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RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBM #0366/01 0601654
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 011654Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3835
INFO RUEHAK/AMEMBASSY ANKARA 0489
RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 0789
RUEHBW/AMEMBASSY BELGRADE 0277
RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0221
RUEHBS/AMEMBASSY BRUSSELS 4036
RUEHUP/AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST 1025
RUEHCH/AMEMBASSY CHISINAU 1104
RUEHCP/AMEMBASSY COPENHAGEN 0623
RUEHDL/AMEMBASSY DUBLIN 0058
RUEHTC/AMEMBASSY THE HAGUE 1022
RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KIEV 1192
RUEHMD/AMEMBASSY MADRID 1617
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0787
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 0323
RUEHFR/AMEMBASSY PARIS 0210
RUEHRO/AMEMBASSY ROME 0792
RUEHSQ/AMEMBASSY SKOPJE 0598
RUEHSF/AMEMBASSY SOFIA 4709
RUEHVI/AMEMBASSY VIENNA 1882
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RHEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS BUCHAREST 000366 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI 
DEPT FOR EUR/NCE WILLIAM SILKWORTH 
DEPT FOR USAID 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOVPRELPHUMPREFSMIGELABEAIDKCRMKWMN KFRDSOCIRO
SUBJECT:  ROMANIA'S SIXTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 
REPORT 
 
REF:  STATE 3836 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED.  PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
Embassy Bucharest's submission for the annual Trafficking in 
Persons report follows below with answers keyed to reftel. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) OVERVIEW: 
------------------- 
 
¶A.  Romania is a country of origin and transit for trafficking in 
persons (TIP).  While the majority of TIP cases pertain to 
international trafficking between Romania and Western Europe, 
there are cases of domestic trafficking as well.  Victims - 
primarily women and children - are trafficked for purposes of 
sexual exploitation, labor exploitation and forced mendicancy. 
The total number of victims identified by the Government of 
Romania (GOR) in 2005 was 2250. The victims were identified 
through: official complaints (462 cases), police raids (17 
cases), investigations (1745 cases) and other means (26 cases). 
The age/gender breakdown was as follows: 
-10-13 years: 22 (18 male and 4 female) 
-14-17 years: 344 (31 male and 313 female) 
-18-25 years: 1225 (102 male and 1123 female) 
-over 25 years: 659 (291 male and 368 female) 
 
Out of this number, only 175 victims were assisted by the state. 
The age/gender breakdown was as follows: 
-10-13 years: 7 (4 male and 3 female) 
-14-17 years: 54(11 male and 43 female) 
-18-25 years: 82(10 male and 72 female) 
-over 25 years: 32 women 
 
130 of the assisted victims were repatriated from the following 
foreign states: Italy (49), Spain (18), Germany (10), Greece (8), 
France (8), Austria (7), Belgium (6), Holland (5), Turkey (5), 
Macedonia (2), Denmark (2), Russia (1), Ireland (1), Cyprus (1), 
Serbia (1) and other states (8). 
 
The International Organization for Migration (IOM) assisted 100 
victims, most of whom were referred by the GOR.  They included 99 
females and 1 male, of which 12 were children.  IOM figures 
indicate it assisted 12 victims between 15-17 years old; 39 
victims between 18-20 years old, 35 victims between 21-29 years 
old and 14 victims 30 years old or above.  The forms of 
trafficking of the victims assisted by IOM were the following: 
sexual exploitation - 93 individuals; labor - 5 individuals; 
begging - 2 individuals. 
 
According to the GOR, many of the child victims came from Eastern 
and Northern Romania.  Boys are targeted for forced labor, petty 
theft activities and solicitation.  Girls are targeted for sexual 
exploitation and solicitation.  Adult victims generally come from 
Southern Romania and are recruited by traffickers with the 
promise of finding a job abroad. 
 
The number of victims identified by the GOR likely reflects only 
a fraction of the total number of victims f TIP-related crimes. 
Many victims are reluctantto identify themselves, primarily 
because of the social stigma associated with TIP activities. 
There is also a general distrust among TIP victims of government 
officials and their readiness to assist them.  Many victims 
either seek no assistance or prefer to take advantage of other 
options rather than accept government assistance.  Compounding 
these attitudes is the GOR's relative inefficiency in referring 
TIP victims to related services, reflecting at least in part 
social prejudices against TIP victims. 
 
According to the GOR, the persons committing TIP offenses 
typically come from small organized criminal groups.  Many of 
these individuals are Romanian citizens who use trafficking as a 
source of income.  The GOR reported an increase in the number of 
minors and women acting as traffickers, mostly as recruiters.  In 
2005, the General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime 
(GDCOC) registered 1335 persons involved in TIP-related crimes: 
- 182 minors (118 male, 64 female) 
- 895 men 
- 258 women 
Among these, 55 were foreign citizens and 308 had a criminal 
record.  Separately, the General Inspectorate Border Police 
(GIBP) identified 232 traffickers, composed of: 
- 177 men 
- 55 women 
 
The General Prosecutor's Office has charged 518 traffickers, 
composed of: 
- 132 minors (99 male, 33 female) 
- 307 men 
- 79 women 
 
¶B.  In 2005, Romanian authorities noticed an increase in cases of 
forced labor of victims between the ages of 30 and 40. 
Statistics compiled by the Resource Centre (RC), which is a 
dedicated unit within the Romanian government's GDCOC, determined 
that women between the ages of 18 and 25 are more likely to 
become victims of trafficking for sexual purposes than any other 
age group or gender.  Children are more likely to become victims 
of trafficking if they came from State Centers, single-parent 
homes and/or lived in a dysfunctional family environment (e.g. 
families with financial difficulties, abuse, or alcoholism). 
Victims are sometimes approached by family "friends" or other 
persons of influence, and are promised well-paid jobs.  In the 
case of child victims, parents are typically assured that their 
children would have a better life and/or receive money in 
exchange for their children.  The victims are moved outside of 
Romania under the guise of "organized tourism."  In most cases 
victims travel legally.  However, there are cases where false 
documents are used or the victim travels across the border 
illegally.  Although no statistics from GOR or other sources 
exist regarding TIP and the Roma community, Roma leaders 
recognize that some Roma are victims of TIP, underscoring that 
the poverty and social instability in a number of Roma 
communities makes Roma particularly vulnerable to trafficking. 
 
¶C.  One limitation on addressing TIP issues is the fact that the 
Inter-ministerial Working Group (IWG), which coordinates 
activities among government agencies and works with international 
organizations and NGOs, does not have budgetary authority or the 
ability to enforce recommendations for combating TIP.  Moreover, 
the system of referral for victims for assistance is inadequate, 
so referral often occurs via informal relationships, hence the 
large number of victims identified compared with the number of 
victims receiving government assistance.  The identification of 
TIP victims is inconsistent (both by the GOR and self-declaration 
by victims), so some victims may not receive the social benefits 
that they are entitled to.  Funding for anti-TIP activities is a 
limitation, especially at the county level.  Counties are 
obligated by law to assist TIP victims, but often have limited 
budgets and other obligations that conflict with their support of 
victims.  There is also a need for a better cooperative framework 
between the GOR and NGOs.  NGOs have the experience and desire to 
assist the government in anti-trafficking efforts, but often do 
not have a voice in this regard.  More efforts need to be made to 
cut through bureaucratic limitations so that the NGOs can play a 
more significant role in TIP efforts at every level. 
 
¶D.  The GOR monitors Anti-Trafficking efforts throughout the 
government and in 2005 has improved its ability to gather 
statistics regarding TIP.  The IWG plays a vital role in 
monitoring TIP efforts but is somewhat restricted, as mentioned 
above.  The creation of the National Agency for the Prevention of 
TIP and for Monitoring the Protection of TIP Victims in late 
2005, which will receive GOR funding in mid-2006, should give the 
government a better ability to track TIP efforts and increase its 
effectiveness in combating trafficking. 
 
¶2. (SBU) PREVENTION: 
-------------------- 
 
¶A.  The Romanian government recognizes that trafficking in 
persons is a serious problem.  As recently as January 2006, the 
President of Romania identified human trafficking as one of the 
more important issues that needed to be addressed by the 
government.  Romania also considers the fight against human 
trafficking to be both a national and regional obligation.  The 
GOR is very active in the Southeast European Cooperative 
Initiative (SECI) Bucharest-based regional anti-crime center, and 
throughout 2005 a Romanian official headed the Task Force on 
Combating Trafficking in Human Beings within SECI.  SECI is a 
regional model for sharing of law enforcement information, 
including about TIP, and its TIP task force is one of SECI's most 
successful endeavors. 
 
¶B.  Government agencies involved in anti-TIP activities include: 
the Ministry of Administration and Interior (MAI), the General 
Inspectorate of Border Police(GIBP), General Prosecutor's Office 
(GPO), Ministry of Justice (MOJ), Ministry of Labor and Social 
Solidarity (MLSS), Ministry of Education and Research (MER), 
Ministry of Health (MOH), Ministry of Finance (MOF), Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs (Human Rights Department), National Authority for 
Child Protection (NACP), Ministry of Public Administration (MPA), 
Ministry of European Integration, National Office for Refugees, 
Ministry of Culture and Religion, National Audio-Visual Council, 
National Authority for the Labor Force, Ministry of Youth, Agency 
for Student Camps and Tourism and the National Authority for 
Child Protection and Adoptions. 
 
¶C.  The GOR partnered with several different NGOs to produce anti- 
trafficking campaigns aimed at children.  There have been several 
information and education campaigns both at the national and at 
the local level in which the government has been either the 
initiator or a key partner to international organizations or 
NGOs.  Some campaigns were financed by the government, while 
others were financed by international donors through NGOs.  Most 
of the campaigns were conducted in schools and targeted all 
levels of students.  As many of the victims of trafficking drop 
out of school early, it is difficult to assess whether these 
campaigns are the most effective ways to reach the groups at 
highest risk of being trafficked. 
 
-  The Trafficking in Children Prevention Project, held in June 
2005, trained volunteers from the NGO Caritas and the Romanian 
police.  From July-November 2005, these volunteers and policemen 
conducted 78 information sessions for an estimated 2340 students. 
This project was funded by Caritas France and also carried an 
anti-drug message to the children. 
 
-  A separate "Youth Trafficking Prevention in Romania Project", 
which consisted of 28 seminars, was held in the capital, 
Bucharest, and five other counties.  840 pupils attended these 
seminars and a web site was set up by the Romanian National 
Office to Combat Human Trafficking, which contained articles and 
information about trafficking. 
 
-  The National Authority for the Protection of Children's Rights 
(NAPCR) financed a nationwide program concerning the repatriation 
and social integration of unaccompanied children, which would 
include victims of trafficking.  The program involved information 
and education campaigns in 23 counties, where the target audience 
was teachers and students.  As part of the campaign, anti- 
trafficking posters, banners and other materials were 
disseminated within the schools, and workshops were held with 
experts in the field of trafficking prevention. 
 
-  The NACP, the MAI, the Ministry of Transportation, Public 
Works and Tourism, the Institute for Crime Prevention, the 
Romanian Hotel Industry Federation and the National Agency of 
Tourism Agencies participated in a public-private initiative 
launched by Save the Children aiming to prevent trafficking and 
sexual exploitation in the hotel and tourism industries.  A group 
of experts developed a code of conduct for hotels and tourism 
industries and information materials were distributed in hotels 
and through the tourism agencies. 
 
While the campaigns may have reached some potential victims, data 
does not exist regarding the true effectiveness of the programs. 
There were no metrics put in place, or follow-up studies 
performed, that could measure the programs' impact in the 
communities. 
 
¶D.  The Ministry of Education and Research instituted mandatory 
instruction on human trafficking for 8th and 10th grade students. 
They also developed optional instruction on human trafficking in 
the curriculum for 7th, 9th, 11th and 12th grades.  Counseling 
activities within the school were developed, as well as inter- 
school psychological assistance offices, which would focus on 
identifying possible TIP victims.  The government worked closely 
with the International Office for Migration (IOM) to produce an 
interactive show for students called "Trafficking."  In 
conjunction with this, a poster contest was held with the theme, 
"The Only Way is the Legal One," which focused on preventing 
illegal migration.  In March 2005, a job fair focusing on women 
was organized by the Ministry of Labor, Social Solidarity and 
Family.  At the fair, 27,976 jobs were on offer and 37,120 
individuals attended the fair.  Out of this, 16,111 were selected 
for interviews and 6,458 individuals were hired, of which 5,790 
were women. 
 
¶F.     The relationships between government officials and NGOs 
are not consistent as they vary from region to region, and from 
institution to institution, both at the national and local level. 
NGOs report good relationships with some authorities, in some 
counties, while other authorities seem not very open to cooperate 
with NGOs.  Good cooperation depends in many cases on personal 
contacts rather than on relationships at the institutional level. 
 
At the national level, NGOs and international organizations 
participate in the Inter-ministerial Working Group meetings. NGOs 
report that their presence in these meetings is useful at the 
level of information exchange, but their power in influencing 
policy is limited. 
 
A few counties reported that they created similar working-level 
multi-agency teams comprised of representatives of civil society 
and various governmental institutions involved in anti- 
trafficking activities at the local level.  These multi-agency 
teams meet on a regular basis and have had some positive results, 
but these are isolated examples. 
 
¶G.  The GOR monitors its borders through the General Inspectorate 
of Border Police (GIBP).  In 2005, there was evidence of a 
reduction in illegal migration along the western border.  The 
GIBP monitors immigration and immigration patterns and uses this 
analysis to prevent trafficking from occurring.  In March 2005, 
within the GIBP, a Directorate for Combating Illegal Migration 
was established to monitor the flow of people across the border. 
In 2005, a law was passed that stipulated additional safeguards 
and regulations for children who were leaving the country, to try 
to ensure that children were not being trafficked.  The GOR has 
worked closely with the European Union specialists, specifically 
from England and Germany, to help strengthen Romania's borders. 
 
¶H. Coordination on TIP issues among the government, international 
organizations and NGOs occurs within the framework of the Inter- 
ministerial Working Group (IWG), which is made up of governmental 
ministries representatives and international organizations and is 
coordinated by the Ministry of Administration and Interior (MAI). 
NGOs and US Embassy representatives are invited to all IWG 
meetings.  In December 2005, the Romanian government passed a law 
establishing the National Agency for the Prevention of TIP and 
for Monitoring the Protection of TIP Victims.  The agency will 
have its own budget, will employ approximately 50 individuals, 
and should be functional in the first half of 2006.  The main 
mission of this new agency will be the improved coordination of 
TIP activities at the national level. 
The GOR has a specialized investigative and prosecutorial unit 
for public corruption based on the task force model.  The 
government formed an inter-ministerial council at the end of 2005 
that meets regularly to coordinate the fight against corruption. 
The Minister of Justice acts as the council's coordinator, and 
 
invites NGO representatives and journalists to the council's 
meetings.  This council oversees implementation of the 2005-2007 
National Anticorruption Strategy, which aims to prosecute high- 
level corruption, increase transparency in public administration, 
prevent corrupt business practices, and increase the integrity of 
the judiciary.  Nascent efforts of the National Anticorruption 
Department to prosecute high-level corruption attracted much 
attention, but produced limited results, with no high-profile 
convictions in 2005.  Little progress was achieved in the other 
areas, though some legislation was passed to criminally sanction 
tax evasion, to make public procurement more transparent, and to 
align reporting obligations with international standards for 
countering money laundering.  Anticorruption efforts in 2005 were 
not focused on TIP-related issues, but they did lead to the 
conviction of several dozen police and customs officers for 
corruption, which helped reduce the perceived ease of corrupting 
public officials. 
 
¶J.  A five year National Action Plan for Combating Trafficking in 
Human Beings was adopted in 2001.  National agencies responsible 
for the implementation of the Plan include: MAI-GDCOC, MOJ, MOF, 
MFA, NACP, MLSS, MPA and MER.  NGOs were consulted in the process 
of adopting the decision, and are intended to act as partners 
during all phases of implementation.  The National Action Plan 
was widely disseminated through seminars and training sessions. 
In 2004, the government adopted a separate National Action Plan 
on the Prevention of Trafficking in Children.  The Ministry of 
Administration and Interior working in conjunction with UNICEF 
developed a draft anti-trafficking strategy for 2006-2010 
accompanied by a detailed action plan for 2006-2008.  A final 
form of the strategy and action plan should be endorsed by each 
ministry and then adopted by the government in early 2006. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS: 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶A.  Law no. 678/2001 specifically prohibits trafficking, and 
seeks to protect and assist trafficked victims.  Article 2 of the 
law specifically covers both trafficking for sexual exploitation 
and trafficking for non-sexual purposes (e.g. forced labor). 
Moreover, the law sets forth prosecution measures and punishments 
for traffickers.  Law no. 39/2003 for Combating Organized Crime 
specifically defines TIP as a serious crime, and includes TIP 
offenses.  Article 2 of the law defines an organized criminal 
group as follows: "a structured group formed of three or more 
persons that exist for a period of time and acts in a coordinated 
manner for the purpose of committing one or more grave offenses, 
in order to obtain directly or indirectly a financial benefit or 
other material benefit." 
 
¶B.  Violations of Article 12 of Law no. 678/2001 carry sentences 
of three to twelve years and raise the sentence to five to 
fifteen years for aggravating circumstances.  The sentence 
provided in Article 13 paragraph 1 is from five to fifteen years 
if the victims are below the age of 18.  The same article carries 
terms of seven to eighteen years in case of trafficking of minors 
under certain aggravating characteristics such as kidnapping 
while armed, by a group of persons, or causing bodily injury.  If 
the kidnapping results in the death or suicide of the victim, the 
sentence goes from fifteen to 25 years.  Law 678/2001 defines 
trafficking in two articles (12 and 13) and several paragraphs 
that interact to provide a complex set of sentences ranging from 
three years (at a minimum) to 25 (at a maximum).  The sentence is 
dependent on factors such as: number of perpetrators, age of the 
victim, severity of damage caused to the victim, kidnapping or 
fraud, and if violence or threats were used. 
 
¶C.  Article 197, which covers rape, carries a sentence of three 
to 10 years, with the penalty raised to five to 15 years if the 
act involves any of the following: two or more participants; is 
conducted by the guardian of the rape victim; or if severe 
injuries result.  The penalties go to 10 to 20 years if the 
victim is under 14.  If the victim dies or commits suicide, the 
sentence increases to 15 to 25 years.  These penalties overall 
are comparable to penalties for sex trafficking, as sentences for 
both range from three to 25 years. 
 
¶D.  In Romania, prostitution activities are criminalized, to 
include the activities of brothel owners and pimps.  However, 
there is no law to punish the client, with the exception that if 
the prostitute was a minor and the client admitted knowing that 
fact before the act, the client can be prosecuted for sexual acts 
with a minor. 
 
¶E.  In 2005, there were 231 cases concerning infringements of Law 
no. 678/2001 regarding trafficking in humans.  Of the 231 cases, 
124 cases involving 308 defendants were resolved.  Of the 308 
defendants, 235 persons were convicted, 10 persons were 
acquitted, 29 had other sentences pronounced that were unrelated 
to the TIP statues and 34 had their cases returned to the 
prosecutor.  After the appeals process, 146 persons were 
sentenced in 2005 for TIP crimes: 
- 8 persons were sentenced to jail for 6-12 months 
- 64 persons were sentenced to for 1-5 years 
- 64 persons were sentenced to jail for 5-10 years 
- 1 person was sentenced to jail for 10-15 years 
- 3 persons were given parole 
- 6 people were sentenced to probation 
Of the 146 final convictions, 12 were repeat offenders and 18 had 
a criminal record. 
 
¶F.  There is no indication that human trafficking in Romania is 
being conducted by large organized crime syndicates or other 
large international groups; much of the trafficking is conducted 
via small trafficking networks that maintain contact with other 
small criminal groups for this purpose.  Employment, travel and 
tourism agencies have been identified as fronts for some 
traffickers; however these were not common sources of 
trafficking.  There is no indication that government officials 
are invlved in trafficking activities.  There is no data o 
suggest that trafficking profits are being chaneled to other 
illegal activities. 
 
¶G.  The GORactively investigates TIP cases using a number of 
methods, to include electronic surveillance and udercover 
operations.  The government also uses mitigated punishment and/or 
immunity to encourage suspects to cooperate in TIP 
investigations. 
 
¶H.  In 2005, prosecutors and judicial police who specialize in 
TIP investigations participated in at least two seminars 
dedicated to investigating and combating trafficking in persons. 
Additionally, regular training is organized for law enforcement, 
based on the Law Enforcement Best Practice Manual of Fighting 
Human Trafficking in South Eastern Europe.  Approximately 200 law 
enforcement officers also attended the 2nd National Meeting of 
Police Officers held in Brasov in November 2005; this meeting was 
conducted with the financial support of the FBI, SECI and UNDP, 
and provided an opportunity for officers to share experiences and 
harmonize TIP investigations in the field. 
 
¶I.  In 2005, the GOR responded to 41 requests for international 
judicial assistance concerning trafficking in humans.  During the 
same period, prosecutors from the Department for the 
Investigations of the Organized Crime and Terrorism Offenses 
formulated 29 requests for international judicial assistance. 
These requests were directed from/to France, Germany, Austria, 
Hungary and other countries.  The Romanian government sponsors 
the SECI regional anti-human trafficking task force and has daily 
contact with liaison officers from the SECI member states.  GIBP 
exchanged information with both the SECI National Focal Point and 
member states' legal attaches in order to combat TIP.  The 
government also has frequent contact with liaison officers of non- 
SECI member states, via their respective embassies. 
 
¶J.  According to Romanian law, an extradition can be granted if 
it meets specific conditions, such as: the offense is punishable 
both under Romanian law and under the requesting country; the 
offense carries a punishment of more than two years; and if the 
person has already been convicted and the extradition is 
requested for service of the punishment, the sentence must be 
imprisonment of more than one year.  In 2005, one request was 
submitted to the government for extradition for TIP-related 
offenses (the person was extradited to Greece in 2006). 
 
¶K.  There is no evidence of government involvement in or 
tolerance of TIP. 
 
¶L.  The National Anti-Corruption Department (DNA) within the 
National Prosecutors Office is the dedicated agency responsible 
for prosecuting high-level corruption cases, to include 
corruption related to trafficking in persons.  This department is 
currently investigating eight cases of corruption related to TIP. 
Because these cases are in the investigation phase, and none have 
been sent to the courts, no information is available at this 
time. 
 
¶M.  Romania does not have an identified child sex tourism 
problem, although the media have reported some incidents of 
sexual abuse of children by foreign nationals visiting Romania. 
Romania's child sexual abuse laws have extraterritorial coverage. 
In the past, foreign pedophiles were arrested and prosecuted in 
Romania for child sex offenses. 
 
¶N.  The Romanian government has signed and ratified the following 
international instruments: 
 
-  ILO Convention 182 (Law 203/2000) 
-  ILO Convention 29 (Decree 213/ 1957) 
-  ILO Convention 105 (Law 140/ 1998) 
 
-  Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child 
(CRC) on the sale of children, child prostitution, and child 
pornography (Law 470/2001) 
-  Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in 
Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the UN 
Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (Law 565/2002) 
 
¶4.  (SBU) PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶A. Under the provision of Law 678/2001, victims of trafficking 
shall receive special physical, legal and social protection and 
assistance.  They are entitled to physical, psychological and 
social recovery.  Upon request, TIP victims can receive temporary 
accommodation in governmental shelters for ten days.  The 
accommodation time can be extended by three months or for the 
entire duration of the criminal procedure, upon the request of 
the criminal investigation authority.  Victims of trafficking are 
also covered under the Protection of Crime Victims Law, which 
entered into force in January 2005.  The law specifies that 
Romanian authorities offer: information regarding victims' 
rights; psychological aid; legal aid; and financial compensation 
funded by the GOR.  However, there is no clear mechanism that 
stipulates how these provisions are to be applied in practice. 
Whether or not a victim receives these benefits is dependent upon 
the service provider's knowledge of the law and a laborious 
bureaucratic process for fulfilling requests.  In 2005, 
governmental reports mentioned at least four operational state 
shelters for adult victims of trafficking, each providing access 
to legal, medical and psychological services to varying degrees. 
However, the status of the shelters is continuously changing, as 
some shelters close down and new shelters open. Keeping the 
shelters functioning proved to be a challenge for county 
authorities, who have limited resources for addressing many 
competing social needs. 
 
In 2005, 175 victims of trafficking were assisted by the 
government; of those, 29 were assisted in state shelters.  In 
addition, there were 42 non-residential service centers 
throughout the country that offered services to victims, upon 
request.  Like the shelters, the degree of services provided by 
the non-residential centers is not uniform.  There is no 
available data regarding the number of victims assisted by the 
non-residential service centers. 
 
The government also finances transit centers in 11 counties for 
protection of and assistance to children.  The total capacity of 
the centers combined is 117 children.  According to GOR 
statistics, between November 2004 and November 2005, 82 children 
were repatriated and benefited from protection services from 
these transit centers.  These children were either victims of 
neglect or abuse, or victims of trafficking (the GOR did not keep 
separate statistics on trafficked children).  55 children (out of 
the 82) benefited from support services in the family environment 
(non-residential services).  Besides the repatriated children, 50 
children who were unaccompanied minors from within Romania's 
borders also benefited from protection services.  The services 
offered by the transit centers also include prevention activities 
and case files development for unaccompanied minors identified 
abroad. 
 
 
Legal aid and financial assistance is given to victims of TIP, as 
well as to spouses, children and/or others if the victim is 
deceased. 
 
¶B.  According to the law, NGOs that provide services to TIP 
victims have priority in getting subsidies from the government. 
NGOs also receive support from the government for short-term 
activities, such as training of governmental employees, 
prevention activities, and for addressing specific needs of 
victims, such as issuing the identification documents, assistance 
for finding employment, etc. Governmental support for NGOs is not 
consistent, and is often dependent on personal relationships 
established at the local level between NGOs and various local 
authorities. 
 
¶C. There is no systematic screening or effective referral process 
to transfer victims detained, arrested or placed in protective 
custody by law enforcement to NGOs.  Rather the referral process 
is informal and dependent upon whether authorities involved have 
direct contact with NGOs that provide assistance to the victims. 
 
¶D. According to Romanian law, modified in 2005, victims of 
trafficking who are arrested for prostitution or begging cannot 
be prosecuted for these offenses.  However, in practice, victims 
are frequently not recognized as victims of trafficking upon 
arrest and are fined for their offenses.  Only after a period of 
investigation are they typically declared "victims."  Since 
Romania is not a primary destination country for international 
trafficking, this concern primarily applies to victims of 
internal trafficking.  International victims are more often 
identified as victims prior to or upon their repatriation. 
Children are always considered victims in relation to trafficking 
and they are the beneficiaries of support and protection 
according to the Romanian laws. 
 
¶E.  Contained in Romanian legislation are special provisions that 
provide benefits and protections for victims that assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenses.  Many 
victims do not take advantage of these benefits and are often 
hesitant to provide information against perpetrators of 
trafficking because the victims have little trust that Romanian 
authorities will follow through on their commitments. 
Prosecutors responsible for TIP cases usually keep an objective 
viewpoint when investigating TIP cases and are required to remain 
unbiased when investigating whether a crime took place.  For this 
reason, TIP victims who provide critical information in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenses normally do 
not have an advocate when providing information.  Victims are 
able to file civil suits against their traffickers as part of the 
criminal process or as a separate civil action.  There are no 
legal impediments to a victim seeking legal redress but the 
Romanian legal system is very slow-moving and often victims are 
not able to remain in the location when the investigation/trial 
is taking place.  There is nothing preventing witnesses from 
leaving the country, and foreigners who are victims of 
trafficking are repatriated at the expense of the Romanian 
government.  The repatriations are often as dictated by bilateral 
treaties which Romania has with neighboring and western European 
countries.  Foreign citizens who are victims of trafficking have 
the right to wait 90 days to decide if the would like to 
cooperate in a criminal proceeding. 
 
¶F.  The GOR has both formal and informal measures for protecting 
victims and witnesses of trafficking offenses.  The formal system 
includes assistance in changing the witness's identity and 
residence.  This is a specialized system that requires a 
prosecutors' request and an assessment based upon criteria used 
by the witness protection unit.  Although these measures have 
been used to protect witnesses in TIP cases in the past, they 
were not used to protect any TIP victims in 2005.  In addition, 
the victim can invoke less formal judicial procedures to assist 
in protecting their identity and reduce their contact with the 
defendant and defendant's associates while testifying in court. 
TIP investigators in several counties describe taking a personal 
interest in ensuring the protection of TIP victims.  At the same 
time, individual TIP victims have continued to complain about 
being contacted or harassed by traffickers and their associates. 
The GOR provides shelter services for both adult and juvenile 
victims of TIP offenses.  There are currently four operational 
state-sponsored TIP shelters for adult victims with ongoing 
efforts to complete at least two more.  The state facilities are 
emergency shelters and are not designed for long-term 
rehabilitation.  Despite this, they offer a full range of 
medical, psychological, and educational services along with 
social services and employment assistance through staff that are 
most commonly affiliated with broader social service programs for 
children.  Since the state shelters are administered through 
local officials, their facilities, services, and relationship to 
other service providers vary.  Upon the request of the 
prosecutor, victims are entitled to remain in the shelter 
throughout the investigation and trial.  Police and prosecutors 
have a statutory obligation to inform victims of the right to go 
to a state shelter and to have access to other services.  In 
practice, investigators report that a majority of victims do not 
want to go to a state shelter.  The interpretation of applicable 
privacy rules often prevents law enforcement from placing the 
victim in a state shelter without the victim's approval.  The 
best scenario for a trafficking victim who is interested in long- 
term assistance would be to be placed with one of the NGOs that 
support TIP victims who are in a better position to provide long- 
term care for the victim.  Minors who are victims of trafficking 
have a series of possible care facilities which include: 
emergency centers, transit centers, the victim's family with the 
support of social services, foster care, or placement centers. 
If a child is identified as a victim of trafficking he/she would 
not be placed in a juvenile justice detention center. 
 
¶G.  Specialized training for GOR officials continued in 2005. 
Romanian judges participated in three national seminars, where EU 
and international laws governing trafficking were presented and 
discussed.  Officers from the General Department for Combating 
Organized Crime were involved in seminars that dealt with 
combating human trafficking in Southeast Europe.  27 specialized 
prosecutors also participated in training sessions that dealt 
with TIP issues.  Representatives from different parts of the 
government that have a role in the prevention of trafficking 
participated in a September 2005 seminar on combating human 
trafficking on the Romanian-Bulgarian border.  Representatives 
from governmental and non-governmental organizations participated 
in an IOM sponsored regional program in Zagreb, Croatia that 
dealt with the issuance of travel documents and the support of 
witnesses and victims involved in trafficking cases in the Balkan 
countries.  In August 2005, 150 individuals from the Romanian 
government and Romanian NGOs participated in a series of seminars 
sponsored by IOM, UNICEF, the Canadian Agency for International 
Development, UK Embassy and USAID.  These seminars dealt with 
Identification and referral of TIP victims and improving the 
legal assistance given to TIP victims. 
 
The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs encourages its embassies 
to foster contacts with NGOs and international organizations that 
are involved in TIP issues.  The training received by MFA 
officers prior to their assignment has some applicability in 
assisting TIP victims, but, specific training for MFA officers on 
TIP issues is limited. 
 
¶H.  The Romanian government does provide assistance to TIP 
victims who are repatriated.  The victims are repatriated at the 
cost of the government and, if they are identified as a TIP 
victim, they are eligible to receive the same benefits as 
internal victims.  These benefits were described above in section 
¶A.   To reiterate, the majority of TIP victims do not chose to 
take advantage of the assistance offered.  The reasons for this 
may include an over-reliance on police to explain the services 
and a lack of trust that many TIP victims feel toward government 
institutions. 
 
¶I.  The Romanian government cooperates with the following 
international organizations and NGOs that work on TIP issues: 
 
IOs: 
UNICEF, IOM, International Labor Organization. 
 
NGOs: 
Red Cross - Romania - information education campaigns to prevent 
child trafficking 
 
Salvati Copii (Save the Children) 
- Activities aiming to prevent trafficking and sexual 
exploitation in the hotel and tourism industries. A group of 
experts developed a code of conduct for hotels and tourism 
industries.  Information materials were produced and distributed 
in hotels and through the tourism agencies. 
- Social assistance and counseling for child victims of 
trafficking. 
- Training for border police, police and social workers on 
interviewing children victims of trafficking. 
 
Caritas - anti-TIP and anti-drug information education campaigns 
in schools. 
 
AIDRom - Prevention and training activities for governmental and 
non-governmental representatives to acquire the necessary skills 
for identifying and solving potential situations that could lead 
to trafficking and to establish a network of local contacts 
involved in similar anti-TIP activities. 
 
Young Generation - shelter, social assistance and counseling to 
victims of trafficking 
 
 
Social Alternatives - prevention activities, anti-trafficking 
newsletter, psychological assistance to victims of trafficking 
 
Reaching Out - long-term reintegration services to victims of 
trafficking, social assistance, counseling and shelter 
 
Adpare - shelter, counseling, reintegration services for victims 
and also prevention activities including peer education program 
in Bucharest schools 
 
Betania - social assistance and counseling 
 
Conexiuni - social assistance and counseling 
 
Romanian Orthodox Church - Banat Metropolitan See - shelter, 
counseling and reintegration services 
 
¶5.  (SBU) NOMINATION OF HEROES AND BEST PRACTICES 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶A.   TIP Heroes:  Post nominates Iana Matei, the founder and 
coordinator of the local Romanian NGO, Reaching Out.  Since 1998, 
Reaching Out has established itself as the most successful 
organization in Romania helping TIP victims.  Despite a small 
budget and almost exclusive reliance on private donations, it has 
provided direct assistance to 127 victims of trafficking. 
 
Ms. Matei's accomplishments are especially impressive when 
weighed against the barriers of social prejudice she initially 
encountered when she tried to set up Reaching Out.  Many local 
officials were non-responsive, and some were even hostile to her 
goal of helping victims.  These officials echoed the sadly 
prevalent view that many of the victims were merely willing 
participants in prostitution and did not merit help. 
Fortunately, Matei persevered in her efforts to establish 
Reaching Out.  At the beginning, Matei was virtually alone in 
advocating help to trafficking victims.  However, she maintained 
an active dialogue with local officials, eventually earning their 
respect and cooperation.  Today, police routinely refer victims 
to Matei's shelter.  Indeed, when PolOff visited the shelter 
recently, police officers were delivering a young woman to the 
shelter for care.  Additionally, Matei created and has maintained 
a dialogue with local and national government officials, earning 
their respect and helping to change attitudes toward TIP. 
 
Matei has worked tirelessly to address the needs of trafficking 
victims in her care.  Reaching Out offers a recovery and 
assistance program that provides victims with shelter, health 
care, legal aid, the opportunity to complete their education and 
the possibility to learn new skills that would enable them to 
enter the workforce.  Upon completion of the program, Reaching 
Out acts as a mediator for victims while they seek employment, 
with the aim of reducing the victim's chances of re-entering the 
TIP cycle.  Reaching Out also carries out information-awareness 
campaigns targeting potential child victims in several cities in 
the country. 
 
In sum, Reaching Out's success can be attributed to the diligent 
efforts of Matei to help victims of trafficking and to educate 
local and national officials on the importance of helping these 
vulnerable persons.  She serves as a true example of someone 
committed to helping TIP victims. 
 
¶B.  Best Practice:  Post nominates the production of a UNICEF- 
financed report on TIP called:  "Implementation of Policies on 
Combating and Prevention of Trafficking of Human Beings and on 
the Assistance Provided to Victims in Romania."  This report was 
commissioned by the GOR's Inter-ministerial Working Group on TIP 
and was the most comprehensive report on human trafficking in 
Romania to date.  The report was authored by a private company, 
The Institute of Surveys, with technical assistance from UNICEF. 
This report proved to be a candid assessment of the TIP situation 
in Romania and clearly delineated the gaps in anti-TIP efforts. 
To Post's knowledge, UNICEF had complete access to government 
officials and official information, and no attempt was made on 
the part of the government to influence the outcome of the 
report.  This "snapshot" of trafficking in persons in Romania 
will serve as a useful tool for the new TIP agency that is being 
formed, and already has begun to serve as a roadmap for how to 
improve the GOR's response on TIP issues. 
 
¶6.  (U) Embassy POC is Philip Knecht, at 011-40-21-200-3435, Fax 
011-40-21-200-3442. The following Embassy personnel spent the 
approximate time indicated in the preparation of this report: 
PolOff Phil Knecht, grade, FS-04, 80 hours; Radu Pop, Political 
Specialist, 50 hours; Gabriela Manta, Project Management 
Specialist, 20 hours; DOJ Legal Attach, Tim Ohms, 6 hours; DOJ 
Legal Assistant, Monica Custura 6 hours, Deputy Political Chief, 
Chris Palmer, grade FS-02, 4 hours, Political Chief, Robert 
Gilchrist, grade FS-02, 6 hours. 
 
¶7.   (U)  Amembassy Bucharest's reporting telegrams are available 
on         the         Bucharest         SIPRNET         Website: 
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/bucharest . 
 
TAUBMAN