US embassy cable - 05QUITO78

UNCLAS QUITO 000078 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR WHA/PPC, WHA/AND, AND G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, PREL, EC, Trafficking 
SUBJECT: EMBASSY MOTIVATES GOE TO MOVE FORWARD ON TIP 
 
REF: SECSTATE 274736 
 
1. (U) Summary:  In a meeting on January 7, Minister of 
Government Jaime Damerval expressed his commitment to 
fighting trafficking in persons (TIP) to the Ambassador and 
DCM.  He subsequently convoked the first meeting of the GOE's 
interinstitutional committee.  He also re-assigned the 
portfolio to U/S Vicente Olmedo.  Presidential advisor Carlos 
Polit also assured the DCM that TIP is one of President 
Gutierrez's top priorities.  End Summary. 
 
Ministry of Government Called TIP Meeting 
----------------------------------------- 
 
2. (SBU) On January 7, in a wide-ranging conversation 
(reported septel) Minister Damerval praised TIP as one of his 
ministry's priorities.  He was very enthusiastic but not 
well-versed on the topic.  The Ambassador emphasized the need 
for Damerval to lead the government to take additional steps 
to fight against trafficking including promoting legal 
reforms and using them to prosecute traffickers.  She 
provided him a copy of the interim Tier 2 watch list report, 
nothing that much more needed to be done.  At her suggestion, 
Damerval agreed to convoke the GOE's interinstitutional 
committee.  Damerval said he is a good friend of Omar 
Quintana, the new president of Congress, and that he would 
use his contacts to encourage Congress to pass TIP 
legislation. 
 
3. (U) Following up on the Ambassador's meeting, on January 
11 PolOff met with Undersecretary of Government Vicente 
Olmedo to whom Damerval assigned the trafficking portfolio. 
Olmedo was not very knowledgeable about TIP but said he was 
personally committed to fighting the problem.  He confirmed 
the inter-institutional meeting scheduled for January 13, 
saying he would lead the GOE's committee with the assistance 
of the Director of Gender Affairs, Nelly Jacome.  (Jacome is 
known favorably to us--she understands the TIP issue well.) 
Olmedo invited PolOff to attend the interinstitutional 
meeting and speak about the USG's TIP policy.   PolOff 
accepted and encouraged Olmedo to coordinate on combating TIP 
with the Spanish and Peruvian embassies as well. 
 
Presidency Re-commits to Fight Against TIP 
------------------------------------------ 
 
4. (U) Carlos Polit, high-level advisor to the President, 
responded very positively to the DCM's call on January 3 
explaining the interim assessment report and soliciting his 
assistance in making trafficking a key item on the GOE's 
agenda.  Polit said President Gutierrez had told him on 
January 2 that the government should focus on combating TIP. 
Polit said he would consult with Damerval to move this issue 
forward. 
 
MFA Falling Behind 
------------------ 
 
5. (U) On January 4, PolOff met with Carmen Larrea, acting 
director of the Human Rights Office at the MFA, to present 
the GOE an advance copy of the interim watch list report, and 
explain what we hope to see from the GOE in coming months: 
i.e., legal reform, a national plan, and coordinated efforts 
to put traffickers behind bars.  Larrea was slightly 
defensive but clearly understood the issue and the Embassy's 
interest in seeing additional progress. 
 
Comment: 
-------- 
 
6. (U) The interim assessment report and the Ambassador's 
meeting with Damerval set off positive events: a planned 
meeting of the interinstitutional committee and assignment of 
the TIP portfolio at the working level.  The GOE's leaders 
have been distracted with  political stability issues for the 
past few months but appear to be getting back on track with 
TIP.  We will attempt to take advantage of this momentum to 
encourage key steps, such as development of a national plan, 
progress on pending legislation, and prosecution of 
traffickers. 
KENNEY