"MELD M" ANTI-TIP OUTREACH CAMPAIGN SUCCESSFUL

UNCLAS THE HAGUE 000829 SIPDIS STATE FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, EUR/PGI, EUR/UBI SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN ELAB SMIG NL SUBJECT: "MELD M" ANTI-TIP OUTREACH CAMPAIGN SUCCESSFUL REF: THE HAGUE 334 ¶1. The "Meld M" national awareness campaign against trafficking and sexual exploitation, which was launched by the Justice Ministry on January 12, 2006 (reftel),is proving to be very successful. According to an April 12 "Meld M" press release, the anonymous crime-reporting hotline received 51 reports of forced prostitution in the first three months of 2006, compared to 42 in all of 2005. Of the 51 reports, 41 involved female victims, 3 male, and 7 underage victims. Many tips reportedly came from the clients of prostitutes. The Rotterdam-Rijnmond regional police force, which actively participates in the campaign, reported concrete results in the first quarter. Of the tips received by the police force through "M", 15 resulted in further investigations; one tip led to the arrest of an international trafficker. To avoid compromising the ongoing investigations, the police could not provide further details. Next week, the Rotterdam-Rijnmond police will start distributing Turkish and Bulgarian flyers explaining the campaign. ¶2. Comment. Initial results of the Meld M campaign continue to be promising. The increase in the number of leads, many from the clients of prostitutes, indicates that the campaign is reaching the target audience. More importantly, the awareness campaign is being complemented by law enforcement commitment to follow-up with investigations. End Comment. Blakeman