VZCZCXYZ0003
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #0629 1630126
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 120102Z JUN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY MANAGUA IMMEDIATE 0000

UNCLAS STATE 060629 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG NU
SUBJECT: NICARAGUA -- 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 Nicaragua 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 Nicaragua 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 Nicaragua 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 Nicaragua,s country narrative in the 
2009 TIP Report: 
 
-------------------------------- 
NICARAGUA (TIER 2 WATCH LIST) 
-------------------------------- 
 
Nicaragua is principally a source and transit country for 
women and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial 
sexual exploitation and forced labor.  Women and children are 
trafficked within the country and to neighboring countries, 
most often to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, 
Mexico, and the United States, for commercial sexual 
exploitation.  The most prevalent form of internal 
trafficking is the exploitation of children, both boys and 
girls, in prostitution.  NGOs identify Managua, Granada, 
Esteli, and San Juan del Sur as destinations for foreign 
child sex tourists.  NGOs report instances of forced child 
marriages between young girls and older foreign men, 
particularly in San Juan del Sur.  Children are trafficked 
within the country for forced labor in construction, 
agriculture, the fishing industry, and for domestic 
servitude.  Young Nicaraguan men and boys are trafficked from 
southern border areas to Costa Rica for forced labor in 
agriculture and construction.  To a lesser extent, Nicaragua 
is a destination country for women and children trafficked 
from Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras, for the purpose of 
commercial sexual exploitation.  All forms of human 
trafficking appear to be growing in Nicaragua, which NGOs 
indicate is underreported to authorities. 
 
The Government of Nicaragua 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 combating human trafficking, particularly in 
terms of providing adequate assistance to victims and 
confronting trafficking-related complicity; therefore, 
Nicaragua is placed on Tier 2 Watch List. 
 
Recommendations for Nicaragua:  Increase efforts to 
investigate and  prosecute trafficking offenses, and convict 
and punish trafficking offenders, including government 
officials who may be suspected of complicity with trafficking 
activity; increase law enforcement efforts against forced 
labor; dedicate additional resources for victim assistance; 
provide adequate care for adult trafficking victims; and 
raise public awareness about human trafficking, particularly 
among young Nicaraguans seeking gainful employment. 
 
Prosecution 
----------- 

The Government of Nicaragua demonstrated inadequate efforts 
to combat human trafficking through law enforcement during 
the reporting period.  Nicaragua criminalizes all forms of 
human trafficking.  A penal code reform law, which was passed 
by the Nicaraguan National Assembly in November 2007, came 
into force in July 2008.  Article 182 of the new code 
prohibits trafficking in persons for the purposes of slavery, 
sexual exploitation, and adoption, prescribing penalties of 
from seven to 10 years, imprisonment.  A separate statute, 
Article 315, prohibits the submission, maintenance, or forced 
recruitment of another person into slavery, forced labor, 
servitude, or participation in an armed conflict; this 
offense carries penalties of from five to eight years, 
imprisonment.  These prescribed punishments are sufficiently 
stringent and commensurate with penalties prescribed for 
other serious crimes such as rape.  During the reporting 
period, the government investigated 13 trafficking cases, 
filed 10 prosecutions, but achieved no convictions.  Such 
results represent diminished efforts compared to the previous 
year, when the government investigated 17 cases, filed two 
prosecutions, and achieved two convictions, securing 
sentences of more than four years, imprisonment for each 
trafficking offender. The government opened no investigations 
of suspected official complicity with human trafficking, 
despite credible reports of trafficking-related corruption in 
the judiciary, in addition to police and immigration 
officials accepting bribes, sexually exploiting victims, or 
turning a blind eye to such activity, particularly at the 
nation,s borders. 

Protection 
---------- 

The Nicaraguan government made inadequate efforts to protect 
trafficking victims during the last year, and NGOs and 
international organizations continued to provide the bulk of 
assistance to victims.  The government provided basic shelter 
and services to child trafficking victims, but such 
assistance was not readily accessible in all parts of the 
country, nor was it generally available for adult trafficking 
victims. Last year the government,s donor-funded 
anti-trafficking telephone hotline was reported as not 
working regularly.  With assistance from IOM and OAS, the 
government trained diplomatic and consular personnel in 
identifying trafficking victims abroad.  Consular officials 
assisted six Nicaraguan trafficking victims last year, aiding 
repatriation efforts from El Salvador, Costa Rica, Panama, 
Mexico, Guatemala, and France.  The government encouraged 
victims to participate in trafficking investigations and 
prosecutions, though many were reluctant to do so due to 
social stigma, fear of retribution from traffickers, and long 
court delays.  The government provided a temporary legal 
alternative to the removal of foreign victims to countries 
where they may face hardship or retribution. 
 
Prevention 
---------- 

The Nicaraguan government made inadequate efforts to prevent 
trafficking, such as through awareness-raising campaigns, 
during the last year.  The government conducted no 
anti-trafficking outreach or education campaigns in 2008, 
relying on NGOs and international organizations to sponsor 
such activities.  The government maintained an interagency 
anti-trafficking committee to direct anti-trafficking 
efforts, but it conducted few activities during the reporting 
period.   Government collaboration with NGOs on 
anti-trafficking activities is reported to be better on the 
local level.  The government reported no efforts to reduce 
demand for commercial sexual acts, such as enforcement of 
Article 177 ) its penal code provision against child sex 
tourism -- or awareness-raising campaigns on child 
prostitution; nor did it undertake efforts to reduce demand 
for forced labor. 
 
¶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. 
 
-- 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 Nicaragua downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List on this 
year,s Report? 
 
A: The Government of Nicaragua 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 combating human trafficking, particularly in 
terms of providing adequate assistance to victims and 
confronting trafficking-related complicity; therefore, 
Nicaragua is placed on Tier 2 Watch List. 
 
Q2: What is the nature of Nicaragua,s trafficking problem? 
 
A: Nicaragua is principally a source and transit country for 
women and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial 
sexual exploitation and forced labor.  Women and children are 
trafficked within the country and to neighboring countries, 
most often to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, 
Mexico, and the United States, for commercial sexual 
exploitation.  The most prevalent form of internal 
trafficking is the exploitation of children, both boys and 
girls, in prostitution.  NGOs identify Managua, Granada, 
Esteli, and San Juan del Sur as destinations for foreign 
child sex tourists.  NGOs report instances of forced child 
marriages between young girls and older foreign men, 
particularly in San Juan del Sur.  Children are trafficked 
within the country for forced labor in construction, 
agriculture, the fishing industry, and for domestic 
servitude.  Young Nicaraguan men and boys are trafficked from 
southern border areas to Costa Rica for forced labor in 
agriculture and construction.  To a lesser extent, Nicaragua 
is a destination country for women and children trafficked 
from Colombia, Guatemala, and Honduras, for the purpose of 
commercial sexual exploitation.  All forms of human 
trafficking appear to be growing in Nicaragua, which NGOs 
indicate is underreported to authorities. 
 
Q3: How can Nicaragua improve its anti-trafficking efforts? 
 
A: To advance its efforts to combat human trafficking, the 
Government of Nicaragua could:  increase efforts to 
investigate and  prosecute trafficking offenses, and convict 
and punish trafficking offenders, including government 
officials who may be suspected of complicity with trafficking 
activity; increase law enforcement efforts against forced 
labor; dedicate additional resources for victim assistance; 
provide adequate care for adult trafficking victims; and 
raise public awareness about human trafficking, particularly 
among young Nicaraguans seeking gainful employment. 
 
¶12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the 
preceding action requests. 
CLINTON