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OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #0556 1622323
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 112253Z JUN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY KABUL IMMEDIATE 0000

UNCLAS STATE 060556 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG AF
SUBJECT: AFGHANISTAN -- 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 Afghanistan 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 Afghanistan 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 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 Afghanistan 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 Afghanistan,s country narrative in 
the 2009 TIP Report: 
 
--------------------- 
AFGHANISTAN (TIER 2) 
-------------------- 
 
Afghanistan is a source, transit, and destination country for 
men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of 
forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation.  Afghan boys 
and girls are trafficked within the country for commercial 
sexual exploitation, forced marriage to settle debts or 
disputes, forced begging, as well as forced labor or debt 
bondage in brick kilns, carpet-making factories, and domestic 
service.  Afghan children are also trafficked to Iran and 
Pakistan for forced labor, particularly in Pakistan,s carpet 
factories, and forced marriage.  Boys are promised enrollment 
in Islamic schools in Pakistan, but instead are trafficked to 
camps for paramilitary training by extremist groups.  Afghan 
women and girls are trafficked within the country and to 
Pakistan and Iran for commercial sexual exploitation and 
temporary marriages.  Some Afghan men force their wives or 
daughters into prostitution.  Afghan men are trafficked to 
Iran and Pakistan for forced labor and debt bondage, as well 
as to Greece for forced labor in the agriculture or 
construction sectors.  Afghanistan is also a destination for 
women and girls from Iran, Tajikistan, and possibly China 
trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation.  Tajik women 
are also believed to be trafficked through Afghanistan to 
Pakistan and Iran for commercial sexual exploitation. 
Trafficked Iranian women transit Afghanistan en route to 
Pakistan. 
 
The Government of Afghanistan does not fully comply with the 
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; 
however, it is making significant efforts to do so. 
Government actors continue to conflate the crimes of 
kidnapping and trafficking; this poor understanding of 
trafficking poses an impediment to targeted intervention.  An 
undeveloped judicial and prosecutorial system, judicial 
delays, corruption, and weak coordination remain obstacles to 
effectively punishing trafficking offenses.  In addition, 
Afghanistan punishes some victims of sex trafficking with 
imprisonment for adultery or prostitution, acts committed as 
a direct result of being trafficked.  Although the government 
lacks resources to provide comprehensive victim protection 
services and did not adequately punish all identified acts of 
trafficking, its newly instituted victim referral process, 
launching of victim referral centers, and passage of 
anti-trafficking legislation demonstrate progress in 
providing increased protective services for trafficking 
victims and punishment of their exploiters. 
 
Recommendations for Afghanistan:  Increase law enforcement 
activities against trafficking, including prosecutions, 
convictions, and imprisonment for acts of trafficking for 
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor, including 
debt bondage; ensure that victims of trafficking are not 
punished for acts committed as a direct result of being 
trafficked, such as prostitution or adultery; collaborate 
with NGOs to ensure that all children, including boys, 
victimized by sex and labor trafficking receive protective 
services; and undertake initiatives to prevent trafficking, 
such as instituting a public awareness campaign to warn 
at-risk populations of the dangers of trafficking. 
 
Prosecution 
----------- 
Despite the enactment of anti-trafficking legislation, it is 
not clear whether the Government of Afghanistan adequately 
prosecuted or punished trafficking offenders over the 
reporting period.  In July 2008, the government enacted an 
anti-trafficking law, the Law Countering Abduction and Human 
Trafficking, through presidential decree; the law prescribes 
penalties of life imprisonment for sex trafficking and 
&maximum term8 imprisonment for labor trafficking, which, 
in practice, is between eight and 15 years.  These penalties 
are sufficiently stringent and exceed those prescribed for 
other grave crimes, such as rape.  According to government 
records, there were no prosecutions under the new 
anti-trafficking legislation.  The government, however, 
reported the convictions of 62 trafficking offenders under 
statutes criminalizing kidnapping and rape; sentences 
reportedly ranged from five to 18 years, imprisonment.  It 
is unknown how many cases may have been prosecuted that 
resulted in acquittals.  As the government was unable to 
provide disaggregated data or specific case information, it 
is unclear if these offenses meet the definition of 
trafficking or whether they address labor trafficking 
offenses.  The Ministry of Interior,s (MOI) six-person 
counter-trafficking unit made some initial arrests and 
investigated an unknown number of these cases.  The 
government reported difficulty engaging Pakistani authorities 
for joint investigation of transnational trafficking cases. 
In 2008, the MOI stationed personnel at airports and border 
crossings to detect trafficking cases.  There was no evidence 
that the government made any efforts to investigate, arrest, 
or prosecute government officials facilitating trafficking 
offenses despite reports of widespread complicity among 
national and border police. 
 
Protection 
---------- 
The government,s protection of trafficking victims remained 
poor, but showed improvements during the reporting period. 
The government lacked resources to provide victims with 
protective services directly; NGOs operated the country,s 18 
shelters and provided the vast majority of victim assistance, 
but some faced hardships due to threats from the local 
community, particularly when assisting in cases that involved 
so-called &honor8 crimes.  Serious concerns remain 
regarding the government,s punishment of victims of 
trafficking for acts committed as a direct result of being 
trafficked.  Female trafficking victims continued to be 
arrested and imprisoned or otherwise punished for 
prostitution and fleeing forced marriages.  However, NGOs 
noted a decrease in arbitrary detentions after the late 2007 
signing of a formalized referral agreement among the MOI, the 
Ministry of Woman,s Affairs (MOWA), and various shelters, 
and the opening of two government-run referral centers. 
Under this new procedure, police refer women victimized by 
violence to MOWA which, in turn, refers the women, including 
trafficking victims, to appropriate NGO facilities.  The 
MOI,s referral center in Jalalabad assisted female victims 
of trafficking and other crimes with support from MOWA and 
UNIFEM.  Its four MOI officers investigated cases and four 
MOWA paralegals provided support and legal advice to the 
women.  A second referral center opened in April 2008 in 
Parwan.  The government referred and transported victims to 
IOM and NGOs during the reporting period, but did not provide 
information on the number of victims assisted in this manner. 
 An NGO reported that the police referred 23 victims and the 
MOWA referred four to its shelter in Kabul.  The MOI referred 
the majority of the 40 victims assisted by IOM in 2008. 
There are no facilities in Afghanistan to provide shelter or 
specific protective services to male trafficking victims; 
during the reporting period, some trafficked boys were placed 
in government-run orphanages and a facility for juvenile 
criminals while their cases were being investigated.  MOWA 
staff reportedly visited prisons during the reporting period 
to ensure women and girls in custody are not victims of sex 
crimes or sex trafficking; concrete results from these prison 
visits are unknown.  There is no evidence that the government 
encouraged victims to assist in investigations of their 
traffickers during the reporting period.  The new 
anti-trafficking law permits foreign victims to remain in 
Afghanistan for at least six months. 
 
Prevention 
---------- 
During the reporting period, the Afghanistan government made 
negligible efforts to prevent human trafficking.  The 
government did not carry out any public awareness campaigns 
to warn at-risk populations of the dangers of trafficking or 
potential traffickers of the consequences of trafficking. 
Ministry of Justice officials participated in a televised 
roundtable discussing the July 2008 anti-trafficking law. 
The government did not take steps to reduce the demand for 
commercial sex acts or forced labor during the reporting 
period.  Afghanistan 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 
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 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 Afghanistan ranked Tier 2 this year? 
 
A: The Government of Afghanistan does not fully comply with 
the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; 
however, it is making significant efforts to do so.  In July 
2008, the government enacted an anti-trafficking law entitled 
the &Law Countering Abduction and Human Trafficking.8 
Under a formal victim referral agreement between the Ministry 
of Interior, the Ministry of Woman,s Affairs, and various 
shelters, police referred women victimized by violence to 
Ministry of Women,s Affairs which, in turn, referred the 
women, including trafficking victims, to appropriate NGO 
facilities.  During the year, the Ministry of Interior,s 
referral center in Jalalabad assisted female victims of 
trafficking and other crimes with support from the Ministry 
of Women,s Affairs and UNIFEM.  A second referral center 
opened in April 2008 in Parwan. 
 
Q2:  In what areas of anti-trafficking intervention is 
Afghanistan weak? 
 
A:  Government actors continue to conflate the crimes of 
kidnapping and trafficking; this poor understanding of 
trafficking poses an impediment to targeted intervention.  An 
undeveloped judicial and prosecutorial system, judicial 
delays, corruption, and weak coordination remain obstacles to 
effectively punishing trafficking offenses; the government 
did not adequately punish all identified acts of trafficking 
during the year.  In addition, Afghanistan punishes some 
victims of sex trafficking with imprisonment for adultery or 
prostitution, unlawful acts committed as a direct result of 
being trafficked. 
 
Q3:  What can Afghanistan do to improve its fight against 
human trafficking? 
 
A:  Government actors continue to conflate the crimes of 
kidnapping and trafficking; this poor understanding of 
trafficking in persons poses an impediment to targeted 
interventions.  An undeveloped judicial and prosecutorial 
system, judicial delays, corruption, and weak coordination 
remain obstacles to effectively punishing trafficking 
victims. Although the government lacks resources to provide 
comprehensive victim protection services and did not 
adequately punish all identified acts of trafficking, its 
newly instituted victim referral process, launching of victim 
referral centers, and passage of anti-trafficking legislation 
demonstrate progress in providing increased protective 
services for trafficking victims and punishment of their 
exploiters. 
 
Afghanistan could: increase law enforcement activities 
against trafficking, including prosecutions, convictions, and 
imprisonment for acts of trafficking for commercial sexual 
exploitation and forced labor, including debt bondage; ensure 
that victims of trafficking are not punished for acts 
committed as a result of being trafficked, such as 
prostitution or adultery; collaborate with NGOs to ensure 
that all children, including boys, victimized by sex and 
labor trafficking receive protective services; and undertake 
initiatives to prevent trafficking, such as instituting a 
public awareness campaign to warn at-risk populations of the 
dangers of trafficking. 
 
 
¶12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the 
preceding action requests. 
CLINTON