VZCZCXYZ0000
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #0454 1622048
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 112014Z JUN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY ULAANBAATAR IMMEDIATE 0000

UNCLAS STATE 060454 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG MG
SUBJECT: MONGOLIA -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND 
DEMARCHE 
 
REF: A. (A) STATE 59732 
     ¶B. (B) STATE 005577 
 
¶1. This is an action cable; see paras 5 through 7 and 10. 
 
¶2. On June 16, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the Secretary will 
release the 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report at a 
press conference in the Department's press briefing room. 
This release will receive substantial coverage in domestic 
and foreign news outlets.  Until the time of the Secretary's 
June 16 press conference, any public release of the Report or 
country narratives contained therein is prohibited. 
 
¶3. The Department is hereby providing Post with advance press 
guidance to be used on June 16 or thereafter.  Also provided 
is demarche language to be used in informing the Government 
of Mongolia of its tier ranking and the TIP Report's imminent 
release.  The text of the TIP Report country narrative is 
provided, both for use in informing the Government of 
Mongolia and in any local media release by Post's public 
affairs section on June 16 or thereafter.  Drawing on 
information provided below in paras 8 and 9, Post may provide 
the host government with the text of the TIP Report narrative 
no earlier than 1200 noon local time Monday June 15 for WHA, 
AF, EUR, and NEA countries and OOB local time Tuesday June 16 
for SCA and EAP posts.  Please note, however, that any public 
release of the Report's information should not/not precede 
the Secretary's release at 10:00 am EDT on June 16. 
 
¶4. The entire TIP Report will be available on-line at 
www.state.gov/g/tip shortly after the Secretary's June 16 
release.  Hard copies of the Report will be pouched to posts 
in all countries appearing on the Report.  The Secretary's 
statement at the June 16 press event, and the statement of 
and fielding of media questions by G/TIP,s Director and 
Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Ambassador-at-Large Luis 
CdeBaca, will be available on the Department's website 
shortly after the June 16 event.  Ambassador de Baca will 
also hold a general briefing for officials of foreign 
embassies in Washington DC on June 17 at 3:30 pm EDT. 
 
¶5. Action Request: No earlier than 12 noon local time on 
Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA posts and OOB local 
time on Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts, please inform 
the appropriate official in the Government of Mongolia of the 
June 16 release of the 2009 TIP Report, drawing on the points 
in para 9 (at Post's discretion) and including the text of 
the country narrative provided in para 8.  For countries 
where the State Department has lowered the tier ranking, it 
is particularly important to advise governments prior to the 
Report being released in Washington on June 16. 
 
¶6. Action Request continued:  Please note that, for those 
countries which will not receive an "action plan" with 
specific recommendations for improvement, posts should draw 
host governments' attention to the areas for improvement 
identified in the 2009 Report, especially highlighted in the 
"Recommendations" section of the second paragraph of the 
narrative text.  This engagement is important to establishing 
the framework in which the government's performance will be 
judged for the 2010 Report.  If posts have questions about 
which governments will receive an action plan, or how they 
may follow up on the recommendations in the 2009 Report, 
please contact G/TIP and the appropriate regional bureau. 
 
¶7. Action Request continued: On June 16, please be prepared 
to answer media inquiries on the Report's release using the 
press guidance provided in para 11.  If Post wishes, a local 
press statement may be released on or after 10:30 am EDT June 
16, drawing on the press guidance and the text of the TIP 
Report's country narrative provided in para 8. 
 
¶8. Begin Final Text of Mongolia,s country narrative in the 
2009 TIP Report: 
 
-------------------------------- 
MONGOLIA (TIER 2) 
-------------------------------- 
Mongolia is a source country for men, women, and children 
trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced 
labor.  Mongolian women and girls are trafficked to China, 
Macau, Hong Kong, Malaysia, and South Korea for both forced 
labor and sexual exploitation.  Mongolian men and women are 
trafficked to Kazakhstan and Turkey for labor exploitation. 
There is also concern about involuntary child labor in the 
Mongolian construction, mining, and industrial sectors, where 
they are vulnerable to injury and face severe health hazards, 
such as exposure to mercury.  Mongolian trafficking victims 
were documented over the last year in a greater number of 
destinations, including Germany, Switzerland, the United Arab 
Emirates, Israel, and other countries in the Middle East. 
Some Mongolian women who enter into marriages with foreign 
nationals ) mainly South Koreans ) were subjected to 
conditions of involuntary servitude after moving to their 
spouses, homeland.  Mongolia continues to face the problem 
of children trafficked internally for the purpose of 
commercial sexual exploitation, reportedly organized by 
criminal networks.  There have been several reports of 
Mongolian girls and women being kidnapped and forced to work 
in the country,s commercial sex trade.  According to NGOs, 
South Korean and Japanese child sex tourists were visiting 
Mongolia in greater numbers.  Methods used by traffickers to 
lure victims grew increasingly organized and sophisticated. 
For instance, traffickers are beginning to utilize &TV 
Chat,8 a late-night broadcast through which viewers send and 
view text messages, as a method to recruit victims, typically 
through the promise of lucrative jobs.  Around 150 North 
Koreans remain employed in Mongolia as contract laborers.  In 
2008, the Mongolian government signed an agreement with North 
Korea that could bring as many as 5,300 additional DPRK 
laborers to Mongolia.  Once overseas North Korean workers do 
not appear to be free to leave their employment, their 
freedom of movement and communication are restricted, and 
workers typically only receive a fraction of the money paid 
to the North Korean government for their work. 
 
The Government of Mongolia does not fully comply with the 
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; 
however, it is making significant efforts to do so.  The use 
of laws other than trafficking-specific laws to prosecute 
traffickers resulted in generally lower sentences for 
convicted offenders.  The government cooperated with NGOs on 
anti-trafficking measures, but did not provide sufficient 
assistance to victims.  Despite continued reports of 
complicity by government officials in severe forms of 
trafficking, there were no investigations or prosecutions of 
such corruption. 
 
Recommendations for Mongolia:  Make more effective use of 
Article 113, Mongolia,s trafficking law, to prosecute 
suspected trafficking offenders; investigate and prosecute 
government officials complicit in trafficking; expand the 
number of police investigators and prosecutors dedicated to 
addressing trafficking cases; raise awareness among law 
enforcement officials and prosecutors throughout the country 
about trafficking crimes; develop and implement formal victim 
identification and referral procedures to ensure that victims 
are found among at-risk populations and referred for victim 
services; consider measures to protect victims who assist and 
testify in trafficking trials; and improve protection and 
rehabilitation services for victims. 
 
Prosecution 
----------- 
The Mongolian government made some progress in enforcing its 
anti-trafficking laws during the last year.  Mongolia 
criminalizes all forms of human trafficking through Article 
113 of its criminal code, which was amended in 2007 and which 
prescribes penalties that are sufficiently stringent ) up to 
15 years, imprisonment ) and commensurate with those 
penalties prescribed for other serious offenses.  The 
government secured the convictions of 10 trafficking 
offenders under Article 113, compared to seven convictions in 
the previous reporting period.  Those convicted under Article 
113, including a woman who trafficked five young Mongolian 
women to Macau, received sentences of from 10 to 15 years, 
imprisonment.  Thirty-three other people were convicted under 
the lesser offense of forced prostitution (Article 124) and 
were sentenced to between one and three years, imprisonment. 
 Several trafficking offenders convicted under Article 124 
were fined and were not sentenced to prison.  Two cases 
prosecuted in 2008 under Article 124 involved five victims 
who were children. During the year, the Supreme Court issued 
an interpretation of the amended Article 113 that created 
ambiguities as to when prosecutors and judges should apply 
the law.  Police, judges, and prosecutors continued to 
exhibit a lack of knowledge regarding trafficking.  There 
continued to be reports of law enforcement officials directly 
involved in or facilitating trafficking crimes during the 
year, including assisting traffickers in identifying 
potential victims.  Anecdotal reporting suggests that some 
high-level government and police officials have been clients 
of minors exploited in prostitution, but the government did 
not investigate or take any disciplinary actions against law 
enforcement officers implicated in trafficking-related 
corruption. 
 
Protection 
---------- 
The Mongolian government,s efforts to protect trafficking 
victims were inadequate, and it continued to rely heavily on 
NGOs and international organizations to provide the bulk of 
victim services.  Sixty-one trafficking victims were 
identified during the reporting period, compared with 115 
victims identified during the previous year.   Most victims 
were trafficked to China for sexual exploitation.  It is 
unclear how many victims were identified by the government, 
as opposed to NGOs.  Government personnel did not proactively 
identify trafficking victims, nor do they refer trafficking 
victims to appropriate government or NGO services.  The 
government encouraged victims to participate in 
investigations and prosecutions of trafficking offenders, but 
Mongolian law continued to lack protection provisions for 
victims of any crimes, including trafficking.  Victims were 
sometimes punished for unlawful acts committed as a direct 
result of their being trafficked, as they faced the risk of 
being prosecuted on charges related to prostitution.  In 
February 2009, while in police custody, two trafficking 
victims filed charges against their trafficker.  When they 
left police custody, their trafficker used threats to force 
them to recant the charges.  Upon doing so, the trafficker 
had the victims charged with defamation and making false 
statements to the police.  The girls were arrested and 
sentenced in the Sukhbaatar District Court on February 18, 
2009, to two years in prison, but the sentence was suspended 
for one year and the girls placed under police supervision to 
provide time for their NGO-provided lawyer to prepare an 
appeal.  Given its limited resources, the government did not 
run or fund shelters for victims of trafficking; nor did it 
provide direct assistance to Mongolian trafficking victims 
repatriated from other countries. 
 
Prevention 
---------- 
The Government of Mongolia did not undertake any significant 
new trafficking prevention activities during the reporting 
period.  Government personnel continued the distribution of 
NGO-sponsored passport and train ticket inserts, which led to 
the repatriation of several additional Mongolian trafficking 
victims.  The government sustained collaboration with NGOs 
providing anti-trafficking training to police, immigration 
officials, Border Force officials, and civil servants.  NGOs 
continued to report, however, that cooperation varied 
considerably by government ministry.  The government did not 
take any measures during the reporting period to reduce the 
demand for commercial sex acts.  Mongolian troops deployed 
abroad for international peacekeeping missions were briefed 
on the fact that solicitation of prostitution while serving 
abroad would be considered a criminal act under Mongolian 
law. 
 
¶9. Post may wish to deliver the following points, which offer 
technical and legal background on the TIP Report process, to 
the host government as a non-paper with the above TIP Report 
country narrative: 
 
(begin non-paper) 
 
-- The U.S. Congress, through its passage of the 2000 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended (TVPA), 
requires the Secretary of State to submit an annual Report to 
Congress.  The goal of this Report is to stimulate action and 
create partnerships around the world in the fight against 
modern-day slavery.  The USG approach to combating human 
trafficking follows the TVPA and the standards set forth in 
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in 
Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the 
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized 
Crime (commonly known as the "Palermo Protocol").  The TVPA 
and the Palermo Protocol recognize that this is a crime in 
which the victims, labor or services (including in the "sex 
industry") are obtained or maintained through force, fraud, 
or coercion, whether overt or through psychological 
manipulation.  While much attention has focused on 
international flows, both the TVPA and the Palermo Protocol 
focus on the exploitation of the victim, and do not require a 
showing that the victim was moved. 
 
-- Recent amendments to the TVPA removed the requirement that 
only countries with a "significant number" of trafficking 
victims be included in the Report. Beginning with the 2009 
TIP Report, countries determined to be a country of origin, 
transit, or destination for victims of severe forms of 
trafficking are included in the Report and assigned to one of 
three tiers.  Countries assessed as meeting the "minimum 
standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking" 
set forth in the TVPA are classified as Tier 1.  Countries 
assessed as not fully complying with the minimum standards, 
but making significant efforts to meet those minimum 
standards are classified as Tier 2.  Countries assessed as 
neither complying with the minimum standards nor making 
significant efforts to do so are classified as Tier 3. 
 
-- The TVPA also requires the Secretary of State to provide a 
"Special Watch List" to Congress later in the year. 
Anti-trafficking efforts of the countries on this list are to 
be evaluated again in an Interim Assessment that the 
Secretary of State must provide to Congress by February 1 of 
each year.  Countries are included on the "Special Watch 
List" if they move up in "tier" rankings in the annual TIP 
Report -- from 3 to 2 or from 2 to 1 ) or if they have been 
placed on the Tier 2 Watch List. 
 
-- Tier 2 Watch List consists of Tier 2 countries determined: 
(1) not to have made "increasing efforts" to combat human 
trafficking over the past year; (2) to be making significant 
efforts based on commitments of anti-trafficking reforms over 
the next year, or (3) to have a very significant number of 
trafficking victims or a significantly increasing victim 
population.  As indicated in reftel B, the TVPRA of 2008 
contains a provision requiring that a country that has been 
included on Tier 2 Watch List for two consecutive years after 
the date of enactment of the TVPRA of 2008 be ranked as Tier 
¶3.  Thus, any automatic downgrade to Tier 3 pursuant to this 
provision would take place, at the earliest, in the 2011 TIP 
Report (i.e., a country would have to be ranked Tier 2 Watch 
List in the 2009 and 2010 Reports before being subject to 
Tier 3 in the 2011 Report).  The new law allows for a waiver 
of this provision for up to two additional years upon a 
determination by the President that the country has developed 
and devoted sufficient resources to a written plan to make 
significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the 
minimum standards. 
 
-- Countries classified as Tier 3 may be subject to statutory 
restrictions for the subsequent fiscal year on 
non-humanitarian and non-trade-related foreign assistance 
and, in some circumstances, withholding of funding for 
participation by government officials or employees in 
educational and cultural exchange programs.   In addition, 
the President could instruct the U.S. executive directors to 
international financial institutions to oppose loans or other 
utilization of funds (other than for humanitarian, 
trade-related or certain types of development assistance) 
with respect to countries on Tier 3.  Countries classified as 
Tier 3 that take strong action within 90 days of the Report's 
release to show significant efforts against trafficking in 
persons, and thereby warrant a reassessment of their Tier 
classification, would avoid such sanctions.  Guidelines for 
such actions are in the DOS-crafted action plans to be shared 
by Posts with host governments. 
 
-- The 2009 TIP Report, issuing as it does in the midst of 
the global financial crisis, highlights high levels of 
trafficking for forced labor in many parts of the world and 
systemic contributing factors to this phenomenon:  fraudulent 
recruitment practices and excessive recruiting fees in 
workers, home countries; the lack of adequate labor 
protections in both sending and receiving countries; and the 
flawed design of some destination countries, "sponsorship 
systems" that do not give foreign workers adequate legal 
recourse when faced with conditions of forced labor.  As the 
May 2009 ILO Global Report on Forced Labor concluded, forced 
labor victims suffer approximately $20 billion in losses, and 
traffickers, profits are estimated at $31 billion.  The 
current global financial crisis threatens to increase the 
number of victims of forced labor and increase the associated 
"cost of coercion." 
 
-- The text of the TVPA and amendments can be found on 
website www.state.gov/g/tip. 
 
-- On June 16, 2009, the Secretary of State will release the 
ninth annual TIP Report in a public event at the State 
Department.  We are providing you an advance copy of your 
country's narrative in that report.  Please keep this 
information embargoed until 10:00 am Washington DC time June 
¶16.  The State Department will also hold a general briefing 
for officials of foreign embassies in Washington DC on June 
17 at 3:30 pm EDT. 
 
(end non-paper) 
 
¶10. Posts should make sure that the relevant country 
narrative is readily available on or though the Mission's web 
page in English and appropriate local language(s) as soon as 
possible after the TIP Report is released.  Funding for 
translation costs will be handled as it was for the Human 
Rights Report.  Posts needing financial assistance for 
translation costs should contact their regional bureau,s EX 
office. 
 
¶11. The following is press guidance provided for Post to use 
with local media. 
 
Q1: Why was Mongolia given a ranking of Tier 2? 
 
A: The Government of Mongolia does not fully comply with the 
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; 
however, it is making significant efforts to do so.  The use 
of laws other than trafficking-specific laws to prosecute 
traffickers resulted in generally lower sentences for 
convicted offenders.  The government cooperated with NGOs on 
anti-trafficking measures, but did not provide sufficient 
assistance to victims.  Despite continued reports of 
complicity by government officials in severe forms of 
trafficking, there were no investigations or prosecutions of 
such corruption. 
 
Q2: What progress has Mongolia made in the past year? 
 
A: The Mongolian government made some progress in enforcing 
its anti-trafficking laws during the last year.  The 
government secured the convictions of 10 trafficking 
offenders under Article 113, compared to seven convictions in 
the previous reporting period.  Thirty-three other people 
were convicted under the lesser offense of forced 
prostitution (Article 124) and were sentenced to between one 
and three years, imprisonment.  Government personnel 
continued the distribution of NGO-sponsored passport and 
train ticket inserts, which led to the repatriation of 
several Mongolian trafficking victims.  The government 
sustained collaboration with NGOs providing anti-trafficking 
training to police, immigration officials, Border Force 
officials, and civil servants. 
 
Q3: What efforts could Mongolia make to improve its  fight 
against trafficking in persons? 
 
A:  The Government of Mongolia could:  make more effective 
use of Article 113, Mongolia,s trafficking law, to prosecute 
suspected trafficking offenders; investigate and prosecute 
government officials complicit in trafficking; expand the 
number of police investigators and prosecutors dedicated to 
addressing trafficking cases; raise awareness among law 
enforcement officials and prosecutors throughout the country 
about trafficking crimes; develop and implement formal victim 
identification and referral procedures to ensure that victims 
are found among at-risk populations and referred for victim 
services; consider measures to protect victims who assist and 
testify in trafficking trials; and improve protection and 
rehabilitation services for victims. 
 
¶12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the 
preceding action requests. 
CLINTON