CYPRUS: UNFICYP MISSION CONTINUES TO ACTIVELY

UNCLAS NICOSIA 000013 SIPDIS DEPARTMENT FOR IO/PSC, IO/UNP AND EUR/SE E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KPKO PREL CY SUBJECT: CYPRUS: UNFICYP MISSION CONTINUES TO ACTIVELY COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS AND SEXUAL EXPLOITATION REF: A. 09 SECSTATE 130760 ¶B. 09 NICOSIA 00395 ¶1. (U) Per Ref A, PolOff contacted UN Force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) Civil Affairs Officer Maria Wilkins, who serves as UNFICYP's "Gender Focal Point" in charge of educating UN civilian, police and military personnel about sexual harassment, sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA),and trafficking in persons (TIP). UNFICYP continues to implement and enforce the organization's policy of "zero tolerance, zero complacency, and zero impunity" with regard to SEA. UNFICYP's Conduct and Discipline Unit reported no incidents of involvement by UN personnel in TIP or SEA. During the period from July 1, 2009 to December 31, 2009, a total of 906 UNFICYP military and civilian staff received conduct-and-discipline training in SEA. ¶2. (U) On December 20, PolOff met with Elena Pissaridou, the Administrative Director of STIGMA, the Organization for Protecting Victims of Sexual Abuse and Exploitation. Pissaridou, a well-networked local authority on human trafficking, reported that she knew of no TIP or SEA cases involving UN personnel. ¶3. (U) On January 8, PolOff contacted Mine Yucel, the Director of Prologue Consulting, Ltd., a management consulting company located in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots. Yucel, who has conducted extensive research on TIP in the Turkish Cypriot community, likewise reported that she knew of no cases of TIP or SEA involving UN personnel. ¶4. (U) On January 8, PolOff contacted Rita Superman, the Director of the Cyprus Police Anti-TIP Unit. She stated that she was not aware of any TIP or SEA cases involving UNFICYP personnel. In contrast to previous discussions (see Ref B), Superman did not report any incidents of UN peacekeepers visiting local cabarets, which are notorious venues for TIP and prostitution. ¶5. (U) Post views UNFICYP's actions to prevent TIP and SEA as effective, as evidenced by the absence of any media or anecdotal reports of misconduct by UNFICYP personnel during the reporting period. UNFICYP's robust in-house training program demonstrates the seriousness with which the local UN leadership approaches TIP and SEA. URBANCIC