VZCZCXRO6987
OO RUEHKN
DE RUEHC #0525/01 1622238
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 112212Z JUN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY KOLONIA IMMEDIATE 2062

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 STATE 060525 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG FM
SUBJECT: FEDERATED STATES OF MICRONESIA -- 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 FSM 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 FSM 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 
atwww.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 FSM 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 FSM,s country narrative in the 2009 
TIP Report: 
 
-------------------------------- 
Federated States of Micronesia (Tier 2 Watch List) 
-------------------------------- 
 
The Federated States of Micronesia (FSM) is a source country 
for some  women trafficked to Guam for the purposes of 
commercial sexual exploitation, and possibly a destination 
for women from the People,s Republic of China (PRC) 
trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual 
exploitation.  The FSM may be a destination country for a few 
men and women from other Pacific nations trafficked for the 
purpose of forced labor.  In one reported case, a small group 
of young women in the state of Chuuk were lured by job 
opportunities in the service and hospitality sectors with 
 
STATE 00060525  002 OF 005 
 
 
salaries unavailable locally to the U.S. Territory of Guam. 
Instead of working as store clerks or waitresses, however, 
the women were forced to engage in prostitution.  Brothel 
owners reportedly confiscated their passports and physically 
harmed the victims to ensure their obedience.  Very little 
data on human trafficking in FSM exists, as the government 
has not conducted any relevant investigations, studies, or 
surveys on the issue.  Anecdotal reporting suggests that few 
victims are trafficked within or outside the FSM. 
 
 
The Government of the Federated States of Micronesia does not 
fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination 
of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to 
do so.  Despite significant overall efforts, the government 
has not provided evidence of vigorous efforts to identify 
trafficking victims and to prevent trafficking incidents by 
educating the public about the dangers of trafficking; 
therefore FSM is placed on Tier 2 Watch List.  In the two 
police academy classes that have taken place since 2007, 
anti-Trafficking in Persons techniques were a major part of 
the curriculum. 
 
 
Recommendations for FSM:  Develop and implement a 
comprehensive federal anti-human trafficking law; create or 
support campaigns to educate and inform the public about the 
dangers of trafficking; monitor the practices of overseas 
employment recruiters, and investigate recruiters who may be 
involved in trafficking; and develop an internal structure 
which ensures victims, access to protective services. 
 
Prosecution 
----------- 
FSM national police has jurisdiction over trafficking issues, 
although no specific or comprehensive federal laws prohibit 
human trafficking or trafficking-related offenses such as 
slavery, forced labor, or forced prostitution.  Each of the 
four states could prosecute trafficking offenses under 
related laws prohibiting false imprisonment, criminal 
coercion, kidnapping, and even &making threats.8  Penalties 
for trafficking offenders under these laws range from five to 
ten years imprisonment and are sufficiently stringent and 
commensurate with penalties for other serious crimes, such as 
rape.  The government,s Transnational Crime Unit (TCU), part 
of the Pacific Transnational Crime network, was the main 
conduit for general law enforcement information coming from 
international sources.  The Unit had regular contract with 
the FBI and the Australian Federal Police.  FSM police 
cooperated with foreign law enforcement officials 
investigating the case of the women trafficked from Chuuk to 
a brothel in Guam, where prosecution of the illegal brothel 
owners for trafficking began in early 2009.  FSM reportedly 
began an investigation into the activities of the Micronesian 
citizen who recruited the women in Chuuk and is believed to 
also have been trying to recruit women in the state of 
Pohnpei.  Law enforcement agencies operated under significant 
resource, personnel, and capacity constraints. 
 
Protection 
---------- 
During the reporting period, the government did not identify 
any trafficking victims within FSM,s borders,  and therefore 
did not  provide specific assistance to victims of 
trafficking, though it ensured that identified victims would 
have access to limited, general protective services provided 
by government agencies.  No NGOs provide victim services 
independently or in cooperation with the government.  FSM has 
no laws specifically protecting trafficking victims or 
witnesses, although general material witness laws give the 
government the right to detain witnesses for their own 
protection.  Effective due process procedures in the FSM 
criminal justice system generally ensured that the rights of 
all victims of crime were respected and protected.  While no 
specific civil remedy for trafficking victims is spelled out 
in the state or national codes, each state's code does 
provide general redress for personal injuries caused by 
another.  Victims may bring personal injury civil suits 
against traffickers, although no suits have ever been filed. 
The law did not provide legal alternatives to the removal of 
foreign victims to countries where they faced hardship or 
retribution. 
 
Prevention 
---------- 
The government made no efforts to prevent trafficking or 
increase the public,s awareness of trafficking risks in FSM 
and the region during the reporting period.  Evidence and 
anecdotal reports suggest that the current number of internal 
or transnational trafficking victims is relatively low; the 
government,s limited resources were thus often directed to 
meet more emergent priorities.  The  government, however, did 
initiate anti-Trafficking in Persons training for new police 
 
STATE 00060525  003 OF 005 
 
 
recruits in the last two police academy classes.  FSM 
supports no anti-trafficking task forces or working groups. 
The government has run no campaigns aimed at reducing the 
demand for commercial sex acts.  FSM has not ratified the 
2000 UN TIP Protocol. 
 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
 
¶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 
 
STATE 00060525  004 OF 005 
 
 
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 is Micronesia included in the Report this year?  Why 
was it given a ranking of Tier 2 Watch List? 
 
A:   Micronesia was ranked on the 2009 TIP Report because 
there is evidence that it is a country of origin, transit, or 
destination for victims of severe forms of trafficking. 
Micronesia was placed on Tier 2 Watch List because the 
Government of the Federated States of Micronesia does not 
fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination 
of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to 
do so.  Despite significant overall efforts, the government 
has not provided evidence of vigorous efforts to identify 
trafficking victims and to prevent trafficking incidents by 
educating the public about the dangers of trafficking; 
therefore FSM is placed on Tier 2 Watch List. 
 
Q2:  What is the nature of the trafficking problem in FSM? 
 
A:  FSM is a source country for some women trafficked to Guam 
for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation, and 
possibly a destination for women from the People,s Republic 
of China trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual 
exploitation.  It may also be a destination country for a few 
men and women from other Pacific nations trafficked for the 
purpose of forced labor.  In one reported case, a small group 
of young women in the state of Chuuk were lured by job 
opportunities in the service and hospitality sectors with 
salaries unavailable locally to the U.S. Territory of Guam. 
Instead of working as store clerks or waitresses, however, 
the women were forced to engage in prostitution.  Brothel 
owners reportedly confiscated their passports and physically 
harmed the victims to ensure their obedience.  Anecdotal 
reporting suggests that few victims are trafficked within or 
from FSM.  Very little data on human trafficking in FSM 
exists, however, as the government has not conducted any 
relevant investigations, studies, or surveys on the issue. 
 
Q3:  What measures can FSM take over the next year to improve 
its anti-trafficking fight? 
 
A:  The FSM government could:  develop and implement a 
comprehensive federal anti-human trafficking law; create or 
support campaigns to educate and inform the public about the 
 
STATE 00060525  005 OF 005 
 
 
dangers of trafficking; monitor the practices of overseas 
employment recruiters, and investigate recruiters who may be 
involved in trafficking; and develop an internal structure 
which ensures trafficking victims, access to protective 
services. 
 
¶12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the 
preceding action requests. 
CLINTON