TIP: RECENT GERMAN GOVERNMENT STEPS; FIGHTING TIP

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 001687 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR EUR/AGS, EUR/PGI, G/TIP, DRL/IL, INL/HSTC, AND PRM E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN KJUS SMIG ELAB PREL PGOV GM SUBJECT: TIP: RECENT GERMAN GOVERNMENT STEPS; FIGHTING TIP DURING THE WORLD CUP REF: A. BERLIN 366 ¶B. MUNICH 369 ¶C. FRANKFURT 3313 ¶D. HAMBURG 15 ¶E. BERLIN 298 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (SBU) On June 14, Germany deposited instruments of ratification for the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons (Palermo Protocol). Germany will become a party to both July 14. Federal Interior Ministry officials report police in all 12 cities hosting Soccer World Cup games have increased their monitoring and inspections of brothels and other commercial sex venues. Officials report an increase in the number of prostitutes in those cities, but say the increase is primarily attributable to a temporary influx of prostitutes who had already been working in other German cities. Over 20 NGOs throughout Germany have received government funds to conduct dozens of trafficking prevention and awareness campaigns. Some NGOs have set up multi-language telephone hotlines for victims of trafficking in persons (TIP) and clients who suspect a prostitute may be a TIP victim. Others have used petition drives, giant billboards and posters, and video clips to raise awareness. NGO volunteers in most cities are distributing flyers, postcards, and other materials outside of stadiums and at fan festivals. International campaigns, such as anti-TIP ads running on MTV, are also underway in Germany. End Summary. -------------- --- Germany Completes Ratification of UN Convention Against Transnational Crime and Palermo Protocol -------------- --- ¶2. (U) According to MFA Deputy Director for Cooperation against International Organized Crime Werner Koehler, Germany deposited the instruments of ratification June 14 for the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons (Palermo Protocol). Germany will become a party to both July 14. As reported ref A, the German parliament ratified the Convention and the Protocol in December 2005. Legislation implementing both the Convention and the Protocol is already in place. -------------- Police Increase Surveillance of Brothels -------------- ¶3. (SBU) According to contacts within the Federal Interior Ministry, the nationwide task force set up to facilitate information sharing and coordinate World Cup-related security and law enforcement, including TIP, appears to be functioning effectively. Ministry officials report police in each of the 12 cities hosting World Cup games have placed additional officers in red light districts and other key areas and have increased surveillance of brothels and other venues (refs B and C). According to Federal Interior Ministry officials, the number of prostitutes working in World Cup cities has risen; however officials report the increase is attributable primarily to a temporary influx of prostitutes from other German cities. Interior Ministry representatives tell us local police have not reported a significant increase in the number of foreign prostitutes. Ministry officials noted this was a preliminary assessment and said they would continue to watch the issue closely. ¶4. (SBU) On the evening of June 11, five teams of Munich police officers raided 48 brothels and six special zones where street prostitution is permitted. The police action involved a total of 314 prostitutes and 47 other persons, including clients and pimps. In one brothel, police questioned a 19-year-old prostitute from Ukraine and, upon determining she was under 21 years of age, placed her in protective custody. The woman told police she had worked as a prostitute in other German cities, but not in Munich. After police determined the prostitute was not a trafficking victim and verified her legal resident status, she was released. Police representatives told ConGen Munich officials there has been no significant increase in the numbers of visitors in Munich's red-light district, but did note the number of prostitutes working there had increased from 500 to 800. BERLIN 00001687 002 OF 003 ¶5. (U) According to a recent "Leipziger Volkszeitung" article, although the number of prostitutes working in Leipzig had increased, the number of foreign prostitutes had not. The article quoted sources as saying intense police and municipal controls sent a clear message to brothel owners. The story reported street prostitution has been prohibited in Leipzig during the World Cup and described a police raid on a nightclub that resulted in police issuing warrants for the arrest of two men on charges of human trafficking. -------------- - NGO Public Awareness Campaigns Expand Outreach -------------- - ¶6. (U) Over 20 NGOs throughout Germany have received government funds to conduct dozens of trafficking prevention and awareness campaigns. (NOTE: A spreadsheet summary of major NGO campaigns, including website information for most, was provided to EUR/AGS and G/TIP via e-mail. END NOTE.) Volunteers from NGOs are distributing informational materials outside stadiums. German government agencies and several NGOs have established help hotlines that are available 24/7 during the World Cup, offering assistance in dozens of languages to TIP victims, as well as guidance to clients who suspect a prostitute may be a victim of trafficking. ¶7. (U) The German Women's Council government-financed "Final Whistle" campaign, in cooperation with the Council's 50 member organizations and 13 other groups -- including the German Council of Criminal Detectives, the German Federation of Trade Unions, Men Against Male Violence, the Men's Commission of the Protestant Church in Europe, Medica Mondiale, the German chapter of the Ecumenical Forum of Christian Women in Europe, the Federal Working Committee of Municipal Women's Affairs Offices and Equal Opportunity Offices, the National Council of Women's Counseling Centers and Emergency Hotlines, Amnesty International, and the International Labor Organization -- has used petition drives, media events, conferences, and other local and national events to raise TIP awareness. Demand for "Final Whistle" flyers, posters, and whistles -- provided free of charge to NGOs conducting anti-TIP campaigns -- was greater than originally anticipated, according to project coordinator Marion Steiner. As of April 10, the volume of materials ordered was two times greater than campaign organizers had produced. The campaign subsequently used a donation from the German Soccer Association (DFB) to produce a "fan postcard" highlighting the campaign's logo, slogan, and website. ¶8. (U) A social aid organization affiliated with the Lutheran Church, Diakonisches Werk, is sponsoring a campaign to mount billboards (27 feet x 36 feet) that read "Say No to Forced Prostitution" in multiple languages outside major train stations during the World Cup. The group is also running ads in major newspapers and set up a 24/7 hotline for TIP victims. Other NGOs have posted large signs in airports and train stations displaying anti-TIP slogans in German, English, and Russian and hotline numbers. In Frankfurt, the NGO "Women's Rights are Human Rights" (FIM) and others have launched major campaigns targeting customers of prostitutes to educate clients how to discern whether a prostitute may have been trafficked and whom to contact to file anonymously a report. NGO personnel hung posters and continue to distribute brochures throughout the city, especially near train stations. -------------- -------------- Lower Saxony Media Campaign Calls for Public Action -------------- -------------- ¶9. (U) The NGO Lower Saxony Coordination and Counseling Office for Trafficking Victims (KOBRA) has produced a TIP awareness video with the SUPPORT of the Lower Saxony Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA) and distributed the video clip to each of Lower Saxony's approximately 2,000 communes and their preventive COUNCILS (ref D). A copy of the spot is available online at www.kobra-beratungsstelle.de. NGO representatives expect the clip will be aired several times a day during the 28-day World Cup tournament on giant TV screens at the fan festivals in Hannover. (NOTE: Approximately 20,000 people are expected to attend these events daily in Hannover. END NOTE.) The video spot was distributed to other cities hosting World Cup games, including Cologne, in North Rhine - Westphalia, and Kaiserslautern, in Rhineland - Palatinate. ¶10. (U) KOBRA representatives told ConGen Hamburg staff that NGO volunteers are distributing post cards at fan festivals throughout Lower Saxony. The postcards call forced BERLIN 00001687 003 OF 003 prostitution a blatant violation of human rights and ask the public to provide KOBRA with clues on potential cases of forced prostitution. KOBRA officials said a broad coalition of representatives from political parties, the church, sports and women's organizations in Lower Saxony had collected 26,000 signatures in the context of its "Campaign Against Forced Prostitution -- Johns Hold Responsibility." The campaign also calls for improved witness protection and need-based SUPPORT for NGOs assisting TIP victims. The NGO contact expressed concern about the accuracy of media reports claiming German authorities facilitate prostitution. She said she had been quoted often in the media without actually having given any interviews on the subject. -------------- --- North Rhine - Westphalia Legislature Debates TIP -------------- --- ¶11. (U) In a June 1 debate, the North Rhine - Westphalia (NRW) legislature discussed TIP in the run-up to the World Cup. NRW Interior Minister Ingo Wolf (FDP) stressed state authorities were well prepared for the fight against TIP and said the state had a strong program in place for helping TIP victims. Wolf expressed pride that despite NRW,s strict fiscal austerity policies, state funding for NGOs that provide counseling and assistance to TIP victims had not been cut. The Greens, who requested the debate, introduced a motion calling on the NRW government to use its influence in the Bundesrat -- Germany's upper house of parliament -- to press for "improvements" in pending federal legislation that would implement EU Council Directive 2004/81/EC, which mandates uniform standards on granting residence permits to third-country TIP victims who agree to cooperate with authorities. The Greens favor granting residence permits for more than 12 months (current legislation requires TIP victims willing to cooperate with authorities to renew their residence permits every 12 months) and granting subpoena immunity privileges for members of NGOs that SUPPORT TIP victims. Government coalition speakers maintained that further protective measures for TIP victims beyond the EU directives were not necessary and would in fact be counterproductive. The Greens' motion was referred to committee for further deliberation. -------------- -------------- Leipzig Public Awareness Campaign Prompts Discussion of Victim Assistance, Police Challenges -------------- -------------- ¶12. (U) City of Leipzig, the Green party, the Women's Library, several anti-TIP NGOs, as well as the Catholic and Protestant Churches organized a forum May 22 as part of the "Final Whistle" campaign. Local politicians, NGO representatives, and state police officials attended the event, which was timed to coincide with an exhibition entitled "Without Gloss or Glamour -- Prostitution and Trafficking in the Age of Globalization." German MEP Gisela Kallenbach (Green party) discussed EU-wide anti-TIP campaigns. She linked trafficking to globalization and called for harmonizing anti-TIP policies in EU countries. She also called for more public pressure on politicians to increase funding for anti-TIP NGOs. An NGO representative focused on German implementation of EU guidelines on residence permits for TIP victims and called on the government to increase financial SUPPORT for TIP victims. She also talked about the intimidation and violence used by traffickers, noting traffickers seek to instill a fear of police in their victims to prevent them from turning to authorities for help. ¶13. (U) A police union representative used the event to discuss a shortage of police resources to combat TIP in Saxony (NOTE: As reported ref A, post-9/11 counterterrorism commitments have stretched police resources to fight TIP in Germany's eastern states. END NOTE). He talked about the challenges in investigating trafficking networks and the obstacle posed by TIP victims' reluctance to come forward. He stated German Customs officials working on the German border with Poland and the Czech Republic have received training on TIP and described a campaign to educate the public in the border region. ¶14. (U) This message was coordinated with ConGens Dusseldorf, Hamburg, Frankfurt, Leipzig, and Munich. TIMKEN