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PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #0624 1630114
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P 120048Z JUN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST PRIORITY 0000

UNCLAS STATE 060624 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG KPAO KTIP RO
SUBJECT: ROMANIA--2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND 
DEMARCHE 
 
REF: A. 2009 STATE 59732 
     ¶B. 2009 STATE 5577 
 
¶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 ROMANIA 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 ROMANIA 
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 ROMANIA 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 ROMANIA's country narrative in the 
2009 TIP Report: 
 
-------------------------------- 
ROMANIA (TIER 2) 
-------------------------------- 
 
Romania is a source, transit, and destination country for 
men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of 
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.  Romanian 
men, women, and children are trafficked to Spain, Italy, 
Greece, the Czech Republic, and Germany for commercial sexual 
exploitation, forced begging, and forced labor in the 
agriculture, construction, and service sectors.  Men and 
women from Romania are trafficked to Cyprus, the Netherlands, 
Slovakia, Poland, Portugal, Belgium, and Turkey, Sweden, 
Hungary, and Denmark for the purposes of commercial sexual 
exploitation and forced labor.  Romanian men, women, and 
children are trafficked within the country for commercial 
sexual exploitation and forced labor including forced begging 
and petty theft.  In 2008, sixty-nine percent of victims 
identified were trafficked for forced labor.  Romania is a 
destination country for a small number of women from Moldova, 
Colombia, and France trafficked into forced prostitution and 
a small number of men from the Democratic Republic of the 
Congo and Honduras trafficked for forced labor. 
 
The Government of Romania does not fully comply with the 
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; 
however, it is making significant efforts to do so.  In 2008, 
the government significantly increased its funding of NGOs 
providing victim assistance, made notable improvements in 
victim referrals by law enforcement, and continued efforts to 
raise awareness of both sex and labor trafficking.  The 
government also demonstrated strong cooperation with foreign 
law enforcement counterparts, resulting in the disruption of 
several high-profile trafficking rings.  However, the number 
of victims who received government-funded assistance 
significantly decreased in 2008.  Although 69 percent of 
identified victims were trafficked for the purpose of labor 
exploitation, the government was again unable to report 
significant efforts to address labor trafficking.  The 
Government of Romania announced plans in March 2009 to 
reorganize the government's lead anti-trafficking agency -- 
the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons (NAATIP). 
Experts expressed concern that the proposed reorganization 
could reduce the authority and independence of NAATIP, and 
could negatively affect government cooperation with NGOs, and 
victim treatment, assistance, and protection. 
 
Recommendations for Romania: Take concerted steps to 
investigate and punish acts of labor trafficking; increase 
the number of victims provided access to government-funded 
assistance; and provide victim sensitivity training for 
judges. 
 
Prosecution 
---------------- 
 
Romania sustained its law enforcement efforts over the 
reporting period.  Romania prohibits all forms of trafficking 
in persons through Law no. 678/2001, which prescribes 
penalties of 3 to 15 years' imprisonment.  These penalties 
are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties 
prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape.  In 2008, 
authorities investigated 494 new cases, up from 232 new cases 
in 2007.  The government prosecuted 329 individuals for 
trafficking in 2008, compared to 398 individuals prosecuted 
in 2007.  During the reporting period, Romania convicted 125 
trafficking offenders, down from 188 individuals convicted in 
¶2007.  During the reporting period, 106 of the 125 convicted 
traffickers served some time in prison; 19 traffickers were 
given suspended sentences and served no time in prison.  In 
2008, forty-eight traffickers were sentenced to one to five 
years' imprisonment, 56 traffickers were sentenced to five to 
10 years' imprisonment, and two traffickers were sentenced to 
more than 10 years' imprisonment.  There were no reports that 
government officials were involved in trafficking during the 
reporting period. 
 
Protection 
---------------- 
 
Romania demonstrated adequate efforts to protect and assist 
victims of trafficking during the reporting period.  In 2008, 
the government provided $270,000 in support to four NGOs to 
provide assistance to victims of trafficking compared to 
$72,000 in 2007.  Three hundred-six victims were provided 
with government-funded assistance, down from 669 victims 
assisted by the government in 2007.  An additional 234 
victims were assisted by non-government funded programs.  In 
2008, the government identified 1,240 victims, compared to 
1,662 victims identified in 2007.  In 2008, there were at 
least 649 identified victims of forced labor and at least 287 
identified victims of sexual exploitation.  The government 
operated nine shelters for victims of trafficking, though 
their quality varied and most victims preferred to go to 
NGO-operated shelters.  Victims were encouraged to 
participate in trafficking investigations and prosecutions; 
1,053 victims assisted such law enforcement efforts in 2008. 
Foreign victims receive a 90-day reflection period to decide 
whether they would like to cooperate in a criminal 
proceeding.  Law enforcement proactively identified and 
referred 540 victims of trafficking for assistance.  While 
the rights of victims were generally respected and victims 
were not punished for acts committed as a result of being 
trafficked, some judges were disrespectful toward female 
victims of sex trafficking which discouraged victims from 
participating in trafficking cases. 
 
Prevention 
---------------- 
 
Romania continued its efforts to raise awareness and prevent 
human trafficking during the reporting period.  The 
government, in conjunction with NGOs, conducted two demand 
reduction campaigns that specifically targeted clients of the 
sex trade.  The government also worked with counterparts in 
the Czech Republic and IOM to raise awareness about Romanians 
trafficked to the Czech Republic for forced labor.  In 2008, 
the government provided 24 trafficking awareness training 
sessions for Romanian troops prior to their deployment abroad 
on international peacekeeping missions. 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶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 Romania given a ranking of Tier 2? 
 
A: The Government of Romania does not fully comply with the 
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; 
however, it is making significant efforts to do so.  Despite 
this progress, the number of victims who received 
government-funded assistance significantly decreased in 2008 
and although 69 percent of identified victims were trafficked 
for the purpose of labor exploitation, the government was 
again unable to report significant efforts to address labor 
trafficking.  The Government of Romania announced plans in 
March 2009 to reorganize the government's lead 
anti-trafficking agency -- the National Agency against 
Trafficking in Persons (NAATIP).  Experts expressed concern 
that the proposed reorganization could reduce the authority 
and independence of NAATIP, and could negatively affect 
government cooperation with NGOs, and victim treatment, 
assistance, and protection. 
 
Q2: What progress has Romania made in the past year? 
 
A:  In 2008, the government significantly increased its 
funding of NGOs providing victim assistance, made notable 
improvements in victim referrals by law enforcement, and 
continued efforts to raise awareness of both sex and labor 
trafficking.  The government also demonstrated strong 
cooperation with foreign law enforcement counterparts, 
resulting in the disruption of several high-profile 
trafficking rings. 
 
Q3: What can Romania do to improve its fight against 
trafficking in persons? 
 
A: To improve its anti-trafficking performance, the Romanian 
government could:  take concerted steps to investigate and 
punish acts of labor trafficking; increase the number of 
victims provided access to government-funded assistance;  and 
provide victim sensitivity training for judges. 
 
¶12. The Department appreciates posts' assistance with the 
preceding action requests. 
CLINTON