VZCZCXRO8466
PP RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHBK #3174/01 3510337
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 170337Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY BANGKOK
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9315
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 7794
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0251
RUEHKL/AMEMBASSY KUALA LUMPUR 7975
RUEHUL/AMEMBASSY SEOUL 6046
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 2175
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0235
RUEHCHI/AMCONSUL CHIANG MAI 7418
RUEHOK/AMCONSUL OSAKA KOBE 0409
RHEFDHS/DIA DHS WASHINGTON DC
RUEAIIA/CIA WASHINGTON DC
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BANGKOK 003174 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EAP, S/GWI FOR YU 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREL KTIP KWMN KPAO TH
SUBJECT: AMBASSADOR FOR GLOBAL WOMEN'S ISSUES MELANNE 
VERVEER RENEWS RELATIONSHIPS IN THAILAND 
 
BANGKOK 00003174  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (U) Summary: Ambassador for Global Women's Issues Melanne 
Verveer's December 4-7 visit to Thailand energized RTG and 
NGO interlocutors on women's issues and highlighted the 
invaluable role USG initiatives play in promoting women's 
empowerment in Thailand.  During the first leg of her trip in 
the northern province of Chiang Mai, Ambassador Verveer sat 
down with female activists and journalists involved in the 
Burmese exile community and visited projects that promote the 
economic empowerment of women and vulnerable populations.  In 
Bangkok, Ambassador Verveer held productive discussions with 
officials from the Ministry of Justice and local grassroots 
NGOs, and hosted a luncheon for UN agency representatives in 
Thailand. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Comment: Ambassador Verveer's visit highlighted the 
vital importance of the work being done to promote the full 
range of women's issues, including gender-based violence 
against refugees on the Burmese border, and the RTG's work in 
the UN to develop standardized rules governing the treatment 
of women prisoners.  Ambassador Verveer was able to build on 
her previous visits to Thailand to demonstrate the important 
role that women's issues play in foreign policy - in all 
sectors and throughout every population.  End Summary and 
Comment. 
 
RENEWING TIES IN CHIANG MAI 
--------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) While in Chiang Mai December 5-6, Ambassador Verveer 
visited the New Life Center (NLC), a shelter for women and 
girls who are victims of human trafficking, sexual violence 
or otherwise at risk for exploitation.  NLC staff noted that 
trafficking for sexual exploitation to traditional brothels 
had markedly decreased, especially among the Thais.  However, 
many adolescent girls, especially from Burma, were still 
being trafficked to karaoke bars, massage parlors and other 
establishments.  NLC staff told Ambassador Verveer that many 
of such establishments were located in rural areas along 
Thailand's borders with Laos and Burma, where law enforcement 
was not as well-developed.  Ambassador Verveer commented on 
the sizeable expansion of the NLC's empowerment programs 
since her last visit over a decade ago, and thanked Director 
Karen Smith, NLC staff, and the shelter residents for their 
warm reception.  Ambassador Verveer praised NLC as a strong 
USG partner, noted that as the recent recipient of a G/TIP 
grant, the strong collaboration was poised to continue. 
 
¶4. (SBU) During a December 5 lunch meeting with prominent 
Burmese women activists from the Burma Relief Center, Shan 
Women's Action Network, the Karen Women's Organization, and 
the Kachin Women's Association of Thailand, the participants 
decried the use of rape as a tool of war by the Burmese 
regime and described in graphic detail several abhorrent 
incidents.  They urged Verveer to pay more attention to 
violence against women, particularly in ethnic areas, and 
Ambassador Verveer outlined existing USG initiatives to 
combat this problem.  Ambassador Verveer was particularly 
interested in those organizations' empowerment and capacity 
building programs on the border.  She further suggested that 
the USG could potentially help identify funding for the 
purchase of communications equipment, such as satellite 
phones, to allow residents in conflict areas to tell their 
story to the outside world.  She commended all the women for 
their bravery and emphasized the Secretary's personal 
interest in their plight.  At the conclusion of the lunch, 
she distributed autographed photos of the Secretary to all 
attendees. 
 
¶5. (U) Following the lunch and a roundtable discussion with 
journalists from the Irrawaddy (the leading magazine outside 
Burma covering Burmese-related issues) and the Shan Herald 
Agency for News, Ambassador Verveer paid a visit to the 
Integrated Tribal Development Project, which has helped 
countless Hill Tribe families in Northern Thailand switch 
from opium to coffee production.  The bulk of the coffee is 
now sold to Starbucks and a local Chiang Mai cafe; Verveer 
praised the project's ability to economically empower 
highlanders. 
 
BANGKOK 00003174  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
BACK TO BANGKOK 
--------------- 
 
¶6. (U) During the G/TIP conference for EAP and SCA posts held 
in Bangkok on December 7 and 8, conference attendees watched 
a video from Secretary Clinton, in which she discussed her 
visit to the NLC as First Lady and described the profound 
impact interaction with trafficking victims at NLC had made 
on her life.  Following the video, Ambassador Verveer shared 
her detailed recollections from that 1996 visit to NLC as 
well as experiences from her just completed trip to Chiang 
Mai during her opening remarks.  Ambassador Verveer's remarks 
focused on how the USG and the Secretary became involved in 
the TIP issue, and the importance of continuing USG's 
leadership on this issue in the world. 
 
MINISTRY OF JUSTICE MEETING 
--------------------------- 
 
¶7. (SBU) Ambassador Verveer met with relevant Ministry of 
Justice (MOJ) representatives on December 7 to discuss the 
full range of women's issues they address.  The MOJ has 
worked closely with Princess Bajrakitiyabha, daughter of the 
Crowm Prince, since 2008 on the ELFI (Enhancing Lives of 
Female Inmates) Project.  This collaboration triggered 
Thailand's decision to propose draft UN rules on the 
treatment of women prisoners, and Ambassador Verveer 
discussed the procedural progression of the draft UN rules, 
possible areas of collaboration related to United Nations 
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), as well as the current 
violence against women debates in the UN.  While praising 
these RTG international efforts, Ambassador Verveer 
emphasized that Thailand's domestic policies needed to remain 
consistent with its commitment to human rights.  After she 
was briefed on Thailand's domestic violence law, Verveer 
encouraged MOJ officials to visit the United States for 
consultation and training, and urged them to work with the 
S/GWI office in the future. 
 
NETWORKING WITH NUMEROUS NGOS 
----------------------------- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Ambassador Verveer met December 7 with a with a 
small cross section of the sizeable NGO community involved in 
addressing women's issues in Thailand.  The local grassroots 
Friends of Women (FOW) Foundation described its work in 
curbing violence against women.  FOW then introduced a 
domestic violence survivor, who shared her experiences and 
told Ambassador Verveer that she had devoted herself to 
helping other women.  Verveer asked the FOW representatives 
about their strategies for engaging men in their efforts, and 
they described their successful "Less Drinking Less Violence" 
campaign, noting that it was launched after extensive 
research had established the connection between alcohol abuse 
and domestic violence.  Verveer expressed admiration for the 
group's use of mainstream media outlets, including Marie 
Claire magazine, to share survivor stories, and requested 
that they provide English translations of some of their 
materials to her office so they could be shared with others. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Ambassador Verveer also consulted with two larger, 
multifaceted NGOS, the Thailand Burma Border Consortium 
(TBBC) and the International Rescue Committee (IRC), to 
discuss their programs on the Burmese border and to get their 
perspective on the plight of Burmese female refugees and 
displaced persons.  Sally Thompson of TBBC gave a detailed 
historical, sociological, and geographic picture of the 
Burmese border situation based on her two decades of 
experience and the many issues that have an impact on women, 
ranging from landmines to sex work in refugee camps.  Abby 
Erikson, who runs the IRC Gender Based Violence program in 
Mae Hong Son, addressed the issues of domestic violence and 
sexual assault in the camps.  She described the refugee camps 
as "perfect storms" for violence, due to substance abuse, 
depression, and the warehousing of individuals for years on 
end.  She also spoke about IRC's efforts to engage on access 
to justice issues, including both inter-camp alternative 
 
BANGKOK 00003174  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
dispute resolution and within the Thai system, with 
provincial authorities. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Finally, Verveer met with Dr. Alfred Hannig of 
Alliance for Financial Inclusion (AFI) in order to discuss 
the financial inclusion of women.  AFI is a major Gates 
Foundation grantee headquartered in Bangkok; it works with 70 
Central Banks and other governmental actors to develop 
innovative solutions to allow the 2.5 billion "unbanked" 
people in the world to be able to use financial institutions. 
 AFI's goal is to bring 50 million people into the banking 
system over the next four years.  Ambassador Verveer and Dr. 
Hannig discussed regional projects extensively, and she 
encouraged him to follow the model of women's success in 
microenterprise and microcredit programs and target them in 
the new world of financial inclusion initiatives, a 
suggestion that triggered AFI engagement with relevant 
contacts at Post. 
 
INTERACTION WITH INFLUENTIAL INTERLOCUTORS 
------------------------------------------ 
 
¶11. (U) During a December 7 lunch meeting, Ambassador Verveer 
met with all the major United Nations agencies located in 
Thailand that address women's issues in the region. 
Ambassador Verveer discussed human trafficking, migrant 
workers, and violence against women with representatives from 
UNIFEM, UNICEF, ILO, OHCHR and ESCAP.  She challenged them to 
coordinate their work more closely. 
 
¶12. (SBU) At a December 7 roundtable with Thailand's most 
prominent champions for women's rights, Ambassador Verveer 
discussed political and economic opportunities for women and 
the challenges they face in Thailand.  The interlocutors 
included Professor Amara Phongsaphit, former Chulalongkorn 
University professor and current Chair of Thailand's National 
Human Rights Commission (NHRC); Dr. Phutsadi Thamthai, a 
Democrat MP and a longtime politician and rights advocate; 
and Maytinee Bhongsvej, the Executive Director of the 
Association for the Promotion of the Status of Women (APSW). 
After Ambassador Verveer was briefed on the background of 
these organizations and institutions, she focused on 
potential areas for improvement in Thailand, including quotas 
for equal participation of women in local governments, an 
initiative that had enjoyed great success in India.  Verveer 
highlighted resources that could be useful, such as the 
Gender Gap Report from the World Economic Forum, and she 
encouraged the women to use economic entry points to increase 
opportunity and start dialogue with male decisionmakers. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Ambassador Verveer concluded her trip with a dinner 
meeting with longtime friend, and foremer senior Thai 
official and rights advocate Dr. Saisuree Chutikul.  Along 
with Phil Robertson, former labor consultant and soon-to-be 
Asia Deputy Director for Human Rights Watch, Ambassador 
Verveer and Saisuree discussed the new developments in ASEAN, 
including both the ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on 
Human Rights and Saisuree's participation in the working 
group that had recently drafted the Terms of Reference for 
the nascent ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection 
of the Rights of Women and Children (ACWC).  Ambassador 
Verveer intends to find ways to engage with ACWC on issues 
and projects once it is launched. 
 
¶14. (U) Ambassador Verveer's staff has cleared on this cable. 
JOHN