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DE RUEHTL #0072/01 0431147
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 121145Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY TALLINN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0397
INFO RUEHHE/AMEMBASSY HELSINKI 0043
RUEHRA/AMEMBASSY RIGA 0086
RUEHSM/AMEMBASSY STOCKHOLM 0008
RUEHTL/AMEMBASSY TALLINN
RUEHVL/AMEMBASSY VILNIUS 0092

UNCLAS TALLINN 000072 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
STATE FOR G/TIP - LAURA PENA 
STATE FOR EUR/PGI - JODY BUCKNEBURG 
STATE FOR DRL/AE - FRANK CRUMP 
STATE FOR INL/AAE - ELIZABETH CARROLL 
STATE FOR PRM/ECA - ELEANOR NAGY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: ELAB KTIP KMCA PGOV PHUM EN
SUBJECT: Estonia: Submission for Tenth Annual Trafficking in Persons 
Report 
 
REF: STATE 2094; TALLINN 70 
 
¶1. (U) The following is Embassy Tallinn's Anti-Trafficking Report 
for Estonia.  Responses are keyed to the checklist in REF A. 
Post's points of contact on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) are 
Political Officer Johnathan Hilton (Email: HiltonJA@state.gov; Tel: 
+372-668-8291) and Political Assistant Riina Tannia (Tel: 
+372-668-8233; Email: TanniaR@state.gov  
).  Per REF B, completion of this report required approximately 61 
hours from three officers and one local employee. 
 
 
 
Estonia's TIP Situation 
 
¶2. (SBU)25A:  The following agencies and organizations served as 
sources of information on Estonia's TIP situation:  the Estonian 
Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), 
Ministry of Social Affairs (MSA), Ministry of Interior (MOI), local 
NGOs, the local branch of the International Organization for 
Migration (IOM), the Nordic Police and Customs Cooperation Office 
in Tallinn and the Norwegian, Swedish and Finnish Embassies in 
Tallinn. The information assembled in this report is based on the 
most current and reliable data available at this time. 
 
 
 
¶3. (SBU) 25B: Estonia is believed to be a country of origin, 
transit and destination for women trafficked for the purposes of 
sexual exploitation. Sexual exploitation mainly occurs domestically 
when victims are brought from rural areas to the capital Tallinn. 
In some cases women are later taken abroad for the purposes of 
prostitution. The Estonian Central Criminal police consider Finland 
to be the main destination country for trafficked women from 
Estonia. In December 2009, two Estonian nationals received 
unconditional 18-month prison sentences in Finland for taking an 
Estonian woman to work as a prostitute in Helsinki. Other known 
destination countries are the Netherlands, Great Britain 
(Scotland), and Italy. Estonian NGO Atoll assisted three women from 
Latvia that were brought to Estonia to work as prostitutes. During 
the reporting period, one trafficking case was registered in the 
Estonian court. 
 
¶4. (SBU) 25C: Trafficking victims are mainly subjected to forced 
labor or sexual exploitation. 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) 25D: Mentally or physically disabled women should be 
considered vulnerable to traffickers for purposes of sexual 
exploitation. 
 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) 25E: According to Estonian law enforcement agencies, most 
traffickers were small-scale operators, sometimes family members, 
who often had ties to local organized crime groups. The 
representatives of the Estonian NGOs Atoll and Eluliin remarked 
that, in some cases, former prostitutes became traffickers and 
pimps.  The most common lure by traffickers remains the promise of 
legitimate employment abroad (e.g., hotels, restaurants, massage 
parlors, and strip clubs.) 
 
¶7. (SBU) 25E, cont.: In December 2007, Estonia formally joined the 
EU's Schengen Agreement for Common Visa and Immigration Borders on 
Land and Sea.  Estonia joined the Schengen area for air borders on 
March 30, 2008.  These agreements allow for the free movement of 
people within Schengen countries (the UK, Ireland, and Denmark are 
not members), eliminating the need for traffickers to obtain false 
documentation to move victims between Estonia and the rest of the 
EU. 
 
¶8. (SBU) 25E, cont.: There is no evidence that during the reporting 
period any travel or tourist agencies or marriage brokers were 
involved in trafficking individuals. 
 
 
Setting the Scene for the Government's Anti-TIP Efforts 
 
 
¶9. (SBU) 26A: The government of Estonia has acknowledged that human 
trafficking is a problem in the country. 
 
¶10. (SBU) 26B:  During the reporting period, the following 
ministries and agencies were involved in anti-trafficking 
activities: MFA, MOI, MOJ, MSA, Ministry of Education and Research 
(MOER), Ministry of Finance (MOF), the Citizenship and Migration 
Board (CMB), the Border Guards, the Police Board, the Central 
Criminal Police (CCP), INTERPOL and EUROPOL liaison offices, and 
the Prosecutor's Office.  Recognizing that trafficking extends 
beyond the scope of any single agency, the GOE's National Action 
Plan designates the MOJ as the lead ministry to coordinate the 
government's efforts. During the reporting period, the MOJ, MSA, 
MOI, and MFA met regularly at various working levels. 
 
 
 
¶11. (SBU) 26C: Previously, inadequate funding limited the GOE's 
ability to combat trafficking.  However, the GOE recognized this 
deficiency and has steadily increased the amount of funding 
committed to anti-trafficking measures.  In 2006, the 
anti-trafficking budget was approximately 14,000 USD.  In 2007, the 
GOE spent approximately 181,000 USD on prevention and victim 
assistance, in 2008 the amount spent was approximately 200,000 USD, 
and in 2009 the amount spent on trafficking related activities 
reached 241,569 USD. The budget increase in 2009 is particularly 
noteworthy, as it came when most government ministries were being 
forced to take budget cuts of about nine percent and an overall 
drop in GDP of 15.5 percent. Corruption is not a problem in 
Estonia. 
 
¶12. (SBU) 26D: In 2006, the GOE founded the National 
Anti-Trafficking Network. The Network is comprised of seventy-five 
persons from the relevant ministries, police units, border guards, 
prosecutors, and NGOs; altogether thirty-five government and 
non-governmental organizations dealing directly with the 
trafficking issue. Representatives meet throughout the year and 
correspond frequently via e-mail. Each year, the Network drafts an 
assessment of the previous year's activities.  GOE ministries are 
currently circulating the 2009 assessment, and the 2010-2013 
National Action Plan for combating TIP is being finalized and will 
likely be presented to parliament by the end of the first quarter 
of 2010. 
 
 
 
¶13. (SBU) 26E: The GOE has taken all necessary steps to document 
the population. After a child is born, parents must apply for a 
birth certificate at the nearest local government office, using 
documentation they receive from the hospital after the child is 
born.  Parents must also present their passports and marriage 
certificate (if parents are married). After the child receives 
his/her birth certificate, parents may apply for a passport for 
their child. Depending on parents' citizenship status the child is 
issued either an Estonian passport, an Alien passport or, if 
parents are third-country nationals, they may apply for the 
passport at the embassy of the country of which they are citizens. 
 
 
 
 
¶14. (SBU) 26F: The GOE is capable of gathering the data required 
for an in-depth assessment of law enforcement efforts.  The 
widespread use of e-Governance tools by law enforcement agencies in 
Estonia has also enhanced their capability to gather and interpret 
data. 
 
 
 
 
 
Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers 
 
 
 
¶15. (SBU) 27A: Estonia does not yet have trafficking-specific laws 
in its criminal code. The GOE considers trafficking to be 
 
 
prohibited under Article 133 of the Criminal Code (the prohibition 
of enslavement). In March 2007, the GOE expanded Article 133 in 
accordance with a July 19, 2002 framework decision of the EU 
Council. Article 133 now includes an additional definition of 
"enslavement" as "taking advantage of a person's helpless 
situation."  Also in 2007, Article 134 was expanded to include 
forcing a person to work or perform duties against their will, for 
the benefit of another person. Last year the MOJ analyzed the TIP 
situation and decided that it needs new legislation to enhance 
Estonia's ability to cooperate internationally on TIP cases. 
According to the Embassy contact at MOJ, new TIP-specific 
legislation is currently being prepared, and the draft should be 
ready to present to the government in the first half of 2010 for 
possible approval by parliament by the end of the year. 
 
¶16. (SBU) 27A, cont.: Over the last few years, the MOJ has expanded 
the number of articles it can use to prosecute trafficking and 
related crimes. The following is a list of laws that the GOE can 
use in addition to Article 133 when prosecuting traffickers: 
 
-- Article 134: Abduction; 
 
-- Article 136: Unlawful deprivation of liberty; 
 
-- Article 138: Illegal conduct of human research; 
 
-- Article 139: Illegal removal of organs or tissue; 
 
-- Article 140: Inducing persons to donate organs or tissues; 
 
-- Article 143: Compelling persons to engage in sexual intercourse; 
 
-- Article 143/1: Compelling persons to engage in 
 
satisfaction of sexual desire; 
 
-- Article 172: Child kidnapping; 
 
-- Article 173: Sale or purchase of children; 
 
-- Article 175: Disposing minors to engage in prostitution; 
 
-- Article 176: Aiding prostitution involving minors; 
 
-- Article 177: Use of minors in manufacture of pornographic works; 
 
-- Article 178: Manufacture of works involving child 
 
pornography or making child pornography available; 
 
-- Article 259: Illegal transportation of aliens across 
 
state border or temporary border line of Republic of 
 
Estonia; 
 
-- Article 268: Provision of opportunity to engage in 
 
unlawful activities, or pimping; 
 
 
 
¶17. (SBU) 27A, cont.: During the reporting period, the MOJ recorded 
116 individual criminal offenses related to these statues, although 
as a single suspect can be charged with multiple violations, the 
actual number of court judgments related to the above statutes is 
¶90.  The MOJ noted that in one instance the alleged violations 
specifically related to trafficking.  The remaining violations were 
related to illegal commercial sex activities (e.g., pimping, 
exploitation of minors, kidnapping, etc.). 
 
 
 
¶18. (SBU) 27B: The penalty for "enslavement" for the purposes of 
sexual exploitation is up to five years imprisonment. If there are 
two or more victims or if the victims are minors, the penalty is up 
to 12 years of imprisonment. During the reporting period, there was 
one conviction for "enslavement" for the purposes of sexual 
exploitation under Article 133 of the Penal Code. 
 
 
¶19. (SBU) 27C: The prescribed penalty for labor trafficking is one 
to five years imprisonment.  In severe cases, the penalty is three 
to twelve years imprisonment. During the reporting period there 
were no convictions for labor trafficking. 
 
¶20. (SBU) 27C, cont.: Estonian labor laws forbid inappropriately 
high or illegal fees or commissions by labor recruiters, 
confiscating of workers' passports/travel documents and the 
destruction, damaging, theft or concealment of these documents. 
Violators can be prosecuted under paragraphs 209 and 346 of the 
Estonian Penal Code dealing with fraud and theft, and receive 
punishment in the form of a minimum fine of 5,000 USD or five to 15 
years imprisonment.  The switching of contracts or terms of 
employment without a worker's consent is forbidden by paragraph 12 
of the Labor Market Services and Benefits Act.  The Labor 
Inspectorate, a government agency operating under the umbrella of 
the MSA, enforces these provisions.  There were no prosecutions for 
these crimes during the reporting period. 
 
 
 
¶21. (SBU) 27D: The penalties for trafficking under enslavement, 
abduction, rape, sexual assault, and sexual abuse of minors are 
five years imprisonment in the case of adult victims, and 12 years 
for child victims under age 18.  Prosecutors may also add 
violations of additional statutes to increase the penalty (i.e., 
rape, abuse of a minor, etc.). 
 
¶22. (SBU) 27E: The GOE took legal action against human trafficking 
offenders during the reporting period using different paragraphs of 
the Estonian Penal code. One person was convicted under the 
enslavement article (paragraph 133) of the Estonian Penal Code and 
was sentenced to three years in prison. 
 
 
 
¶23. (SBU) 27F: During the reporting period, the MSA, together with 
relevant NGOs, conducted 40 training sessions introducing the new 
trafficking victim identification model and guide to prosecutors, 
judges, social workers, child protection specialists, victim 
assistance specialists, staff of women's shelters, and foreign 
consular officers currently residing in Estonia.  A total of 600 
people were trained. 
 
 
 
¶24. (SBU) 27F, cont.: The new identification guide is available on 
intranet sites of relevant ministries and to other organizations 
dealing with trafficking. Law enforcement and immigration 
officials' study materials were put together several years ago and 
are used to train new officers whenever necessary. NGO Eluliin 
trained Estonian Consular Officers going abroad to identify 
trafficking victims and provide necessary assistance to them.  In 
the predominantly Russian-speaking region of northeast Estonia, the 
GOE supported training on the new identification guide in Russian 
among NGO representatives. 
 
 
 
¶25. (SBU) 27G: The main information exchange channels are Interpol, 
Europol, Eurojust and police liaison officers. The main foreign 
partner of the Estonian Criminal Police in 2009 was the Finnish 
Police. There was also information exchange with Sweden, Great 
Britain (Scotland), Latvia, Poland and the Netherlands. During the 
reporting period Estonian Criminal Police received seven requests 
for assistance from the Finnish police, one request from Ukraine 
and one from Great Britain. 
 
 
 
¶26. (SBU) 27H: GOE policy is to extradite persons, including its 
own nationals, who are charged with trafficking in other countries. 
One trafficking related extradition to Finland took place during 
the reporting period. 
 
¶27. (SBU) 27I: There was no evidence of government involvement in 
or tolerance of trafficking at either the local or national level. 
 
 
¶28. (SBU) 27J: There was no evidence of government officials being 
involved in human trafficking during the reporting period. 
 
 
 
¶29. (SBU) 27K: There was no evidence of Estonian peacekeepers' 
deployed abroad engaging in trafficking during the reporting 
period. 
 
 
 
¶30. (SBU) 27L: Estonia does not have an identified child sex 
tourism problem (either as a source or a destination country.) 
There were no foreign pedophiles prosecuted/extradited or deported 
during the reporting period. There was no evidence that Estonian 
nationals were perpetrators of child sex tourism during the 
reporting period. Estonian child sex abuse laws do not have 
extraterritorial coverage. 
 
 
 
 
 
Protection and Assistance to Victims 
 
 
 
¶31. (SBU) 28A: The Estonian Witness Protection Act entered into 
force on July 25, 2005.  This Act provides for: 
 
  1) The procedure for witness protection, the legal bases for 
witness protection authorities and their activities and for the 
application of protection measures; and 
 
  2) The procedure for the performance of the international 
obligations of the Republic of Estonia related to protection of 
participants in criminal proceedings. 
 
 
 
¶32. (SBU) 28A, cont.: All the information regarding witness 
protection activities is considered to be a state secret in order 
to protect witnesses. 
 
 
 
¶33. (SBU) 28B: In 2007, three shelters designated specifically for 
trafficking victims began operating in Estonia.  The shelters, 
available to foreign and domestic victims alike, were established 
as part of a Nordic-Baltic pilot project and offer psychological, 
career and legal counseling to victims. The shelters are operated 
by NGOs. There are no special shelters for male victims or 
children. 
 
¶34. (SBU) 28B, cont.: According to the MSA, during the reporting 
period 76 past and present victims received services in these 
facilities. At first, funding for the shelters was provided by the 
Nordic countries through the European Women's Lobby.  These 
shelters also received funds under an MOI-directed program to 
support regional investments with taxes on gambling. As of 2009 
however, the two shelters for TIP victims and the rehabilitation 
center in Tallinn receive funding from the MSA in the amount of 
100,000 USD per year. 
 
¶35. (SBU) 28B, cont.: The GOE also operated a children's 24-hour 
hotline dedicated to the early recognition of child victims and 
providing assistance for victims of TIP and other crimes targeting 
minors. Social workers answer the phones and forward calls to 
psychologists or police when necessary.  MSA also supports a 
hotline operated by the NGO Living for Tomorrow which primarily 
deals with calls from adults.  They received 639 calls during the 
reporting period primarily dealing with questions about foreign 
labor contracts.  However, they identified six TIP victims among 
these callers (three cases of sexual exploitation and three cases 
of forced labor.)  The GOE allocated approximately 75 percent of 
its 242,000 USD anti-trafficking budget to victims' assistance 
programs. 
 
 
¶36. (SBU) 28C: The government does provide trafficking victims 
access to legal, medical and psychological services, primarily 
through support to the NGOs Eluliin and Atoll. These shelters, as 
well as law enforcement officials, assist the victims in getting 
necessary medical treatment. The Estonian Government provides 
funding for the shelters in the amount of 100,000 USD per year. 
 
 
 
¶37. (SBU) 28D: In 2006, the GOE incorporated EU Council Directive 
2004/81/EC into national law to make it possible for trafficking 
victims to obtain a temporary residency permit for the duration of 
criminal investigations and legal proceedings.  The law was enacted 
in February 2007.  No trafficking victim applied for a residency 
permit during the reporting period. 
 
¶38. (SBU) 28E: The government does provide long-term shelter to 
victims, as well as psychological/legal/social counseling, and 
other aid required in rebuilding their lives. Victims can stay at 
the shelters for as long as they need. 
 
 
 
¶39. (SBU) 28F: According to the MSA, the Estonian police have a 
good relationship with the shelters and the rehabilitation center. 
Police can transfer TIP victims to the nearest facility whenever 
assistance is required. 
 
 
 
¶40. (SBU) 28G: During the reporting period the NGO Atoll in the 
course of fieldwork identified 76 past and new trafficking victims. 
The majority of them were victims of sexual exploitation. The NGO 
Living for Tomorrow identified another six victims (three cases of 
sexual exploitation and three cases of forced labor.)  All victims 
received the required assistance from the NGOs. 
 
 
 
¶41. (SBU) 28H: The new Estonian victim identification model was 
implemented in February 2009.  The model includes general 
identification indicators of trafficking victims and was put 
together and approved by the members of the National 
Anti-Trafficking Network. There are separate indicators for victims 
of forced labor, sexual exploitation, organ trafficking and minor 
victims as well as contact information for agencies and NGOs 
providing assistance. The identification model manuals are 
available at all relevant organizations/ministries and to all 
relevant officials. 
 
 
 
¶42. (SBU) 28I: Post found no evidence that trafficking victims were 
unlawfully detained, jailed, and/or deported.  There were no 
incidents of trafficking victims or witnesses having their rights 
to seek damages impeded. 
 
¶43. (SBU) 28J: The government informs the victims of their rights 
for defense, ways of assistance, various risks, means of obtaining 
restitution, how the criminal system operates, including 
consequences of investigation and legal proceedings, length of 
legal proceedings, witness responsibilities, and enforcement of the 
court sentence. All of this helps the victims to evaluate their 
situation and to decide whether they want to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking. During the reporting 
period no victims assisted in the investigation and prosecution of 
traffickers. 
 
 
 
¶44. (SBU) 28J, cont.: Victims can file civil suits and seek legal 
action against traffickers. Paragraph 25 of the Constitution of the 
Republic of Estonia declares that, "Everybody has the right to 
compensation for moral and material damage caused by the unlawful 
action of any person." No one impedes victim access to such legal 
redress. 
 
 
 
¶45. (SBU) 28J, cont.: Any victim, who may be a material witness in 
 
 
a court case against a former employer, is permitted to obtain 
other employment. As the court cases are usually very long, the 
victims are allowed to leave the country, provided they return for 
the court hearing. 
 
 
 
¶46. (SBU) 28J, cont.: TIP Victims may receive restitution by means 
of the Estonian Law of Obligations Act.  Chapter 52 of the Act 
covers unjustified enrichment. Paragraph 1027 of the Law says, "A 
person shall transfer to another person, on the bases of and to the 
extent provided for in this Chapter, that which is received from 
the other person without legal basis." Paragraphs 1028, 1036, 1037, 
1040, 1041 and 1042 are also used in order to obtain restitution. 
Chapter 53 covers "unlawful causing of damage" and ???? 1043 of the 
Act provides compensation for unlawfully caused damage: "A person 
(tortfeasor) who unlawfully causes damage to another person 
(victim) shall compensate for the damage if the tortfeasor is 
culpable of causing the damage or is liable for causing the damage 
pursuant to law." 
 
¶47. (SBU) 28K:  The MSA conducted courses on the new trafficking 
victim identification model for victim assistance personnel, 
judges, women's shelter personnel, child protection staff of county 
governments and representatives of relevant NGOs. 
 
 
 
¶48. (SBU) 28K, cont.: The MSA also holds an annual training session 
for consular officers on recognizing and assisting trafficking 
victims.  The training material is available electronically as 
well. NGO Eluliin conducted a special training course for Estonian 
consular officers on assistance to trafficking victims.  Estonian 
consulates and embassies have developed good working relationships 
with local NGOs and international organizations that serve 
trafficking victims, and Estonian consular officers are prepared to 
assist victims by providing the necessary travel documents, 
referrals and financial assistance.  During the reporting period 
there were no trafficking victims identified abroad. 
 
 
 
¶49. (SBU) 28L: The Government of Estonia provides medical aid, 
shelter, financial and legal assistance to its nationals who are 
repatriated as victims of trafficking. 
 
 
 
¶50. (SBU) 28M: The following NGOs and international organizations 
work with trafficking victims: 
 
 
 
--Living for Tomorrow (prevention and outreach; trafficking 
prevention hotline); 
 
--HIV/AIDS Prevention Center (prevention and outreach); 
 
--International Organization for Adolescents (prevention, 
 
outreach, and victim assistance); 
 
-- International Organization for Migration (prevention and 
assistance to victims); 
 
--Human Rights Legal Information Center (prevention and 
 
outreach); 
 
--Estonian Women's Studies and Resource Center (ENUT); 
 
--Tartu Child Support Center (prevention and support); 
 
--Atoll (outreach and assistance to prostitutes); 
--International Organization for Migration (outreach, prevention, 
assistance to victims); 
--Eluliin / The Vega Center (an integrated support center which 
also offers assistance to TIP victims.) 
 
 
Prevention 
 
 
 
¶51. (SBU) 29A: The MFA has been active in disseminating 
informational materials on trafficking and consular services at the 
Ministry itself, on their webpage and at the Tallinn airport and 
harbors. For the last three years MFA has been actively 
disseminating trafficking-related materials at TourEst 2009, the 
annual tourism fair, which was attended by approximately 23,684 
people over three days. 
 
¶52. (SBU) 29A, cont.: At the Tourest 2009 fair, the Estonian 
Minister of Foreign Affairs Urmas Paet, General Director of the 
Consular Department Lauri Bambus and Undersecretary on Legal and 
Consular Affairs Aino Lepik von Wir????n conducted a seminar on 
consular issues for the attendees of the fair. The MFA also 
operated a 24-hour hotline for Estonians traveling abroad. Estonian 
embassies and the MFA offered voluntary registration for Estonian 
citizens traveling abroad. Over 7,000 Estonians registered with the 
MFA and Estonian foreign missions prior to their travel abroad in 
¶2009. 
 
¶53. (SBU) 29B: The GOE adequately monitored its borders for 
trafficking.  The GOE monitored immigration and emigration patterns 
for evidence of trafficking unilaterally and in concert with 
regional border guards and law-enforcement partners. 
 
¶54. (SBU) 29C: In 2006, the GOE founded a national Anti-Trafficking 
Network that comprises not only representatives of the relevant 
ministries, but also NGOs.   The working group consists of 
seventy-five representatives from MFA, MOI, MOJ, MSA, Ministry of 
Education and Research (MOER), Ministry of Finance (MOF), 
Citizenship and Migration Board (CMB), the Border Guards, Police 
Board, Central Criminal Police (CCP), INTERPOL and EUROPOL liaison 
offices and the Prosecutor's Office and other government and 
non-government organizations. 
 
 
 
¶55. (SBU) 29D: The National Anti-Trafficking Network drafted a 
National Action Plan to combat trafficking for the period 
2006-2009. The MOJ is the lead agency and is responsible for the 
implementation of the plan and inter-agency coordination. Each 
year, a thorough review is conducted of the previous years' goals 
and areas for improvement are identified.  The 2009 goals are 
currently under review at the inter-ministerial level. The 
representatives of the ministries have stressed that NGO 
participation in the network is crucial, as they have the best 
knowledge of the problem and have the closest contacts with 
trafficking victims.  The 2010-2013 National Action Plan is also 
being reviewed by all relevant ministries and members of the 
network and will likely be presented to parliament by the end of 
the first quarter 2010. 
 
¶56. (SBU) 29E: Although there were no special campaigns to reduce 
the demand for commercial sex acts during the reporting period, the 
topic was covered at trainings and seminars that the MSA conducted 
during the year. Training materials that were published earlier 
were used for that purpose.  When consulting with contacts in 
various ministries about areas of interest for exchange and speaker 
programs, U.S. efforts to reduce demand for commercial sex acts is 
a topic in which they have expressed interest. 
 
 
 
¶57. (SBU) 29F: There is no evidence of Estonian nationals' 
participation in international child sex tourism. However, the 
issue of sexual abuse of minors has become very important and has 
been under discussion on many instances in Estonian print media. 
The Estonian Police are planning to create departments of child 
protection in police prefectures all over the country in order to 
reveal cases of child abuse and catch pedophiles. 
 
 
 
¶58. (SBU) 29F, cont.: The Estonian NGO Child Support Center 
participated in an international project on international child sex 
 
 
tourism. As a result a brochure was published and has been 
disseminated among travel agents and tourist agencies, and students 
studying tourism, introducing the issue to them and also teaching 
how to recognize an abused or sexually exploited child and how to 
assist him/her. 
 
 
 
 
 
Partnerships 
 
 
 
¶59. (SBU) 30A: Estonia is a member of the Council of Baltic Sea 
States (CBSS) Expert Group for Cooperation on Children at Risk 
(EGCC). It is a group of senior officials from the ministries 
responsible for children's issues in the member countries of the 
CBSS and the European Commission. Other member countries are: 
Denmark, Finland, Germany, Iceland, Latvia, Lithuania, Norway, 
Poland, Russia and Sweden. The EGCC priorities for the period 
through July 2011 are: the protection of children from all forms of 
sexual exploitation; unaccompanied and trafficked children; 
children abused by being offered money or other forms of 
remuneration in exchange for sex; and children and online sexual 
exploitation. 
 
 
 
¶60. (SBU) 30A, cont.: Estonia is also a member of The Task Force 
against Trafficking in Human Beings (TF-THB) with focus on adults. 
The joint CBSS TF-THB/UNODC Conference was held on December 7-8, 
2009, in Stockholm, Sweden. The Conference presented the findings 
of the regional assessment of the joint project with the United 
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) on fostering NGO and Law 
Enforcement Cooperation in Preventing and Combating Human 
Trafficking in, from and to the Baltic Sea Region. An MFA official 
represented Estonia at the conference. 
 
 
 
¶61. (SBU) 30A, cont.: In October 2009, the Government of Estonia 
approved Estonia joining the Council of Europe's Convention Against 
Trafficking in Human Beings. Foreign Affairs Minister Urmas Paet 
said that, "By joining the convention, Estonia is demonstrating its 
desire to protect people from becoming victims of human trafficking 
by promoting both domestic and international cooperation."  He also 
noted that, "The fight against human trafficking is necessary, and 
joining the convention of the Council of Europe will help Estonia 
contribute to it more effectively." 
 
 
 
¶62. (SBU) 30B: As a member of the CBSS Task Force against 
Trafficking in Human Beings Estonia assisted in organizing a TIP 
seminar for foreign embassies in Tallinn in April 2009. 
 
 
 
¶63. (SBU) 30B, cont.: Estonia currently participates in the ongoing 
CBSS Project "Assessment on Data Collection Mechanisms on 
Trafficking in Human Beings". Eleven CBSS member states participate 
in this project. 
 
 
 
¶64. (SBU) 30B, cont.: During the reporting period the Government of 
Estonia approved a project that would provide financial assistance 
in the amount of 5,000 USD to the Gali Women's Union of Georgia for 
the creation of a psycho-social rehabilitation center. The center 
will provide free consultations to refugees, which among other 
things, will help prevent them from becoming victims of 
trafficking. The dates of the project are February 1-July 30, 2010. 
POLT