Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
06BERLIN2534
2006-08-30 09:53:00
CONFIDENTIAL
Embassy Berlin
Cable title:  

GERMAN FAMILY MINISTRY OFFICIALS RESPOND TO U.S.

Tags:  KCRM PHUM KWMN KJUS SMIG ELAB PREL PGOV GM 
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VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRL #2534/01 2420953
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 300953Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4988
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHPG/AMEMBASSY PRAGUE PRIORITY 0427
RUEHWR/AMEMBASSY WARSAW PRIORITY 0618
C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 002534 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/AGS, EUR/PGI, G/TIP, DRL/IL, INL/HSTC, AND PRM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/29/2016
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN KJUS SMIG ELAB PREL PGOV GM
SUBJECT: GERMAN FAMILY MINISTRY OFFICIALS RESPOND TO U.S.
TIP CONCERNS

REF: A. BERLIN 2266 AND PREVIOUS


B. BERLIN 366

C. BERLIN 1504

Classified By: EMIN Robert F. Cekuta for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 002534

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR EUR/AGS, EUR/PGI, G/TIP, DRL/IL, INL/HSTC, AND PRM

E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/29/2016
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN KJUS SMIG ELAB PREL PGOV GM
SUBJECT: GERMAN FAMILY MINISTRY OFFICIALS RESPOND TO U.S.
TIP CONCERNS

REF: A. BERLIN 2266 AND PREVIOUS


B. BERLIN 366

C. BERLIN 1504

Classified By: EMIN Robert F. Cekuta for reasons 1.4 (b)
and (d).


1. (C) Summary: German Federal Family Ministry officials
reiterated the German government's commitment to fight
trafficking in persons (TIP) in an August 28 meeting with
emboffs. Family Ministry representatives noted the steps
German ministries and NGOs had taken to fight TIP in the
context of the 2006 Soccer World Cup and were pleased that
preliminary information indicates there was no significant
increase in TIP in Germany because of it. The Family
Ministry expects to complete its evaluation of World Cup
anti-TIP public awareness campaigns and law enforcement
strategies by the end of September. The Ministry also
expects to submit its evaluation of the 2002 law that
decriminalized certain activities related to prostitution
first to the Cabinet and then to the Bundestag by late
December. The Family Ministry officials reported prison
sentences handed down for trafficking offenses continue to
climb, despite the complex nature of cases and the difficulty
of proving guilt in court. Ministry officials also stated
the need for international cooperation in fighting TIP, e.g.,
efforts in source countries to educate populations, fight
criminal groups engaged in trafficking, and improve standards
of living in source countries, especially in eastern Europe.
End Summary.


2. (C) EMIN and Global Affairs officer discussed the fight
against trafficking August 28 with German Federal Family
Ministry Director General for Gender Equality Eva Maria
Welskop-Deffaa and her deputy, Renate Augstein.
Welskop-Deffaa oversees the Ministry's office for the
Protection of Women from Violence, which has the German
interagency lead in efforts to fight TIP. Welskop-Deffaa,

who joined the Family Ministry in May 2006, previously headed
the office of economic and social issues in the Central
Committee of German Catholics and remains closely tied to the
German Catholic Women's Association. Welskop-Deffaa said
the Department's 2006 TIP Report accurately describes the
scope of German action. She said Germany has devoted a great
deal of attention and invested considerable effort to
fighting TIP since 1997, when Germany first established a
federal-state interagency anti-TIP working group.

TIP and the World Cup
--------------


3. (C) Welskop-Deffaa noted as well that the International
Organization for Migration and German NGOs had found that
there was no significant increase in TIP during the June -
July 2006 Soccer World Cup (ref A). Welskop-Deffaa reported
over 150,000 people signed anti-TIP petitions during the
World Cup. The Family Ministry had provided funding to NGOs
for additional victim assistance programs and financed two
NGO-operated nationwide hotlines. State and local
governments financed two additional regional hotlines. She
credited extensive public outreach and police and Interior
Ministry efforts to integrate anti-TIP measures into their
overall security concepts as reasons for what appears to have
been a success. Welskop-Deffaa said the German government
hopes to complete its evaluation of anti-TIP measures
implemented during the World Cup by the end of September.

Prosecuting Traffickers
--------------


4. (C) Responding to a question about German efforts to
prosecute traffickers, Augstein said sentences handed down
for charges of trafficking continue to climb, despite the
complex nature of trafficking cases and the difficulty of
proving guilt. In order to prove a trafficking crime has
been committed, Augstein said, prosecutors have to rely on
victims' testimony to show the accused exploited or coerced
the victim. To do that, prosecutors must first convince
victims -- who have been traumatized and, she said, generally
distrust authorities -- to testify against their traffickers.
Augstein argued German sentences for trafficking offenses
are particularly high when compared to sentences handed down
in Germany for similarly egregious crimes.


5. (C) Augstein added TIP investigations are time- and
personnel-intensive and generally last at least one year.
She said the Family Ministry and the German Federal Office of
Criminal Investigation (BKA) share responsibility for

training police officers. Officers receive one week of
training per year, which includes sessions conducted by NGOs
to sensitize police to TIP victims' special needs. Augstein
also noted 80 to 90 percent of traffickers are found in
Germany through police raids, far more than through tips from
victims and clients. She stated most TIP victims have been
intimidated by their traffickers, who prey on victims'
distrust of authorities by reminding them of their illegal
status. Augstein said the training for police officers also
focuses on detection techniques and referral of victims to
counseling centers.


6. (C) Augstein said pending legislation would soon implement
Council of Europe directives on residence permits for TIP
victims by codifying existing regulations. The regulations
stipulate granting TIP victims a four-week reflection period
to decide whether or not to testify against their
traffickers. The regulations also mandate that immigration
officials consult with police case officers when analyzing
the risks victims might face if they are returned to their
countries of origin (ref B).

Legislation on the Status of Prostitution
--------------


7. (C) In response to a question raising concerns about the
legal status of prostitution in Germany, Welskop-Deffaa
explained legislation passed in 2002 had narrowed the
definition of criminal promotion of prostitution and pimping
(ref C),but did not actually legalize prostitution.
Prostitution has been legal in Germany for over 100 years,
she added. Welskop-Deffaa said the 2002 law was a difficult
but necessary compromise to improve prostitutes' legal and
social situation. Pre-2002 restrictions on promoting
prostitution, designed to make prostitution unattractive, had
resulted in poor working conditions and other violations of
prostitutes' basic rights, she continued. Welskop-Deffaa
said the Family Ministry's goal was to create possibilities
for women to get out of prostitution by removing the
associated social stigma. She argued the 2002 law had made
it easier to detect forced prostitution and created a
disincentive for brothel owners to engage in trafficking.
The Family Ministry expects to submit a report on the results
of the 2002 legislation, first to the Cabinet and then to the
Bundestag, by the end of December. She noted as well that
the Merkel Government's November 2005 coalition agreement had
made fighting forced prostitution a priority.

The Need for International Efforts against TIP
-------------- -


8. (C) Welskop-Deffaa said Germany is looking at fighting TIP
in source countries, particularly in Eastern Europe, and
German cooperation and assistance had focused on improving
police capabilities to fight and dismantle criminal
organizations involved in trafficking and raising public
awareness of trafficking for purposes of sexual and labor
exploitation. Welskop-Deffaa said many trafficking victims
are drawn to work as prostitutes because they can earn more
money faster than as secretaries or clerks. Welskop-Deffaa
said German public awareness efforts in countries of origin
also focus on trafficking in human organs. Welskop-Deffaa
said Germany and the EU have focused on developing anti-TIP
NGO networks in the former Soviet Union, which have had a
harder time because they could not draw on the
resources/long-term presence of faith-based organizations.

KOENIG