US embassy cable - 04THEHAGUE1712

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 THE HAGUE 001712 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR D, G, G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, PHUM, KWMN, ELAB, SMIG, NL 
SUBJECT: ENGAGEMENT WITH DUTCH ON TIP 
 
REF: A. STATE 115541 
 
     B. THE HAGUE 01446 
 
1. SUMMARY: During a June 29 working level meeting to discuss 
Dutch movement on TIP following G/TIP Director Miller's June 
7 visit, Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) and Ministry of 
Justice (MinJus) officials promised Embassy representatives 
close cooperation bilaterally and within the EU on 
Trafficking In Persons (TIP) efforts.  At the same time, they 
continued to push-back on benchmarks (outlined reftel A) and 
the November deadline for re-evaluation.  The Dutch accepted 
U.S. proposals to create a document outlining agreed steps 
for bilateral action on TIP.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2. Working-level MFA and MinJus officials met with Embassy 
representatives on June 29 to discuss follow-up action to 
G/TIP Director John Miller's June 7 meeting with MFA and 
MinJus Ministers Bot and Donner (reftel B).  Initially, Dutch 
representatives echoed the Ministers' concerns about lack of 
U.S. respect for Dutch "sovereignty" and the unilateral 
imposition of U.S. - not Dutch - TIP priorities under the 
benchmarks.  Still, they sought continuous bilateral 
engagement to make Dutch national priorities clear.  The 
Dutch accepted the U.S. proposal to draft jointly a document 
on agreed bilateral steps, modeled after an existing document 
underlying successful U.S./Dutch bilateral engagement on law 
enforcement issues.  The U.S. accepted a Dutch proposal to 
establish monthly working group meetings on both Dutch and 
U.S. TIP activities, and agreed to meet again on August 9. 
 
National Efforts 
 
3. On June 29, the Second Chamber (Lower House) of Parliament 
adopted TIP legislation proposed by the Justice Ministry that 
expands the definition of trafficking to include labor 
trafficking and raises the maximum penalties for violations 
to 15 years.  The bill was sent to the First Chamber (Upper 
House) under an expedited procedure, and GONL representatives 
expect the legislation to be in place by August 1, 2004, in 
accordance with the EU deadline. 
 
4. The Justice Ministry submitted an Action Plan entitled 
"Regulation and Protection of the Prostitution Sector" to 
Parliament on July 2.  The Justice Ministry had promised 
delivery of the document to Parliament following the 
November, 2003 parliamentary debate on the effects of 
legalized prostitution.  The plan is designed to improve 
controls in the prostitution sector and touches on TIP 
issues, including the "loverboy" problem.  The new controls 
include the development by brothel owners of a quality label 
ensuring brothel compliance with legal standards (such as 
refusing to employ TIP and underage victims, providing health 
services, and meeting safety requirements); model contracts 
for prostitutes and brothel owners; a national register of 
licensed brothel owners; and support for prostitutes seeking 
other means of employment.  MFA officials expect Parliament 
to discuss the Action Plan in September, and a report 
evaluating actions taken in response to the plan to follow 
next year.  Post will provide a detailed summary and 
evaluation of the report septel. 
 
5. The National Rapporteur's Office will publish its Third 
Report, using official 2002 TIP figures, in July, and will 
publish a supplement with official 2003 figures before the 
end of the year. 
 
6. Embassy officials also met with a director of the Judicial 
Training Center on June 25.  He offered to provide the 
Embassy with the course outline and training materials from 
the center's on-going, two-day TIP training courses for 
prosecutors and judges. 
 
Efforts Within The EU 
 
7. MFA representatives expressed interest in pushing joint 
U.S./EU TIP efforts in the Balkans, particularly given Dutch 
government plans to fund an International Office of Migration 
(IOM) victim awareness program and an OSCE economic 
empowerment program aimed at the prevention of TIP in the 
Balkans.  The GONL proposals will provide approximately one 
million euros for each program. 
 
8. The Dutch government decided to make TIP a priority during 
their EU Presidency.  The EU Commission's Expert Group on 
Human Trafficking is scheduled to release its final 
recommendations for EU TIP efforts in October 2004, and MFA 
officials indicated they would work with the Commission to 
introduce the recommendations in an informal working group 
during the Dutch EU Presidency.  Dutch officials expect the 
new Commission - which will not be in place until November - 
to review the recommendations early next year.  Although the 
Dutch do not feel they can launch any TIP initiatives until 
the Commission weighs in on the Expert Group recommendations, 
they plan to take advantage of their special relationship 
with Luxembourg to put TIP on the Luxembourg Presidency 
agenda. 
 
9. COMMENT: MFA and MinJus officials are still bristling from 
the U.S. Continuing Action Plan benchmarks (reftel A), and 
view the TIP criteria set out in the Continuing Action Plan 
as reflecting U.S. priorities, not their own.  The Dutch 
commitment to combating TIP remains strong, however, as 
demonstrated by Dutch acceptance of the U.S. proposal to 
draft agreed bilateral steps, the Dutch Action Plan on 
legalized prostitution, and Dutch proposals to fund TIP 
programs in the Balkans.  Though they insist on the right to 
define their national TIP priorities, the Dutch are proud of, 
and committed to, their efforts to combat TIP.  END COMMENT. 
SOBEL