TIP: WORLD CUP UPDATE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 001835 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: WORLD CUP UPDATE REF: A. BERLIN 298 ¶B. BERLIN 601 ¶C. BERLIN 1687 ¶D. FRANKFURT 4232 ¶E. FRANKFURT 3313 ¶F. MUNICH 369 -------------- Summary -------------- ¶1. (U) Three weeks into the World Cup, German officials and NGOs report no increase thus far in incidents of trafficking in persons (TIP). Officials credit a combination of factors, including increased surveillance and raids on brothels, effective border controls, joint operations with police in other EU member states, and widespread public awareness efforts in Germany and abroad. German officials state the measures, implemented beginning months before the World Cup, sent a clear message to traffickers. German NGOs operating TIP telephone hotlines have not reported receiving a significant volume of phone calls from victims. The Federal Family Ministry plans to work with NGOs operating World Cup hotlines to evaluate establishing a nationwide anti-TIP hotline. German officials plan to conduct post-World Cup evaluations to apply lessons learned to their anti-TIP efforts and to share best practices with other countries. End Summary. -------------- -- Interior Ministry: Security Concept Successful -------------- -- ¶2. (SBU) According to Federal Interior Ministry officials, preliminary assessments indicate there has been no increase in the number of TIP victims in Germany during the first three weeks of the World Cup. Willy Koesling, a representative of the Interior Ministry's World Cup Security Office, told emboffs strong international police cooperation and effective border controls, including more frequent spot checks on vehicles and passports -- even along Schengen borders -- have been successful in dissuading traffickers. Koesling said the law enforcement cooperation fostered by the Interior Ministry's World Cup taskforce, which coordinates federal and state law enforcement activities and information sharing (ref A),and successful implementation of risk prevention and "fan coaching" strategies had thus far resulted in low levels of World Cup-related violence and illegal activity, including TIP. ¶3. (SBU) Koesling stated municipal authorities and police included fan associations and NGOs in their security-related planning, which resulted in innovative solutions to prevent fan violence and misconduct. For instance, Koesling said, each of the 12 World Cup cities hold post-game events at World Cup fan festivals. (NOTE: Many of the NGOs conducting anti-TIP campaigns distribute postcards, brochures, and other materials at these events. See para 10. END NOTE.) Although World Cup games sometimes end as late as 11:00 p.m., Koesling said, the fan festival events, which often run until 3:00 a.m., provide post-game entertainment in a positive atmosphere in the presence of police, and have helped "keep fans out of trouble." ¶4. (SBU) Koesling said the Interior Ministry plans to conduct post-World Cup evaluations and to apply lessons learned to their daily police work, as well as future major sports events and conventions. Koesling said the German government hoped its experience would contribute to the development of international standards and form the basis for future international police cooperation. -------------- - Border Controls and Public Awareness Campaigns -------------- - ¶5. (SBU) The Federal Family Ministry's Birgit Schweikert also stated German authorities have not observed an upsurge in the number of TIP victims. Schweikert is director of the Ministry's Office for the Protection of Women from Violence and co-chair of the German federal/state interagency anti-TIP working group. Schweikert credited a combination of factors, including effective border control measures and joint law enforcement operations with police in other EU countries. Schweikert stated public awareness campaigns conducted by NGOs, most of which are government funded, have also played a key role, as have German government efforts to raise awareness abroad through consular outreach and development assistance (ref B). BERLIN 00001835 002 OF 003 -------------- --- Police Raids "Send Clear Message" to Traffickers -------------- --- ¶6. (SBU) Extensive pre-World Cup police raids of brothels and other venues around Germany (reported refs C through F) sent a clear message to traffickers that police are watching and likely dissuaded many traffickers from expanding their operations, Schweikert said. Police have continued to conduct surveillance and raid brothels during the World Cup itself. According to Berlin police spokesman Kurt Henning, police in Berlin have not registered an upswing in the number of TIP victims during the World Cup. Henning confirmed police have increased their surveillance and raids of brothels. Henning added police have noticed an increase in the number of prostitutes, but not TIP victims, in some brothels. ¶7. (SBU) German media reports have also focused attention on increased police surveillance and raids throughout Germany, in particular Hessian Minister-President Roland Koch's show of support for Frankfurt police anti-TIP efforts. Koch accompanied police during one of their raids in the Frankfurt red-light district. Frankfurt police representatives told the media 25 prostitutes have been placed in police protective custody since the beginning of the World Cup, but noted it had not yet been determined how many were victims of trafficking. Schweikert noted a number of German media outlets had recently reported that fan demand for prostitutes' services had been significantly lower than brothel owners and prostitutes themselves had expected. (NOTE: Recent editions of the "Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung," "Suddeutsche Zeitung," and "Berliner Zeitung" have reported World Cup tourists who visit red light districts do so largely because their curiosity was piqued by extensive media coverage of legalized prostitution in Germany. Prostitutes interviewed in the same media reports say World Cup tourists generally have not engaged their services. Some articles also focus on the high visibility of anti-TIP public awareness campaigns at fan festivals and stadiums. END NOTE.) -------------- -------------- NGO Hotlines Report No Substantial Increase in TIP -------------- -------------- ¶8. (SBU) Schweikert said NGOs that provide counseling and assistance to TIP victims have, thus far, not reported a marked increase in the number of TIP victims. Embassy and Consulate contacts in NGOs tend to confirm this assessment. Schweikert noted four NGOs -- "Women's Rights are Human Rights" (FIM); Bella Donna; the Diakonie, a social aid organization affiliated with the Lutheran Church; and "Solidarity with Women in Distress" (SOLWODI) -- have used federal or state government funding to set up telephone hotlines to field calls from trafficking victims during the World Cup. To date, Schweikert said, the NGOs had not reported receiving a significant volume of phone calls from TIP victims. FIM representatives told ConGen Frankfurt there has been no substantial increase in the number of TIP victims. A SOLWODI representative told emboff the organization has received some calls on their hotline from victims of trafficking and domestic violence, but noted it was too early to assess whether there had been an increase in the number of TIP victims. According to Nivedita Prasad, project coordinator for Ban Ying, a Berlin-based NGO that provides counseling and legal assistance to TIP victims, the organization has not received a single call from a TIP victim since the World Cup began. Prasad said all four NGOs agreed to refer Berlin callers to three of Berlin's anti-TIP NGOs, including Ban Ying, on a rotating basis. ¶9. (SBU) Schweikert noted the Federal Family Ministry had encouraged the four NGOs to combine their efforts and pool resources to create one hotline with one telephone number that could be more easily publicized, but met with resistance from some NGOs. Schweikert said the Federal Family Ministry will work with the NGOs to evaluate the hotlines and associated public awareness campaigns to determine the feasibility of establishing a nationwide anti-TIP hotline in the near future, possibly in cooperation with police emergency hotlines. Schweikert noted a nationwide hotline is but one idea the German government may discuss as a proposal when sharing its experiences with other EU members in post-World Cup evaluation workshops to be held later this year. -------------- Public Outreach Campaigns BERLIN 00001835 003 OF 003 -------------- ¶10. (U) During a visit to the Berlin fan festival emboffs witnessed the distribution of anti-TIP brochures and postcards -- from the Diakonie and German Women's Council's "Final Whistle" (refs A and C) campaigns -- outside an information booth. (NOTE: NGO contacts report similar materials are distributed at fan festivals in each of the 12 World Cup cities. Most materials feature TIP hotline numbers. ConGen Frankfurt personnel visited a dedicated anti-TIP tent at the Stuttgart fan festival and observed distribution of anti-TIP materials at a "Fan Embassy" in Frankfurt. END NOTE.) A police officer approached at random by emboffs also described police procedures for providing assistance to potential victims of trafficking. "Fan Embassy" personnel gave emboffs a copy of the German Football Association's fan guide, which in a full-page article on TIP informs fans: "Prostitution is legal in Germany. Forcing women to work as prostitutes against their will via physical, financial, or other means is not." The Diakonie campaign is also running advertisements on flat screen TVs in Berlin subway cars and posters on railway platforms. One set of ads reads, in English, Russian and German, "if you are a victim of forced prostitution, call this number now" and refers victims to the Diakonie's hotline number. ¶11. (U) This message was coordinated with ConGen Frankfurt. TIMKEN JR