2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT FOR MACEDONIA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 SKOPJE 000067

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR G/TIP, G-ACBLANK, INL, DRL, PRM, EUR/PGI, EUR/SCE, INFO
USAID, DOJ, DHS, DOL, DOT

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PREF PHUM KCRM KTIP KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC ELAB MK

SUBJECT: 2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT FOR MACEDONIA

REF: 09SKOPJE65

SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY


1. SUMMARY: During the reporting period the GOM continued to show a
strong commitment to combating trafficking-in-persons (TIP) and
participated in cross-border operations and other international
activities directed at identifying and eliminating human
trafficking. High-ranking GOM officials took an active interest in
combating TIP and made public statements against TIP. The National
Commission (NC) for Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in
Persons and Illegal Migration worked proactively with the
international community and the primary TIP NGOs in the country to
improve its TIP prevention, prosecution, and victim protection.


2. The NGOs and international organizations that work with the NC
overwhelmingly reported positive collaboration and cooperation with
the GOM. The OSCE reported a dramatic improvement in the GoM's TIP
combating efforts in the past two reporting periods versus the years
prior. The office of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) under
the Ministry of Labor ad Social Policy (MLSP) reported that the
previous NC (up until 2006) often refused to even admit TIP existed
in Macedonia and was determined to do away with the office. Under
the current NC the NRM reported exceptional support and a proactive
attitude towards acknowledging and combating TIP.


3. During the reporting period Macedonia saw considerable results
from the streamlining of its judicial process for handling TIP
crimes and its new TIP legislation. Case times decreased
dramatically and sentences for TIP crimes were higher and more
consistent. The GoM was proactive in its fight against TIP, seeking
the expert advice of the international TIP-combating community to
build its own programs. It provided extensive trainings internally
and reached out to regional and international partners to bolster
TIP prevention cooperation.


4. PolOff Matt Keener currently serves as post's TIP Officer.
Post coordinates anti-TIP programs through a TIP committee comprised
of the DCM, POL, PAO, OPDAT, ICITAP and USAID. Keener's contact
information: Embassy phone 389-2-3116-180, ext 2111; fax
389-2-3133-601; unclassified e-mail KeenerM@state.gov. PolOff Keener
is an FS-04 and spent approximately 100 hours on the preparation and
writing of this TIP Report.

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CHECKLIST
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23. (U) MACEDONIA'S TIP SITUATION:

--A. Post's main sources of information on TIP were the NC; the
National Referral Mechanism (NRM) under the Ministry of Labor and
Social Policy (MLSP); the International Organization for Migration
(IOM); OSCE; the Vienna-based International Centre for Migration
Policy Development (ICMPD),the Red Cross, two local NGOs that
provide assistance to victims of trafficking in the country's two
TIP victim shelters and a handful of additional NGOs that work on
TIP prevention. In January 2009 the NC published an annual National
TIP report detailing TIP related activities and statistics during

2008. A National Reporter of TIP was recently appointed and, with
the support of the OSCE and ICMPD, is working to implement a
comprehensive monitoring and evaluation report that will provide a
qualitative assessment of TIP activities to complement the more
quantitative annual report.


--B. Macedonia remained primarily a transit country for foreign
victims of trafficking. However, international trafficking crimes
dropped during the reporting period versus previous years. Foreign
victims were primarily trafficked from neighboring countries such as
Albania, Kosovo and Bosnia with destinations in the European Union.
There were some victims who were trafficked into Macedonia as a
destination point. Much of the trafficking that occurred during the
reporting period was internal. Internal TIP victims were primarily
minors, trafficked from poor rural areas of the country to wealthier
urban centers, often with the complicity of family members or
acquaintances.

During the reporting period the Organized Crime Unit of the MOI
successfully conducted two major operations to foil the activities
of a large international criminal trafficking and smuggling
organization that has been smuggling migrants from central and
eastern Asia through Macedonia to Greece. Coordinating with the
regional Southeast Europe Cooperation Initiative (SECI) center,
Macedonia worked in close cooperation with law enforcement partners
in Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria in these investigations to make
dozens of arrests and discover large groups of smuggled migrants.
The charges in both operations were for migrant smuggling since the

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crimes were foiled in transit and no trafficking offenses had
occurred yet. However, elements of the same organization were tied
to previous forced labor trafficking crimes in Albania and victim
interviews indicated that a portion of the smuggled migrants would
have become TIP victims upon reaching their final destinations. The
most recent operation in November resulted in 18 arrests, two
additional arrest warrants and the discovery of 64 smuggled
migrants.

During the reporting period 130 people were assisted as presumed TIP
victims in Macedonia's two TIP shelters: 118 foreign and 12
Macedonian. Macedonia's Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs)
consider a person a "presumed TIP victim" if there are any
indications that a person may have been a victim of TIP. The GoM
provides a full range of TIP victim services to presumed TIP
victims. Only after an extensive interview by a competent,
trafficking in human beings authority can a potential victim become
a "confirmed victim of TIP." During the reporting period eighteen
confirmed TIP victims were assisted in the two shelters: fourteen
Macedonians and four foreign victims; fifteen of the eighteen
victims were children. The Centers for Social Welfare assisted
seven confirmed victims of TIP, six minors.


--C. The changing modus operandi of traffickers in recent years has
resulted in a change in the overall conditions for trafficking
victims. While a small number of individual cases revealed
trafficking victims kept in slave-like conditions, most traffickers
have resorted to fear and coercion rather than physical force to
maintain control over their victims. Victims were generally allowed
some freedom of movement and were sometimes even paid small salaries
by their traffickers. Under these conditions it proved more
difficult for police to gather strong evidence against the
traffickers and victims were less likely to self-identify.

During the reporting period there was speculation by the OSCE about
the existence of trafficking elements in the unofficial labor
market, specifically in the textile and seasonal agricultural
industries. However, the OSCE has been careful to point out that
there was no concrete evidence to support this, maintaining only
that more investigation is needed. The GoM and IOM admitted that
there were serious problems with labor exploitation in these
industries but were skeptical that the elements of force or coercion
needed to elevate these issues to TIP were present. Nonetheless,
the OSCE and MLSP have agreed to make the investigation of these
suspicions their primary objective during the upcoming reporting
period and have begun to organize victim identification trainings
focused specifically on labor trafficking for labor inspectors,
police, centers for social welfare and public prosecutors. The MLSP
is also coordinating with UNICEF and the OSCE to develop a set of
internal procedures and documentation to more effectively address
the more visible problem of organized begging in the Roma
community.


--D. According to the NRM and NGOs; poor, uneducated, single women
between 15 and 35 years old were at the highest risk of becoming
victims of trafficking. Single mothers and ethnic minorities were
also identified as at-risk.

During the reporting period, the MLSP and IOM continued their
Economic and Social Stabilization (ESS) TIP project that began in
2007, focused on helping people from vulnerable victim groups create
micro-businesses in order to improve their financial stability and
significantly reduce their risk factors. In 2007 and 2008 the
project focused on Tetovo and Kriva Palanka. During 2008, the
project assisted 40 women from Kumanovo and Bitola through the
program. The project is on-going.


--E. No standard profile for traffickers emerged during the
reporting period. Victims were trafficked both by large,
international trafficking and smuggling organizations and smaller,
one-off traffickers. Most traffickers had previous criminal
backgrounds. The traffickers used coercion tactics more often than
outright kidnapping or abduction. Traffickers used devices such as
false marriage proposals and enticing job offers to lure their
victims. There were more reports of the involvement of friends and
family members in the recruitment phase and eventual trafficking of
the victims, especially in cases that involved minors.

Traffickers and smugglers of foreign victims often used fake
passports from third countries with fake EU visas to transit their
victims. In some cases the victims were trafficked through
Macedonia to countries without visa requirements using their actual
documentation.



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24. (U) SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP
EFFORTS:


-- A. The Government was acutely aware of the problem trafficking
in persons presents domestically, regionally and globally and
continued to make combating TIP a GoM priority at the highest
levels. Many GoM officials publicly spoke out against trafficking,
and highlighted it as an issue the government must address. GOM
officials, NGO leaders, media and others stated publicly the
importance of effective anti-TIP measures to Macedonia's continued
progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration.


-- B. The NC was the government body responsible for drafting
legislation and coordinating the GoM's anti-trafficking efforts. The
NC was headed by the National Coordinator for Combating Trafficking
in persons. Within the NC were representatives from MOI's
Department for Organized Crime, the NRM under the MLSP, the MOE,
Skopje Criminal Court One (which tries all TIP cases) and the
Centers for Social Welfare. The Department of Organized Crime's
Sector for Anti-trafficking of Human Beings was in charge of all
TIP-related law enforcement activities. The NRM under the MLSP was
the lead on prevention campaigns and trainings related to victim
identification, protection and assistance. The NRM also coordinated
the work of 58 social workers from 27 centers for social welfare who
dealt with internally trafficked victims around the country.


--C. During the previous two reporting periods the government
addressed numerous legislative obstacles to effectively combating
TIP. At the end of the last reporting period the GoM made
significant changes to the criminal code for TIP crimes against
minors and removed a previously existing loophole for mediation in
prostitution involving minors. The government also increased the
sentencing guidelines for mediation in prostitution to reduce the
tendency of judges to use that crime to mitigate the sentenced of
traffickers. Both legislative changes resulted in tangible
sentencing increases during the reporting period. Additionally, to
address international recommendations that the government take a
bigger role in domestic victim protection, the GoM passed amendments
to a law on family and a law on social welfare that created a legal
basis to institutionalize the domestic shelter with government
funding and NGO support.

While evidence of TIP related corruption was minimal, overall
corruption continued to be a problem in Macedonia. Low level
municipal corruption sometimes hampered criminal investigations,
including investigations into the types of clubs and bars that
feature prostitution, which is illegal in Macedonia, where TIP
victims were often discovered.


--D. The government consistently monitored its anti-trafficking
efforts on all fronts. The National Coordinator for TIP gathered and
compiled statistical data from the entire spectrum of TIP-related
agencies and organizations and held frequent meetings with the
primary TIP NGOs and international community to disseminate this
information and discuss ongoing TIP activities. In January 2009,
the NC published an in-depth annual report that included data on
trafficked victims, information on GoM and NGO prevention and victim
protection activities, and information on GoM officials' training
related to TIP. The GoM also operated two databases: one on TIP
victims (hosted by the NRM),and another on TIP criminals (hosted by
the MOI). Working with OSCE and ICMPD, the newly appointed National
Reporter on TIP is working to implement an additional, comprehensive
monitoring and evaluation report that will provide a qualitative
assessment of TIP activities as well.



25. (U) INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS:


-- A. Macedonia has a law specifically prohibiting trafficking in
persons. This law criminalizes TIP not only when carried out for
purposes of sexual exploitation, but also for other purposes, such
as forced labor, involuntary removal of human organs for
transplantation, pornography, forcible marriage or fertilization,
and illegal adoption.

The TIP-specific articles in the Criminal Code were introduced in
2004: Article 418a ("Trafficking in persons"); Article 418b
"Smuggling of migrants", Article 418c "Organizing a group for TIP"
and Article 418g "Trafficking in juveniles." On January 4, 2008,
the Macedonian Parliament adopted amendments to the 2004 Criminal
Code which fully harmonized the relevant Macedonian legislation with
the 2000 UN Palermo Convention against trans-national organized
crime and its Supplementing Protocols, and provided the legislative

SKOPJE 00000067 004 OF 012


basis for the ratification of the Council of Europe's Convention on
Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (2005) and the Convention
on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual
Abuse (2007).

In addition, the GoM amended Article 191 of the criminal code,
"mediation in prostitution" twice in 2008. Amendments in January
2008 eliminated a subsection pertaining to minors and increased the
minimum sentence from six months to one year. In November an
additional amendment increased the minimum sentence to three years.
As a result, all crimes related to prostitution involving minors
must now be charged as "Trafficking in Minors" under Article 418g.
The new minimum sentence for mediation in prostitution involving
adults is now more in-line with the four year minimum sentence under
418a. Section 191 can still be used where trafficking evidence is
lacking, and mediation in prostitution also includes a subsection on
prostitution "by using force or by serious threat to use force."
The sentence for this subsection was increased to eight years
(previously three years) in November 2008. These changes to Article
191 helped eliminate the temptation of judges and prosecutors to use
section 191 simply as a means to mitigate the sentences of crimes
that otherwise would have been charged under 418a.

In fact, in one case during the reporting period the charge was
actually elevated from 191 to 418g. In March the court reopened the
case of a perpetrator who had previously been convicted to a one and
a half year sentence for mediation in prostitution of a minor and
retried the case under 418g. The case is currently awaiting
sentencing.


-- B. Penalties for traffickers engaging in sexual exploitation
carry a minimum of four years imprisonment. Penalties for offenders
for keeping other persons "in a slavery relationship" carry a
minimum four year sentence. Penalties for the confiscation or
destruction of a persons ID, passport or other documentation in
connection with any of these crimes carries a minimum sentence of
four years. Penalties for a person who knowingly obtains or enables
others to obtain sexual services from a trafficked person range from
six months to five years. Any of the aforementioned crimes
committed against a minor, with the exception of document
confiscation or destruction, carries a minimum sentence of either
eight years or ten years. The minimum penalty for
mediators/organizers of prostitution is three years.


-- C. Article 418a criminalizes trafficking for purposes of forced
labor. The Law on Labor Relations and the Law on Criminal Procedure
cover all acts of labor exploitation. Child labor abuse, not
specifically as a result of trafficking, is dealt with in Section
XIII, Articles 172-176, of the Law on Labor Relations. Article 173
bans employees under the age of 18 from working in difficult or
dangerous labor conditions, while Article 175 precludes them from
working between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am.


-- D. Penalties for rape or forcible sexual assault are prescribed
in Articles 186 through 189 of Criminal Code and carry a sentence
ranging from three years to a maximum of 15 years imprisonment. For
rape committed against a child less than fourteen years of age the
minimum sentence is eight years.


--E. During the reporting period eleven cases were prosecuted under
the two sections of Article 418 that deal exclusively with
trafficking: three cases under 418a "Trafficking in Human Beings"
and eight cases under 418g "Trafficking in Minors." The total
number of individuals prosecuted in those cases was 28, resulting in
17 convictions to date: seven under 418a and ten under 418g. The
average sentence for 418a convictions was 5.57 years; all sentences
were at or above the legally stipulated minimum. The average
sentence for 418g convictions was 5.8 years; none of the sentences
were below the legally stipulated minimum of four years. However,
the four year minimum sentence under Article 418g only pertains to
document confiscation or destruction; otherwise the minimum sentence
is eight years. Six 418g convictions were below eight years and at
least four of those were for items under 418g that stipulate an
eight year minimum sentence. According to the court those four
sentences (two separate cases) were mitigated under Article 40 of
the Criminal Code: "The court may mete out a punishment for the
offender under the limit prescribed by law or apply a more lenient
form of punishment when: 1) the law foresees that the offender may
be punished more leniently; or 2) it concludes special mitigating
circumstances, which point out that the aim of the punishment shall
be achieved also through a more lenient punishment, exist." Both
cases are currently in the appellate court and the trial monitoring
NGO All4Fair Trails believes the current sentences will be
overturned and increased. (Note- prior to this reporting period

SKOPJE 00000067 005 OF 012


cases involving minors were primarily prosecuted as "mediation in
prostitution" offenses which carried a minimum sentence of six
months at the time. Even with the mitigated sentences in these four
instances the sentencing for trafficking crimes involving minors
significantly increased versus previous reporting periods.)

There are three 418a and 418g cases where sentencing has not yet
occurred. One case, involving one perpetrator, is still awaiting
sentencing. Another case is in the early stages of investigation
and the exact number of perpetrators involved has not been
disclosed. In a case that involved a minor victim trafficked to
France, the court pressed charges against five perpetrators in
absentia and has been working with Serb authorities to locate them.
In a case in Croatia that involved two Croatian perpetrators and a
Macedonian victim the investigation was carried out through the
Transnational Referral Mechanism (TRM) and the perpetrators are
being tried in Croatia. Charges were dropped against a total of
three perpetrators in 418a and 418g cases due to a lack of
evidence.


--F. During the reporting period the NRM, with the support of the
OSCE and ICMPD, conducted three separate Standard Operating
Procedure trainings to more than 100 people from the MOI, Centers
for Social Work, Judiciary, MOJ and Prosecutors office. Two
trainings took place in April and one in October. The trainings
were organized as trainings for trainers, so the people trained
could effectively disseminate the information to the rest of their
organizations. In October the NRM also conducted a two day training
for MOI spokespersons and newspaper editors on responsible reporting
of TIP crimes in the media, with particular attention to victim
sensitivity and confidentiality.

The ICMPD and OSCE are currently developing a project with the GoM
to better educate local level officials on the details of the SOPs,
an area where some shortcomings have been identified.

Embassy officers from the US Department of Justice representing
ICITAP and OPDAT worked closely with the GoM to provide broad
training and assistance to the Judiciary and law enforcement. Their
assistance has had a direct and positive impact on Macedonia's
ability to investigate and prosecute TIP. The OSCE's Rule of Law
office also provided extensive support to the Judiciary and law
enforcement, including two officers assigned exclusively to human
trafficking and smuggling.


-- G. During the reporting period the GoM made international TIP
cooperation a high priority. Working with the ICMPD, the GOM began
developing its trans-national referral mechanism (TRM) for TIP with
other governments throughout Europe. The ICMPD has praised the GoM
for its efforts in this area. Macedonia's decision to develop
unique, parallel procedures for foreign victims versus domestic
victims within the same document (the SOPs) and then to formally
adopt the SOPs as official government procedure gave Macedonia the
ability to efficiently and effectively implement trans-national
referral mechanisms with other countries. ICMPD cited these two
acts as a best practice and is encouraging other countries it works
with to follow suit.

The transnational referral mechanism was implemented by Macedonia in
three cases during the reporting period.

In April French authorities found a 13 year-old Roma girl from
Kavadarci, Macedonia in Carcassonne, France after being trafficked
through Serbia and Italy by three Serbs and a Croat. The
perpetrators convinced the victim's family to agree to a false
marriage proposal from one of the perpetrator's relatives and then
took her to France where she was introduced to her alleged husband,
who forced her to work and provide sexual services to clients of a
caf/restaurant, as well as to steal. The victim was repatriated to
Macedonia, where she was offered a full range of victim services and
returned to her family at her request.

In March police discovered a Bosnian woman trafficked by three
Macedonian citizens to Macedonia for the purpose of a forced
marriage. The woman was immediately sheltered, and although the
woman had no documentation, or any record of her citizenship in
Bosnia's national database due to data loss that occurred during the
war, the MOI quickly confirmed that she was a Bosnian citizen
through close cooperation with Bosnian contacts established under
the TRM. The Macedonian citizens were charged under 418a and the
Bosnian citizen was repatriated with the assistance of IOM.

In May, Macedonian authorities, following up on a missing persons
report, exercised excellent cooperation with Croatian authorities
through the TRM to locate an e-Albanian Macedonian who was
trafficked to Croatia on a false promise of marriage in Germany.

SKOPJE 00000067 006 OF 012


Macedonian police passed all their information along from an
internal investigation to Croatian authorities who pressed
trafficking charges against two Croats. The victim was repatriated
to Macedonia where she was sheltered, received legal support,
medical insurance and new documentation.

During the reporting period Macedonia also served as rotating
president of the Migration, Asylum and Refugee Regional Initiative
(MARRI). This Presidency runs from May 2008 to May 2009. The MARRI
headquarters have been located in Skopje since 2005. The
intergovernmental organization includes six member states and
focuses on regional projects to control irregular and illegal
migration through programs focused on regional cooperation and
coordination. Current projects include a project to regionally
coordinate efforts to combat TIP. During the reporting period the
GoM hosted eight regional MARRI conferences and meetings.

Additionally, Macedonia has taken a leadership role coordinating
smuggling and TIP investigations through the Southeast Europe
Cooperation Initiative (SECI) center which led to the dismantling of
two major international smuggling/trafficking organizations during

2008. "Operation Dragon" was carried out in March 2008 and the
perpetrators were tried in May 2008. "Operation Dora" was carried
out November 3, 2008, and is still in trial. The Greek ringleader
of both organizations is still at large and believed to be residing
abroad but was sentenced in absentia for Dragon and will likely be
sentenced for Dora in the same fashion. The charges in both
operations were for migrant smuggling since the crimes were foiled
in transit and no trafficking offenses had occurred yet. However,
elements of the same organization were tied to previous forced labor
trafficking crimes in Albania and the investigations and victim
interviews during Dora and Dragon suggest many of the migrants would
have arrived at the same fate upon reaching their final
destination.


-- H. The GoM extradites foreign criminal suspects upon receiving a
request from authorities in the country of origin. However, the
Macedonian constitution prohibits the extradition of Macedonian
nationals who are charged with criminal offenses. In such cases, the
GoM requests that the other country transfer its jurisdiction for
criminal action against, for example traffickers, to the GoM for
prosecution. The government can extradite other-country nationals
who are charged with trafficking. The extradition procedure is
delineated in the Law on Criminal Procedure, bilateral extradition
treaties, and the Council of Europe's Extradition Convention.


-- I. There was no evidence of involvement of high-level GoM
officials in TIP, or of tolerance or condoning of TIP at any
official level. As previously mentioned, low level municipal
corruption occasionally hampered criminal investigations into clubs
and bars featuring prostitution, which is illegal in Macedonia,
where TIP elements may have been present. The MOI's Sector for
Anti-trafficking identified presumed TIP victims during 17
successful bar and club raids during the reporting period. However,
there were reports of several raids in which bar and club owners
appeared to have been tipped off by local contacts in advance and
managed to elude serious charges by clearing out commercial sex
workers just prior to the raid. Please refer to REFTEL for
additional information on government official involvement in
trafficking and smuggling crimes.


--J. No government officials were prosecuted for involvement in
trafficking-related crimes during the reporting period. Please refer
to REFTEL for additional information on ongoing investigations into
government officials involved in trafficking and smuggling crimes.


-- K. Prostitution is not legal in Macedonia. According to the Law
on Misdemeanor Offenses, prostitution is punishable by two months in
prison or a monetary fine.

Activities of brothel owners, pimps and enforcers are criminalized.
Article 191 of the Criminal Code addresses these illicit activities.
The November 4, 2008 amendments of the Criminal Code raised the
minimum penalties for Article 191 cases. Offenders can be sentenced
from 5 years (previously one year) to ten years (previously five
years) in prison for recruiting, instigating, stimulating or
enticing others into prostitution. Individuals who organize
activities such as recruiting or instigating, or who through the use
of force, serious threat of force, or by deceit induce others to
give sexual services, will receive a minimum sentence of 8 years
(previously three to five years) of imprisonment. Individuals who
enable another to use sexual services for profit will receive a
sentence of three to five years (previously up to a year).


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-- L. Even though Macedonia does not contribute more than 100
soldiers to peacekeeping or other similar missions abroad, the GoM
continued to provide pre-deployment training for soldiers that
included awareness and prevention training on the dangers of TIP and
its link to the demand for commercial sex.


-- M. Macedonia is not considered to have a significant incidence
of sex tourism involving children nor is there any indication that
Macedonian nationals engage in sex tourism at a significant level.
Nonetheless Macedonia was particularly aggressive its investigation
and prosecution of TIP crimes against minors during the reporting
period.



26. (U) PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS:


--A. Macedonia offers formal witness protection services to victims
testifying in high-risk, high profile cases. Witnesses are often
housed in safe houses or hotels and receive 24-hour police
protection. No TIP cases during the reporting period required this
level of witness protection and in recent years only one case has
required such protection. The international community and TIP NGOs
all commended the effectiveness and professionalism with which the
GoM provided witness protection services during that particular
case. Additionally, the Reception Center for foreign victims
included round-the-clock police security and the domestic shelter
maintained a high level of secrecy and discretion with its location
and employed an on-call private security company. There have been
no TIP cases in recent years where victim protection failed.


--B. The MOI, with IOM support and the help of NGO specialists,
fully operated the Reception Center (formerly the Shelter Transit
Center) for foreign victims of trafficking and irregular migrants.
The Center provided safe housing for victims at the pre-trial,
trial, and post-trial stages, until the eventual repatriation of
victims to their countries of origin. In late November the MOI
added positions for an additional psychologist, an additional social
worker and eight new security officers to the Center. The
government budget for the Reception center was approximately
$105,000.

During the reporting period domestic victims were housed in the
domestic victims' shelter, run by the NGO OpenGate and funded by the
Dutch International NGO Lastrada. In March the MLSP will take full
financial and material responsibility for the Domestic Victims
shelter. The new domestic shelter will include OpenGate and For
Happy Childhood as NGO partners to work exclusively with the
victims. The MOI will provide security. The NGO OpenGate voiced
some concerns during the reporting period over the exact
organizational structure of the planned shelter. However, the NC
and the two partner NGOs recently agreed to an equal partnership in
the shelter and to determine a specific division of responsibilities
for the shelter's operation to address these concerns. The NGO
OpenGate has expressed satisfaction with the terms of the agreement
thus far. The MLSP currently runs a shelter for victims of domestic
violence using a similar format and there have been no reported
problems with that shelter. Additionally, the MOI's current NGO
partner in the Reception Center, Happy Childhood, has been positive
about its partnership with the GoM in the Reception Center has not
expressed any concerns over plans for the new domestic shelter.

Domestic victims who opted not to stay in the domestic shelter, or
had previously stayed in the domestic shelter and left, could also
receive social, psychiatric and reintegration services from any of
the 27 centers for social welfare throughout the country. The
government budget for the Centers for Social Welfare was
approximately $6,200,000 in 2008 and the government budget for the
Centers for Social Welfare in 2009 is approximately $8,300,000.

During the reporting period, six confirmed TIP victims stayed at the
GoM run Reception Center. All six of the victims were minors. Two of
the victims were Macedonian victims sheltered in the Reception
Center due to security concerns. The Reception Center had better
round the clock protection to ensure the safety of at-risk victims.
The NGO-run shelter for domestic TIP victims assisted twelve
confirmed victims during the reporting period. The Centers for
Social Welfare assisted seven TIP victims during 2008.


--C. In the Reception Center the GoM provided social and
psychological services through resident civil servants. The GoM
also provided office space for the NGO Happy Childhood to provide a
variety of victim services. The MLSP provided legal services to
victims through a legal advocate employed in the NRM. The legal

SKOPJE 00000067 008 OF 012


advocate also served as a specially appointed guardian for three
domestic minor victims. The GoM has standing agreements to
compensate both shelters for victim medical expenses but the
shelters have reported complications receiving that compensation.
The GoM claims those problems were related to accounting problems
stemming from the privatization of the medical industry. To resolve
this issue the government recently established a partnership with
the Red Cross to provide basic medical services to victims and is
working with the Ministry of Health to ensure victims of trafficking
are included as a specific victim category within health care laws
entitled to specialized treatment. Under the agreement with the Red
Cross the government will reimburse the Red Cross directly as a
services provider for the government, thus eliminating any
complications involved with compensating a private clinic.

Additionally, domestic victims who choose not to reside in the
domestic shelter can receive psychological and social services from
any of the 27 MLSP-run centers for social welfare. The centers for
social welfare also provide victim reintegration services.
Additionally, the centers for social welfare in conjunction with the
NGO OpenGate established a program to assist TIP victims with job
placement upon reintegration.


--D. The Law on Foreigners, which came into force on January 1,
2008, allows persons suspected of being TIP victims to be given a
two-month temporary residence permit in the country while they are
deciding whether or not to testify. During that period, the GoM is
to support and protect the presumed victims. The period can be
extended for victims who are minors. Article 82 allows for the
granting of a six-month temporary residence permit for all TIP
victims who have agreed to testify. No victims requested the
temporary residence permit during the reporting period.


--E. After domestic victims leave the domestic shelter they can
continue to receive a full range of victim support services through
the Centers for Social Welfare, including social reintegration
services, psychiatric services and in some cases skills training and
employment services.


--F. The National Referral Mechanism and the SOPs outlined detailed
procedures for victim referral to either the domestic shelter or
Reception Center by police, social workers, prosecutors and other
potential TIP first responders.


--G. 130 presumed trafficking victims were referred to the two TIP
victim shelters during the reporting period. According to the SOPs,
all presumed victims must be referred to care facilities and are
considered presumed victims until formally evaluated by a trained
trafficking-in-persons professional. Of the 130 presumed victims,
18 victims were confirmed as victims of trafficking. Even when the
result of the evaluation did not result in TIP victim confirmation,
the presumed victims were given a full range of contact information
for TIP shelters, medical and psychological assistance, legal
assistance, NGOs and other services available to them. 118 people
were evaluated in the Government-run Reception Center and twelve
people were evaluated in NGO-run domestic victims' shelter during
the reporting period. Seven TIP victims were assisted by the
centers for social welfare in 2008.


--H. The TIP SOPs, formally adopted by the GoM at the beginning of
2008, establish a formal system for victim identification for use by
the police, social services personnel and any other potential first
responders. All the police, immigrations officers, prosecutors and
social workers expected to encounter TIP victims were trained on the
SOPs during 2008. The SOPs were developed to fully conform to
accepted international standards on victim identification and
treatment.

The Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs requires its consular
officers to receive training on recognizing potential victims of
trafficking. Consular officers are instructed not to routinely issue
visas or work permits to women for employment in the "entertainment
industry." Such requests are flagged and sent to the MOI's internal
review board, which assesses the credentials of the applicant as
well as the authenticity of the Macedonian establishment where the
visa applicant is to work.


-- I. Most presumed victims of trafficking were discovered during
police raids on bars and nightclubs. Initial screening of victims
was carried out by TIP-trained police officers in the unit to combat
human trafficking and social workers from the local centers for
social work. Where police and social workers suspected any elements

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of TIP they referred victims to one of the two shelters. The
shelters provided any immediate health or social services to the
presumed victims. The SOPs permitted presumed domestic TIP victims
an up to 30 day reflection period during which they could stay in
the shelter before taking part in the formal victim identification
process. Foreign presumed victims were permitted a two month
reflection period. Once presumed victims deemed themselves capable,
a trained social worker, often accompanied by an NGO representative,
formally interviewed the presumed victim to determine whether or not
they were a victim of trafficking.

The NRM served as the central authority in TIP victim identification
and assistance. The office was responsible for facilitating an
institutionalized and operational network for adequate
identification, as well as providing assistance and protection for
victims of internal TIP, particularly minors, without regard to
nationality, ethnicity, age or gender.

The handling and treatment of victims by law enforcement officials
and representatives of other governmental institutions overall was
in accordance with generally accepted procedures. NGOs that observed
police procedures reported that victims were informed of their
rights and briefed before testifying as witnesses/victims at
trials.

Isolated reports of unsatisfactory adherence to the SOPs still
occurred in specific prostitution raids conducted by local police.
In one of these raids in Skopje, where prostitutes were allegedly
submitted to medical checks and some were later deported, the MOI
maintained that at least one TIP-trained police officer was involved
and the prostitutes were ruled out as presumed TIP victims prior to
being subjected to a criminal investigation for prostitution.
Nonetheless, the GoM acknowledged this as a potential problem and in
January 2009 implemented a new requirement that all raids conducted
by local police are now required to include an officer from the
Sector for Anti-Trafficking to ensure the SOPs are being followed
and improve the overall victim identification skills of local police
forces. Using Macedonia's IPA (EU) funds allotted for police
reform, the IOM and MOI are also coordinating a project to focus on
front line training for local police, border police and labor
inspectors to assure appropriate victim treatment and identification
in full accordance with the SOPs.


-- J. The GoM encouraged victims to participate in investigations
and trials, and provided support to them. In cases when foreign
victims of trafficking are witnesses against their traffickers, the
victims do not have the right to obtain other employment in the
country. In cases in which the witness has not been repatriated,
victims typically stay at government-protected shelters.

Victims can institute civil proceedings to claim damages and/or
compensation. For the first time, rulings for compensation were
made in three TIP cases during 2008. However, the MLSP and the OSCE
report that compensation still has not been awarded in any of those
cases. The OSCE notes that the current process for victim
compensation is too complex and victims awarded compensation have
thus far been unable to see the entire process through to fruition.
To remedy this problem the NC is pushing for the creation of a TIP
victims' fund from which victim compensation could be paid out as
soon as compensation rulings are awarded by the court. This would
place the responsibility for seizure of assets entirely on the GoM
rather than requiring the victim to pursue compensation.


--K. During the reporting period the MLSP, with the support of the
OSCE and ICMPD, conducted three separate SOP trainings to more than
100 people from the MOI, Centers for Social Work, Judiciary, MOJ and
Prosecutors office. Two trainings took place in April and one in
October. The trainings were organized as trainings for trainers, so
the people trained could effectively disseminate the information to
the rest of their organizations.

Additionally, social workers from the centers for social welfare
received extensive training from international experts on
interviewing techniques with suspected TIP victims in November 2008.
This training was organized by the OSCE and MLSP.

The Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs requires its consular
officers to receive training on recognizing potential victims of
trafficking. Consular officers are instructed not to routinely issue
visas or work permits to women for employment in the "entertainment
industry." Such requests are flagged and sent to the MOI's internal
review board, which assesses the credentials of the applicant as
well as the authenticity of the Macedonian establishment where the
visa applicant is to work.



SKOPJE 00000067 010 OF 012


--L. The two repatriated Macedonian TIP victims discovered abroad
during the reporting period were permitted to stay in the domestic
shelter and given access to a full range of services offered by the
Centers for Social Welfare. They also received new identity
documentation, a government health insurance card and legal
representation from the office of the NRM.


-- M. Several NGOs and international organizations were active in
prevention and awareness-raising projects in Macedonia. To date,
those involved in working directly with victims of trafficking are:

a) "For Happy Childhood" is an NGO responsible for the psychosocial
support of victims of trafficking in the MOI Reception Center. In
March the NGO will become one of the MLSP's two NGO partners in the
new domestic victims' shelter. The GoM provided office space, phones
and computers to Happy Childhood at the Reception Center and the
University of Skopje (where they oragnized prevention activities)
during the reporting period.

b) The International Organization for Migration (IOM),which
provided financial support to the Reception Center, is responsible
for the repatriation program for foreign TIP victims and provided
material support and funding for a number of awareness campaigns.
Additionally, the IOM worked on an ESS TIP project that began in
2007 that helped vulnerable victim groups create micro-businesses in
order to improve their financial stability, thus reducing their risk
factors.

c) "Open Gate - La Strada" is an NGO that managed the shelter for
victims of internal trafficking and victims of Macedonian origin. In
March the NGO will become one of the MLSP's two NGO partners in the
new domestic victims' shelter. Through the domestic shelter the NGO
provided a full range of support services including adult education
programs and specialized skills training. During victim
reintegration Open Gate worked with the centers for social welfare
to help place victims in jobs where they could receive practical
training in their new skill set. Open Gate also operated the
national toll-free TIP victims' helpline which received more than
400 calls during 2008.

d) Red Cross- In October the NC signed a memorandum of understanding
with the Red Cross which will integrate the Red Cross into the
victim identification process and allow the Red Cross to provide
medical services to TIP victims in both shelters.

All these organizations have reported that Macedonian authorities
are cooperative and supportive of the NGOs and international
organizations in their anti-trafficking programs and activities.


27. (U) PREVENTION:

--A. During the reporting period the government conducted a variety
of anti-trafficking education and awareness campaigns. Between
November 2007 and March 2008 the MLSP conducted a national awareness
campaign titled "It's Simple," a TIP awareness campaign directed at
potential victims that featured ads on TV, radio and internet and
print materials distributed throughout the country. Although the
campaign ended in March, the internet ads ran during all of 2008 and
the NRM continued to distribute the print materials at various
forums during the entire reporting period. In May 2008 the NRM
conducted a nationwide survey on TIP awareness. The survey included
responses from 1022 citizens and asked six close-ended questions
designed to specifically determine nationwide TIP awareness. Using
the results of the survey, the NRM identified specific areas where
public TIP awareness was lacking. From this analysis the NRM
developed and conducted nine public roundtable discussions
throughout the country to improve the public's understanding of TIP
in Macedonia. The Ministry of Education (MOE) requires primary and
secondary schools to include TIP education in their standard
curriculum. The NGO For Happy Childhood provided training to the
teachers who present these lessons. Additionally, in March 2008 the
MOE signed an agreement with Open Gate to go into the primary and
secondary schools and provide more extensive TIP education directly
to the students. This campaign focused on high-risk communities
and featured specialized curriculums based on the age of the
students involved. The NGO worked with nine schools during the
reporting period, reaching more than 2000 students. The NGO also
used the trainings to identify peer-leaders among the students and
then provided additional specialized trainings to them. In addition
to the aforementioned NRM trainings for MOI spokespersons and
newspaper editors, Open Gate conducted a separate training for
Macedonian journalists on responsible TIP reporting with the support
of an expert from the MOI's Sector for Anti-trafficking. The MLSP
and NC provided support to the IOM in a regional awareness campaign
it ran through April 2008, which featured billboards, TV and radio
spots, and internet banners. Many of the TV and Radio spots
continued to run after April. In the second week of December 2008

SKOPJE 00000067 011 OF 012


the NC organized a National Anti-TIP week. Throughout the week a
number of high-level government officials publicly spoke about TIP
in televised interviews and speeches and the NRM organized public
TIP roundtable discussions. The NC organized booths in more than a
dozen cities throughout Macedonia to distribute TIP awareness
materials and the University of Skopje organized public
presentations promoting TIP awareness during the entire week. The
University of Skopje also offered similar TIP awareness
presentations at a less frequent rate throughout the reporting
period.


--B. As a member of the regional governmental organization, the
Migration, Asylum and Refugee Regional Initiative (MARRI),Macedonia
has participated in a number of projects focused on improving
regional cooperation and implementing tools to monitor and control
regional migration more effectively. The projects include
harmonizing identification documents and visas between the member
states, facilitating the exchange of migration information between
countries and integrated border management.

All of Macedonia's border police and immigration officers have
received victim identification training and specialized training to
identify fraudulent documents and visas.


--C. Internally, the NC was responsible for coordinating the
anti-trafficking efforts between all of Macedonia's primary TIP
stakeholders. The NC was headed by the National Coordinator for
Combating Trafficking in persons. Within the NC were
representatives from MOI's Department for Organized Crime, the NRM
under the MLSP, the MOE, Skopje Criminal Court One (which tries all
TIP cases) and the Centers for Social Welfare.

The MOI law enforcement Sector for Anti-trafficking worked closely
with the SECI center, which coordinates the international law
enforcement efforts of 13 member countries and has successfully
broken up a number of regional human trafficking and smuggling
operations.

The GoM coordinates many of its regional, policy-level TIP
activities through MARRI, a governmental organization formed out of
the 2003 Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe, which includes six
regional member states. These activities include projects
specifically to combat regional TIP as well as a number of other
projects designed to bolster regional cooperation and
infrastructures for monitoring and controlling migration.

During the reporting period the GoM, in conjunction with the ICMPD,
proactively worked to develop transnational referral mechanisms with
fourteen countries throughout Europe.


--D. Having accomplished all the objectives of its previous National
Action Plan (NAP) to combat TIP well ahead of schedule, the NC
collaborated with the international community and NGOs during three
full days of open debate and discussion in December 2008 to
formulate a new NAP for 2009-2012 during National Anti-Trafficking
week in the first week of December. The international community and
NGOs have cited the new NAP as an excellent example of collaboration
between all the key stakeholders combating TIP in Macedonia. The
final version of the new NAP was agreed upon by all parties in the
first week of February and is expected to be formally published
imminently.


--E. The public University of Skopje, through an ongoing partnership
with the NGO "For Happy Childhood," organized presentations
throughout the year, including seminars and films promoting TIP
awareness. During National Anti-TIP week they stepped up these
activities and organized TIP awareness presentations every day.
These presentations and films included speakers and materials
focused specifically on demand reduction, including presentations by
lawyers and doctors on the severe consequences of procuring
commercial sex services.

A regional campaign funded by the IOM included materials directed at
clientele for commercial sex acts but that campaign ended early in
the reporting period. The same demand reduction materials were also
used in a separate nationwide campaign organized by the NC during
National Anti-TIP Week in December. For this campaign the NC set up
TIP awareness booths in city squares across the country to promote
Anti-TIP Week and distribute TIP awareness materials.


--F. The government did not take any specific measures to combat
international child sex tourism by Macedonian nationals during the
reporting period. The international community, NGOs and GoM

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generally concur that Macedonia does not have a significant number
of nationals travelling abroad for sex tourism.

--------------
NOMINATION OF HEROES AND BEST PRACTICES
--------------


28. (U) HEROES

Kiro Todorovski, National Anti-TIP Commission Secretary since 2006,
has raised the bar for the National Commission to Combat TIP. He
has invested huge amounts of time and energy in turning a previously
ineffective government commission into a benchmark for other
government commissions to follow. He has proactively encouraged all
the TIP stakeholders in government, the NGO community and the
international community to actively participate in the development
and improvement of Macedonia's TIP combating efforts. In the
National Commission he has created an environment of open debate and
discussion focused on achieving positive, tangible results. His
efforts have created a commission that seeks constructive criticism
to improve its own operations, which is particularly impressive in a
government that often fiercely shields itself from criticism and
shows strong reluctance to effect significant change. During his
time in the National Commission every one of the NGOs and
International Organizations has reported a remarkable improvement in
the GoM's cooperation, willingness and ability to combat TIP. Many
have cited the National Commission's work as a model that other
governments should follow to overcome their own challenges in TIP.
His leadership has not only had a significant impact on the fight
against TIP in the Balkans but has created a positive example for
the rest of the Macedonian government as it tries to overcome a
variety of challenging issues.


29. (U) BEST PRACTICES

The international community and NGOs cited two practices in
Macedonia that could serve as best practices in combating TIP in
other countries. The ICMPD praised the GoM for its development of a
transnational referral mechanism that can be implemented quickly and
efficiently in bilateral and multilateral agreements. ICMPD
attributes this to two specific best practices by the GoM. First,
the GoM's decision to create unique procedures for dealing with
domestic victims versus foreign victims and include them
side-by-side in the same document (the SOPs) created a clear
framework for implementing the same procedures at an international
level. Second, the GoM's decision to adopt the SOPs at the highest
level of government allowed those procedures to easily be adopted in
bilateral agreements. ICMPD has reported that these two steps have
made Macedonia substantially more nimble and effective in
implementing its transnational referral mechanism than virtually all
the other countries in ICMPD's program.

The second item cited as a potential best practice by the GoM during
the reporting period was the NC's decision to organize a working
group midway through the projected timeline of the NAP to evaluate
its progress and look for ways to revise it. As previously
mentioned, the working group ultimately determined the NAP had been
almost completely executed and the evaluation resulted in decision
to create a completely new NAP which will keep Macedonia
aggressively moving forward in its efforts to combat TIP.

NAVRATIL