VZCZCXYZ0005
PP RUEHWEB

DE RUEHSJ #0125 0461427
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 151427Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 9443
INFO RUEHZA/WHA CENTRAL AMERICAN COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SAN JOSE 000125 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR WHA/CEN AND G/TIP KBRESNAHAN 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ASEC ELAB KCRM PHUM PREL SMIG CS
SUBJECT: TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS SOLICITATION FOR 
G/TIP-MANAGED FY 2008 ESF AND INCLE FUNDS: COSTA RICA'S 
PROPOSAL 
 
REF: STATE 161287 
 
 ¶1. One of Costa Rica's biggest challenges continues to be 
the trafficking of persons for the purposes of labor and/or 
sexual exploitation. Costa Rica is a source, transit and 
destination country for men, women, and children trafficked 
for those purposes. Given the GOCR's resources and many other 
challenges, Costa Rica's effort to combat trafficking in 
persons needs assistance.   The country's borders are porous 
and the government resources continue to be stretched.  There 
is ample evidence that Costa Rica serves as a transit and 
destination point for many women heading north as well as the 
destination of many women trafficked from other Central and 
South American countries, the Caribbean (Dominican Republic) 
and Eastern Europe (mainly Russia and Rumania). 
 
¶2. The responses below are keyed to reftel. An e-mail of the 
full proposal is being sent to the G/TIP funding 
opportunities address. 
 
¶3. Program Description: 
 
¶A. Name of Organization: National Counter-Trafficking 
Coalition (NCTC). Contact person: Agueda Marin, Program 
Specialist. Mailing address: Organizacion Internacional para 
las Migraciones (OIM), Avenida Central C.27-29, Apdo 
122-2050, San Jose, Costa Rica.  Phone number 
011-506-221-5348, e-mail is amarin@iom.int. 
 
¶B. Requested Funding Amount is USD 143,666.25 for a two-year 
program. 
 
¶C. Project Title:  "National Referral Mechanism for 
Protecting Victims of Trafficking in Costa Rica". 
 
¶D. Project Duration: The term of the project is 24 months. 
 
¶E. Abstract: This project seeks to strengthen the National 
Counter-Trafficking Coalition in Costa Rica by supporting the 
drafting and implementation of a national referral mechanism 
to protect victims of trafficking.  One of the main 
recommendations of the 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report was 
the consolidation of the NCTC into a timely and strong 
platform to combat trafficking in persons. As a result, a 
National Action Plan was developed by Costa Rica, but remains 
to be implemented. This is an urgent priority. 
 
Through the development of this national referral mechanism 
for assistance of victims of trafficking, capacity building, 
and targeted training, this project will support the initial 
implementation steps of the GOCR's National Action Plan. In 
this regard, the government has allocated some funding to 
initiate implementation, including for awareness campaigns, 
but these funds are not enough to fully implement the Action 
Plan.  This program will be overseen by IOM and managed 
through clear and well established principles, capitalizing 
on IOM's extensive related experience. 
 
¶4. Post recommends this initiative as worthwhile and one that 
fills a void in the GOCR's efforts to combat trafficking in 
persons. 
BRENNAN