SLOVAK TIP MID-YEAR UPDATE

UNCLAS BRATISLAVA 001018

SIPDIS


DEPT FOR G/TIP JENNIFER TOPPING

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PGOV SOCI LO
SUBJECT: SLOVAK TIP MID-YEAR UPDATE



1. Summary. Jennifer Topping, from the Office of
Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP),visited Slovakia from
October 22 to 26. Topping applauded the efforts of law
enforcement officials in investigating trafficking cases.
She also encouraged officials to consider broader
governmental coordination on anti-TIP initiatives by forming
an interagency working group and appointing a trafficking
point of contact. In the framework of her visit, the
embassy organized discussions with trafficking organizations
and relevant officials to facilitate communication about the
trafficking situation in Slovakia. End Summary.

Discussion and Working Groups
--------------


2. Trafficking is assumed by some observers to be more of a
problem in larger cities close to borders, but areas in the
middle of the country report more trafficking cases.
Discussions organized in Banska Bystrica, the regional
capital of Central Slovakia, confirmed that coordination for
victim assistance between NGOs and law enforcement is
lacking in these areas, more so than in the capital. In
January 2003, Justice Minister Lipsic founded an interagency
working group to discuss solutions to strengthen victim
protection laws and procedures in Slovakia. The group has
met twice during the course of 2004 with success. Recently,
Parliament passed a new law on victim assistance requiring
police to provide victims of any crime a list of
organizations that can help them. Trafficking organizations
stated that this will help foster closer cooperation between
law enforcement officers and active NGOs.

Criminal Code Changes and New Police Practices
-------------- -


3. Parliament approved the UN Protocol to Suppress
Trafficking in Persons in May, and it was ratified on Sept

21. According to EU directives and UN requirements,
Parliament recently amended relevant trafficking legislation
to reflect that the crime of trafficking occurs both within
the country's border and across the country's borders. The
Head of the Anti-Trafficking Unit at the Police Presidium,
Anna Babincova, stated that the legal definition of
trafficking was expanded to include that the trafficker must
use fraudulent means, violence, threat, or other forms of
coercion to elicit agreement from a victim older than 18
years person for a crime of trafficking.


4. Babincova also outlined some new initiatives from the
anti-trafficking unit. By January 2005, a central anonymous
information hotline for tips about traffickers or victims
will become operational. She stated that police sometimes
receive useful information pertaining to trafficking
networks, but often too late. The Ministry of Interior
(MOI) postponed the plan within the reorganization of the
police to change the anti-trafficking unit to a department.
It continues to remain a unit under the directorship of the
Bureau of Organized Crime.

New Ministry of Labor (MOL) Lottery Grants
--------------


5. Several anti-trafficking NGOs this year received money
from Ministry of Labor (MOL) grants funded through the state
lottery system. Ivan Mako, the director of the Young Roma
Association, received 100,000 SK (3,225 USD) to operate an
awareness program for at-risk Roma communities in Central
Slovakia. Dafne, an organization that assists returned
victims, estimated that 46 percent of their clients were
Roma. Andrea Bucek, Director of the Regional Roma
Plenipotentiary's Office, stated that this crime is a
problem in Roma communities and needs to be addressed,
however more immediate concerns (e.g. education, housing,
employment) have taken precedence.


6. Two organizations are looking for funds to begin
operating a full-time anonymous shelter specifically to
assist and protect TIP victims. Dafne has much of the
necessary funding through foreign donors and the regional
government to operate a shelter, which will cost
approximately 130,000 USD a year. They are currently
negotiating with the municipal government to acquire a
recently closed school, but the city wants to sell it for
three million more crowns (125,000 USD) than Dafne can
afford. Another organization applied for money but was only
given a third of what it needed. With no other donors, the
organization will likely return the money.

Comment
--------------


7. A UN project slated to begin in Slovakia to support
legal analysis, the preparation of a National Action Plan,
and materials for the anti-trafficking unit continues to be
delayed. The MOI, the ministry responsible for the TIP
agenda, has not made initial progress in these areas without
the dispersal of project funds. Fortunately, the MOI and
police have been able to increasingly partner with a number
of more active NGOs for training and public awareness
activities to combat trafficking. The embassy will continue
to meet with government officials about the necessity of
increasing inter-governmental cooperation on TIP issues.


8. This cable was not cleared by Ms. Topping.

WEISER


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