Poland/TIP - Continued Forward Progress, But ...

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 WARSAW 000018 SIPDIS SENSITIVE STATE FOR EUR/PGI, EUR/CE, G/TIP, INL/HSTC, DRL/IL LABOR FOR ILAB E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB PL SUBJECT: Poland/TIP - Continued Forward Progress, But ... Ref: STATE 133137 (G/TIP ACTION GUIDE FOR POLAND) WARSAW 00000018 001.2 OF 003 ¶1. (SBU) Summary. Poland has continued to make strides in its efforts to combat trafficking in persons. Poland ratified the 2005 Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings on November 17. It will enter into force on March 1, 2009. The Polish government and International Organization for Migration (IOM) sponsored a national trafficking awareness campaign -- a poster display that circulated at the country's major train stations. The Polish Interior Ministry held its third national conference on trafficking on October 22 with a focus on law enforcement issues, forced labor, and child trafficking; the candid evaluation of Polish successes and shortcomings are encouraging signs of serious engagement and solid commitment to combat TIP. These positive developments notwithstanding, the possible closure of Poland's only specialized shelter for TIP victims (reported septel) is cause for concern. End Summary. -------------- The Council of Europe Convention -------------- ¶2. (SBU) Poland was the 19th state to ratify the 2005 Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. Poland ratified the Convention on November 17. The Convention will enter into force in Poland on March 1, 2009. The Convention focuses on the protection and rights of victims of trafficking. It defines TIP broadly and recommends preventive provisions and enhancements to nationally and internationally coordination. Because the GoP was already implementing the Convention's requirements, ratification at this stage is mostly a formality, albeit one with important symbolic value. -------------- Anti-Trafficking Awareness Campaign -------------- ¶3. (SBU) The Polish national TIP conference coincided with the inauguration of a new public awareness campaign organized by the Interior Ministry and IOM, and co-sponsored by Embassy Warsaw. This traveling exhibit was on display at Warsaw's central train station for one week before circulating to six other major train stations around the country, including Poznan, Lodz, Katowice, Krakow, Wroclaw and Gdynia. The exhibit consisted of 18 posters which presented photographs of victims and statistical information about the phenomenon. The goal of the project was to present the problem of trafficking to the widest possible audience. The display received positive media attention. -------------- Third National Conference on Trafficking -------------- ¶4. (SBU) The Interior Ministry held its third national conference on trafficking in human beings on October 22. The conference was attended by approximately 120 people, including representatives of numerous Polish ministries and central government institutions, law enforcement officials, lawyers, NGOs, academics, social workers and researchers. The conference reviewed the successes of the past year but also broke into three working groups to conduct candid assessments of what still needs to be done and to formulate of specific recommendations. ¶5. (SBU) Deputy Interior Minister Piotr Stachanczyk opened the conference and, inter alia, thanked the Warsaw University Human Trafficking Center and Justice Affairs Institute for its research during 2008, which lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the phenomenon in Poland. Piotr Mierecki, Deputy Director for Migration Policy in the Interior Ministry whose department is responsible for coordinating national activities to combat TIP, then presented the successes of the 2007-2008 National Anti-Trafficking Action Plan. These included numerous information campaigns carried out by the Interior Ministry (e.g., an information campaign addressed to Poles who leave the country to work abroad and a campaign for persons from neighboring countries who come to work in Poland) and enhanced law enforcement capabilities thanks to the establishment the Police Central Anti-Trafficking Team in 2006, and the recent appointment of TIP coordinators in all regional Border Guard units. All district prosecutors' offices now have appointed consultants who provide guidance on how to handle TIP-related cases. Mierecki also cited improved international cooperation within the G-6 framework, in particular with the UK. (NOTE: The G-6 countries are France, Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the UK. END NOTE.) WARSAW 00000018 002.2 OF 003 ¶6. (SBU) Mierecki stated that the two areas of main concern are the lack of the definition of trafficking in Polish criminal law, and the need to develop a model of support and protection for underage victims. Mierecki briefly outlined the proposed National Anti-Trafficking Program for 2009-2010, which inter alia addresses these issues. In a separate meeting January 7, Mierecki told us that the interagency review of the plan should be complete by the end of January and the plan approved by Council of Ministers in March or April. -------------- Conference Working Group Sessions -------------- ¶7. (U) The TIP conference was divided into three working groups focused on law enforcement issues, forced labor, and child-trafficking. LAW ENFORCEMENT WORKING GROUP ¶8. (SBU) The law enforcement working group focused on a nuts-and-bolts analysis of prosecution patterns and available resources for TIP cases. Prosecutor Krzysztof Karsznicki from the Justice Affairs Institute presented a detailed analysis of TIP-related cases which were closed without resolution by prosecutors between 2005 and 2007. Karsznicki said only 20 of the 40 discontinued cases he analyzed were classified under Article 253 (Trafficking),though all of them should have been. The others were classified as pimping and smuggling, for example, rather than trafficking, because of the lack of a legal definition and thorough understanding of trafficking provisions in the Polish criminal code. Prosecutor Karsznicki pointed out various problems with investigations carried out by prosecution offices, such as the lack of physical evidence, problems with proper classification of the offense, and investigations that were either too lengthy or too short before being discontinued. The guidelines created by the National Prosecution Office on how to deal with TIP cases were used in only 10 percent of the cases and the provision for a 'reflection period' was not used at all in these 40 cases. Karsznicki also observed that prosecutors are reluctant to use international legal aid, even in simple matters, such as identification of the address, or showing a photo of a perpetrator to the victim. Karsznicki opined that prosecutors too easily decide to discontinue investigations, and expressed concern that it may be because the victims are foreigners who have often already returned home and are unlikely to appeal the decision. In two cases, victims were charged with possession of false documents and immigration violations, and were released only after intervention by the leading anti-trafficking NGO LaStrada. Karsznicki opined that this problem supports the argument to move trafficking-related cases from the circuit to district prosecutorial level. He also observed that police generally do not run undercover operations (e.g., surveillance, wiretapping, etc.) to identify trafficking operations; the police only act in response to victim complaints. ¶9. (SBU) The law enforcement working group recommended that: a legal definition of trafficking should be incorporated into the Polish criminal code; law enforcement officials should use more operational techniques to identify cases of trafficking and more sophisticated tools to gather evidence; prosecutors should be strongly encouraged (since they cannot be compelled because of their independence) to use standard operating procedures developed by the National Prosecution Office; and, prosecutors and consultants should meet more regularly to increase training opportunities. FORCED LABOR WORKING GROUP ¶10. (SBU) The second working group focused on forced labor issues, including the new competencies assigned to the Polish Labor Inspectorate (PIP). Jaroslaw Lesniewski, the Director of the PIP's Department for Controlling Legality of Employment, described the new tasks which were assigned to PIP as a result of the 2007 revision of the law. The new powers include controlling the legality of employment of foreigners and the operation of employment agencies which help Poles find work abroad. Mierecki noted that Poland is becoming a destination country for migrant workers and that there is a need to train PIP personnel, Border Guards, and labor inspectors to better identify and handle possible forced labor cases. The Border Guard and PIP have signed a memorandum of cooperation and there are also lower-level agreements, but Mierecki noted that both sides need to take advantage of those mechanisms. ¶11. (SBU) The working group also noted that there needs to be more cooperation with countries of origin and trade unions. Mierecki WARSAW 00000018 003.2 OF 003 observed that there is an urgent need for more awareness campaigns on the risks related to undertaking illegal work, including more cooperation with the countries of origin. Lukasz Wieczorek from Warsaw University observed that Polish trade unions are rarely involved in the issues of forced labor and protecting rights of foreign workers. He pointed out that this is not the case in other countries, such as the UK, Ireland, France, and Germany. ¶12. (SBU) The recommendations of this group included the need to make trade unions and employers aware of the problem of forced labor. The group also agreed that there should be a central register of monitoring and inspections carried out by labor inspectorate. CHILD-TRAFFICKING WORKING GROUP ¶13. (SBU) The third working group focused on the problem of child-trafficking. During 2008, participation in the Ministry-funded Witness/Victim Protection program was offered to two victims younger than 18. Working group participants observed that this has created new problems and opportunities and recommended: a definition of trafficking that distinguishes between adults and minors, as well as a legal definition for the term "unaccompanied minor"; the establishment of standard operation procedures for minors who fall victims of trafficking and providing training for law enforcement on how to combat child-trafficking; a 24/7 telephone hotline, which could serve as an emergency point of contact for rapid identification of TIP victims; the creation of an internet database for institutions that deal with trafficking in persons; and, training for judges on how to deal with children who are victims of trafficking. -------------- Comment -------------- ¶14. (SBU) The ratification of the COE convention (even if mainly symbolic),the TIP awareness campaigns, and the candor of the TIP conference are encouraging signs that the GoP is examining trafficking with clear-sightedness and looking for pragmatic ways to address the problem. It remains to be seen whether the GoP will allocate the resources necessary to move forward with the new recommendations outlined above, but Mierecki informed us that the recommendations have been incorporated into the proposed National Anti-Trafficking Program for 2009-2010. The fact that government policy offices, law enforcement officials, NGOs and academics actively participated in the conference is a positive signal of transparency and cooperation across the board. Our primary concern going forward is the possible closure of the country's only specialized TIP victim assistance shelter (as reported septel). ASHE