VZCZCXRO7107
PP RUEHLN RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHC #0626/01 1630117
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 120053Z JUN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW PRIORITY 1064
INFO RUEHLN/AMCONSUL ST PETERSBURG PRIORITY 3479
RUEHVK/AMCONSUL VLADIVOSTOK PRIORITY 1784
RUEHYG/AMCONSUL YEKATERINBURG PRIORITY 1743

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 STATE 060626 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG KPAO KTIP RS
SUBJECT: RUSSIA--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 Russia 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 Russia 
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 Russia 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 Russia,s country narrative in the 
2009 TIP Report: 
 
-------------------------------- 
Russia (TIER 2 Watch List) 
-------------------------------- 
 
Russia is a source, transit, and destination country for men, 
women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced 
labor and commercial sexual exploitation.  Men and women from 
the Russian Far East are trafficked to South Korea, China, 
Bahrain, Oman, Japan, and South Korea for purposes of sexual 
exploitation, debt bondage, and forced labor, including in 
 
STATE 00060626  002 OF 006 
 
 
the agricultural and fishing sectors.  Some Russian women are 
trafficked to Turkey, Greece, South Africa, Germany, Poland, 
Italy, Israel, Spain, Vietnam, Thailand, Australia, New 
Zealand, and the Middle East for the purpose of commercial 
sexual exploitation.  Men and women from Central Asia and 
Ukraine are trafficked to the Russian Far East for the 
purpose of forced labor, including victims trafficked for 
forced labor in the fishing industry.  The ILO reports that 
labor trafficking is the most predominant form of trafficking 
in Russia.  Men and women are trafficked within Russia and 
from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, and Moldova 
to Russia for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation 
and forced labor, including work in the construction 
industry.  A significant number of men from Belarus are 
trafficked to Russia for the purpose of forced labor in the 
construction, manufacturing, and fishing sectors.  Moscow and 
St. Petersburg have been destinations for children trafficked 
within Russia and from Ukraine and Moldova for purposes of 
sexual exploitation and forced begging.  Men from Western 
Europe and the United States travel to Western Russia, 
specifically St. Petersburg for the purpose of child sex 
tourism; experts continue to credit a decrease in the number 
of child victims in these cities to aggressive police 
investigations and Russian cooperation with foreign law 
enforcement. 
 
The Government of the Russian Federation does not fully 
comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of 
trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do 
so.  Despite these significant efforts,  the government over 
the last year: decreased the number of reported trafficking 
investigations, prosecutions, and convictions; did not 
vigorously prosecute, convict, and punish government 
officials; made no significant efforts to improve efforts to 
identify and assist victims of trafficking; and did not make 
adequate efforts to address labor trafficking; therefore, 
Russia is placed on Tier 2 Watch List.  Victim identification 
and assistance remained inadequate and varied in quality and 
availability, despite efforts by some regional and local 
authorities.  The federal government did not dedicate funding 
to anti-trafficking activities or trafficking victim 
assistance during the reporting period; and, despite limited 
funding by some local governments, the majority of shelter 
and direct trafficking assistance continued to be provided by 
foreign-funded international organizations and NGOs. 
 
Recommendations for Russia:  Develop and implement a 
comprehensive national strategy that addresses all forms of 
trafficking and provides comprehensive victim assistance 
throughout Russia; provide funding from federal, regional, 
and/or municipal  budgets to implement this national 
strategy; allocate funding to anti-trafficking NGOs that 
provide victim assistance and rehabilitative care; increase 
the number of victims identified and assisted; designate 
trafficking-specific responsibilities to relevant government 
ministries on the national and regional levels; establish an 
official federal coordinating body with the authority to 
implement the national strategy; increase the number of 
investigations, prosecutions, and convictions for trafficking 
offenses, particularly government officials complicit in 
trafficking; ensure convicted traffickers and convicted 
complicit officials are sentenced to some time in prison; 
create a central repository for investigation, prosecution, 
conviction, and sentencing data for trafficking cases; 
continue efforts to raise public awareness of both sex and 
labor trafficking; increase efforts to investigate, 
prosecute, convict, and punish labor trafficking offenses; 
and continue to take steps to prevent the use of forced labor 
in construction projects for the 2014 Winter Olympics. 
Prosecution 
---------------- 
 
The Government of the Russian Federation sustained its 
investigation efforts, but reported limited prosecution and 
no conviction efforts during the reporting period.  Article 
127 of the Russian Criminal Code prohibits both trafficking 
for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.  Other 
criminal statutes are also used to prosecute and convict 
traffickers.  Article 127 provides punishments of up to five 
years, imprisonment for trafficking crimes and aggravating 
circumstances may extend penalties up to 15 years, 
imprisonment; this is commensurate with punishments 
prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape.  In 2008, 
police conducted 111 trafficking investigations under Article 
127 -- 95 for sex trafficking and 16 for forced labor cases 
-- down from 139 trafficking investigations in 2007.  It was 
difficult to ascertain the exact number of prosecutions and 
convictions resulting from these investigations because the 
government again did not collect and maintain such 
statistics.  At least nine traffickers were prosecuted during 
 
STATE 00060626  003 OF 006 
 
 
the reporting period, compared with at least 46 prosecutions 
in 2007.  The government did not report the number of 
convicted traffickers or those sentenced to serve time in 
prison during the reporting period.  In July 2006, the Duma 
passed asset forfeiture legislation that permits prosecutors 
to forfeit the assets of convicted persons, including 
traffickers; however, there were no reports that the law has 
been used against human traffickers since its enactment. 
 
In 2008, authorities reportedly investigated three high-level 
officials for possible involvement in human trafficking, 
including one military official for organizing an 
international sex trafficking syndicate which was allegedly 
responsible for trafficking 130 women and girls from Eastern 
Europe to Western Europe and the Middle East between 1999 and 
¶2007.  One low-level police officer was arrested for 
trafficking women to the UAE and two low-level police 
officers were arrested for trafficking women within Russia 
for commercial sexual exploitation; these investigations were 
ongoing at the end of the reporting period.  There was no 
updated information on whether the three officials that were 
arrested for trafficking-related complicity in 2007 ) as 
reported in the 2008 Report ) were prosecuted, convicted, or 
punished during the reporting period.  There was no updated 
information on whether the five military officials 
investigated in 2007 for the labor exploitation of military 
conscripts under their command were prosecuted, convicted, or 
punished for their actions during the reporting period. 
Protection 
---------------- 
 
Russia demonstrated limited progress in improving its 
inadequate efforts to protect and assist victims during the 
reporting period.  Russia lacks national policies and 
national programs to provide specific assistance for 
trafficking victims.  The majority of aid to NGOs and 
international organizations providing victim assistance 
continued to be funded by international donors.  Some local 
governments reportedly provided  modest financial and in-kind 
support to some anti-trafficking NGOs.  A local government in 
the Russian Far East provided facility space for a 
foreign-funded shelter that opened in February 2009; one 
victim was assisted during the reporting period.  The City of 
St. Petersburg continued to fund a number of shelters for 
children which provided assistance to some child victims of 
trafficking in 2008.  Although the government did not track 
the number of victims assisted by local governments and NGOs 
in 2008, some victims of trafficking were provided with 
limited assistance at regional and municipal-run 
government-funded domestic violence and homeless shelters. 
However, the quality of these shelters varied and they were 
often ill-equipped to provide for the specific legal, 
medical, and psychological needs of trafficking victims. 
Also, foreign and Russian victims found in regions where they 
did not reside were sometimes denied access to state-run 
general health care and social assistance programs, as local 
governments could restrict eligibility to these services to 
local residents. 
 
Russia demonstrated inadequate efforts to identify victims; 
the majority of assisted victims continued to be identified 
by NGOs or international organizations.  Some municipalities 
across Russia had cooperation agreements between NGOs and 
local authorities to refer victims for assistance, and in 
2008 an increasing number of the victims assisted nationwide 
were referred by government officials; IOM reported that 
approximately 48 percent of the 117 trafficking victims 
assisted by their foreign-funded shelter in Moscow were 
referred by law enforcement and other government authorities. 
 In October 2008, a local government in Tatarstan signed a 
Memorandum of Understanding with a local NGO to improve 
victim identification and referral for assistance.  In early 
April 2009, an NGO-run shelter in Vladivostok also signed a 
similar agreement with the local police.  Police in some 
communities encouraged victims to participate in trafficking 
investigations and prosecutions.  The Ministry of Interior 
introduced anti-trafficking training in its police academies. 
 No victims of trafficking were assisted by the witness 
protection program in 2008.  Foreign victims were permitted 
to reside in Russia pending the investigation and prosecution 
of their trafficker and may petition for asylum to remain in 
Russia.  There were no reports that victims were punished for 
unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being 
trafficked. 
Prevention 
---------------- 
 
Russia maintained its modest awareness efforts from the 
previous reporting period.  Government-owned media in 
newspapers, television, and over the Internet reported 
 
STATE 00060626  004 OF 006 
 
 
numerous stories and aired documentaries relating to human 
trafficking, and often detailed preventative measures for 
potential victims to avoid falling prey to traffickers.  The 
Russian Academy of Sciences conducted a recent survey of 837 
potential victims of trafficking; the results indicated that 
more than 70 percent of those surveyed were aware of the 
dangers of both sex and labor trafficking.  The Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs continued to maintain a website warning 
Russian citizens traveling abroad about the dangers of 
trafficking.  The government did not take specific steps to 
reduce the demand for commercial sex acts.  In 2008, one 
American man was arrested by authorities for the commercial 
sexual exploitation of a child; the defendant subsequently 
pleaded guilty and was expected to be sentenced after the 
conclusion of the reporting period.  The government did not 
report trafficking-specific training for its troops deployed 
abroad as peacekeepers.  The regional government in 
Yekaterinburg continued to fund a migrant center that worked 
with local Diaspora organizations to shelter and legalize 
migrants, making them less vulnerable to labor trafficking in 
the region. 
 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶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 
 
STATE 00060626  005 OF 006 
 
 
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 Russia given a ranking of Tier 2 Watch List? 
 
A: Russia is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for a sixth 
consecutive year because the government decreased the number 
of reported trafficking investigations, prosecutions, and 
convictions; did not vigorously prosecute, convict, and 
punish government officials; made no significant efforts to 
improve efforts to identify and assist victims of 
trafficking; and did not make adequate efforts to address 
labor trafficking. 
 
The Government of the Russian Federation sustained its 
investigation efforts and maintained its modest awareness 
efforts from the previous reporting period.  In 2008, 
authorities reportedly investigated three high-level 
officials for possible involvement in human trafficking, 
including one military official for organizing an 
international sex trafficking syndicate which was allegedly 
responsible for trafficking 130 woman and girls from Eastern 
Europe to Western Europe and the Middle East between 1999 and 
¶2007. 
 
 
STATE 00060626  006 OF 006 
 
 
Q2:  What are some important observations made by the 2009 
Report? 
 
A:  Victim identification and assistance remained inadequate 
and varied in quality and availability, despite efforts by 
some regional and local authorities.  The federal government 
did not dedicate funding to anti-trafficking activities or 
trafficking victim assistance during the reporting period; 
and, despite limited funding by some local governments, the 
majority of shelter and direct trafficking assistance 
continued to be provided by foreign-funded international 
organizations and NGOs. 
 
Q3: What can Russia do to improve its fight against 
trafficking in persons in the coming year? 
 
A: To improve its anti-trafficking performance, the Russian 
government could: Develop and implement a comprehensive 
national strategy that addresses all forms of trafficking and 
provides comprehensive victim assistance throughout Russia; 
provide funding from federal, regional, and/or municipal 
budgets to implement this national strategy; allocate funding 
to anti-trafficking NGOs that provide victim assistance and 
rehabilitative care; increase the number of victims 
identified and assisted; designate trafficking-specific 
responsibilities to relevant government ministries on the 
national and regional levels; establish an official federal 
coordinating body with the authority to implement the 
national strategy; increase the number of investigations, 
prosecutions, and convictions for trafficking offenses, 
particularly government officials complicit in trafficking; 
ensure convicted traffickers and convicted complicit 
officials are sentenced to some time in prison; create a 
central repository for investigation, prosecution, 
conviction, and sentencing data for trafficking cases; 
continue efforts to raise public awareness of both sex and 
labor trafficking; increase efforts to investigate, 
prosecute, convict, and punish labor trafficking offenses; 
and continue to take steps to prevent the use of forced labor 
in construction projects for the 2014 winter Olympics. 
 
¶12. The Department appreciates posts' assistance with the 
preceding action requests. 
CLINTON