US embassy cable - 05SANTODOMINGO1486

UNCLAS SANTO DOMINGO 001486 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR WHA/CAR (MCISAAC), WHA/PPC (PUCCETTI), G/TIP 
(OWEN); JUSTICE FOR OPDAT (LIPMAN) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, KCRM, SMIG, DR 
SUBJECT: ANTI-TRAFFICKING FOR DOMINICANS BY U.S. DOJ, FEB. 
22-24 
 
 
1. SUMMARY:  On February 22-24, the Department of Justice 
Office of Overseas Prosecutorial Development Assistance 
Training conducted an anti-trafficking workshop to assist 
Dominicans in creating an operations manual for  enforcement 
of laws against trafficking in persons (TIP).  The 
participants represented government agencies, two local NGOs, 
and the International Organization for Migration. The 
training emphasized the need for the necessary tools and 
resources to combat TIP, including effective, up-to-date 
legislation and vigorous, motivated law enforcement 
officials. Participants planned to form a working group to 
draft the operations manual using notes from the workshop and 
to look for ways to improve communication and share 
information among the agencies with TIP-related 
responsibilities.  END SUMMARY. 
 
2.    The Department of Justice Office of Overseas 
Prosecutorial Development Assistance Training (DOJ/OPDAT) 
conducted a workshop on operations to counter trafficking in 
persons (TIP) for representatives of Dominican law 
enforcement agencies February 22-24.  The workshop was 
designed to guide the Dominicans in drafting an operations 
manual for combating TIP.  It attracted working-level 
participants from the Attorney General,s Office, National 
Police, Foreign Ministry, Naval Intelligence, and Migration 
Directorate.  Also participating were local NGOs "Center for 
Integral Orientation and Investigation" (COIN) and 
"Foundation for Institution-Building and Justice" (FINJUS), 
as well as the International Organization for Migration. 
Robert Lipman of DOJ/OPDAT led.  He and prosecutor Maria 
Aponte, FBI Special Agent Raul Bujanda, and FBI Victim 
Witness Specialist Roberta Lujan led a series of panels, 
brainstorming sessions, and discussions addressing specific 
steps to combat TIP.  Participants shared their experience in 
TIP cases, identified challenges in law enforcement, and 
discussed ways to improve inter-agency cooperation on TIP 
cases. 
 
3.    Lipman and the trainers focused the participants, 
attention on investigative approaches that law enforcement 
can implement immediately, using existing personnel and the 
modern and comprehensive 2003 Dominican anti-TIP legislation, 
as well as other, more creative methods.  Proposed strategies 
for detection included obtaining copies of visa applications 
from foreign consulates in the Dominican Republic and 
developing a list of TIP-related questions for use by airport 
officials. An investigative pilot project was proposed, which 
included immediately shutting down a handful of brothels 
known to be operating, by identifying probable violations of 
the labor and tax codes as well as violations of the anti-TIP 
law.  The Dominicans planned to form a law enforcement 
working group to consider these steps and to combine their 
notes from the workshop into a manual for handling TIP cases, 
based on a structure provided by the DOJ/OPDAT team. 
 
Comment 
 
4.    The DOJ/OPDAT workshop focused Dominican partipants on 
practical measures that can be implemented quickly.  OPDAT 
trainers were highly effective.  Participants exhibited a 
strong desire to implement the lessons learned during the 
conference and to collaborate with one another.  The proposed 
operations manual could help the Dominicans take a more 
consistent, cooperative approach to TIP cases. 
HERTELL