POLAND - PRIME MINISTER TO FUND TIP VICTIMS SHELTER

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 000113

SIPDIS

STATE FOR EUR/PGI, EUR/CE, G/TIP, INL/HSTC, DRL/IL
LABOR FOR ILAB

E.O. 12958: DECL: 01/28/2019
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB PL
SUBJECT: POLAND - PRIME MINISTER TO FUND TIP VICTIMS SHELTER

REF: WARSAW 024

WARSAW 00000113 001.2 OF 002


Classified By: DCM - Quanrud for reasons 1.4 (b and d)


1. (SBU) Summary. Following front-page media coverage about
the potential closure of Poland's only shelter providing
specialized assistance for victims of trafficking in Poland
(reftel),Prime Minister Tusk offered public assurances
January 13 that the GoP would provide the funds necessary to
keep the shelter open. The PM has transferred 700,000 zloty
(approximately USD 215,000) from the national budget reserve
to the Interior Ministry to hold a tender for running the TIP
shelter. According to the NGO LaStrada, the project should
be open for bids in February or March. Although this solves
the problem in the short-term, the GoP must take the next
step of establishing a long-term, expanded funding mechanism
for victim assistance. End Summary.

Media Storm
--------------


2. (C) NGO LaStrada's January 7 announcement that funding
cuts might prompt the closure of Poland's only specialized
shelter for TIP victims (reftel) generated an intense (print
and broadcast) media storm that put pressure on the GoP to
respond. On January 14, the news daily "Dziennik" carried a
two-page story on the case of a Ugandan women who had escaped
from her traffickers in Warsaw's central train station days
before. In a radio interview the same day, Slawomir Nowak,
Head of the Prime Minister's Chancellery told journalists,
"We will help LaStrada," and emphasized that PM Tusk was
personally engaged in the matter. True to form, the PM's
Chancellery turned what might have been a PR nightmare into a
victory.


3. (C) On January 15, Piotr Mierecki, the Interior Ministry's
coordinator for national activities to combat TIP,
confidentially informed the Embassy that the PM will likely
give 700,000 zloty (approximately USD 215,000) to the
Interior Ministry to hold a tender for running the TIP
shelter. Mierecki credited this positive development to the
media attention surrounding the possible closing of
LaStrada's shelter, the press coverage of the Ugandan woman
who escaped from her traffickers, and the Ambassador's
January 8 letter to Interior Minister Schetyna expressing our
concern.

PM Chancellery Engaged
--------------


4. (C) On January 29, LaStrada president and founder, Stana
Buchowska, expressed appreciation for Embassy support and
said LaStrada is now working with the PM's Chancellery on a
long-term solution. Buchowska was called to meet with Igor
Ostachowicz, Secretary of State in the PM's Chancellery, in
the midst of the media storm. Ostachowicz said that the PM
had approved using money from the state budget reserve to
fund the shelter through a public tender administered by the
Interior Ministry. When Ostachowicz proactively asked what
else should be done, Buchowska told him that a proposed
National Center for Consultation and Intervention for
Trafficking Victims (noted in reftel) should be permanently
established to secure its funding in the Interior Ministry's
budget. She added that labor laws should be amended to allow
the small number of trafficking victims in Poland to work and
urged that a legal definition of trafficking be included in
the Polish criminal code. Buchowska said she was amazed when
three days later the proposed public tender was already at
the PM Chancellery for approval; she expects it to be open
for bids in February or March.

Comment
--------------


5. (C) In the wake of negative media attention, the GoP acted
quickly to reverse what would have been a serious step
backward for Polish efforts to combat TIP. The positive
outcome was largely due to LaStrada's strategic use of the
media, which succeeded in getting the PM's Chancellery
engaged on TIP. We will continue to press the GoP to
dedicate more resources to victim assistance programs, rather
than relying on NGOs to solicit foreign grants for the vast
majority of their operating expenses. In light of these
developments, and the obvious long-term advantage of GoP
funding, Post no longer considers it necessary to seek
additional USG funds at this time.

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ASHE