TURKEY: 9TH ANNUAL TIP REPORT: TIP SITUATION,

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ANKARA 000273 SIPDIS DEPT FOR: G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, EUR/SE, EUR/PGI; DEPT FOR USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB TU SUBJECT: TURKEY: 9TH ANNUAL TIP REPORT: TIP SITUATION, SETTING THE SCENE, PREVENTION REF: A. 08 SECSTATE 132759 ¶B. ANKARA 98 ¶C. 08 ANKARA 2194 ¶D. 08 ANKARA 1709 ¶E. 08 ANKARA 610 ¶1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly. ¶2. (U) Post's responses are keyed to ref A questions. This is part 1 of 3 (septels). Embassy point of contact is Anthony Renzulli, telephone 90-312-457-7178, fax 90-312-468-4775. Renzulli (FS-03) spent approximately 90 hours in preparation of this report. Deputy Political Counselor Chris Krafft (FS-02),Political Counselor Daniel O'Grady (FS-01),and DCM Douglas Silliman (FE-OC) each spent approximately two hours reviewing this report. TURKEY'S TIP SITUATION -------------- ¶A. (SBU) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA),Turkish National Police (TNP),Jandarma, Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Ministry of Labor (MOL),IOM, and the two organizations operating the Istanbul and Ankara TIP shelters -- Human Resources Development Foundation (HRDF) and Foundation for Women's Solidarity (FWS),respectively -- are our primary sources of TIP information; these sources and their data are reliable. We also maintain close contacts with researchers, academics and other experts following this issue. Turkey's interagency taskforce on TIP has made significant strides in improving the documentation of trafficking. Last year the GOT issued a second comprehensive annual report on combating TIP in Turkey. The GOT in 2008 improved considerably the quality of its data collection and reporting on the investigation, prosecution and conviction of traffickers, including security officials. ¶B. (SBU) Turkey is a destination country for women trafficked internationally for the purpose of sexual exploitation and, to a lesser degree, forced labor. Nearly all victims are trafficked from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) reported 118 victims rescued in 2008. The source countries were: Uzbekistan (30),Turkmenistan (25),Moldova (22),Kyrgyzstan (7),Georgia (7),Russia (7),Azerbaijan (6),Ukraine (5),Romania (3),Bulgaria (2),Kazakhstan (1), Belarus (1),Indonesia (1),Morocco (1). Men are much more rarely trafficked to Turkey; there were no such incidents reported last year. Of the 78 victims whose repatriation IOM assisted in 2008, four were under the age of 18. Of this IOM-assisted group, 70 were trafficked for purposes sexual exploitation, two for labor exploitation, four for both, and two were cases of attempted exploitation. The principal Turkish destinations for trafficked victims are Istanbul, Antalya, Izmir, Tekirdag (Thrace),and Trabzon. There is a continued trend toward victims being trafficked to Turkey from Central Asian states, namely Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. The number of reported victims from Russia decreased over the reporting period, but sources report that the number of women victimized for sexual exploitation or otherwise engaged in the commercial sex industry from Russia remains substantial (see ref B). No Turkish territory is outside the government's control. The reported incidence of internal trafficking is rare compared to international trafficking. Social conditions in parts of rural Turkey -- poverty, illiteracy, domestic violence, and internal migration to urban areas -- are similar to those faced in source countries, suggesting that internal trafficking could still emerge as a problem in Turkey. Nevertheless, the demand for trafficked victims -- for both sexual and labor exploitation -- is overwhelmingly for foreign victims, according to local experts. ¶C. (SBU) According to local experts, trafficking victims are generally trafficked into illegal brothels or are "leased" by clients and kept in private residences or hotels for a period of time. The number of victims trafficked into Turkey's legal brothels is believed to be very small. As in other countries, it is reported that traffickers have increasingly utilized less physically coercive means to exploit victims, i.e., paying small salaries or permitting victims to return home in exchange for new recruits (see TIP Situation, para E, ANKARA 00000273 002 OF 005 below). Turkish newspapers, however, reported physical abuse committed by traffickers against victims during the reporting period. ¶D. (U) Most victims are remedially-educated women aged 18-30. Most are believed to travel to Turkey voluntarily seeking employment in prostitution; a smaller percentage of victims are believed to arrive in Turkey for purposes of legal employment, tourism or marriage. Some victims arrive in Turkey with the knowledge they will work legally or illegally as domestic servants; some of these victims are ultimately exploited for purposes of sexual exploitation. About forty percent of IOM-assisted victims during the rating period were mothers. ¶E. (SBU) The large majority of traffickers are Turkish (85 percent of the apprehensions of suspected traffickers in 2008, according to MFA data),though many recruiters are from source countries. Women are instrumental in recruiting victims; boyfriends and phony employment agencies also play a role. Force, passport capture/counterfeiting, and debt bondage for travel costs are trafficker methods TNP has identified. TIP is primarily carried out by small networks of traffickers in Turkey and the source countries. Turkish law enforcement authorities believe TIP is closely associated with organized and other transnational crime; law enforcement agencies represented at post (DEA and FBI) agree with that assessment but have not identified a particularly strong link between TIP and, for example, narco-trafficking in Turkey. Turkey has a liberal visa regime, making it relatively easy to traffic victims to Turkey or for at-risk women to enter Turkey. In an effort to boost commercial ties in the region, Turkey unilaterally exempts Turkmen, and Uzbek nationals from visa requirements for visits to Turkey of thirty days or less. Turkey waives, mutually, tourist visa requirements with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Nationals from other source countries, like Russia and Ukraine, can obtain visas easily upon arrival at a Turkish port of entry. SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS -------------- ¶A. (SBU) The GOT takes TIP seriously and has taken significant measures during the rating period to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute traffickers. ¶B. (SBU) MFA, Ministry of Interior (MOI -- includes TNP and Jandarma),and MOJ are the principal government agencies involved in anti-trafficking efforts. The Ministry of Health (MOH) provides free health care to victims, and the Ankara municipal government furnishes space for the Ankara TIP shelter free of charge. The interagency taskforce met every other month during the rating period (up from quarterly in previous years) and is led by Ambassador Kemal Gur, MFA Director General for Consular Affairs. Numerous agencies, municipalities, IOM, the shelter administrators, and the European Commission (EC) participate in taskforce meetings (see Prevention, para C, below). Our EC contacts tell us the GOT's interagency and NGO cooperation on TIP is at a high level, exceeding Turkish performance in other EU accession areas pertaining to justice and rule of law. ¶C. (SBU) Turkey is a developing country with a median GDP comparable to many source countries, situated at the crossroads of major East-West and North-South migration flows. In 2008, over 25 million tourists visited Turkey, a 13 percent increase over 2007. At the same time, Turkey continues to face a serious cross-border (PKK) terrorism problem originating from northern Iraq, which resulted in the death of nearly 200 Turkish civilians and security officials in 2008. The fight against terrorism commands a huge share of Turkey's law enforcement and prosecutorial resources. Despite these challenges, Turkey has mustered impressive organizational and financial resources to combat TIP -- far in excess, it argues, of neighboring source countries. One particular challenge the GOT faces in maintaining TIP statistics is the peculiar division of responsibility between TNP and Jandarma. In Turkey, municipal law enforcement and ports of entry are TNP's responsibility, while rural areas, including most borders, are policed by the Jandarma. Both agencies report to the Minister of Interior, but the TNP ANKARA 00000273 003 OF 005 Foreigners Department retains the sole responsibility for victim identification. Also, judicial data collection can be a problem, since statistics on prosecutions, convictions and sentencing must be collected from local courts in 81 provinces. As a general rule, judicial proceedings in Turkey are painfully slow. Another challenge the GOT faces is how to efficiently and effectively utilize the significant foreign assistance it receives as an EU candidate state from European donors. The GOT must ensure long-term resource gaps do not emerge as it implements short-term European-funded anti-TIP projects. Overall, corruption is not a problem in the fight against TIP. However, the current economic crisis has hit Turkey particularly hard; the fiscal restraint Turkey is forced to impose in order to maintain economic stability is not conducive to expanding resources to combat TIP or to address other social and law enforcement problems. Already the Istanbul governor informed the Istanbul municipality that it is no longer authorized to cover rental expenses for the NGO operating the Istanbul shelter, despite a protocol between the NGO operating the shelter (HRDF) and the city. (The shelter continues to operate, with the rent funded directly by HRDF.) Despite this atmosphere of fiscal restraint, the overall expense of, for example, ensuring adequate shelter for TIP victims is relatively small, estimated at about $400,000 per annum. We believe the GOT has the resources to carry out this important task, but has been bureaucratically hamstrung (see ref C and Protection and Assistance to Victims, para B, septel). ¶D. (U) As noted above, in 2008 the GOT published a domestic, interagency, 2007 TIP report. Both publicly and privately, including through active regional engagement, the GOT frequently and candidly shares with us and other countries and international organizations its assessment of domestic anti-trafficking efforts. PREVENTION -------------- ¶A. (U) The government conducted an anti-trafficking information campaign during the reporting period (ref D). The nationwide campaign sought to increase awareness of the worldwide TIP scourge, including the labor exploitation component, and Turkey's efforts to combat it. The campaign is ongoing and includes posters at airports and other transport hubs as well as television spots provided at no cost by private and state-run channels. The campaign targets victims and potential victims by advertising prominently the "157" helpline. It only targets indirectly the demand for trafficking. ¶B. (SBU) The TNP monitors legal and illegal air, sea and land-based migration patterns for evidence of trafficking. Jandarma officers stationed along Turkey's borders are trained to detect TIP. Law enforcement has specialized, anti-TIP trained-teams operating at all border crossings. GOT officials do not have the authority to refuse visa applicants or turn away travelers crossing the border from known source countries simply because they are at risk of becoming victimized when they arrive in Turkey, i.e., are young, single women. As noted in Turkey's TIP Situation, para E, above, Turkey has a liberal visa regime. ¶C. (SBU) As noted, there is an interagency GOT taskforce led by MFA Director General for Consular Affairs Ambassador Kemal Gur. Gur expanded the taskforce in 2008 and directed that it meet every other month. (It met quarterly during the previous reporting period. The taskforce includes the following agencies, IGO and NGOs: ¶1. MFA -- Chair of the National Taskforce ¶2. MOJ - EU Directorate ¶3. MOJ - Legislative Directorate ¶4. MOJ - Penal Affairs Directorate ¶5. MOJ - Criminal Registration and Statistics Directorate ¶6. MOJ - Training Department ¶7. MOJ - International Law and Foreign Relations Directorate ¶8. Court of Cassation Presidency (Supreme Court) ¶9. The Court of Appeals Presidency ¶10. MOI - Jandarma General Command, Human Smuggling Crimes Department ¶11. MOI - Coast Guard Command ANKARA 00000273 004 OF 005 ¶12. MOI - Foreign Relations and EU Coordination Department ¶13. MOI - TNP, Foreigners, Borders and Asylum Department ¶14. MOI - TNP, Public Order Department ¶15. MOI - TNP, Smuggling and Organized Crime Department ¶16. MOI - General Directorate of Local Administrations ¶17. MOF - Budget and Financial Control Directorate ¶18. MOF - Council to Investigate Financial Crimes ¶19. MOH - Treatment Services Directorate ¶20. MOH - Foreign Relations Department and Services for Workers Abroad ¶21. MOL - Labor Directorate ¶22. MOL - Foreign Relations and Worker Services Abroad Directorate ¶23. The Council of Higher Education ¶24. Radio and Television Supreme Council ¶25. EU Secretariat General - Political Affairs Department ¶26. State Planning Organization Under Secretariat (Prime Ministry) ¶27. Social Services and Child Protection Directorate (State Ministry) ¶28. Status of Women Directorate (State Ministry) ¶29. Social Assistance and Solidarity Fund (Prime Ministry) ¶30. Human Rights Directorate (Prime Ministry) ¶31. Turkish Statistics Institute ¶32. Turkish Bar Associations ¶23. Cankaya (Ankara) Sub-Governor - Social Assistance and Solidarity Foundation ¶34. Ankara Metropolitan Municipality ¶35. Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality ¶36. Trabzon Metropolitan Municipality ¶37. Antalya Metropolitan Municipality ¶38. Izmir Metropolitan Municipality ¶39. Artvin Municipality ¶40. Igdir Municipality ¶41. European Commission Turkey Representative ¶42. IOM Turkey Representative ¶43. Human Resources Development Foundation (HRDF) ¶44. Foundation for Women's Solidarity (FWS) Other municipalities and agencies, industry and professional associations, chambers of commerce, academics, etc., are often invited to taskforce meetings, depending on the agenda. ¶D. (SBU) The GOT has a national action plan to address TIP. The taskforce-participating agencies, NGOs, and IOM were involved in developing it. It mandates close NGO, IGO and interagency cooperation. The same agencies have drafted a new national action plan, currently awaiting the Interior Minister's signature and Prime Ministry-approval. The new action plan will complement the ongoing two-year, 3 million Euro EU project aimed at shoring up sustainability in the fight against trafficking (ref E). ¶E. (SBU) The GOT commissioned a study of demand in Turkey (ref B),though the report has not yet been publicized. The number of legal brothels operating is down under the current national government, the part of which also governs most of Turkey's large cities, including Istanbul. However, our sources tell us that legal brothels do not contribute significantly to TIP. ¶F. (U) We have no evidence indicating Turkish nationals participate actively in international child sex tourism. ¶G. (SBU) Turkish military personnel participate in NATO Partnership for Peace (PfP) training, hosted by the Ankara-based PfP Training Center, on the fight against TIP. The training, also made available to other NATO and PfP country personnel, many from source countries, focuses on the differences between human smuggling and TIP, victim identification, intelligence and data collection, database management, investigation techniques, as well as the role of NGOs, international organizations and civil society, and NATO policy on human trafficking. In addition, the PfP Training Center provides an annual one week course on TIP to Turkish unit command assigned to peacekeeping operations. ***Post will report the number of Turkish military officials receiving the PfP training and the unit command training during the reporting period in a supplemental cable, septel. TIP training for forty NATO and PfP military officials is scheduled to take place at the Ankara Training Center during the last week of February 2009.*** Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at ANKARA 00000273 005 OF 005 http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey Jeffrey