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

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ATHENS 001611 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
EUR/SE FOR PARENTE/YOUNTCHI, G/TIP FOR DONNELLY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREL KCRM GR TIP
SUBJECT: NGOS LOOK FOR MORE COOPERATION ON TIP, GOG ADMITS 
MORE NEEDS TO BE DONE 
 
REF: A. ATHENS 621 
     ¶B. ATHENS 1577 
     ¶C. ATHENS 1044 
 
¶1.  THIS MESSAGE IS SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- PLEASE 
HANDLE ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶2.  (U) SUMMARY: During May 23-25 meetings with visiting 
Foreign Affairs Officer for Southeastern Europe, Suzanne 
Yountchi, officials from the Ministries of Health (MOH), 
Justice (MOJ), Public Order (MPO), Foreign Affairs (MFA), and 
IOM discussed their efforts to protect victims of trafficking 
and prevent and prosecute trafficking in persons (TIP). 
Though GoG efforts to fight TIP are on-going and even 
increasing, the meetings exposed some weaknesses in the GoG 
system which stem from not enough training, an ever-changing 
TIP problem, and inadequate NGO involvement in the process. 
Representatives of eight NGOs pleaded for increased 
cooperation with police and an institutionalized role in the 
overall TIP framework.  See action items for NGOs and GoG in 
para 10.  Note: These discussions took place before the 
release of the 2005 TIP report.  END SUMMARY. 
 
NGOs Describe Lack of Coordination 
 
¶3.  (SBU) During NGO meetings, the common theme was that the 
role of NGOs had to be institutionalized.  Reps from the 
Doctors of the World (MdM) shelter stated that they have no 
cooperation with police, so potential victims of trafficking 
(VOTs) are brought in by street workers.  There were 11 
adults and 3 children from Africa and the former Soviet Union 
being hosted at the MdM shelter when we visited.  A rep from 
privately-funded Nea Zoi, a team of American Protestant 
missionaries that does street work to try to "reform" 
prostitutes, admitted she was unaware of what advice to give 
prostitutes identified as VOTs and appealed for guidance. 
She also remarked that after six years on the streets, she is 
witnessing increasing numbers of African prostitutes 
unwilling to speak to NGOs, possibly because of "voodoo 
curses" that make victims fear for their families if they 
betray their traffickers, and increasing numbers of young 
Greek men using prostitutes.  Aside from general criticism of 
the police and justice system and describing allegations of 
corruption at Greek consulates, the Greek Helsinki Monitor 
spokesman told us that there were convictions under the 
anti-trafficking law as early as 2003, and a major trafficker 
was imprisoned in December 2004 (facts that had not reached 
the Embassy). 
 
¶4.  (U) Members of the European Network of Women described 
their shelters, helpline, public awareness campaign, and 
legal services.  Both their 30 second TIP TV ad, currently 
showing on eight stations, and their TIP leaflet use seven 
languages (Greek, English, Albanian, Russian, Ukrainian, 
Bulgarian, and Romanian).  Their paid helpline staff undergo 
at least 50 hours of training before answering the phone 
lines, and they have speakers of each of the seven languages 
via a mobile phone-relay available during the helpline hours, 
9 AM - 9 PM. (They are seeking funds to operate the helpline 
24 hours.) The Network also has professionals who volunteer 
to provide psychological and legal assistance to victims. 
The main problems they have experienced are that some police 
not yet ready to accept the idea that VOTs can have legal 
visas, and that the GoG will not accept a victim unless she 
is willing to see the prosecutor the following day.  All the 
NGOs reported excellent cooperation with the "special 
prosecutor", but worry about taking victims to other 
prosecutors who may not be trained about TIP but are still 
responsible for granting victim status. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) During a DVC with GoG-funded Rehabilitation Center 
for Victims of Torture and Other Forms of Abuse (CRTV) and 
the Consul General from Thessaloniki, the 
psychiatrist-director of CRTV agreed that police and 
prosecutors only recognize victims who agree to testify, and 
that a formal agreement is necessary to restart police-NGO 
cooperation.  CRTV operates its own shelter, and complained 
that the GoG has created parallel structures through State 
TIP shelters where staff have not volunteered to work with 
VOTs and are not properly trained in handling post-traumatic 
stress.  The CRTV head and his legal advisor agreed that 
there is no good coordination between the GoG and NGOs and 
that NGOs are competing with one another for MFA funding, 
creating potential problems in future cooperation.  Finally, 
CRTV commented on the lack of coordination between local 
police precincts, who may be inexperienced in handling TIP 
cases, and the specialized anti-TIP police units.  He also 
pointed out that local police units are not required to refer 
TIP cases to the special units, which leads to mishandling of 
cases. 
 
Room for Improvement at GoG Helpline and Shelters 
 
¶6.  (SBU)   A meeting with the head of the MOH's EKAKV, the 
National Center for Urgent Social Aid, which operates the 
State shelters and GoG 24-hour "SOS line" showed some 
weaknesses in the current system.  Though EKAKV uses its 
multilingual social workers to staff the helpline (in Greek 
and English, with some French and minimal Russian), it 
handles and promotes its line for a variety of domestic 
problems, such as elder-abuse, domestic violence, and 
runaways, as well as TIP.  Upcoming radio and television 
public awareness campaigns for EKAKV and the helpline are 
planned to be in Greek.  The EKAKV director reported that the 
14 VOTs the State shelter has hosted were all referred by the 
police, likely as a result of the 30,000 EKAKV brochures that 
have been distributed to local authorities.  The director 
reported that the helpline is receiving very few TIP-related 
calls (ref a).  Reflecting general public opinion and the 
gray areas of TIP as more VOTs have relative "freedom" and 
earn nominal amounts of money, the EKAKV director commented 
that he "doesn't believe there are many trafficking victims 
in Greece." Rather, he continued, most sex-workers come 
voluntarily to Greece to earn money.  Social workers at EKAKV 
appealed to poloff privately that they are being asked to 
handle TIP in addition to their regular social work without 
extensive training. 
 
Justice Ministry Acknowledges "More Can Be Done" 
 
¶7.  (U) Athens' Chief Prosecutor and special TIP prosecutor 
noted right off that "more can be done" on TIP, but that they 
are optimistic about next steps, especially the upcoming 
immigration bill (drafts or which are floating around Athens 
but nothing has been presented to Parliament) which will 
include new TIP provisions.  The special prosecutor 
reiterated major problems include insufficient preliminary 
work done by police in preparing the briefs (ref b), and 
inadequate human resources to focus on TIP.  She claimed, 
however, that the police are eager to help in the TIP fight 
and her office has submitted a request to the MPO Secretary 
General to provide police more resources to do better 
groundwork.  She noted that another problem has been building 
trust and getting victims to talk to prosecutors, even when 
there is embassy and NGO involvement, and hoped the 
introduction of a reflection period would ease this 
challenge.  The Chief Prosecutor explained that more "special 
prosecutors" may be identified, but that training for all 
prosecutors is ongoing. (A IOM-sponsored training for 300 MPO 
and MOJ officials will occur June 11-12 in Corfu.)  The 
Justice Ministry's Secretary General, who is head of the 
inter-ministerial TIP council, reported trying to establish a 
system to follow convictions, discussed being open to NGO 
involvement in the process of granting victim status, and 
agreed to explore having the specialized anti-TIP police at 
least advise, if not take over, every identified case of TIP. 
 
 
Example of Failed NGO-GoG Cooperation 
 
¶8.  (SBU) An activist NGO lawyer from Act Up reported to 
emboffs that, with the knowledge of the special prosecutor, 
she tried to take two potential African TIP victims to the 
State shelter but they were turned away as economic migrants, 
in the opinion of the NGO lawyer, "because they were black." 
No other information was provided by the NGO.  In separate 
meetings, the Secretaries General of Justice and Health and 
the EKAKV director each relayed the GoG version of the same 
instance of failed GoG-NGO cooperation.  The NGO called EKAKV 
on a Friday asking if over a dozen TIP victims identified on 
the street could be sheltered at the state shelter.  EKAKV 
agreed, called in extra staff, and prepared food and rooms at 
their large shelter.  On Saturday the NGO called again, 
saying due to lack of transportation, it would bring the 
victims on Sunday, although now there were only nine.  EKAKV 
workers offered transportation, which was refused, and 
readied for the victims to arrive Sunday.  Finally on Monday, 
the NGO brought just two women.  EKAKV refused to allow the 
women to come and go as they pleased, but insisted on 
protecting them within the shelter.  The women refused the 
terms of stay because they had (illegal) jobs packaging 
pirated CDs, so they left.  The GoG interpreted the event as 
a possible effort by NGOs to abuse the TIP law to obtain 
victim status (and eventually residence permits) for illegal 
migrants. 
 
¶9.  (SBU) Post realizes that these women were two of the 
dozens that had been sheltered at the MdM shelter since March 
(ref c) who were never taken to the prosecutor for victim 
characterization, and instead were offered a "default" 
reflection period at the NGO shelter without any GoG 
involvement.  When the women were ready to speak to 
prosecutors and authorities, the authorities were not 
informed that the victims had been sheltered for months and 
were already reintegrating.  Feeding the GoG's mistrust was 
the "changing" number of victims, not realizing all the women 
were being sheltered with an NGO.  While it is still unclear 
whether the women were victims of trafficking, the story is 
an example of how the antagonistic relationship between some 
NGOs and the GoG is resulting in poor care for victims. 
Moreover, the NGO wanted to set the GoG up for failure; an 
NGO rep told poloff that he would "prove that the State 
shelters don't work."  At the same time, the GoG has little 
experience with anything but "traditional" Eastern European 
victims of TIP, which is often referred to as "white-flesh 
trafficking" in Greek. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) COMMENT: Post used Yountchi's visit, in advance of 
the 2005 TIP Report release, to give the GoG and NGOs a 
chance to discuss their plans for the year ahead.  Based on 
the points raised in the discussions, below are summarized 
action items for both the GoG and NGOs. 
 
  -- NGOs and GoG should agree on a system of victim 
screening and referral. 
 
  -- The identification of victims should take into account 
all information from police, NGOs, IOM, and the prosecutor, 
where available (and therefore, these institutions need to 
cooperate closely.)  Victim characterization should not be 
dependent upon victim's testimony as a witness. 
 
  -- NGOs should formally assess their capabilities in order 
to illuminate the range of referral options available to 
victims and to improve transparency between NGOs. 
 
  -- GOG should instigate a reflection period, (as outlined 
in EU Council Directive 2004/81/EC) during which "potential 
victim" status can be granted and victim is not obligated to 
speak to authorities. 
 
  -- Police, prosecutors, and judges should continue to offer 
and participate in TIP training, to include changing 
circumstances of TIP, victims with legal documents, victims 
who can not self-identify, men and child victims, victims 
from outside Europe, and people who became victims after 
their consensual migration. 
 
  -- NGO and GoG shelters should regularly share information 
on their resources to avoid duplication and ensure the best 
protection, treatment and assistance is offered to victims, 
and that all staff are appropriately trained. 
 
  -- The special anti-TIP police task forces should play at 
least an advisory role in all TIP cases. 
 
  -- A large-scale prevention campaign, focusing on demand, 
should be initiated. 
 
  -- Information campaigns for victims, including information 
on helplines, should be multilingual in the languages of most 
victims.  Helpline operators should be fluent in the 
languages of most victims. 
 
The MFA remains our primary TIP interlocutor with the GoG and 
the GoG's primary intermediary with NGOs.  We will continue 
to discuss with them how to smooth over the rough spots in 
order to see these proposals realized.  END COMMENT. 
RIES