US embassy cable - 05BRASILIA1444

UNCLAS BRASILIA 001444 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.0. 12365: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB, EAID, PGOV, PREL, PHUM, BR, Human Rights, TIP 
SUBJECT: Trafficking in Persons LOA for Brazil 
 
1. (SBU) Begin Summary:  Our efforts to negotiate a Letter 
of Agreement (LOA) with the Brazilian Ministry of External 
Relations (MRE) concerning the President's Initiative on 
Trafficking in Persons have made no progress and we do not 
anticipate movement any time soon.  Since the Brazilian 
implementing agencies have shown great interest and even 
enthusiasm for these projects, we are planning to go ahead 
without an all-encompassing LOA.  Instead, we and the 
Brazilians believe that we can rely on existing agreements 
and arrangements to implement the programs.  End Summary. 
 
2. (SBU) We have made great progress in Brazil implementing 
projects funded by the President's Initiative on 
Trafficking in Persons.  The HHS portion of the program has 
been implemented.  The Department of Labor identified 
Catholic Relief Services (CRS) in Brazil as an implementing 
agency.  CRS has partnered with Caritas Brazil and already 
begun training and other activities.  USAID has reached 
agreement with its GOB partners and now that it has 
received it funding, has already put out a request for 
proposals.  National Secretary for Justice Claudia Chagas 
stands ready to implement a good part of the Department of 
State project, lacking only funding. 
 
3. (SBU) The law enforcement portions of the initiative are 
similarly ready to go.  A combined DHS/DOJ team traveled to 
Brazil last December and met with all the relevant GOB 
actors.  Since returning to Washington, DHS and DOJ have 
worked closely with their counterparts at the Embassy and 
in the GOB to develop program plans that are ready for 
implementation. 
 
4. (SBU) Characteristically, only the Ministry of External 
Relations has been less than enthusiastic.  The Ministry 
does not see the negotiation of an LOA as a priority, and 
has done little to advance discussions.  Both the Embassy 
and the various Brazilian agencies that would be involved 
in these projects have tried numerous times to move the 
process along with the MRE, but with no success to date. 
We doubt we will ever get an LOA out of the MRE and 
continued efforts to do so will only place us in the 
position of supplicant.  Based on our experience with the 
MRE, such a position normally represents neither an 
effective approach nor a promising start for a bilateral 
program that we are funding. 
 
5. (SBU) Therefore, we are planning to drop efforts to 
negotiate an LOA with the MRE.  We have ample precedent for 
this approach.  USAID, DOL, DOJ, and DHS all have bilateral 
assistance projects underway without benefit of an LOA with 
the Ministry.  USAID and DHS have a number of existing 
agreements with their GOB counterparts and could operate 
under those agreements.  Unless instructed otherwise, we 
plan to use these existing agreements and arrangements, and 
negotiate the addendums necessary directly with the 
implementing agencies, rather than continuing to seek an 
all-encompassing LOA.  We discussed this recommendation 
with the MRE high-level official responsible for this issue 
and he was receptive to our recommendations and thought 
that might be resolved though existing agreements or a 
simple exchange of notes. 
 
DANILOVICH