TIP IN TURKEY: MFA REPORTS INTERIM PROGRESS

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ANKARA 006687 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G. INL, INL/CTR, DRL, EUR/PGI, EUR/SE DEPARTMENT FOR VALERIE KWOK USAID E&E/ECA E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM PHUM PGOV SMIG PREF KWMN TU SUBJECT: TIP IN TURKEY: MFA REPORTS INTERIM PROGRESS (U) In response to our September 16 request for information about ongoing GOT anti-TIP efforts, the Turkish MFA Consular Affairs Directorate provided the following diplomatic note dated November 18, 2004: BEGIN TEXT OF DIPNOTE: Reply to the Information Request for 2004 Interim Trafficking in Persons Watch List Report PREVENTION: ¶1. The National Task Force on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, established in October 2002, held its 7th meeting on November 3, 2004, under the chairmanship of Ambassador Mr. Murat Ersavci, the D.G. of Consular and Social Affairs, Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The representatives participating in Task Force meetings may vary according to the issues discussed. However, representatives from the Ministry of Interior, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labor and Social Security, Ministry of Finance, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Transport, Human Rights Presidency of the Prime Minister's Office, Prime Ministry State Planning Organization, Directorate General of the Status of Women, Directorate General of Social Services and Protection of Children, Social Aid and Solidarity Fund of Prime Ministry, Presidency of Telecommunications Board and Human Resources Development Foundation attended the last meeting of the Task Force. The National Action Plan, prepared by the Task Force, set out specific commitments for competent authorities on the fight against TIP and assistance to TIP victims. -- As a result of the consultations between Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and the Human Resources Development Foundation (HRDF) under the guidance of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a shelter in Istanbul was provided for the victims of trafficking. A protocol on the establishment of the shelter was signed between Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality and HRDF during the NATO Summit, on June 29th, 2004, with the participation of Minister of Foreign Affairs and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul and United States Secretary of State Colin Powell. SIPDIS -- The new Penal Code that was adopted by the Turkish Grand National Assembly on September 26th, 2004, places a special emphasis on human trafficking and migrant smuggling. In this respect, it introduces an important provision (Article 80) bringing penalties 8 to 12 years imprisonment and fines corresponding to a maximum period of ten thousand days imprisonment for human traffickers. The new article 80 which will become effective April 1st, 2005, also introduces safety measures for legal entities involved in human trafficking. -- A Memorandum of Understanding was signed with Belarus in July 2004 and became effective as of September 24, 2004. -- Turkey has initiated the procedure for membership in the International Organization for Migration (IOM). The Constitution of the IOM was positively evaluated in the Commissions of the Parliament and forwarded to the Turkish Grand National Assembly, which is expected to be ratified in the last week of November 2004. -- An agreement has been signed between the Gendarmerie and HRDF to collaborate in anti-trafficking issues on June 14, ¶2004. -- With the funding of Catholic Relief Services/Bulgaria, HRDF conducted a survey in border cities, Haskovo and Svelingrad to assess the status of trafficked girls and women. In this connection, a regional meeting was held in Istanbul on 16-17 September 2004, with the participation of law enforcement agencies and NGOs from Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria and Turkey. -- A regional conference on &Migrants in Transit Countries: Sharing Responsibility for Management and Protection8 was organized by Council of Europe, under the chairmanship and hosting of Turkey, on 30 September)1 October 2004 in Istanbul. Human trafficking was one of the main issues discussed in the said conference. ¶2. In the National Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, establishment of a hotline for the victims is mentioned. The Ministry has contacted with the national Telecom Company and the National Telecommunication Board, to this end. On the other hand, establishment of a three-digit toll free hotline for the victims is a complicated procedure while servers have to be placed in every city in order to serve nationwide. In this regard, it is assessed that a more convenient and a quick way is to establish a hotline starting with &08008 which will be free of charge for the caller. We are exerting intensified efforts to establish this hotline and the Human Resources Development Foundation has applied to the national Telecom Company in order to get this line for itself. The switchboard will be located at the said foundation and will be available for 24 hours. However, the charges have to be paid by the HRDF. Within this framework, we are discussing this issue with IOM in order to cover the expenses of the hotline in accordance with the pilot project for assisting victims of trafficking in human beings. Moreover, until this hotline is operational, the national hotline for police (155) has been extended to be available for the victims of trafficking in human beings. To this end, Ministry of Interior will train and appoint personnel able to speak Russian and English. ¶3. Turkish media is sensitive to criminal and humanitarian aspects of trafficking in human beings. Trafficking cases and international developments are reported widely in the media. The statements made in the two panels organized by the Directorate General of the Status of Woman, in 2002 and 2003, were published as a book and distributed countrywide. The book is enclosed herewith for the Embassy's information. Anti-TIP information is going to be implemented with the cooperation of IOM. In this regard, IOM has prepared a draft project, which will be broadcasted in the Turkish National TV Channel (TRT). The Ministry of Foreign Affairs is also in contact with TRT in order to support this initiative. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS ¶4. The special questionnaires, sent to courts nationwide, have been processed by General Directorate of Judicial Records and Statistics in the Ministry of Justice. The 41,000 forms of data on Article 201/b (human trafficking) are being processed for 3 months periods. The data process for July-August-September period hasn't been completed yet. However, according to Article 201/b (human trafficking) of the TPC the final processed data regarding the cases that were transferred to the criminal courts and concluded within the first half of the year 2004, is as follows: 12 lawsuits were concluded. In two of these cases 7 accused persons were confined to imprisonment or fined. ¶5. Yalova Criminal Court issued verdict (according to Article 201/b of the TPC) for five defendants on February 11, 2004, four of whom have been confined to imprisonment of 4 years and 2 months and a fine of 1,325,000,000 TL. The accused persons are prohibited from employment in public services for 3 years. Fethiye Criminal Court issued verdicts (according to article 021/b of the TPC) for three defendants on May 12, 2004. According to the verdict, three defendants have been confined to imprisonment of 4 years, 10 months and 10 days and a fine of 972,221,000 TL. ¶6. There are no government officials involved in trafficking during the first half of the year 2004. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS ¶7. The Government of Turkey is not only participating but also co-funding the project on &Establishment of the Network of and Joint Training for Operational Law Enforcement Officers, NGOs and International Organizations in Fighting Human Trafficking8 which is implemented by IOM, in cooperation with the European Commission (EC),European Parliament (EP),selected EU member states, as well as candidate countries and third countries bordering the enlarged European Union under the European Commission Directorate General Justice and Home Affairs, AGIS Program. Turkey has made a contribution of 10,000 USD to this project. Turkey has also contributed (5,000 Euro) in the budget of the Budapest Process, aimed at preventing irregular migration and trafficking in human beings with the participation of more than 40 Governments. ¶8. The Turkish missions abroad are being informed on the developments regarding TIP issue regularly. Moreover, they are urged to cooperate with especially IOM and other predominant international organizations in this matter. Furthermore, representatives in the missions participate in various seminars and meetings, which are organized by NGOs and international organizations. For instance, Ambassador of Turkey in Moldova has delivered a speech at the first round of meetings titled &Trafficking As It Is8 organized by the IOM office in Moldova, on October 26th, 2004. On the other hand, Turkish Permanent Delegation to the UN Office in Geneva has close contacts with the IOM Headquarters. ¶9. Since June 2004, 7 victims of trafficking (3 Ukrainian nationals have stayed on 1-3 November and voluntarily returned to their countries of origin. As of today, 2 Moldovan, 1 Iranian and 1 Azeri women are staying at the shelter) have been hosted in the shelter designated for the victims of trafficking. Human Resources Development Foundation (HRDF) psychotherapist has been seeing the victims since June 2004 to assess their situation and also support those who need psychological assistance. The reports of the psychotherapist are shared with IOM. On the other hand, as of April 2004, HRDF took part in the assistance of 25 victims of trafficking (9 Moldovan, 6 Romanian, 3 Azeri, 3 Ukrainian, 2 Russian, 1 Armenian and 1 Iranian). Furthermore, assisted voluntary returns of 51 victims of trafficking in human beings have been successfully conducted in cooperation with IOM and Human Resources Development Foundation (HRDF) up to November 2004. Among them there were, 29 Moldovan, 10 Ukrainian, 2 from Azerbaijan, 1 from Belarus, 6 Romanian, 1 Russian, 1 Uzbek and 1 from Kazakhstan. ¶10. Up to November 2004, 51 victims have been assisted for voluntary return and 7 of the victims have been hosted in the shelter. In total, 58 victims have been assisted. Twenty-six humanitarian visas have been issued for the victims in 2003-2004, 3 of which have been issued as of June ¶2004. FURTHER INFORMATION -- In 2004, 407 police officers in total, took in-service training courses and attended seminars on professional approach to the trafficked persons and combating human trafficking. Eighty-three gendarmerie personnel participated in the seminars which were organized together with IOM and HRDF. Further 40 personnel will attend another seminar on combating human trafficking in Adana on 23-26 November 2004. One hundred thirty-nine judges and prosecutors participated in training programs on TIP and further 25 judges and prosecutors will attend another seminar on 2-5 December 2004, organized in cooperation with HRDF. -- The new Turkish Penal Code comprises further provisions on protecting child rights as well as trafficking in human beings. An important point in that regard is that the new Code (Article 226) considers child pornography as a separate offense and foresees specific penalties. The new Code also foresees that persons who use children in manufacturing products that include obscene visual, written or oral elements shall be subjected to imprisonment of 5 to 10 years and a fine. -- A National Action Plan on the use of the Internet is also formulated with the participation of all relevant public institutions, along with the NGOs, to cover the years 2005-2015. The coordinator for the implementation of the Action Plan was assigned to be the Directorate General of Social Services and Child Protection Institute. The main targets of the Plan were set as follows: - To prepare necessary legislation for crimes committed through Internet in order to protect children from all kinds of sexual abuse, including pedophilia and child trade, - To harmonize national legislation with the related international conventions, - To put review the existing legislation and when necessary to draft new laws, - To put into practice the provisions of Optional Protocol on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. To attain these goals, tasks were assigned; institutions to be cooperated with were ascertained. -- In the framework of the Memorandum of Understanding signed between Turkish and Belarus Interior Ministers and became effective as of September 2004, officials from the Belarus Ministry of Interior made an official visit to Turkey on 25-31 October 2004. Information in TIP cases concerning two countries has been exchanged and investigations have been conducted in cooperation between competent authorities. -- Within the initiative of a regional Anti-Trafficking Project, the representatives of &People's Harmonious Development Society8, an NGO which operates in Georgia and an official from Georgian Ministry of Interior paid a study visit to Istanbul, Ankara, Trabzon and Rize on July 2004. -- Moldovan authorities also paid a visit on 8-10 November 2004 to Ankara and Istanbul in order to enhance and discuss the areas of cooperation between Turkey and Moldova in the fight against trafficking in human beings. END TEXT OF DIPNOTE. EDELMAN