Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
08BERN179
2008-04-17 14:56:00
UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY
Embassy Bern
Cable title:  

TIP - SWITZERLAND: Supplement

Tags:  PHUM KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD PREF ELAB SZ 
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VZCZCXRO0830
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSW #0179/01 1081456
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171456Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BERN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4995
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 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

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