TIP - SWITZERLAND: ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 24 BERN 000122



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SIPDIS



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

SUBJECT: TIP - SWITZERLAND: ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN

PERSONS REPORT



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TABLE OF CONTENTS:

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I. SUMMARY OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS

II. OVERVIEW

III. PREVENTION

IV. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS

V. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS





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I. SUMMARY OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS

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Switzerland continued to make appreciable progress in its

anti-trafficking-in-persons practices, investigating and

prosecuting TIP cases vigorously. In 2007, federal and

cantonal (state) police led at least 28 investigations on

trafficking or trafficking-related offenses. With regard

to prosecutions, provisional data for 2007 show that Swiss

courts made at least 12 convictions for trafficking or

trafficking-related offenses. To improve the statistics

on investigations and prosecutions and to gather national

data, the National Conference of the Cantonal Justice

Ministers decided in 2006 to harmonize cantonal recording

practices and gather national policing statistics by 2010.

In the meantime, the Human Trafficking/Migrant Smuggling

Investigative Unit of the Federal Criminal Police has

begun to keep records of ongoing investigations and

prosecutions, which the cantons (states) report

voluntarily. The government cooperated with other

governments in the investigation and prosecution of

trafficking and trafficking-related offenses.



On the legal front, a new article in the Penal Code that

defines human trafficking more comprehensively entered

into force on December 1, 2006. Under the new article,

anyone acting as the supplier, broker, or buyer in the

trafficking of human beings for the purposes of sexual

exploitation, labor exploitation, or to remove a body

organ is liable to imprisonment. The act of recruiting an

individual for the purposes aforementioned also qualifies

as trafficking and is liable to the same punishment. On

January 1, 2007, an amendment of the Penal Code entered

into force that makes certain criminal infractions subject

to universal prosecution. Human trafficking, forced

prostitution of minors, and child sexual abuse can thus be

prosecuted in Switzerland regardless of where the crime

was committed.



In April 2007, the Swiss Police Academy held the first

five-day training class in combating human trafficking for

cantonal police and immigration officials and border

guards, which was repeated in October to accommodate high

demand. (Police officers are trained at the cantonal

level and the Swiss police academy serves as a national

institute for cantonal police officers to undergo periodic

specialized training). The same class will be offered to

French-speaking law enforcement and immigration officials

during 2008. At the operational level, the National

Conference of the Cantonal Chiefs of Police has

established a working group on trafficking in persons and

migrant smuggling that began operations in the summer of

2007. The working group, which convenes 1-2 times per

year, is tasked with establishing standardized

investigation procedures and fostering cooperation and

exchange of specialized know-how.



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 63 in 2005 to 80 in 2006.

In 2007, cantonal immigration authorities offered 33

trafficking victims 30-day stays of deportation

proceedings designed to offer them a period of

contemplation and recovery. Six trafficking victims were

offered short-term residency permits for the duration of

legal/court proceedings against their traffickers, and

four 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 2007 than the year before

and continued to receive public money for its TIP-victim

assistance services.



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Efforts to improve the legal protections of TIP victims

continued. On January 1, 2008, the new Federal Law on

Foreigners entered into force. 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 new law

strengthens the legal status of TIP victims and witnesses,

explicitly authorizing the government to waive normal

immigration requirements and grant temporary or permanent

residency permits for victims and witnesses of human

trafficking. The law further allows the federal

government to logistically and financially assist

trafficking victims and witnesses, for whom a return is

acceptable, in the re-integration in their countries of

origin. In March 2007, Parliament adopted the revision of

the Federal Victims Assistance Law that enhances crime

victims' right to emergency protections and allows cantons

to pool resources to establish regional victim assistance

centers specializing in certain types of crime (e.g. TIP).

In October 2007, Parliament adopted a new federal code of

criminal trial proceedings that is to 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: following the example of

Zurich, the canton which pioneered these efforts, four

more cantons had formalized such a referral process in

written memoranda of understanding by the end of 2006.

Two more cantons adopted written referral agreements

during the reporting period and efforts to establish a

formal referral process continued or were newly begun in

another three. The total number of cantonal roundtables

that have either adopted a referral agreement or are in

the process of doing so has risen to ten. 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 have increased

their scrutiny of visa applications for nightclub

performers, with a view toward ensuring that applicants

receive valid contracts, are completely aware of their

future conditions, and are informed how to seek help once

in Switzerland. The Federal Office for Migration also

issued new regulations on official monitoring of the

working conditions of cabaret dancers and the contractual

obligations of the nightclub owners. Swiss government

agencies continued to fund several prevention and

protection programs abroad, valued annually at over US$

1.5 million.



In view of the upcoming European Soccer Cup, the

government has appropriated $96,000 to kick-start public

awareness campaigns. The goal of the campaign is to raise

awareness among the visitors of the EURO 08 and the

general public of the extent and the consequences of women

trafficking. The campaign will also target the customers

of commercial sexual services, calling on them to help

potential victims of trafficking get access to aid

organizations. In February 2008, a Moldovan theatre

group, hosted by IOM Switzerland and the Swiss Ministry of

Foreign Affairs, toured Switzerland with its play "A

saptea Kafana - the seventh Coffeehouse", which is meant

to increase public awareness of human trafficking. Three

state-subsidized 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 was shown in a

total of ten cantons in 2006/07.



The Swiss tourism industry under the leadership of the NGO

ECPAT has established a code of conduct to combat child

sex tourism. The Federal Criminal Police is cooperating

with the framers of the code to establish a mechanism to

allow travel agencies to tip off law enforcement bodies



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about child sex tourists. Switzerland pursued a zero-

tolerance policy regarding sexual exploitation by

personnel serving in international peace-keeping missions.

All civil and military persons serving in peace-keeping

missions are subject to the Code of Conduct of the UN

(and/or NATO-PfP respectively) and undergo specific

awareness raising training before deployment.





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II. OVERVIEW

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A. Switzerland is primarily a country of destination for

persons being trafficked, almost exclusively women, but

transit also occurs. Trafficking occurs both across

borders and within the country. Swiss officials estimate

the number of trafficking victims at a few hundred per

year. Several cantons (states),including Zurich, Geneva,

Basel, Bern, Vaud, and Ticino, recorded an increase in the

number of registered prostitutes and commercial sex

establishments in 2006. Federal Police assess that the

total number of potential trafficking victims currently

living in Switzerland is 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. Both Federal Police and NGO sources noted an increase

in 2006/2007 in the number of young women being trafficked

into Switzerland for sexual exploitation from Eastern

Europe, particularly Romania. The second apparent trend is

that police or NGOs more frequently identify TIP victims

working in contact bars in more rural areas. 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,

Cameroon). The Zurich-based Information Center for Women

from Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe (FIZ)

previously reported 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 [Embassy

comment: FIZ has not yet compiled its 2007 statistics but

will have them soon]. 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. Federal Police have

reported that traffickers are increasingly well organized

with far-reaching international networks.



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. A study by the University of Neuchatel found

that night club cabaret dancers who come for the first

time to Switzerland are more at risk of falling pray to

traffickers than dancers who have previously visited

Switzerland. Faced with excessive and illegal brokerage

fees and due to the local high cost of living, such women

find themselves in a state of dependency. 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

prostitutes' gross income is paid to brothel owners and

traffickers who organize the passage and entry to

Switzerland.



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 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.





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C. The Federal Office of Police (BAP) is the federal

government's primary actor in anti-trafficking efforts.

The BAP's Federal Criminal Police handles international

cooperation and investigations of organized crime; the

Service for Analysis and Prevention, i.e. the domestic

intelligence service, does strategic analysis of

information. The Federal Office of Police also hosts the

Coordination Unit against the Trafficking of Persons and

Smuggling of Migrants (KSMM),which is the federal

government's interdepartmental body to coordinate and

monitor anti-trafficking efforts. The KSMM develops anti-

TIP strategies and policies in consultation with its

constituting ministries that retain final responsibility

for their implementation.



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 Federal

Office of Migration has the lead in easing the return of

trafficking victims and assisting in their re-integration

in their home societies (cf. section 4.F.).



The following government agencies are represented on the

Steering Committee of the KSMM, taking active part in the

fight against human trafficking:



Federal Level:



-- Ministry of Foreign Affairs

- Political Division IV (Human Security)

- Directorate for International Law

- International Development Cooperation



-- Finance Ministry

- Swiss Border Guards



-- Ministry for Justice and Police

- Office of the Prosecutor General

- Federal Office for Migration

- Federal Office of Justice

- Federal Office of Police



-- Economics Ministry

- Directorate of Labor



Cantonal (i.e. state) Level:



-- National Conference of Cantonal Chiefs of Police

-- National Conference of Prosecuting Offices

-- National Conference of Equal Opportunity Offices

-- National Conference of Victims Assistance Centers

-- National Conference of Cantonal Migration Offices



NGOs/IOs:

-- Information Center for Women from Africa, Latin

America, and Eastern Europe (FIZ),Zurich

-- International Organization for Migration, Bern

-- Foundation Terre des Hommes, Lausanne



D. In general, criminal cases against traffickers are not

pursued (for lack of evidence) unless their victims are

willing to testify. Federal and cantonal police and

immigration authorities follow a policy 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. On January 1, 2008,

the New Federal Law on Foreigners became effective, which

gives special protection to TIP victims or witnesses who

testify against their traffickers and regulates their stay

during and after judicial proceedings (cf. section 4.A).



A growing number (ten at the latest count)of major urban

centers and suburban cantons have established written

agreements on 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 federal regulations to stay

deportation proceedings and the better local cooperation

between NGOs and law enforcement officials, the number of

TIP victims willing to testify against their traffickers

has risen considerably.





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E. 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.



In December 2007, the KSMM published an extensive

accountability report on the federal and cantonal

governments' anti-TIP efforts. The report lists the

progress made over the last few years in the areas of

trafficking prevention, victim protection, and prosecution

and has been put on the Federal Office of Police's

website. 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, i.e. the

government's domestic intelligence service, does strategic

analysis of human trafficking in and throughout

Switzerland and publishes its findings in the Federal

Office of Police's annual report on homeland security.





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III. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS

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A. The Swiss Penal Code has two articles specifically

prohibiting trafficking in persons: Article 182, effective

since December 1, 2006, stipulates that anyone acting as

the supplier, broker, or buyer in the trafficking of a

human being for the purposes of sexual exploitation, labor

exploitation, or to remove a body organ shall be liable to

imprisonment or a fine, or both. 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.



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 prohibits the promotion of prostitution and

states that anyone inducing a person into prostitution by

abusing a situation of dependency or promising 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,

entered into force on December 1, 2006. Article 182

penalizes trafficking for the purposes of sexual

exploitation, labor exploitation, or to remove a body

organ. The older Penal Code article 196 solely penalized

trafficking for the purposes of sexual exploitation.



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On January 1, 2007, an amendment of the Penal Code entered

into force. Under the new 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 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 amendment 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 for

sexual exploitation is a prison term of twenty years

(Penal Code Article 182). 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 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 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.



D. The Penal Code also punishes rape, forcible sexual

assault, and other sex crimes. Sexual activity with

minors (Article 187) and sexual acts with dependent

persons (Article 188) are punishable with up to five years

imprisonment; sexual coercion (Article 189),rape (Article

190),and sexual violations of mentally or physically

incapacitated persons (Article 191) are liable to a

maximum ten year prison sentence; sexual acts with

detainees (Article 192) and taking advantage of a person's

distress or dependency due to employment or any other

condition to induce a sexual act or acceptance thereof

(Article 193) carry a maximum penalty of 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. Pimping has been decriminalized

since 1992, and brothel owners may legally sublet room and

negotiate the terms with the prostitutes. However,

Article 195 of the Penal 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 (states) 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



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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 vary greatly from canton to canton. At its

spring meeting 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 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 formed during 2006.



In 2007, the inter-cantonal Working Group on Human

Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling established a database

on the ongoing investigations and prosecutions on

suspicion of human trafficking or forced prostitution in

the cantons. Cantonal authorities report ongoing

investigations/prosecutions on a voluntary basis. The

data base is maintained by the Human Trafficking/Migrant

Smuggling Investigative Unit of the Federal Criminal

Police, which also coordinates inter-cantonal and

international trafficking investigations. The data base

is still in the process of being established and hence

does not yet include all ongoing

investigations/prosecutions on trafficking and forced

prostitution. However, more information is available

sooner than in previous years, representing an appreciable

and continuing improvement in Swiss data management with

regard to TIP.



According to this developing database, there were at least

20 police investigations or prosecutions during 2007 for

human trafficking for the purposes of sexual or labor

exploitation. These investigations and prosecutions were

led by cantonal law enforcement agencies in all but ONE

case, which was handled by federal authorities.



Adding up these numbers, police investigated at least 28

trafficking cases in 2007 (i.e. 19 cantonal police + 1

Federal Criminal Police + 8 investigations spanning

several countries, in which the Federal Criminal Police

adopted a coordinating role).



CONVICTIONS:



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Year Art. 196/182 Art. 195 Total

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

1999 7 14 21

2000 5 17 22

2001 2 17 19

2002 2 11 13

2003 7 6 13

2004 2 12 14

2005 12 15 27

2006* 5 14 19

2007* 8 4 12



* Provisional statistics as of end of February 2008; final

numbers most likely to be higher after defendants exhaust

possibilities of appeal (e.g. final numbers for 2005 and

2006 are significantly higher than Embassy had reported

previously).



One criminal investigation in 2007 was opened under the



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new article 182 on suspicion of trafficking for labor

exploitation. Swiss law enforcement agents received tips

from colleagues abroad relating to migrant smuggling.

Meanwhile, the case has been transferred to a court. At

present, the priority lies on combating human trafficking

for the purpose of sexual exploitation and police

departments dedicate most of their resources to combating

this form of exploitation. As Article 182 of the Penal

Code was enacted only in ecember 2006, legal issues

regarding its application in cases of labor exploitation

are still being worked out and cooperation mechanisms

between law enforcement and victim protection bodies are

being defined.



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.



In 2002 the Federal Tribunal ruled 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:



Comment: The conviction statistics for the years 2006 and

2007 are provisional. The Federal Office of Police

gathers these preliminary statistics on the basis of the

court records the office receives from cantonal courts.

The final total number of convictions is most likely to be

higher. Final conviction statistics are compiled and

released by another office, the Swiss Federal Statistical

Office, but only after a delay of 18 months.



2007



Of the eight first-instance convictions for human

trafficking recorded in 2007 four were for violation of

the old Penal Code Article 196 and four for violation of

the new Article 182 (effective since December 1, 2006).

Penalties range between 6 months suspended prison

sentences to 30 months unsuspended prison sentences; in

addition the traffickers received fines ranging from $870

(900 Swiss francs) to $2,310 (2,400 Swiss francs). The

courts also convicted traffickers to pay a maximum of

$2,020 (2,100 Swiss francs) indemnities and a maximum $

14,420 (15,000 Swiss francs) in moral damages. As of end

of February 2008, Federal Police had recorded four first-

instance convictions for forced prostitution during 2007.



In 2007, appeals courts upheld the convictions from lower

courts in the two biggest trafficking cases from the

previous TIP reporting period.



In Zurich, the cantonal appeals court in 2007 upheld the

first-instance ruling in a trafficking case from 2006, in

which the main culprit was sentenced to 27 months in

prison.



In 2007 the Federal Tribunal (Supreme Court) upheld the

four year prison sentence against the main culprit in a

trafficking case in the Canton of Bern from spring 2007.

In April 2007, a Bern cantonal appeals court had lowered

the first-instance court verdict of six years to four

years behind bars. The Federal Tribunal ruling is final.



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



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Length of sentence Average

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

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





[Embassy comment: 2006 sentencing data is forthcoming]



G. Investigators of the Federal Criminal Police receive

specialized training in investigating incidences of

organized crime, including human trafficking. Under the

2001 Efficiency Bill, 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 2007, the KSMM continued its specialized training

programs for federal and cantonal officials.



Training of migration and law enforcement officials:

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



April 16-20, 2007, the Swiss Police Academy in Neuchatel

held its first training class in combating human

trafficking for 25 cantonal police officers and

immigration officials. (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). Due to the high demand,

the class was repeated October 22-26, 2007, for 27 police



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officers, immigration officials and border guards. The

first two training classes were held in German; the same

class will be offered to French-speaking law enforcement

and immigration officials during 2008.



The main teacher of the training course was the head of

the investigative unit of the Zurich City Police, who was

chosen to achieve maximum impact and acceptance among the

Swiss Policing Community. The head of the KSMM served as

main assistant of the course. The KSMM had finalized the

course program and evaluated all instructors of the

training module. Some classes were taught by experts from

the Zurich-based anti-TIP NGO FIZ.



The training program covered the following topics:



- National and international analysis regarding TIP,

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, 2006, 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

Smuggling of Migrants

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



The National Conference of the Cantonal Chiefs of Police

in 2006 decided to install an inter-cantonal police

working group "Trafficking in Persons/Smuggling of

Migrants". The Working Group was established at the

initiative of the KSMM and began operations in the summer

of 2007. It comprises representatives from the regional

police concordats, the airport police, the Zurich and

Ticino police forces, and the Federal Office of Police.

The working group, which convenes 1-2 times per year, is

tasked with establishing standardized investigation

procedures for all of Switzerland and to foster

cooperation and exchange of specialized know-how at the

operational level. The Working Group is chaired by the

Head of the Investigative Unit of the Zurich City Police,

who taught the first training class in combating human

trafficking at the Swiss Police Academy in Neuchatel.



H. 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 2007 provided

assistance in 602 instances in response to international

inquiries relating to human trafficking, compared to 647

during 2006 and 550 during 2005. The Federal Criminal

Police takes part in the expert working groups of both

Europol and Interpol. During 2007, there were eight

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.) ONE of the biggest police operations targeting the

trafficking of mostly Romanian women for sexual

exploitation was conducted in the cantons of Bern and

Schwyz in February 2007, together with officials from

Romania.



Since 2004 Switzerland has had a bilateral cooperation

accord between Europol and the Swiss Police, allowing the



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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.



Since 1995 the Federal Office of Police has deployed

police attachs abroad to support the Swiss police and

judicial authorities in the fight against transnational

crime. At present Switzerland has a network of seven

police attachs in six countries (two in the U.S. and ONE

each in the Czech Republic, Germany, Italy, Thailand and

in France at the General Secretariat of Interpol in Lyon).

The police attach in the Czech Republic and Italy are

also accredited in Slovakia and Slovenia, respectively.

Switzerland has bilateral police cooperation agreements

with Austria, France, Hungary, Latvia, and Albania.

Switzerland has also signed but not yet ratified

cooperation agreements with Romania, Macedonia, and

Bosnia-Herzegovina.



I. 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.



J. Trafficking is not tolerated in Switzerland, and there

are no indications or reports that government officials

are involved.



K. N/A



L. There have been no indications or reports that Swiss

military or civilian personnel deployed on international

peace-keeping missions have engaged in or facilitated

severe forms of trafficking or exploited victims of such

trafficking. Switzerland pursues a zero-tolerance policy

regarding sexual exploitation by personnel participating

in international peace-keeping missions (cf. section

5.I.).



M. 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.

Anybody violating 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.



During 2007, Swiss law enforcement authorities handled the

following child sex tourism cases:

- A Swiss national was sentenced in Cambodia to eleven

years in prison for child sexual abuse. Swiss law

enforcement authorities cooperated in the investigation

with local authorities.

- A criminal investigation against a Swiss national has

been opened in Switzerland on suspicion of child sexual

abuse abroad.

- A Swiss national who had been sentenced in Switzerland

for child sexual abuse and who had taken up residence in

Haiti to escape punishment was extradited to Switzerland.





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

IV. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS

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



A. The government does assist foreign victims of

trafficking by granting relief from deportation and



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providing temporary to permanent residency status in cases

of serious hardship. Under the Federal Law on Foreigners,

effective January 1, 2008, cantonal immigration

authorities must grant TIP victims a minimum 30-day stay

of deportation proceedings to let them recover from their

trauma and weigh participation in judicial proceedings

against their traffickers (cantonal immigration

authorities have been granting temporary stays of

deportation to TIP victims since 2004, in accord with

federal guidelines). Cantonal immigration authorities may

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 investigation takes longer.

In 2007, cantonal immigration offices granted the 30-day

stays of deportation proceedings to 33 trafficking victims

(39 in 2006) and issued 6 short-term residency permits for

the duration of legal/court proceedings against their

traffickers (three in 2006).



The new Federal Law on Foreigners 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 Federal Office for Migration

grants trafficking victims temporary admission in

Switzerland if they are at risk of personal harm as

witnesses in criminal proceedings or if a return to the

country of origin is deemed unreasonable. In 2007, four

victims were granted such long-term residency permits on

grounds of personal hardship after the end of court

proceedings (three in 2006). The law also allows the

federal government to logistically and financially assist

trafficking victims and witnesses for whom a return is

acceptable in their re-integration in their countries of

origin. In April 2008, the Federal Office for Migration

launches a two-year pilot project to assist trafficking

victims and witnesses in their return to and re-

integration in their home societies.



B. 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 2006 (most

recent figures available) a total of 80 victims of human

trafficking or forced prostitution received help from

government victims assistance centers, compared to 63 in

2005 and 84 in 2004 (aggregate statistical records that

are not broken down for the two separate infractions).

The NGO FIZ Makasi, a victim assistance center counseling

only TIP victims, assisted 133 trafficking victims in

2006, compared to 116 in 2005 and 85 in 2004. FIZ Makasi,

which was launched in 2004 by the Zurich-based NGO FIZ,

receives financial contributions from the federal

government and several cantons for counseling services

offered to TIP victims under their jurisdiction. The

Canton of Zurich in 2007 contracted out the counseling of

TIP victims to FIZ Makasi and continues to supports the

umbrella agency FIZ.



On March 23, 2007, Parliament adopted a complete revision

of the Victims Assistance Law (OHG),which obligates the

cantonal victim assistance centers to take into account

the special needs of different groups of victims of crime.

Under the revised OHG, cantons can pay financial

compensation to ONE another for counseling services

provided to a victim of crime under their jurisdiction,

which is meant to give urban centers an incentive to

establish specialized victim counseling centers, e.g. a

victims' assistance center supporting only TIP victims.

The revised OHG will become effective at the beginning of

2009.



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C. Federal and cantonal governments provide funding to

NGOs and women shelters that provide services to TIP

victims. Under the 1993 OHG, all cantons are obligated to

offer TIP victims the services listed above (cf. section

4.B.). 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 Women's Information Center for

Women from Africa, Latin America, and Eastern Europe (FIZ)

receives roughly 30 percent of its $676,000 budget

(710,000 Swiss francs) from federal, cantonal, and city

government (These public contributions are independent of

the compensation to FIZ by cantons for counseling services

offered to individual victims of TIP). Internationally,

the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs in 2007 channeled

more than $1.44 (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 human rights and human

security division.



D. At the end of February 2008, ten cantons had

established a formal referral process for TIP victims to

improve their protection and security by regulating the

procedures for identifying and referring TIP victims for

assistance. In Zurich, roundtable meetings between city

and cantonal representatives of the police, the

immigration office, the prosecutor's office, the equal

opportunity office, and the NGO FIZ began in 2001 and led

in 2004 to a "letter of intent" delineating areas of

concerted action. In 2006, the round tables in the three

cantons of Luzern, St. Gallen, and Solothurn have each

adopted a formal code of cooperation and referral process

in TIP cases in written memoranda of understanding.

During the reporting period, the cantons of Basel-Stadt

and Fribourg have adopted written codes of cooperation,

and efforts to establish a formal referral process for TIP

victims continued in Basel-Landschaft, Bern, and newly

Aargau. 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 group was established to oversee

the implementation of the cantonal law on prostitution and

has been operating since 2002.



E. The co-operation mechanisms several cantons have

established between law enforcement and migration

authorities and NGOs have pushed combating trafficking in

persons up on policing agendas. Whereas in earlier days

police raids of red light districts and commercial sex

establishments led to the apprehension and expulsion of

illegal immigrants, these checks are now carried out for

the purpose of apprehending and prosecuting those who

organize the trafficking in women and profit from illegal

prostitution. In some areas, notably the City of Bern,

the police as a result of the exchange of information in

the context of roundtable meetings has raised the number

of police officers carrying out on-site checks of night

clubs and sex establishments.



F. Under the new Federal Law on Foreigners, effective

January 1, 2008, cantonal migration authorities are to

grant 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, in cases of serious hardship, grant

residency permits for victims of human trafficking as well

as witnesses in human trafficking cases.



The new Federal Law on Foreigners 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

Federal Office for Migration in April 2008 launches a two-

year pilot project to assist primarily victims and

witnesses of human trafficking and secondarily cabaret

dancers in Switzerland who are in an exploitative

situation. The pilot project is being implemented in co-

operation with cantonal bodies assisting returning



BERN 00000122 014 OF 024





migrants and the International Organization for Migration.

Under the new Federal Law on Foreigners, the beneficiaries

of the pilot program receive the same assistance and have

access to the same counseling services as are offered to

asylum seekers returning voluntarily. This includes

financial, material, and medical assistance in the return

to the country of origin. The pilot project takes into

account the special needs of TIP victims (i.e. risk

assessment, rehabilitation programs, etc.). After the

pilot phase, the project will be evaluated and potentially

slightly modified. It will then be turned into an

indefinite TIP victim return assistance program.



Already since 2005, IOM Switzerland has provided the

cantons and other NGOs with specialized support for TIP

victims returning voluntarily to their country of origin

and their placement in a rehabilitation center or

reintegration program. However, until the enactment of

the new Federal Law on Foreigners, the government could

not provide financial assistance to individual TIP victims

for their return because of a lack of appropriate

legislation to assist non-asylum seekers. Since the

project began in 2005, IOM has made assessments of the

situation in the country of origin for 55 individual TIP

victims, 27 of whom have actually returned home.



G. 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. Under the

new Federal Law on Foreigners, effective January 1, 2008,

TIP victims temporarily admitted for the duration of court

proceedings against their traffickers may be issued a work

permit during their stay.



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

[Embassy comment: FIZ has not yet released its figures for

2007.].



H. 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

safeguards during criminal proceedings, and cantonal

authorities do provide these protections in practice (cf.

section 4.B). 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 (Vormundschaftsbehoerde) 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



BERN 00000122 015 OF 024





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.



On October 5, 2007, Parliament adopted a new federal code

of criminal trial proceedings that will supplant the

existing 26 cantonal codes. The new federal code

strengthens the existing witness protection measures under

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

learning the identity of a prosecution witness and it

gives witnesses the right to call on an attorney and/or a

confidante during court proceedings. The government plans

to put the new federal code into effect at the beginning

of 2010. Implementation requires several years because,

even under the new federal code of criminal trial

proceedings, law enforcement remains the dominion of the

cantons. Cantons need time to amend their legislation and

adjust cantonal operating modes to the new federal

regulations on 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.I).



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 person's name and that the 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



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several cantons that night clubs and cabarets are

inspected more frequently.



Embassy contacts stress that statistics available indicate

that persons on L-permits do not figure prominently among

TIP victims. Of the 133 TIP victims counseled by the

anti-TIP NGO FIZ in 2006, only 15 had entered the country

on a L-permit (Embassy Bern is awaiting the detailed

analysis of the FIZ statistics for 2007). 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.



I. The GOS provides extensive training for government

officials in identifying trafficking victims and providing

assistance. The Swiss Police Institute in 2007 held

specialized five-day anti-TIP workshops for migration and

law enforcement officials and border guards (cf. section

3.G.). On November 23/24, 2007, the NGO ECPAT Switzerland

organized an interdisciplinary workshop combating on child

trafficking for members of cantonal and urban police

departments, the Swiss border guards,

prosecutors/investigative magistrates, and social security

agencies. The workshop provided background information

and briefed participants on identifying and questioning

child trafficking victims, legal aspects, investigative

techniques, the needs for special assistance and existing

protective institutions, and cooperation between the

police and social institutions. ECPAT also presented a

new handbook "Child Trafficking: National Response to an

International Problem", which the organization had adapted

to Swiss circumstances in the context of ECPAT's European

program to raise awareness of child trafficking.



The Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs briefs 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 assisting 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

labor 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.



J. N/A



K. 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.



Terre des Hommes, Switzerland;

Ecpat Switzerland (end child prostitution, child

pornography and trafficking of children for sexual

purposes);

International Organization for Migration;

International Labor Organization;

Women'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



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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.





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

V. 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 were 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.



B. Domestic campaigns



With a view toward the upcoming European Soccer Cup (Euro

08),which Switzerland is hosting together with Austria in

June 2008, the federal government in January 2007

appropriated $96,000 (100,000 Swiss francs) to NGOs to

kick-start suitable public awareness campaigns against

trafficking and forced prostitution. The anti-TIP NGO FIZ

has already begun preparations for the awareness-raising

campaign during the Euro 08 in cooperation with partner

organizations.



The campaign will be kicked off on March 8, 2008,

International Women's Day, with rallies in Basel, Bern,

Geneva, and Zurich, i.e. the Swiss host cities of the Euro

08, which marks the launch of a petition for the better

protection of victims. In the run up to and during the

Euro 08, the campaign organizers plan to show TV spots in

soccer stadiums and large-scale screens in public sites

such as train stations.



The goal of the FIZ campaign is to raise awareness among

the visitors of the EURO 08 and the general public of the

extent and the consequences of trafficking in women. The

FIZ campaign will also target the customers of commercial

sexual services, calling on them to help potential victims

of trafficking get access to aid organizations.



On February 25-29, 2008, the Moldovan theatre group

Centrul de Arte Coliseum from Chisinau toured Switzerland

with its play "A saptea Kafana - the seventh Coffeehouse".

The play, which is meant to increase public awareness of

human trafficking, is based on true accounts of Moldovan

TIP victims, who after returning to their home country

describe and try to overcome their traumatic experiences.

On its tour through Switzerland the group stopped in

Zurich, Bern, Geneva, and Chiasso (in Ticino). After each

performance, a round-table panel discussion with Swiss and

international trafficking experts and officials was held.

The Centrul de Arte Coliseum was hosted by IOM Switzerland

and the Swiss Ministry of Foreign Affairs, which organized

the tour through Switzerland as well as the follow-up

panel discussions. [Embassy Bern observed that the

performance in Bern was attended by 150-200 people.]



During 2007, the Swiss Foreign Ministry organized two

working luncheons on the issue of human trafficking, open



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to members of the federal administration and interested

parties from external organizations. The two guest

speakers were Mrs. Bridget Lew, founder-president of the

Humanitarian Organization for Migration Economics

(H.O.M.E.),a Singaporean NGO, and a representative of the

international secretariat of the Global Alliance against

Traffic in Women (GAATW) based in Bangkok. Both events

were attended by 50-75 people.



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 2006 and was shown

throughout 2007 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 public's 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.



International campaigns:



During 2007/08, the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA)

and the DFA's 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 2007 averaged about 1.19 Swiss Francs to the U.S.

dollar. End comment):



- Mongolia, Combating Human Trafficking, Phase 1,

February 2008 - January 2010, CHF 2,200,000



- Mongolia, Promote and Strengthen Human Rights

Protection of Trafficked Persons, Small Action, September

- December 2007, CHF 50,000



- East Asia, Consultancy on the situation of anti-

trafficking initiatives in East Asia and proposal for

Swiss participation, January-April 2008, CHF 40,000



- Myanmar, Contribution to IOM for reintegration of

trafficking victims, CHF 180,000 in 2008 (managed by the

humanitarian aid)



- Myanmar, Contribution to the Association Frangois-

Xavier Bagnoud for HIV/AIDS and human trafficking

prevention, CHF 100,000 CHF in 2008 (managed by the

humanitarian aid)



- Global, Support to the Global Alliance Against

Trafficking in Women (based in Bangkok),CHF 200,000 in

2008 (planned not yet signed)



- Cambodia, Contribution to the Hagar women shelter,

November 2007 to December 2008, CHF 200,000 (additional

support was also given previously)



- Serbia: NGO ASTRA Information office for women and

girls, Prevention and Assistance, November 2005 - March

2008 CHF 320,000



- Moldova, Terre des hommes / Salvat Copii (NGO):



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Contribution to the Fight Against Child Trafficking

(FACT),CHF 200,000 (through program contribution to Tdh)



- Russian Federation, Prevention, information (Hotline)

and reintegration for victims of human trafficking,

September 2007 - December 2008, CHF 350,000 (new phase)



- Lebanon: Measures to prevent and combat trafficking

in Human Beings, Contribution to UNODC (October 2005 -

September 2007) CHF 407,000



- Lebanon: Safe House Shelter Project: Urgent Funding

to Caritas Lebanon Migration Center (CLMC): 200,000 CHF

(PA IV und DEZA-HH)



- Syria: Legislation to Combat Human trafficking,

Contribution to IOM (August 2006 to January 2008),CHF

195,000



A regional Concept for the CIS region has been elaborated

(including Ukraine, Moldova, Russian Federation, South

Caucasus and Belarus),aiming at better coordinating SDC

interventions in the region and to allow the replication

of best practice. On the basis of this concept, a

regional program is being elaborated; it is planned to

start in summer 2008 with a yearly budget of 1.5 million

CHF.



Additionally, anti-trafficking messages are included in

other information and awareness raising activities

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

program of the Red Cross Youth in Nepal (through street

theatre); and Violence against Women (Tajikistan).



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 2007the Swiss government also supported the following

projects:



- Mongolia, Combating Violence against Women, phase 1,

December 2007 - December 2008, CHF 200,000



- Vietnam, Contribution to UNFPA for the mainstreaming

prevention of domestic violence, phase 2 October 2006-

December 2010, 1,100,000 CHF



- Vietnam, Support to the prevention of domestic

violence in Ninh Binh and central level, phase 2, July

2007 to May 2011, 960,000 CHF



- Vietnam, Support to national legal aid system, phase

1, July 2003 to June 2007, 3,450,000 CHF



- Cambodia, Support to Hagar Soya: providing work to

victims of trafficking (2002-2008, 1,277,5000 CHF)



- Belarus, La Strada/Young Women Christian association:

Countering Trafficking in Women, Prevention and

Reintegration - (2004 - 2007),CHF 300,000



- Belarus, IOM: Combating Trafficking in Human Beings:

Protection and Reintegration assistance, Contribution to

the establishment of a rehabilitation center in Minsk, CHF

183,000



- Ukraine, IOM: Migration management including

combating human trafficking, assistance counseling,

prevention, CHF 500,000



- Georgia, "Protection and Assistance of trafficking



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victims in Georgia" (training of social workers),CHF

400,000



- South East Europe (Regional project),Strengthening

governments' capacities for fighting human trafficking

(national plans, coordination at regional level,

harmonization of database etc),CHF 310,000



- Southeast Europe (Regional project),Contributions to

the Organized Crime Training Network - OCTN for

operational managers (police officers and organized crime

investigation units) in SEE, CHF 400,000



- Brazil: UNODC Project, Contribution to the

implementation of the National Policy to Combat

Trafficking in Persons and the design of a National Plan

to Combat Trafficking in Persons. Structuring Services

for victims' assistance and working in the states of Sao

Paulo, Goias, Rio de Janeiro and Ceara, CHF 50,000



- Black Sea Region: UNODC Project. The objective of

this project is to take a significant step forward in

strengthening the criminal justice response to trafficking

in persons in the member states of the Organization for

Black Sea Economic Cooperation (BSEC). The key strategy

is to promote and guide bilateral and multilateral

cooperation between the relevant governmental and non-

governmental actors among the BSEC member states in the

areas of investigating cases of trafficking, prosecuting

and convicting traffickers as well as referring,

supporting and protecting victims and witnesses of

trafficking: 177,000 CHF.



- Financial support of the Council of Europe's campaign

"Tu n'es pas a vendre" [You are not for sale] to pay for

the translation of the eponymous comic book into German

and Italian (for its distribution in Switzerland) and into

Ukrainian and Albanian: 12,000 CHF



- Financial support to launch a roundtable on human

trafficking in Spain: exchange of experiences/knowledge

transfer on the issue of human trafficking hosted by the

Swiss Embassy in Madrid with the participation of the

Swiss Federal Government's anti-TIP coordination UNIT

KSMM, the Swiss anti-TIP NGO FIZ, and concerned Spanish

organizations and institutions.



Additionally, SDC spreads anti-trafficking messages in the

context of other projects not explicitly focused on human

trafficking (e.g. Burma/Myanmar).



C. 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. At the

latest count, ten cantons have adopted formalized codes of

referral and cooperation in TIP cases or were in the

process of doing so (cf. section 4.D.). The head of the

federal government's KSMM participates in most of these

cantonal roundtable efforts, but - in accord with

Switzerland's federal structure - 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 NGOs and international

organizations to its 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.



FIZ experts also taught an integral part of the first two

training classes in combating human trafficking for police

officers and law enforcement officials, which were held at

the Swiss Police Academy in Neuchatel in April and October

2007, respectively (cf. section 3.G.).



D. 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



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working in Switzerland (cf section 4.I.). 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. Members of the Swiss Border

Guards took part in the training classes in combating

human trafficking held at the Swiss Police Academy in

Neuchatel in April and October 2007. 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 every 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-

centers (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.



E. The key office coordinating the anti-trafficking

efforts of the various government agencies is the

Coordination Unit against the Trafficking of Persons and

Smuggling of Migrants (KSMM),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 (states). It is also the primary point of

contact for international inquiries on all issues linked

to illegal migration and human trafficking.



Internationally, Switzerland was ONE of the initiators of

the OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings

and has been supporting the OSCE Special Rapporteur since

2000, both financially and with expert secondments.

Switzerland has actively participated in the negotiations

for the Council of Europe Convention against Trafficking

in Human Beings, which requests enhanced cooperation among

stakeholders. The federal government has launched a

consultation process with the cantonal governments with a

view to preparing the way for Switzerland to ratify the

ratification the CoE convention. (Under Switzerland's

federalist structure the cantons hold authority over the

far-reaching victim protection measures and thus have to

give their consent).



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



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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 in 2005. The scope of bilateral

cooperation with EUROPOL will cover eight criminal areas,

including human trafficking.



F. The KSMM seeks to implement the national action plan

that its interdepartmental steering committee first

adopted in 2003. In keeping with its decentralized

structure, the steering committee is the KSMM's highest

organ. The steering committee consists of directorate-

level representatives of the federal departments involved

in combating human trafficking, delegates from cantonal

conferences and associations, as well as representatives

from three NGOs and international organizations with a

consultative status. The Steering Committee sets targets

and the guidelines for the KSMM's activities and controls

the drafting and implementation of measures. The Steering

Committee is chaired by the Federal Office of Police and

has convened biannually from 2003 to 2006 and once in

2007.



Specific measures are developed and implemented either by

working groups set up for that purpose or by individuals

with special support from the KSMM Secretariat. In 2004-

2007, the Steering Committee has appointed the following

working groups:

- Guidelines "Co-operation Mechanisms against Human

Trafficking"

- Report on Measures against the Smuggling of Migrants

(deferred in 2006)

- Recommendations on the protection of night club/cabaret

dancers

- Assessing possible options to extend/finance specialized

counseling of TIP victims

- Development of specialized anti-TIP training and

education measures

- Development of measures to prevent and combat the

trafficking in minors



The KSMM working group on child trafficking under the

leadership of the Foreign Ministry is drafting a policy

paper on the prevention of trafficking in children. The

working group has so far evaluated measures to prevent

child trafficking in the visa-issuance process and

continues to evaluate measures for the protection of

victims. On the domestic front, the working group

consulted with NGO/IOs specializing in the area of

children's rights. UNICEF Switzerland in October 2007

published a report which concluded that child trafficking

in Switzerland was limited to a few 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 18

years of age.



G. The government has taken multiple steps during the

reporting period to inform and educate the public about

the causes and consequences of severe forms of trafficking

in persons. In view of the upcoming European Soccer Cup,

the government has appropriated $96,000 (100,000 Swiss

francs) to kick-start public awareness campaigns against

trafficking and forced prostitution. The anti-TIP NGO FIZ

is running the campaign in cooperation with partner

organizations. The goal of the FIZ campaign is to raise

awareness among the visitors of the EURO 08 and the

general public of the extent and the consequences of

trafficking in women. The FIZ campaign will also target

the customers of commercial sexual services, calling on

them to help potential victims of trafficking get access

to aid organizations. In February 2008, a Moldovan

theatre group toured Switzerland with its play "A saptea



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Kafana - the seventh Coffeehouse", which is meant to

increase public awareness of human trafficking. The

theatre group was hosted by IOM Switzerland and the Swiss

Ministry of Foreign Affairs.



As a country with legalized prostitution, authorities have

intensified efforts to proactively identify TIP victims

among workers in the legalized sex trade. The roundtable

co-operation mechanisms in cantons between law enforcement

and migration authorities and NGOs have raised TIP

awareness. Police have intensified regular checks of

commercial sex establishments for the purpose of

identifying potential TIP victims and of apprehending and

prosecuting those who organize trafficking in women and

profit from illegal prostitution. Some police departments

have engaged additional police officers to perform more

on-site inspections (cf. section 4.E.).



The Swiss tourism industry under the leadership of the NGO

ECPAT has established a code of conduct to combat child

sex tourism. The Federal Criminal Police is cooperating

with the framers of the code to establish a mechanism to

allow travel agents to tip off law enforcement bodies in

order to apprehend and prosecute tourists who have sexual

contacts with minors (cf. Section 5.H.) Swiss domestic

laws on sexual contact with minors apply universally and

there have been prosecutions of individuals in Switzerland

for child sexual abuse committed abroad (cf. Section

3.M.).



Switzerland pursues a zero-tolerance policy regarding

sexual exploitation by personnel serving in international

peace-keeping missions. All civil and military persons

serving in peace-keeping missions are subject to the Code

of Conduct of the UN (and/or NATO-PfP respectively) and

undergo specific awareness raising training before

deployment. Compliance is closely monitored and abuses

punished (cf. section 5.I.).



H. ECPAT Switzerland has elaborated a code of conduct to

combat the sexual exploitation of children in tourism.

The code of conduct commits travel agencies and other

businesses in the tourism industry to corporate social

responsibility and holds them publicly accountable. The

code of conduct stipulates the following commitments:



- Adopt an ethical business policy to combat the

commercial exploitation of children

- Training of staff both in the country of origin as well

as at the travel destinations

- Introduce clauses in contracts with suppliers and

partners that generally condemn the sexual exploitation of

children

- Raise awareness and provide information to travelers

- Provide information to local "key personalities" at the

travel destinations

- Annual accountability reports and continuous monitoring

by the local representative (ECPAT Switzerland)



A number of Swiss travel agencies, including the two major

players Globetrotter and Hotelplan, have signed on to the

ECPAT code of conduct. The plan is to set up mechanism to

allow travel agents to tip off law enforcement bodies

about suspicious activities. The Federal Criminal Police

is involved in the consultation process to establish such

a mechanism.



I. Switzerland pursues a zero-tolerance policy regarding

sexual exploitation by personnel serving in international

peace-keeping missions. It lobbied multilateral bodies to

adopt a zero-tolerance policy and has itself adopted this

policy in its National Action Plan to implement UN

Security Council Resolution 1325 (which the GOS adopted on

January 31, 2007) All civil and military persons serving

in peace-keeping missions are subject to the Code of

Conduct of the UN (and/or NATO-PfP respectively).

Specific Swiss government training modules discuss the

problem of human trafficking and the vulnerability of

women to sexual abuse in armed conflicts - including also

by international peacekeepers. At the duty station,

establishments associated with commercial sex are

designated off-limits to staff deployed on peace-keeping

missions. Compliance with this regulation is monitored by

Swiss military policing units on the ground and violations

are punished. There have been no reports of serious

misconduct of Swiss civilian or military staff deployed on



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international peace-keeping missions.



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End of draft TIP report for Switzerland.

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Coneway