SIXTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP)

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 11 REYKJAVIK 000068

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE, SIPDIS

DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/NB:JMAHER, G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI,
AND EUR/PGI
STATE PASS USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN ELAB SMIG ASEC KFRD PREF IC
SUBJECT: SIXTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP)
REPORT FOR ICELAND

REF: (A) STATE 3836, (B) 05 REYKJAVIK 95 (NOTAL),(C) 04
REYKJAVIK 92 (NOTAL)


1. (SBU) Embassy point of contact on the trafficking in
persons (TIP) issue is Political Officer Lisa Kierans, tel.
+354-562-9100x2294, fax +354-562-9139, unclassified e-mail
Kieransl@state.gov.

Hours spent on preparation:
- Polofficer (FO-02) 20 hrs
- Polassistant 60 hrs
- DCM (FO-01) 2 hrs
Total: 82 hrs

In researching this report post interviewed the following
contacts:

-- Sesselja Arnadottir, Deputy Permanent Secretary, Ministry
of Social Affairs
-- Sandra Baldvinsdottir, Legal Expert, Ministry of Justice
and Ecclesiastical Affairs
-- Johann Benediktsson, Commissioner of Police and Customs,
Keflavik International Airport
-- Sigurdur Bessason, Director, and Thorir Gudjonsson,
Service Representative, Efling labor union

-- Asgeir Thor Davidsson, Owner, Goldfinger Erotic Dancers
Club

-- Hildur Dungal, Director, and Bjork Vidarsdottir, Lawyer,
Directorate of Immigration

-- Throstur Emilsson, Director, einkamal.is (Icelandic
dating website)

-- Adalheidur Franzdottir, Director, and Ragnhildur
Gudmundsdottir, Chairman, Maedrastyrksnefnd support services
(charity providing food and clothing to indigent persons)

-- Arnar Gudmundsson, Director, Icelandic National Police
College

-- Gudrun Gudmundsdottir, Director, Icelandic Human Rights
Center

-- Kolbrun Halldorsdottir, MP, Left Green Movement

-- Jonas Jonasson, Director, Gistiskylid vid
Thingholtsstraeti homeless shelter

-- Margret Steinarsdottir, Legal Counsel, Intercultural
Center

-- Gudrun Jonsdottir, Public Relations Director, Stigamot -
Icelandic Counseling and Information Center for Survivors of
Sexual Violence

-- Drifa Snaedal, Public Relations Director, The Women's
Shelter, Reykjavik

-- Birna Thorarinsdottir, Executive Director, UNIFEM Iceland
National Committee

The following questions and answers correspond to the format
provided reftel.


2. (SBU) Overview of a country's activities to eliminate
trafficking in persons:

-- A. Is the country a country of origin, transit, or
destination for international trafficked men, women, or
children? Specify numbers for each group; how they were
trafficked, to where, and for what purpose. Does the
trafficking occur within the country's borders? Does it
occur in territory outside of the government's control (e.g.
in a civil war situation)? Are any estimates or reliable
numbers available as to the extent or magnitude of the
problem? Please include any numbers of victims.
What is (are) the source(s) of available information on
trafficking in persons or what plans are in place (if any)

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to undertake documentation of trafficking? How reliable are
the numbers and these sources? Are certain groups of
persons more at risk of being trafficked (e.g. women and
children, boys versus girls, certain ethnic groups,
refugees, etc.)?

Iceland is primarily a transit country for trafficked
persons, but there are isolated cases of destination and
theoretically cases of origin (as described ref C; no new
cases identified in this reporting period) as well. Cases
in the period covered by this report total well under 100.
Putative cases fall into several categories, none of which
involves more than a handful of documented victims: young
Asian men and women caught attempting to transit Keflavik
International Airport; undocumented Eastern European workers
in construction and manufacturing; `mail-order' or
`Internet' brides (both Eastern European and Asian) trapped
with abusive, controlling Icelandic husbands; and underpaid
and/or mistreated workers in nightclubs and massage parlors.

The only information available on TIP is hearsay, with the
exception of one notorious case, documented in civil court
records, from the Reykjavik suburb of Kopavogur. Even NGO
and labor union representatives who believe TIP exists in
Iceland are unable to offer numbers, and there are no plans
in place to undertake documentation. Indeed, most post
sources express gratitude for Embassy Reykjavik's
undertaking in researching this report, with many requesting
copies of the completed draft. (Note: if, as in the past,
the Department does not publish a report on Iceland, post
will edit this one to remove sensitive material and send
contacts the edited version. End note.)

--------------
Suburban Nightmare
--------------
The Kopavogur case mentioned above (and ref C) involved a
Chinese national in his twenties who had worked at a massage
parlor owned by an Icelandic woman of Chinese origin. The
woman had hired the man with the consent of his parents in
China, whom she told she would pay their son IKR 10,000 (US
$151) a month, far below the mandated minimum wage in
Iceland. The man ultimately worked as a legitimate massage
therapist (i.e., not providing sexual services) at the
massage parlor for 18 months, quitting in December 2003. He
himself did not receive any pay; instead the woman sent his
meager paycheck to his parents in China. He did get room and
board but had to sleep on a massage table in a 20-square-
meter room in a basement with two other men. In January 2006
he won a civil suit demanding to be paid according to
Icelandic collective bargaining agreements and was awarded
IKR 4.7 million (US $70,890) in back wages. Even though the
employer had forged the man's signature on the employment
contract and forced him to work 12 hours a day, six days a
week, and nine hours a day on Sundays, Kopavogur authorities
declined to launch a criminal prosecution. National
officials, while uneasy with the case's handling, said they
could not controvert local prosecutors' judgment. As he was
a qualified massage therapist, the victim in this case did
manage to stay in Iceland by finding another, properly
remunerated job at a different massage parlor.

--------------
Desperate Wives
--------------
Social service providers report regular contacts with a
population of foreign women who have immigrated to Iceland
to marry Icelandic citizens whom they have met on-line or
through friends and relatives already married to Icelanders.
Some of these women live in circumstances akin to slavery.
A lawyer for the capital's Intercultural Center offered an
example of one Icelandic husband who quit work and insisted
that his Chinese wife work three jobs to support him. Only
able to sleep for four hours a night, she eventually
suffered a breakdown. Some Icelanders at one of her
workplaces found her pro bono legal assistance, thanks to
which she obtained a divorce and permits to remain and work
in Iceland. The Intercultural Center lawyer learns of
several such cases a year, most often involving "extremely
beautiful" Russian and Baltic women in their twenties

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brought to Iceland as "trophies" by men in their fifties.
The women work long hours, and their husbands take their
salaries; some of the men reportedly also sell sexual access
to their wives.

--------------
The Underground Economy
--------------
Undocumented foreign workers in Iceland's booming
construction sector may be exploited. Most sources,
including those who have had contact with these so-called
"ghost workers," stress that the men are willingly working
illegally in Iceland in order to make up to four times the
normal income in their Eastern-European/Baltic home
countries; and opine that these are cases of immigrant and
employment law violations rather than trafficking in
persons. The `victims' enter the country on tourist visas or
as Schengen zone residents and proceed to work without
obtaining work permits. Generally they have been paid well
below union-mandated minimum wages, denied medical coverage,
and worked very long hours while living in sub-standard
housing or even sleeping on building sites. Judging by
anecdotal evidence from press accounts, such cases may
number in the dozens, but no Icelandic institution has
undertaken a formal estimate. (Note: at the end of 2005
there were 13,778 foreign citizens with legal residence in
Iceland, or 4.6 percent of the population. With such a
small number of foreigners residing in the country, non-
natives continue to stick out, making authorities' job of
identifying undocumented workers easier than elsewhere.
Nevertheless, deportations remain rare.)

Icelandic labor unions, eager to protect their members'
economic interests, have taken the lead in protesting
substandard treatment of cheap foreign labor. They have
started inspecting conditions at work sites, including
construction sites and restaurants, noting the number and
nationalities of workers employed. Also, Icelandic employees
report to the unions on working conditions and treatment of
foreigners and thus act as a check on mistreatment.

--------------
The Sex Trade
--------------
While there may be isolated cases of trafficking of women,
in particular those of Eastern European and Baltic origin,
for sexual work in Iceland, as post has previously reported
the tide appeared to turn with 2003 and subsequent changes
in local regulations to outlaw lap dances. The police
report that they regularly monitor strip clubs in order to
ensure that they comply with applicable regulations,
particularly those outlawing private dances. Police say
they have not seen any signs of prostitution at, or in
connection with, the clubs. The owner of the country's best-
known remaining strip joint, Goldfinger in Kopavogur, denies
illegal activity. An Embassy employee who visited the
establishment was, however, offered sexual services -
suggesting that business owners and police at a minimum turn
a blind eye to illicit activity that puts women at risk. He
also noted that one of the dancers appeared to have a black
eye, which could suggest - albeit anecdotally - abuse
related to her employment.

Administrators of a national charity that provides food and
cothing to indigents suspect that prostitution is
idespread in Iceland, based on their observation o mainly
foreign women with expired residence perits who seek
assistance although they are well dessed and carry mobile
telephones. In a few insances the women have given hotels
as their home adresses. The charity does not, however,
investigte the circumstances of the women's travel to and
employment in Iceland.

Administrators of the fee Icelandic dating website
einkamal.is report istances of posters to the site
soliciting and offring prostitution. Those offering sexual
service for a fee have been both Icelandic and of foreign
origin, primarily from former Eastern bloc counties. The
levels of organization and coercion areunknown, and
government authorities leave it to te site to monitor its

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own use. In a written reply to post queries, the site
administrator told us:

"We don't censor the website in any way; the communications
between users, that take place via email, are not
`monitored.' However, we definitely intervene, and close a
user's account, when appropriate, if complaints are brought
against that user, for example for prostituting
himself/herself or for asking for prostitution or other such
services.

"It is difficult to say whether this is widespread on our
website. Of roughly 47 thousand users (approximately 90
thousand registrations are on the website, two thirds are
male and one third is female) we need to interfere with 10
users on average per week or about 40 a month. Many of those
users' accounts are closed down. We therefore need to
interfere with about 1% of users.

"Virtually all the instances (when einkamal.is interferes or
closes down an account) involve the solicitation of illegal
services, such as prostitution or other things that don't
conform with einkamal.is' terms of use, including use by
underage children... I don't have information on how this is
divided, but we believe that advertisements/postings for
prostitution are over 90% of the cases (where we feel we
need to interfere).

"We get a considerable number of complaints, mostly from
women who feel they have received `indecent' proposals from
registered male users on the website, where men are looking
for sex and quite often offer to pay. In these cases, our
reaction is to send them a warning and ask that they stick
to decency and that they familiarize themselves with the
terms of use. If we don't get a reaction from them, then we
close their accounts. These users rarely contact us after
their accounts have been closed, and their accounts have
only a few times been reopened.

"There are also, albeit rare, examples where men point out
and simply complain about registered female users on the
website that offer `thorough' services and even send a
`price list/rate list.'

"I have no concrete examples regarding the victimization of
users on einkamal.is. However, some users have both called
and emailed me, after having given personal information to
other users and exchanged emails with them, and then having
been stalked by them. No police cases have arisen and the
cases have been resolved on their own. I am not aware of
any rapes or violent crimes following meetings between
individuals who started to talk/chat on our website, but I
think I would probably know if something like that would
come up, such as if charges were pressed."

-- B. Please provide a general overview of the trafficking
situation in the country and any changes since the last TIP
Report (e.g. changes in direction). Also briefly explain
the political will to address trafficking in persons. Other
items to address may include: What kind of conditions are
the victims trafficked into? Which populations are targeted
by the traffickers? Who are the traffickers? What methods
are used to approach victims? (Are they offered lucrative
jobs, sold by their families, approached by friends of
friends, etc.?) What methods are used to move the victims
(e.g., are false documents being used?).

Suspected trafficking cases have much the same profile as in
post's previous TIP report (ref B). Post notes two changes:
(1) our sources cite even less evidence of a TIP problem
than in the past, although they acknowledge that this could
be due to a shift in public attention toward other social
problems, in particular domestic violence and incest; (2)
the media are reporting more cases in which an - extremely
small - underground economy seems to entrap workers in
situations where they earn less than native workers and live
in unsanitary conditions. These latter cases, however, are
not necessarily tantamount to modern-day slavery so much as
indicative of uneven enforcement of a labor regime that is
in general very generous to workers.

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In December 2005 the Althingi (Icelandic parliament) passed
legislation to regulate temporary-work agencies and protect
their employees, e.g. by prohibiting charging fees to hires;
requiring written contracts specifying work to be performed;
and guaranteeing the right of employees to change employers.
The Directorate of Labor of the Social Affairs Ministry is
charged with enforcing the new law.

As the number of cases of ostensible trafficking has
diminished, so has the political will to address the
(potential) problem. Minister of Justice and Ecclesiastical
Affairs Bjorn Bjarnason has in recent months downplayed the
possibility that vulnerable groups (such as economic
migrants and sex workers) might face exploitation in
Iceland.

Iceland may be a country without a TIP problem (after all,
there has never been an explicitly "TIP" prosecution here),
or it may be a country in deep denial. Even those who would
ordinarily be victims' advocates seem unable to say which.

-- C. What are the limitations on the government's ability
to address this problem in practice? For example, is
funding for police or other institutions inadequate? Is
overall corruption a problem? Does the government lack the
resources to aid victims?

Overall corruption is not a problem, with Iceland habitually
ranked in independent surveys as one of the world's least
corrupt societies. Funding for police and other
institutions that are on the TIP front lines is adequate for
a reactive approach but inadequate to fund active measures
to prevent potential new cases. Programs to provide
emergency shelter and crime victim compensation, which in
theory could be used to help TIP victims, have rarely been
tested in the trafficking context.

-- D. To what extent does the government systematically
monitor its anti-trafficking efforts (on all fronts --
prosecution, prevention and victim protection) and
periodically make available, publicly or privately and
directly or through regional/international organizations,
its assessments of these anti-trafficking efforts?

There is no systematic government monitoring of anti-
trafficking efforts as such - i.e., none beyond ordinary
recordkeeping as to laws proposed and passed.
Responsibility for anti-trafficking work has passed back and
forth between the Justice and Social Affairs Ministries.
Currently it is at the Justice Ministry, where other
priorities have zeroed out resources available for TIP-
related work.


3. (SBU) PREVENTION:

-- A. Does the government acknowledge that trafficking is a
problem in that country? If no, why not?

Government officials acknowledge that Iceland, despite its
geographic isolation and privileged, homogeneous population,
is not wholly unique and thus probably has a trafficking
problem. They are, however, hard-pressed to supply examples
- aside from those of transit cases, which in any case have
never been prosecuted as such, but rather as smuggling cases
or forgery cases where there are false documents.

-- B. Which government agencies are involved in anti-
trafficking efforts and which agency, if any, has the lead?

The following agencies are involved in anti-trafficking
efforts:
-- Ministry of Justice (including the Directorate of
Immigration, State Prosecutor's Office, and National
Commissioner of Police and local police forces): lead
agency.
-- Ministry for Foreign Affairs (including the Keflavik
Commissioner of Police and Customs)
-- Ministry of Social Affairs (including the Equal Rights
Office and Directorate of Labor)

REYKJAVIK 00000068 006 OF 011



-- C. Are there, or have there been, government-run anti-
trafficking information or education campaigns? If so,
briefly describe the campaign(s),including their objectives
and effectiveness. Do these campaigns target potential
trafficking victims and/or the demand for trafficking (e.g.
"clients" of prostitutes or beneficiaries of forced labor).

There has been no Icelandic government public outreach or
information campaign on TIP in the reporting period.

-- D. Does the government support other programs to prevent
trafficking? (e.g., to promote women's participation in
economic decision-making or efforts to keep children in
school.) Please explain.

There are no government trafficking-prevention programs as
such.

-- F. What is the relationship between government officials,
NGOs, other relevant organizations and other elements of
civil society on the trafficking issue?

NGO representatives complain that the government does not
invite their participation in the early stages of
legislative drafting and policy planning. Government
officials express the view that inviting civil society to
comment on fully-drawn proposals ought to be sufficient. In
spite of this tension, individual relationships within the
small circle of those who regularly work on this issue are
cordial and professional.

-- G. Does the government monitor immigration and emigration
patterns for evidence of trafficking? Do law enforcement
agencies screen for potential trafficking victims along
borders?

The government monitors immigration and emigration patterns
for evidence of trafficking; and screens for potential
trafficking victims at Keflavik International Airport. The
country has no land borders.
Authorities at Keflavik International Airport arrested a
Singaporean national and four Chinese citizens on arrival on
May 17, 2005. On June 2, 2005, Reykjanes District Court
sentenced the Singaporean citizen to six months in prison
for attempting to facilitate the illegal travel of the four
Chinese nationals, who were carrying look-alike passports,
from the United Kingdom to the United States via Iceland.
Keflavik authorities also arrested an American and two
Chinese citizens on July 7, 2005, attempting to depart
Iceland. On July 21, 2005, Reykjanes District Court
sentenced the American to four months in prison for
facilitating the illegal travel of the Chinese, who were
carrying look-alike passports, from Sweden to the United
States via Iceland. The Chinese citizens had stayed in
Iceland for two days prior to their attempted onward travel.

-- H. Is there a mechanism for coordination and
communication between various agencies, internal,
international, and multilateral on trafficking-related
matters, such as a multi-agency working group or a task
force? Does the government have a trafficking in persons
working group or single point of contact? Does the
government have a public corruption task force?

There is no purely domestic anti-trafficking task force; nor
is there a public corruption task force. In February 2006 a
parliamentary task force that had been established in
November 2004 issued a comprehensive report that compared
Icelandic and foreign, mostly Nordic, legislation on
prostitution, TIP, and related issues. The report's aim was
to contribute to public discussion on revamping Icelandic
legislation on sexual offenses, but its authors did not
reach a consensus opinion.

-- J. Does the government have a national plan of action to
address trafficking in persons? If so, which agencies were
involved in developing it? Were NGOs consulted in the
process? What steps has the government taken to disseminate
the action plan?

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Iceland does not have a national plan of action to address
TIP.


4. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS:

-- A. Does the country have a law specifically prohibiting
trafficking in persons--both trafficking for sexual
exploitation and trafficking for non-sexual purposes (e.g.
forced labor)? If so, what is the law? Does the law(s)
cover both internal and external (transnational) forms of
trafficking? If not, under what other laws can traffickers
be prosecuted? For example, are there laws against slavery
or the exploitation of prostitution by means of coercion or
fraud? Are these other laws being used in trafficking
cases? Are these laws, taken together, adequate to cover
the full scope of trafficking in persons? Please provide a
full inventory of trafficking laws, including civil
penalties (e.g., civil forfeiture laws and laws against
illegal debt).

Passed into law March 10, 2003, Article 227a of Iceland's
General Penal Code outlaws trafficking in persons. The
government has not yet brought any prosecutions under it,
choosing instead to use General Penal Code Articles 57 and
155, which outlaw alien smuggling and document forgery,
respectively.

-- B. What are the penalties for traffickers of people for
sexual exploitation? For traffickers of people for labor
exploitation?

Trafficking of persons for sexual exploitation, for forced
labor, or for removal of organs is punishable by up to eight
years in prison.

-- C. What are the penalties for rape or forcible sexual
assault? How do they compare to the penalty for sex
trafficking?

Rape is punishable by up to 16 years in prison, but even
especially brutal rapes rarely draw sentences of more than
six years, with one or two years' imprisonment more common.
As there have been no prosecutions for sex trafficking in
Iceland it is impossible to compare actual penalties.

-- D. Is prostitution legalized or decriminalized?
Specifically, are the activities of the prostitute
criminalized? Are the activities of the brothel
owner/operator, clients, pimps, and enforcers criminalized?
Are these laws enforced? If prostitution is legal and
regulated, what is the legal minimum age for this activity?
Note that in many countries with federalist systems,
prostitution laws may be covered by state, local, and
provincial authorities.

Prostitution in Iceland is illegal as a main source of
income. It is permissible for individuals to engage in
isolated sales of sex, however, as long as both parties are
at least 18 years old. The activities of clients are not
criminalized. It is illegal for any third party to earn his
or her income from someone's prostitution (the exact term in
the law is "promiscuity"),e.g. by pimping or renting out
premises.

The government plans to introduce a bill in parliament March
8 that would make prostitution legal even as a main source
of income but would ban its advertisement. The opposition
Left Green party has for several years introduced a bill in
the Althingi to criminalize the activities of clients, as in
Sweden, but the government has repeatedly blocked the bill's
passage on the ground that Iceland does not confront the
level of street prostitution seen in its Nordic neighbors.
In February 2006 Iceland's daily newspaper of record,
Morgunbladid, printed a cartoon of Iceland's libertarian
Minister of Justice dressed as a female prostitute telling a
client that it was all right to remove his mask. In the
background, bare breasts and feet are seen poking out from
urban windows, suggesting an editorial concern that
Reykjavik may be destined to become one big red-light

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district.

-- E. Has the Government prosecuted any cases against
traffickers? If so, provide numbers of investigations,
prosecutions, convictions, and sentences, including details
on plea bargains and fines, if relevant and available. Are
the traffickers serving the time sentenced: If no, why not?
Please indicate whether the government can provide this
information, and if not, why not? (Note: complete answers
to this section are essential. End Note)

No, the Government has not prosecuted any cases against
traffickers.

-- F. Is there any information or reports of who is behind
the trafficking? For example, are the traffickers freelance
operators, small crime groups, and/or large international
organized crime syndicates? Are employment, travel, and
tourism agencies or marriage brokers fronting for
traffickers or crime groups to traffic individuals?
Are government officials involved? Are there any reports of
where profits from trafficking in persons are being
channeled? (e.g. armed groups, terrorist organizations,
judges, banks, etc.)

The Ministry of Justice and police say they have no data on
who is behind any alleged trafficking beyond individual
business owners who themselves stand to profit. Some
officials suspect that Hell's Angels and Bandidos gangs in
Scandinavia may be involved in provision of nude dancers.
The Keflavik District Commissioner posits that large
international crime organizations are behind possible
transit cases (that, as noted above, have not been
prosecuted as such). He believes that branches of these
organizations in the country of origin (usually China) and
country of destination (usually the U.S.) split the profits
of their activity.

-- G. Does the government actively investigate cases of
trafficking? (Again, the focus should be on trafficking
cases versus migrant smuggling cases.) Does the government
use active investigative techniques in trafficking in
persons investigations? To the extent possible under
domestic law, are techniques such as electronic
surveillance, undercover operations, and mitigated
punishment or immunity for cooperating suspects used by the
government? Does the criminal procedure code or other laws
prohibit the police from engaging in covert operations?

As there have been no trafficking cases as such in the
reporting period, answers here are general: Police are not
permitted to engage in covert operations, but the government
does use other active investigative techniques, including
electronic surveillance. The law does not provide for
immunity for cooperating suspects, but in practice deals do
get made. In general, opportunities for mitigated
punishment are de facto available, but there is no precedent
to evaluate their use in trafficking cases.

-- H. Does the government provide any specialized training
for government officials in how to recognize, investigate,
and prosecute instances of trafficking?

Students from the Icelandic National Police College annually
participate in classes held by the Keflavik Airport
Commissioner of Police and Customs that include instruction
on recognizing and investigating human trafficking issues.
Senior Keflavik officials have themselves been funded by the
government to attend trafficking courses abroad, e.g. at the
European Police Academy.

--I. Does the government cooperate with other governments in
the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases?
If possible, can post provide the number of cooperative
international investigations on trafficking?

No such cooperation took place in the reporting period, but
experience with other types of international crime,
including alien and drug smuggling, suggests that such
cooperation would be forthcoming if requested.

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-- J. Does the government extradite persons who are charged
with trafficking in other countries? If so, can post
provide the number of traffickers extradited? Does the
government extradite its own nationals charged with such
offenses? If not, is the government prohibited by law form
extraditing its own nationals? If so, what is the
government doing to modify its laws to permit the
extradition of its own nationals?

Iceland has not been asked to extradite a trafficking
suspect to another country. Icelandic law does not permit
extradition of Icelandic nationals, and no changes to the
law are currently planned.

-- K. Is there evidence of government involvement in or
tolerance of trafficking, on a local or institutional level?
If so, please explain in detail.

No; not applicable.

-- L. If government officials are involved in trafficking,
what steps has the government taken to end such
participation? Have any government officials been
prosecuted for involvement in trafficking or trafficking-
related corruption? Have any been convicted? What actual
sentence was imposed? Please provide specific numbers, if
available.

There is no evidence of government officials being involved
in trafficking, and no government officials have ever been
prosecuted or convicted for such activity.

-- M. If the country has an identified child sex tourism
problem (as source or destination),how many foreign
pedophiles has the government prosecuted or
deported/extradited to their country of origin? Does the
country's child sexual abuse laws have extraterritorial
coverage (like the U.S. PROTECT Act)?

Not applicable.

-- N. Has the government signed, ratified, and/or taken
steps to implement the following international instruments?
Please provide the date of signature/ratification if
appropriate.

--ILO Convention 182 concerning the prohibition and
immediate action for the elimination of the worst forms of
child labor.

Ratified 5/29/2000.

--ILO Convention 29 and 105 on forced or compulsory
labor.

Convention 29 ratified 2/17/1958; Convention 105 ratified
11/29/1960.

--The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the
Rights of the Child (CRC) on the sale of children, child
prostitution, and child pornography.

Ratified 7/9/2001.

--The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children,
supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational
Organized Crime.

Signed 12/13/2000. The Ministry of Justice reports it plans
eventually to submit it to parliament for ratification but
without any firm timetable.

Note: Iceland signed the Council of Europe Convention on
Action against Trafficking in Human Beings on May 16, 2005.
The Ministry of Justice anticipates its ratification by the
Althingi in the fall of 2006. End note.


5. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS:

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-- A. Does the government assist victims, for example, by
providing temporary to permanent residency status, relief
from deportation, shelter and access to legal, medical and
psychological services? If so, please explain. Does the
country have victim care and victim health care facilities?
If so, can post provide the number of victims placed in
these care facilities?

There is no de jure provision for government assistance to
TIP victims. In theory, municipal social services and
medical care are available to victims as to other citizens
and, thanks to reimbursements to municipalities from the
Ministry of Social Affairs, foreigners. In cases involving
unaccompanied children municipal and state child protection
services are responsible for assistance. The national and
local governments may also refer to NGO's that provide food,
shelter, legal advice, and health care. While there is also
no de jure provision for grants of residence to TIP victims,
in practice the Immigration Authority has used its
discretion to offer permits to foreign women escaping
abusive, exploitative marriages.

Neither government nor Embassy sources could identify any
TIP victims assisted during the reporting period, with the
possible exception of a Kenyan woman whom the NGO's suspect
was trafficked to Britain for prostitution before escaping
to Iceland in unclear circumstances. The woman is currently
seeking asylum in Iceland. Pregnant, she requested an
abortion, but when the government had no mechanism to fund
one an NGO stepped in to do so.

-- B. Does the government provide funding or other forms of
support to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to victims?
Please explain.

The primary NGOs that provide services to victims of what
may be trafficking receive considerable financial assistance
from the government. The state budget annually allocates IKR
30.9 million (US $461,000) to the Women's Shelter and IKR
25.3 million (US $377,600) to the Icelandic Counseling and
Information Center for Survivors of Sexual Violence
(Stigamot). Other NGOs have variable allocations from the
state budget. One of those is the Women's Advice Center, a
legal clinic that will receive IKR 700,000 (US$ 10,448) in

2006. These funds are not specially earmarked for services
to TIP victims. The government does not provide funding to
foreign NGOs for services to victims.

-- C. Is there a screening and referral process in place,
when appropriate, to transfer victims detained, arrested or
placed in protective custody by law enforcement authorities
to NGO's that provide short- or long-term care?

Again it is unclear that there are any victims of
trafficking per se, but the Icelandic Red Cross has in the
past assisted persons alleged to have been smuggled. Such
individuals have been housed in hostels and guesthouses in
advance of their deportation.

-- D. Are the rights of victims respected, or are victims
also treated as criminals? Are victims detained, jailed, or
deported? If detained or jailed, for how long? Are
victims fined? Are victims prosecuted for violations of
other laws, such as those governing immigration or
prostitution?

Possible trafficking victims have been prosecuted under laws
governing immigration. Typically they have been detained
and jailed for from 30 to 45 days in advance of deportation.
The Keflavik Police Commissioner reports that some have been
offered residence in Iceland on compassionate grounds, but
in every instance they have turned down the offer -- he
believes because they are desperate to return to their
countries of origin to arrange repayment of their
traffickers in order to avoid violent retaliation against
themselves and their families.

-- E. Does the government encourage victims to assist in the
investigation and prosecution of trafficking? May victims

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file civil suits or seek legal action against the
traffickers? Does anyone impede the victims' access to such
legal redress? If a victim is a material witness in a court
case against the former employer, is the victim permitted to
obtain other employment or to leave the country? Is there a
victim restitution program?

The government encourages victims to assist in the
investigation and prosecution of trafficking. Victims may
file civil suits or seek legal action against the
traffickers. No one impedes victims' access to such legal
redress. There is no specific provision in the law to permit
a material witness in a court case against a former employer
to obtain other employment or leave the country; however,
the government has adequate discretion to make such
accommodations. There is no specific restitution program for
victims for trafficking in persons, but there is one for
victims of violence.

-- F. What kind of protection is the government able to
provide for victims and witnesses? Does it provide these
protections in practice? What type of shelter or services
does the government provide? Does it provide shelter or any
other benefits to victims for housing or other resources in
order to aid the victims in rebuilding their lives? Where
are child victims placed (e.g. in shelters, foster-care type
systems or juvenile justice detention centers)?

Please see section 5A, above.

-- G. Does the government provide any specialized training
for government officials in recognizing trafficking and in
the provision of assistance to trafficked victims, including
the special needs of trafficked children? Does the
government provide training on protections and assistance to
its embassies and consulates in foreign countries that are
destination or transit countries? Does it urge those
embassies and consulates to develop ongoing relationships
with NGOs that serve trafficked victims?

The answer to each of these questions is no. That said, the
Nordic Baltic Task Force against Trafficking in Human
Beings, of which Iceland is a member, intends to deepen the
cooperation between Nordic and Baltic embassies in order to
increase efforts to assist victims of trafficking and
eradicate TIP. The Task Force also encourages the
governments of the Nordic and Baltic states to develop
networks that facilitate the exchange of information on
trafficking trends and to educate the diplomatic corps
working in countries of destination.

-- H. Does the government provide assistance, such as
medical aid, shelter, or financial help, to its repatriated
nationals who are victims of trafficking?

There have been no such cases identified in the reporting
period. While repatriated nationals would benefit from the
same social safety net as any other Icelander, there are no
programs specifically for victims of trafficking.

-- I. Which international organizations or NGOs, if any,
work with trafficking victims? What type of services do
they provide? What sort of cooperation do they receive from
local authorities?

None/not applicable.


VAN VOORST