CROATIA: TIP ACTION GUIDE TO COMBAT TIP

UNCLAS STATE 125506

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM KWMN KTIP PHUM PREL SMIG CR
SUBJECT: CROATIA: TIP ACTION GUIDE TO COMBAT TIP
(2008-2009)

REF: 11/14 DESK-POST ACTION PLAN E-MAIL


1. This is an action request (see para 5).


2. The 2008 Trafficking in Persons Report rates countries as
Tier 1 when host governments are fully meeting the minimum
standards to combat trafficking in persons (TIP) as defined
by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). Remaining
on Tier 1, however, is not guaranteed; governments must
continue to demonstrate appreciable progress and continued
full compliance with the minimum standards. All countries
will be reassessed annually to determine whether they
evidence satisfaction of all of the minimum standards. Tier 1
countries are subject to slipping to Tier 2 if they do not
fully comply with the minimum standards, but do continue to
show significant efforts.


3. Please keep in mind the TIP Report measures host
government efforts. To be useful for tier placement
purposes, there should be a concrete role or tangible
value-added by a host government in activities by NGOs,
international organizations, or posts.


4. The following explains steps the government needs to take
in order to continue to fully comply with the Minimum
Standards for the elimination of trafficking, and therefore
qualify for a continued Tier 1 ranking, and offers
suggestions to address specific areas of concern highlighted
in the 2008 TIP Report. Legal standards are excerpted from
the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended.
Implementation Principles are excerpted from guidance issued
in 07 State 150188 (October 29, 2007) and are not specific to
any country or region. Country specific points are not
exhaustive, but offer steps and possible ways to address
specific areas of concern. The Department assesses
government efforts each year. All governments must show
concrete evidence of serious and sustained efforts in
eliminating severe forms of trafficking from the previous
year. Tier ranking determinations will be based on the
government's efforts to comply with the Minimum Standards to
Combat TIP during the April 2008 - March 2009 reporting
period.


5. Begin action request: Post is requested to explain to
the host government the areas of specific concern noted in
the TIP Report and suggested areas to continue to fully
comply with the minimum standards (and thus continued Tier 1
placement). Post may offer steps below to the host
government as possible ways to address specific areas of
concern. While the list is not exhaustive, it should focus
the host government on deficiencies in meeting the minimum
standards and examples of ways to overcome them. As every
year, the Department will weigh the government's level of
support and participation in reported activities, as well as
the efficacy and sustainability of government actions, in
light of its resources and capabilities.

Begin Action Guide and internal numbering.


1. Legal Framework: The government should criminally prohibit
TIP and punish such acts.

(A) For TIP crimes, punishment should be prescribed that is
commensurate with that for grave crimes, such as forcible
sexual assault.

(B) For TIP crimes, punishment should be prescribed that is
sufficiently stringent to deter and that adequately reflects
the heinous nature of the offense.

Implementation Guideline: At minimum, governments must
criminalize and prescribe penalties for all forms of
trafficking relevant in the country, including forced labor.
This must include the elements of "severe forms of
trafficking in persons" -- force, fraud, and coercion.
Although desirable, this need not be accomplished through a
comprehensive law, so long as relevant elements of
trafficking, specifically including fraud/deception and
coercion along with force, are covered by the country's laws.
Sanctions for sex trafficking should be on par with rape.
The prescribed penalties for sex trafficking crimes or
trafficking involving rape, kidnapping or death should be
substantially similar to those for rape, taking into account
the full range of sentences available. Consistent with the
UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime, criminal
penalties to meet this standard should include a maximum of
at least four years deprivation of liberty, or a more severe
penalty.

COMPLIANCE: The government was in full compliance as
reported in the 2008 TIP Report.

Positive results that should be maintained:

-- Croatia criminally prohibits trafficking for sexual and
labor exploitation through Criminal Provision 175 of its
penal code. Prescribed penalties for sex trafficking are
commensurate with those for rape, and penalties for all forms
of trafficking are sufficiently stringent.


2. Prosecution and other Law Enforcement Efforts: The
government should show serious and sustained efforts to
combat TIP by vigorously investigating and prosecuting TIP
acts, and convicting and sentencing persons responsible for
such acts.

(A) The government must provide data regarding
investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and sentences,
consistent with its capacity to do so, or it shall be
presumed not to have vigorously investigated, prosecuted,
convicted or sentenced such acts.

Implementation Guideline: All governments, consistent with
their capacity to do so, are required to submit full
comprehensive data on trafficking enforcement actions,
including length of sentences actually imposed on convicted
traffickers, as evidence of their vigorous law enforcement
efforts. Imposed sentences should involve significant jail
time, with a majority of cases resulting in sentences on the
order of one year imprisonment or more, but taking into
account the severity of an individual's involvement in
trafficking, imposed sentences for other grave crimes, and
the judiciary's right to hand down punishments consistent
with that country's laws. Convictions obtained under other
criminal laws and statutes can be counted as trafficking if
the government verifies that they involve trafficking
offenses.

COMPLIANCE: The government was fully compliant as reported
in the 2008 TIP Report.

Positive results that should be maintained and/or exceeded:

-- The Government of Croatia made significant improvements in
prosecuting and convicting traffickers in 2007. In 2007, the
government investigated 20 suspected trafficking offenders.
It convicted 10 traffickers, two of which are pending final
appeal. Out of the remaining eight traffickers, one received
a three-year sentence, three received a sentence of one year
and four months, and two received one-year sentences. In
February 2008, the government conducted anti-trafficking
training for ten officers to instruct future Croatian
peacekeepers prior to their deployment.

Recommended measures to ensure that the country continues to
fully comply with Minimum Standards:

-- Seek to toughen sentences imposed on convicted traffickers.

-- Investigate possible trafficking on the Dalmatian coast.


3. Victim Protection and Assistance: The government should
demonstrate serious and sustained efforts to combat TIP by
protecting TIP victims and encouraging their assistance in
the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers.
Protection should include:

(A) provisions for legal alternatives to victims, removal to
countries in which they would face retribution or hardship.

(B) ensuring that victims are not inappropriately
incarcerated, fined, or otherwise penalized solely for
unlawful acts that were committed as a direct result of being
trafficked.

Implementation Guideline: Critical factors considered in
whether a country fully satisfies this part of the minimum
standards are: (1) Formal, systematic screening procedures
that proactively identify victims and guide law enforcement
and other front line responders in the process of victim
identification. (2) Shelter, health care, and counseling
should be available to victims, allowing them to recount
their trafficking experience to trained social counselors and
law enforcement at a pace with minimal pressure. Shelter and
care may be provided in cooperation with NGOs, but part of
the government's responsibility includes funding and referral
to NGOs providing services; to the best extent possible,
trafficking victims should not be held in immigration
detention centers, or other detention facilities. Factors
also considered and strongly recommended for favorable
placement are: (1) Victim/witness protection, rights and
confidentiality; i.e., governments should ensure that victims
are provided with legal and other assistance and that,
consistent with its domestic law, proceedings are not
prejudicial to victims' rights, dignity or psychological
well-being; and that victims are provided information in a
language they understand. (2) Source and destination
countries share responsibility in ensuring the safe, humane
and, to the extent possible, voluntary
repatriation/reintegration for victims. At a minimum,
destination countries should contact a competent governmental
body, NGO or IO in relevant source country to ensure that
trafficked persons who return to their country of origin are
provided with assistance and support necessary to their
well-being. Trafficking victims should not be subjected to
deportations or forced returns without safeguards or other
measures to reduce the risk of hardship, retribution, or
re-trafficking.

COMPLIANCE: The government was fully compliant as reported
in the 2008 TIP Report.

Positive results that should be maintained and/or exceeded:

-- The Government of Croatia in 2007 further
institutionalized a victim-centered approach for trafficking
victims. The government provides foreign victims with legal
alternatives to their removal to countries where they may
face hardship or retribution. In January 2008, a new Law on
Foreigners mandates a 30-day reflection period for potential
adult victims and a 90-day reflection period for children who
are potential victims. The government continued its proactive
cooperation with civil society, providing identified victims
with shelter, legal, medical, and psychological services, as
well as educational and vocational training. Out of 15
identified victims in 2007, five accepted accommodation in
shelters. The government facilitated the responsible return
of the remaining 10 who chose not to stay at a shelter.
Croatia continued to implement, through the use of mobile
teams, its national mechanism to proactively identify
potential trafficking victims and refer them to service
providers. The government actively encourages victim
participation in trafficking cases; assistance was not
conditional upon victim cooperation with law enforcement
investigators. Victims are entitled to file both civil and
criminal lawsuits and have the right to press charges
themselves, even in cases that are dropped by the State
Prosecutor. The government made efforts to ensure that
trafficking victims were not detained, penalized, or deported
for unlawful acts committed as a result of their being
trafficked. Last year the government provided approximately
$82,000 in specific funding for shelters for trafficking
victims.

Recommended measures to ensure that the country continues to
fully comply with Minimum Standards:

-- Continue efforts to enhance proactive identification of
women in prostitution and of migrants who transit the country
legally.


4. Prevention: The government should demonstrate serious and
sustained efforts to combat TIP by adopting measures to
prevent TIP. Measures such as:

(A) steps to inform and educate the public, including
potential victims, about the causes and consequences of TIP,

(B) measures to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts and
for participation in international sex tourism by nationals
of the country,

(C) measures to ensure that its nationals who are deployed
abroad as part of a peacekeeping or other similar mission do
not engage in or facilitate severe forms of trafficking in
persons or exploit victims of such trafficking,

(D) measures to prevent the use of forced labor or child
labor in violation of international standards.

Implementation Guideline: The government should provide/fund
a hotline or similar mechanism that offers victims and
potential victims assistance/information about TIP. Per the
new amendments to the Minimum Standards, starting with the
April 2007- March 2008 reporting period to be covered in the
2008 TIP Report, countries should, for example where
applicable: (1) Reduce demand for commercial sex acts:
Implement or support some form of visible awareness campaign
that educates the clients of the sex trade (and potential sex
trafficking victims) if the country has a significant sex
trafficking problem, or a campaign that targets those who
form the demand for victims of forced labor about the nature
of the relevant form of TIP. Nations with legalized
prostitution should make additional efforts to proactively
identify TIP victims among those in prostitution in the
legalized sex trade. This includes the systematic and
sensitive screening of persons in the legalized sex trade.
(2) Address child sex tourism: Countries that have a
significant number of nationals traveling abroad as child sex
tourists should undertake an awareness campaign that targets
tourists traveling to known child sex tourism destinations.
(3) Address trafficking and exploitation committed by
multinational peacekeepers: Governments with more than 100
troops on peacekeeping or other similar missions abroad
should provide anti-TIP training for these troops (directly
or through multilateral efforts),and should investigate and,
if appropriate, prosecute any allegations of trafficking
crimes or crimes of facilitating trafficking or exploiting
trafficking victims committed by these troops abroad and
referred to it by the UN or another competent organization. C

COMPLIANCE: The government was fully compliant as reported
in the 2008 TIP Report.

Positive results that should be maintained and/or exceeded:

-- The Government of Croatia contributed generously to its
anti-trafficking efforts, allocating almost $2 million to its
anti-trafficking regime in 2007. It demonstrated its
leadership and commitment by conducting numerous high profile
educational campaigns about trafficking. The government
earmarked over $37,000 for and developed a nation-wide demand
reduction campaign as part of an EU Cards Twining Project
with Austria and Germany to air in May 2008 prior to the
Euro- Soccer Cup. In 2007, it sponsored an anti-trafficking
movie night at Zagreb based cinemas with free admission to
the public, and produced and distributed an anti-trafficking
documentary nationwide, with over 54 showings across the
country.

Recommended measures to ensure that the country continues to
fully comply with Minimum Standards:

-- Ensure that demand reduction efforts are aimed at the
clients of the sex trade.


5. Corruption and Official Complicity: The government should
vigorously investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence
public officials who participate in or facilitate TIP, and
take all appropriate measures against officials who condone
such trafficking.

(A) This should include nationals of the country who are
deployed abroad as part of a peacekeeping or other similar
mission who engage in or facilitate severe forms of
trafficking in persons or exploit victims of such trafficking.

(B) The government must provide data regarding such
investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and sentences, or
it shall be presumed not to have vigorously investigated,
prosecuted, convicted, or sentenced such acts.

Implementation Principle: Governments, consistent with their
capacity to do so, must provide full comprehensive data on
actions taken against TIP related complicity. Information on
general government corruption does not satisfy this minimum
standard, except in cases in which specific cases of
complicity are not reported by the government or known to the
USG, but where there is a reasonable probability of such
complicity within the wider context of generalized corruption
in that country.

COMPLIANCE: There were no specific cases of complicity
reported by the government in the 2008 TIP Report.

Recommendation for measures to ensure that the country fully
complies with Minimum Standards:

-- Continue to vigorously investigate and prosecute
trafficking-related corruption at all levels of law
enforcement. Share comprehensive data on investigations,
prosecutions, and convictions of complicit officials, and the
lengths of sentences imposed on those convicted, if specific
cases of complicity have occurred.

End Action Guide and internal numbering.


6. The Department appreciates Post's continued efforts to
address trafficking in persons issues.
RICE