SWEDEN--2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND

UNCLAS STATE 060631

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: ELAB KCRM KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG KPAO KTIP SW
SUBJECT: SWEDEN--2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND
DEMARCHE

REF: A. 2009 STATE 59732

B. 2009 STATE 5577


1. This is an action cable; see paras 5 through 7 and 10.


2. On June 16, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the Secretary will
release the 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report at a
press conference in the Department's press briefing room.
This release will receive substantial coverage in domestic
and foreign news outlets. Until the time of the Secretary's
June 16 press conference, any public release of the Report or
country narratives contained therein is prohibited.


3. The Department is hereby providing Post with advance press
guidance to be used on June 16 or thereafter. Also provided
is demarche language to be used in informing the Government
of Sweden of its tier ranking and the TIP Report's imminent
release. The text of the TIP Report country narrative is
provided, both for use in informing the Government of Sweden
and in any local media release by Post's public affairs
section on June 16 or thereafter. Drawing on information
provided below in paras 8 and 9, Post may provide the host
government with the text of the TIP Report narrative no
earlier than 1200 noon local time Monday June 15 for WHA, AF,
EUR, and NEA countries and OOB local time Tuesday June 16 for
SCA and EAP posts. Please note, however, that any public
release of the Report's information should not/not precede
the Secretary's release at 10:00 am EDT on June 16.


4. The entire TIP Report will be available on-line at
www.state.gov/g/tip shortly after the Secretary's June 16
release. Hard copies of the Report will be pouched to posts
in all countries appearing on the Report. The Secretary's
statement at the June 16 press event, and the statement of
and fielding of media questions by G/TIP's Director and
Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Ambassador-at-Large Luis
CdeBaca, will be available on the Department's website
shortly after the June 16 event. Ambassador de Baca will
also hold a general briefing for officials of foreign
embassies in Washington DC on June 17 at 3:30 pm EDT.


5. Action Request: No earlier than 12 noon local time on
Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA posts and OOB local
time on Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts, please inform
the appropriate official in the Government of Sweden of the
June 16 release of the 2009 TIP Report, drawing on the points
in para 9 (at Post's discretion) and including the text of
the country narrative provided in para 8. For countries
where the State Department has lowered the tier ranking, it
is particularly important to advise governments prior to the
Report being released in Washington on June 16.


6. Action Request continued: Please note that, for those
countries which will not receive an "action plan" with
specific recommendations for improvement, posts should draw
host governments' attention to the areas for improvement
identified in the 2009 Report, especially highlighted in the
"Recommendations" section of the second paragraph of the
narrative text. This engagement is important to establishing
the framework in which the government's performance will be
judged for the 2010 Report. If posts have questions about
which governments will receive an action plan, or how they
may follow up on the recommendations in the 2009 Report,
please contact G/TIP and the appropriate regional bureau.


7. Action Request continued: On June 16, please be prepared
to answer media inquiries on the Report's release using the
press guidance provided in para 11. If Post wishes, a local
press statement may be released on or after 10:30 am EDT June
16, drawing on the press guidance and the text of the TIP
Report's country narrative provided in para 8.


8. Begin Final Text of Sweden's country narrative in the 2009
TIP Report:

--------------
Sweden (TIER 1)
--------------

Sweden is a destination, and, to a lesser extent, a transit
country for women trafficked from Romania, Russia, Nigeria,
Albania, Tanzania, Thailand, and Estonia for the purpose of
commercial sexual exploitation. Some of these women are
trafficked through Sweden to Norway, Denmark, Germany, and
the United Kingdom. Women and children from Romania are
trafficked to Sweden for the purpose of forced begging. One
man from Ukraine was trafficked to Sweden for the purpose of
begging and petty theft. In 2008, a Swedish national was
identified as a victim of trafficking in another EU country,
where her alleged trafficker attempted to force her into
prostitution. The Swedish police estimate that 400 to 600
persons are trafficked to Sweden annually, primarily for
forced prostitution.

The Government of Sweden fully complies with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking. In January
2009, Sweden used its anti-trafficking law to prosecute and
convict labor traffickers for the first time. The government
allocated $26 million to implement the Ministry for
Integration and Gender Equality's two- year comprehensive
anti-trafficking action plan in Sweden and in select source
countries, which included measures to prevent sex
trafficking, improve victim assistance and the victim
repatriation system, provide training for law enforcement and
judges, and improve screening for potential victims during
the visa application process.

Recommendations for Sweden: Consider increased use of the
2002 anti-trafficking law to prosecute trafficking offenders;
improve efforts to collect trafficking specific law
enforcement data; develop and implement formal procedures for
the identification of trafficking victims and increase
efforts to identify victims; improve labor trafficking
awareness and coordination among local and regional police;
continue training judges on the application of the
anti-trafficking law; and continue efforts to better
identify, address and prevent child trafficking to Sweden.

Prosecution
--------------

The government continued its law enforcement efforts to fight
sex trafficking and improved efforts to address labor
trafficking over the reporting period. Sweden's 2002
anti-trafficking law prohibits trafficking for both sexual
exploitation and forced labor and prescribes penalties of two
to 10 years' imprisonment, penalties that are sufficiently
stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other
grave crimes. Prosecutors continued, however, to rely on a
prostitution procurement law with weaker penalties to
prosecute and convict some sex traffickers. In 2008, police
conducted 15 sex trafficking and eight labor trafficking
investigations, compared to 15 investigations reported in

2007. Authorities prosecuted four labor trafficking
offenders and nine sex trafficking offenders, compared to 13
prosecutions in 2007. Four individuals were convicted for
labor trafficking and eight individuals were convicted for
sex trafficking, compared to two labor trafficking
convictions and 11 sex trafficking convictions in 2007.
Sentences given to nine convicted traffickers ranged from six
to 78 months' imprisonment.

Protection
--------------

Sweden provided adequate victim assistance during the
reporting period, although the number of victims assisted
decreased over the reporting period. Police received some
victim identification training and referred identified
victims to NGOs for assistance. The government funded NGOs
both in Sweden and abroad to provide victim rehabilitation,
health care, vocational training, and legal assistance.
Identified foreign victims were granted a minimum 30-day
temporary residency permit that provided them with access to
health care and social services. Swedish authorities
encouraged victims to participate in trafficking
investigations and prosecutions; victims who declined to
participate in investigations were subject to deportation
after the 30-day reflection period, although no victims were
deported from Sweden in 2008. Over the reporting period, six
victims received state-funded assistance compared to 11
victims in 2007. Four victims received temporary residency
permits to remain in Sweden for the duration of the relevant
criminal trial, a decrease from 10 victims given such
temporary permits in 2007. The Swedish government provided
temporary residency to certain victims, but did not otherwise
offer legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims to
countries where they face hardship or retribution. The
government did not punish victims for unlawful acts committed
as a result of being trafficked.

Prevention
--------------

The Government of Sweden demonstrated efforts to raise
awareness and prevent trafficking over the reporting period.
The local government in Stockholm conducted an awareness
campaign targeted at cab drivers and hotel and restaurant
personnel who are likely to come in contact with victims of
trafficking; the campaign consisted of posters and television
advertisements and provided information on how the public can
report suspected instances of trafficking. In July 2008, the
Ministry for Integration and Gender Equality adopted a
comprehensive anti-trafficking action plan, which in part
requires increased efforts to prevent commercial sexual
exploitation.

--------------


9. Post may wish to deliver the following points, which offer
technical and legal background on the TIP Report process, to
the host government as a non-paper with the above TIP Report
country narrative:

(begin non-paper)

-- The U.S. Congress, through its passage of the 2000
Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended (TVPA),
requires the Secretary of State to submit an annual Report to
Congress. The goal of this Report is to stimulate action and
create partnerships around the world in the fight against
modern-day slavery. The USG approach to combating human
trafficking follows the TVPA and the standards set forth in
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in
Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime (commonly known as the "Palermo Protocol"). The TVPA
and the Palermo Protocol recognize that this is a crime in
which the victims' labor or services (including in the "sex
industry") are obtained or maintained through force, fraud,
or coercion, whether overt or through psychological
manipulation. While much attention has focused on
international flows, both the TVPA and the Palermo Protocol
focus on the exploitation of the victim, and do not require a
showing that the victim was moved.

-- Recent amendments to the TVPA removed the requirement that
only countries with a "significant number" of trafficking
victims be included in the Report. Beginning with the 2009
TIP Report, countries determined to be a country of origin,
transit, or destination for victims of severe forms of
trafficking are included in the Report and assigned to one of
three tiers. Countries assessed as meeting the "minimum
standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking"
set forth in the TVPA are classified as Tier 1. Countries
assessed as not fully complying with the minimum standards,
but making significant efforts to meet those minimum
standards are classified as Tier 2. Countries assessed as
neither complying with the minimum standards nor making
significant efforts to do so are classified as Tier 3.

-- The TVPA also requires the Secretary of State to provide a
"Special Watch List" to Congress later in the year.
Anti-trafficking efforts of the countries on this list are to
be evaluated again in an Interim Assessment that the
Secretary of State must provide to Congress by February 1 of
each year. Countries are included on the "Special Watch
List" if they move up in "tier" rankings in the annual TIP
Report -- from 3 to 2 or from 2 to 1 -- or if they have been
placed on the Tier 2 Watch List.

-- Tier 2 Watch List consists of Tier 2 countries determined:
(1) not to have made "increasing efforts" to combat human
trafficking over the past year; (2) to be making significant
efforts based on commitments of anti-trafficking reforms over
the next year, or (3) to have a very significant number of
trafficking victims or a significantly increasing victim
population. As indicated in reftel B, the TVPRA of 2008
contains a provision requiring that a country that has been
included on Tier 2 Watch List for two consecutive years after
the date of enactment of the TVPRA of 2008 be ranked as Tier

3. Thus, any automatic downgrade to Tier 3 pursuant to this
provision would take place, at the earliest, in the 2011 TIP
Report (i.e., a country would have to be ranked Tier 2 Watch
List in the 2009 and 2010 Reports before being subject to
Tier 3 in the 2011 Report). The new law allows for a waiver
of this provision for up to two additional years upon a
determination by the President that the country has developed
and devoted sufficient resources to a written plan to make
significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the
minimum standards.

-- Countries classified as Tier 3 may be subject to statutory
restrictions for the subsequent fiscal year on
non-humanitarian and non-trade-related foreign assistance
and, in some circumstances, withholding of funding for
participation by government officials or employees in
educational and cultural exchange programs. In addition,
the President could instruct the U.S. executive directors to
international financial institutions to oppose loans or other
utilization of funds (other than for humanitarian,
trade-related or certain types of development assistance)
with respect to countries on Tier 3. Countries classified as
Tier 3 that take strong action within 90 days of the Report's
release to show significant efforts against trafficking in
persons, and thereby warrant a reassessment of their Tier
classification, would avoid such sanctions. Guidelines for
such actions are in the DOS-crafted action plans to be shared
by Posts with host governments.

-- The 2009 TIP Report, issuing as it does in the midst of
the global financial crisis, highlights high levels of
trafficking for forced labor in many parts of the world and
systemic contributing factors to this phenomenon: fraudulent
recruitment practices and excessive recruiting fees in
workers' home countries; the lack of adequate labor
protections in both sending and receiving countries; and the
flawed design of some destination countries' "sponsorship
systems" that do not give foreign workers adequate legal
recourse when faced with conditions of forced labor. As the
May 2009 ILO Global Report on Forced Labor concluded, forced
labor victims suffer approximately $20 billion in losses, and
traffickers' profits are estimated at $31 billion. The
current global financial crisis threatens to increase the
number of victims of forced labor and increase the associated
"cost of coercion."

-- The text of the TVPA and amendments can be found on
website www.state.gov/g/tip.

-- On June 16, 2009, the Secretary of State will release the
ninth annual TIP Report in a public event at the State
Department. We are providing you an advance copy of your
country's narrative in that report. Please keep this
information embargoed until 10:00 am Washington DC time June

16. The State Department will also hold a general briefing
for officials of foreign embassies in Washington DC on June
17 at 3:30 pm EDT.

(end non-paper)


10. Posts should make sure that the relevant country
narrative is readily available on or though the Mission's web
page in English and appropriate local language(s) as soon as
possible after the TIP Report is released. Funding for
translation costs will be handled as it was for the Human
Rights Report. Posts needing financial assistance for
translation costs should contact their regional bureau's EX
office.


11. The following is press guidance provided for Post to use
with local media.

Q1: Why was Sweden given a ranking of Tier 1?

A: The Government of Sweden fully complies with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking.

Q2: What progress has Sweden made in the past year?

A: In January 2009, Sweden used its anti-trafficking law to
prosecute and convict labor traffickers for the first time.
The government allocated $26 million to implement the
Ministry for Integration and Gender Equality's two- year
comprehensive anti-trafficking action plan in Sweden and in
select source countries, which included measures to prevent
sex trafficking, improve victim assistance and the victim
repatriation system, provide training for law enforcement and
judges, and improve screening for potential victims during
the visa application process.

Q3: What can Sweden do to improve its fight against
trafficking in persons?

A: To improve its anti-trafficking performance, the Swedish
government could: consider increased use of the 2002
anti-trafficking law to prosecute trafficking offenders;
improve efforts to collect trafficking specific law
enforcement data; develop and implement formal procedures for
the identification of trafficking victims and increase
efforts to identify victims; improve labor trafficking
awareness and coordination among local and regional police;
continue training judges on the application of the
anti-trafficking law; and continue efforts to better
identify, address and prevent child trafficking to Sweden.


12. The Department appreciates posts' assistance with the
preceding action requests.
CLINTON