Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07BERN200
2007-03-01 15:40:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Embassy Bern
Cable title:  

TIP - SWITZERLAND: ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

Tags:  ELAB KFRD KWMN PHUM PREF SMIG SZ 
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PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSW #0200/01 0601540
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 011540Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BERN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 3744
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 25 BERN 000200 

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, EUR/PGI, EUR/AGS
DEPT PLEASE PASS USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM, KCRM, KWMN, SMIG, KFRD, PREF, ELAB, SZ
SUBJECT: TIP - SWITZERLAND: ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN
PERSONS REPORT

------------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
------------------

I. SUMMARY OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS
II. OVERVIEW
III. PREVENTION
IV. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS
V. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS

------------------------------
I. SUMMARY OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS
------------------------------

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.

------------
II. OVERVIEW
------------

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

BERN 00000200 004 OF 025


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.

---------------
III. PREVENTION
---------------

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.

BERN 00000200 005 OF 025



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):


BERN 00000200 006 OF 025


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

BERN 00000200 009 OF 025


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,

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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

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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

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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

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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

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

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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

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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,

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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

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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.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 25 BERN 000200

SIPDIS

SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, EUR/PGI, EUR/AGS
DEPT PLEASE PASS USAID

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PHUM, KCRM, KWMN, SMIG, KFRD, PREF, ELAB, SZ
SUBJECT: TIP - SWITZERLAND: ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN
PERSONS REPORT

--------------
TABLE OF CONTENTS:
--------------

I. SUMMARY OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS
II. OVERVIEW
III. PREVENTION
IV. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS
V. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS

--------------
I. SUMMARY OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS
--------------

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.


BERN 00000200 002 OF 025


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.

--------------
II. OVERVIEW
--------------

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

BERN 00000200 003 OF 025


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.

--------------
III. PREVENTION
--------------

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).


BERN 00000200 008 OF 025


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

BERN 00000200 009 OF 025


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

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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

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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

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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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.

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End of draft TIP report for Switzerland.
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Coneway