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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #0492 1622120
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 112056Z JUN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY BELMOPAN IMMEDIATE 0000

UNCLAS STATE 060492 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG BH
SUBJECT: BELIZE -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND 
DEMARCHE 
 
REF: A. STATE 59732 
     ¶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 Belize 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 Belize 
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 OOB local time 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 Belize 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 Belize,s country narrative in the 
2009 TIP Report: 
 
-------------------------------- 
BELIZE  (TIER 2 WATCH LIST) 
-------------------------------- 
 
Belize is a source, transit, and destination country for men, 
women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial 
sexual exploitation and forced labor.  The most common form 
of trafficking in Belize is the internal sex trafficking of 
minors, particularly situations where poor families push 
their school-aged daughters to provide sexual favors to 
wealthy older men in exchange for school fees, money, and 
gifts.  This &sugar daddy8 phenomenon occurs in Belize and 
other Caribbean countries, but often is not recognized as a 
form of human trafficking by local communities or law 
enforcement personnel.  In two recent cases, more than 70 
workers from Nepal and India were trafficked to Belize for 
forced labor.  After being deceived as to the true nature of 
employment, these victims encountered forced working 
conditions upon arrival in Belize, in addition to the 
confiscation of their passports.  Some Central American men, 
women, and children, particularly from Guatemala, Honduras, 
and El Salvador, migrate voluntarily to Belize in search of 
work but are subsequently subjected to conditions of forced 
labor or forced prostitution. 
 
The Government of Belize does not fully comply with the 
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; 
however, it is making significant efforts to do so.  Despite 
these overall significant efforts, the government did not 
show evidence of progress in convicting and sentencing 
trafficking offenders last year, and therefore Belize is 
placed on Tier 2 Watch List. 
 
Recommendations for Belize:  Increase efforts to investigate 
and prosecute trafficking offenses and convict and punish 
trafficking offenders, including any allegedly complicit 
public officials; increase law enforcement efforts against 
forced labor; continue to improve victim services and 
assistance; and increase penalties for sex trafficking crimes 
so they are commensurate with penalties for other grave 
crimes. 
 
Prosecution 
----------- 
The Government of Belize made inadequate progress in applying 
law enforcement measures against trafficking offenders during 
the past year.  The Government of Belize prohibits all forms 
of trafficking through its Trafficking in Persons Prohibition 
Act of 2003, which prescribes punishment between one and five 
years, imprisonment and a $5,000 fine.  These penalties are 
sufficiently stringent but are not commensurate with 
penalties prescribed for other serious crimes such as rape, 
which carries a penalty of eight years to life imprisonment. 
There were no trafficking convictions during the reporting 
period: one prosecution was dismissed, two prosecutions 
remain pending, and one is pending appeal.  In one case, the 
government charged a Chinese company with five counts of 
withholding travel documents ) an offense less severe than 
trafficking -- after reviewing allegations that the company 
had trafficked 70 Nepalese and Indian workers to Belize to 
work on a hydrodam project.  In September 2008, a court 
dismissed the case on procedural grounds; the government is 
in the process of filing an appeal.  A separate complaint of 
an Indian shop owner mistreating and coercing Indian migrants 
into labor exploitation after confiscating their passports 
remains pending in Belize City magistrate,s court.  In 2007, 
police raided a brothel and rescued a 16-year-old sex 
trafficking victim; charges against the brothel owner remain 
pending.  Some international organizations describe Belize,s 
judicial system as dysfunctional.   Human trafficking cases 
are typically handled in lower courts and often dismissed. 
An anti-trafficking committee leads the government,s 
efforts, including coordination of investigations and 
prosecutions of trafficking offenders; however, the committee 
discontinued brothel raids to identify trafficking victims 
last year. The government increased anti-trafficking training 
for police, immigration officials, and social workers during 
the reporting period, though anti-trafficking training for 
labor inspectors remained lacking.  The Belizean government 
cooperated with foreign governments on trafficking 
investigations.  Complicity with trafficking by police 
officials appeared to be an impediment to some prosecutions. 
 
Protection 
---------- 
The Government of Belize maintained solid protection services 
for trafficking victims last year. Child victims of 
trafficking are placed in government institutions for minors. 
 The government operated two shelters for adult trafficking 
victims and provided access to medical care, counseling, and 
integration assistance.  Eleven foreign labor trafficking 
victims received shelter assistance, victim services, and 
work permits last year.  An additional 60 victims from the 
hydrodam labor trafficking case were assisted by the 
government and repatriated to Nepal and India; transportation 
costs were paid by the company that had contracted the 
workers.   Authorities in Belize encouraged victims to assist 
with the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers. 
Prosecutors noted difficulty with the willingness of some 
victim witnesses, particularly child sex trafficking victims, 
to assist with prosecutions; some victims feared further 
mistreatment, others did not view themselves as victims, and 
others were discouraged from testifying by family members. 
There were no reports of victims being jailed or penalized 
for crimes committed as a direct result of being trafficked. 
Belize also provided temporary residency for foreign 
trafficking victims, and other temporary legal alternatives 
to the removal of victims to countries in which they would 
face hardship or retribution. 
 
Prevention 
---------- 
The government maintained efforts to raise public awareness 
of human trafficking during the reporting period.  The 
government developed public service announcements in multiple 
languages and redistributed posters and anti-trafficking 
materials.  The government supported local NGOs and provided 
annual funding for their anti-trafficking efforts.  In 
particular, the government assisted an NGO in Belize City to 
educate children and parents about the dangers of sexual 
exploitation and the &sugar daddy8 phenomenon.  The 
government also continued to work with Belize,s tourism 
industry to promote a code of conduct to prevent child sex 
tourism.  No specific efforts to reduce demand for forced 
labor were reported. 
 
¶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.8 
 
-- 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 Belize downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List on this 
year,s Report? 
 
A: The Government of Belize does not fully comply with the 
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; 
however, it is making significant efforts to do so.  Despite 
such efforts, the government did not show evidence of 
progress in convicting and sentencing trafficking offenders 
last year, and therefore Belize is placed on Tier 2 Watch 
List. 
 
Q2: What is the nature of Belize,s trafficking problem? 
 
A: Belize is a source, transit, and destination country for 
men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of 
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.  The most 
common form of trafficking in Belize is the internal sex 
trafficking of minors, particularly situations where poor 
families push their school-aged daughters to provide sexual 
favors to wealthy older men in exchange for school fees, 
money, and gifts.  This &sugar daddy8 phenomenon occurs in 
Belize and other Caribbean countries, but often is not 
recognized as a form of human trafficking by local 
communities or law enforcement personnel.  In two cases, more 
than 70 workers from Nepal and India were trafficked to 
Belize for forced labor.  After being deceived as to the true 
nature of employment, these victims encountered forced 
working conditions upon arrival in Belize, in addition to 
confiscation of their passports.  Some Central American men, 
women, and children, particularly from Guatemala, Honduras, 
and El Salvador, migrate voluntarily to Belize in search of 
work but are subsequently subjected to conditions of forced 
labor or forced prostitution. 
 
Q3: How can Belize improve its anti-trafficking efforts? 
 
A:  To advance its efforts to combat human trafficking, the 
Government of Belize could: Increase efforts to investigate 
and prosecute trafficking offenses and convict and punish 
trafficking offenders, including any allegedly complicit 
public officials; increase law enforcement efforts against 
forced labor; continue to improve victim services and 
assistance; and increase penalties for sex trafficking crimes 
so they are commensurate with penalties for other grave 
crimes. 
 
¶12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the 
preceding action requests. 
CLINTON