STAR-STUDDED TIP CONFERENCE PRODUCES ETHICAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 000328

SIPDIS

EUR/SE FOR PARENTE AND MELLINGER, G/TIP FOR DONNELLY,
EUR/PGI FOR BUCKNEBERG, INL/HSTC
GENEVA FOR ILO

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM GR TIP
SUBJECT: STAR-STUDDED TIP CONFERENCE PRODUCES ETHICAL
PRINCIPLES AND ACTION PLAN FOR BUSINESSES



1. SUMMARY: Royalty, celebrities, and prominent business
executives were in Athens January 23 for a roundtable
discussion and fundraising dinner on the global business
community's responsibility to combat trafficking in persons
(TIP). Held under the slogan "END HUMAN TRAFFICKING NOW!"
and organized by Egyptian First Lady Suzanne Mubarak, the
participants shaped a statement of seven Ethical Principles
and an Action Plan to be adopted by businesses. One
thousand attendees at the fundraising dinner were barraged
with anti-trafficking messages and surrounded by Greek and
international stars. Two separate working groups committed
to follow-up on the conference's papers. The international
roundtable had broad Greek participation both from the GoG
and business community, and local press outlets covered the
event extensively. END SUMMARY.

The Roundtable: Learning about TIP
--------------

2. Before jetting off to World Economic Forum in Davos,
CEOs from companies like Microsoft, Manpower, The Egyptian
Financial Group, and Abercrombie and Kent Luxury Travel
gathered in Athens on January 23 to discuss TIP and hammer
out a draft ethics statement that was announced at Davos.
The "Business Community Against the Trafficking of Human
Beings" roundtable was organized by the Suzanne Mubarak
Women's International Peace Movement under the auspices of
the Greek Foreign Ministry, and hosted by the local NGO of
Marianna Vardinoyianni, a UNESCO Goodwill Ambassador and
wife of one of the world's wealthiest businessmen, as the
start of an anti-TIP campaign. GoG Ministers of Economy,
Education, Development, Justice, Foreign Affairs, Defense,
Deputy Minister of Culture, the Mayor of Athens, and leader
of the opposition PASOK party, among other Greek decision
makers, attended the roundtable discussion. Vardinoyianni
remarked, "It is an honor for Greece to host this
historically important event which sends a message to the
international business community to fight for the respect of
human dignity and combat TIP."


3. BBC World Correspondent Lyse Doucet moderated as Roger
Plant, director of the program to combat forced labor at the
International Labor Organization (ILO); Nadereh Chamlou,
advisor to the Chief Economist of the World Bank; and
Ndiroro Ndiaye, the Deputy Director General at the
International Organization for Migration (IOM) gave
preliminary information about definitions of TIP, its
causes, and its victims. Queen Silvia of Sweden described
Swedish domestic and international efforts to fight TIP, and
the Secretary General of INTERPOL Ronald Noble discussed
international law enforcement strategies. The Executive VP
of Manpower and CEO of the Artoc Group covered the role of
the private sector, and VP of the travel-behemoth Carlson
Companies shared Carlson's existing commitment to a code of
ethical behavior. U.S. NGO Vital Voices Board Chair Melanne
Verveer led the discussion on Ethical Principles in the
afternoon, and Nobel Laureate Jody Williams explained how to
"mobilize public opinion." Other conference participants
included Sabika, wife of the King of Bahrain, French
performer Jean Michael Jarre, former UNSYG Boutros Boutros-
Ghali, OSCE Special Representative on TIP Helga Konrad, a
recorded video message from actor Richard Gere, and a total
of 41 CEOs, according to a conference press release.

The Result: Ethical Principles and Action Plan
-------------- --

4. The roundtable produced two documents which Mubarak and
the business working group pledged to present and elicit
further support for at the Davos World Economic Forum. The
"Ethical Principals against Trafficking in Human Beings,
especially Women and Children" commits signatories to (in
summary):

--have a position of zero tolerance toward TIP;
--contribute to awareness-raising campaigns and education;
--develop a corporate anti-TIP policy;
--ensure all personnel comply with that policy;
--encourage governments to revise national laws and
regulations when necessary;
--report and share best practices;
--encourage business partners to apply these ethical
principles.


5. The Action Plan calls for awareness raising activities,
elaboration of a universal business plan which integrates
respect for human decency with social responsibility,
advocacy for necessary revisions of national laws,
investment in prevention and rehabilitation, funding to law
enforcement agencies such as INTERPOL, investments in
shelters, hotlines, rehabilitation, and training manuals,
and the creation of a follow-up business working group.
Copies of these documents are at
www.womenforpeaceinternational.org.

Working Groups and Next Conference
--------------

6. Besides the two documents produced, the newly-formed
business working group planned immediate follow up in Davos,
and another working group with representatives from IOM,
INTERPOL, the World Bank, ILO, and members of IOM's Business
Advisory Board was formed. Additionally, Shafik Gabr,
chairman of the Arab Business Council committed to a follow
up conference in Cairo in May. Gabr noted, "We are not
going to let this go. If we do, this problem will get very
much out of control. We've declared war against it."

The TIP Social Event of the Season
--------------

7. The business roundtable was followed by an exquisite
gala fundraising dinner where the world-renowned Gypsy Kings
entertained the 1,000 guests (at 300 euros per ticket).
Large video displays showed awareness raising anti-TIP
messages and video clips, as well as video greetings by
entertainers and TIP activists Ricky Martin and Richard
Gere. Ambassador attended the event along with much of the
Greek cabinet, the conference dignitaries, numerous
parliamentarians, members of the diplomatic corps, and other
Greek luminaries.

Extensive Press Coverage
--------------

8. The event was covered in major dailies To Vima,
Eleftherotypia, Ethnos, Kathemerini, and in two additional
articles the English Langugage Edition of Kathimerini. The
Mubarak Foundation, Vital Voices, and IOM issued summaries
on their web sites and press releases. IOM Deputy Ndiaye
stressed, "For some time now we have realized the business
community needs to be more greatly involved in dealing with
this issue. This meeting represents a great step forward
with a clear commitment expressed by all those present. IOM
is convinced that this public/private partnership will be an
important and effective asset in the struggle to end human
trafficking."


9. COMMENT: According to expert interlocutors from OSCE
and IOM (other meetings reported septel),this glitzy event
was an effective vehicle to get the much-needed business
community to focus on TIP. The executives who attended
should be primed to implement anti-TIP plans and partner
with deserving NGOs and international organizations. While
the praiseworthy affair was international in focus, many of
the roundtable participants and most of the gala dinner
attendees were Greek businesspeople and lawmakers, again
demonstrating the government's resolve to keep the issue of
trafficking in persons on the national agenda. The
immediate impact was obvious: in the week following the
event there were two TIP newspaper articles and one full-
color newsmagazine feature (septel) that highlighted the TIP
problem in Greece. Emboffs will use this momentum to reach
out to the Greek business community on TIP.

End Cable Text