Greece: 2009 TIP Report Submission - Part 4 of 4

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ATHENS 000206 SENSITIVE SIPDIS FOR G/TIP, G-ACBlank, EUR/SE, EUR/PGI, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PHUM KTIP PREF ASEC KCRM KFRD KWMN SMIG ELAB GR SUBJECT: Greece: 2009 TIP Report Submission - Part 4 of 4 REF: 08 STATE 132759 ¶1. (U) This document is Sensitive But Unclassified. Please protect accordingly. ¶2. (U) This is the last of four cables. The cable text is keyed to REFTEL paragraphs 27 (PREVENTION),28 (TIP HEROES),and 29 (TIP BEST PRACTICES). TIP point of contact information and an estimate of hours spent in preparation of the TIP Report submission are included at the end of the cable. -------------- PREVENTION -------------- ¶3. (SBU) -- A. Did the government conduct anti-trafficking information or education campaigns during the reporting period? If so, briefly describe the campaign(s),including their objectives and effectiveness. Please provide the number of people reached by such awareness efforts, if available. Do these campaigns target potential trafficking victims and/or the demand for trafficking (e.g. "clients" of prostitutes or beneficiaries of forced labor)? (Note: This can be an especially noteworthy effort where prostitution is legal. End Note.) The government conducted multiple anti-trafficking information, education, and public awareness campaigns during the reporting period. In 2008, these initiatives targeted a variety of audiences, including members of Parliament, commuters, local authorities, law enforcement officials, potential victims of trafficking, and the general public. TIP DOCUMENTARY: The Anti-Trafficking Police, in cooperation with private TV producer ALPHA, filmed and broadcasted a documentary on trafficking issues aimed at general public awareness as well as potential victims of trafficking. MFA / UNICEF JOINT CAMPAIGN: In 2008, the MFA partnered with UNICEF on a multifaceted, child-focused anti-trafficking public awareness campaign. The MFA provided 140,000 euro (196,000 USD) in funds to support the following initiatives: -- A press conference at the Museum of Cycladic Art launching the MFA / UNICEF campaign, hosted by Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyiannis on April 16, 2008. -- An anti-TIP handbook for Parliamentarians and opinion leaders entitled "Combating Child Trafficking." Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyiannis hosted a special event to present the handbooks. -- News bulletin program describing "seven true stories of child victims of trafficking" narrated by popular TV broadcasters. The program was aired on all major public and private TV channels (NET, MEGA, ANT1, ALTER, STAR, ALPHA, SKAI) on April 16 and 17, 2008. -- A one-day "radio marathon" awareness campaign organized by UNICEF on all major Greek radio stations on April 17, 2008. -- An outdoor poster information campaign at 120 bus stops throughout Athens, from April 12-25, 2008. -- 3-part series of TV public service announcements, called "OXI" ("no" in Greek). The PSAs featured well-known celebrities saying "OXI" to child trafficking, and was aired on national, regional, and local TV channels from May 12 to June 12, 2008. -- Radio PSA broadcasted on all Greek stations from May 12 to June 12, 2008. -- Multiple child trafficking features in UNICEF Greece's quarterly magazine. -- Direct mail pieces highlighting trafficking in children sent to 20,000 recipients: local authorities, social workers, police officers, doctors, educators, and prosecutors. ATHENS 00000206 002 OF 005 The MFA / UNICEF campaign focused primarily on child trafficking as a global phenomenon and not on TIP in Greece. We continue to encourage the Greek government to make public awareness campaigns more locally relevant. MFA / IOM JOINT CAMPAIGNS: The government continued to partner with IOM on: -- Proucing information cards, printed in multiple lanuages to cover the major TIP victim source contries, alerting potential victims to the law enforcement and legal resources available to them. The card was distributed at border checkpoints to women entering Greece from specific countries. -- Anti-trafficking poster awareness campaign, featuring child trafficking, sex trafficking, and trafficking for organs. Some posters were directed at foreign migrants and included information on legal resources. Posters were distributed to police offices, public transportation terminals, government offices, and NGOs in early 2008. The MFA / IOM joint campaign explicitly acknowledged trafficking as a problem in Greece and was directed at both the general public as well as potential TIP victims. The government did not run public awareness campaigns specifically targeting the clients of prostitutes or beneficiaries of forced labor. -- B. Does the government monitor immigration and emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking? Do law enforcement agencies screen for potential trafficking victims along borders? Law enforcement authorities, including the Border Police, Aliens Police, Anti-Trafficking Police, Coast Guard, and airport authorities, screen arriving migrants for possible TIP victims and fraudulent documents under Schengen regulations. Airport and immigration law enforcement specialists are included in anti-trafficking training programs and are represented in the Interministerial Committee on Trafficking in Persons. The Anti-TIP Police monitors immigration and emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking. Over the last several years, a surge in undocumented migrants and refugees coming into Greece via the Greece-Turkey land border and via the Aegean Sea has strained Greece's ability to control its borders. Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants cross or are smuggled into the country every year. -- C. Is there a mechanism for coordination and communication between various agencies, internal, international, and multilateral on trafficking-related matters, such as a multi-agency working group or a task force? There are eight national ministries with official responsibility for anti-trafficking efforts. The Interministerial Committee on Trafficking in Persons is comprised of nine Secretaries General (SG) from those ministries and the Committee is the primary mechanism for coordination and communication between government agencies on all trafficking-related matters. In 2008 the MFA SG became the chair of the Committee and created a new working-level interministerial task force to work more effectively on TIP issues. Some NGOs reported that the coordination meetings that previously took place between NGOs and the Interministerial Committee had stopped taking place. -- D. Does the government have a national plan of action to address trafficking in persons? If the plan was developed during the reporting period, which agencies were involved in developing it? Were NGOs consulted in the process? What steps has the government taken to implement the action plan? The government has an interministerial national plan of action to counter trafficking in persons called "Ilaeira," named after a woman ATHENS 00000206 003 OF 005 in Greek mythology who was abducted and represents the earliest example of a victim of trafficking. Ilaeira lays out the interminsterial coordination mechanism and specific responsibilities of each of the eight ministries, and NGOs were consulted heavily in its development. For more information on each individual ministry's responsibilities, please see the section on goernment agencies and their role in combating tafficking. In addition, the Ilaeira plan encompasses all law enforcement anti-trafficking operations, as well as all TIP-related training. For more information on law enforcement activities, please see the section on "Law Enforcement Statistics." For more information on government TIP training, please see the section on training. -- E: What measures has the government taken during the reporting period to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts? (see ref B, para. 9(3) for examples) We are not aware of measures taken by the government to reduce the demand for commercial sex, as it is legal in Greece. -- F. Required of all Posts: What measures has the government taken during the reporting period to reduce the participation in international child sex tourism by nationals of the country? Article 323B of the Greek Penal Code provides for imprisonment for up to ten years for "any person who organizes, finances, advertises or negotiates for tourism, the intention of which is to perform sexual intercourse of other lewd acts with a person under the age of 18 and further provides for at least one year imprisonment for any person who engages in such travel. We are unaware of any public awareness efforts or enforcement efforts specifically targeted at reducing the participation of Greek citizens in international child sex tourism. However, multiple MFA public awareness campaigns with UNICEF higlighted the more general topic of child sex trafficking. -- G. Required of posts in countries that have contributed over 100 troops to international peacekeeping efforts (Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Egypt, El Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji, France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Korea (South),Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mongolia, Morocco, Nepal, Niger, Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Uruguay, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe): What measures has the government adopted 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 or exploit victims of such trafficking? If posts do not provide an answer to this question, the Department may consider including a statement in the country assessment to the effect that "An assessment regarding Country X's efforts to ensure that its troops deployed abroad for international peacekeeping missions do not engage in or facilitate trafficking or exploit trafficking victims was unavailable for this reporting period." All Greek troops on multinational Peace Support Operations (NATO, EU, UN missions, etc.) receive training at the Hellenic Multinational Peace Support Operations Training Center (MPSOTC) before deploying abroad. The MPSOTC training program is certified by the UN and NATO and includes a module on the impact of TIP on human rights, stability, and security. -------------- NOMINATION OF HEROES AND BEST PRACTICES -------------- ¶28. (U) HEROES: The introduction to the past four TIP Reports has included a section honoring Anti-Trafficking "Heroes" These individuals or representatives of organizations demonstrate an exceptional commitment to fighting TIP above and beyond the scope of their assigned work. The Department encourages post to nominate one ATHENS 00000206 004 OF 005 or more such individuals for inclusion in a similar section of the 2009 Report. Please submit, under a subheading of "TIP Hero(es)," a brief description of the individual or organization's work, and note that the appropriate individual(s) has been vetted through databases available to post (e.g. CLASS and any law enforcement systems) to ensure they have no visa ineligibilities or other derogatory information. -- Major George Vanikiotis is the commander of the Anti-Trafficking Unit, Organized Crime Division, of the Attica Police. Major Vanikiotis is known throughout the law enforcement and NGO community as an enthusiastic, professional, and focused proponent of anti-trafficking initiatives. As one of Greece's most knowledgeable TIP experts, Major Vanikiotis provides training to police cadets, prosecutors, health professionals, labor inspectors, and NGOs throughout the country. In addition, he leads anti-trafficking seminars at high schools and universities. He directs Greece's anti-trafficking law enforcement strategy, which concentrated on tackling several major urban trafficking rings in 2008 and will focus on rural labor exploitation in 2009. Major Vanikiotis is credited by many for single-handedly expanding Greece's law enforcement initiative against traffickers, and for that he is a true TIP Hero. George Vanikiotis has no derogatory hits in CLASS. -- Maria Vasileiou is the President of the Human Rights Defense Center (KEPAD),an organization established in 1998 to promote and protect human rights in Greece and in the broader Balkans area. Ms. Vasileiou actively promotes the fight against trafficking through the ARIADNE Network, which coordinates regional anti-TIP efforts with 17 NGOs in 11 countries, including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, Ukraine, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, Montenegro, and Turkey. Under Ms. Vasileiou's leadership, KEPAD gained consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) and works closely with the Council of Europe, the EU, OSCE, and the Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe. Ms. Vasileiou's background as a UN diplomat and her special focus on academic, legal, and policy research for anti-trafficking initiatives has made her an important champion for the fight against TIP in Greece. Maria Vasileiou has not yet been checked in CLASS. -- Daniel Esdras, Chief of Mission for the International Organization for Migration in Greece, has innovatively and tirelessly worked to improve the Government of Greece's anti-trafficking enforcement efforts, services to victims, and public awareness on human trafficking. Through a long-term series of innovative prosecutorial training conferences on TIP (see "Best Practices" below),Mr. Esdras has put the judicial spotlight on trafficking crimes. He also oversees IOM's repatriation efforts, where trafficking victims are provided safe voluntary travel to their home countries. Mr. Esdras also spearheaded a high-impact poster campaign on sex and child trafficking in early 2008. Daniel (Daniil) Esdras has no derogatory hits in CLASS. ¶29. (U) BEST PRACTICES. For the past five years the Report has carried a section on "Best Practices" in addressing TIP. This section highlights particular practices used by governments or NGOs in addressing the various challenges of TIP and serves as a useful guide to foreign governments and posts as they design anti-TIP projects and strategies. The Department encourages post to nominate "best practices" from their host countries for showcasing in the 2009 Report. Please submit, under a "Best Practice" subheading, a brief summary of the activity or practice, along with the positive effect it has had in addressing TIP. The International Organization for Migration (IOM),in coordination with the MFA, Ministry of Justice, and other ministries, continued a series of intensive anti-trafficking training conferences for government prosecutors. As a part of the Greek government's long-term efforts to build judicial awareness of trafficking crimes and to ensure that sentences for traffickers are tougher and more uniform, IOM hosted two training conferences for prosecutors in ATHENS 00000206 005 OF 005 ¶2008. In previous years, training conferences were held in Crete and in Rhodes and focused on anti-trafficking case studies, legal coordination, and awareness-building. In April 2008, IOM, in coordination with Microsoft and the Ministry of Employment, provided a two-day training session focusing on child pornography and exploitation in Corinth. In November 2008, IOM partnered with the MFA and the Ministry of Justice to host a two-day seminar on Transborder Organized Crime in the Balkans. For the first time, IOM's anti-trafficking training series included prosecutorial representatives from ten neighboring countries. The seminar focused heavily on trafficking, narcotics, and organized crime interdiction, and was held in Volos. IOM's innovative series of anti-trafficking seminars is especially innovative because it takes a sustainable, long-term approach to an important problem - a lack of TIP awareness and enforcement coordination between Greek prosecutors and judges, who enjoy significant independence in their work. Daniel Esdras, IOM Chief of Mission for Greece, started and has sustained this long-term training initiative, which has significantly raised the profile of trafficking crimes among prosecutors. His efforts have been so successful that the National Association of Judges has requested similar anti-trafficking training for 2009. -------------- TIP CONTACT PERSON, HOURS WORKED -------------- ¶4. (U) Embassy Athens' point of contact on TIP-related matters is political officer David Muehlke. EMAIL: muehlkedv@state.gov TEL: (30) 210-720-2551 FAX: (30) 210-729-4307 ¶5. (U) The number of hours spent preparing the TIP report cable is as follows: FS-01 Officer: 3 hours FS-02 Officer: 2 hours FS-04 Officer: 30 hours LES-11 Political Specialist: 30 hours SPECKHARD