Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
07PRISTINA150
2007-02-28 13:55:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Pristina
Cable title:  

KOSOVO: SEVENTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

Tags:  KCRM PHUM KWMN ELAB SMIG KFRD PREF PGOV KJUS 
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 21 PRISTINA 000150 

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP, EUR/SCE, DRL, INL, AND S/WCI, NSC FOR
BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE
STEGER, OPDAT FOR ACKER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN ELAB SMIG KFRD PREF PGOV KJUS
EAID, KDEM, UNMIK, YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: SEVENTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
(TIP) REPORT

REF: 06 STATE 202745

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 21 PRISTINA 000150

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

DEPT FOR G/TIP, EUR/SCE, DRL, INL, AND S/WCI, NSC FOR
BRAUN, USUN FOR DREW SCHUFLETOWSKI, USOSCE FOR STEVE
STEGER, OPDAT FOR ACKER

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN ELAB SMIG KFRD PREF PGOV KJUS
EAID, KDEM, UNMIK, YI
SUBJECT: KOSOVO: SEVENTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
(TIP) REPORT

REF: 06 STATE 202745


1. (U) SUMMARY: Post's submission for the Seventh Annual
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report follows. Kosovo is
administered by the United Nations Interim Administrative
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) pursuant to UN Security Council
Resolution (UNSCR) 1244, which was adopted in 1999 following
the NATO air strikes that ended the conflict in Kosovo. The
Special Representative of the UN Secretary General (SRSG)
leads UNMIK, and the UNMIK-promulgated Constitutional
Framework for Provisional Self-Government in Kosovo defines
the Provisional Institutions of Self-Government (PISG),
including the Kosovo Assembly and various ministries.
UNMIK's gradual transition of competencies to the PISG
accelerated in 2006, and the PISG took on greater
responsibility for anti-trafficking, with the police
anti-trafficking unit transitioning from UNMIK civilian
police (Civpol) to the Kosovo Police Service (KPS) and the
Victims' Advocacy and Assistance Unit (VAAU) moving from
UNMIK Department of Justice to the new Ministry of Justice.
There is a lot of work to be done and resources are limited,
but the PISG has gotten off to a good start and has a strong
will to tackle the trafficking problem. END SUMMARY.

Overview of Kosovo's activities to eliminate trafficking in
persons


2. (U) Question 27 (A): Is the country a country of origin,
transit, or destination for internationally trafficked men,
women, or children? Provide, where possible, numbers or
estimates for each group; how they were trafficked, to where,
and for what purpose. Does the trafficking occur within the
country's borders? Does it occur in territory outside of the

government's control (e.g. in a civil war situation)? Are
any estimates or reliable numbers available as to the extent
or magnitude of the problem? What is (are) the source(s) of
available information on trafficking in persons or what plans
are in place (if any) to undertake documentation of
trafficking? How reliable are the numbers and these sources?
Are certain groups of persons more at risk of being
trafficked (e.g. women and children, boys versus girls,
certain ethnic groups, refugees, etc.)?


3. (U) Kosovo is a source, transit point and destination for
trafficked persons, and internal trafficking is a growing
concern. As in previous years, the identified victims were
women and girls trafficked for the purpose of sexual
exploitation.


4. (U) Detailed, reliable statistics are difficult to collect
and often misleading because organizations active in
counter-trafficking efforts rely on different definitions of
trafficking, employ uneven statistical analyses and overlap
in data collection. Moreover, the statistics that are
available are of victims who have been identified by the
police or, in rarer cases, gone directly to IOM or come to
social workers, attention. Many victims are never
identified due to the hidden nature of the crime. Finally,
there is a dearth of statistics for Kosovo Serb victims.


5. (U) The Kosovo Police Service (KPS) is one of the few PISG
organizations operating in Kosovo Serb areas, but its
Trafficking in Human Beings Section (THBS) has been unable to
recruit a Kosovo Serb officer. KPS THBS says it has
advertised positions in the anti-trafficking unit in Serbian,
but has not received any applications from Kosovo Serb KPS
officers. KPS THBS laments that it is nearly impossible to
mount undercover operations in Kosovo Serb communities
without a Kosovo Serb officer. The Coordination Center for
Kosovo and Metohija (CCK),a Serbian Government body for
Kosovo, says it believes trafficking is a problem in Kosovo
Serb majority areas, but it does not have any statistics.


6. (U) Notwithstanding the challenges of collecting accurate

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statistics, especially for Kosovo Serb areas, KPS THBS,
Ministry of Justice Victims Advocacy and Assistance Unit
(VAAU),and International Organization of Migration (IOM)
statistics do illustrate the magnitude of the problem in
Kosovo and capture important trends. From January 1 through
December 31, 2006, KPS THBS identified 66 victims of
trafficking, and IOM assisted 54. This was a slight increase
over 2005 when KPS identified 55 victims. Twenty of the
victims KPS THBS identified in 2006, including eight under
the age of 18, were Kosovars; 30 of the victims IOM assisted
were Kosovars, including 17 minors. While the numbers may
not be large, there was a 150 percent increase in the number
of locally trafficked victims IOM assisted from 2005 to 2006,
and 2006 was the first year in which IOM assisted more
internally trafficked than foreign victims in Kosovo.


7. (U) For April 1, 2006 through January 31, 2007, the KPS
reported 50 victims, 12 of whom were non-minority Kosovo
Albanians. The majority of the remaining 38 victims were
Moldovan.


8. (U) The Ministry of Justice's Victims' Advocacy and
Assistance Unit (VAAU) reported assisting 35 victims of
trafficking in 2006, about half of whom were internally
trafficked, and four victims from January 1 through February
8, 2007. They noted that all of the internally trafficked
victims were Kosovo Albanians.


9. (U) From 1999 through December 31, 2006, the IOM assisted
538 mainly international victims of trafficking. Moldovans
accounted for 51 percent of the victims, followed by about 20
percent from Romania, 13 percent from Ukraine, and the rest
from Bulgaria, Albania, Russia, Serbia, Montenegro, Slovakia
and Nigeria. The majority of these victims were between the
ages of 18 and 24 years. IOM reported that slightly more
than 77 percent of the Kosovar victims were internally
trafficked, while approximately 10 percent were trafficked to
Macedonia and five percent each to Italy and Albania.


10. (U) KPS THBS, IOM and others involved in
counter-trafficking work in Kosovo believe that most victims
are from families with a high level of poverty, unemployment
and illiteracy and that trafficked minors tend to be locals
from dysfunctional, abusive families. Nevertheless, some
university-educated women have fallen prey to traffickers.
IOM statistics for 2006 indicate that 11 percent of local
victims were not enrolled in school; 35 percent had only
finished primary school (fifth grade); 47 percent had
finished elementary school (ninth grade); 6 percent had
completed secondary education (high school); and 1 percent
had attended university. Two percent of the foreign victims
were not enrolled in school; 19 percent had only finished
primary school (fifth grade); 35 percent had completed
secondary education (high school); 38 percent had received
vocational training; and 4 percent had gotten a university
degree.


11. (U) Question 27 (B): Please provide a general overview of
the trafficking situation in the country and any changes
since the last TIP Report (e.g. changes in direction). Also
briefly explain the political will to address trafficking in
persons. Other items to address may include: What kind of
conditions are the victims trafficked into? Which
populations are targeted by the traffickers? Who are the
traffickers? What methods are used to approach victims? (Are
they offered lucrative jobs, sold by their families,
approached by friends of friends, etc.?) What methods are
used to move the victims (e.g., are false documents being
used?).


12. (U) Victims trafficked to Kosovo continue to be almost
exclusively women and adolescent girls from Eastern Europe,
the Balkans and the former Soviet Union. In 2006, KPS THBS
identified 66 victims: 30 Moldovans, 20 Kosovars, 6

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Albanians, 3 Ukrainians, 2 Russians, 2 Bulgarians, and 3 from
other countries. Statistics indicate that most Kosovar
victims are minors, while most foreign victims are young
women.


13. (U) The PISG and United Nations Interim Administration
Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) are aware of the human trafficking
problem and have demonstrated the political will to address
it. They named a national anti-trafficking coordinator and
adopted a Kosovo Action Plan (KAP) in cooperation with many
NGOs and international organizations. They also created a
secretariat in the Prime Minister's Advisory Office on Good

SIPDIS
Governance (AOGG) to support the national anti-trafficking
coordinator and an inter-ministerial working group on
trafficking in persons. In 2006, they started four other
working groups to tackle prevention, protection, prosecution,
and trafficking in children. They have also launched
numerous anti-trafficking campaigns and training sessions
under the auspices of the KAP and with the support of NGOs,
international organizations and liaison offices.


14. (U) The data on traffickers in unreliable, but most
people working in the counter-trafficking field in Kosovo
believe organized crime elements are responsible. KPS THBS
believes most traffickers work in small groups and recruit
through personal contacts. They also believe some
traffickers are former trafficking victims who have returned
to their countries of origin to recruit new victims. UNMIK's
Central Intelligence Unit (CIU) believes Kosovo Albanian and
Kosovo Serb organized crime elements collaborate in the
trafficking of women and that some women are trafficked from
or through Serbia into Kosovo, where brothel owners purchase
them. Based on information provided by the victims it has
assisted, IOM believes most traffickers are local men.


15. (U) As in previous years, the majority of trafficking
victims report that someone they knew recruited them with a
false job offer or a false promise of marriage. IOM reports
that of the 538 mainly international victims it has assisted
since 1999, 73 percent fell prey to traffickers after
accepting a bogus job offer abroad, 4 percent claim to have
been kidnapped, and 4 percent were promised marriage. In 83
percent of cases, recruiting was through personal contacts;
the recruiter was an acquaintance of the victim in 29
percent of the cases, and a family friend in approximately 15
percent. Recruiters were most often female.


16. (U) Evidence obtained by the KPS THBS and
counter-trafficking service providers indicates that
traffickers target primarily poorly educated and economically
disadvantaged women. Foreign targets tend to be 18 to 24
years old, while local targets are generally 16 to 18 years
old. IOM paints a very similar picture based on the
information it has collected from victims in Kosovo. Its
records indicate that traffickers most often recruit poor
women and girls from rural villages where economic
opportunities are limited. According to IOM, traffickers
particularly target those who have sick family members or are
from abusive families.


17. (U) While there are still reports of trafficking victims
being subjected to beatings, rape, denial of access to health
care and confiscation of travel and identity documents, that
trend appears to be changing. KPS THBS, IOM and Catholic
Relief Services (CRS) report that traffickers are
increasingly treating victims better. They say traffickers
are improving the victims, living conditions, granting them
some freedom of movement, and paying them a percentage of
earnings. KPS THBS even sees evidence of wire transfers from
foreign victims to their families back home. Nevertheless,
IOM says most trafficking victims are sharing small motel
rooms, and many have limited or no freedom of movement.


18. (U) KPS THBS reports that few trafficking victims enter

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illegally or use false documents. Most trafficking victims
possess valid passports and valid employment permits for work
as waitresses and dancers. The contracts are registered by
Kosovo law firms and stamped by municipal authorities. KPS
THBS reports that some victims receive pay only for
performing sexual services, and not for the work stated in
their employment contracts. IOM also says most victims have
their documents in order, but they still find some cases of
victims coming to Kosovo on false documents.


19. (U) As in past years, the majority of victims are found
working in bars and restaurants, but some counter-trafficking
organizations report that traffickers are increasingly
shifting the commercial sex trade into private homes and
escort services to avoid detection, a result of KPS THBS's
increasingly frequent bar and restaurant checks.


20. (U) Question 27 (C): What are the limitations on the
government's ability to address this problem in practice?
For example, is funding for police or other institutions
inadequate? Is overall corruption a problem? Does the
government lack the resources to aid victims?


21. (U) The hidden nature of the problem, reluctance of
witnesses to come forward, lack of resources, and inadequate
training of judges and prosecutors limit the PISG's ability
to address the trafficking problem. While post has not found
any evidence of corruption related to trafficking cases, some
people post interviewed believe corruption is also a problem,
particularly at the borders. Given the low salaries local
law enforcement officials receive and the overall weakness of
the rule of law, susceptibility to corruption is a concern.
The PISG is taking a proactive approach to tackling
corruption. It established the Kosovo Anti-corruption Agency
and the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo (PIK) in July 2006, and
the Kosovo Special Prosecutors' Office (KSPO) in September

2006. The PIK is currently taking efficiency and
effectiveness issues, but it recently hired an additional 20
people to address police corruption issues. Its officers
will begin taking complaints upon completion of a six- to
eight-week Organization of Security and Cooperation in Europe
(OSCE)-administered training course. The KSPO will handle
sensitive cases, including corruption, organized crime and
trafficking, initially under the tutelage of international
prosecutors. One special prosecutor began work in January
2007, and three more will start in early 2007. The KSPO's
authorized strength is 10 special prosecutors.


22. (U) KPS THBS report myriad obstacles to fighting
trafficking. Officers complain of women or girls whom they
suspect of being trafficking victims denying that they are
victims, and they suspect fear of the traffickers is to
blame. Witness intimidation is a serious problem in Kosovo.
One of the trafficking shelters, the Center for Protection
and Prevention of Victims of Trafficking in Human Beings
(PVPT),shut down recently, partly in response to threats it
received when its location was compromised. It is expected
to re-open in a new location in March 2007.


23. (U) KPS THBS also notes that its funding is low and its
resources are scarce, a general problem for law enforcement
in Kosovo. Officers complain of an inadequate budget for
undercover operations and a need for more equipment and
personnel. One KPS THBS official told post that undercover
officers are easily detected by traffickers because there is
no budget for expenses during undercover operations and they
sit for hours in bars and restaurants collecting intelligence
without ordering food and drinks.


24. (U) According to KPS THBS officials, decentralization of
their department has also been an obstacle to effective
undercover operations. Since KPS THBS decentralized in 2005,
officers say some district commanders have compromised
undercover operations by requiring counter-trafficking

PRISTINA 00000150 005 OF 021


officers to participate in other operations for which they
have to don uniforms and ride in marked cars. They hope to
remedy this situation by restoring central control to all KPS
THBS officers.


25. (U) KPS THBS also complains of a lack of human resources.
The unit is slightly under its authorized ceiling of 34
officers and is proposing an increase to 38 officers during

2007. KPS THBS is particularly keen to recruit more female
officers because it is easier for female officers to gain the
trust and confidence of female trafficking victims.
Currently, KPS THBS has female officers in Mitrovica,
Pristina, and Prizren, but not in Ferizaj and Gjilan. In
2007, they hope to assign one female officer in each regional
office and three or four female officers in the headquarters.


26. (U) Another human resources problem is the lack of Kosovo
Serb officers in the anti-trafficking unit. KPS THBS
correctly points out that it would be very difficult for a
Kosovo Albanian officer to mount a surveillance or undercover
operation in a suspected trafficking bar or restaurant in a
Kosovo Serb enclave or in a Kosovo Serb majority area of
northern Kosovo. KPS THBS reports that it has tried to
recruit a Kosovo Serb officer and has run vacancy
announcements in Serbian.


27. (U) Resources to assist trafficking victims are also
scarce. Catholic Relief Services noted that the Kosovo
Action Plan (KAP) was drafted with the expectation of a donor
conference being organized to fund the different activities
together with the PISG. The conference was never organized,
and a lack of funds is preventing some of the projects from
advancing. CRS reports that despite the fact that many of
the over 70 activities in the KAP have been accomplished,
many projects in the protection pillar remain unrealized.


28. (U) Funding for shelters is particularly inadequate. The
Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (MLSW) provides some
funding for a shelter for domestic trafficking victims, as
well as a safe house for children and a semi-independent
living center, both run by Hope and Homes for Children (HHC).
HHC also receives funding from Norwegian Church Aid and its
parent UK NGO, also called Hope and Homes for Children. The
main portion of their private funding will end in 2007, and
the director indicates that government funds are inadequate
to manage the shelter. In fact, HHC came dangerously close
to having to close its doors in February 2007 because it was
counting on money from the MLSW, whose shelter support tender
is stalled, for its 2007 operations. At the last minute, the
MLSW agreed to fund Hope and Homes at the previous year's
level until the tender can be published and competed.


29. (U) The largest shelter for foreign victims of
trafficking, PVPT, receives no government funding. To date,
most of its funding has come from IOM, OSCE and the British
Office. It is currently closed because of insufficient funds
to cover its rent and the fact that its location was
compromised and staff and residents received threats. It
will likely reopen in a new location in March 2007 with
assistance from the OSCE, including reprogrammed money
donated by the U.S. Government, but its long-term funding is
clouded by reductions in donor funding. The two victims who
were in PVPT when it closed were transferred to the Interim
Security Facility (ISF),which is run by the Ministry of
Justice and designed to handle the most high-risk cases.


30. (U) Question 27 (D): To what extent does the government
systematically monitor its anti-trafficking efforts (on all
fronts -- prosecution, prevention and victim protection) and
periodically make available, publicly or privately and
directly or through regional/international organizations, its
assessments of these anti-trafficking efforts?


31. (U) The PISG tries to systematically monitor its

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anti-trafficking efforts and is willing to make information
on its efforts available publicly or privately. The PISG
offices have been very responsive to post, always providing
requested information in a timely manner and granting post's
requests for meetings on trafficking-related issues. The
National Coordinator for Counter-trafficking in the Prime
Minister's Advisory Office on Good Governance (AOGG) is
responsible for coordinating and reporting on
counter-trafficking efforts. His secretariat issues
bulletins every three months and organized a one-day
conference in December 2006 on implementation of the Kosovo
Action Plan (KAP),but some have criticized it for only
reporting on activities, and not assessing implementation of
the KAP. The USAID-funded Partnership against Trafficking in
Human Beings (PATH) project will assess KAP implementation in

2007.


32. (U) Another effort at monitoring anti-trafficking efforts
is the KPS THBS yearly report on trafficking in human beings,
which was issued for the first time in 2006 after the KPS
THBS gained full competency for anti-trafficking work from
UNMIK Police. The report analyzes trends and gives a good
snapshot of the trafficking situation, but the KPS does not
attempt to assess its own efforts, presumably because this
would have to be done by an independent body.

Prevention


33. U) Question 28 (A): Does the government acknowledge that
trafficking is a problem in the country? If not, why not?


34. (U) The PISG and UNMIK acknowledge that trafficking in
persons is a problem in Kosovo, and they are trying to tackle
the issue.


35. (U) Question 28 (B): Which government agencies are
involved in anti-trafficking efforts and which agency, if
any, has the lead?


36. (U) The national coordinator for counter-trafficking in
the Prime Minister's Advisory office on Good Government
(AOGG) has the lead on anti-trafficking work and is supported
by a small secretariat. Other agencies involved in
counter-trafficking work include the Ministries of Education,
Sports and Technology (MEST); Culture, Youth and Sports;
Interior; Justice; Labor and Social Welfare; Health; Public
Services; Local Government; Finance; Trade and Industry; and
Communities and Returns. International organizations and
NGOs also play a very active role in counter-trafficking
efforts in Kosovo.


37. (U) Kosovo also has an inter-ministerial working group on
trafficking issues, which is tasked with designing,
implementing and monitoring the KAP and includes members of
the PISG, UNMIK, international organizations and NGOs. In
2006, the Inter-Ministerial Working Group established
sub-working groups on prevention, protection, prosecution,
and trafficking in children.


38. (U) Question 28 (C): Are there, or have there been,
government-run anti-trafficking information or education
campaigns? If so, briefly describe the campaign(s),
including their objectives and effectiveness. Do these
campaigns target potential trafficking victims and/or the
demand for trafficking (e.g. "clients" of prostitutes or
beneficiaries of forced labor)?


39. (U) Most anti-trafficking campaigns have been run by
international organizations and NGOs with the PISG's support
and under the auspices of the Kosovo Action Plan (KAP). The
national counter-trafficking coordinator said Kosovo focused
mostly on prevention in 2006, launching an anti-trafficking
website, awareness campaigns against trafficking aimed at
children and young girls, and a network of young

PRISTINA 00000150 007 OF 021


anti-trafficking &ambassadors.8 Prism Research conducted a
study in 2006 and 2007 to learn more about who the clients
are so anti-trafficking campaigns can begin to target them.
Catholic Relief Services commissioned the Prism study as part
of the USAID-funded Partnership against Trafficking in Human
Beings (PATH) project.


40. (U) The anti-trafficking website is in English, Albanian
and Serbian and can be accessed at
http://www.antitrafficking-kosovo.org/en/. The AOGG
maintains it, and it offers a wealth of information on
anti-trafficking activities, laws, resources and contacts.


41. (U) The prevention campaigns included two that the
Ministry of Education, Science and Technology (MEST) and AOGG
undertook jointly to circulate informational brochures in
primary and secondary schools and introduce
counter-trafficking information in school curricula. (Note:
While the national counter-trafficking coordinator was
certain that these campaigns reached everyone in the
PISG-controlled schools, he could not confirm whether they
reached Kosovo Serb students in the parallel education system
controlled by Belgrade. He said the materials were sent to
officials in the affected municipalities with a request that
they be introduced in the schools. The Coordination Center
of Serbia and for Kosovo and Metohija (CCK) also could not
confirm whether these materials reached Kosovo Serb students,
but said counter-trafficking curricula from Belgrade had been
introduced in the schools. End note)


42. (U) The AOGG also collaborated on two innovative projects
to reach broader audiences, a film called &Recruiter8 and a
regional counter-trafficking bicycle tour. &Recruiter8 is
a film designed to prevent women and girls from falling prey
to traffickers. It aired on Kosovo television and officially
premiered in Pristina in February 2007. The bicycle tour was
an initiative of the national counter-trafficking
coordinators of Kosovo, Albania, Romania, Bulgaria and
Macedonia, with the support of the Government of Norway.
National teams of anti-trafficking activists toured the
countries to raise awareness of the trafficking issue, and
organized events in each of the capitals, including a meeting
of the national coordinators and teams.


43. (U) Another AOGG-supported initiative was the
anti-trafficking ambassadors program. The AOGG trained a
group of young human rights and anti-trafficking
"ambassadors" in August and September 2006, and sent them on
a tour of Kosovo to host debates on human rights and
trafficking issues. The program succeeded in spreading the
anti-trafficking message throughout Kosovo and the
ambassadors even became interested and active in other KAP
activities. The program concluded in late 2006, but the
national counter-trafficking coordinator said he hopes to
reactivate it in 2007.


44. (U) The International Organization of Migration (IOM)
also ran counter-trafficking campaigns in 2006 and early

2007. Its &I Decide for Myself8 awareness-raising
campaign, launched in July 2005, continued to deliver the
counter-trafficking message to the general public. As part
of the campaign, the NGO "Integra" showed the film &People
of the Road8 at 10 schools in Kosovo, implemented a
six-month broadcasting campaign with radio spots and programs
in minority languages, presented the documentary film &Dying
to Escape,8 and distributed informational leaflets at the
Pristina Book Fair. From May 2005 to June 2006, it ran a
&Stop! Trafficking in Human Beings8 campaign in cooperation
with AOGG, which included the commission of a song,
broadcasts on RTK, KTV and TV21, print advertising in Koha
Ditore, billboards in Serbian and Albanian in major towns,
and the distribution of leaflets, T-shirts and bags with its
logo.


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45. (U) Finally, IOM and the Ministry of Justice sponsor
anti-trafficking hotlines. IOM reported little success with
its hotline, which is run by a local NGO. From December 2005
through December 2006, they received 25,855 calls; 22,645
callers were curious about what the hotline was, 232 asked
for information about trafficking, 24 reported having been
trafficked, and 184 reported concern for someone they
suspected or knew had fallen victim of trafficking. The
Ministry of Justice hotline has reportedly been more
successful. The VAAU told Catholic Relief Services (CRS)
that it received 1,000 calls between November 2005 and
September 2006, 430 of which were referred to KPS THBS for
response and 200 of which were referred to victims'
advocates. The remaining 370 calls were reportedly of an
informational nature.


46. (U) Question 28 (D): Does the government support other
programs to prevent trafficking? (e.g., to promote women's
participation in economic decision-making or efforts to keep
children in school.) Please explain.


47. (U) The PISG, in cooperation with NGOs and international
organizations, has other campaigns to encourage promotion of
women's participation in economic decision-making and
discourage children from dropping out of school, which might
help prevent women and girls from falling prey to traffickers
since statistics indicate that most trafficking victims have
little education and are economically disadvantaged. The
Prime Minister's advisor on equal opportunity and gender
issues and the Ministry of Education run these campaigns.


48. (U) Question 28 (E): What is the relationship between
government officials, NGOs, other relevant organizations and
other elements of civil society on the trafficking issue?


49. (U) There is very good cooperation on the trafficking
issue among PISG officials, NGOs, international organizations
and other elements of civil society in Kosovo. They
regularly consult on developing and implementing
trafficking-related protocols, such as the Standard Operating
Procedures (SOP) for dealing with victims of trafficking.
They also cooperate very closely on providing assistance to
victims. Aside from the Interim Security Facility (ISF) for
high-risk trafficking victims, all shelters are managed by
local NGOs and partially funded by the MLSW. Moreover, NGOs
and international organizations fully participated in
drafting the KAP and serve on the Inter-Ministerial Working
Group on trafficking issues, which is responsible for
designing, implementing and monitoring the KAP.


50. (U) Question 28 (F): Does the government monitor
immigration and emigration patterns for evidence of
trafficking? Do law enforcement agencies screen for
potential trafficking victims along borders?


51. (U) KPS monitors immigration patterns for evidence of
trafficking. Foreigners staying in Kosovo more than 90 days
are required to register with the Office of Foreign
Registration (OFR) unless they are employees of KFOR,
international organizations or foreign liaison offices. KPS
THBS coordinates closely with the OFR to identify potential
trafficking victims and subsequently interview them. When
they do bar/restaurant checks, KPS THBS officers particularly
look for women and girls that have been classified as at-risk
through OFR records checks.


52. (U) KPS Border/Boundary Police officers also report that
they routinely look for potential victims of trafficking
entering Kosovo's border and boundary gates and the Pristina
Airport. When they suspect a woman or girl may be a victim
or potential victim of trafficking, they separate her from
others with whom she is traveling in order to question her,
warn her of the risks of trafficking and give her information
on what to do if she becomes a victim of trafficking. Border

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police cooperate closely with KPS THBS.


53. (U) KPS THBS says it is also monitoring emigration
patterns to try to understand possible criminal networks
trafficking women and girls from Kosovo to other European
countries. It works closely with Border/Boundary Police on
this.


54. (U) Question 28 (G): Is there a mechanism for
coordination and communication between various agencies,
internal, international, and multilateral on
trafficking-related matters, such as a multi-agency working
group or a task force? Does the government have a
trafficking in persons working group or single point of
contact? Does the government have a public corruption task
force?


55. (U) The national coordinator for counter-trafficking in
the Prime Minister's Advisory Office for Good Governance
(AOGG) coordinates communication among counter-trafficking
actors in Kosovo, including the relevant ministries, NGOs and
international organizations. The national
counter-trafficking coordinator has a secretariat and chairs
an inter-ministerial working group on counter-trafficking,
which designs, implements and monitors the Kosovo Action Plan
(KAP) on trafficking. There are also sub-working groups on
prevention, protection, prosecution and trafficking in
children.


56. (U) The PISG does not have a public corruption task
force, but it established the Kosovo Anti-corruption Agency
on July 17, 2006. Since it is a fledgling institution, it is
too soon to assess its efficacy. The PISG also established
the Police Inspectorate of Kosovo (PIK) in July 2006 and the
Kosovo Special Prosecutors' Office (KSPO) in September 2006.
The PIK is currently addressing efficiency and effectiveness
issues in the KPS, but will start to investigate corruption
and other misconduct issues following training of 20 new
hires by the OSCE in early 2007. The KSPO's mandate is to
handle sensitive cases, including corruption, organized crime
and trafficking, initially under the tutelage of
international prosecutors. The KSPO is authorized to hire 10
special prosecutors. One prosecutor started in January 2007
and another three are due to begin work in early 2007.


57. (U) Question 28 (H): Does the government have a national
plan of action to address trafficking in persons? If so,
which agencies were involved in developing it? Were NGOs
consulted in the process? What steps has the government
taken to disseminate the action plan?


58. (U) Kosovo has a national plan to address trafficking in
persons, the &Kosovo Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in
Persons,8 or KAP. It was adopted on May 17, 2005 and will
expire in 2007. Plans are underway for a successor plan.
All of the relevant ministries were involved in drafting the
plan, except the Ministries of Justice and Interior, which
were created after the plan. International organizations,
NGOs and civil society representatives also participated in
the process. In August 2005, the plan was publicly presented
by the actors involved in its creation. It has been widely
distributed and posted on the anti-trafficking website.

Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers


59. (U) Question 29 (A): Does the country have a law
specifically prohibiting trafficking in persons--both for
sexual and non-sexual purposes (e.g. forced labor)? If so,
please specifically cite the name of the law and its date of
enactment. Does the law(s) cover both internal and external
(transnational) forms of trafficking? If not, under what
other laws can traffickers be prosecuted? For example, are
there laws against slavery or the exploitation of
prostitution by means of force, fraud or coercion? Are

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these other laws being used in trafficking cases? Are these
laws, taken together, adequate to cover the full scope of
trafficking in persons? Please provide a full inventory of
trafficking laws, including non-criminal statutes that allow
for civil penalties against alleged trafficking crimes,
(e.g., civil forfeiture laws and laws against illegal debt.


60. (U) The Provisional Criminal Code of Kosovo (PCCK) or
UNMIK/REG/2003/25, which came into effect on April 6, 2004,
covers internal and external trafficking, as well as myriad
activities related to trafficking. Its provisions include
Article 137 on slavery and forced labor, Article 139 on
trafficking in persons, Article 140 on withholding identity
papers of trafficking victims, Article 201 on facilitating
prostitution, Article 183 on violating employment rights,
Article 193 on rape, Article 195 on sexual assault, Article
196 on degradation of sexual integrity, Article 236 on misuse
of economic authorizations, Article 274 on organized crime,
Article 303 on failure to report preparation of criminal
offenses, Article 304 on failure to report criminal offenses
or perpetrators of criminal offenses, Article 305 on
providing assistance to perpetrators after the commission of
criminal offenses, and Article 310 on intimidation during
criminal proceedings for organized crime.


61. (U) The PCCK is sophisticated legislation for the region
and adequately covers trafficking and trafficking-related
crimes, but some believe it is under-implemented. The Kosovo
Police Service Trafficking in Human Beings Section (KPS THBS)
says some prosecutors still lack awareness of the use of the
instruments now available during investigative and trial
phases. At times, the KPS THBS reports that it has had to
insist on the application of such measures.


62. (U) There have also been some unintended consequences of
PCCK Articles and UNMIK Regulations that were meant to curb
trafficking and protect victims. For example, under UNMIK
Regulation 2001/4, trafficking victims are not required to
testify against their exploiters in order to receive
assistance and are entitled to repatriation without delay.
Consequently, some victims leave Kosovo before their
traffickers go to trial. UNMIK Regulation 2005/16 requires
documentation from would-be workers in Kosovo. It has helped
Border and Boundary Police officers identify and curb
trafficking at border entry points, but the KPS,
international organizations and NGOs report that it has led
traffickers to use more clandestine means of entry or to
provide the victims with employment contracts for work as
waitresses or dancers. Finally, Article 139 provides for
prosecution of persons who knowingly use or procure the
sexual services of a victim of trafficking. While this is
meant to punish clients of trafficking victims, it is not the
deterrent it was intended to be because it is very difficult
to prove that a client knew he or she was procuring the
services of a trafficking victim.


63. (U) Anti-trafficking is a priority under the Rule of Law
standard of the &Standards for Kosovo8 and companion
document, the Kosovo Standards Implementation Plan, which was
drafted in coordination with the international community and
which outlines items Kosovo must achieve to become a
multi-ethnic, democratic, functioning entity. Kosovo has not
yet met these standards, but it has made considerable
progress this year.


64. (U) Question 29 (B): What are the penalties for
trafficking people for sexual exploitation?


65. (U) PCCK Article 139 on trafficking in persons provides
for two to 12 years imprisonment for engaging in trafficking
in persons (three to 15 years if the victim is a minor),
seven to 20 years plus a fine of up to 500,000 euros for
organizing a group to commit the offense, six months to five
years for negligently facilitating trafficking in persons,

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three months to five years for procuring sexual services of a
known trafficking victim (two to 10 years if the victim is
under the age of 18). These sentences are greater if
committed by an official. Under Article 139, an official
would receive five to 15 years in prison for engaging in
trafficking, at least ten years for organizing a group to
commit the offense, and two to seven years for negligently
facilitating trafficking in persons or procuring sexual
services of a trafficking victim (five to 12 years if the
victim was a minor).


66. (U) Question 29 (C): Punishment of Labor Trafficking
Offenses: What are the prescribed and imposed penalties for
trafficking for labor exploitation, such as forced or bonded
labor and involuntary servitude? Do the government's laws
provide for criminal punishment -- i.e. jail time -- for
labor recruiters in labor source countries who engage in
recruitment of laborers using knowingly fraudulent or
deceptive offers that result in workers being exploited in
the destination country? For employers or labor agents in
labor destination countries who confiscate workers' passports
or travel documents, switch contracts without the worker's
consent as a means to keep the worker in a state of service,
or withhold payment of salaries as means of keeping the
worker in a state of service? If law(s) prescribe criminal
punishments for these offenses, what are the actual
punishments imposed on persons convicted of these offenses?


67. (U) PCCK Article 137 on establishing slavery,
slavery-like conditions and forced labor provides for
imprisonment of two to 10 years for general cases, three to
10 years if the perpetrator has a domestic relationship with
the victim, three to 15 years if the victim is a child, and
five to 12 years if the perpetrator is an official (five to
20 years if the victim is a child).


68. (U) PCCK Article 140 provides for punishment of one to
five years imprisonment for withholding identification
documents of victims of trafficking. If the perpetrator is
an official in the exercise of his or her duties, the
punishment is three to seven years imprisonment.


69. (U) Trafficking in persons for other than sexual
exploitation is rare in Kosovo, and USOP was unable to obtain
statistics on imposed punishments for forced labor and
involuntary servitude. USOP prosecutorial and judicial
contacts did not recall such cases ever being tried in Kosovo.


70. (U) Question 29 (D): What are the prescribed penalties
for rape or forcible sexual assault? How do they compare to
the prescribed and imposed penalties for crimes of
trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation?


71. (U) PCCK Article 193 covers rape and forcible sexual
assault. It provides for prison sentences of: two to 10
years imprisonment for rape (five to 20 years if the victim
is under 16); three to 10 years if the victim is unprotected
or his or her security is in danger; five to 15 years if the
victim is tortured or injured or if a dangerous weapon is
used, if the perpetrator has caused the victim to become
intoxicated, if the offense is committed by more than one
person, or if the perpetrator knows the victim is vulnerable
because of age, a handicap, illness or pregnancy, or if the
perpetrator has a domestic relationship with a victim between
the ages of 16 and 18; and five to 20 years if the
perpetrator has a domestic relationship with a victim under
the age of 16. If the victim dies, the minimum sentence is
10 years in prison.


72. (U) USOP was unable to obtain statistics on rape cases.


73. (U) Question 29 (E): Is prostitution legalized or
decriminalized? Specifically, are the activities of the
prostitute criminalized? Are the activities of the brothel

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owner/operator, clients, pimps, and enforcers criminalized?
Are these laws enforced? If prostitution is legal and
regulated, what is the legal minimum age for this activity?
Note that in many countries with federalist systems,
prostitution laws may be covered by state, local, and
provincial authorities.


74. (U)
Voluntary prostitution is a minor offense under the Kosovo
Law on Public Peace and Order Article 18(6),and the law
punishes the prostitute, but not the client. The prostitute
may receive up to 60 days in jail and, if foreign, face
deportation. A client may only be punished under PCCK
Article 139 if he or she knowingly procures the services of a
trafficking victim, and it is almost impossible to prove that
a client had such knowledge.


75. (U) Under PCCK Article 201, providing the premises for
prostitution or recruiting, organizing or assisting a person
with the crime of prostitution is punishable by a fine or
imprisonment of up to three years. If prostitution is
practiced within a 350-meter radius of a school or other
locality used by children, the facilitator may receive six
months to five years in prison. Facilitating prostitution
for someone between the ages of 16 and 18 in punishable by
one to 10 years imprisonment, and doing so for someone under
the age of 16 is punishable by one to 12 years imprisonment.


76. (U) Question 29 (F): Has the government prosecuted any
cases against traffickers? If so, provide numbers of
investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and sentences,
including details on plea bargains and fines, if relevant and
available. Does the government in a labor source country
criminally prosecute labor recruiters who recruit laborers
using knowingly fraudulent or deceptive offers or impose on
recruited laborers inappropriately high or illegal fees or
commissions that create a debt bondage condition for the
laborer? Does the government in a labor destination country
criminally prosecute employers or labor agents who confiscate
workers' passports/travel documents, switch contracts or
terms of employment without the worker's consent, use
physical or sexual abuse or the threat of such abuse to keep
workers in a state of service, or withhold payment of
salaries as a means to keep workers in a state of service?
Are the traffickers serving the time sentenced: If not, why
not? Please indicate whether the government can provide this
information, and if not, why not? (Note: complete answers to
this section are essential. End Note)


77. (U) From April 1, 2006 to January 31, 2007, the KPS
mounted 99 anti-trafficking operations, 34 of which were
undercover. They arrested 28 people on trafficking charges,
and identified 50 victims. Twelve of the victims were
Kosovar Albanians; the rest of the victims were foreigners,
and mostly from Moldova. The KPS THBS also checked 1,121
premises suspected of trafficking in persons during this
period, and closed 14 of them.


78. (U) In 2006, the Kosovo judiciary worked on 42
trafficking in persons-related cases, 27 of which were
unresolved cases from previous years. During the year, 14
cases were completed, resulting in 18 convictions. Fifteen
of the convicts received prison terms and three received
suspended sentences. The prison terms ranged from four
months to nine years, but most were one year or less. Two
traffickers served six months of a one-year sentence, and one
served one year of a two-year sentence. Three traffickers
received fines in addition to their sentences; one for 600
euros and two for 100 euros each.


79. (U) A weak witness protection system, inadequate training
of prosecutors and a lack of technical equipment for
undercover operations during the early part of the year
contributed to the low rate of prosecution. Victims

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returning to their homes without testifying against their
traffickers or refusing to testify against their traffickers
further weakened prosecutions. (Note: The United States
Government provided the KPS THBS some technical equipment for
undercover operations in July 2006.)


80. (U) There is no evidence to suggest that Kosovo is a
source or destination for forced laborers. KPS THBS reports
that no forced labor cases came to their attention in 2006.
UNICEF says that media reports surfaced about children being
trafficked to Kosovo for begging during the year, but they
found no evidence to support the allegations. Instead, they
found children who came to Kosovo with their families and
were begging out of economic necessity.


81. (U) Question 29 (G): Is there any information or reports
of who is behind the trafficking? For example, are the
traffickers freelance operators, small crime groups, and/or
large international organized crime syndicates? Are
employment, travel, and tourism agencies or marriage brokers
fronting for traffickers or crime groups to traffic
individuals? Are government officials involved? Are there
any reports of where profits from trafficking in persons are
being channeled? (e.g. armed groups, terrorist
organizations, judges, banks, etc.)


82. (U) KPS, UNMIK Civpol, international organizations and
NGOs believe organized crime groups are behind some of the
trafficking in persons in Kosovo, and UNMIK police think a
coordinated effort exists between Kosovo Serb and Kosovo
Albanian criminal elements. Based on information from the
victims it assists, IOM believes the majority of traffickers
are local men. KPS THBS has noticed a trend of women
entering Kosovo with valid employment contracts for work as
waitresses or dancers, registered by municipalities and
stamped by municipal authorities. KPS THBS believes most
traffickers work in small groups through personal contacts,
but anti-trafficking officers also suspect that initial
victims of trafficking are returning to their countries of
origin and becoming recruiters. KPS THBS sees no evidence of
employment, travel and tourism agencies or marriage brokers
fronting for traffickers or crime groups to traffic
individuals.


83. (U) Post is unaware of any reports of government
officials being involved in trafficking or of trafficking
proceeds being channeled to armed groups, terrorist
organizations or judges. Nevertheless, there are no specific
reports of where profits from trafficking are channeled,
aside from informal reports from the KPS THBS that they see
evidence of wire transfers from victims to their families
abroad. Trafficking in Kosovo tends to be a cash business,
and inadequate compliance and enforcement of money laundering
legislation make it difficult for the police to monitor money
transfers.


84. (U) Question 29 (H): Does the government actively
investigate cases of trafficking? (Again, the focus should
be on trafficking cases versus migrant smuggling cases.) Does
the government use active investigative techniques in
trafficking in persons investigations? To the extent
possible under domestic law, are techniques such as
electronic surveillance, undercover operations, and mitigated
punishment or immunity for cooperating suspects used by the
government? Does the criminal procedure code or other laws
prohibit the police from engaging in covert operations?


85. (U) The KPS THBS, which gained full competency for
counter-trafficking from UNMIK Police on April 15, 2006,
actively investigates trafficking cases. Since transition,
the number of bar checks has increased dramatically, and the
number of bar closures has increased slightly. In addition
to bar checks, the KPS THBS use techniques such as mitigated
punishment or immunity for cooperating suspects, electronic

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surveillance and undercover operations, which are permissible
under Kosovo law. Electronic surveillance is an extreme
measure and may only be employed when other investigative
efforts fail. It requires a court order, and KPS THBS
complained of at least one case of a judge refusing to grant
a request they believed was fully justified. They are
continuing to press that judge and attempting to provide
additional information to bolster their request. From April
1, 2006 through January 31, 2007, the KPS THBS conducted 99
counter-trafficking operations, 34 of which were undercover,
and premise checks on 1,121 locations.


86. (U) Question 29 (I): Does the government provide any
specialized training for government officials in how to
recognize, investigate, and prosecute instances of
trafficking?


87. (U) The PISG provides training on recognizing and
investigating trafficking in persons. KPS THBS officers
provide specialized training to recruits at the Kosovo Police
Service School (KPSS),Border and Boundary Police officers,
and organized crime investigators. They also give more
comprehensive courses to KPS officers attending the basic and
advanced techniques courses at KPSS. The KPS THBS Chief
provided the KPS Training Center and Police Academy with a
lesson plan compiled by Balkan experts at the initiative of
the International Center for Migration Policy Development
(ICMPD) and United Nations Development Program (UNDP).
Thanks to this lesson plan, officers get Balkans-specific
training on the trafficking issue and investigation
approaches. In 2006, KPS THBS officers gave 10 training
sessions at the KPSS to police recruits and officers
attending investigations techniques courses. They also gave
9 trainings to Border and Boundary Police officers, 6
trainings to investigators of other units. KPS THBS's deputy
head took part in finalizing a project for training
counter-trafficking officers that UNDP and ICMPD organized.


88. (U) In addition to giving training to other officers, KPS
THBS officers took part in three regional trainings on
trafficking victims, issues and in training on the standard
operating procedure (SOP) for processing victims, which
various counter-trafficking organizations agreed upon under
the Kosovo Action Plan (KAP). KPS THBS officers also
attended specialized sessions on investigative techniques
organized by the Organized Crime Training Network (OCTN) in
Croatia, Montenegro and Kosovo, and participated in an
IOM-organized study visit to Hungary and Albania.


89. (U) The Border and Boundary Police are due to take over
counter-trafficking work along the borders and administrative
boundary lines once the proposed Law on the Border Police
takes effect, and they would like to receive even more
in-depth training. Post is evaluating their request for U.S.
Government assistance with this training.


90. (U) A number of international and national training
organizations also provide comprehensive training programs on
trafficking in persons to Kosovo judges and prosecutors. The
Kosovo Judicial Institute, the primary national training
organization, dedicates a significant portion of its
induction training to trafficking in persons. The United
States Department of Justice, Council of Europe, OSCE and
other international organizations provide specialized
training programs for judges and prosecutors on different
aspects of trafficking in persons. Many involved in
counter-trafficking work say that judges and prosecutors can
still use more training.


91. (U) In early 2006, IOM and the national coordinator for
counter-trafficking's secretariat conducted training to
enhance Kosovo's institutional capacity to implement the KAP.
KAP implementing partners also conducted training on the
Standard Operating Procedures (SOP) for all actors involved

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in identification of and assistance to trafficking victims in
2006 and early 2007.


92. (U) Question 29 (J): Does the government cooperate with
other governments in the investigation and prosecution of
trafficking cases? If possible, can post provide the number
of cooperative international investigations on trafficking?


93. (U) In 2006, international cooperation declined, largely
due to Kosovo's unique status preventing it from joining
international organizations such as Interpol, Europol and the
Southeast European Cooperative Initiative (SECI). KPS THBS
reported that international cooperation was better when they
were under UNMIK. They had bi-monthly meetings with the
Serbian Ministry of Interior, as well as good coordination
and contact with neighboring countries, Interpol and Europol.
KPS THBS says it continues to provide requested information
to international organizations and foreign governments, but
says it does not see a two-way flow of information. KPS THBS
reported that cooperation from April 1, 2006 to the present
has been mostly thanks to collegial relations officers gained
from various trainings. Albania and Moldova were the
exception. Albania cooperated very closely and effectively
through the Albanian Liaison Office, and the KPS THBS were
able to free six Moldovan females thanks to a tip from a
Moldovan police officer.


94. (U) The national counter-trafficking coordinator reports
good cooperation with national counter-trafficking
coordinators from neighboring countries. In particular, he
cited work with national counter-trafficking coordinators
from Macedonia, Albania, Romania and Bulgaria to raise
awareness of anti-trafficking issues in 2006. He said they
have also held meetings to exchange information.


95. (U) Since the majority of foreign trafficking victims
identified in Kosovo come from Moldova, Kosovo's national
counter-trafficking coordinator is particularly interested in
inviting the Moldovan national counter-trafficking
coordinator to Pristina to discuss ways to tackle the
problem. He asked the U.S. Government for financial
assistance for this project, and Post is considering the
request in light of its overall anti-trafficking assistance
priorities.


96. (U) Question 29 (K): Does the government extradite
persons who are charged with trafficking in other countries?
If so, can post provide the number of traffickers extradited?
Does the government extradite its own nationals charged with
such offenses? If not, is the government prohibited by law
form extraditing its own nationals? If so, is the government
doing to modify its laws to permit the extradition of its own
nationals?


97. (U) Kosovo is unable to enter into formal extradition
treaties because it lacks status as a sovereign state.
Nevertheless, UNMIK has been able to enter into international
agreements to transfer Kosovars to other countries on a
case-by-case basis, and is able to extradite foreign
nationals under UN Security Council Resolution 1244.
According to UNMIK, there have been eight cases of
extradition to foreign countries, involving 11 people, since
the end of the conflict in 1999.


98. (U) Question 29 (L): Is there evidence of government
involvement in or tolerance of trafficking, on a local or
institutional level? If so, please explain in detail.


99. (U) Post is unaware of any evidence of government
involvement in or tolerance of trafficking on a local or
institutional level. Nevertheless, KPS THBS has reported
that foreign trafficking victims often arrive in Kosovo with
valid documents and employment contracts registered by local
attorneys and stamped by municipal authorities. They believe

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the attorneys and local authorities may be aware that the
girls are being trafficked into Kosovo to work as
prostitutes, despite the fact that the traffickers are asking
them to draft and register employment contracts stating the
girls will be waitresses or dancers.


100. (U) Question 29 (M): If government officials are
involved in trafficking, what steps has the government taken
to end such participation? Have any government officials
been prosecuted for involvement in trafficking or
trafficking- related corruption? Have any been convicted?
What sentence(s) was imposed? Please provide specific
numbers, if available.


101. (U) Post has found no evidence of government officials
being involved in trafficking during this reporting period.
Nevertheless, the PISG is aware that susceptibility to
corruption is a problem in Kosovo due in particular to the
low salaries local law enforcement officials receive. In
2006, the PISG established three government bodies whose
mandates include anti-corruption work: the Police
Inspectorate of Kosovo (PIK),the Kosovo Special Prosecutors'
Office (KSPO) and the Kosovo Anti-Corruption Agency. (See
paragraphs 21 and 56.) They are fledgling institutions, so
it is too early to address their efficacy.


102. (U) Question 30 (N): If the country has an identified
child sex tourism problem (as source or destination),how
many foreign pedophiles has the government prosecuted or
deported/extradited to their country of origin? What are the
countries of origin for sex tourists? Do the country's child
sexual abuse laws have extraterritorial coverage (similar to
the U.S. PROTECT Act)? If so, how many of the country's
nationals have been prosecuted and/or convicted under the
extraterritorial provision(s)?


103. (U) Post has not found any evidence, anecdotal or
otherwise, of a child sex tourism problem in Kosovo.


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

--ILO Convention 182 concerning the Prohibition and Immediate
Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labor.
--ILO Convention 29 and 105 on Forced or Compulsory Labor.
--The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of
the Child (CRC) on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution,
and Child Pornography.
--The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in
Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN
Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.


105. (U) Kosovo is not a sovereign state and therefore not a
party to international instruments. As a UN-administered
entity, it recognizes international covenants to which the UN
is a signatory. The Constitutional Framework states the
&PISG shall observe and ensure internationally recognized
human rights and fundamental freedoms8 and lists
international conventions on human rights, including: The
Universal Declaration of Human Rights; the European
Convention for the Protection of Human Rights and Fundamental
Freedoms and its protocols; the International Covenant on
Civil and Political Rights and the protocols thereto; the
Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial
Discrimination; the Convention on the Elimination of All
Forms of Discrimination Against Women; and the Convention on
the Rights of the Child. UNMIK regulations state that all
persons exercising public duties or holding public office are
bound by internationally recognized human rights standards.


106. (U) According to the International Labor Organization
(ILO),Convention 182 applies to Kosovo, and the Ministry of

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Labor and Social Welfare has committed itself to eliminating
the worst forms of child labor by signing a memorandum of
understanding with ILO on the implementation of ILO's
International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor
(IPEC).

Protection and Assistance to Victims


107. (U) Question 30 (A): Does the government assist victims,
for example, by providing temporary to permanent residency
status, relief from deportation, shelter and access to legal,
medical and psychological services? If so, please explain.
Does the country have victim care and victim health care
facilities? Does the country have facilities dedicated to
helping victims of trafficking? If so, can post provide the
number of victims placed in these care facilities?


108. (U) Protection and assistance to trafficking victims are
governed by the Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) that
UNMIK, the PISG, international organizations and NGOs
developed for foreign and local victims in 2004 and 2006,
respectively. Under the SOPs, when police or social workers
suspect that someone is a trafficking victim, a KPS THBS
officer must fill out a basic data form and call a victim's
advocate from the Ministry of Justice Victims' Assistance and
Advocacy Unit (VAAU). Victims' advocates assist all
trafficking victims with legal advice and support from
identification through reintegration. Victim's advocates
also give victims information on medical and psychosocial
support services available to them. In the case of minors,
social workers from the MLSW's Center for Social Work (CSW)
must be present for any questioning of the victim. They
assist from identification through reintegration.


109. (U) UNMIK Regulation 2001/4 protects trafficking victims
from being charged with prostitution or illegal entry, as
well as from being deported. It also provides for review of
requests for refugee status and for approval of residency
permits, if appropriate. Victims who do not wish to accept
assistance are released, but they may be subject to re-arrest
and deportation if they continue to work as prostitutes.


110. (U) All trafficking victims are accorded shelter and
access to legal, medical and psychological services. Most
medical and psychological services are provided through the
shelters. Foreign victims who wish to return to their
countries of origin also have a right to IOM repatriation
assistance.


111. (U) The Ministry of Justice runs an Interim Security
Facility (ISF) funded by Kosovo's central budget and
supervised by Ministry of Justice Victims, Assistance and
Advocacy Unit (VAAU) staff. It provides temporary shelter,
medical care, clothing, pocket money, counseling, educational
assistance, recreational activities, and other services to
victims while they consider whether to be repatriated or wait
to testify against traffickers in criminal proceedings. The
average stay in the ISF is three nights and only the highest
risk victims would normally stay longer. Victims are
generally not permitted to stay in the ISF for more than six
months.


112. (U) Aside from the ISF, the PISG relies heavily on
foreign donors to operate shelters and services offered to
trafficking victims. Hope and Homes operates two shelters
and an assisted living project for trafficking victims.
Although it is not desirable because of the special needs of
trafficking victims, domestic violence shelters also
occasionally accept trafficking victims on an emergency
basis. The Center for Protection and Prevention of Victims
of Trafficking in Human Beings (PVPT),which recently closed
its doors because of insufficient funding and threats
received after its location was compromised, is expected to
reopen in March 2007 thanks to a donation from OSCE that

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includes re-programmed U.S. Government funds. These shelters
usually assist victims for no more than six months.


113. (U) Hope and Homes narrowly averted shutting its doors
in February 2007 when the MLSW agreed to fund it at the
previous year's level until a tender for shelter services
could be published and competed. Hope and Homes receives a
large portion of its budget from the MLSW and was counting on
the MLSW money for its 2007 operations. The Hope and Homes
and PVPT funding issues highlight the precarious long-term
future of shelters in Kosovo.


114. (U) Although data collection is improving, exact numbers
of trafficking victims in Kosovo's shelters are not
available. CRS reported that during calendar year 2006 PVPT
assisted 21 victims, while Hopes and Homes for Children
assisted 5, Woman Wellness Center in Peja 2, Liria in Gjilan
11, and Safe House Gjakova 8.


115. (U) Question 30 (B): Does the government provide funding
or other forms of support to foreign or domestic NGOs for
services to victims? Please explain.


116. (U) The MLSW funds, in part, shelters focusing on
domestic trafficking victims. In addition, in several
cities, the municipalities provide rent-free space to house
shelters.


117. (U) Question 30 (C): Do the government's law enforcement
and social services personnel have a formal system of
identifying victims of trafficking among high-risk persons
with whom they come in contact (e.g. foreign persons arrested
for prostitution or immigration violations)? Is there a
referral process in place, when appropriate, to transfer
victims detained, arrested or placed in protective custody by
law enforcement authorities to NGO's that provide short- or
long-term care?


118. (U) KPS THBS interviews potential victims of
trafficking and fills out a basic data form, which is
designed to capture relevant information once to prevent the
victim from being re-victimized by numerous interrogations.
Upon identification, the standard operating procedure (SOP)
kicks in and a victims, advocate is called. As mentioned
earlier, a social worker will also be called if the victim is
a minor. Victims, advocates or social workers will refer
victims to other services available to them, including
shelter and reintegration programs.


119. (U) Question 30 (D): Are the rights of victims
respected, or are victims treated as criminals? Are victims
detained, jailed, or deported? If detained or jailed, for
how long? Are victims fined? Are victims prosecuted for
violations of other laws, such as those governing immigration
or prostitution?


120. (U) According to IOM and others involved in
counter-trafficking work in Kosovo, victims, rights are
generally respected. Nevertheless, some problems have been
reported. IOM says that some victims are jailed or deported.
According to IOM, the jail terms depend on the penal code
but may be one month or more. Post believes these incidents
are the result of women refusing to admit to KPS THBS that
they are trafficking victims. KPS THBS has complained of
this on numerous occasions. Since prostitution is illegal
and constitutes grounds for deportation, KPS THBS say they
have little choice when victims are caught for prostitution
and vehemently deny being victims.


121. (U) Other problems reported included victims not being
permitted to give statements in private due to the lack of
private interview rooms in police stations and victims who
wished to remain anonymous coming into contact with their
traffickers in courts due to lax security procedures.

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122. (U) Question 30 (E): Does the government encourage
victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of
trafficking? May victims file civil suits or seek legal
action against the traffickers? Does anyone impede the
victims' access to such legal redress? If a victim is a
material witness in a court case against a former employer,
is the victim permitted to obtain other employment or to
leave the country pending trial proceedings? Is there a
victim restitution program?


123. (U) The VAAU reports that victims are not pressured to
assist in investigation and prosecution of traffickers, but
that systems are in place to allow them to make recorded
statements with their faces hidden and voices disguised.
Victims, advocates are with them from identification through
reintegration and explain their rights every step of the way.


124. (U) In addition to testifying against their traffickers,
victims may file civil suits or seek legal action against
their traffickers. According to IOM, no one impedes their
rights to such legal redress. Victims who are material
witnesses in court cases against former employers are
permitted to obtain other employment or leave the country
provided they share their contact details with the court.


125. (U) IOM reports that there is a victim restitution
program, but it is in its initial phase.


126. (U) Question 30 (F): What kind of protection is the
government able to provide for victims and witnesses? Does
it provide these protections in practice? What type of
shelter or services does the government provide? Does it
provide shelter or housing benefits to victims or other
resources to aid the victims in rebuilding their lives? Where
are child victims placed (e.g. in shelters, foster-care, or
juvenile justice detention centers)?


127. (U) The PISG is able to provide 24-hour protection to
victims and to allow them to give anonymous testimony if they
decide to become witnesses in cases against their
traffickers. KPS THBS officers do risk assessments of all
trafficking victims. They refer the high-risk victims to the
Ministry of Justice-run Interim Security Facility (ISF),a
high security shelter that offers 24-hour protection but does
not allow victims to come and go as they please. They refer
the low- and medium-risk victims to private shelters, which
allow some freedom of movement and are generally more
conducive to longer stays and reintegration.


128. (U) Minors may be sent to the ISF or a shelter for
minors depending on their risk level, reintegrated with their
families, or placed in foster-care if they come from abusive
families. Local Centers for Social Work handle the minors,
cases, and report directly to the Ministry of Labor and
Social Welfare. While the foster care option exists, UNICEF
complained of a lack of opportunities for girls who do not
want to return to their families. They said some end up back
with the dysfunctional families that contributed to their
initial trafficking, thus increasing their potential for
re-victimization.


129. (U) The PISG provides some reintegration services in
cooperation with international organizations and NGOs, but
these are limited and are mostly offered through the
shelters. They include health care, counseling, education,
clothing, pocket money and employment assistance. ILO
reports that social workers are not always aware of what is
available to the victims. They did a project in 2006 to map
available services to try to improve the situation.


130. (U) Question 30 (F): Does the government provide any
specialized training for government officials in recognizing
trafficking and in the provision of assistance to trafficked

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victims, including the special needs of trafficked children?
Does the government provide training on protections and
assistance to its embassies and consulates in foreign
countries that are destination or transit countries? Does it
urge those embassies and consulates to develop ongoing
relationships with NGOs that serve trafficked victims?


131. (U) The PISG trains government officials and
anti-trafficking partners on recognizing trafficking and
providing assistance to victims, including minors, mostly in
cooperation with its anti-trafficking partners in the NGO and
international organization communities. The PISG and its
partners are currently training social workers, victims,
advocates and KPS THBS officers on the standard operating
procedures (SOPs) for dealing with victims. The SOPs for
local victims were adopted in March 2006 and the existing
SOPs for foreign victims were revised and updated in 2006.
Only Pristina is left, and the training is likely to be
completed in March 2007.


132. (U) KPS THBS HQ and regional officers also give numerous
trafficking-related trainings and presentations. In 2006,
they gave 10 training sessions to KPS recruits and officers
attending investigations techniques courses, 9 training
sessions to Border/Boundary Police officers, and 6 training
sessions to investigators of other units.


133. (U) Finally, the Kosovo Judicial Institute offers
trafficking-related training to judges and prosecutors.


134. (U) Kosovo is not a sovereign state, and therefore does
not have embassies and consulates.


134. (U) Question 30 (H): Does the government provide
assistance, such as medical aid, shelter, or financial help,
to its repatriated nationals who are victims of trafficking?


135. (U) The VAAU reports that the PISG does provide
assistance to repatriated Kosovars who are trafficking
victims. If they are placed in a shelter, they benefit from
the same services available to victims identified in Kosovo.
IOM reports that there is, however, no other support for
victims once they leave the shelter. In the case of minors,
social workers are involved with family mediation and school
re-insertion and may point victims in the direction of other
assistance.


136. (U) Question 30 (I): Which international organizations
or NGOs, if any, work with trafficking victims? What type of
services do they provide? What sort of cooperation do they
receive from local authorities? NOTE: If post reports that
a government is incapable of assisting and protecting TIP
victims, then post should explain thoroughly. Funding,
personnel, and training constraints should be noted, if
applicable. Conversely, the lack of political will to address
the problem should be noted as well.


137. (U) While many international organizations and NGOs work
on the trafficking issue, IOM is the only one working
directly with victims. Hope and Homes for Children and PVPT
were originally international NGOs, but have since spun off
and become local NGOs.


138. (U) For foreign victims, IOM provides: case screening
and management, psycho-social counseling inside shelters or
referrals for outside psychiatric and psychological
assistance, medical assistance, in-depth needs assessments,
travel arrangements, travel documents for victims whose
passports have been confiscated by traffickers, travel
supplies and reinstallation grants, organization of safe
transportation to departure points (in cooperation with UNMIK
and based on medical and security concerns),medical and
accompanied minor escorts when necessary, and coordination
with receiving IOM mission. For local victims, it provides:

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short- and medium-term sheltering in preparation for family
reunification or independent living, family mediation (in
cooperation with social workers when victims are minors),
psychological counseling and psychiatric assistance,
reintegration or emergency grants, material support for
victims and/or families, housing and rental support, access
to education, education-related expenses, vocational
training, job placement (including for family members),
awareness-raising and self-improvement activities,
facilitation of relocation out of Kosovo for witnesses and
their families, and monitoring and follow-up.


139. (SBU) U.S. Office Pristina does not clear this cable for
release to U.N. Special Envoy Martti Ahtisaari.
KAIDANOW