VZCZCXRO0612
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN RUEHLZ
RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHBW #0210/01 0411450
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 101449Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BELGRADE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0738
INFO EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHEHAAA/NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USEUCOM VAIHINGEN GE
RUZEJAA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BELGRADE 000210 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
DEPT FOR EUR/SCE (K. GARRY), G/TIP (J. DONNELLY) 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PGOV ELAB KTIP KCRM SR
SUBJECT: SERBIA MAKES PROGRESS ON TIP RECOMMENDATIONS 
 
REF: A) 09 BELGRADE 32; B) 09 BELGRADE 836 
 
Summary 
 
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¶1.  (SBU) Serbia has recently made several improvements in fighting 
trafficking in persons, including addressing two major deficiencies 
in the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report in the areas of 
demonstrating prosecutions and referring victims to services.  The 
government also stepped in to save two NGO-run victim shelters, 
introduced tougher sentences in the criminal code, and increased 
its prevention activities.  Serbia's efforts are impressive given 
that a budget crisis prevented the significant increases in 
anti-TIP spending the government had planned.  Embassy continues to 
reinforce with Serbian officials -- including during Ambassador's 
February 9 meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Dacic -- the need for 
Serbia to continue to address funding for the implementation of the 
National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking, lengthy trials of 
traffickers, and systematic collection and analysis of prosecution 
and sentencing data.  End Summary. 
 
 
 
Status of the Action Plan: Major Deficiencies Addressed 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) In recent months, the Serbian government has taken 
decisive steps to address the two major criticisms in the 2009 
Trafficking in Persons report -- an inability to show vigorous 
prosecution with appropriate statistics and the lack of an 
effective, formal victim identification and referral mechanism.  To 
address the statistics issue in general, the Justice Ministry 
undertook an ambitious court computerization project that will in 
the future improve compilation and analysis of prosecution 
statistics, including trafficking prosecution.  To address the 
victim referral issue, the National Council for Combating 
Trafficking in Persons took a number of steps, including developing 
and implementing a new, formal referral mechanism. 
 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) The Serbian government was unable to compile and provide 
complete data on prosecutions for the 2009 and previous reports due 
to the lack of a centralized database, which it is now creating. 
The Justice Ministry currently needs to call each court to request 
that staff go through physical files and extract the necessary data 
for information on any kind of case, which in the past it was not 
able to do in a timely fashion.  In 2009, the Justice Ministry 
started compiling 2008 data in November and was able to provide 
complete data (from charges through first instance judgments) by 
December.  As a long-term solution, the Justice Ministry is in the 
process of implementing new case management software in the courts; 
it requested our input to be sure that trafficking in persons 
offenses can be tracked in the new software.  We have communicated 
to Justice the importance of populating an existing 
Anti-Trafficking Database in the National Coordinator's office with 
this information, and officials have begun discussing this with the 
National Coordinator. 
 
 
 
¶4.  (SBU) The government took several steps to improve victim 
identification and referral.  On April 7, 2009, the Interior 
Ministry issued a mandatory instruction to all police on handling 
illegal migrants with a set of prescribed questions and examples 
that could help them identify trafficking victims.  NGO Atina 
believes the instruction resulted in increased victim 
identification.  Of 127 trafficking victims in 2009 police 
identified 112.  Since internal trafficking is on rise, raising 
awareness on trafficking phenomenon among police in general, and 
not only the Border Police, lead to improvement in victim 
identification, NGO Atina told us.  On November 12, 2009, the 
Interior, Finance, Justice, Health, Education, and Labor and Social 
Affairs Ministries signed an agreement on cooperation to combat 
trafficking in order to harmonize each ministry's activities and 
provide for a more comprehensive approach to government's 
anti-trafficking activities.  A victim referral mechanism was part 
of the agreement.  In addition, in June 2009, Serbia took part in 
 
BELGRADE 00000210  002 OF 003 
 
 
the final session of the three-year long International Centre for 
Migration Policy Development (ICMPD)-run and USAID-funded project 
on development of a Transnational Referral Mechanism for 
trafficking victims in southeastern Europe, which institutionalizes 
cooperation among multiple state institutions and NGOs across the 
region on identification, referral, and assistance to trafficking 
victims.  The Office of the National Coordinator and the Agency for 
Coordinator of Protection of Trafficking Victims presented 
information on the referral mechanism to judges, prosecutors, 
social workers, and teachers at several NGO-run training programs 
throughout the year and around the country. 
 
 
 
Preserving Victim Shelters 
 
-------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) The 2009 TIP report also noted that the government should 
provide more funds to victim protection, and the government made 
some increases in funding.  In late 2009 both NGOs who run 
reintegration shelters for trafficking victims reported they would 
be out of donor funds for 2010.  The Charge wrote to ministers on 
the Council to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings urging the 
government to provide funding to keep the shelters open.  We also 
communicated on several occasions with Labor and Social Policy 
Minister Rasim Ljajic about the need for the government to increase 
financial support for victim protection and reintegration, which 
has been limited to using funds collected from the sale of a 
special stamp.  On December 16, National Anti-Trafficking 
Coordinator Mitar Djuraskovic announced that the Labor and Social 
Affairs Ministry had allocated 3 million dinars (approximately 
$45,000) to provide funding to keep the reintegration shelters open 
in 2010.  Interior Minister Dacic also sent in December an official 
request to Finance Minister Dijana Dragutinovic to allocate an 
additional $86,000 from budgetary reserves for longer-term funding 
of the two shelters.  The government had planned to allocate 
significant new funds to victim protection and other activities in 
the 2010 budget, but ultimately was unable to due to the country's 
economic crisis. 
 
 
 
Tougher Sentences 
 
----------------- 
 
¶6. (U) The 2009 report noted that traffickers often receive light 
sentences, and defendants who receive less than five year sentences 
may remain free during appeals.  Changes to the Criminal Code of 
the Republic of Serbia (Ref A), adopted on August 31, 2009, 
increased sentences for traffickers.  Sentences for the basic 
criminal act of trafficking now range from three to twelve years 
(versus the previous two to ten), and the minimum sentence for 
trafficking in minors was increased to five years from three.  In 
addition, the Criminal Code amendments eliminated the leeway judges 
previously had to hand down sentences less than the prescribed 
minimum due to extraordinary circumstances.  Changes to the 
Criminal Code also introduced criminal liability of individuals not 
directly involved in trafficking but who enabled exploitation of 
trafficking victims, including minors.  The National Coordinator 
tells us that these provisions can be used to prosecute 
prostitution clients and staff who work for traffickers, even 
though they may not be involved with victims.  He reported that 
this provision was used for the first time in November to charge a 
prostitution client. 
 
¶7. (U) Courts are also handing down stiffer sentences and 
confirming previous high sentences.  The Supreme Court of Serbia on 
August 11, 2009, confirmed on appeal the highest-ever sentence for 
trafficking of 10 years' imprisonment, originally issued by the 
Subotica District Court on December 22, 2008.  The defendant was 
the main trafficker in the "Jet Set" case, in which Novi Pazar 
Deputy District Prosecutor Senad Palamar and 11 others were found 
guilty of abuse of public office and trafficking in persons.  On 
August 17, 2009, another trafficking case before the Novi Pazar 
District Court ended with prison sentences of five and six years 
for the main traffickers.  In addition, for the first time the 
judge ordered the seizure of the trafficker's illegally acquired 
property, under the provisions of the Asset Forfeiture Law (Ref B). 
The verdict ordered seizure of the trafficker's property valued at 
$86,000, equivalent to what he was proved to have acquired by 
 
BELGRADE 00000210  003 OF 003 
 
 
exploiting a trafficking victims. 
 
 
 
Increased Awareness Raising 
 
--------------------------- 
 
 
 
¶8. (U) The government continued its awareness raising efforts. The 
Council proclaimed October as the Month to Combat Trafficking and 
created its own website.  The National Coordinator also held an 
exhibition of children's drawings with an anti-trafficking 
awareness theme on Police Day, June 7.  Government officials and 
celebrities including President Tadic and former basketball star 
Vlade Divac came to the exhibition to meet the young artists.  The 
government published a 2010 calendar with some of the drawings as 
part of its awareness campaign. 
 
 
 
Comment 
 
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¶9.  (SBU) Despite the financial crisis the Serbian government has 
made noteworthy efforts to address our concerns through improved 
prosecutions, protection of victims, and awareness campaigns aimed 
at prevention.  End Comment. 
WARLICK