DECREASE IN REPORTED TIP CASES IN NRW COULD HIDE ADDITIONAL

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSSELDORF 000037 SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR G/TIP, EUR/CE, EUR/PGI, DRL, G-AC, INL, AND PRM STATE - PLEASE PASS TO USAID E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB GM SUBJECT: DECREASE IN REPORTED TIP CASES IN NRW COULD HIDE ADDITIONAL VICTIMS DUSSELDORF 00000037 001.2 OF 002 ¶1. (U) Summary: The number of human trafficking perpetrators and known victims in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) decreased significantly from last year, but the statistics likely do not capture the full numbers of trafficking perpetrators and victims. Most victims are non-German with many coming from new EU member states in Eastern Europe, meaning they entered Germany legally and were usually working legally. Because fewer laws are broken due to the EU expansion and changes in German law legalizing prostitution, police face challenges in starting TIP investigations as suspicions of residency violations and/or prostitution do not provide grounds to open a case. End summary. ¶2. (U) The number of identified trafficking in persons (TIP) perpetrators continued to sink from 124 in 2007 to 101 in 2008, marking the lowest number in 10 years. The perpetrators are predominantly foreign, with the NRW State Police (LKA) reporting that 56 suspects were non-German, while 29 were German (down from 63 and 55 respectively in 2007, with the remainder unidentified in the report). The foreign perpetrators stem mostly from Romania, Poland, Bulgaria and Turkey. The 40% drop in known victims was even sharper, from 130 in 2007 to 79 in 2008, but it should be noted that 2007 had an exceptionally high number due to a few large cases. Almost 3/4 of the victims (71%) were non-German, coming primarily from Eastern Europe, particularly Bulgaria and Romania. ¶3. (SBU) Barbara Meier-Beck, expert at the NRW Ministry of Generations, Family, Women and Integration on TIP, told Poloff that she expects the number of unreported cases of TIP victims has remained static because the poor economic situation in Eastern Europe hasn't improved. The LKA predicts that the number of human trafficking proceedings will remain static or decrease marginally, and our other source predicts that, given the long-term economic development that comes with EU membership, the number of victims from traditional source countries will eventually decline. ¶4. (U) The number of victims appears smaller mostly because the expansion of the EU has made it more difficult for the police to track human trafficking activity. Only 14% of victims were illegally in Germany, and the majority of those only became illegal by working. Significantly, more (65%, compared with 2007's 54%) proceedings were initiated by the victim's complaint and fewer (17%, compared with 2007's 28%) came from police investigations. Due to legalized prostitution, nearly half (47%) of victims' activity was registered, although our source in NRW government considers the legalization of prostitution less relevant than the decrease in border control. ¶5. (SBU) The eight NGOs in NRW dedicated to TIP issues play a vital role in investigating trafficking cases. With fewer raids on brothels recently due to the legalization of prostitution, the NGOs work to find victims directly by maintaining contact with other sex workers and assisting potential victims. According to Meier-Beck, an NGO in Dortmund reports receiving up to 30 tips a week from customers about prostitutes they suspect are forced to do sex work. NGOs organize conferences among the police, LKA, and government representatives from the EU and source countries. The police cooperate closely with organizations that support victims, considering them essential in stabilizing the victims and housing witnesses. The victims, coming from southeastern Europe and Africa, are often unfamiliar with NGOs, and their mistrust of these organizations makes them likely to refuse counseling. ¶6. (U) NRW is a trafficking transit and destination site, with traffickers frequently relocating the victims, largely within the EU Schengen zone, to keep them isolated and unfamiliar with their surroundings, and also to offer customers different options. African victims are commonly brought in through the Netherlands, and are particularly challenging for NRW NGOs to establish contact with because of cultural differences. Another DUSSELDORF 00000037 002.2 OF 002 growing trend involves women who travel willingly to Germany for sex work, but are then forced to work off real or invented debts under physical and/or psychological threat, often with their identification confiscated. ¶7. (SBU) Comment: The lower reported figures of both victims and suspects do not necessarily reflect a decrease in human trafficking for sexual exploitation. While legalized and monitored prostitution, combined with open EU borders, have complicated the work of the police, possibly resulting in a decrease of police-initiated cases in NRW, the rise in victim-initiated cases could be due to more NGOs and other assistance providers being active in the field and supporting victims in bringing cases forward. NGOs are trying to fill the gap and find more victims, but they face different obstacles. As long as there is demand in NRW, economic development of one source country will only result in victims coming from a different, more underdeveloped, country. ¶8. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Berlin. WEINER