Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BERLIN1835
2006-06-30 15:25:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Berlin
Cable title:  

TIP: WORLD CUP UPDATE

Tags:  KCRM PHUM KWMN KJUS SMIG ELAB PREL PGOV GM 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXRO6324
OO RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHRL #1835/01 1811525
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 301525Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4000
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
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
-------

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