HHS ASSISTANT SECRETARY ADVANCES AGENDA ON TIP AND

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 002802

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/SE, G/TIP
HHS FOR A/S WADE HORN AND SPECIAL ASSISTANT PEDRO MORENO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM ELAB PREL PREF GR TIP
SUBJECT: HHS ASSISTANT SECRETARY ADVANCES AGENDA ON TIP AND
REFUGEE ISSUES

REF: ATHENS 2635 AND PREVIOUS


1. (U) SUMMARY: Dr. Wade Horn, Assistant Secretary for
Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and
Human Services, shared domestic U.S. policy and his
compelling experiences on trafficking in persons, welfare
issues, pension reform, and refugee integration during his
October 9-11 visit to Athens. Horn's messages on the
benefits of close government-NGO cooperation on TIP, the
positive U.S. experience of refugee integration, and his
agency's success in empowering welfare recipients through
employment, among other topics, were so well received by
government officials, law enforcement, NGOs, IOs, and think
tank experts that many interlocutors asked for follow-up
information. Horn's explanation of U.S. refugee acceptance
and integration efforts were the highlight of a well-attended
Public Affairs-hosted panel discussion on "Refugee Status in
Receiving Countries." Officials appreciated receiving
first-hand information on domestic U.S. policy from a high
level policy-maker. Post would welcome similar visits in the
future. END SUMMARY.

GoG Officials Interested in U.S. Labor and Pension Reform
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2. (U) As a follow on to the April OECD Ministerial in
Paris, A/S Horn accepted Minister of Employment and Social
Protection Panos Panayiotopoulos' invitation to visit Athens.
Dr. Horn and Minister Panayiotopoulos had a lengthy and
wide-ranging introductory discussion on U.S. and Greek
pension reform, the U.S. "Welfare to Work" program, and
trafficking in persons (TIP). During a meeting at the
Ministry of Health (MOH) with Deputy Minister George
Konstantopoulos, Secretary General Joanna Despotopoulou, and
nearly a dozen key staff, the eager officials inquired about
U.S. pension reform, welfare reform, and disability benefits.
The officials commented that Horn and his programs are "well
known to doctors of Greece" and sought to benefit from his
expertise and success in implementing new initiatives. Horn
detailed U.S. policies such as disability criteria and
"Welfare to Work" goals, offering to provide follow-up
material as needed. An article published in the
English-language Athens News described Horn's discussions on
labor and pension reforms, and quoted Horn explaining U.S.
reforms.

Sharing Best Practices on Trafficking in Persons (TIP)
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3. (U) In TIP-focused meetings with a variety of officials,
and at a dinner at the Ambassador's residence with key
members of the GoG's Interministerial Council on TIP, Horn
gave practical and attainable examples of U.S. anti-TIP
initiatives and challenges faced in the U.S. Horn described
HHS' experience overcoming low initial penetration of its
victim hotline, a similar problem the MOH faces with its 197
line, by targeting local health and law enforcement
authorities to make referrals rather than expecting victims
to call in themselves. In an apparent reference to Greece's
tier ranking on the 2005 TIP report, the Deputy Minister of
Public Order compared the number of victims and trafficking
arrests in Greece last year to lower numbers in the U.S.
cited by Horn, sardonically questioning why, then, there is
continued U.S. criticism of Greece. Pointing out the
cross-border nature of TIP, Horn suggested that ongoing
international cooperation, as well as close NGO cooperation,
are useful methods to fight TIP in every country. The head
of the anti-TIP unit, Major Tonia Andriakou noted that the
police have "very good relationships with NGOs."


4. (U) During a private meeting with representatives of
three anti-TIP NGOs, the outspoken activists detailed the
"deficient and inconsistent" cooperation of the Greek
authorities with NGOs on combating TIP, lengthy delays in
promised GoG funding, and frustration at working with a
bureaucracy that sometimes treats victims as criminals.
Representatives from the European Network for Women, which
runs a shelter and multilingual hotline, described the case
of a recent victim they sheltered. The victim agreed to have
her statement taken by police after assurances from the
special prosecutor that she would not be detained. After her
deposition, however, she was detained for a week due to her
illegal visa status. Horn remarked on the parallel problems
in the U.S., explaining that against his protests, obvious
victims of child-trafficking have been deported from the U.S.
based on illegal residence status. For this reason, he
continued, education campaigns and training of health and law
enforcement authorities must be an ongoing priority in every
country.

Refugee Panel Highlights Integration Efforts in U.S
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5. (U) Post took advantage of Dr. Horn's expertise on HHS'
refugee resettlement program to host a panel discussion with
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' Deputy Director in
Greece and the Chief of Mission of the International
Organization for Migration in Greece on "Refugee Status in
Receiving Countries." The audience of more than twenty
government officials, IO and NGO representatives discussed
the limited granting of refugee status in Greece, detention
conditions, and the handling of asylum-seeking children who
are separated from their families. The panel discussion
offered Horn a good opportunity to detail the number of
refugees accepted into the U.S. and to highlight his agency's
efforts to integrate those refugees into U.S. society.


6. (U) COMMENT: The visit of HHS A/S Horn was a rare
opportunity to share U.S. domestic best practices directly
with our interlocutors. Most of our contacts were extremely
receptive and had seemingly unlimited questions for the
Assistant Secretary. Horn's discussion of TIP from the
perspective of someone who is "in the trenches," rather than
someone monitoring the fight, was a productive variation on
our normal TIP approach. The refugee panel was an useful
opportunity to go beyond our analysis of the refugee
situation in Greece to offer concrete examples of the U.S.
approach. We will follow up on the points raised during the
successful meetings and welcome a follow-up visit in the
future. END COMMENT.
RIES