in the investigation and ultimate 
prosecution of crimes involving the commercial sexual 
exploitation of children and adults.  This effort was much 
facilitated by the USG's donation on January 29, 2009 of 
computers and related equipment valuing USD 125,000. 
 
-- MIDES worked to implement its Protocol for the Attention 
of Minor Victims of Sexual Commercial Exploitation, 
originally published in October of 2007.  The protocol called 
for the coordination of public and private institutions in 
order to detect commercial sexual exploitation of children, 
to provide immediate intervention and protection, to 
facilitate investigation and to provide social services to 
the victim. 
 
-- MIDES, through its Directorate of Children's Affairs and 
Adoptions, engaged in the second phase of a program initiated 
in 2006 entitled "Direct Attention to Boys, Girls and 
Adolescent Victims of Commercial Sexual Exploitation in the 
Jurisdictions of Tocumen, 24 of December and Las Mananitas". 
This program was carried out in coordination with NGO Casa 
Esperanza and was supported by funds from ILO.  In 2008, the 
program assisted 37 minor victims of commercial sexual 
exploitation in these neighborhoods, and prevented the 
exploitation of 60 minors at risk.  Under the program, at 
least 30 parents were provided with resources to assist and 
protect the minors in their care.  The current phase of the 
program will continue until October 2009. 
 
-- Panama continued to implement its National Plan for the 
Eradication of Child Labor and the Protection of Adolescent 
Workers for 2007 to 2011.  The program was administered 
through the Committee for the Eradication of Child Labor and 
the Protection of Adolescent Workers (CETIPPAT). In April 
2008, CETIPPAT initiated prevention and eradication programs 
in Panama City and Colon.  These programs were funded 
entirely from the GOP general budget in the amount of USD 
1.22 million.  Under the program, child workers and their 
families were located and provided with a variety of 
scholarships, training and social services in an effort to 
lower the likelihood of the targeted child returning to the 
work force.  In 2008, 2,500 children participated in the 
program.  Though aimed at combating child labor in general, 
under the program MIDES was able to locate and provide 
assistance to children engaged in commercial sexual 
activities.  UNICEF will perform an evaluation of the program 
that will be made publicly available in March 2009. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
Concern Regarding Removal From the List 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Post is concerned that, once put on the List, 
pornography will remain on the List for a protracted period 
despite the fact that the cited information is dated or 
scant.  Under the Guidelines, removal can occur in two ways: 
(i) if relevant information is obtained through ongoing 
monitoring by DOL; or (ii) outside the DOL's own active 
monitoring, if information is provided by a third party that 
demonstrates "that there is no significant incidence of child 
labor or forced labor in the production of the particular 
good in the country in question."  Post is concerned that a 
lack of information on the use of child labor in the 
production of pornography coming from Panama will lead to it 
erroneously staying on the List for an indeterminate period. 
Silence - a silence generated by the inability to prove a 
negative, particularly in absolute terms - will not likely 
remove pornography from the list.  Unless a further study is 
performed that shows fewer numbers than the limited and 
ambiguous numbers currently being reported, DOL will not be 
able to make a finding that motivates removal.  Likewise, in 
light of the current dearth of information, unless an entity 
or individual is somehow able to provide information proving 
the virtual non-existence of child labor being used in the 
production of pornography in Panama to the satisfaction of 
DOL, post is concerned that Panama will stay on the List 
indefinitely.  Post strongly recommends against including 
pornography produced by child labor on the List as post 
believes that doing so will undermine both the ability of 
post to work with the GOP to combat trafficking in persons 
and the credibility of the reporting process as a whole, 
leaving the USG ill-equipped to defend adequately or explain 
credibly its decision, alienate natural USG allies on labor 
matters in the NGO and international organization 
communities, and constitute an unwarranted and unnecessary 
political irritant in our bilateral relations with the GOP. 
 
 
STEPHENSON