2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT FOR ITALY PART 2

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ROME 000208 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PGOV PHUM PREF SMIG, KMCA, PREL, IT SUBJECT: 2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT FOR ITALY PART 2 REF: SECSTATE 02094 ROME 00000208 001.3 OF 004 Protection of and Assistance to Victims - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - ¶28. A The government protects victims and witnesses. Victims are enrolled in programs run by NGOs or religious communities that provide shelter and support. ¶28. B Article 13 of the Law 228/2003 provides for three to six months assistance to victims while article 18 of Law 286/1998 guarantees shelter benefits for another twelve months and reintegration assistance. Moreover, victims usually obtain temporary residence/work permits that can lead to permanent residency. In fact adults who are identified as trafficking victims are granted a six-month residency permit, renewable if the victim finds employment or has enrolled in a training program, and are sheltered in special facilities. Minors receive an automatic residence permit until they are 18, and they are hosted in separate centers. NGOs run these services with funding provided by national, regional and local authorities. According to the Ministry of Equal Opportunity, NGOs and local authorities have been using these methods ¶28. C In 2009, 810 victims obtained temporary residence visas, according to the Ministry of Interior. The government provides legal and medical assistance through NGOs as soon as a victim has been identified. Assistance programs are carried out mainly in larger cities, such as Rome, Milan, Turin, Genoa, Florence and Naples, where the majority of victims are concentrated. In 2007, under Article 13, more than 400 victims accessed assistance, 10 percent of whom were minors. The top countries of origin were Nigeria (40 percent),China (16 percent), Romania (13 percent),and Morocco (10 percent). Under Article 18, about 1,100 victims, including about 50 minors and 100 men, entered social protection programs in ¶2008. Also in 2008, NGOs provided health care (16 percent), legal advice (8 percent),psychological support (10 percent), social counseling (20 percent) and other services (13 percent). Of the victims placed in social protection programs, approximately 50 percent were from Nigeria, 15 percent were from Romania, 5 percent were from China, and another 4 percent were from Moldova. The prospect of obtaining a residence permit had been an effective incentive for Romanian victims who requested assistance until 2007 when Romania entered the EU. More broadly, the significant drop in the total number of victims assisted is the result of the adoption of a more accurate monitoring system which allowed authorities to identify victims by name, avoiding double counting. The majority of victims were housed in shelters, while others lived independently with support. Other funded projects included reintegration, assisted repatriation, victims' assistance and job training programs. NGOs, with government funding, provided literacy courses for 588 people and vocational training for 313; helped 436 victims find temporary employment and another 907 individuals find permanent jobs. ¶28. D See above. Almost all assisted victims are foreign nationals. ¶28. E. Under article 13 of the Law 228/2003 the Ministry of Equal Opportunity provides three to six months assistance to victims. Under article 18 of Law 286/1998 guarantees shelter benefits for another twelve months and reintegration assistance. ¶28. F. Article 18 provides for the identification and transfer of victims placed under protective custody to NGOs that provide transition, reintegration and/or repatriation services to victims. NGOs that receive victims are registered by the Ministry of Labor and Welfare and monitored by the Ministry for Equal Opportunity. ¶28. G In 2008, 664 obtained residence permits as victims of trafficking, according to the Ministry of Interior. About 300 were enrolled in educational institutions; 150 were enrolled in training courses, and 200 more received job offers. ¶28. H There is no standard mechanism for screening for victims among people involved in the sex trade. OIM has drafted common guidelines on the identification of victims based on best international practices. ROME 00000208 002.3 OF 004 The Ministry for Equal Opportunity is implementing a project in cooperation with Portugal, Hungary, and the Czech Republic and funded by the European Union, designed to identify a transnational referral mechanism for victims of trafficking that will be submitted to the European Commission for further action. ¶28. I Victims in Italy usually do not face prosecution for other laws they may have broken if they file a complaint against a trafficker. ¶28. J. The government encourages victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking through the offer of a temporary residence permit. Italian law does not allow victims to seek redress or compensation through civil court proceedings. A victim who is a material witness in a court case against a former employer is allowed to obtain other employment. Under a victim restitution program monitored by the International Organization for Migration, 81 victims were repatriated in 2008. These victims were given 500 euro by the Government for repatriation, up to 1,600 euro for resettlement in their home country, and reintegration assistance for six months. ¶28. K. The Ministry of Interior trains police officers in victim identification and victim assistance under various programs, but not in a systematic or comprehensive way. The Ministry of Equal Opportunity promotes training initiatives and an exchange of best practices for experts and social workers every three months. Because Italian citizens generally are not trafficking victims, Italy does not provide training to its embassies and consulates and does not need to provide assistance to repatriated nationals. ¶28. L. Italian nationals generally are not victims of trafficking. ¶28. M. There are over 200 domestic and international NGOs in Italy that work on the trafficking issue. The most notable include: (a) PARSEC. This is a social research institute that collects the most reliable data on trafficking in Italy. It also operates several mobile assistance units and works closely with local governments. (b) On The Road Association. Located in the Marche, Abruzzo, and Molise regions, it provides legal, medical, social, and psychological assistance through its mobile units, shelters and safe houses. It also has an employment program that provides victims with jobs and pays them for their work. (c) CARITAS. This is a large lay Catholic association that works with the needy in numerous shelters throughout Italy. It collects statistics on and works with immigrant communities providing food, shelter and assistance. (d) ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking) and Save the Children. Both work with other NGOs to ensure that police treat juvenile sex workers as trafficking victims, not criminals. (e) Gruppo Abele and IROKO in Turin, the Orlando Association in Bologna, and Progetto Arcobaleno in Florence also have multiple projects to assist trafficking victims. Prevention - - - - - ¶29. A The Ministry for Equal Opportunity has the lead in funding public awareness programs. NGOs continue to distribute materials updated on a regular basis, including brochures, posters, bumper stickers and TV/radio ads providing information and assistance to victims. An ad campaign called "Stop Trafficking" continued in 2009 with the support of the Ministry of Interior in cooperation with the Ministry of Equal Opportunity. Equal Opportunity also established a toll-free hot line in 2000 to provide information and assistance to victims. In June 2009, authorites reported that the hotline received almost 15,000 calls in the previous 12 months. The Ministry for Equal Opportunity identified 14 focal points nationwide to implement public awareness campaigns for informing victims of protection programs and to solicit citizens to report trafficking cases. Social workers started calling sex workers and other potential victims to provide information about assistance programs. ROME 00000208 003.3 OF 004 The Ministry of Foreign Affairs financed a project implemented by UNICRI in cooperation with UNODC, the Nigerian government and NGOs designed to increase awareness on trafficking in the state of Edo, Nigeria, from where large numbers of minors are smuggled to Italy. the main objective is preventing human trafficking through strategic partnerships aimed at fostering community mobilization and a communication campaign targeted at potential victims and government officials. The activities include visits to schools, meetings held in street markets, and radio programs. ¶29. B With over 2,000 miles of coastline and geographic proximity to both North Africa and Eastern Europe, Italy has become a major frontier for illegal immigration. Large numbers of immigrants arrived after transiting Libya and Tunisia. In August 2008, the government signed a pact with Libya that provides for patrolling the Libyan coasts by common Italian and Libyan enforcement teams. The agreement allows all immigrants departing from Libya--not only Libyan nationals--to be turned back before they reach Italian territory. In May 2009, under the Italy-Libya agreement, the Italian coast guard escorted 500 immigrants back to Libya; subsequent similar operations produced a dramatic decline in the number of immigrants who reached Italian shores. (see 25.D.) Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International criticized the government for its failure to screen foreigners and identify refugees, unaccompanied minors, and victims of trafficking. ¶29. C The Ministry for Equal Opportunity leads an interministerial committee charged with monitoring trafficking and coordinating government activity to combat it. Other members include the Ministries of Interior, Justice, Labor and Social Affairs, and Foreign Affairs, as well as the special anti-Mafia prosecutorial unit. The government works closely with over 200 NGOs involved in anti-trafficking initiatives that offer advice on prevention and enforcement of legislation. ¶29. D Italy does not have a national action plan to combat trafficking. There is a national action plan for assisting victims. The inter-ministerial Committee Against Trafficking, led by the Ministry for Equal Opportunity, is responsible for coordinating policy at the national level. The Ministry regularly works with NGOs to coordinate and implement anti-TIP initiatives. ¶29. E Authorities of some cities, including Milan, Rome, Verona, Florence and Venice enforced rules which prohibit street prostitution. Between January and November 2009, the city of Milan issued 11,600 fines against sex workers and clients. From September 2008 to May 2009, Rome police fined 3,800 sex workers and 1,200 clients. The 14 regional focal points established by the Ministry of Equal Opportunity (see 29.A.) carried out demand-reduction education campaigns at the local level in cooperation with municipalities, police, social services and NGOs. The Ministry of Interior implemented an information campaign, which included television and radio advertisements aimed at informing the public of the possibility that sex workers present in their towns might be victims of slavery. (see 29. A) The initiative was taken in the context of Operation Pentametro, funded by the European Union. ¶29. F See 27. M ¶29. G The Center of Excellence for Stability Policing Units (COESPU),created by the Ministry of Defense, in cooperation with the US Government in 2005, regularly organizes training sessions on human rights and trafficking for civilians and military personnel who serve in international missions. The armed forces regularly organize training on exploitation of children and sex workers for troops deployed abroad. Partnership - - - - - - ¶30. A The Labor Ministry implemented two projects designed to prevent trafficking in unaccompanied minors for labor exploitation, in cooperation with the Egyptian and Albanian governments. The former was funded with national and European resources and implemented with the assistance of IOM. It encompassed television advertisements, posters, media outreach, and the establishment of a vocational training center for minors who aim to find a legal job in Italy or ROME 00000208 004.3 OF 004 Egypt. In Albania, Italian authorities promoted an exchange of best practices and training of social workers who assist vulnerable minors. Another partnership has been proposed to the Moroccan government but has not yet been approved, pending the adoption of a legal framework for the protection of minors. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sponsored a program implemented by IOM aimed at strengthening capabilities of Nigerian NGOs which prevent trafficking and support victims. It has also funded the program "Preventing and Combating Trafficking of Minors and Young Women from Nigeria to Italy" carried out by UNICRI in cooperation with UNODC, Nigerian institutions and NGOs (See 29. A.) The Ministry of Interior reached an agreement with Ghana and Niger aimed at reducing flows of smuggled and trafficked immigrants. (See 25. D) ¶30. B The government promotes the exchange of best practices, training of law enforcement officers, international investigations (See 27. G),identification of a common referral mechanism for the identification of victims (see 28. H),and prevention initiatives. (see 30. A) THORNE