Czechs vote to keep UN treaty; prostitution

UNCLAS PRAGUE 000474

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KCRM EZ
SUBJECT: Czechs vote to keep UN treaty; prostitution
regulation bill stalled



1. This cable is Sensitive but Unclassified - not for
internet distribution.


2. Summary: The Czech Parliament has refused to permit the
government from withdrawing from a UN Convention on
trafficking in persons, effectively stalling the country's
prior efforts to pass a prostitution regulation bill.
Unless the Czechs withdraw from the Convention, no
legislation regulating prostitution may be passed. Given
the bill's controversial nature and current fragile state of
the Czech government, Convention withdrawal and bill passage
seem unlikely. The Czechs meanwhile continue to bolster
their national anti-TIP efforts and legislation. End
summary.


3. (SBU) Efforts in the Czech Republic to pass a law
regulating prostitution in the country were dealt a blow
last week when Parliament voted not to withdraw from a
United Nations treaty key to the issue. The 1950 UN
Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Women and
Children, ratified by the Czech Republic, prohibits the
country from passing any law regulating prostitution. In
order to pass the prostitution bill currently being proposed
by the Interior Ministry, the Czechs would have had to first
vote to withdraw from the UN Convention. Parliament's March
29 decision not to take this step makes the current attempt
to pass the bill, like three earlier tries at similar
legislation, a non-starter.


4. (SBU) The government's motion failed when 103 deputies
(in the 200-member lower house) voted against. Two female
MPs who attended a one-day trafficking seminar shortly
before the vote on the Convention were particularly
impressed by a speaker from the Coalition Against
Trafficking in Women who examined the prostitution situation
in countries where it has been legalized. The MPs suggested
that, given the statistics about the increase in
prostitution and trafficking in countries where it has been
made legal, the measure to withdraw from the Convention was
being hastily proposed without enough discussion in
Parliament.


5. (SBU) The Czech Republic currently has no laws
specifically dealing with prostitution, effectively making
it a legal grey area. This lack of criminality, together
with the sudden opening of borders after the fall of
communism and the country's location in the heart of Europe,
have led it to becoming a source, transit, and finally
destination country for trafficking victims. Brothels have
sprung up in Prague and around the country's border areas
with its richer Western European neighbors, where foreigners
come for cheaper sex tourism.


6. (SBU) As the sex trade is not currently illegal, the
Security Policy Department of the Interior Ministry, who
have responsibility for combating trafficking in the
country, have struggled to come up with a way to give police
more authority in dealing with traffickers. In April 2004,
Cabinet approved the legal intent for plans to draft a law
that would regulate prostitution in the country, the theory
being that this would allow police to check the documents of
brothel owners and sex workers and prosecute those not in
compliance. The Interior Ministry drafted a proposed law,
which then was sent to other ministries involved for
approval and proposed changes.


7. (SBU) The proposed law has been criticized even by some
NGOs involved in trafficking support and prevention who
otherwise welcome some form of legislation giving police
tools to crack down on traffickers. They point out that the
bill has many holes, such as the fact that only women from
EU countries would be able to register as prostitutes
(whereas most prostitutes currently in the country are non-
EU in origin),and that women who work part-time as
prostitutes are unlikely to wish to register themselves and
face possible public stigma. They claim that police
corruption in carrying out checks would also likely present
problems.


8. (SBU) Interior Ministry officials responsible for the
prostitution regulation bill intend to continue technical
work on the bill, and it will be up to Interior Minister
Bublan as to whether or not he chooses to propose the
legislation to the Cabinet. However, given the current
government situation and fact that Parliament has already
voted down Convention withdrawal, the bill would be unlikely
to even make it from Cabinet to Parliament. Post will
continue to monitor this issue closely, but we remain
skeptical about the GOCR's ability to pass such legislation
in the near future.

CABANISS