GERMAN OFFICIALS NOTE IMPROVEMENT IN PROVIDING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BERLIN 001809 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: GERMAN OFFICIALS NOTE IMPROVEMENT IN PROVIDING ASSISTANCE TO TIP VICTIMS REF: A. HALL/CONWAY E-MAIL 06/15/06 ¶B. FRANKFURT 1274 ¶C. BERLIN 601 ¶D. BERLIN 366 ¶E. BERLIN 298 ¶F. 05 HAMBURG 96 ¶1. (U) Summary: German officials reject the notion that Germany has made little progress in protecting TIP victims since 1996. Representatives of the German Federal Family Ministry and the Hamburg State Office of Criminal Investigation (LKA) point to vastly expanded counseling and assistance. Officials note as well that Germany established a federal/state interagency anti-TIP working group in 1997 and has expanded training programs to sensitize police officers to the unique needs of TIP victims. Most German states now have interagency roundtables that meet regularly to address TIP victims' concerns and include police, prosecutors, municipal authorities, and immigration officials, in addition to representatives of NGOs and faith-based organizations that assist victims. Nine of Germany's sixteen states have concluded cooperation agreements with NGOs requiring police to refer TIP victims to NGOs, counseling centers, or shelters. In addition to using Hamburg's interagency anti-trafficking roundtable to improve assistance to victims, the LKA there has created a dedicated anti-TIP unit and increased its budget for surveillance of suspected trafficking rings. End Summary. ¶2. (SBU) Ref A requests Mission Germany discuss with German government representatives concerns raised in testimony given by Masha Gnezdilova in a June 14 hearing of the House International Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operations. (Ms. Gnezdilova's testimony is available online at wwwc.house.gov/international relations/109/gne061406.pdf.) Emboffs raised Ms. Gnezdilova's testimony with Birgit Schweikert, Director of the Federal Family Ministry's Office for the Protection of Women from Violence. Schweikert noted the incidents to which Ms. Gnezdilova refers occurred in 1996 and that Germany had made important strides in the ten years since then in the protection of TIP victims and the provision of counseling and assistance. These steps, Schweikert continued, include the establishment of a federal/state interagency anti-TIP working group in 1997. Schweikert serves as the working group's co-chair. ¶3. (SBU) Schweikert said she could not exclude the possibility that police in 1996 were not properly sensitized to the needs of trafficking victims. However, over the past ten years Germany has expanded training to sensitize police officers to the unique needs of TIP victims. (NOTE: Mission Germany has reported previously on German government and NGO efforts to improve and expand training to police officers, including best practices for identification of potential TIP victims, sensitive questioning techniques, and the importance of referring TIP victims to NGOs that offer counseling and legal assistance. A best practices document posted by the Federal Interior Ministry on a restricted-access German police intranet site was based on a similar reference tool developed by North Rhine - Westphalia's state police (ref E). The IOM has also noted improved provision of TIP-related training to police (ref D). END NOTE.) Schweikert stated Germany would continue to provide TIP-related training for police officers. ¶4. (SBU) Schweikert said most German states have set up interagency roundtables that include police, prosecutors, municipal authorities, and immigration officials, as well as representatives of NGOs and faith-based organizations to assist victims. (NOTE: Nine of Germany's sixteen states also have concluded cooperation agreements with NGOs that provide counseling and assistance to victims. The agreements require police to provide TIP victims with multi-lingual pamphlets informing them of their rights and to contact NGOs, counseling centers, or shelters on behalf of victims. Many NGOs also provide training to police officers. END NOTE.) Schweikert noted the German government fully funds the Federal Association against Trafficking in Women (KOK),an umbrella organization that coordinates the work of German anti-TIP NGOs. As reported ref D, KOK and the Federal Family Ministry hosted a January 2006 conference on cooperation agreements and best practices for providing assistance and protection to TIP victims. Over 120 representatives from state law enforcement agencies, NGOs, counseling centers, and state and federal government agencies attended the event. Before closing, Schweikert reiterated that individual German states have the primary responsibility for law enforcement efforts against trafficking in persons and said for privacy BERLIN 00001809 002 OF 002 protection reasons German law prohibits researching the details of a particular case without prerequisites such as a request of the affected individual, court order, etc. ¶5. (SBU) ConGen Hamburg discussed issues raised in Ms. Gnezdilova's testimony with Thomas Menzel, who heads the Organized Crime Unit of the Hamburg LKA, and with Frank Werner, a Liberal Party (FDP) official who is closely involved with anti-TIP NGOs. Menzel outlined the evolution of anti-TIP actions in Hamburg. Over the past several years, he reported, the state government has: -- dedicated a larger budget to police surveillance of suspected prostitution/TIP rings, which had led to increased infiltration, interruption, and prosecution of these criminal groups. -- created an anti-TIP roundtable that meets regularly and brings together LKA representatives, prosecutors, immigration officials, anti-TIP NGOs, and churches to develop joint responses and initiatives. (NOTE: NGO contacts told ConGen Hamburg they have been able to use the roundtable group to influence police procedures and policies on the treatment of TIP victims. For instance, police now work closely with NGOs to ensure TIP victims have access to interpreters and counseling while still in initial police protective custody. END NOTE.) -- created a TIP-dedicated three-officer unit placed directly within the Organized Crime Unit of the LKA. This measure allows investigations/prosecution to incorporate TIP aspects from day one. The unit has recently scored a major success with the unraveling of Hamburg's largest prostitution/TIP ring (ref F). Hamburg authorities have kept up the pressure on the ring, with follow-on raids continuing to take place. The follow-up has enabled German officials to seek wide-ranging prosecutions, ranging from tax avoidance to criminal enterprise and TIP charges. ¶6. (U) This message was coordinated with ConGen Hamburg. TIMKEN JR