Identifier
Created
Classification
Origin
09STATE61199
2009-06-12 22:57:00
UNCLASSIFIED
Secretary of State
Cable title:  

LUXEMBOURG -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND

Tags:  KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG LU 
pdf how-to read a cable
VZCZCXYZ0002
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHC #1199 1632320
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 122257Z JUN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY LUXEMBOURG IMMEDIATE 0000
UNCLAS STATE 061199 

SIPDIS

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

REF: A. (A) STATE 59732

B. (B) STATE 005577

UNCLAS STATE 061199

SIPDIS

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

REF: A. (A) STATE 59732

B. (B) STATE 005577


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 Luxembourg 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 Luxembourg 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 Luxembourg 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 Luxembourg,s country narrative in the
2009 TIP Report:

--------------
Luxembourg (TIER 1)

Luxembourg is a destination country for women trafficked
primarily from Russia and Ukraine for the purpose of
commercial sexual exploitation. An increasing number of
women from Africa, primarily Nigeria, are engaged in
prostitution in the country, and are particularly vulnerable
to trafficking due to debts they incur in the process of
migrating ) legally or illegally -- to Luxembourg. The
government and NGOs did not identify any cases of forced
labor during the reporting period.

The Government of Luxembourg fully complies with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government
enacted additional anti-trafficking legislation and funded a
sex trafficking demand reduction campaign during the
reporting period. While formalized victim identification and
referral procedures remained lacking, the government
established a 90-day reflection period for victims in 2008.

Recommendations for Luxembourg: Establish formal procedures
to identify victims among vulnerable groups, such as women in
the legal commercial sex trade and illegal migrants, and to
refer these victims to available services; ensure there are
adequate protection facilities in place for all trafficking
victims, including victims of forced labor, and child and
male victims; and launch an awareness campaign to educate
authorities and the general public about forms of labor
trafficking.

Prosecution
--------------
The Luxembourg government demonstrated progress in the
prosecution of trafficking crimes during the reporting
period. In February 2009, the government adopted
long-awaited amendments to its penal code that distinguish
human trafficking from smuggling or illegal migration and
broaden the definition of human trafficking to include forced
labor. Penalties prescribed in the new legislation increased
from a maximum prison term of three years, to a range of five
to 10 years, imprisonment. These penalties are sufficiently
stringent and commensurate with penalties prescribed for
other grave crimes. There were seven prosecutions and
convictions of sex trafficking offenders during the reporting
period, compared with six from the previous year. Sentences
ranged from three months, imprisonment with fines to three
years, imprisonment with fines. The majority of trafficking
offenders were sentenced to two years, imprisonment or more.
The government continued its ongoing training of police,
immigration, and other government officials and NGOs on
victim identification. There was no evidence of trafficking
complicity by Luxembourg public officials during the year.

Protection
--------------
The government made some additional progress in protecting
trafficking victims during the reporting period. The
government adopted immigration legislation in 2008 that
provides human trafficking victims with relief from
deportation through the granting of temporary residence
status for a 90-day reflection period. The government did
not provide long-term shelter or housing benefits for victims
of trafficking. The government encourages victims to
participate in the investigation and prosecution of
trafficking offenders during the reflection period, though
the granting of the reflection period is not conditional on
victims, cooperation with authorities. The government
worked with neighboring countries on a witness protection
plan for two trafficking victims during the reporting period.
The government also funded two NGOs providing services for
women in distress that also serve female human trafficking
victims. Child victims of trafficking were placed in a
general shelter for juveniles that offered specialized
services for trafficking victims. The government has a
stated policy of ensuring that victims are not punished for
unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their being
trafficked; it is unclear whether all women in prostitution
who are in the country illegally are checked for trafficking
indicators before being deported or imprisoned. It is also
unclear whether authorities are proactively identifying
victims among the estimated 500 women in prostitution in
Luxembourg,s legalized sex trade. The government did not
appear to employ a formal referral mechanism for authorities
to use when referring victims to available services.

Prevention
--------------
The government made some progress in its efforts to prevent
trafficking during the reporting period. It launched a sex
trafficking public awareness campaign at bus stops. In
addition, the Ministry of Equal Opportunity funded a sex
trafficking demand reduction poster campaign bearing the
slogan, &If you hire a prostitute, you are financing human
trafficking.8 The government did not report any child sex
tourism prosecutions or prevention efforts during the
reporting period.

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


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 Luxembourg given a ranking of Tier 1?

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

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

A: The government enacted additional anti-trafficking
legislation and funded a sex trafficking demand reduction
campaign during the reporting period. While formalized
victim identification and referral procedures remained
lacking, the government established a 90-day reflection
period for victims in 2008.

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

A: To improve its anti-trafficking performance, the
Government of Luxembourg could: establish formal procedures
to identify victims among vulnerable groups, such as women in
the legal commercial sex trade and illegal migrants, and to
refer these victims to available services; ensure there are
adequate protection facilities in place for all trafficking
victims, including victims of forced labor, and child and
male victims; and launch an awareness campaign to educate
authorities and the general public about forms of labor
trafficking.


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