VZCZCXRO7851
PP RUEHPOD
DE RUEHC #1091/01 1631952
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 121929Z JUN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY PODGORICA PRIORITY 2057

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 STATE 061091 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG KPAO KTIP MW
SUBJECT: MONTENEGRO--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 Montenegro 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 Montenegro 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 Montenegro 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 Montenegro's country narrative in the 
2009 TIP Report: 
 
-------------------------------- 
Montenegro (TIER 2 Watch List) 
-------------------------------- 
 
Montenegro is primarily a transit country for the trafficking 
of women and girls from Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, Albania, 
and Kosovo to Western Europe for the purpose of commercial 
sexual exploitation.  There have been reported cases of 
forced labor in the construction industry.  There is 
anecdotal evidence that foreign children, mainly Roma, are 
also trafficked through Montenegro for the purpose of forced 
begging.  In 2008, there were no reports of Montenegrins 
 
STATE 00061091  002 OF 005 
 
 
being trafficked to other countries.  Groups that are 
vulnerable to trafficking include women in prostitution, 
unaccompanied foreign minors, ethnic Roma, and foreign 
construction workers.  Refugees and displaced persons also 
are vulnerable, as their lack of legal status in Montenegro 
limits their access to legal employment and social rights.  ) 
 
The Government of Montenegro does not fully comply with the 
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; 
however, it is making significant efforts to do so.  Despite 
these overall significant efforts, the government did not 
provide adequate evidence of progress in punishing convicted 
traffickers or proactively identifying trafficking victims 
among vulnerable groups; therefore, Montenegro is placed on 
Tier 2 Watch List.  In a positive development late in the 
reporting period, the new anti-trafficking coordinator has 
made it a priority to create a mechanism that accurately 
tracks anti-trafficking law enforcement statistics, conduct 
outreach to the judicial branch to address concerns about 
trafficking prosecutions, and raise awareness about human 
trafficking within Montenegro.  It is expected that these 
positive steps should portend tangible results in the coming 
year. 
 
Recommendations for Montenegro:  Continue to vigorously 
investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses, and convict 
and sentence trafficking offenders, including any public 
officials complicit in trafficking; ensure that convicted 
trafficking offenders receive adequate punishment; improve 
tracking of human trafficking law enforcement data; increase 
efforts to identify victims among vulnerable groups, such as 
women arrested for prostitution violations, undocumented 
migrants, and child beggars, and refer them to the government 
shelter or trafficking NGOs; provide protection for potential 
child victims of trafficking; continue the recently launched 
anti-trafficking public awareness campaign;  and continue 
vigorous efforts to coordinate all anti-trafficking entities 
within Montenegro. 
 
Prosecution 
---------------- 
The Government of Montenegro did not demonstrate vigorous 
anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts in 2008.  Montenegro 
prohibits sex and labor trafficking through Article 444 of 
its criminal code, which prescribes penalties that are 
sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed 
for rape.  Precise trafficking-related statistics for 2008 
were unavailable, but the new coordinator is working on 
establishing a mechanism that would address this concern as 
well as improving overall prosecution efforts.  According to 
information provided by the government and media reports, the 
government initiated 18 trafficking prosecutions and secured 
the convictions of eight trafficking offenders during the 
reporting period.  Sentences ranged from two years to six 
years' and 10 months' imprisonment.  The government reported 
that four of the eight convicted traffickers are currently in 
serving time in jail.  The government also confirmed that 
three convicted trafficking offenders sentenced each to five 
years' imprisonment in 2007 were not serving their sentences 
in jail.  Although corruption is a significant problem in 
Montenegro, during the reporting period, neither civil 
society, nor media outlets, nor government agencies reported 
specific allegations of official complicity in trafficking in 
persons crimes. 
 
Protection 
---------------- 
The Montenegrin government continued efforts to protect 
trafficking victims over the last year, although results were 
mixed.  The government funded all expenses for a trafficking 
victim shelter and provided medical and legal assistance as 
well as vocational training for victims.  The government 
reported it used a formal mechanism to guide police in 
referring potential trafficking victims to the government 
shelter, but authorities reported identification of just 
three victims, two of whom were referred to the shelter in 
¶2008.  Also during the reporting period, at least 75 minors 
were apprehended for begging; police determined they were not 
trafficking cases and did not refer any of the children to 
the government's trafficking shelter, which can accommodate 
potential child victims.  Police conducted raids on 
nightclubs and illegal construction sites but reported no 
additional referrals.  According to official policy, the 
government encouraged victims to participate in the 
investigations or prosecution of trafficking offenders; 
lengthy court proceedings lead to prolonged shelter stays and 
delayed repatriation for victims while they waited to 
participate in prosecutions.  In practice, few victims have 
participated in the prosecution of their traffickers beyond 
giving statements to the police due to fear of reprisals; as 
noted previously, many convicted traffickers have not been 
sentenced to prison.  The government reported that 
trafficking victims have not been penalized for unlawful acts 
 
STATE 00061091  003 OF 005 
 
 
committed as a direct result of their being trafficked. 
Under Montenegrin law, the government can provide temporary 
or permanent residency status to foreign victims, depending 
on the circumstances of the case. 
 
Prevention 
---------------- 
The government acknowledged that human trafficking was a 
regional problem, but has not specifically acknowledged that 
there is a problem occurring in Montenegro.  During the 
reporting period, the government funded six workshops for 
various ministries involved in combating trafficking and 
performed an awareness raising campaign in schools.  The 
government also signed a memorandum of understanding with 
NGOs to facilitate cooperation on combating human 
trafficking.  The government adopted a new action plan in 
December 2008 valid through 2009.  The government did not 
fund Montenegro's hotline for trafficking victims but pledged 
to do so in the future.  The new coordinator has brought 
renewed focus to the government's efforts to combat 
trafficking in persons, reinstating regular meetings of the 
anti-trafficking working group.  There were no awareness 
efforts aimed at reducing the demand for sex or labor 
trafficking during the reporting period. 
 
¶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 
 
STATE 00061091  004 OF 005 
 
 
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 Montenegro again given a rank of Tier 2 Watch 
List? 
 
A: The Government of Montenegro is placed on the Tier 2 Watch 
List for the second consecutive year because it did not 
provide adequate evidence during the reporting period of 
progress in punishing convicted traffickers or proactively 
identifying trafficking victims among vulnerable groups. 
In a positive development late in the reporting period, the 
new anti-trafficking coordinator has made it a priority to 
create a mechanism that accurately tracks anti-trafficking 
law enforcement statistics, conduct outreach to the judicial 
branch to address concerns about trafficking prosecutions, 
and raise awareness about human trafficking within 
Montenegro.  These positive steps in critical areas should 
provide a foundation to help Montenegro demonstrate better 
results over the next reporting period. 
 
Q2: What can Montenegro do to improve its fight against 
trafficking in persons? 
 
A: To improve its anti-trafficking performance, the 
Montenegrin government could: continue to vigorously 
investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses, and convict 
and sentence trafficking offenders, including any public 
officials complicit in trafficking; ensure that convicted 
trafficking offenders receive adequate punishment; improve 
 
STATE 00061091  005 OF 005 
 
 
tracking of human trafficking law enforcement data; increase 
efforts to identify victims among vulnerable groups, such as 
women arrested for prostitution, migrants, and child beggars, 
and refer them to the government shelter or anti-trafficking 
NGOs; provide protection for potential child victims of 
trafficking; continue the recently launched anti-trafficking 
public awareness campaign;  and continue vigorous efforts to 
coordinate anti-trafficking entities within Montenegro. 
 
Q3: What is the scope of Montenegro's human trafficking 
problem? 
 
A:  Montenegro is primarily a transit country for the 
trafficking of women and girls from Ukraine, Moldova, Serbia, 
Albania, and Kosovo to Western Europe for commercial sexual 
exploitation.  There have been cases of forced labor in the 
construction industry.  There is anecdotal evidence that Roma 
children are trafficked through Montenegro for forced 
begging. 
 
Q4:  What sources does the State Department use for 
information? 
 
A: The Department of State prepared this Report using 
information from U.S. embassies, foreign government 
officials, NGOs and international organizations, published 
reports, research trips to every region, and information 
submitted to tipreport@state.gov. 
 
¶12. The Department appreciates posts' assistance with the 
preceding action requests. 
CLINTON