VZCZCXRO4802
RR RUEHCHI RUEHCN RUEHDT RUEHHM
DE RUEHJS #0124 3580555
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 240555Z DEC 09
FM AMCONSUL SURABAYA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0510
RUEHJA/AMEMBASSY JAKARTA 0500
INFO RUEHZS/ASSOCIATION OF SOUTHEAST ASIAN NATIONS
RHHMUNA/HQ USPACOM HONOLULU HI
RUEHBY/AMEMBASSY CANBERRA 0228
RUEHWL/AMEMBASSY WELLINGTON 0196
RUEHJS/AMCONSUL SURABAYA 0523

UNCLAS SURABAYA 000124 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB KTIP ECON PGOV PHUM SOCI ID
SUBJECT: SURABAYA TIP SEMINAR: DIFFICULTIES REMAIN IN COMBATTING TIP 
 
REF: SURABAYA 99 "NGOS RATE SURABAYA'S OFFICIAL EFFORTS TO COMBAT TIP" 
 
This message is Sensitive but Unclassified.  Please protect 
accordingly. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) Several attendees at a recent Trafficking in Persons 
(TIP) seminar in Surabaya described prosecutors and judges as a 
weak link in the enforcement of TIP laws.  Recently tightened 
government regulations were said to have made less-educated 
workers more vulnerable to trafficking.  The Indonesian 
government must address the competing priorities of combating 
TIP and increasing remittances from overseas Indonesian workers. 
 
¶2.  (SBU) The Human Rights Center at the Surabaya University 
held a Trafficking in Persons Seminar on December 16, 2009. 
Around 50 people representing NGOs, government agencies (such as 
the Planning and Development Board, the Social Department, and 
the Health Department), and the police attended the seminar. 
There were no prosecutors or judges in attendance.  The seminar 
focused on describing the challenges surrounding TIP.  Several 
participants, both NGO and government agency representatives, 
commented that they were already well aware of the challenges 
and need more "tools" to address those challenges. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) Mimaningsih, the Director of the Women and Children 
Protection Unit of the Surabaya Police, said that a lack of 
commitment from prosecutors and judges is a major problem with 
combating TIP in Surabaya.  She said the police focus on 
arresting traffickers and applying the law, while prosecution of 
trafficking cases is very slow when prosecuted at all. 
Widhiyanti, a lawyer who focuses on TIP cases, said that 
prosecutors will frequently drop TIP cases due to a lack of 
evidence.  However, he said that the law only requires a single 
witness, which can be the victim, plus one piece of evidence 
such as a fake identification document in order to prosecute a 
TIP case.  Contrary to the law, judges often require a 
prosecutor to demonstrate more evidence than this minimum 
requirement.  The Surabaya TIP NGO community has expressed 
similar concerns (reftel). 
 
¶4.  (SBU) Sigit Priyono of the East Java Manpower Office said 
the government has focused on improving the placement of migrant 
workers abroad by tightening regulations.  These regulations 
require workers to have at least a high school level education 
and attempt to make employment agencies responsible for their 
workers' safety.   However, he said that these regulations have 
caused an increase in trafficking cases because poorly educated 
workers seeking employment overseas are unable to go through 
creditable employment agencies.  They then become vulnerable to 
unscrupulous agencies that engage in trafficking activities. 
Cholily, the Chairman of the Indonesian Migrant Worker Union, 
said that these poorly educated workers are at the greatest risk 
of trafficking because they lack information about safe and 
legal methods of finding employment overseas. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) Cholily also said that the Indonesian government has 
competing interests when it comes to dealing with trafficking. 
While the government is determined to improve the quality of 
life for its overseas workers by reducing trafficking, it is 
also focused on increasing the number of overseas workers in 
order to increase remittances.  According to Cholily, overseas 
Indonesian workers sent approximately $10 billion in remittances 
in 2008.  Muhammad Nour, from the International Labor 
Organization, said that about $500 million of that came to East 
Java.  Chollily said that the government aims to increase the 
total remittance to $15 billion, although she didn't provide any 
timeline for that goal. 
 
MOBLEY