VZCZCXRO7775
OO RUEHGI
DE RUEHC #5809/01 2850814
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 092211Z OCT 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY BANGUI IMMEDIATE 1487-1459

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 STATE 105809 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
C O R R E C T E D   C O P Y  (ADDED SENSITIVE CAPTION) 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP PREL KCRM KWMN PHUM SMIG CT
SUBJECT: CAR: TIP TIER 2 WATCH LIST ACTION PLAN (2009-2010) 
 
REF: A. A. 2008 STATE 132759 
     ¶B. B. 2007 STATE 150188 
     ¶C. C. 2009 STATE 005577 
     ¶D. D. 2009 STATE 62182 
 
STATE 00105809  001.2 OF 004 
 
 
¶1.  (U) This is an action request (see paras 2-4). 
¶2.  (SBU) Begin action request:  Drawing from points in para 
8, Post is requested to approach appropriate host government 
officials to highlight the United States' strong commitment 
to continue to work with the Government of the Central 
African Republic (CAR) to help strengthen its efforts to 
combat and prevent trafficking in persons (TIP) and to assist 
victims.  Post is requested to convey the recommendations in 
para 9 as a non-paper and draw from the talking points in 
para 8 to explain to the host government the need for prompt 
action on the first set of recommendations for a positive 
review in the interim assessment that the Department will 
release to Congress by February 2010 and for movement out of 
the Tier 2 Watch List in next year's Report.  Additional 
recommendations are also included in para 9 to aid the host 
government in making progress in its overall anti-TIP 
efforts.  The notes indicated in brackets in the action plan 
are for post,s background only and may be omitted from the 
non-paper.  The &Implementation Guidelines8 referenced in 
the action plan notes are contained in reftel B.  These 
guidelines provide guidance to posts on how the Minimum 
Standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as 
amended, (TVPA) are implemented, and have been cleared by 
regional bureaus. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Action request continued:  Post is further 
requested to emphasize to the Government of the CAR that the 
first set of recommendations is designed to help remedy the 
specific shortcomings identified in the 2009 TIP Report that 
resulted in the placement of the CAR on the Tier 2 Watch 
List.  These recommendations are often referred to as 
"high-priority" items for Tier 2 Watch List removal. However, 
sustained and significant anti-trafficking efforts by the 
government throughout the year will remain the basis for 
determining next year's tier placement.  The interim 
assessment for Special Watch List countries (to include Tier 
2 Watch List countries) will provide a progress report 
regarding the government's actions to address the short list 
recommendations designed to address the concerns that 
resulted in the country's placement on the Tier 2 Watch List 
in the 2009 TIP Report (high-priority items), but there will 
be no changes in tier ratings at that time.  We will 
reconsider the government's tier placement when we conduct 
our annual full assessment for the March 2009-2010 reporting 
period next spring. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Action request continued:  The Department 
recognizes that Post may choose to use this opportunity to 
provide additional recommendations, beyond the 
recommendations for moving out of the Tier 2 Watch List.  In 
such a case, we request that Post make clear to the 
government which are the "high-priority" items to move off of 
the Tier 2 Watch List.  The non-paper in para 9 includes both 
"high-priority" recommendations for Tier 2 Watch List removal 
and further-reaching goals for longer-term success in 
combating trafficking in persons in all 3 P areas: 
Prosecution, Protection, and Prevention.  (For posts, 
background information:  G/TIP will be asking for posts to 
report on the country's progress in meeting these 
recommendations by no later than November 15, 2009, in order 
to compile narratives for the interim assessment.) 
 
¶5.  (SBU) In preparation for the interim assessment and 2010 
TIP Report, the Department is asking posts to work with host 
governments throughout the year to collect as many statistics 
as possible on law enforcement actions and judicial 
proceedings related to TIP crimes, specifically the 
Department requests data on investigations, prosecutions, 
convictions, and sentences (e.g., fines, probation, length of 
prison sentences imposed, asset seizure information when 
available).   Whether a government collects and provides this 
data consistent with the government's capacity to obtain such 
data is considered in determining whether the government 
qualifies for Tier 1.  Law enforcement statistics, when 
available, are a good way of highlighting how well a 
government enforced its law and demonstrates strengths and 
weaknesses in various approaches.  Please note that host 
governments and embassies must interpret data terms provided 
by host governments such as indictments, charges, cases 
 
STATE 00105809  002.2 OF 004 
 
 
disposed, cases submitted for prosecution, etc., to ensure 
that they fit into one of the following categories: 
investigations, prosecutions, convictions or sentences. 
 
The Department cannot accept "trafficking-related" law 
enforcement statistics (e.g, statistics on prostitution or 
smuggling offenses) because their direct correlation to 
trafficking crimes is not clear.  The Department will accept 
only law enforcement data that fall into the following 
categories: (1) investigations, prosecutions, convictions, 
and sentences for offenses that are explicitly defined as 
trafficking; and (2) investigations, prosecutions, 
convictions, and sentences for offenses that are not defined 
explicitly as trafficking but in which the competent law 
enforcement or judicial authority has specific evidence 
indicating that the defendant was involved in trafficking. 
 
¶6.  (SBU) The Department is also asking Posts to engage with 
host governments on efforts to address amendments made by the 
2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act 
(TVPRA).  As indicated in reftel C, 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. 
 
 
¶7.  (SBU) Please keep in mind the TIP Report measures host 
government efforts.  In order for anti-trafficking activities 
financed or conducted principally by parties outside the 
government to be considered for tier placement purposes, Post 
needs to demonstrate a concrete role or tangible value-added 
by a host government in such activities carried out by NGOs, 
international organizations, or posts. 
 
¶8. (U) Background Points: 
 
Begin talking points: 
 
-- The Obama Administration views the fight against human 
trafficking, both at home and abroad, as a critical piece of 
our foreign policy agenda.  We are committed to making 
progress on this issue in the months ahead by working closely 
with partners in every country. 
 
-- The U.S. Government's Trafficking Victims Protection Act 
requires the State Department to submit an annual report to 
Congress on the status of foreign governments, efforts to 
combat trafficking in persons.  Pursuant to the Trafficking 
Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2003 (TVPRA), the 
Department created a special category for Tier 2 countries 
that do not show increasing efforts from the previous year, 
have a very significant number of victims, or whose Tier 2 
rating is based on commitments to take additional steps over 
the next year. 
 
-- Also as mandated by the TVPRA, by February 2010 the 
Department will submit to Congress an interim assessment.  At 
the end of 2009 in preparation for that submission, the 
Department will conduct an assessment of Tier 2 Watch List 
countries' progress in responding to the specific issues of 
concern that resulted in the Tier 2 Watch List rating. 
 
-- The CAR was placed on Tier 2 Watch List in this year's 
Report because of a lack of evidence of increasing efforts to 
combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the 
previous year . 
 
-- We offer the following recommended actions (Action Plan 
for the Short-term) to tackle specific shortcomings 
highlighted in the 2009 TIP Report.  We believe these to be 
within the reasonable ability of your government to fulfill 
in the near-term and encourage you to take prompt action for 
a positive narrative in the interim assessment.  New tier 
evaluations will not occur at the interim assessment.  We 
will reconsider a government,s tier placement when we 
conduct our annual full assessment for the 2009-2010 
reporting period next spring.  Prompt, appropriate, and 
significant actions will lead to a more favorable tier 
placement; conversely, failure to address the issues 
mentioned above may lead to a Tier 3 placement. 
 
-- We would welcome the Government of the CAR,s comments on 
 
STATE 00105809  003.2 OF 004 
 
 
these recommendations and any other ideas you might have to 
advance our common struggle against trafficking in persons. 
 
-- In addition to the short list of recommendations 
corresponding to our concerns that resulted in your 
government,s placement on the Tier 2 Watch List in the 2009 
TIP Report, we offer additional suggestions of actions that 
your government may choose to take (Action Plan for the Long 
term).  These further measures would be in addition to the 
CAR,s continuation of its current efforts to combat 
trafficking in persons. 
 
End talking points. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Begin Action Plan for the CAR: 
 
Action Plan for the Short-Term: The following are recommended 
measures for a positive interim assessment in January 2010 
and in the broader assessment of government efforts during 
the reporting period: 
 
¶1.    Finalize and enact the 2006 draft anti-trafficking law. 
 
¶2.    Collaborate with UNICEF, BONUCA, and UNHCR to ensure 
that the Protection Code of Conduct,      which includes 
anti-trafficking provisions, is fully implemented by the 
police,                 gendarmerie and military. 
 
¶3.    Take concrete steps to encourage the establishment of 
NGOs that can sensitize the         population about 
trafficking and help shelter and rehabilitate trafficking 
victims.  Take    steps to educate police, gendarmerie, 
military personnel, and government social workers to  refer 
trafficking victims to these NGOs. 
 
¶4.    Consider inclusion of TIP reduction in the National 
Poverty Reduction Strategy. 
 
¶5.    End the practice of jailing children who are victims of 
sex trafficking, and instead refer  such children to local 
churches and community organizations.  In the last year, the 
      Government of the Central African Republic reported 
that in some cases, police jailed         children found in 
prostitution for up to a month and then released them, rather 
than        providing them with rehabilitation and 
reintegration assistance. 
 
      According to the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection 
Act and the UN  Protocol to Prevent,      Suppress, and 
Punish Trafficking in Persons,  children in prostitution are 
considered to     be victims of trafficking where a third 
party facilitates, or profits from, this 
exploitation even absent evidence of the use of force, fraud 
or coercion.  A child is            defined as any person 
below the age of eighteen. 
 
II. Action Plan for the Long-Term: Other measures the 
government should consider to boost its overall 
anti-trafficking efforts: 
 
Prosecution: 
 
-- Develop a centralized crime database to record the number 
of trafficking cases investigated and the number of suspected 
traffickers arrested, prosecuted, and convicted in the CAR. 
For those convicted, the database should record the length of 
sentences imposed. 
 
-- Increase efforts to interview rescued victims of 
trafficking in order to gather evidence to assist in 
prosecution of their traffickers. 
 
Protection: 
 
-- Develop a trafficking victim database that records the 
number of victims identified by police and referred to NGOs 
for care.  The database should, to the best extent possible, 
record the type of trafficking the victim experienced, the 
age and gender of the victim, and the place of origin of the 
victim. 
 
-- Establish a shelter facility to provide care to 
trafficking victims. 
 
Prevention: 
 
-- Increase efforts to raise public awareness about 
trafficking through radio broadcasts and visits by government 
officials to communities throughout the CAR to educate the 
population about these crimes. 
 
End Action Plan. 
 
STATE 00105809  004 OF 004 
 
 
¶10. (U) Department appreciates post's continued assistance 
and efforts in the fight to eliminate trafficking in persons. 
CLINTON