TIP - SWITZERLAND: ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 25 BERN 000200



SIPDIS



SIPDIS



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TAGS: PHUM, KCRM, KWMN, SMIG, KFRD, PREF, ELAB, SZ

SUBJECT: TIP - SWITZERLAND: ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN

PERSONS REPORT



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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

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I. SUMMARY OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS

II. OVERVIEW

III. PREVENTION

IV. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS

V. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS



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I. SUMMARY OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS

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Switzerland continued to make progress in its anti-

trafficking-in-persons practices, investigating and

prosecuting TIP cases vigorously. In 2006, federal and

cantonal police led at least 38 investigations on

trafficking or trafficking-related offenses. With

regard to prosecutions, provisional data for the first

half of 2006 show that Swiss courts made at least 11

convictions for trafficking or trafficking-related

offenses. To improve the statistics of investigations

and prosecutions and to gather national data, the

National Conference of the Cantonal Justice Ministers

decided in April 2006 to harmonize cantonal recording

practices and gather national policing statistics by

2009.



On the legal front, Parliament in March 2006

unanimously adopted a more comprehensive definition of

human trafficking, which entered into force on December

1, 2006. The new article penalizes trafficking in

persons for the purposes of sexual exploitation, labor

exploitation, or to remove a body organ. This

amendment to the Penal Code was an integral part of the

ratification of the Optional Protocol to the UN

Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale of

Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.

Switzerland ratified the Optional Protocol in October

and it entered into force on November 2006. In June

2006, Parliament adopted the ratification bill of the

two Protocols to the UN Convention against

Transnational Organized Crime to Parliament for

ratification, which Switzerland ratified in October

2006.



During 2006, the KSMM held two interdisciplinary

workshops on the assisted return and reintegration of

TIP victims and on human trafficking for the purpose of

removing body organs, punishable under the new

trafficking article in the Penal Code. The KSMM also

designed a training program for police and prosecuting

officers in the investigation of TIP cases, finishing

preparations for the first training class in combating

human trafficking. The five-day course will be held at

the Swiss Police Academy in Neuchatel in April 2007.

In January 2007 the KSMM conducted a written survey to

assess the need for specialized training among NGOs and

VictimsQ Assistance Centers. At the operational level,

the National Conference of the Chiefs of the Cantonal

Police Forces in decided in July 2006 to inaugurate an

inter-cantonal Working Group on Trafficking in Persons

and Migrant Smuggling, in order to disseminate expert

knowledge and to make recommendations on investigations

and administrative processes.



Protection: The government enacted new protective

measures for TIP victims. The number of TIP victims

receiving counseling services from professional

assistance centers for victims of crime rose from 84 in

2004 to 126 in 2005, an increase that at least one NGO

credited to improved protective measures. In 2006,

cantonal immigration authorities offered 39 trafficking

victims the 30-day stays of deportation proceedings

designed to offer them a period of contemplation and

recovery. Three trafficking victims were offered

short-term residency permits for the duration of

legal/court proceedings against their traffickers, and

three victims were granted long-term residency permits

on grounds of personal hardship after the end of court

proceedings. The Zurich-based anti-TIP NGO FIZ also

counseled more TIP victims in 2006 than the year before

and, for the first time, received public money for its

TIP-victim assistance services.





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Efforts to improve the legal protections of TIP victims

continued. In a national referendum on September 24,

2006, the Swiss electorate approved a new Federal Law

on Foreigners that brings improvements in the legal

protection of TIP victims. The new law formalizes the

process of granting TIP victims a stay of deportation

proceedings to recover from their trauma and weigh

participation in judicial proceedings. The law is

scheduled to come into force at the beginning of 2008.

As part of the implementation of the new Federal Law on

Foreigners, the Federal Office for Migration (FOM) and

Cantonal Migration Offices will also make the necessary

adjustments for the central recording of all stays-of-

deportation orders and temporary residency permits

granted to TIP victims and witnesses. In June 2006 the

lower house of Parliament began debate on the revision

of the Victims Assistance Law (OHG) that would enhance

crime victims' right to emergency protections and allow

cantons to pool resources to establish regional victim

assistance centers specializing in certain types of

crime (e.g. TIP). In December 2006, the upper house of

Parliament began plenary debate of the draft bill for a

new federal code of criminal trial proceedings that

will replace the 26 existing cantonal codes and

strengthen witness protection measures in court trial

proceedings.



Existing cantonal cooperation projects ("roundtables")

to formalize referral procedures in TIP cases between

immigration, police, and justice authorities and victim

assistance bodies continued: In Zurich, the canton

which pioneered these efforts, participants of the

anti-TIP roundtable met in November 2006 for the second

annual evaluation conference. Three more cantons have

formalized the referral process in written memoranda of

understanding during the reporting period, and efforts

to establish a formal referral process continued in

another three. As a direct result of the regulation to

stay deportation proceedings and the better cooperation

between NGOs and law enforcement officials, the number

of TIP victims willing to testify against their

traffickers has risen considerably; FIZ reports that

during 2006 almost 50 percent of victims being

counseled testified against their traffickers, compared

to fewer than ten percent a few years ago.



Prevention: The government also expanded its prevention

efforts. Swiss embassies and consulates increased

their scrutiny of visa applications for nightclub

performers, with a view toward ensuring that applicants

received valid contracts, are completely aware of their

future conditions, and are informed how to seek help

once in Switzerland. The FOM also issued new

regulations on official monitoring of the working

conditions of cabaret dancers and the contractual

obligations of the nightclub owners. Swiss agencies

continued several prevention and protection programs

abroad, valued annually at over US$ 1 million.



The three official churches of the Canton of Basel-

Landschaft, in cooperation with FIZ, developed an

exhibition to raise awareness among the general public

of the problem of trafficking in women. The exhibit

opened in Basel-Landschaft in September 2006 and will

be shown in a total of ten cantons. With a view toward

the upcoming European Soccer Cup, to be hosted by

Switzerland and Austria in 2008, the federal government

has appropriated $80,000 to kick-start public awareness

campaigns against trafficking and forced prostitution

spearheaded by the "soccer community" and NGOs. FIZ

has already begun preparations for an awareness-raising

campaign during the Euro 2008 in cooperation with

partner organizations. The goal of the FIZ campaign

will be to raise awareness among the general public of

the different forms of human trafficking and forced

prostitution as well as to call for the better

protection of victims.



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II. OVERVIEW

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A. Switzerland is primarily a country of destination

for persons being trafficked, almost exclusively women,

but transit also occurs. Trafficking occurs both

across borders and within the country. Swiss officials



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estimate the number of trafficking victims at a few

hundred per year. In 2006 Federal Police reported an

increase in the total number of prostitutes and

brothels in Switzerland; in Zurich, the police recorded

an increase of 20 percent between 2003 and 2005. The

federal police previously estimated that the total

number of prostitutes in Switzerland was approximately

14,000, roughly half of whom solicit illegally.

Federal Police assume that some of the illegal

prostitutes were brought in by traffickers, thus

putting the total number of potential trafficking

victims currently living in Switzerland at between

1,500 and 3,000. How many trafficking victims were

lured into Switzerland under false pretenses and how

many were brought in fully aware that they were going

to engage in prostitution in Switzerland is unclear,

but the distinction is of secondary importance because

under Swiss law both are punishable as human

trafficking.



B. Federal Police statistics indicate that, as in

previous years, TIP victims typically come from Eastern

Europe and the former Soviet Union (Hungary, Poland,

Bulgaria, Slovakia, Czech Republic, Slovenia, Romania,

Ukraine, Moldova),Latin America (Brazil, Dominican

Republic),Asia (Thailand, Cambodia),and to a lesser

extent from Africa (Nigeria, Cameron). The Zurich-

based Information Center for Women from Africa, Latin

America, and Eastern Europe (FIZ) reports that roughly

35 percent of the 133 TIP victims counseled in 2006

came from Latin America, another 35 percent from

Eastern Europe, about 20 percent from Asia, and the

remaining 10 percent from Africa. Trafficking into the

country is primarily performed by individuals and small

groups related through ethnic, clan, or family ties, as

well as, occasionally, organized criminals. A study

commissioned by the FOM and published in November 2005

found that the overwhelming majority of illegal

immigrants (i.e. not just TIP victims) were being

expedited by family members or personal acquaintances,

and that criminal organizations (with the exception of

illegal immigration at Zurich airport) played only a

minor role. The study "Migrant Smuggling and Illegal

Immigration in Switzerland" was based on existing data

and expert interviews.



The great majority of trafficking victims are forced

into nude dancing and prostitution. Trafficking for

the purpose of labor exploitation as domestic servants

also occurred but was very limited. Federal Police

note that there are also isolated cases of labor

exploitation in agriculture, the construction business,

and the tourism industry. In some cases, victims are

subjected to physical and sexual violence, threats to

themselves or their families or both, drugs,

withholding of documents, and incarceration. Police

estimates suggest that up to 50 percent of illegal

prostitutesQ gross income is paid to brothel owners and

traffickers who organize the passage and entry to

Switzerland. Forced to pay-off the costs for travel

and forged documents, and due to the local high cost of

living, women find themselves in a state of dependency.



C. In general, criminal cases against traffickers are

not pursued (for lack of evidence) unless their victims

are willing to testify. Since 2004, federal and

cantonal police and immigration authorities have

formalized a process of granting potential TIP victims

a stay of deportation proceedings to give them time to

recover from their trauma and to let them freely decide

whether to participate in judicial proceedings against

their tormentors. This protective measure is

incorporated in the New Federal Law on Foreigners,

which Parliament formally adopted in March 2006 and

which passed a national referendum in September 2006

(cf. section 4.D). Federal authorities have been

successfully raising awareness among cantonal

immigration authorities of the special situation of TIP

victims in order to avoid them being deported to their

countries of origin at the risk of personal harm.

Several major urban centers have established a referral

process for TIP victims in the context of regular

roundtable meetings between NGOs and cantonal justice,

police and immigration authorities. As a direct result

of the regulation to stay deportation proceedings and

the better cooperation between NGOs and law enforcement



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officials, the number of TIP victims willing to testify

against their traffickers has risen considerably.

Notwithstanding these protective measures, some TIP

victims for personal reasons (including family or

personal bonds to their erstwhile tormentors) are

unwilling to cooperate with judicial authorities.



D. The Federal Office of Police's Coordination Unit

against the Trafficking in Persons and Smuggling of

Migrants (KSMM) is the federal government's main

coordinating and monitoring body of its anti-

trafficking efforts. Through its coordinating role,

the KSMM keeps abreast of anti-trafficking efforts on

all fronts (prevention, victim protection, and

prosecution) both at the federal and cantonal level.

In addition, its remit includes monitoring of

parliamentary ratification of international conventions

and offering expert advice on trafficking-relevant

legislative reform.



The KSMM seeks to implement the action plan that its

interdepartmental steering committee adopted in 2005

(cf. section 2.H.). The steering committee monitors

and regularly evaluates implementation progress and, if

need be, amends the action plan. In the context of

surveys and assessments by regional bodies and

international organizations, the KSMM previously made

available its assessment of Swiss anti-trafficking

efforts to the Council of Europe, the OSCE and the UN.

The Federal Police's Service for Analysis and

Prevention, the government's domestic intelligence

service, does strategic analysis of human trafficking

in and throughout Switzerland and publishes some of its

findings in the Federal Police's annual report on

homeland security.



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III. PREVENTION

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A. Government officials at the highest level

acknowledge that trafficking is a problem. On the

occasion of the International Women's Day, March 8,

2006, Foreign Minister Micheline Calmy-Rey, together

with several women Members of Parliament from the major

parties, appealed to international organizations to

combat trafficking in persons vigorously. The appeal

was open for the public to sign and over 2,000

signatures from all corners of Switzerland was

spontaneously sent in. The text of the declaration

plus the signatures were sent with a letter of the

Foreign Minister to the Secretary General of the UN,

the Director General of the ILO, the Director General

of the IOM, the President of the OSCE, and the

Secretary General of the Council of Europe.



SIPDIS



In 2000, the Federal Council (cabinet) ordered the

establishment of an interdepartmental working group to

assess the need for additional government action in the

fight against human trafficking. In its final report

published in 2002, this Interdepartmental Working Group

assessed both the current and legal situation regarding

human trafficking in Switzerland. The report made

several recommendations and is the foundation of the

determined and sustained efforts of federal and

cantonal political and administrative authorities to

combat human trafficking more effectively.



B. The Federal Office of Police is the federal

government's primary actor in anti-trafficking efforts.

Two separate divisions are involved in anti-trafficking

activities: The Federal Criminal Police handles

international cooperation and investigations of

organized crime, and the Service for Analysis and

Prevention, the federal government's domestic

intelligence service, does strategic analysis of

information. Both divisions have set up a new sub-

section dealing with human trafficking and human

smuggling at the beginning of 2004. The Federal Police

also includes the KSMM, which is the federal

governments main coordinating and monitoring body of

its anti-trafficking efforts. However, the KSMM has no

direct authority to issue directives but develops anti-

trafficking strategies in consultation with

representatives of its constituting ministries that

retain final responsibility for their implementation.



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The prosecution of illegal prostitution (i.e.

prostitution without a valid work permit) and

trafficking of persons normally falls under the

jurisdiction of cantonal police and judicial

authorities. However, cases linked to organized crime

fall under the authority of the federal authorities to

investigate and prosecute. The FOM is playing a more

crucial role, particularly in easing the return of

trafficking victims and assisting in their re-

integration in their home societies (cf. section 4.D.).



The following government agencies are represented on

the Steering Committee of the KSMM and take active part

in the fight against human trafficking ranging from

prevention, to prosecution and victim protection:



At the federal level, the Ministry for Justice and

Police (Office of the Attorney General; Federal Office

of Police; Federal Office of Justice; Federal Office

for Migration),the Foreign Ministry, the Finance

Ministry (Swiss Border Guards),the Ministry of the

Interior (Federal Office for Equality of Women and

Men),the Economics Ministry (Directorate of Labor),

and the Federal Defense Department.



Since 2004, a federal police unit dealing with

pedophilia, slave trade, and people smuggling

coordinates and supports cantonal police departments in

cases involving human trafficking.



Since 2004, the Army's chief of staff manages the

training of the Swiss peacekeeping company in Kosovo

and addresses the problem of slave trade and adequate

behavior of Swiss troops abroad. The Federal

Department of Defense has been involved in the KSMM

since January 2005. There have been no reports of

Swiss military malfeasance.



At the cantonal level, representatives of the National

Conference of the Chiefs of the Cantonal Police Forces,

law enforcement agencies, equal opportunity offices,

victims assistance centers, and immigration and

naturalization authorities.



Following is a list of the agencies of the federal

government involved in anti-TIP efforts with a rough

estimate of the available resources (The list is from

2005 TIP report but information is still valid):



- Federal Office of Police:



The Federal Police budgets $800,000 (1 million Swiss

francs) per year, divided among the following offices.



- KSMM Office: Three full-time positions.

- Federal Criminal Police: Two full-time positions

in the police unit "Pedophilia, Human Trafficking and

Smuggling of Migrants", and one Police liaison officer.

- Service for Analysis and Prevention: Two full-

time positions.



In total, seven new positions were recently created;

including regional federal police coordination centers

in Zurich, Geneva, and Lausanne.



- Federal Attorney General's Office:



Given the extended authority of the Federal Attorney

General in the fight against organized crime, its staff

increased as a result. The fight against organized

human trafficking and smuggling is considered a top

priority.



- Federal Office for Equality of Women and Men:



The office financed in 2004 a new edition of the

information brochure for cabaret dancers ($19,000 or

23,000 Swiss francs) and a film project on the problem

of human trafficking ($7,250 or 9,000 Swiss francs).

About 20 percent of the staff works closely with the

KSMM and in other activities in the context of

combating human trafficking.



- Swiss Development and Cooperation Agency (SDC):





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The SDC spends about a half million dollars per year on

projects addressing the problem of Human Trafficking,

including a wide range of activities in different

countries which can be valued as an indirect

contribution to the fight against human trafficking.



- Federal Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA):



The DFA seconds two Swiss anti-trafficking experts to

the OSCE (one to the mission in Macedonia, and one as

the executive assistant to the OSCE Special

Representative on Combating Trafficking in Human

Beings). The MFA also supports anti-trafficking

projects abroad with about $1 million each year.



- Federal Department of Defense (DOD):



The Swiss DOD is active in the prevention of human

trafficking by organizing specific training modules for

members of the SWISSCOY (Switzerland's KFOR contingent

in Kosovo),LOT (Liaison and Observation Teams),and

Military Observers traveling abroad. These modules are

coordinated by the Laws of Armed Conflict Section of

the Staff of the Chief of the Armed Forces (LOAC),

together with SWISSINT, the Swiss competence centre for

peacekeeping missions abroad. An LOAC representative

will attend the 3-4 March 2005 PFP seminar in Helsinki

aimed at implementing the new NATO directive on human

trafficking.



More generally, staffing was also reinforced in the

Federal Office for Migration, the Federal Office of

Justice and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.



C. Domestic campaigns



The three official churches of the Canton of Basel-

Landschaft - Roman Catholic, Old Catholic, and

Protestant - in cooperation with FIZ, developed an

exhibition "Without Glitz and Glamour - Trafficking in

Women and Forced Prostitution," designed to raise

awareness among the general public of the problem of

trafficking in women and to stir public discussion.

The exhibit opened in Liestal in Basel-Landschaft in

September 2006 and throughout 2007 will be shown in a

total of ten cantons. The exhibit highlights the

background and motives of all stakeholders - women,

traffickers, clients - and shows the ways and means of

modern-day slavery with a special focus on Switzerland.

The KSMM took an active part in the opening ceremony of

the exhibit.



The Swiss Crime Prevention unit, a staff unit of the

National Conference of the Cantonal Justice Ministers,

in September 2005 launched a three-year information

campaign against child pornography on the Internet.

During the first year, the "Stop Child Pornography on

the Internet" campaign is meant to raise the publicQs

awareness of the criminal nature of child pornography.

The campaign has an annual budget of 300,000 Swiss

francs and conveys its message with brochures, flyers,

stickers, and a website: http://www.stopp-

kinderpornografie.ch/3/de/



The "stop child pornography on the internet" campaign

is targeting the police, children and youth, their

environment (parents, schools) as well as (potential)

consumers and perpetrators.



With a view toward the upcoming European Soccer Cup,

which Switzerland is hosting together with Austria in

2008, the federal government launched a public

awareness campaigns against trafficking and forced

prostitution. The federal interagency process handling

the Euro 2008 project organization for the government

appropriated in January 2007 $80,000 (100,000 Swiss

francs) to kick-start suitable awareness-raising and

prevention projects spearheaded by the "soccer

community" and NGOs. The money was appropriated after

a careful evaluation of the effectiveness of the

preventive measures taken during the 2006 soccer World

Cup in Germany. At a first brainstorming session, the

Euro 2008 project organization decided that such a

broad-based campaign must focus on forced prostitution

and target both potential "clients" of prostitutes and

the public at large.



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At the cantonal level, legislators are calling on

cantonal executives to take preventive measures against

trafficking and forced prostitution before and during

the Euro 2008. In Zurich, the cantonal government

formally recognized the pivotal role of the NGO Frauen

Information Zentrum-Makasi (FIZ) as a consultation

center for TIP victims and stated that an awareness-

raising campaign could be run jointly. Also in Basel

and Bern, two other Swiss host cities, local

politicians have formally called for anti-trafficking

measures. FIZ itself has already begun preparations

for an awareness-raising campaign during the Euro 2008

in cooperation with partner organizations. The goal of

the FIZ campaign will be to raise awareness among the

general public of the different forms of human

trafficking and forced prostitution as well as to call

for the better protection of victims. As a novelty,

the FIZ campaign will also target the customers of

commercial sexual services, calling on them to act

responsibly and to help potential victims get access to

aid organizations.



International campaigns:



During 2006, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)

and the DFAQs Development and Cooperation Agency (SDC)

sponsored the following anti-TIP campaigns. (The list

is not exhaustive but contains the major projects, many

of which Switzerland co-sponsored in partnership with

other countries or international organizations.) In

total DFA spends approximately 1 million Swiss francs

on various projects/expert secondments (Comment: the

exchange rate for 2006 averaged about 1.25 Swiss Francs

to the U.S. dollar. End comment):



-QColumbia, Fundacisn Esperanza: Prevention of human

trafficking - awareness raising and training government

employees, CHF 20,500;



-QSerbia/ Montenegro: NGO AWIN/ASTRA Information

office for women and girls, Pre-vention and Assistance,

November 2005 through December 2007 CHF 320,000;



-QMoldova, Terre des Hommes / Salvat Copii (NGO):

Contribution to the Fight against Child Trafficking

(FACT),CHF 500,000;



-QRussian Federation, Prevention, information

(Hotline) and reintegration for victims of human

trafficking, March 2006 - June 2007, CHF 280,000;



-QLebanon: Measures to prevent and combat

trafficking in human beings, contribution to UNODC

(October 2005 - September 2007) CHF 407,000;



-QUNODC Teheran: Anti-Trafficking-Project, Swiss

contribution: 250 000 CHF. The Swiss have a seat on

the Steering Committee of the Project;



-QLebanon: Safe House Shelter Project: Urgent

Funding to Caritas Lebanon Migration Center (CLMC): 200

000 CHF (PA IV und SDC-HH);



-QContribution to the journal Forced Migration

Review, topical issue on human trafficking.

Contribution to the journal Forced Migration Review,

topical issue sexual violence and armed conflict;



-QFunding of the translation into German of the IOM

Resource Book on Law Enforcement in the area of child

trafficking;



-QUAE: Project Vivere: Swiss contribution 100 000

CHF;



-QSupport of an exchange project of the Swiss

women's group Alliance F with Ukrainian organizations,

including on the topic of human trafficking.



Additionally, anti-trafficking messages are included in

other information and awareness raising activities

supported by Switzerland, e.g. in HIV-AIDS prevention

programme of the Red Cross Youth in Nepal (through a

street theatre project).





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D. The Foreign Ministry's Division on Human Security

and Human Rights supports a majority of projects that

seek to promote equal opportunity goals and to

strengthen women's rights (de jure and de facto). As

part of the foreign policy promoting peace and human

rights -- in accord with UNSCR 1325 on women, peace,

and security -- these programs seek to reduce the

vulnerability of women (in societies afflicted by armed

conflicts).



In 2006 the Swiss Development Agency reviewed its

priority areas. The upshot of this review has been to

define migration, including the aspect of human

trafficking, as one of the SDC's 10 priorities. In

Eastern Europe and the CIS, the importance of migration

and human trafficking projects is set to increase. The

SDC is elaborating a policy paper setting the framework

to expand its activities in the fight against human

trafficking.



In 2006 the Swiss government supported the following

projects:



-QBelarus, La Strada (Young Women Christian

association: Counter Trafficking in Women, Prevention

and Reintegration -(04 - 07),CHF 300,000;



-QBelarus, IOM: Combating Trafficking in Human

Beings: Protection and Reintegration assistance,

Contribution to the establishment of a Rehabilitation

Center in Minsk, CHF 183,000;



-QUkraine, IOM: Migration management incl. human

trafficking. Assistance, counseling, prevention, CHF

500,000;



-QMacedonia, IOM: Contribution to IOM Fight against

trafficking in human Beings, CHF 165,000;



-QGeorgia, "Protection and Assistance of trafficking

victims in Georgia", CHF 400,000;



-QSouth East Europe (Regional project),

Strengthening law enforcement capacities for fighting

human trafficking, EUR 167,000;



-QSouth East Europe (Regional project),Contribution

to the Organized Crime Training Network (OCTN) for

operational managers in SEE, EUR 192,000;



-QVietnam: Terre des Hommes: Integration of Street

children;



-QUnited Arabic Emirate, Vivere, Protection and

assistance to victims of human trafficking, December

2006 - June 2007, CHF 130,000;



-QIran, UNODC, research and assessment; training for

specialized personnel on trafficking in human beings in

Iran; support to victims of human trafficking, December

2006 - March 2008, CHF 100,000;



-QSDC: Cambodia, NGO Hagar, 1998 - 2007: CHF 1.6

million.



Additionally, SDC spreads anti-trafficking messages in

the context of other projects not explicitly focused on

human trafficking (e.g. Burma/Myanmar).



E. According to Embassy contacts, the relationship

between government authorities and NGOs is generally a

cooperative and symbiotic one. An increasing number of

cantons and cities have institutionalized regular

roundtable meetings on human trafficking to improve

cooperation between NGOs and cantonal justice and

police authorities. These roundtables have led in at

least four cantons to formalized codes of referral and

cooperation in TIP cases (cf. section 4.C.). The head

of the federal governmentQs KSMM participates in most

of these cantonal roundtable efforts, but - in accord

with Switzerland's federal structure Q only in the

capacity of an observer and consultant.



Cooperation among federal authorities and international

and local NGOs has intensified. The KSMM conducts

consultations and invites many organizations to its



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roundtables, including Terre des Hommes Switzerland,

Ecpat Switzerland, the International Organization for

Migration (IOM),Women's Information Center for Women

from Africa, Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe

(FIZ),the "Prostitution Collective Reflection"

(ProKoRe),and ASPASIE in Geneva. KSMM has regularized

these roundtables.



As part of a project to prevent trafficking and to help

the reintegration of trafficking victims in the Russian

Federation, the Swiss Development Agency "SDC" closely

cooperated with FIZ. This project of an information

(telephone) hotline for trafficking victims in the

Russian Federation was supported by SDC with 280,000

Swiss francs (cf. section 2.D.). A part of the funds

was used to invite the hotline's operators to

Switzerland where they were trained by experts from

FIZ, briefing them on the specific situation and the

needs of Russian victims of trafficking in Switzerland.



FIZ experts are also teaching an integral part of the

first training class in combating human trafficking for

police officers and law enforcement officials, which

will be held at the Swiss Police Academy in Neuchatel

in April 2007. (cf. section 3.I.)



F. Switzerland's borders are adequately monitored and

immigration regulations are stringent. Switzerland's

visa sections in countries of origin inform applicants

of "artistic visa" or L-permits about their rights when

working in Switzerland (cf section 4.G.). Information

brochures are available in 16 languages. Some

embassies have also displayed respective information on

their homepage. Furthermore, Swiss Foreign Affairs

Department officials have sensitized visa adjudicators

to the problem and have invited NGOs to give training

to embassy staff. Furthermore, the leadership of the

Swiss Border Guards, the Federal Office for Refugees,

and the Federal Office for Migration are all

represented on the KSMM to assure the flow of

information and the analysis of immigration patterns

for evidence of trafficking.



The Swiss Border Guards, an administrative unit of the

Federal Department of Finance, cooperate closely with

the Federal Office for Migration on issues of asylum

and migration. Combating irregular migration and the

smuggling of migrants is a priority for the Swiss

Border Guards. Border Guard officials receive special

training to heighten awareness of human trafficking as

part of the normal training program. Border guards

report all suspicious activities to the cantonal police

force of the area, which holds sole authority for

further criminal investigations. However, in practice

it has proven difficult for border guard officials to

spot victims of human trafficking because the latter

often give only limited information about themselves

and commonly do not denounce their traffickers out of

fear of reprisals.



The Foreign Ministry (DFA) constantly adjusts measures

to combat visa abuse, ensuring that procedures are

tailored to local conditions. Since spring 2005 the DFA

has taken the following measures: The DFA introduced

systematic risk assessments and subjects Swiss missions

to comprehensive inspections ever four years. Negative

assessments or reports of suspicious activities trigger

special inspections, as happened during 2006 at the

Swiss mission in Islamabad. On allegations of

wrongdoing, DFA closely cooperates with the Office of

the Attorney General. The DFA has also taken specific

organizational measures to reduce the risk of

corruption by working through call-centres (e.g.

Skopje, Moscow, and Bangkok) or by collecting visa fees

through bank transfers to avoid the use of cash in visa

sections (Moscow). In some mission, the facilities have

been redesigned to support visa processing and control

systems (Tel Aviv, St. Petersburg, Pristina, Prague,

and Kiev) or separate visa pavilions built (New Delhi

and Colombo). The DFA also puts special importance on

raising awareness among visa clerks and their line

managers and on their careful screening and preparation

for the task in high-risk missions.



G. The key office coordinating the anti-trafficking

efforts of the various government agencies is the KSMM,



BERN 00000200 010 OF 025





which started operations at the beginning of 2003.

Formally a part of the Federal Office of Police, the

KSMM processes and passes information and coordinates

policy within the federal administration as well as

between the federal agencies and the cantons. It is

also the primary point of contact for international

inquiries on all issues linked to illegal migration and

human trafficking, and watches over the ratification of

the UN Palermo Convention on Organized Crime and its

protocols.



The KSMM regularly convenes representatives of the

Ministry for Justice and Police (Office of the Attorney

General; Federal Office for Refugees; Federal Office of

Justice; Federal Office for Migration),the Foreign

Ministry, the Finance Ministry (Swiss Border Guards),

the Ministry of the Interior (Federal Office for

Equality of Women and Men),the Economics Ministry

(Directorate of Labor) as well as representatives of

the National Conference of the Chiefs of the Cantonal

Police Forces, law enforcement agencies, equal

opportunity offices, victims assistance centers, and

migration authorities. If the need arises, the KSMM

can also consult with external experts and NGOs.



Internationally, Switzerland was one of the initiators

of the OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human

Beings which requests from OSCE participating states

enhanced cooperation. Switzerland has been supporting

the OSCE Special Rapporteur since 2000, both

financially and with expert secondments. Switzerland

was chairing the Stability Pact Task Force on

Trafficking in Human Beings until 2004 and had to

coordinate international and national efforts.

Switzerland, furthermore, participates actively in the

negotiations for the Council of Europe Convention

against Trafficking in Human Beings, which also

requests enhanced cooperation among stakeholders.



Switzerland also substantially contributed to the NATO

Policy on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, which

was adopted at the Istanbul summit. Switzerland

initiated the first seminar to develop a training

curriculum for NATO-led forces in September 2004 at the

Geneva Center for Security Policy in the framework of

PfP. On a bilateral basis, an information exchange was

initiated in 2004 with Ukraine. The Swiss government

organized and financed the visit of an anti-trafficking

delegation to Bern. The delegation met with all main

governmental and cantonal actors, including NGOs. This

visit provided an ideal opportunity to share

information on victim protection and prosecution and

identify possible areas of closer co-operation.



At the operational level, Switzerland runs bilateral

cooperation programs with various countries, and is

member of Interpol. Switzerland is active in

Interpol's working group against human trafficking and

cooperates with the European Police Office (EUROPOL)

since September 2004. Parliament approved the

ratification of the Swiss-EUROPOL bilateral agreement

on October 7, 2005. The scope of bilateral cooperation

with EUROPOL will cover eight criminal areas, including

human trafficking.



H. The KSMM seeks to implement the action plan that its

interdepartmental steering committee adopted in 2003

and revised in 2005. Taking note of the Federal

Cabinet and the cantons, the action plan prioritizes

the final recommendations of the 2001 Interagency

Working Group on Human Trafficking (following is a

listed of achievements made in 2006):



- Revision of the Penal Code on Human Trafficking:

Extension of the definition of TIP as part of the

ratification of the Optional Protocol to the Convention

on the Rights of the Child regarding the sale of

children, child prostitution and child pornography:

Parliament adopted the bill in March 2006, and the

revised article on human trafficking in the Penal Code

entered into force on December 1, 2006 (cf. Section

3.A.).



- Revision of the Federal Law on Foreigners: The bill

includes a temporary residence permit for TIP victims

and witnesses as well as financial aid to facilitate



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the return of trafficked victims. The final draft

passed Parliament in December 2005 and the electorate

approved the new law in a national referendum in

September 2006. The law is scheduled to enter into

force at the beginning of 2008 (cf. section 4.D).



- Cantonal cooperation projects ("roundtables"):

Cantonal cooperation mechanisms have been formalized in

written codes of cooperation and referral in Zurich,

Luzern, St. Gallen, and Solothurn and roundtable

initiatives continued or were started in, Bern,

Fribourg, Basel-Landschaft, and Basel-Stadt (cf.

section 4.C.).



- Specialized training for government officials: KSMM

organized two workshops, finalized an anti-TIP training

program for police officers and prosecutors, and

conducted a survey to assess the need for specialized

training for NGOs and Victims' Assistance Centers (cf.

Section 3.I).



- Better protection of cabaret/night club dancers (L-

visa) holders: The Federal Department of Foreign

Affairs extended its information and prevention program

to all Swiss consulates worldwide and the Federal

Office for Migration issued new regulations on official

monitoring of working conditions of cabaret dancers

(cf. section 4.F.)



- Better statistics on investigations/prosecutions

and victims assistance: In April 2006 the National

Conference of the Cantonal Justice Ministers decided to

implement the project to harmonize cantonal recording

practices and gather national policing statistics

regarding TIP investigations and prosecutions (cf.

section 3.F.). As part of the ongoing implementation

of the new Federal Law on Foreigners, the FOM and

Cantonal Migration Offices will make the necessary

adjustments in the federal registry on foreigners for

the central recording of all stays-of-deportation

orders and temporary residency permits granted to TIP

victims and witnesses.



-------------- ---

IV. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS

-------------- ---



A. The Swiss Penal Code has two articles specifically

prohibiting trafficking in persons: Article 196

stipulates that anyone trafficking in persons in order

to promote acts of indecency by others shall be liable

to a prison term of a minimum of six months and a

maximum of twenty years. Anyone making preparations to

trade in persons shall be subject to up to five years

imprisonment. Either case shall include a fine.



On December 1, 2006, the new article 182 of the Penal

Code on Trafficking in Persons entered into force.

Article 182 supplanted the older Penal Code article

196, which penalized trafficking solely for the

purposes of sexual exploitation. The new definition of

trafficking under article 182 is more comprehensive and

explicitly penalizes trafficking in persons for the

purposes of sexual exploitation, labor exploitation, or

to remove a body organ. Under article 182 anyone

acting as the supplier, broker, or buyer in the

trafficking of a human being is liable to imprisonment

or a fine. The act of recruiting an individual for the

purposes aforementioned also qualifies as trafficking

and is liable to the same punishment.



If the trafficking victim is a minor under 18 years of

age or if the perpetrator repeatedly engages in human

trafficking, the minimum penalty is a prison sentence

of one year. In any case, the perpetrator is liable to

a fine.



Article 182 applies universally; traffickers are

subject to prosecution in Switzerland even if the act

of trafficking was committed abroad, and regardless of

whether trafficking is a crime in the foreign country

where the act took place.



Article 195 covers the promotion of prostitution and

states that anyone inducing a person into prostitution

by abusing a situation of dependency or promising



BERN 00000200 012 OF 025





pecuniary advantage, anyone impairing a prostitute's

freedom of movement by checking on the activities in

question or fixing the place, time or extent or any

other circumstances of the prostitution, or anyone

secluding a person for prostitution shall be liable to

imprisonment.



Other forms of trafficking or exploitation of human

beings are implicitly covered by the Penal Code's

provisions against threat, coercion, deprivation of

personal liberty, and kidnapping (Articles 180, 181,

183). The Immigration and Naturalization Law

penalizes facilitating the illegal immigration of

foreigners into Switzerland as well as the employment

of foreigners without proper work permission. The

Constitution implicitly bans forced or compulsory

labor. Article 27 provides for economic freedom and

explicitly guarantees the right to choose freely one's

profession as well as unrestrained access to and

unencumbered exercise of a gainful occupation. Forced

or bonded labor by children is explicitly forbidden

under Article 30 of the 1964 Labor Act.



New Developments:

--------------



The Penal Code Article 182, which supplanted Article

196 and extended the definition of human trafficking,

was adopted by Parliament on March 24, 2006 and entered

into force on December 1, 2006. The re-definition of

trafficking in the Penal Code was part of the

ratification bill of the Optional Protocol to the

Convention on the Rights of the Child regarding the

sale of children, child prostitution and child

pornography, to which Switzerland is a signatory.

After Parliament adopted the ratification bill,

Switzerland ratified the Optional Protocol on October

27, 2006. For Switzerland the Protocol entered into

force on November 26, 2006.



On January 1, 2007, a partial revision of the Penal

Code entered into force. Under Article 5 of the

revised Penal Code certain criminal infractions,

notably human trafficking (Article 182) and forced

prostitution of minors under 18 years of age (Article

195),are now subject to universal prosecution.

Traffickers are thus liable to prosecution in

Switzerland, even if the act of trafficking was

committed abroad, and regardless of whether the

trafficking act is a crime in the foreign country where

it took place.



The partial revision of the Penal Code also introduces

a new system of fines based on a convict's relative

income level. Under the new system, fines can be

levied instead of jail sentences of less than 6 months.

Suspended sentences remain possible. The maximum

financial penalty is 10,800 Swiss Francs, but the court

sets the amount due according to the gravity of the

criminal act and sets the value of the daily rate in

accord with the convict's economic situation at the

time of the verdict. The maximum daily rate is 3,000

Swiss francs, up to 360 days.



B. The maximum sentence for trafficking in persons is a

prison term of twenty years; the maximum punishment has

been the same for both the old Penal Code Article 196

(valid until November 30, 2006) as well as the new

Penal Code Article 182 (effective since December 1,

2006). Coercing someone into prostitution or

restricting a prostitute's personal freedom (Penal Code

Article 195) can carry a prison sentence of up to ten

years.



C. Under Penal Code Article 182, effective since

December 1, 2006, the penalties prescribed for

trafficking for labor exploitation are the same as for

trafficking for sexual exploitation. The minimum

penalty is a fine; if the victim was a minor under 18

years of age, the minimum penalty is a one-year prison

sentence. Maximum penalty is 20 years in prison.

Article 182 explicitly prohibits all acts related to

labor trafficking - recruitment, supply, transfer, or

the receipt of persons being trafficked. Thus, both

the labor recruiters in labor source countries and the

employers or labor agents in labor destination



BERN 00000200 013 OF 025





countries are subject to prosecution in Switzerland.

Article 182 applies universally; labor recruiters are

subject to prosecution in Switzerland, even if the act

was committed in a foreign country where labor

trafficking may not constitute a criminal offense. As

Penal Code Article 182 entered into force only on

December 1, 2006, it is too soon to gauge the

punishments actually imposed on persons convicted of

labor trafficking offenses.



D. Rape and forcible sexual assault, and other sex

crimes are also penalized. Articles 187 and 188 of the

Penal Code address sexual activity with minors and

sexual acts with dependent persons, punishable with up

to five years imprisonment; Article 189 punishes

coercion to sexual activity with a maximum ten year

prison sentence; according to Articles 190 and 191, the

crimes of rape and sexual violations each carry a

sentence of up to ten years imprisonment; Article 193

states that taking advantage of a person's distress or

dependency due to employment or any other condition

shall be liable to imprisonment for up to three years.



E. Prostitution is legal for Swiss citizens and foreign

residents with valid work permits if the practitioners

are registered with police and comply with taxation and

other cantonal requirements. A 1992 amendment to the

Federal Criminal Code decriminalized pimping, and

brothel owners may legally sublet room and negotiate

the terms with the prostitutes. However, the Criminal

Code penalizes abusing a state of dependency to induce

someone into prostitution or restricting a prostitute's

freedom with a prison term of up to ten years. Clients

are not liable before the law, unless they knowingly

engage in sexual relations with a prostitute younger

than the required minimum age of 18 years.



Some cantons have adopted more stringent laws

regulating the sex trade. Effective September 1, 2004,

the Canton of Vaud implemented a restrictive law on

prostitution allowing police to close on-the-spot for a

period of three months brothels that fail to register

with police, make false declarations on the identity of

those working on the premises, or do not meet minimum

criteria regarding hygiene, security, or the respect of

public order. Police may permanently shut down a

brothel in case of repeat violations of the types

listed above, in case of gross violations against

public order or hygiene, or in case of a felony.

Threats, coercion, or violence against prostitutes,

employment of minors, or the abuse of any situation of

distress will be punished in the same fashion. The law

provides for police inspection of the brothel premises,

the persons staying there as well as their private

accommodations. Other cantons, such as Geneva and

Ticino, have adopted new legislation regulating the sex

trade and Neuchatel is in the process of doing so.



F. The investigation and prosecution of forced

prostitution and human trafficking as well as the

protection of victims in Switzerland normally fall

under the jurisdiction of the cantons, and national

statistics lag by 6-18 months.



Investigations & Prosecutions:

--------------



Under Switzerland's federal structure, the cantons hold

jurisdiction over most criminal infractions, and

statistical records of reported crime and police

investigations, not to mention data processing

software, vary greatly from canton to canton. Thus,

some cantons compile anti-trafficking statistics by

numbers of criminals arrested, others (like Zurich) do

so by the number of victims of those arrested. At its

spring meeting on April 6, 2006, the National

Conference of the Cantonal Justice Ministers decided to

implement the project to harmonize cantonal recording

practices and gather national policing statistics in

coordination with the Federal Government. The project

(which aims to produce detailed figures for the first

time in 2009) aims to provide much more detailed and

reliable data than are available today. It has been

ascertained that both human trafficking and the

smuggling in human beings will be recorded in the

nascent data base. A project management body was



BERN 00000200 014 OF 025





formed during 2006.



In 2002, federal police conducted a study on cantonal

police investigations regarding various criminal

infractions. The 2002 study established that

countrywide 20-40 cases of trafficking in persons and

50-80 cases of forced prostitution are on average being

reported to police. According to Federal Police/KSMM,

sample data from individual cantons shows that reports

of trafficking and forced prostitution have risen

recently.



The following updated prosecution statistics were

provided by KSMM in March 2006 for the cantons of

Zurich and Ticino, which together comprise about one

fifth of the Swiss population. The statistics show a

dramatic increase in the number of victims assisted

through the arrest of their tormentors.



Canton Zurich 2002 2003 2004 2005



Art. 196 3 13 8 47

Art. 195 10 12 17 50

Total 13 25 25 97



Zurich statistics record the number of identified

victims



Canton Ticino 2002 2003 2004 2005

(Number of perpetrators arrested)

Art. 196 1 2 5 4

Art. 195 2 7 5 2

Total 3 9 10 6



Ticino statistics record the number of prosecutions

(one prosecution may include several perpetrators and

several victims)



The following statistics on police investigations &

prosecutions were provided by KSMM in mid-February 2007

for the cantons of Zurich, Ticino, Solothurn, Vaud, and

Bern.



Zurich:

Police led nine investigations in 2006 (seven in Zurich

City and two in the rest of the canton) on trafficking

in persons and/or forced prostitution



Ticino:

Police led four investigations in 2006 on trafficking

in persons and/or forced prostitution



Solothurn:

Police in 2006 led one investigation on trafficking and

five investigations on forced prostitution.



Vaud:

Police in 2006 led one investigation on trafficking.



Bern:

Police in 2006 completed 5 investigation on trafficking

and forced prostitution by handing the cases to the

prosecuting authorities.



Federal Government:

The Federal Criminal Police during 2006 led one

investigation for trafficking in person in cooperation

with counterparts from Brazil.



Adding up these numbers, police investigated at least

38 trafficking cases in 2006 (i.e. 9 Zurich + 4 Ticino

+ 5 Solothurn + 1 Vaud + 5 Bern + 1 Federal Criminal

Police + 13 investigations spanning several countries,

in which the Federal Criminal Police adopted a

coordinating role).



CONVICTIONS:



--------------

Year Art. 196 Art. 195 Total

--------------

1999 7 14 21

2000 5 17 22

2001 2 17 19

2002 2 11 13

2003 7 6 13



BERN 00000200 015 OF 025





2004 2 12 14

2005* 11 12 23

2006** 2 9 11



* Provisional statistics; final numbers likely to be

higher after defendants exhaust possibilities of appeal



** January-June only



At least four additional first-instance convictions

under article 196 occurred in 2006 but are not yet

included in the official statistics as appeals are

pending. Two of these court trials in Zurich and Bern

Canton during 2006 ended with lengthy prison sentences

for the traffickers.



In Zurich, a court ruled in spring 2006 in a

trafficking case involving mainly victims from Brazil

who were exploited in the Zurich area. The court

sentenced the two main culprits to 27 and 18 months in

prison, respectively. Five additional convicts received

prison sentences between one and 18 months. The Zurich

prosecutor appealed the first-instance verdict.



In Bern, a court in spring 2006 heard a trafficking

case involving victims from Eastern Europe who were

sexually exploited in three establishments in Bern and

Solothurn Canton. The court sentenced the main culprit

to six years behind bars and the two co-defendants to

two-and-a-half year unsuspended prison terms each. A

fourth defendant received an 18 month suspended prison

sentence. The convicts have appealed the verdict; the

appeals process is scheduled for April 2007.



More up-to-date statistics on the number of

prosecutions, convictions and related sentences will be

provided as these figures will become available later

in the year.



Both Penal Code articles directly cover trafficking:

Article 195 applies to the pimp or brothel owner

exploiting a prostitute, and Article 196 the actual

trafficking agent. (Comment: Each conviction involves

several instances of trafficking; in the biggest case

so far from canton Ticino in 2000, prosecutors were

able to prove that the same perpetrators were guilty of

87 instances of trafficking. End comment.) Embassy

contacts note that cantonal authorities prefer to

initiate legal proceedings under Article 195 of the

Penal Code (promotion of prostitution),because it is

easier and less time consuming than the lengthy and

intensive investigations required to establish a case

of human trafficking, which often involve several

disparate people operating both abroad, as well as

domestically.



On April 29, 2002, the Federal Tribunal decided that

hiring women, even consenting women, from abroad to

engage in prostitution qualified as human trafficking

if her abusers exploited a situation of distress.



SENTENCES:



2003



Art. 196



Number of Sentences

-------------- --------------

Unsuspended prison sentence 4

Suspended prison sentences 3



Length of sentence Min Max Average

-------------- --------------

Unsuspended 360 1650 990 days

Suspended 294 days



Art. 195



Number of Sentences

-------------- --------------

Unsuspended prison sentence 4

Suspended prison sentences 2



Length of sentence Average

-------------- --------------



BERN 00000200 016 OF 025





Unsuspended 913 days

Suspended 335 days



2004



Art. 196



Number of Sentences

-------------- --------------

Unsuspended prison sentence 0

Suspended prison sentences 2



Length of sentence Average

-------------- --------------

Unsuspended n/a days

Suspended 314 days



Art. 195



Number of Sentences

-------------- --------------

Unsuspended prison sentence 5

Suspended prison sentences 7



Length of sentence Average

-------------- --------------

Unsuspended 1388 days

Suspended 134 days



2005



Art. 196



Number of Sentences

-------------- --------------

Unsuspended prison sentence 3

Suspended prison sentences 8



Length of sentence Average

-------------- --------------

Unsuspended 360 days

Suspended 254 days



Art. 195



Number of Sentences

-------------- --------------

Unsuspended prison sentence 1

Suspended prison sentences 11



Length of sentence Average

-------------- --------------

Unsuspended 487 days

Suspended 146 days



G. As best as police can determine, trafficking into

Switzerland is primarily performed by individuals, or

small groups related through ethnic, clan, or family

ties, as well as, occasionally, organized criminals.

Often, the perpetrators and victims are from the same

cities and regions. In addition to men, women also

play a role in the recruitment, intermediary, or

exploitation process. In 2005, half of the convicted

traffickers were women.



Swiss officials believe the majority of profits from

trafficking are retained by the individual

perpetrators, though some funds may be diverted into

other illegal activities.



H. The Government investigates cases of human

trafficking using active investigative techniques such

as undercover operations. Prosecutors are permitted to

mitigate punishment or grant immunity when a criminal

act was performed under real or perceived coercion.

Remorse can also be weighed in the sentencing if the

perpetrator assists in the investigation of a case.

Undercover investigations are allowed for trafficking

investigations; a new Federal statue was introduced in

January 2005 to unify cantonal practices. Witness

identity may also be shielded under certain

circumstances.



Under the new Federal Law on Foreigners, scheduled to

become effective January 1, 2008, a serious violation

of the immigration regulations will qualify as a felony



BERN 00000200 017 OF 025





and no longer as a misdemeanor. Police may then

investigate using undercover operations and

wiretapping. (A violation of the immigration

regulations is considered serious if it either occurs

repeatedly or is motivated by material gain.) This is

relevant for trafficking investigations because it

effectively lowers the barrier for a court order

permitting undercover operations, because according to

police it is easier to build a case on suspicion of

migrant smuggling than of trafficking. Once undercover

operations have been authorized, police investigations

may lead to a prosecution for trafficking charges.

Under current legislation (effective until December 31,

2007) undercover and surveillance investigative

techniques are permitted on suspicion of trafficking,

but not of migrant smuggling.



I. Investigators of the Federal Criminal Police receive

specialized training in investigating incidences of

organized crime, including human trafficking. Under

the Efficiency Bill, effective January 1, 2001, the

Federal Criminal Police obtained from the cantons the

jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute more complex

cases of human trafficking that span several cantons or

are linked to organized crime. The Federal Criminal

Police also handles international cooperation in the

investigation of incidences of human trafficking.



During 2006, the KSMM continued its specialized

training programs for federal and cantonal officials.



Workshops:

--------------



During 2006 the KSMM held two interdisciplinary

workshops with representatives from federal and

cantonal justice, police, and migration departments as

well as private and public victims' assistance centers

on the following topics:



- May 10 Assisted return and reintegration for TIP

victims: The International Office for Migration, the

Swiss Red Cross, FIZ as well as the Federal Office for

Migration presented projects for the assisted return

and reintegration into the society of their countries

of origin for TIP victims and other persons in need.



- November 21 TIP for the purpose of removing body

organs: Workshop to discuss Swiss organ transplantation

policy as well as the international market in donor

organs in view of the implementation of the Penal Code

Article 182 that penalizes trafficking for the purposes

of removing body organs.



Training of police and prosecuting officers:

--------------



Preparations for the first training class in combating

human trafficking for police officers and law

enforcement officials have been completed. The five-day

course will be held at the Swiss Police Academy in

Neuchatel in April 2007. (As police officers are

trained at the cantonal level, the Swiss police academy

serves as a national institute for cantonal police

officers to undergo periodic specialized training).

The course is targeted to cantonal police forces,

immigration officials, as well as interested person

from justice ministries and prosecuting offices. The

course will be held in German; the same course will be

held in French at the end of 2007 or the beginning of

2008.



To achieve maximum impact and acceptance among the

Swiss Policing Community, the KSMM in consultation with

the National Conference of the Chiefs of the Cantonal

Police Forces chose the Head of the Investigative Unit

of the Zurich City Police as the main instructor of the

training course. The KSMM finalized the program of the

course evaluated all other instructors teaching classes

of the training module. Some classes of the training

module will be taught by experts from the anti-TIP NGO

FIZ.

The topics of the training program include the

following:



- National and international analysis regarding TIP,



BERN 00000200 018 OF 025





including prostitution, modes of operation, countries

of origin and transit, financing, criminal

organizations and networks;

- Identification of TIP victims;

- Questioning of TIP victims;

- Legal basis of prosecution;

- Victims assistance, protection, and aid in returning;

- Legal aspects of stays of TIP victims in Switzerland;

- Multi-stakeholder approach and cooperation among

justice, police, migration offices and victims

assistance centers/NGOs;

- Best police investigation practices;

- Best law enforcement practices.



Awareness raising seminar

--------------



In order to promote the upcoming training module among

the Chiefs of the Criminal Division of the Cantonal

Police Forces and Heads of Immigration Offices, the

KSMM together with the Zurich City Police and the Bern

Cantonal Police on December 7 hosted an awareness

raising seminar on combating trafficking in persons.

The purpose was to show participants the various

aspects of trafficking in persons and to illustrate

best policing practices.



National Working Group on Trafficking in Persons and

Migrant Smuggling

-------------- --------------



The National Conference of the Chiefs of the Cantonal

Police Forces in July 2006 decided to install an inter-

cantonal Working Group on Trafficking in Persons and

Migrant Smuggling. The Working Group comprises

representatives from the regional police concordats,

the airport police, the Zurich and Ticino police

forces, and the Federal Office of Police. Tasks of the

Working Group include networking at the operational

level, promoting expert knowledge, holding conferences

for administrative officials, and to make

recommendations on investigations and administrative

processes. The Working Group will hold its first

session during 2007 and is expected to convene 1-2

times per year. The Working Group goes back to a KSMM

initiative and is headed by the Head of the

Investigative Unit of the Zurich City Police.



Survey to assess the need for training among NGOs

and Victims' Assistance Centers

-------------- --------------



The training course at the Swiss Police Academy in

Neuchatel in April 2007 targets primarily police law

enforcement and migration officials. In order to assess

the need for specialized training among NGOs and

Victims' Assistance Centers, the KSMM in January 2007

conducted a written survey of some 500 institutions

(including hospitals) dealing with victims of crime and

vulnerable persons. The results of this survey are

expected for spring 2007.



J. The Swiss government readily cooperates with other

governments in the investigation and prosecution of

trafficking cases. Police contacts disclosed to

Embassy that the Federal Criminal Police in 2006

provided assistance in 647 instances in response to

international inquiries relating to human trafficking,

compared to 550 during 2005. According to Federal

Police, the increased investigation and coordination

activities in Switzerland and the intensified

cooperation with domestic and foreign police

authorities accounts for this increase. The Federal

Criminal Police takes part in the expert working groups

of both Europol and Interpol. During 2006, there were

13 investigations spanning several countries, in which

the Federal Criminal Police adopted a coordinating

role. (Comment: The Federal Criminal Police asks for

the latter figure not to be published because its lead

role automatically implies the investigation of

organized crime.) During 2006, the Federal Criminal

Police led one major investigation of a trafficking

operation, together with partners from Brazil.



Since 2004 Switzerland has had a bilateral cooperation

accord between Europol and the Swiss Police, allowing



BERN 00000200 019 OF 025





the latter to tap into Europol's intelligence files on

organized crime, drug trafficking and terrorism. Under

the terms of the agreement, Swiss Federal Police have

assigned to The Hague a liaison officer whose role is

to support and coordinate the cooperation between

Switzerland and other EU countries. There is also a

Swiss Police liaison at the headquarters of Interpol.



In July 2002, the government signed a legal assistance

treaty in criminal matters with the Philippines that

allows Philippine victims of Swiss pedophiles to give

anonymous tips to Swiss authorities. The MLAT provides

for the voluntary exchange of information short of a

legal assistance request as well as the questioning of

witnesses and experts by videoconference. Parliament

approved the legal assistance treaty on June 17, 2005.

Since 2003, a Swiss police attache has been stationed

in Bangkok to coordinate criminal investigations and to

act as a liaison between Swiss and Thai police

authorities. Swiss police attaches are also present in

Brazil, Italy, Germany, Czech Republic, and the United

States. Traveling to South Eastern Europe in September

2005, Justice Minister Blocher signed bilateral police

cooperation agreements with Albania, Macedonia, and

Romania. Since 2006 there has also been a Swiss Police

liaison present in Macedonia.



K. Extradition is permitted if the act in question is

punishable under Swiss law and the law of the

requesting state, liable to a term of imprisonment of

at least one year, and no Swiss court is competent in

the matter. No Swiss national shall be extradited to a

foreign country for penal prosecution or execution of a

verdict without his or her written consent. The person

in question may revoke consent until the order for the

extradition is issued. A request for extradition is

complied with only if the requesting country accords

reciprocity. Foreigners may be extradited to another

state for offenses punishable under its laws or for

serving a term of imprisonment if this state applies

for extradition or accepts, upon request of the Swiss

authorities, to prosecute the person in question or to

execute a verdict cast by Swiss authorities. Swiss

Police statistics record extraditions only by country

so no extraditions statistics are available for

specific criminal offenses. There have been no changes

to extradition law.



L. Trafficking is not tolerated in Switzerland, and

there are no indications or reports that government

officials are involved.



M. N/A



N. The 2002 partial revision of the Penal Code

providing for the extraterritorial coverage of

Switzerland's child sexual abuse laws entered into

force on January 1, 2007. Henceforth anybody who

violated Swiss child sexual abuse laws is subject to

prosecution in Switzerland under the extraterritorial

provisions of the Penal Code regardless of the

legislation of the foreign country where the abuse took

place.



O. The Federal Government ratified the ILO Convention

182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for

the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor on

June 28, 2000. The Convention entered into force in

Switzerland on November 19, 2000. Switzerland ratified

the ILO Convention 29 on May 23, 1940, and it entered

into force May 23, 1941. Switzerland ratified the ILO

Convention 105 on July 18, 1958, and it entered into

force on July 18, 1959.



The Swiss Government signed the Optional Protocol to

the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Sale

of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography

on September 7, 2000. Parliament adopted the

ratification bill on March 24, 2006. Switzerland

ratified the Optional Protocol on October 27, 2006, and

it entered into force into force on November 26, 2006.

(cf. section 3a). On April 2, 2002, the Swiss

Government signed the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and

Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and

Children as well as the Protocol against the Smuggling

of Migrants by Land, Sea and Air, which both supplement



BERN 00000200 020 OF 025





the UN Convention against Transnational Organized

Crime. Parliament adopted the ratification bill on

June 23, 2006. Switzerland ratified the two protocols

on October 27, 2006.



--------------

V. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS

--------------



A. Under the Swiss Victims Assistance Law (OHG),which

came into force in 1993, TIP victims, regardless of

their immigration status, are entitled to free and

immediate material and medical aid as well as

psychological, social, and legal assistance. Local

victims assistance centers have to provide TIP victims

with a minimum of 14 days of emergency lodging, 14 days

of living allowance, 4 hours of consultation with a

lawyer and 5 sessions of psychotherapy, with all other

expenses for medical treatment, transportation,

personal safety, or translation services being covered

by the government. If recovery requires more time, the

government is obligated to assume the additional cost

of longer-term care. The victims' assistance center

may lodge a TIP victim in a shelter for battered women.



Federal government statistics show that in 2005 (most

recent figures available) a total of 126 victims of

human trafficking or forced prostitution received help

from victims assistance centers, compared to 84 in 2004

(aggregate statistical records that are not broken down

for the two separate infractions). Under the

guidelines that the Federal Office for Migration sent

to cantonal immigration authorities in August 2004, TIP

victims who are staying in Switzerland illegally are

automatically granted a 30-day minimum stay of

deportation proceedings, and are permitted to stay in

Switzerland if a return to their country of origin is

not reasonable (cf. section 4.D).



On November 9, 2005, the Federal Council submitted to

Parliament the draft bill for a complete revision of

the Victims Assistance Law (OHG). The lower house of

Parliament began the debate on the revision of the OHG

on June 22, 2006. Proposed amendments include

entitling victims of crime with a legal right to

emergency lodging as well as extending the period

during which victims may seek financial compensation

from their tormentors. The draft bill also provides

for more equitable burden-sharing of the cost of

providing victims assistance among the cantons, which

would allow the urban centers to offer more specialized

services for victims, e.g. a victims assistance center

supporting only TIP victims. The Zurich-based FIZ in

November 2004 launched such a center assisting only TIP

victims, called FIZ Makasi. During 2006, the Canton of

Luzern made a financial contribution to FIZ Makasi.

The cantons of Bern and Solothurn as well as the

Federal Government paid FIZ Makasi consultation fees

for the counseling services offered to TIP victims

under their jurisdiction. The Canton of Zurich

supports the mother agency, FIZ. In February 2007, the

government of the Canton of Zurich opened negotiations

on a possible contribution to FIZ Makasi.



B. Federal and cantonal governments provide funding to

NGOs and women shelters that provide services to TIP

victims. Under the OHG, all cantons are obligated to

offer TIP victims the services listed above (cf.

section 4.A.). Funding of the victims assistance

centers is a matter of the cantons and no federal

statistics are being reported. In addition to the

official victims assistance centers, other domestic

NGOs receive public money. For example, the Zurich-

based WomenQs Information Center for Women from Africa,

Latin America, and Eastern Europe (FIZ) receives

roughly 30 percent of its $570,000 budget (710,000

Swiss francs) from federal, cantonal, and city

government (These public contributions are independent

of the compensation of FIZ for counseling services

offered to individual victims of TIP). Internationally,

the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2006 channeled

more than 1.5 million Swiss francs to International

Organizations and NGOs providing services to TIP

victims, two-thirds through its development aid arm SDC

and the rest through its diplomatic division.





BERN 00000200 021 OF 025





C. Several major urban centers have established a

referral process for TIP victims in the context of

regular roundtable meetings between NGOs and cantonal

justice, police and immigration authorities. In

Zurich, which under FIZ's leadership pioneered these

efforts, city and cantonal representatives of the

police, the immigration office, the prosecutor's

office, the equal opportunity office, and FIZ have

regularly met since 2001 to improve the protection and

security of victims by regulating the procedures for

identifying and referring TIP victims for assistance.

The Zurich efforts culminated in November 2004 in a

"letter of intent" by the local authorities underlining

the importance of improved cooperation with FIZ and

delineating areas of concerted action. In November

2006, participants of the Zurich anti-TIP roundtable

met for an annual evaluation conference. During the

reporting period, round tables in the three cantons of

Luzern, St. Gallen, and Solothurn have each adopted a

formal a code of cooperation and referral process in

TIP cases in written memoranda of understanding.

Efforts to establish a formal referral process for TIP

victims continued in Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, and

Fribourg. Two cantons, Fribourg and Basel-Landschaft,

have launched their cantonal roundtable initiatives as

a result of the first national expert congress on human

trafficking hosted by the KSMM in Bern on November 3,

2005. The southern Canton of Ticino bordering on Italy

has a working group which comprises representatives of

the police, the social security and immigration

departments, and NGOs. The working was established to

watch the implementation of the cantonal law on

prostitution and has been operating since 2002.



The KSMM's expert working group on human trafficking

has drafted a manual "Cooperation Mechanisms for

Combating Trafficking in Human Beings" based on the

experiences of the Zurich roundtable efforts, which the

KSMM has been following closely. The manual for the

consumption of cantonal political and administrative

authorities recommends best practices for cooperation

and information exchange between justice, police, and

immigration authorities and victims assistance

organizations. After the expert working group adopted

a first draft in January 2005, the KSMM distributed the

manual among federal and cantonal officials in its two

workshops on cantonal cooperation mechanisms in early

2005 and made the new guidelines public on the occasion

of the first national expert congress on human

trafficking on November 3, 2005.



D. In August 2004, the Federal Office for Migration

sent to cantonal immigration authorities a set of

binding guidelines on offering temporary residency

status to TIP victims. Cantonal immigration

authorities are to grant TIP victims a period of

reflection and stay of deportation proceedings for a

minimum of 30 days. Cantonal immigration authorities

may routinely admit TIP victims willing to cooperate

with judicial authorities for up to three months or may

issue short-term residency permits (with the consent of

the federal authorities) if the criminal investigations

are likely to take longer. After the end of either the

reflection period or the criminal investigation and

court proceedings, TIP victims have to leave the

country. However, cantonal authorities may grant a

residency permit in cases of serious personal hardship.



Upon request of the cantonal immigration authorities,

the Federal Office for Migration will grant TIP victims

temporary admission in Switzerland when they determine

that a victim's cooperation as a witness in criminal

proceedings would create the risk of personal harm or

when a return to the country of origin is deemed

unreasonable. In 2006, cantonal immigration

authorities offered 39 trafficking victims the 30-day

stays of deportation proceedings designed to offer them

a period of contemplation and recovery. Three

trafficking victims were offered short-term residency

permits for the duration of legal/court proceedings

against their traffickers, and three victims were

granted long-term residency permits on grounds of

personal hardship after the end of court proceedings.

In a national referendum September 24, 2006, the Swiss

electorate approved a new Federal Law on Foreigners

that brings improvements in the legal protection of TIP



BERN 00000200 022 OF 025





victims. The Federal Parliament had adopted the law in

December 2005 but -- objecting to various non-TIP-

related provisions in the law -- a coalition of left-

of-center parties and civil society groups had

challenged it by means of a popular referendum. In the

referendum vote, the law passed with 68 percent of

votes and carried every canton (state). The provisions

of the new law are expected to come into force on

January 1, 2008.



The Federal Law on Foreigners formalizes the process of

granting TIP victims a stay of deportation proceedings

to recover from their trauma and weigh participation in

judicial proceedings (cantonal immigration authorities

have been granting temporary stays of deportation to

TIP victims since 2004, in accord with guidelines sent

out by the FOM). The new law further strengthens the

legal status of TIP victims and witnesses, explicitly

authorizing the government to waive normal immigration

requirements and grant residency permits for victims of

human trafficking as well as witnesses in human

trafficking cases. The law also allows the federal

government logistically and financially to assist in

the voluntary return to and re-integration of

trafficking victims and witnesses in their countries of

origin.



The FOM is currently preparing a first draft of the

implementation ordinance for the new Federal Law on

Foreigners. The FOM will bring the first draft up for

public consultation in the spring of 2007 and, taking

account of the public response, present a final draft

in time for the entering into force of the law,

scheduled for January 1, 2008. During 2007, the FOM is

running a pilot project to evaluate how the government

is to meet the provision of the new law on the

logistical and financial assistance in the voluntary

return to and re-integration of trafficking victims and

witnesses in their home societies. As part of the

implementation of the new Federal Law on Foreigners,

the FOM and Cantonal Migration Offices will also make

the necessary adjustments in the federal registry on

foreigners for the central recording of all stays-of-

deportation orders and temporary residency permits

granted to TIP victims and witnesses.



E. The Swiss Government encourages TIP victims to

assist judicial authorities in trafficking

investigations and prosecutions by granting them

temporary residency and financial support, and

admitting them to stay if a return to their country of

origin posed a serious risk of personal harm. The

Swiss Victims Assistance Law (OHG) safeguards TIP

victims' rights in criminal prosecutions with special

rules for trial procedures and for compensation and

redress. The OHG covers all victims of crimes,

including foreigners staying illegally in Switzerland.

The OHG provides for the special protection of

witnesses' identity in criminal court proceedings:

victims/witnesses may request the trial to take place

behind closed doors and avoid confrontation with the

defendant. The OHG is a federal law and thus binding

on all cantonal codes of criminal trial proceedings.

TIP victims may also file civil suits against their

traffickers and seek financial compensation.



Several major urban centers have established a referral

process for TIP victims in the context of regular

roundtable meetings between NGOs and cantonal justice,

police and immigration authorities. As a direct result

of the regulation to stay deportation proceedings and

the better cooperation between NGOs and law enforcement

officials, the number of TIP victims willing to testify

against their traffickers has risen considerably. FIZ

reports that of the 133 TIP victims being counseled

during 2006, 65 were testifying to law enforcement

officials against their trafficker. In 2005, 37 out of

a total of 116 TIP victims had cooperated with judicial

authorities. In other words, the percentage of TIP

victims willing to testify against their traffickers

rose from less than 10 percent to almost 50 percent in

a matter of a few years.



F. Under the OHG, all TIP victims are entitled to help

from government-funded victims assistance centers for

abuse victims or women shelters and enjoy special



BERN 00000200 023 OF 025





safeguards during criminal proceedings, and cantonal

authorities do provide these protections in practice

(cf. section 4.A). Switzerland does not have a

comprehensive witness protection program providing

victims of crime with new identities.



Foreign juvenile victims of crime under 18 years of age

have to be placed under the protection of the Cantonal

Guardianship Office (Vormundschaftsbehvrde) during

their stay in Switzerland. In criminal court

proceedings, the OHG provides special protective

measures for juvenile victims of crime: Questioning by

police or the investigative magistrate must occur soon

and the testimony is being recorded on videotape.

Cross-examinations are not allowed. The questioning

has to be done by a recognized expert and no more than

two sessions are allowed. The law recognizes the

special needs of juvenile victims of crime and they may

only serve as witnesses of the prosecution if their

testimony is indispensable for the conviction of a

suspect.



In case of the repatriation of a juvenile victim of

crime (after the end of the stay-of-deportation

proceedings or a criminal court procedure),the Federal

Office for Migration and cantonal migration offices

have to take into special account that the person in

question is a minor under 18 years of age. Under the

law, a return to the country of origin is only

permissible if the authorities have ascertained that

the juvenile can be placed again in the care of the

parents or a close relative, or if there is a

satisfactory care structure in place in the country of

origin.



The government is working on a new federal code of

criminal trial proceedings that will supplant the

existing 26 cantonal codes. The new federal code will

strengthen the existing witness protection measures

under the OHG in order to avoid a perpetrator in a TIP

cases learning the identity of a prosecution witness.

The Federal Council submitted the draft bill to

Parliament on December 21, 2005. The upper house of

Parliament approved the bill on December 11, 2006,

including the proposed witness protective measures,

namely the right of witnesses to call on an attorney

and/or a confidante during court proceedings. The bill

is expected to be debated in the lower house during

2007. Implementation of the final bill will take a few

years. This is because, even under the new federal code

of criminal trial proceedings, law enforcement remains

the dominion of the cantons. Cantons will need time to

adjust cantonal operating modes to the future federal

regulations regarding court proceedings.



The government has further strengthened protective

measures of cabaret/night club dancers on temporary

artistic visas, so called L-permits, often thought of

as being at special risk of being exploited by their

employers. In 2003, the Economics Ministry, the

Federal Office for Migration, the Association of

Concert Halls, Cabarets, Nightclubs, and Discotheques

(ASCO),and FIZ Zurich adopted a standard labor

contract for the employment of cabaret dancers,

effective beginning of 2004. The standard labor

contract regulates the rights and responsibilities of

both contracting parties, stipulates salary and the

details of traveling costs, and contains labor law

provisions on night shifts and rest periods. According

to the terms of the standard labor contract, cabaret

dancers earn a gross income of 4,800 Swiss francs for

23 working days per month. After deduction of a source

tax, rent, social security, and unemployment insurance

contributions, the cabaret dancers earn a net income of

2,200 Swiss francs per month. The Economics Ministry

and the Cantonal Labor Inspectorates monitor

implementation. L-permit applicants have to sign a

copy of their labor contract with the Swiss cabaret or

nightclub in the presence of a Swiss consular official

in their country of origin (cf. section 4.G).



In February 2006, the Federal Office for Migration

issued a new set of regulations regarding L-visa

holders. The regulations explicitly stipulate that the

contractual salary of the cabaret dancer be transferred

to a bank account in that personQs name and that the



BERN 00000200 024 OF 025





nightclub employer bears responsibility for signing a

health insurance contract on the cabaret dancer's

behalf, which must be mentioned in the labor contract.

Both requirements are designed to facilitate the

monitoring of working conditions by cantonal labor

Inspectorates.



FIZ in 2006 contracted an academic study on the living

and working conditions of cabaret dancers in

Switzerland. The study, which was based on a rather

small and heterogeneous sample of cabaret dancers and

experts, concluded that the legal norms protecting L-

permit holders are at times not upheld completely, and

that L-permit holders are not always fully aware of

their rights under the law. The Federal Office for

Migration has welcomed the study as helpful and

evaluated its recommendations for possible improvements

of the living situation of cabaret dancers. On

briefing cabaret dancers on their rights and

responsibilities, some cantons have introduced

mandatory briefing session for all first-time visitors

on L-permits. The FOM recognizes the vulnerable

situation of cabaret dancers and urges cantonal

authorities both with circular letters and through the

regional working groups to conduct regular controls.

The FOM has received feedback from several cantons that

night clubs and cabarets are inspected more frequently.



Embassy contacts stress that statistics available

indicate that on TIP L-permit do not figure prominently

among TIP victims. Of the 116 TIP victims counseled by

the anti-TIP NGO FIZ in 2005, only 9 had entered the

country on a L-permit (Embassy Bern is still awaiting

the detailed analysis of the FIZ statistics for 2006).

Roughly half of the TIP victims crossed the border into

Switzerland either without proper documentation or as

tourists. This observation that the great majority of

TIP victims enter the country without any proper

documentation is also confirmed by police and judicial

authorities.



G. The Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs informs

experts and diplomatic personnel about the problem of

trafficking in human beings prior to their postings

abroad, and draws their attention to a code of conduct

drafted by a joint working group on human trafficking.

According to these rules, diplomatic staff shall stay

clear of any person who can reasonably be suspected of

engaging in trafficking in human beings or those who

are involved in other criminal activities under the

laws of either the host country or of Swiss or

international law. The Department of Foreign Affairs

also urges its embassies and consulates to develop

ongoing relationships with NGOs serving trafficking

victims.



The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs anti-TIP

information and prevention program for visa applicants

has been extended to all Swiss consulates worldwide by

a circular letter of March 2005. The program (that

started as a pilot project at Embassies Moscow and

Kiev) consists of the following elements: a personal

interview with every first-time L-visa applicant; the

signing of a standardized labour contract with a Swiss

night club in the presence of a Swiss consular

official; a briefing of the L-visa applicant on her or

his legal and contractual rights; and an information

brochure with the phone numbers and addresses of victim

assistance hotlines or drop-in centers in Switzerland

for persons in need.



A KSMM working group on child trafficking is drafting a

policy paper on the prevention of trafficking in

children, which is scheduled to be finalized during the

first half of 2007. The working group consulted its

external contacts regarding measures to prevent child

trafficking in the visa-issuance process. On the

domestic front, the working group consulted with

NGO/IOs specializing in the area of children's rights,

which recommended a careful evaluation of how

Switzerland is being affected by trafficking in

children. The experts assumed that instances of child

trafficking in Switzerland are isolated cases, a fact

corroborated by victims' assistance statistics of the

Zurich NGO FIZ. For the year 2006, FIZ documented

approximately 10 cases of trafficking of minors under



BERN 00000200 025 OF 025





18 years of age (FIZ statistics for 2006 are

preliminary.) A more general recommendation was to

continue awareness-raising among police and migration

officials.



H. N/A



I. The following is a list of IOs and NGOs operating in

Switzerland that provide services to trafficking

victims. The organizations provide information and

counseling, and in some cases emergency assistance.



1.QTerre des Hommes, Switzerland;

2.QEcpat Switzerland (end child prostitution, child

pornography and trafficking of children for sexual

purposes);

3.QInternational Organization for Migration;

4.QInternational Labor Organization;

5.QWomen's Information Center for Women from Africa,

Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe (FIZ):

counseling, publications/articles,

symposiums/workshops, participation in round tables

with aids-prevention and anti-violence groups,

multi-lingual educational radio programs, and

international contact building.



In addition, a number of smaller NGOs counseling women

in the sex trade as well as women shelters that exist

in most urban centers, deal with the problem of human

trafficking. A great number of these organizations are

linked in the national network "Prostitution Collective

Reflection" (ProKoRe). The major counseling centers

and primary points of contact of ProKoRe are FIZ in

Zurich, Xenia in Bern, and ASPASIE in Geneva.



The national organizations and domestic NGOs typically

deal with TIP victims, prostitutes, and victims of

domestic violence and offer victim counseling, crisis

intervention and emergency lodging, legal and medical

assistance, and assisted returns to the country of

origin. Cooperation with local authorities is varied

but typically includes regular meetings and

institutionalized information exchange, cooperation in

the context of working groups or roundtables, financial

support by local communities and cantons, as well as

public funding for specific projects.



--------------

End of draft TIP report for Switzerland.

--------------

Coneway