ATHENS TIP CONFERENCE RAISES AWARENESS ON NEED TO

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 000634

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/SE, EUR/PPD, G/TIP, DRL, ECA/PE, INL/CTR

C O R R E C T E D C O P Y - (T E X T)

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KPAO PREL PHUM SMIG GR TIP
SUBJECT: ATHENS TIP CONFERENCE RAISES AWARENESS ON NEED TO
COORDINATE AGAINST TRAFFICKING

REF: THESSALONIKI 0014


1. SUMMARY: An embassy-organized Athens TIP symposium on
February 23 raised awareness on the need for better
cooperation among law enforcement and justice officials to
fight trafficking in Greece. Following the February 15-16
training seminar for Greek judiciary and police officers in
Thessaloniki (reftel),the Athens event, under the title
"The Role of the Judiciary in Combating Trafficking,"
attracted approximately 200 judges, prosecutors, police and
NGO representatives. Ambassador Ries and Justice Minister
Papaligouras opened the symposium, while Ambassador Verros,
the Greek National Coordinator for Anti-Trafficking,
actively participated in all sessions. Following lively
discussions, the conclusion of the symposium was that Greek
officials need more training and better communication among
their respective agencies, as well as assistance by
specially-trained social workers, psychologists and
translators. Although the work of NGOs was recognized as
important, especially in identifying TIP victims, questions
were raised about how to verify their reliability. END
SUMMARY.


2. At a February 23 Embassy-organized TIP symposium co-
sponsored by the National Commission of Administrative
Courts, Hellenic Aid (the Ministry of Foreign Affairs'
foreign aid agency),and the International Organization for
Migration (IOM),Justice Minister Papaligouras discussed the
key role of the judiciary in identifying TIP victims and in
raising public awareness about the nature and extent of
trafficking. Ambassador Ries congratulated the Greek
government on the National Action Plan and Inter-Ministerial
Coordinating Committee. He stressed the importance of the
combined efforts of the government, international
organizations, and NGOs in the face of changing trends in
trafficking. U.S. Embassy Sofia Resident Legal Advisor Tom
Peebles participated in the symposium, noting that
trafficking is a key business for international crime
syndicates, that trans-border cooperation is paramount in
combating it, and that the U.S. is committed to providing
assistance to countries in the region to deal with this
problem.


3. Every official (Greek and American) mentioned the need
for a collective effort at the local, bilateral and
international level in order for the phenomenon to be
eradicated. The speakers, each involved in the judicial
process against trafficking in a different capacity,
identified weaknesses of the current Greek system. Maria
Malouhou, prosecutor at the Athens First Instance Court and
special prosecutor for TIP, made suggestions for
strengthening and implementing the anti-trafficking law.
Daniel Esdras, head of IOM in Greece, highlighted the new
forms that trafficking has taken in Greece. Victims less
frequently appear in Greece as illegal immigrants but often
hold legal visas and travel documents, which may be held by
their traffickers. Victims have limited freedom, and might
possess cellular phones, creating the impressions that they
are voluntary prostitutes, he noted.


4. Conclusions of the conference were that a) more training
is needed for the parties involved at all levels in the
fight against trafficking; b) the lack of expert assistance
(social workers, psychologists, translators) for anti-TIP
authorities often results in ineffective identification of
trafficking victims; and c) there is a lack of coordination
and communication at the working level between the police,
judiciary and other government entities involved in the
process. The shortcomings of the current anti-trafficking
system were further confirmed, according to one of the
speakers, by the fact that shelters in Greece and other
European countries remain empty. Several speakers made the
point that traffickers continuously adjust their practices
and render law enforcement and judicial methods obsolete
very quickly. They stressed that this makes the need for
collaboration between the various branches of government, as
well as trans-border collaboration, all the more critical.


5. Though stressing the necessity of NGOs, an Athens
prosecutor mentioned the lack of information from the state
regarding the reliability of NGOs. When she dealt with a
child repatriation case last year, she had no resources to
find "reputable" NGOs in Greece and in Albania as partners.
The National Coordinator for Anti-Trafficking responded that
the MFA keeps a list of legitimate NGOs, and commitments
were made to address this issue. The conference brought
NGOs and justice officials together to start building these
essential working-level connections.


6. One of the highlights of the symposium was the
presentation by IOM attorney Eleni Glegle. Glegle, a recent
International Visitor grantee, told the audience that
"Greece needs to adopt the U.S. model of networking between
the government and the NGOs." Acting as prosecutor's
counsel, Glegle recently won a landmark trafficking trial in
northern Greece, where a local man was convicted of
trafficking a Ukrainian woman, despite a parade of community
witnesses who testified to the trafficker's standing in the
village. In her comments to the symposium, Glegle thanked
U.S. Justice Department attorney Luis DeBaca, whom she met
during her IV trip and who advised her throughout the trial.
She has been tapped by the Greek Ministries of Justice and
Foreign Affairs to work on projects regarding trafficking
issues in Greece.


7. COMMENT: The presence of the Minister of Justice and the
large number of participants at the symposium point to a
greater Greek interest in fighting trafficking. As Greece
focuses more on addressing TIP issues, officials involved
have started to understand the inadequacies of the system
and the need for improvement. According to several
speakers, the GoG must continue to build trust between
competent authorities and NGOs and to promote TIP training
and lateral cooperation among the bodies of government
involved in combating trafficking. END COMMENT.