US embassy cable - 05QUITO490

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 QUITO 000490 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/PPC, WHA/AND, AND G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, PHUM, KWMN, ELAB, SMIG, ASEC, KFRD, PREF 
SUBJECT: SUBMISSION FOR 2005 TIP REPORT 
 
REF: SECSTATE 273089 
 
1.  Summary:  Ecuador continues to take steps to combat 
trafficking in persons (TIP).  Since issuing a presidential 
decree in August 2004, the government has drafted a national 
plan, increased public awareness of the problem, and reached 
out to source and destination countries.  The GOE has 
cooperated with the International Labor Organization (ILO) to 
establish a center for TIP victims in Machala, and trained 
police and other employees about TIP.  Congress debated the 
first draft of an anti-trafficking bill, and in the meantime 
authorities have prosecuted and sentenced child pornographers 
under existing laws.  The police have stepped up raids on 
nightclubs and bars where minors work as prostitutes, 
returning numerous TIP victims to their families.  The 
inter-institutional committee meets regularly to coordinate 
the GoE's plan and actions against TIP.  Despite these steps, 
key challenges remain:  passing pending legislation in a 
distracted Congress, using the new law to investigate and 
prosecute traffickers, finalizing the national plan, and 
providing victims services.  Responses below are keyed to 
questions in RefTel.  End Summary. 
 
Overview of Activities to Eliminate TIP 
--------------------------------------- 
 
2.  A-B:  Is the country a country of origin, transit or 
destination for international trafficked men, women, or 
children?  There is a lack of reliable or detailed 
information available on trafficking in 
persons*-domestically and especially internationally. 
Ecuador is a country of origin and destination, and possibly 
of transit, for victims of trafficking.  Last year's report 
indicated victims may be trafficked to Spain, but we have no 
new information to substantiate this.   Despite the high 
numbers of Ecuadorians living in the U.S. illegally (1.6 
million), U.S. authorities have not brought to the Embassy's 
attention any trafficking cases involving Ecuadorian culprits 
or victims in the U.S. 
 
3.  A-B:  The ABA collected anecdotal evidence on trafficking 
patterns.  There was no estimate of the number of victims. 
The report indicated that some women were trafficked as 
prostitutes from Colombia to Ecuador and that some boys were 
victims of sexual exploitation of minors, especially at 
hotels.  Banana plantations, mines, and the shrimp industry 
are believed to exploit people for forced labor by the ABA, 
but due to a shortage of labor inspectors, we have very 
little information. 
 
4.  A-B:  Until credible new evidence shows otherwise, 
current information indicates the highest incidence of 
trafficking occurs domestically via prostitution of minors 
between 14-18 years of age.  Once the law is passed changing 
the legal age of consent for prostitution to 18, the GOE will 
have a legal basis to combat this aspect of the problem. 
 
5.  C:  Have there been any changes in the direction or 
extent of trafficking?  We have no information indicating 
trafficking patterns have changed. 
 
6.  D:  Are any efforts or surveys planned or underway to 
document the extent and nature of trafficking in the country? 
 The only new information available is the ABA report.  (See 
paragraph 3.)  No additional surveys are planned. 
 
7.  E:  If the country is a destination point for trafficked 
victims, what kind of conditions are the victims trafficked 
into?  Victims are believed to be trafficked into 
prostitution.  No additional information is available. 
 
8.  F:  If the country is a country of origin, which 
populations are targeted by the traffickers?  Some victims 
may choose to immigrate illegally and then become victims of 
trafficking along the way.  Families or friends often 
encourage girls to participate in prostitution due to dire 
economic circumstances.  False documents are common and 
easily obtained. 
 
9.  G:  Is there political will at the highest levels of 
government to combat trafficking in persons?  Yes, political 
will exists at the highest levels of government to combat 
TIP.  The GOE has increased its focus on combating TIP, but 
is also facing other pressing problems, including political 
instability, and poverty.  President Gutierrez issued a 
decree in August 2004, denouncing TIP and related crimes and 
forming an inter-institutional committee to combat it.  The 
president and Minister of Government have repeatedly 
expressed the GoE's commitment to combat TIP.  Minister of 
Foreign Affairs Patricio Zuquilanda on February 14, 2005, 
wrote the Ambassador a letter highlighting the GoE's efforts 
to combat trafficking and its ongoing commitment to end this 
atrocity.  The inter-institutional committee to combat 
trafficking has met regularly since January and written a 
draft national action plan.  The municipal government of 
Machala has cooperated with the ILO to provide new victim's 
services.  A government-private roundtable on sexual 
exploitation continues to meet and work to change relevant 
laws.  However, political instability and other problems make 
it difficult for the government to focus on trafficking. 
 
10.  H:  Do governmental authorities or individual members of 
government forces facilitate or condone trafficking?  The USG 
has no information on GOE officials facilitating or condoning 
trafficking.  However, GOE officials have been accused of 
facilitating alien smuggling.  Although Police General Jorge 
Poveda was publicly accused of alien smuggling, no charges 
were ever filed against him. 
 
11.  I:  What are the limitations on the government's ability 
to address this problem in practice?  The government faces 
many limitations to its ability to address TIP fully in 
practice.  Due to Ecuador's widespread poverty and the 
government's difficult fiscal situation, the GOE does not 
have the resources to adequately address the country's many 
social and criminal problems.  The police and other justice 
system institutions do not have the resources necessary to 
combat the level of crime they face.  In addition to 
government resource constraints, corruption is widespread and 
pervasive.  The GOE has begun to implement justice system and 
anti-corruption reforms.  However, these reforms have not yet 
resulted in a significant decrease in corruption. 
 
12.  J:  To what extent does the government systematically 
monitor its anti-trafficking efforts (on all fronts -- 
prosecution, prevention and victim protection) and 
periodically make available, publicly or privately and 
directly or through regional/international organizations, its 
assessments of these anti-trafficking efforts?  CONAMU (the 
National Commission on Women) provided a written report of 
its activities to the inter-institutional committee against 
trafficking in January.  Through the same commission, the 
government has begun to assess its efforts to combat TIP. 
The committee issued a report internally and to the Embassy 
documenting its efforts.  DINAPEN reports on its efforts to 
rescue minors from prostitution bi-weekly. 
 
13.  K:  Is prostitution legalized or decriminalized? 
Regulated prostitution is legal in Ecuador, and the age of 
consent is 14.  If a person facilitates the prostitution of 
another person, without following the government regulations, 
the sanction is one to three years of imprisonment; this 
provision could be used to prosecute traffickers.  If a 
person facilitates the prostitution of a minor under the age 
of 14, or uses violence or coercion to force someone to 
engage in prostitution, the penalty is six to nine years 
imprisonment.  The Code of Children and Adolescents, that 
went into effect in July 2003, explicitly defines commercial 
sexual exploitation of minors as applying to anyone under the 
age of 18; however, the penal code has not yet been reformed 
to match.  The GOE is working on reforms to the penal code 
with USG, ABA, and UNICEF,s assistance. 
 
Prevention 
---------- 
 
14.  A:  Does the government acknowledge that trafficking is 
a problem in that country?  Government officials at all 
levels and across all ministries acknowledge the TIP problem. 
 They are particularly concerned about internal child 
prostitution and acknowledge the potential for international 
trafficking to be a problem, given the high levels of 
emigration from Ecuador. 
 
15.  B:  Which government agencies are involved in 
anti-trafficking efforts?  The GOE agencies involved include: 
 1) The Ministry of Government, which chairs the 
inter-institutional committee; 2) the National Commission on 
Women; 3) the Ministry of Foreign Affairs; 4) Attorney 
General's Office; 5) the Presidency; 6) the Ministry of 
Education; 7) the Ministry of Social Welfare; 8) the Ministry 
of Labor; 9) the Ministry of Public Health; 10) the Ministry 
of Social Welfare; 11) The National Institute for Children 
and the Family (INNFA); and 12) the police dedicated to 
protecting children (DINAPEN). 
 
16.  C:  Are there or have there been government-run 
anti-trafficking public information or public education 
campaigns?  The media has published numerous articles about 
trafficking, child prostitution, and pornography.  Former 
minister of government Raul Baca publicly described pending 
legal reforms and the GoE's commitment to combat TIP in an 
interview by a national newspaper in August 2004.  Other 
articles highlighted the contents of the presidential decree 
to against TIP. 
 
17.  D-E:  Does the government support other programs to 
prevent trafficking? (e.g., to promote women's participation 
in economic decision-making or efforts to keep children in 
school.)  CONAMU and DINAPEN created a paper system to track 
victims of commercial sexual exploitation of minors.  The GOE 
also has programs aimed at preventing problems related to 
trafficking, and they may provide alternatives to those at 
risk of becoming trafficking victims.  There are programs to 
keep children in school and aid those at risk of child labor, 
as well as limited programs to improve the economic situation 
of women.  The Ministry of Public Health has a program to 
prevent, detect, and aid victims of child abuse.  The police 
say they have increased control of false documents in places 
where prostitution is legal, but we are not aware this has 
actually happened.  Banana and flower social forums bring 
government, NGO, IO, union and business leaders together to 
discuss child labor.  Ecuador's economic situation limits the 
GoE's ability to support social programs in general, 
including programs that may help prevent trafficking. 
 
18.  F:  What is the relationship between government 
officials, NGOs, other relevant organizations and other 
elements of civil society on the trafficking issue?  The 
roundtable on sexual exploitation includes members of civil 
society.  The committee on trafficking has invited members of 
civil society, such as the ABA and the ILO, to speak at its 
meetings.  As the work on the issue continues to evolve, 
increased cooperation is expected to occur. 
 
19.  G:  Does the government adequately monitor its borders? 
Does it monitor immigration and emigration patterns for 
evidence of trafficking?  The GOE cannot adequately monitor 
its porous borders.  Ecuador has a relatively long coastline, 
and much of its borders with Colombia and Peru are in remote 
areas and difficult to monitor.  The GOE increased the police 
presence on the northern border, but is still unable to 
effectively monitor the entire border.  Given the limited 
information on international TIP, the GOE has not 
specifically monitored migration patterns to determine if 
there is evidence of TIP. 
 
20.  H:  Is there a mechanism for coordination and 
communication between various agencies, such as a 
multi-agency working group or a task force?  The 
anti-trafficking international committee to combat TIP has 
members from 10 government agencies as mentioned above.  The 
members are committed to combating the problem and have been 
meeting frequently since January. 
 
21.  H:  The GoE's primary anti-corruption body has been the 
Commission for the Civic Control of Corruption (CCCC), which 
investigates corruption but does not have the authority to 
issue sanctions.  In 2003 President Gutierrez formed the 
Anti-Corruption System (SAE).  This inter-agency task force 
includes the GoE's Controller, Attorney General, Chief 
Prosecutor, Human Rights Ombudsman, Banking, 
Telecommunications and Companies Superintendencies, and 
members of Congress.  The SAE is charged with coordinating 
policies, plans and programs to eradicate corruption. 
Neither organization was very active in 2004. 
 
22.  I:  Does the government coordinate with or participate 
in multinational or international working groups or efforts 
to prevent, monitor, or control trafficking?  The MFA 
organized seminars in Quito with the UN-ODCP in October 2004 
and with the French Embassy in November 2004.  Ecuadorian 
embassies and consulates, especially those in Spain, Austria, 
the U.S., and several Latin American countries, work with 
their host governments and the United Nations to combat 
trafficking. 
23.  J.  Does the government have a national plan of action 
to address trafficking in persons?  The GOE drafted a TIP 
plan and expected to approve it in early March.  All members 
of the inter-institutional committee on trafficking gave 
input for the plan.  However, the February 22, 2005 change of 
Minister of Government (as head of the committee) will delay 
its approval. 
 
24.  K:  Is there some entity or person responsible for 
developing anti-trafficking programs within the government? 
The presidential decree to combat trafficking charges the 
Minister of Government with coordinating GOE efforts to 
combat trafficking; the Presidential Legal Advisor serves as 
secretary to the inter-institutional committee.  Ministry 
 
SIPDIS 
staff have worked diligently to draft the national action 
plan and to support the committee's work. 
 
Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
25.  A-B:  Does the country have a law specifically 
prohibiting trafficking in persons--both trafficking for 
sexual exploitation and trafficking for non-sexual purposes 
(e.g. forced labor)?  Ecuador's laws on TIP remain unchanged 
from last year.  However, Congress is reviewing a proposal to 
reform the criminal code to penalize traffickers and raise 
the age of consent for prostitution to 18.  Article 23 of the 
constitution explicitly prohibits slavery and trafficking in 
persons in all forms.  The Code of Children and Adolescents, 
prohibits trafficking and the sexual exploitation of minors 
under the age of 18; however, Congress has not yet passed 
penal code reforms to match.  There are effectively no 
alternative laws strong enough to provide penalties for TIP. 
 
26.  C:  What are the penalties for rape or forcible sexual 
assault?  Penalties for rape or forcible sexual assault range 
from one to 25 years imprisonment, depending on the 
circumstances.  Sentences are higher when the victim is under 
the age of 14. 
 
27.  D:  Has the Government prosecuted any cases against 
traffickers?  If so, provide numbers of investigations, 
prosecutions, convictions, and sentences, including details 
on plea bargains and fines, if relevant and available.  In a 
key TIP-related case, the perpetrators in the Burdet-Cedeno 
child pornography ring were convicted on October 19, 2004, on 
four charges of raping minors with sentences of 12 to 25 
years.  On September 24, 2004, Ecuadorian citizen and U.S. 
legal permanent resident Angel Mariscal was also sentenced to 
100 years on 7 charges of child pornography. 
 
28.  E:  Is there any information or reports of who is behind 
the trafficking?  For example, are the traffickers freelance 
operators, small crime groups, and/or large international 
organized crime syndicates?  Many domestic victims of 
trafficking are child prostitutes, most of whom work legally 
and with their parents, knowledge and consent.  An ILO 
report on commercial sexual exploitation of minors indicates 
that many began to work in the commercial sex industry 
through contacts with relatives or friends.  Due to the lack 
of information on international TIP in general, there is no 
specific information on who might be behind it. 
 
29.  E:  There is little information about TIP networks, but 
DHS reports that there are criminal networks that smuggle 
Ecuadorians and third country nationals to the U.S. and 
Western Europe.  These networks have international contacts 
in Central America, Mexico, the U.S. and Europe.  The 
networks sometimes operate through travel agencies. 
 
30.  F:  Does the government actively investigate cases of 
trafficking?  The GOE sends us weekly reports of raids 
DINAPEN conducts throughout the country looking for TIP 
victims.  However, due to the lack of legislation 
criminalizing TIP and the police's lack of resources and 
knowledge of investigative techniques, police typically are 
unable to collect evidence to prosecute traffickers, and 
existing legislation is inadequate to prosecute.  DINAPEN is 
committed to fighting TIP and has requested additional 
training from the Embassy.  They have already received 
training on internet child pornography investigation 
techniques and commercial sexual exploitation of minors.  We 
continue to look for further opportunities for collaboration 
and training with the American Bar Association is planned for 
the near future. 
 
31.  G:  Does the government provide any specialized training 
for government officials in how to recognize, investigate, 
and prosecute instances of trafficking?  The ILO and Ministry 
of Government jointly funded training for DINAPEN on the 
commercial sexual exploitation of minors.  DINAPEN's regional 
director in Quito continues to lobby for additional training 
for her employees on trafficking and how to recognize and 
work with victims they may find.  DHS has provided DINAPEN 
with training on investigating child pornography.  (See 
preceding paragraph.)  At the TIP inter-institutional 
committee's request, the ABA recently gave the group a 
training session on the differences between trafficking and 
alien smuggling and facilitated a workshop on developing a 
national plan. 
 
32.  H:  Does the government cooperate with other governments 
in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases? 
GOE officials have expressed willingness to cooperate with 
other governments in the investigation and prosecution of 
trafficking cases.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs met with 
officials from the embassies of Peru and Colombia in December 
2003 to discuss cooperation and has promised to schedule 
another meeting in early March with representatives from the 
countries and Spain.  Ecuadorian embassies and consulates 
have met with host government counterparts in Spain, Peru, 
Colombia, and other Latin American countries to discuss the 
problem and copies of their national plans. 
 
33.  I:  Does the government extradite persons who are 
charged with trafficking in other countries?  Ecuador's 
constitution prohibits Ecuadorian citizens from being 
extradited to other countries.  Citizens of other countries 
could be extradited.  Unfortunately the GOE has not complied 
with USG requests to deport accused child pornographer Joseph 
Day. 
 
34.  J:  Is there evidence of government involvement in or 
tolerance of trafficking, on a local or institutional level? 
There is no evidence of GOE involvement in or tolerance of 
TIP, on a local or institutional level.  Allegations of 
police tolerance of alien smuggling are under investigation. 
 
35.  K:  If government officials are involved in trafficking, 
what steps has the government taken to end such 
participation?  We are unaware of any trafficking cases 
involving public officials. 
 
36.  L:  If the country has an identified child sex tourism 
problem (as source or destination), how many foreign 
pedophiles has the government prosecuted or 
deported/extradited to their country of origin?  Some child 
sex tourism may occur in Ecuador in coastal areas, but no 
strong evidence exists. 
 
37.  M:  Has the government signed, ratified, and/or taken 
steps to implement the following international instruments? 
 
--ILO Convention 182 concerning the prohibition and immediate 
action for the elimination of the worst forms of child labor. 
 Signed June 17, 1999 and ratified July 1, 2000. 
 
--ILO Convention 29 and 105 on forced or compulsory labor. 
ILO Convention 29 was ratified June 7, 1954.  ILO Convention 
105 was ratified May 2, 1962. 
 
--The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of 
the Child (CRC) on the sale of children, child prostitution, 
and child pornography.  Signed September 6, 2000, and 
ratified January 30, 2004. 
 
--The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in 
Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN 
Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.  Signed 
December 13, 2000 and ratified September 17, 2002. 
 
Protection and Assistance to Victims 
------------------------------------ 
 
38.  A:  Does the government assist victims, for example, by 
providing temporary to permanent residency status, relief 
from deportation, shelter and access to legal, medical and 
psychological services?  The proposed legal code reform 
prevents TIP victims from being deported for migration 
violations.  Pregnant women and children under five years of 
age receive free medical care, so some TIP victims would be 
covered in this program. 
 
39.  B:  Does the government provide funding or other forms 
of support to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to 
victims?  The government has very little funding for social 
programs in general and does not yet fund programs in this 
area. 
 
40.  C:  Is there a screening and referral process in place, 
when appropriate, to transfer victims detained, arrested or 
placed in protective custody by law enforcement authorities 
to NGO's that provide short- or long-term care?  Ecuador is 
still beginning its work on victims, services and once the 
law is passed will likely begin coordination between the 
police and victims, services, providers. 
 
41.  D:  Are the rights of victims respected, or are victims 
also treated as criminals?  Victims of commercial sexual 
exploitation of minors are not detained or treated as 
criminals, as prostitution is legal in Ecuador.  In cases 
where they have false documents (often proof of age), they 
are fined for falsification of documents.  Victims of 
commercial sexual exploitation of minors are typically 
returned to their families.  We are not aware of any cases 
where international trafficking victims were jailed or 
deported by the GoE. 
 
42.  E:  Does the government encourage victims to assist in 
the investigation and prosecution of trafficking?  Victims of 
trafficking can file civil suits against traffickers without 
legal impediment.  However, the inefficient and corrupt 
judicial system might discourage victims from filing suits. 
There is no victim restitution program. 
 
43.  F:  What kind of protection is the government able to 
provide for victims and witnesses?  The government does not 
have any shelters but has cooperated with the ILO to begin a 
victims center in Machala.  The attorney general's office has 
said it plans to provide to protection to victims who 
testify.  To date, the government affords little protection 
to witnesses of any crimes, due to its resource constraints. 
 
44.  G:  Does the government provide any specialized training 
for government officials in recognizing trafficking and in 
the provision of assistance to trafficked victims, including 
the special needs of trafficked children?  The MFA provides 
basic information on trafficking as part of its general 
training on international affairs.  All embassies and 
consulates were made aware of the ratification of the Palermo 
Convention,s protocols.  Ecuador,s embassy in Spain has 
worked with a Spanish NGO to try to develop projects related 
to child prostitution. 
 
45.  H:  Does the government provide assistance, such as 
medical aid, shelter, or financial help, to its repatriated 
nationals who are victims of trafficking?  The GOE does not 
provide assistance to repatriated nationals who are victims 
of trafficking. 
 
46.  I:  Which internationals organizations or NGOs, if any, 
work with trafficking victims?   The ILO has begun setting up 
a daytime center for TIP victims in Machala and has begun 
planning centers in Quito and Guayaquil.  Former Minister of 
Government Baca's office worked closely with the ILO in this 
undertaking.  The municipal government of Machala also 
cooperates with the ILO.  Defensa de los Ninos Internacional 
has begun work with trafficking victims in Santo Domingo de 
los Colorados.  NGO "Geneva Global" awarded grants to five 
NGOs in Ecuador in December 2004 to provide services to 
victims. 
 
47.  Embassy point of contact for TIP issues is 
Mary-Elizabeth Knapp, (593)(2)256-2890 ext. 4424 or post IVG 
number is 644, Fax (593)(2)254-0712, e-mail: knappm@state.gov. 
 
48.  Hours spent in preparation of this report:  Political 
Section Chief (FS 2): 4 hours; Political officer (FS 5): 30 
hours; Political FSN (FSN 9):  10 hours.  (Note:  Other post 
members, from the Ambassador and DCM on down, worked on TIP 
issues during the year; the hours listed above are solely for 
the preparation of this report.) 
KENNEY