GOVT. OF SLOVENIA FINDS RESOURCES TO KEEP TIP NGO

UNCLAS LJUBLJANA 000247

SIPDIS


SENSITIVE

DEPT. FOR EUR/NCE, EUR/PGI, G/TIP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM PREL SI
SUBJECT: GOVT. OF SLOVENIA FINDS RESOURCES TO KEEP TIP NGO
GOING

REF: HYLAND-TOPPING EMAIL 3/31

1.(SBU) Summary. On 31 March, Post first became aware of
budgetary problems for the NGO Kljuc - the Government of
Slovenia's primary partner in the fight against trafficking
in persons (TIP),through a press release from Kljuc. The
press report stated that Kljuc had not received funding
guaranteed by the Government of Slovenia's national action
plan against trafficking in persons. Post alerted Washington
(Ref) to this potential problem and began work to determine
how/if the GOS could resolve it in a timely manner. Stop-gap
measures are now being taken. The Ministry of Justice has
transferred SIT one million ($5,500) to Kljuc and we have
been assured that the Ministry of Interior is depositing the
same amount in Kljuc's account today. We expect the Ministry
of Labor to follow suit. This will tie Kljuc over until the
"rebalancing" of the budget is completed in May, when Kljuc
should become fully funded. End Summary


2. (SBU) Post first became aware of funding problems for
Slovenia's primary anti-trafficking NGO, Kljuc, via a press
statement on March 31, 2005. (Note: The statement suggested
that Kljuc leadership had been informing Embassies of its
problems, but post had not been contacted by Kljuc prior to
the release.) Initial inquiries to key members of the Inter
Ministerial Working Group (IWG) on TIP elicited comments of
continuing, strong support for the TIP program, with the
caveat, however, that the entire government was having cash
flow issues due to budgetary problems, which should be solved
by May when Kljuc would be fully funded.

3.(SBU) Three ministries are expected to support Kljuc:
Interior, Justice, and Labor. According to the GOS Action
Plan: "Operating costs amount to SIT 27 million per year.
The resources are exploited for concrete assistance to
trafficked victims, the operation of the (safe) house,
engagement of the Social Work Centers when appropriate, and
reintegration of trafficked persons. The gap in funding
shall be filled in by the Ministry of the Interior, Ministry
of Justice, and Ministry of Labor, Family and Social Affairs,
each contributing and equal share of SIT 9 million per year."

4.(SBU) The Ambassador then made calls to the Deputy Foreign
Minister Bozo Cerar, Minister of Interior Dragutin Mate, and
Slovenia's Ambassador in Washington Samuel Zbogar to
reinforce the urgency with which this funding issue needed to
be addressed. It was in nobody's interest that Kljuc close
its doors due to lack of short-term funding. Putting it into
a larger context, the Ambassador emphasized that
anti-trafficking is considered an extremely important
bilateral and multilateral issue by the USG. We had invested
a great deal in promoting anti-trafficking programs in
Slovenia, through Kljuc and other agencies, and we have a
strong interest in protecting and promoting that investment.


5. (SBU) In two conversations with the Ambassador, Interior
Minister Mate explained that the GOS was fully committed to
its anti-trafficking plan, and that he, too, had been
surprised to hear of the budgetary crunch of Kljuc. Mate
also blamed the previous government for not putting the money
for anti-trafficking in the 2005 budget it had prepared.
Ultimately, Mate committed to finding the money to keep Kljuc
going, saying it was more important to keep the shelter open
than to worry about rankings in a report - the GOS was fully
committed to this goal. A day later, he called the
Ambassador with the news that his ministry was transferring
the equivalent of $5,500 to Kljuc on April 13.


6. (SBU) A subsequent conversation between the Ambassador and
Deputy Foreign Minister Cerar resulted in the following GOS
formal statement:

"The Republic of Slovenia supports the NGO Kljuc and
provides it with all necessary assistance in carrying out the
projects laid down in the Action Plan to Fight Human
Trafficking 2004-2006. The NGO Kljuc is entitled to receive
all the required funds for the project "Trafficking in Human
Beings Victim's Care" in 2005. First, the advance amount
will be paid; with the remaining funds being paid after the
budget approval procedures are completed."


7. (SBU) Comment: This is a typical example of the
stove-piping of information and policy guidance that occurs
within the Government of Slovenia. The irony is not lost on
us that on the very day we were brow-beating the GOS to make
good on its commitment to fund anti-trafficking programs,
Foreign Minister Rupel was talking to the press about
Slovenia's desire to use the OSCE to showcase
anti-trafficking initiatives. Additionally, Slovenia will be
hosting a large, international, anti-trafficking seminar in
late June. There is much blame to go around for the current


state of affairs, the new GOS was perhaps not aware of the
importance of this particular commitment made by the previous
GOS; perhaps the previous GOS did not, in fact, work Kljuc
funding into the 2005 budget; and Kljuc waited too long
before getting us involved, and in fact never directly
approached us for help, but clearly was expecting the Embassy
to carry its water with the GOS.


8. (SBU) The decision on whether Slovenia earns a Tier 1 or
Tier 2 ranking in this year's TIP report is up to decision
makers in Washington. It has been a bumpy week getting the
new GOS to this point, and we suspect it had neither focused
on TIP as a priority issue, nor fully appreciated just how
aggressive we would be, once we learned the core of the plan
appeared to be at risk. The concrete transfers of funds
combined with the very explicit statement from the GOS, give
us confidence that at senior levels of the GOS, there is
every intention to follow through on commitments made by the
previous government to combat trafficking in persons. End
Comment.
ROBERTSON


NNNN

2005LJUBLJ00247 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED



v1.6.2