US embassy cable - 05QUITO2762

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 QUITO 002762 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR G/TIP, WHA/PPC, WHA/AND 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PREL, PGOV, EC, Trafficking 
SUBJECT:  Ecuador Focused on TIP 
 
REF:  QUITO 2506 
 
1.  Summary:  Ecuadorian leaders have recently shown renewed 
vigor in their effort to battle trafficking in persons and 
help trafficking victims.  Under the direction of Ecuador's 
First Lady, Maria Paret de Palacio, the government-funded 
child and family welfare agency INNFA is leading the charge. 
Energized by the visit of Latin pop star Ricky Martin and 
his foundation that champions child welfare causes, INNFA 
distributed anti-TIP material at Martin's concert and will 
sign a cooperation agreement with the foundation.  It has 
also sought cooperative agreements with NGOs including two 
shelters that will receive TIP victims.  INNFA will launch 
its anti-TIP multi-media campaign after the holidays.  Not 
to be upstaged, the Ministry of Government's media campaign 
against sexual tourism is scheduled to begin at the same 
time.  Several training sessions have boosted awareness of 
TIP within the law enforcement community and police have 
logged several new arrests under the TIP law passed in June. 
The media has proved an important ally in the government's 
stepped-up fight against TIP.  End Summary. 
 
INNFA Energized 
--------------------- 
 
2.  Ecuador's First Lady promised to spearhead a TIP 
awareness campaign after Ecuador's Tier Three rating was 
announced in the summer.  Although the campaign did not get 
underway during Ecuador's 90-day grace period, INNFA 
President and presidential spouse Paret has since encouraged 
her staff to press for progress in prevention and protection 
efforts for TIP victims.  She personally managed the 
creation of anti-TIP posters, radio and TV spots at a cost 
of $16,000 and appealed to stations for free airtime.  A 
crew of 15 INNFA volunteers turned out at a Ricky Martin 
concert last month to distribute specially designed 
postcards to every concertgoer.  The postcard warned of the 
dangers of trafficking, the consequences for traffickers and 
provided a phone number for information or help.  INNFA also 
set up booths in the concert hall where it showed Ricky 
Martin Foundation and INNFA TIP television spots.  From his 
Washington office Ecuadorian Ambassador Luis Gallegos also 
has been pushing the country's anti-TIP agenda.  He linked 
INNFA with the Ricky Martin opportunity and will meet with a 
USAID representative to discuss TIP. 
 
 
3.  Ricky Martin Foundation Director Angel Saltos said that 
the foundation's first joint project with INNFA would be the 
release of Ricky Martin TV spots about exploitation of 
children carrying the number of an INNFA helpline.  While in 
Quito, the Foundation also announced a joint project with 
Microsoft to protect children from Internet-related dangers. 
Saltos said the foundation would work with Ecuadorian 
government leaders to teach children about safe use of the 
Internet and teachers and community leaders about how to 
catch cyberspace criminals.  Microsoft has also pledged to 
cooperate in police investigations.  The Foundation has 
already received a request from the Quito prosecutor's 
office for technical assistance in a child pornography case. 
 
4.  Taking a major step forward on protection of victims, 
INNFA has signed agreements with Casa Mathilda and 
Talitakumi, two NGO shelters that will open their doors to 
house and rehabilitate TIP victims.  INNFA also supports 
Fundacion Mensajeros de la Paz, a shelter in Cuenca that has 
expressed commitment to TIP.  In addition, First Lady Paret 
has promised the International Labor Organization (ILO) 
support for a new shelter in Machala.  The ILO and the 
Quimera Foundation have housed victims of TIP in a Machala 
juvenile detention center for lack of a true shelter.  The 
TIP Working Group is coordinating specialized training for 
shelter workers with the International Organization for 
Migration (IOM).  Ecuador has also been conferring with IOM 
regarding the organization's TIP hotline (1-800 line) best 
practices. 
 
MOG Aims to Stop Sexual Tourism at the Door 
------------------------------------------- 
 
5.  In early November, head of the MOG Office for Gender 
Issues met with her GOE colleagues from INNFA, the National 
Council for Women and Children (CONAMU) and other members of 
the American Bar Association's governing board to fine- tune 
their poster campaign for transit terminals and highways. 
While ABA provided technical assistance for the project, GOE 
board members selected the poster designs to convey the 
serious consequences facing sexual tourists.  The package 
included traditional posters and life-size cutouts of 
Ecuadorian police officers warning would-be traffickers or 
sexual tourists, in both Spanish and English. 
 
Police Start to Understand and Apply TIP Law 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
6.  Recent conferences trained a cadre of police officers in 
Quito and Cuenca, Ecuador's third-largest city, on TIP. 
Attorney General Cecilia Armas made a commitment to fight 
trafficking at one of the conferences sponsored by CONAMU 
and another GOE organization for children and adolescents, 
CNNA.  In addition to police, this conference drew 250 
participants representing NGOs and governmental social 
service agencies.  The ABA also held training for 10 judges, 
12 police and 12 prosecutors in Cuenca.  The training 
included practical group exercises in which participants 
role-played scenarios based on actual TIP cases. 
 
7.  In a meeting with DOJ and DHS officials concerning 
migrant smuggling, Armas, the President's Communications 
Director Jose Toledo, and President's Chief of staff Jose 
Modesto Apolo, expressed interest in fortifying the special 
vetted unit that investigates smuggling and TIP cases. 
Toledo pledged to pursue additional funding needed to 
enlarge the unit and open offices in Cuenca and Guayaquil. 
 
8.  Several TIP arrests have been made under the new law. 
Major Mery Jimenez, commander of the child welfare police 
(DINAPEN) for the Pichincha Province and recent participant 
in the International Visitors Program, reported that three 
persons were arrested in Quito during Thanksgiving week for 
prostituting minors.  DINAPEN rescued 8 girls and 4 adults 
in the raid.  The victims had been seeking legitimate work 
when a phony employment agency sold them to the clubs for 
$30 to $100 each.  Another man remains in custody in Quito 
for prostituting juveniles and presenting false documents to 
conceal their actual ages. 
 
Media Interest on the Rise 
-------------------------- 
 
9.  Major media outlets have amplified the government's new 
efforts against TIP, with at least one or two articles or 
broadcast programs every week.  Weekly newsmagazine 
"Vistazo," in cooperation with PAS, ran a report on young 
indigenous girls being sold into slavery in Venezuela.  The 
article featured commentary by Embassy officials and 
highlighted the Department's 2005 TIP report, and Ecuador's 
recent steps to confront child sexual exploitation rings. 
TV news magazines "Esta Clarito" and "30 Minutos Plus" have 
done reports on sexual tourism and forced prostitution. The 
"El Comercio" national daily reported on a study in the city 
of Santo Domingo de los Colorados by the International 
Children's Defense Organization (DNI) that told of sexual 
exploitation of boys and girls in exchange for food or 
inhalants.  The article also spoke of child pornography 
victims.  DINAPEN is investigating in Santo Domingo. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
10.  We are encouraged by evidence that Ecuador is taking 
its first serious steps in the areas of prevention, 
protection and prosecution.  GOE leaders -- led by INNFA -- 
understand the need for cooperation with NGOs, and are 
putting that cooperation to work for victims.  We will 
continue to encourage this type of coordination.  We also 
will encourage greater cooperation between governmental 
agencies and offices.  The Ministry of Government has agreed 
to jumpstart the inter-institutional commission charged with 
drafting a national plan to combat TIP, inviting Embassy TIP 
working group members to an initial meeting on December 8. 
We will encourage the MFA to play a more active role within 
the commission, as the Ambassador suggested to Foreign 
Minister Carrion (see reftel). 
JEWELL