This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 004113 
 
SIPDIS 
 
UNCLASSIFIED 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF KCRM KJUS PL
SUBJECT: Update on GOP's Anti-Trafficking Policies 
 
 
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SUMMARY 
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¶1.  Our discussions with Polish government officials, NGOs, 
and academic institutions reveal that the GOP has taken 
significant steps to combat trafficking in persons (TIP) in 
Poland.  For the first time ever, the GOP has allocated 
funds from the state budget for the implementation of the 
National Anti-Trafficking Plan.  Additionally, a recent 
revision of the Law on Aliens introduced the provision of a 
reflection period during which foreign trafficking victims 
are able to legally stay in Poland for two months while they 
decide whether or not to cooperate with law enforcement 
agencies. Police continue to work on a number of trafficking 
cases that were identified last year; however, the number of 
new cases identified this year has decreased.  End Summary. 
 
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The GOP implements Anti-Trafficking Plan for 2005-2006 
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¶2.  On November 18, Piotr Mierecki, Counselor of the 
Department of European Integration and International 
Cooperation at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and 
Administration, and administrative coordinator for the inter- 
ministerial Anti-Trafficking Plan, briefed Embassy officers 
on the implementation of the plan for 2005-2006.  The 
National Anti-Trafficking Plan was approved by the Council 
of Ministers in April 2005, and received funding of 
approximately $78,000 for victim protection in late 2005 and 
60 percent of those funds will be spent on victim protection 
while the remainder will be used for educational outreach 
and trainings. In 2006 the Plan's GOP funding is projected 
to double and 80 percent of the funds will be spent on 
victim protection. 
 
¶3.  According to Mierecki, the implementation of the Anti- 
Trafficking Plan in the past six months has fulfilled 
several objectives. In Mierecki's opinion, the most notable 
achievement was a series of trainings for police, border 
guards, prosecutors, judges and social workers, which were 
delivered regionally in 10 of the 16 Polish provinces.  The 
remaining provinces' trainings will be completed by February 
¶2006. The Ministry of Interior-funded training was conducted 
by experts from local NGOs La Strada, and the Nobody's 
Children Foundation, as well as Ministry of Interior 
experts. As a result of these trainings, Mierecki hopes to 
develop a Polish network of regional TIP experts and 
specialists who will work closely together, and share 
information and expertise on TIP-related issues. 
 
¶4. Looking ahead, Mierecki stated that the GOP priorities 
for next year include a national conference on TIP issues, 
an active media campaign addressed to the potential and 
actual victims of trafficking in Poland, and the creation of 
new independent units within the Ministry of Interior and 
police both on national and regional levels, which will be 
assigned to work only on TIP-related issues. (Currently, TIP 
experts are given this responsibility in addition to other 
portfolios, many of which are very time-consuming.) 
 
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New Legislation on Trafficking Victims Enters into Force 
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¶5. On October 1, 2005, the revised Law on Aliens entered 
into force.  Article 33 of this law introduces the so-called 
reflection period for potential trafficking victims. During 
this reflection period, which may last up to two months, a 
foreign victim may legally stay in Poland to make a decision 
on whether or not to cooperate with law enforcement agencies 
rather than face the decision of cooperation or immediate 
deportation. If the victim decides to stay in Poland to 
testify, he or she may then receive a temporary residence 
permit for a definite time period.  During training for 
prosecutors on November 28, prosecutor Krzysztof Karsznicki 
from the Justice Ministry, pointed out that this new 
provision should lead to an increase in the number of cases 
and prosecutions.  As he explained, one of the main 
obstacles in prosecuting TIP cases up until now was that 
Poland previously lacked the legal provisions to allow 
foreign victims to stay in Poland to decide whether they 
would like to testify against their traffickers, and most 
were deported immediately. 
 
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Law Enforcement Agencies Continue to Work on TIP cases 
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¶6. During a meeting on November 29, Inspector Boguslaw 
Tomtala, the leading TIP expert at the National Police told 
Embassy officers that, while the police continue to work on 
TIP cases, in the first six months of 2005 there was a 
considerable decrease in the number of TIP cases identified 
by police. (Five in comparison to 39 identified in the first 
six months of 2004.) Tomtala attributed this decrease in 
2005 to the fact that police officers are still working on 
cases from 2004.  Tomtala explained that the four 
trafficking cases they are currently working on are complex 
and require substantial operational activities to collect 
sufficient evidence. Preparing such cases often takes up to 
two or three years before the case goes to court.  He also 
informed us that police are developing a standard set of 
guidelines for police officers on methods to identify and 
assist TIP victims, which should help police officers 
identify more trafficking cases. As a Border Guard 
representative explained in a separate meeting, a similar 
set of guidelines has been prepared for Border Guard 
officers, who are often the first point of contact for the 
TIP victims. 
 
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La Strada Continues to Assist and Critique 
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¶7. La Strada, the lead NGO providing assistance to victims 
of trafficking, celebrated its tenth anniversary of 
operation in Poland in September. During a meeting on 
November 29, Stana Buchowska, Director of La Strada Poland, 
pointed out that although the legal situation of victims has 
improved, there is still the lingering problem of too few 
prosecutions.  In her opinion, the limited number of 
trafficking cases identified by police this year reflects 
the GOP's lack of will and resources. She also underlined 
that critical improvements are needed in the witness 
protection program for TIP victims and the cooperation 
between NGOs and law enforcement. 
 
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COMMENT 
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¶8. Comment: Recent improvements in anti-trafficking policies 
show that the GOP has recognized trafficking as a serious 
problem that needs to be fought with state budget funding, 
legislation to assist victims and law enforcement entities, 
and nationwide cooperation.  Thanks to the new provisions of 
the Law on Aliens, there is a possibility that victims will 
choose to testify and that more traffickers will be 
prosecuted and convicted.  However, we find it disconcerting 
that there has been a considerable decrease of the number of 
TIP cases identified by police this year.  We hope that the 
fact that police are working on more complex TIP-related 
cases leads to more prosecutions in the future, but time 
will tell.  In his initial courtesy call on December 6 with 
the Minister of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro, Ambassador Ashe 
raised our commitment to combating trafficking and our hope 
that the new GOP will also make it a priority.  The Embassy 
will continue to press for further programs on TIP issues 
with the Polish government. 
HILLAS