VZCZCXRO6324
OO RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ
DE RUEHRL #1835/01 1811525
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 301525Z JUN 06
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4000
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 BERLIN 001835 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/AGS, EUR/PGI, G/TIP, DRL/IL, INL/HSTC, AND PRM 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN KJUS SMIG ELAB PREL PGOV GM
SUBJECT: TIP: WORLD CUP UPDATE 
 
REF: A. BERLIN 298 
 
     ¶B. BERLIN 601 
     ¶C. BERLIN 1687 
     ¶D. FRANKFURT 4232 
     ¶E. FRANKFURT 3313 
     ¶F. MUNICH 369 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. (U) Three weeks into the World Cup, German officials and 
NGOs report no increase thus far in incidents of trafficking 
in persons (TIP).  Officials credit a combination of factors, 
including increased surveillance and raids on brothels, 
effective border controls, joint operations with police in 
other EU member states, and widespread public awareness 
efforts in Germany and abroad.  German officials state the 
measures, implemented beginning months before the World Cup, 
sent a clear message to traffickers.  German NGOs operating 
TIP telephone hotlines have not reported receiving a 
significant volume of phone calls from victims.  The Federal 
Family Ministry plans to work with NGOs operating World Cup 
hotlines to evaluate establishing a nationwide anti-TIP 
hotline.  German officials plan to conduct post-World Cup 
evaluations to apply lessons learned to their anti-TIP 
efforts and to share best practices with other countries. 
End Summary. 
 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
Interior Ministry:  Security Concept Successful 
--------------------------------------------- -- 
 
¶2. (SBU) According to Federal Interior Ministry officials, 
preliminary assessments indicate there has been no increase 
in the number of TIP victims in Germany during the first 
three weeks of the World Cup.  Willy Koesling, a 
representative of the Interior Ministry's World Cup Security 
Office, told emboffs strong international police cooperation 
and effective border controls, including more frequent spot 
checks on vehicles and passports -- even along Schengen 
borders -- have been successful in dissuading traffickers. 
Koesling said the law enforcement cooperation fostered by the 
Interior Ministry's World Cup taskforce, which coordinates 
federal and state law enforcement activities and information 
sharing (ref A), and successful implementation of risk 
prevention and "fan coaching" strategies had thus far 
resulted in low levels of World Cup-related violence and 
illegal activity, including TIP. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Koesling stated municipal authorities and police 
included fan associations and NGOs in their security-related 
planning, which resulted in innovative solutions to prevent 
fan violence and misconduct.  For instance, Koesling said, 
each of the 12 World Cup cities hold post-game events at 
World Cup fan festivals.  (NOTE:  Many of the NGOs conducting 
anti-TIP campaigns distribute postcards, brochures, and other 
materials at these events.  See para 10.  END NOTE.) 
Although World Cup games sometimes end as late as 11:00 p.m., 
Koesling said, the fan festival events, which often run until 
3:00 a.m., provide post-game entertainment in a positive 
atmosphere in the presence of police, and have helped "keep 
fans out of trouble." 
 
¶4. (SBU) Koesling said the Interior Ministry plans to conduct 
post-World Cup evaluations and to apply lessons learned to 
their daily police work, as well as future major sports 
events and conventions.  Koesling said the German government 
hoped its experience would contribute to the development of 
international standards and form the basis for future 
international police cooperation. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
Border Controls and Public Awareness Campaigns 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶5. (SBU) The Federal Family Ministry's Birgit Schweikert also 
stated German authorities have not observed an upsurge in the 
number of TIP victims.  Schweikert is director of the 
Ministry's Office for the Protection of Women from Violence 
and co-chair of the German federal/state interagency anti-TIP 
working group.  Schweikert credited a combination of factors, 
including effective border control measures and joint law 
enforcement operations with police in other EU countries. 
Schweikert stated public awareness campaigns conducted by 
NGOs, most of which are government funded, have also played a 
key role, as have German government efforts to raise 
awareness abroad through consular outreach and development 
assistance (ref B). 
 
BERLIN 00001835  002 OF 003 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
Police Raids "Send Clear Message" to Traffickers 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
¶6. (SBU) Extensive pre-World Cup police raids of brothels and 
other venues around Germany (reported refs C through F) sent 
a clear message to traffickers that police are watching and 
likely dissuaded many traffickers from expanding their 
operations, Schweikert said.  Police have continued to 
conduct surveillance and raid brothels during the World Cup 
itself.  According to Berlin police spokesman Kurt Henning, 
police in Berlin have not registered an upswing in the number 
of TIP victims during the World Cup.  Henning confirmed 
police have increased their surveillance and raids of 
brothels.  Henning added police have noticed an increase in 
the number of prostitutes, but not TIP victims, in some 
brothels. 
 
¶7. (SBU) German media reports have also focused attention on 
increased police surveillance and raids throughout Germany, 
in particular Hessian Minister-President Roland Koch's show 
of support for Frankfurt police anti-TIP efforts.  Koch 
accompanied police during one of their raids in the Frankfurt 
red-light district.  Frankfurt police representatives told 
the media 25 prostitutes have been placed in police 
protective custody since the beginning of the World Cup, but 
noted it had not yet been determined how many were victims of 
trafficking.  Schweikert noted a number of German media 
outlets had recently reported that fan demand for 
prostitutes' services had been significantly lower than 
brothel owners and prostitutes themselves had expected. 
(NOTE:  Recent editions of the "Frankfurter Allgemeine 
Zeitung," "Suddeutsche Zeitung," and "Berliner Zeitung" have 
reported World Cup tourists who visit red light districts do 
so largely because their curiosity was piqued by extensive 
media coverage of legalized prostitution in Germany. 
Prostitutes interviewed in the same media reports say World 
Cup tourists generally have not engaged their services.  Some 
articles also focus on the high visibility of anti-TIP public 
awareness campaigns at fan festivals and stadiums.  END NOTE.) 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
NGO Hotlines Report No Substantial Increase in TIP 
--------------------------------------------- ----- 
 
¶8. (SBU) Schweikert said NGOs that provide counseling and 
assistance to TIP victims have, thus far, not reported a 
marked increase in the number of TIP victims.  Embassy and 
Consulate contacts in NGOs tend to confirm this assessment. 
Schweikert noted four NGOs -- "Women's Rights are Human 
Rights" (FIM); Bella Donna; the Diakonie, a social aid 
organization affiliated with the Lutheran Church; and 
"Solidarity with Women in Distress" (SOLWODI) -- have used 
federal or state government funding to set up telephone 
hotlines to field calls from trafficking victims during the 
World Cup.  To date, Schweikert said, the NGOs had not 
reported receiving a significant volume of phone calls from 
TIP victims.  FIM representatives told ConGen Frankfurt there 
has been no substantial increase in the number of TIP 
victims.  A SOLWODI representative told emboff the 
organization has received some calls on their hotline from 
victims of trafficking and domestic violence, but noted it 
was too early to assess whether there had been an increase in 
the number of TIP victims.  According to Nivedita Prasad, 
project coordinator for Ban Ying, a Berlin-based NGO that 
provides counseling and legal assistance to TIP victims, the 
organization has not received a single call from a TIP victim 
since the World Cup began.  Prasad said all four NGOs agreed 
to refer Berlin callers to three of Berlin's anti-TIP NGOs, 
including Ban Ying, on a rotating basis. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Schweikert noted the Federal Family Ministry had 
encouraged the four NGOs to combine their efforts and pool 
resources to create one hotline with one telephone number 
that could be more easily publicized, but met with resistance 
from some NGOs.  Schweikert said the Federal Family Ministry 
will work with the NGOs to evaluate the hotlines and 
associated public awareness campaigns to determine the 
feasibility of establishing a nationwide anti-TIP hotline in 
the near future, possibly in cooperation with police 
emergency hotlines.  Schweikert noted a nationwide hotline is 
but one idea the German government may discuss as a proposal 
when sharing its experiences with other EU members in 
post-World Cup evaluation workshops to be held later this 
year. 
 
------------------------- 
Public Outreach Campaigns 
 
BERLIN 00001835  003 OF 003 
 
 
------------------------- 
 
¶10. (U) During a visit to the Berlin fan festival emboffs 
witnessed the distribution of anti-TIP brochures and 
postcards -- from the Diakonie and German Women's Council's 
"Final Whistle" (refs A and C) campaigns -- outside an 
information booth.  (NOTE:  NGO contacts report similar 
materials are distributed at fan festivals in each of the 12 
World Cup cities.  Most materials feature TIP hotline 
numbers.  ConGen Frankfurt personnel visited a dedicated 
anti-TIP tent at the Stuttgart fan festival and observed 
distribution of anti-TIP materials at a "Fan Embassy" in 
Frankfurt.  END NOTE.)  A police officer approached at random 
by emboffs also described police procedures for providing 
assistance to potential victims of trafficking.   "Fan 
Embassy" personnel gave emboffs a copy of the German Football 
Association's fan guide, which in a full-page article on TIP 
informs fans: "Prostitution is legal in Germany.  Forcing 
women to work as prostitutes against their will via physical, 
financial, or other means is not."  The Diakonie campaign is 
also running advertisements on flat screen TVs in Berlin 
subway cars and posters on railway platforms.  One set of ads 
reads, in English, Russian and German, "if you are a victim 
of forced prostitution, call this number now" and refers 
victims to the Diakonie's hotline number. 
 
¶11. (U) This message was coordinated with ConGen Frankfurt. 
 
TIMKEN JR