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Viewing cable 06BOGOTA1967, COLOMBIA'S SIXTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
06BOGOTA1967 2006-03-04 00:25 2011-08-25 00:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Embassy Bogota
VZCZCXRO7769
OO RUEHAO
DE RUEHBO #1967/01 0630025
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 040025Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BOGOTA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 2778
INFO RUEHAM/AMEMBASSY AMMAN 0016
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 0064
RUEHCV/AMEMBASSY CARACAS 7260
RUEHKG/AMEMBASSY KINGSTON 1463
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 8838
RUEHME/AMEMBASSY MEXICO 6647
RUEHZP/AMEMBASSY PANAMA 8823
RUEHQT/AMEMBASSY QUITO 3944
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 1774
RUEHSJ/AMEMBASSY SAN JOSE 3868
RUEHSN/AMEMBASSY SAN SALVADOR 1526
RUEHSG/AMEMBASSY SANTIAGO 1953
RUEHKO/AMEMBASSY TOKYO 1051
RUEHAO/AMCONSUL CURACAO 0355
RUEHGL/AMCONSUL GUAYAQUIL 3469
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEAHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 BOGOTA 001967 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR ADM AID, WHA/AND, WHA/PPC,G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, 
CA/FPP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB CO
SUBJECT: COLOMBIA'S SIXTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN 
PERSONS (TIP) REPORT 
 
REF: SECSTATE 3836 
 
This report is sensitive but unclassified. Please handle 
accordingly. 
 
1. (U) Embassy point of contact on trafficking in persons is 
human rights officer Laura Kirkpatrick, phone number (57-1) 
383-2168, fax number (57-1) 315-2163.  Officer spent 50 hours 
preparing report. 
 
2. (U) Responses below are to questions in paragraphs 21-24 
of reftel.  Please note that answers to questions in 
paragraphs 21.A., 23.E., and 23.I. are pending submission of 
information from the GOC. 
 
-------- 
Overview 
-------- 
 
21.A. (SBU) Colombia is a significant source of trafficking 
victims, primarily women and children destined for sexual 
exploitation.  Some Colombian men are trafficked for forced 
labor. Post has received some unconfirmed reports that 
Colombia is also a transit country for victims from other 
Andean countries. Exact numbers for each demographic group 
that was trafficked were requested but were not available at 
time of transmittal.  Colombian victims are recruited 
primarily through offers of employment, study, or marriage. 
These offers are made through personal contact and 
advertisements in the press.  Post has received reports that 
members of criminal organizations who owe a debt to their 
organization will occasionally offer to introduce traffickers 
to family members to facilitate recruitment, and receive debt 
relief in compensation.  Colombian victims are trafficked to 
Aruba, China (Hong Kong), Chile, Costa Rica, Curacao, 
Ecuador, El Salvador, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Jordan, Mexico, 
The Netherlands, Panama, Spain, the United States, and 
Venezuela.  Victims are principally trafficked for the 
purposes of sexual exploitation, forced labor, and forced 
servitude (land or debt peonage, servile marriage). 
Trafficking occurs within Colombia's borders, and some NGOs 
report that it also occurs in areas of Colombia where there 
is not sufficient law enforcement control over illegal armed 
groups. 
 
Colombia's Administrative Department of Security (DAS), which 
has responsibilities similar to the FBI and ICE, estimates 
that, based on immigration and return-via-deportation 
statistics, roughly 45,000-50,000 Colombian women work as 
prostitutes overseas and some unknown percentage of those 
were trafficking victims.  According to the DAS, Colombia is 
the third most common country of origin of trafficking 
victims in the Western Hemisphere, and every day between 2 
and 10 Colombian women leaving the country are victims of 
trafficking.  Information about trafficking in persons can be 
obtained from the Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia), 
DAS, the Ministry of Interior and Justice (MININT), or the 
Supreme Council of the Judiciary (Consejo Superior de la 
Judicatura, or CSJ).  None of these sources are very reliable 
because (a) they do not coordinate tracking of cases -- for 
example an arrest made by the DAS which is considered to have 
been for the crime of trafficking may be later reclassified 
by the Fiscalia to have only been for organized crime because 
trafficking cannot be proven; and (b) the Government of 
Colombia relies heavily on international organizations and 
NGOs to initiate contact with victims, who may never report 
their case of trafficking as a crime.  The GOC 
Interinstitutional Committee for the Fight against 
 
BOGOTA 00001967  002 OF 008 
 
 
Trafficking in Persons (ICFTP), established informally in 
2003 and formally in 2005, has designed a database to track 
and monitor statistics on trafficking in persons cases.  The 
database is expected to be actively used in 2006.  Groups 
more at risk of being trafficked were displaced people, women 
in rural areas who don't have access to mass media, and 
people whose relatives were members of criminal 
organizations. 
 
21.B. (SBU) Colombia is committed to fighting trafficking in 
persons, and has established a comprehensive interagency 
program to coordinate this fight with international and 
nongovernmental organizations.  In 2005, Colombia passed Law 
985, which criminalized the act of transporting a person with 
the goal of exploitation, regardless of whether the victim 
had initially given consent to travel for a certain purpose. 
The law also adopted measures for prevention, protection and 
assistance to victims or potential victims; formally 
established the ICFTP; increased sentences for those 
convicted to between 13 and 23 years in prison and fines 
between 800 to 1,500 times the minimum salary; proposed a 
national strategy against trafficking in persons; 
strengthened units involved in investigating and prosecuting 
trafficking crimes; set up a national system of information 
on trafficking; and appropriated funds to combat trafficking. 
 The ongoing internal armed conflict in Colombia has an 
impact on trafficking because it creates displacement of 
populations, making them more vulnerable.  Also, internal 
armed actors and criminal gangs are responsible for 
trafficking in arms, drugs, and people.  While exact numbers 
are not known, it is suspected that people in the country who 
were displaced as a result of the conflict are the most 
likely victims of trafficking.  According to UNHCHR, 74 
percent of the displaced are women and children, who 
represent the majority of trafficking victims in Colombia. 
While the government began to develop and action plan for the 
protection of victims, the guide had not been put into 
practice as of reporting date.  The IOM estimates that 
approximately 60 percent of trafficking is within the country. 
 
21.C. (SBU) The Government is hampered in its fight against 
trafficking by limited resources.  As a result, it relies 
heavily on NGOs and international organizations in the fight 
against trafficking.  Some NGOs reported that corruption of 
insubordinate government officials was a problem -- for 
example, in some places it is not difficult to fraudulently 
obtain authentic documents to conceal a victim's identity for 
purpose of travel -- but none saw that corruption related to 
trafficking was endemic in government institutions.  The 
Government gives limited assistance to victims through 
shelters, the Ministry of Interior and Justice, the Family 
Welfare Institute and the Ministry of Social Protection, but 
it does not have enough money to provide protection to 
victims that would induce a higher number of them to press 
charges against their oppressors. 
 
21.D. (SBU) The Government has six entities that work to 
combat trafficking and monitor prosecution, prevention and 
victim protection: the Ministry of Interior and Justice 
(MININT) which presides over the ICFTP; the Administrative 
Department of Security (DAS), which houses the offices that 
monitor migration and coordinate with INTERPOL; the Unit to 
Combat Trafficking in Persons, Sexual Violence and Child 
Victims in the Prosecutor General's Office (Fiscalia); the 
Grupo Humanitas inside the Judicial Police section of the 
Colombian National Police; the Family Welfare Institute 
(ICBF); and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA).  Each 
group maintains its own statistics.  Some offices (DAS, 
 
BOGOTA 00001967  003 OF 008 
 
 
MININT and Humanitas) have produced reports in the past on 
their work to combat trafficking.  It is expected that the 
ICFTP will harmonize GOC policy to combat trafficking and 
make its findings on trends in trafficking known to the 
public as soon as data collection is regularized and the 
results studied. 
 
---------- 
PREVENTION 
---------- 
 
22.A. (SBU) The GOC acknowledges that trafficking is a 
problem in Colombia. 
 
22.B.  Fourteen agencies are members of the ICFTP: MININT, 
MFA, Ministry of Social Protection (MSP), Ministry of 
Education, DAS, CNP, Office of the Prosecutor General, the 
Office of the Inspector General (Procuraduria), the Office of 
the Human Rights Ombudsman (Defensoria), Interpol, ICBF, the 
Presidential Advisor for Equality of Women, The Department of 
Defense organization FONDELIBERTAD, and the Special 
Administrative Unit for Information and Financial Analysis. 
The MININT presides over the ICFTP. 
 
22.C. (SBU) In 2005, the Ministry of Communication ran a 
public information campaign through short TV announcements 
explaining trafficking, with a toll-free number of an IOM 
call center for inquiries.  The Ministry of Communication 
also developed a campaign to promote the "healthy" use of the 
internet by children and to detect and prevent recruitment of 
children by traffickers over the internet. The IOM, the UN 
Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) and several NGOs conducted 
informational campaigns to target potential victims and raise 
awareness.  For example, one campaign put posters in bus 
stations and transportation corridors to remind drivers of 
the need to avoid giving money to children who are being 
exploited to beg on the streets. 
 
22.D. (SBU) The Vice President's Program on Women has a 
microenterprise lending program to help women heads of 
households maintain a stable income, and the MSP works with 
UNICEF and the International Labor Organization to prevent 
child labor in the country.  It is estimated that 2.5 million 
children under 18 are working in Colombia, and that only 20 
percent of those are working legally in conditions approved 
by the Government. 
 
(NOTE: There is no question 22.E. in reftel. End note.) 
 
22.F. (SBU) The GOC maintains an open dialogue with 
non-governmental organizations, relevant organizations and 
elements of civil society on trafficking.  The IOM and UNODC 
are observers on the ICFTP and actively participate in policy 
dialogue. 
 
22.G. (SBU) The IOM has trained Colombian passport officials, 
and immigration officials from Colombia and foreign 
embassies, in ways to detect patterns of trafficking.  Since 
Colombia is primarily a source or transit country, officials 
are more sensitized in detecting potential victims who are 
departing rather than arriving.  The NGO The Hope Foundation 
(Fundacion Esperanza) in particular has aggressively targeted 
airport officials and related travel companies to raise 
sensitivity about trafficking victims. 
 
22.H. (SBU) The mechanism for GOC coordination is the ICFTP. 
The MININT presides over the ICFTP.  The GOC does not have a 
public corruption task force, but there are internal affairs 
 
BOGOTA 00001967  004 OF 008 
 
 
offices within the Fiscalia and the Police, and the 
Defensoria has the authority to conduct disciplinary 
investigations in every government entity. 
 
22.J. (SBU) Law 985 established the responsibility of the 
ICFTP to create a national action plan to address trafficking 
in persons.  The fourteen member agencies of the ICFTP (see 
para. 22.B) will develop the plan with participation of civil 
society and NGOs.  The Plan has not yet been finalized. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
23.A. (SBU) Law 985, which was passed on August 26, 2005, is 
entitled "For which measures are adopted against trafficking 
in persons and norms for the attention and protections of 
victims of the same," and prohibits trafficking for any 
economic or other benefit, such as sexual exploitation, 
prostitution, work or other forced services, slavery or 
practices analogous to slavery, forced servitude, 
exploitation through mendicancy, servile marriage, the 
extraction of organs, sexual tourism or any other form of 
exploitation.  The law prohibits internal and transnational 
trafficking.  The law covers the full scope of trafficking 
crimes and is being implemented.  Other laws that are still 
in effect to punish trafficking in persons include: 
 
-- Law 599 of 2000, which made penalties for trafficking for 
purposes of prostitution equivalent to those for rape and 
sexual assault, carrying penalties of 6 to 8 years in prison 
and fines of up to 100 times the monthly minimum wage. 
 
--  Law 747 of July 2002 which broadened the definition of 
trafficking in persons and provided for prison sentences 
between 10 and 15 years and fines up to 1,000 times the 
monthly minimum wage.  According to this law, forcing someone 
into prostitution is punishable by 5 to 9 years in prison and 
a fine of up to 500 times the monthly minimum wage.  These 
penalties can be increased up to one-half if the victim is 
under 14 years of age, if the criminal plans to take the 
victim out of the country, or if the criminal is a family 
member.  Penalties are also increased if the victim is under 
18 years of age.  Child pornography in any form is also 
criminalized with punishments of up to 10 years in prison and 
a fine of up to 1,000 times the monthly minimum salary. 
These penalties are increased by half if the minor is 12 
years or younger. 
 
-- Law 890 of 2004, which entered into force on January 1, 
2005, further increased these penalties to 13 to 23 years in 
prison and fines of up to 1,500 times the monthly minimum 
wage. These penalties can be increased by up to one-third if 
there are aggravated circumstances, such as if the crime is 
committed against a minor (less than 18 years of age), the 
victim is mentally challenged, or the trafficker is a family 
member or public servant.  If the victim is under 12 years of 
age, the penalty is increased by half.  Additional charges of 
illegal detention, violation of the right to work in 
dignified conditions, and violation of personal freedom also 
may be brought against traffickers. 
 
-- The Colombian Penal Code of 2000, article 219, which 
prohibits organizing or facilitating sexual tourism and 
provides penalties of three to eight years' imprisonment. 
 
23.B. (SBU) Penalties against traffickers are described in 
paragraph 23.A. 
 
BOGOTA 00001967  005 OF 008 
 
 
 
23.C. (SBU) In 2000, Law 599 (see para. 23.A) made the 
punishments for trafficking for purposes of prostitution 
equivalent to those for rape and sexual assault. 
 
23.D. (SBU) Prostitution by adults is not considered a crime 
in Colombia, although the activities of pimps and other 
enforcers are criminalized.  The legal minimum age for 
prostitution is 18 years.  Prostitution is permitted in 
so-called "tolerance zones" in various cities.  In these 
areas, the Institute of Urban Development monitors 
establishments of prostitution.  The operation of 
prostitution establishments is monitored and operating 
without a license is severely punished.  In 2005, there were 
two high-profile busts of establishments operating without 
licenses in well-known tolerance zones in Bogota. 
 
23.E. (SBU) Information regarding investigations, 
prosecutions, convictions, sentences and time served by 
convicted traffickers was requested but was not available at 
time of transmittal. 
 
23.F. (SBU) The IOM and Colombian NGOs estimate that 
international organized crime networks are responsible for 
the bulk of transnational trafficking.  Other cases, such as 
for servile marriage, have been traced to internet dating 
services and family exploitation.  Domestically, organized 
crime networks -- some related to foreign terrorist 
organizations (FTOs) -- are also responsible for trafficking 
for sexual exploitation or organized begging.  UNICEF and the 
Defensoria estimate between 6 and 11 thousand children have 
been forcibly recruited into illegal armed groups, while 
UNICEF and NGOs have estimated between 20 and 35 thousand 
children are victims of sexual exploitation by family members 
or pimps, some percentage of which are victims of 
trafficking.  Many displaced people are trafficked for labor 
exploitation by local criminal gangs when they arrive in 
their new destinations.  The Hope Foundation estimates 
agencies for employment, travel, and tourism are often either 
knowingly or innocently facilitating trafficking in persons. 
Insubordinate government officials are suspected to be 
involved in trafficking, especially in providing fraudulent 
travel documents.  It is suspected that the profits from 
trafficking either go to private individuals or to criminal 
networks, some of which are run by FTOs.  On January 18, 
2006, the police used asset forfeiture laws to seize assets 
valued at $1,300 (CPS 3 million) from a trafficker who had 
been arrested in 2004. 
 
23.G. (SBU) The government actively investigates trafficking 
cases.  When information is passed regarding a possible case 
of trafficking in persons, it is analyzed according to 
protocols of investigation under the direction and 
coordination of the Prosecutor General's Office.  The 
National Police and DAS/Interpol, which has an eight-person 
unit dedicated to investigating trafficking in persons 
crimes, take the lead in such investigations. 
 
23.H. (SBU) The MFA and ICBF provide specialized training to 
MFA officials working overseas to help them recognize 
potential victims of trafficking and prepare a criminal 
report for authorities in Colombia.  The training does not 
include special sensitivity for child victims.  The GOC 
worked with the U.K. Embassy and the Fiscalia to set up a 
series of mock trials to train judges and prosecutors on how 
to prosecute trafficking crimes.  By the end of the series, 
judges and prosecutors believed they were well prepared to 
prosecute the cases, but more officials need to receive the 
 
BOGOTA 00001967  006 OF 008 
 
 
training. 
 
23.I. (SBU) The GOC cooperates with other governments in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking in persons.  The 
GOC cooperates with host country governments where it has 
embassies and when victims of trafficking are identified and 
request repatriation.  Fiscalia and DAS/INTERPOL offices work 
with counterparts in other countries to conduct 
investigations.  Information regarding which countries the 
Fiscalia and DAS worked with was requested but not available 
at time of transmittal. 
 
23.J. (SBU) The GOC can extradite persons charged with 
trafficking in other countries.  The GOC can extradite its 
own nationals.  However, there were no such extraditions for 
persons charged with trafficking in the period March 
2005-February 2006, and no requests for such extraditions, 
according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. 
 
23.K. (SBU) See paragraph 21.C. 
 
23.L. (SBU) Government officials neither facilitate nor 
condone trafficking in any official capacity.  The GOC 
investigates all cases of corruption that are brought to its 
attention.  Neither the DAS nor the Prosecutor General's 
Office has received any information about the involvement, or 
possible involvement, of government officials in trafficking 
in persons. No government officials have been prosecuted for 
involvement in trafficking or trafficking-related corruption. 
 
 
23.M. (SBU) The Colombian Penal Code of 2000 prohibits 
organizing or facilitating sexual tourism and provides 
penalties of three to eight years' imprisonment.  The Penal 
Code does not have extraterritorial coverage.  The Penal Code 
does not differentiate between sexual tourism for the purpose 
of relations with children or adults.  During the reporting 
period, the Government did not prosecute or deport/extradite 
any foreign pedophiles. 
 
23.N. (SBU) Colombia has ratified the following international 
instruments: 
 
-- The ILO Convention 182 on the Worst Forms of Child Labor, 
on January 15, 2005; 
 
-- ILO Convention Number 29, in 1969; 
 
-- ILO Convention 105, in 1963; 
 
-- The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of 
the Child on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, and 
Child Pornography, in November 2003; and 
 
-- The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking 
in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the 
UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, in 
August 2004. 
 
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PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
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24.A. (SBU) Since Colombia is primarily a source and transit 
country, there is no demand for provision of temporary or 
permanent residency status or relief from deportation. 
Colombia does not have specially-designated victim care or 
victim health care facilities. 
 
BOGOTA 00001967  007 OF 008 
 
 
 
24.B. (SBU) The GOC provides limited funds to NGOs to provide 
food, shelter and clothing to victims under 18, in a few 
cities.  The GOC also maintains a close relationship with the 
IOM and NGOs like The Hope Foundation and provides them 
information on cases related to victims or potential victims 
of trafficking in persons domestically and abroad. 
 
24.C. (SBU) Colombia is not a destination country.  There 
have been no reported cases of referral of the transfer of 
victims who have been detained, arrested or placed in 
protective custody by law enforcement authorities to NGOs 
that provide short- or long-term care.  Overseas, Colombian 
consulates worldwide are supposed to provide legal and social 
assistance to Colombian citizens in need, including victims 
of trafficking.  The GOC has contracted legal advisors and 
social workers to help support Colombians abroad.  However, 
this type of assistance can only be provided in consular 
districts with at least 10,000 resident Colombians.  The 
assistance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and/or the 
Embassy begins the moment information is provided by a family 
member or friend in Colombia or the victim gets in touch with 
the Embassy.  The Embassy then coordinates with host 
government authorities to provide immediate protection. 
 
24.D. (SBU) Colombia is not a destination country.  There 
have been no reported cases the rights of internal 
trafficking victims being denied. 
 
24.E. (SBU) The GOC encourages victims to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking.  The DAS, for 
example, set up a special interview room in Bogota's El 
Dorado Airport for returning victims so that they could be 
fully debriefed and counseled on their rights, and on how to 
press charges. The right of victims to seek civil action 
against their traffickers is not impeded.  However, many 
victims, fearing for their own safety or that of their 
families, are often reluctant to come forward.  Colombia does 
not have a victim restitution program, though the MININT and 
NGOs have programs to help victims reintegrate into society. 
 
24.F. (SBU) The government provides protection to victims and 
witnesses through the Fiscalia.  The program is activated 
when (a) a victim or witness files charges (i.e., they submit 
a "denuncia" to a competent legal authority) against an 
alleged trafficker, and/and (b) after an investigation, the 
denuncia is found to have enough merit to warrant the 
Fiscalia bringing penal charges against the alleged 
trafficker.  The program includes provision of secure housing 
and an economic stipend for the victim or witness.  As 
agreement for participation in the program, the victim or 
witness must agree not to leave the housing where they have 
been placed.  No victims or witnesses have participated in 
the program.  The GOC does not provide shelter to trafficking 
victims, though it does help victims find housing.  Other 
services are described in paragraph 24.H. and 24.I, below. 
 
24.G. (SBU) Please see paragraphs 23.H. and 24.C. 
 
24.H. (SBU) In both domestic and international cases, MININT 
is responsible for providing safe passage for victims to 
return to their homes, lodging if it is needed, medical and 
psychological attention, access to financial and employment 
assistance, and information and legal support for the entire 
judicial process.  The ICBF provides legal, medical and 
psychological services for child victims in Colombia, the 
majority of whom are trafficked internally.  MININT maintains 
a close relationship with The Hope Foundation and The Rebirth 
 
BOGOTA 00001967  008 OF 008 
 
 
Foundation because victims often prefer to approach a private 
organization rather than a government office.  MININT is 
currently working on an agreement with the Hotel Association 
CotelCo and DAS to allow recently found victims to receive 
initial shelter in participating hotels.  MININT is also 
working with Colombia's Office of Drug Control Police, the 
DNE (the National Drug Control Administration, or Direccion 
Nacional de Estupefacientes) to set up secure, anonymous 
shelters for trafficked victims. 
 
24.I. (SBU) The principal organizations that work with 
victims of trafficking are the IOM, The Hope Foundation, and 
The Rebirth Foundation.  The level of cooperation received by 
the organizations from the GOC is very good.  The IOM and the 
Hope Foundation have provided short-term assistance to 
trafficking victims, including educational information, 
social support, and counseling.  The IOM also provided 
victims with job training and employment opportunities 
through programs in 13 departments, and helped victims obtain 
medical and psychological care.  The Rebirth Foundation 
continues its work to contribute to the eradication of the 
sexual exploitation of children and adolescents.  Its current 
activities include outreach work through the targeting of 
areas where children in prostitution are known to be found, 
funding a day center which offers education, health care and 
activity-based workshops in a variety of areas, and 3 
long-term shelters which help to adapt children from street 
life to the routines of living in a house with others and 
encourages social integration and friendship.  Vocational 
skills, educational training, and therapy are also provided. 
WOOD