TIP - SWITZERLAND: Supplement

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BERN 000179 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS DEPT FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, EUR/PGI, EUR/AGS DEPT PLEASE PASS USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD PREF ELAB SZ SUBJECT: TIP - SWITZERLAND: Supplement INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS ¶1. (U) The Federal Office of Police has adjusted its organization and hired new staff to step up the fight against trafficking in persons and child sexual abuse. At the operational level, the former investigative unit "Pedophilia-Human Trafficking-Migrant Smuggling" in July 2007 was split up into the two new investigative units "Pedophilia & Pornography" and "Human Trafficking & Migrant Smuggling". Staffing was increased at both units: the "Pedophilia & Pornography" unit has a staff of five and the "Human Trafficking & Migrant Smuggling" unit has seven employees, compared with a total of five employees of the former (combined) "Pedophilia-Human Trafficking-Migrant Smuggling" unit. The "Human Trafficking & Migrant Smuggling" unit supports both domestic and international investigations of TIP cases. The "Pedophilia & Pornography" provides similar support to law enforcement authorities in the area of combating child sexual abuse and child sex tourism. ¶2. (U) At the policy level, the Coordination Unit against the Trafficking of Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (KSMM) also increased staffing during the reporting period. The KSMM is the federal government's interdepartmental body to coordinate and monitor anti-trafficking efforts. At the beginning of 2008, the KSMM filled a new analyst position. The KSMM now consists of a staff of four: the head, deputy head, office management assistant, and the newly appointed analyst. CONVICTIONS: ¶3. (U) According to the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics, the official number of convictions under Article 196/182 (Trafficking) and Article 195 (Forced Prostitution) of the Penal Code were as follows: -------------- 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* 8 12 20 2007** 6 3 9 ¶4. (SBU) * Provisional statistics compiled by Embassy Bern as of April 16, 2008, based on data provided by the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics (BFS),information revealed by the Swiss Federal Office of Police, and reliable media reports of court convictions. Official data released by BFS includes convictions only after all possibilities of appeal have been exhausted and verdicts are final. On previous experience, there is a lag of approximately two years for BFS data to become final. ¶5. (SBU) ** Preliminary data compiled by Embassy Bern as of April 16, 2008, based on information provided by the Swiss Federal Office of Police. These data are only preliminary because some cantons follow a policy of reporting first- instance court verdicts to the Federal Office of Police only after they have become final. As we have experienced in the past, final numbers of convictions most likely will be higher after defendants have exhausted possibilities of appeal. 2005 Art. 195 (Forced Prostitution) Number of Sentences -------------- -------------- Unsuspended prison sentence 1 Suspended prison sentences 14 Length of sentence Min Max Average -------------- -------------- BERN 00000179 002 OF 004 Unsuspended 487 487 487 days Suspended 10 548 140 days Art. 196 (Trafficking) Number of Sentences -------------- -------------- Unsuspended prison sentence 3 Suspended prison sentences 9 Length of sentence Min Max Average -------------- -------------- Unsuspended 136 487 360 days Suspended 10 487 254 days 2006* Art. 195 (Forced Prostitution) Number of Sentences -------------- -------------- Unsuspended prison sentence 1 Suspended prison sentences 11 Length of sentence Min Max Average -------------- -------------- Unsuspended 731 731 731 days Suspended 30 660 266 days Art. 196 (Trafficking) Number of Sentences -------------- -------------- Unsuspended prison sentence 5 Suspended prison sentences 3 Length of sentence Min Max Average -------------- -------------- Unsuspended 548 1461 929 days Suspended 365 540 454 days ¶6. (SBU) * Provisional statistics compiled by Embassy Bern as of April 16, 2008, based on data provided by the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics (BFS),information revealed by the Swiss Federal Office of Police, and reliable media reports of court convictions. Official data released by BFS includes convictions only after all possibilities of appeal have been exhausted and verdicts are final. On previous experience, there is a lag of approximately two years for BFS data to become final. 2007** Art. 195 (Forced Prostitution) Number of Sentences -------------- -------------- Unsuspended prison sentence 1 Suspended prison sentences 2 Length of sentence Min Max Average -------------- -------------- Unsuspended 300 300 300 days Suspended 150 455 302 days Art. 196/182 (Trafficking) Number of Sentences -------------- -------------- Unsuspended prison sentence 1 Suspended prison sentences 5 Length of sentence Min Max Average -------------- -------------- Unsuspended 910 910 910 days Suspended 50 900 382 days ¶7. (SBU) ** Preliminary data compiled by Embassy Bern as of April 16, 2008, based on information provided by the Swiss Federal Office of Police. These data are only preliminary because some cantons follow a policy of reporting first- BERN 00000179 003 OF 004 instance court verdicts to the Federal Office of Police only after they have become final. As we have experienced in the past, final numbers of convictions most likely will be higher after defendants have exhausted possibilities of appeal. Convictions in 2008 -------------- ¶8. (U) In late March 2008, the district court in Aarberg in the canton of Bern convicted a 32-year-old Serb national and a 29-year old Bulgarian national of trafficking offenses. The two men had run a brothel in a Bern village near an interstate highway between April and December 2005. The court found them guilty of human trafficking in at least one instance. The district court convicted the Serb national for the offences of human trafficking and forced prostitution. He received a six-year unsuspended prison sentence, a fine of $3,600 suspended for a period of three years, plus a fine of $6,000. The Bulgarian national, who joined in only in October 2005 but whom the district court considered the number two in the brothel operation, was also convicted of human trafficking and forced prostitution. He received an unsuspended prison sentence of 25 months, a fine of $3,300 suspended over a period of two years, plus a fine of $2,400. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS ¶9. (U) In 2007, the Zurich-based anti-TIP NGO FIZ counseled 167 victims of human trafficking. This represents a 25 percent increase over the 133 victims counseled in 2006. FIZ reported that 50 percent of TIP victims came from Eastern Europe, compared to 33 percent of victims originating in this region the previous year. FIZ also reported that 50 percent of victims were referred by local police departments. This is a powerful indicator that the referral mechanism established as part of the local roundtable efforts between law enforcement agencies and the NGO FIZ is proving increasingly effective. The cantons of Bern, Basel, Lucerne, Solothurn, Zurich, and Sankt Gallen have contracted the NGO FIZ to provide the emergency assistance and counseling services to which TIP victims are entitled under the law. FIZ thus provides its specialized services to TIP victims in every major urban center in the German part of Switzerland. ¶10. (U) In 2006, the most recent year for which data is available, the government-run victim assistance centers counseled a total of 80 victims of human trafficking and forced prostitution, compared to 63 victims in 2005. Post previously misreported the figure of TIP victims assisted in 2005 as 126, based on erroneous data accidentally provided by GOS contacts. The correct figure of victims assisted in 2005 is 63. Several cantons in the German part of Switzerland have contracted the Zurich-based NGO FIZ to provide emergency assistance services to TIP victims; these TIP victims do not appear in the statistics of government- run victim assistance centers. Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings ¶11. (U) Switzerland played an active role in the drafting of the Council of Europe's Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings adopted on May 16, 2005. Swiss signature of the Convention is pending consultation with cantonal authorities regarding modalities for implementation. Legal review by the Federal Office of Police showed that Switzerland is already in compliance with most of the Convention's provisions, namely in the area of criminal law as well as regulations on stays and assistance to trafficking victims. However, standing legal provisions on the protection of witnesses outside the courtroom do not completely fulfill Article 28 of the Convention. Ratifying the Convention thus implies legislative action by the Swiss cantons, which hold jurisdiction over this issue. The Justice Minister therefore ordered that the cantons be consulted on the Convention and possible legal amendments to provide the required protection of victims and witnesses testifying in TIP cases. Consultations of the cantons are ongoing but preliminary results show cantons generally supportive of BERN 00000179 004 OF 004 the Convention and the additional victim protection measures. Providing specialized assistance to TIP victims ¶12. (U) The National Conference of the Directors of the Cantonal Social Welfare Departments, the Federal Office for Equal Opportunities, and the Federal Office of Police jointly financed a study on "The Situation and Protection of Victims of Human Trafficking in Switzerland" by the Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies (SFM) of the University of Neuchatel. The specific goal of the study was to assess the need for specialized counseling services for victims of human trafficking and to explore possible models to implement such a program. In a brief summary, the representatives of the three agencies that contracted the SFM study recommend that the cantons assign and task specialized agencies with the coordination of the support provided to trafficking victims (i.e. case management) and that the management of complex cases spanning several cantons as well as awareness raising and training programs be run on an inter-cantonal basis or delegated to an expert body. ¶13. (U) In the meantime, several cantons, notably Lucerne, Solothurn, Bern, St. Gallen, and Zurich have signed agreements with FIZ on the financial compensation for specialized counseling services the latter provided to TIP victims. These cantons, which in 2006 accounted for more than half of all TIP victims, concluded these agreements in the context of cantonal anti-TIP coordinating mechanisms. Several other cantons are holding discussions to the same end. PREVENTION ¶14. (U) Swiss government agencies continued to fund several prevention and protection programs abroad, valued annually at between US$ 1-2 million (1-2 million Swiss francs). ¶15. (U) On March 8, International Women's Day, a coalition of around 20 Swiss and International NGOs and civic groups launched their public awareness campaign aimed at highlighting the plight of trafficked women in Switzerland. The campaigners want to use the Euro 08 soccer championships, being co-hosted by Switzerland and Austria this summer, to draw attention to the issue - with male fans being the target audience. The NGO coalition kicked- off the campaign "Euro 08 against Trafficking in Women" by holding demonstrations in four Swiss cities hosting games of the soccer championship. The Federal Government in 2007 appropriated $100,000 to help kick-start the public awareness campaign. CARTER