VZCZCXYZ0000
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHDM #0555 2181156
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
P 061156Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY DAMASCUS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6690
INFO RUEHLO/AMEMBASSY LONDON PRIORITY 0664
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS PRIORITY 0627
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK PRIORITY 0684
RUEHGV/USMISSION GENEVA PRIORITY 0705

C O N F I D E N T I A L DAMASCUS 000555 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR NEA/ELA, DRL/NESCA, G-ACBLANK, G/TIP 
LONDON FOR LORD, PARIS FOR MILLER 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/06/2019 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV KWMN KTIP SCOI SCUL SY
SUBJECT: TIER 3 REASSESSMENT NEEDED FOR SYRIA 
 
REF: A. STATE 081476 
     ¶B. DAMASCUS 00554 
     ¶C. DAMASCUS 00471 
     ¶D. DAMASCUS 00062 
 
Classified By: Raymond Maxwell for reasons 1.4 (b) and (d) 
 
¶1. (U)  This a response to State 081476 action cable. 
 
¶2. (U)  The SARG has demonstrated a commitment to tackling 
trafficking in persons (TIP) crimes at the highest levels. 
Per reftels, this commitment has resulted in (1) a draft TIP 
law; (2) ministerial-level cooperation with NGOs working on 
TIP issues; (3) support for victims of trafficking (VOT) 
shelters (ref C & D); (4) developing an informal and 
increasingly functional referral policy for VOTs to enter 
shelters; (5) initial steps toward direct engagement with 
U.S. Embassy interlocutors on trafficking issues; and (6) the 
April 8, 2009 ratification of anti-TIP U.N. conventions and 
protocols.  For these reasons, Post recommends that sanctions 
under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) 
not/not be imposed on Syria. 
 
¶3. (C)  For the past three years, the Parliament, Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs (MFA), Ministry of Justice (MoJ), the 
Ministry of the Interior (MoI), the Ministry of Social 
Affairs and Labor (MoSAL), and the Prime Minister's office 
have worked on a law that would provide a legal foundation 
for the identifying, pursuing, and prosecuting human 
traffickers.  This law would supplement Penal Code statues 
that already permit law enforcement officials to arrest and 
prosecute individuals for TIP-related crimes.  According to 
the MFA's Chief of International Organizations, Mr. Milad 
Attiyeh, who met with Emboffs on August 5 to discuss TIP (ref 
B), the draft legislation now sits in the Prime Minister's 
office and will next be sent to the Parliament for 
endorsement and publication into law. 
 
¶4. (U)  Trafficking, especially the sexual crime element, is 
an extremely sensitive subject in Muslim societies, and 
Syria, despite the regime's secular hue, is no exeception. 
The government, nevertheless, has closely coordinated with 
the International Orgainzation for Migration in organizing 
workshops aimed at consciousness raising and training.  The 
length of time involved in producing the draft TIP law is 
partly a product of the rounds of workshops that were 
required to educate government officials on the nature of the 
crimes and why they required a unique piece of legislation. 
Since 2005 when SARG and IOM collaboration began, the two 
sides have held approximately 23 joint workshops/conferences 
around the country. 
 
¶5. (U)  While the draft law is an important by-product of the 
IOM/SARG efforts, a more immediate result of their teamwork 
has been the opening of a VOT shelter in Damascus and the 
authorization of a second shelter (building currently under 
refurbishment) to open in Aleppo.  Both buildings were 
donated by the SARG.  In both cases, IOM has engaged a local 
NGO to serve as the implementer, thereby building capacity 
with local populations to manage and combat these issues on 
their own.  An informal referral policy has succeeded in 
transfering VOTs from criminal detention facilities to the 
shelter.  On April 8, 2009, the SARG ratified the U.N. 
Convention against Transnational Organized Crime as well as 
the supplemental Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish 
Trafficking in Persons.  On August 5, 2009, the MFA's Chief 
of International Organizations engaged Emboffs in a rare 
working-level discussion of the TIP report, Syria's efforts 
to combat TIP, and ways for U.S. and SARG officials to stay 
engaged on the issue in the future. 
 
¶6. (C)  In sum, the Syrian government has taken clear steps 
to indicate its recognition of the TIP-related issues that 
face the country.  Post's assessment is that we should 
exploit the SARG's willingness to engage on this subject by 
pursuing a G/TIP visit.  Implementing sanctions now would 
have a chilling effect on our efforts to improve bilateral 
relations and constructively discuss additional positive 
steps we would like to take. 
MAXWELL