KNESSET SPEAKER ITZIK DETAILS GOI ANTI TRAFFICKING

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 TEL AVIV 003482 SIPDIS PLEASE PASS TO NEA/IPA AND G/TIP. E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM IS SUBJECT: KNESSET SPEAKER ITZIK DETAILS GOI ANTI TRAFFICKING EFFORTS REF: TEL AVIV 2784 ¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY In follow-up to their July 12 meeting, Speaker of the Knesset Dalia Itzik sent Ambassador Jones a letter detailing Knesset anti-trafficking actions, including two new laws that strengthen enforcement and provide trafficking victims the right to legal aid provided by the state. Itzik also wrote about amendments to the Israeli Criminal Code that, if passed as anticipated, will broaden the definition of trafficking in people to include labor trafficking, involuntary servitude and trafficking in body parts, and sent the Ambassador an English translation of a Parliamentary report on trafficking in women. END SUMMARY. ¶2. (SBU) Itzik described two laws related to trafficking that were passed during the 16th Knesset. The first was an amended 2003 Law against Trafficking in People that applies the Israeli criminal code to crimes committed by Israelis in countries where trafficking in people is not considered a crime; imposes minimum four-year sentences for trafficking in people, with increases up to 16 years if the victim is a minor; accelerates the court process to take early testimony from victims in order to allow -- not require -- their repatriation as soon as possible; and gives trafficking victims the right to legal aid provided by the state. The second law enables law enforcement authorities to shut down brothels. ¶3. (SBU) Itzik's letter also discussed two amendments prohibiting trafficking in people in ways other than for prostitution. The bills, which passed on first reading in November and December 2005, would criminalize forced labor, baby trafficking, and organ trafficking; establish maximum sentences up to 20 years; add additional measures, such as confiscating property and using the proceeds to finance enforcement efforts and protection of victims; authorize special conditions for hearings, such as proceedings in camera; and establish assistance programs for victims of trafficking, such as enabling the Minister of the Interior to allow a trafficking victim to remain legally in Israel for humanitarian reasons. Itzik wrote that discussion of the combined bill has been given priority by the Knesset Constitution, Law and Justice Committee, and that the committee chairman has stated his intention of completing the legislation process on human trafficking by the end of the 
summer recess. The bill was passed by committee August 23, although an objection on expanding legal aid to all trafficking victims -- due according to GOI sources to budget issues -- has been raised. Once the legal aid question is resolved, the bill will be put in plenary for first reading, probably in October. ¶4. (SBU) Emphasizing that the Knesset takes a "very serious" approach to eliminating human trafficking, Itzik asserted that the parliamentary inquiry committee on trafficking in women established in 2000 -- which became a parliamentary sub-committee in 2005 -- has greatly reduced trafficking in women. In conclusion, Itzik wrote that the committee is now expanding its scope to include the other forms of trafficking described earlier, and reiterated that -- along with enforcement -- protection of victims is a priority. ¶5. (SBU) Itzik also sent an English translation of the January 2006 report of the Knesset Sub-Committee on Trafficking in Women chaired by Zehava Galon. The "Report on Implementation of the Recommendations of the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Traffic in Women 2000-2004" details responsibilities of various agencies in combating trafficking, and highlights recent GOI accomplishments in combating trafficking, some of which were included in Itzik's letter and already noted. -- The GOI appointed an inter-ministerial coordinator for government efforts to combat trafficking. -- The Legal Aid Department of the Ministry of Justice expanded legal aid to include all trafficking victims, including women being held in Immigration Authority Detention Centers or Prisons. -- The estimated number of women smuggled into Israel for prostitution declined from 3,000 to "a few hundred." ¶6. (SBU) The report also offered a number of recommendations. -- The GOI must take the next step and make the coordinator position permanent. (This has been done since the report was written.) -- Reduce the number of plea bargains and increase the length of sentences and the amount and number of compensation awards. -- The police should "work at wiping out the attitude that prostitution and pimping are necessary evils, since this approach often prevents law enforcement." -- All victims of trafficking should be sent to a shelter, whether they testify or not, and authority to determine which women will be sent to a shelter should be removed from the police. ¶7. (U) The government agencies responsible for various elements of GOI anti-trafficking efforts also offered responses to the recommendations and brief summaries of their actions. ********************************************* ******************** Visit Embassy Tel Aviv's Classified Website: http://www.state.sgov.gov/p/nea/telaviv You can also access this site through the State Department's Classified SIPRNET website. ********************************************* ******************** JONES