VZCZCXYZ0001
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHRL #2534/01 2420953
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O 300953Z AUG 06
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4988
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHPG/AMEMBASSY PRAGUE PRIORITY 0427
RUEHWR/AMEMBASSY WARSAW PRIORITY 0618

C O N F I D E N T I A L BERLIN 002534 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR EUR/AGS, EUR/PGI, G/TIP, DRL/IL, INL/HSTC, AND PRM 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 08/29/2016 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN KJUS SMIG ELAB PREL PGOV GM
SUBJECT: GERMAN FAMILY MINISTRY OFFICIALS RESPOND TO U.S. 
TIP CONCERNS 
 
REF: A. BERLIN 2266 AND PREVIOUS 
 
     ¶B. BERLIN 366 
     ¶C. BERLIN 1504 
 
Classified By: EMIN Robert F. Cekuta for reasons 1.4 (b) 
and (d). 
 
¶1. (C) Summary:  German Federal Family Ministry officials 
reiterated the German government's commitment to fight 
trafficking in persons (TIP) in an August 28 meeting with 
emboffs.  Family Ministry representatives noted the steps 
German ministries and NGOs had taken to fight TIP in the 
context of the 2006 Soccer World Cup and were pleased that 
preliminary information indicates there was no significant 
increase in TIP in Germany because of it.  The Family 
Ministry expects to complete its evaluation of World Cup 
anti-TIP public awareness campaigns and law enforcement 
strategies by the end of September.  The Ministry also 
expects to submit its evaluation of the 2002 law that 
decriminalized certain activities related to prostitution 
first to the Cabinet and then to the Bundestag by late 
December.  The Family Ministry officials reported prison 
sentences handed down for trafficking offenses continue to 
climb, despite the complex nature of cases and the difficulty 
of proving guilt in court.  Ministry officials also stated 
the need for international cooperation in fighting TIP, e.g., 
efforts in source countries to educate populations, fight 
criminal groups engaged in trafficking, and improve standards 
of living in source countries, especially in eastern Europe. 
End Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) EMIN and Global Affairs officer discussed the fight 
against trafficking August 28 with German Federal Family 
Ministry Director General for Gender Equality Eva Maria 
Welskop-Deffaa and her deputy, Renate Augstein. 
Welskop-Deffaa oversees the Ministry's office for the 
Protection of Women from Violence, which has the German 
interagency lead in efforts to fight TIP.  Welskop-Deffaa, 
who joined the Family Ministry in May 2006, previously headed 
the office of economic and social issues in the Central 
Committee of German Catholics and remains closely tied to the 
German Catholic Women's Association.   Welskop-Deffaa said 
the Department's 2006 TIP Report accurately describes the 
scope of German action.  She said Germany has devoted a great 
deal of attention and invested considerable effort to 
fighting TIP since 1997, when Germany first established a 
federal-state interagency anti-TIP working group. 
 
TIP and the World Cup 
--------------------- 
 
¶3. (C) Welskop-Deffaa noted as well that the International 
Organization for Migration and German NGOs had found that 
there was no significant increase in TIP during the June - 
July 2006 Soccer World Cup (ref A).  Welskop-Deffaa reported 
over 150,000 people signed anti-TIP petitions during the 
World Cup.  The Family Ministry had provided funding to NGOs 
for additional victim assistance programs and financed two 
NGO-operated nationwide hotlines.  State and local 
governments financed two additional regional hotlines.  She 
credited extensive public outreach and police and Interior 
Ministry efforts to integrate anti-TIP measures into their 
overall security concepts as reasons for what appears to have 
been a success.  Welskop-Deffaa said the German government 
hopes to complete its evaluation of anti-TIP measures 
implemented during the World Cup by the end of September. 
 
Prosecuting Traffickers 
----------------------- 
 
¶4. (C) Responding to a question about German efforts to 
prosecute traffickers, Augstein said sentences handed down 
for charges of trafficking continue to climb, despite the 
complex nature of trafficking cases and the difficulty of 
proving guilt.  In order to prove a trafficking crime has 
been committed, Augstein said, prosecutors have to rely on 
victims' testimony to show the accused exploited or coerced 
the victim.  To do that, prosecutors must first convince 
victims -- who have been traumatized and, she said, generally 
distrust authorities -- to testify against their traffickers. 
 Augstein argued German sentences for trafficking offenses 
are particularly high when compared to sentences handed down 
in Germany for similarly egregious crimes. 
 
¶5. (C) Augstein added TIP investigations are time- and 
personnel-intensive and generally last at least one year. 
She said the Family Ministry and the German Federal Office of 
Criminal Investigation (BKA) share responsibility for 
 
training police officers.  Officers receive one week of 
training per year, which includes sessions conducted by NGOs 
to sensitize police to TIP victims' special needs.  Augstein 
also noted 80 to 90 percent of traffickers are found in 
Germany through police raids, far more than through tips from 
victims and clients.  She stated most TIP victims have been 
intimidated by their traffickers, who prey on victims' 
distrust of authorities by reminding them of their illegal 
status.  Augstein said the training for police officers also 
focuses on detection techniques and referral of victims to 
counseling centers. 
 
¶6. (C) Augstein said pending legislation would soon implement 
Council of Europe directives on residence permits for TIP 
victims by codifying existing regulations.  The regulations 
stipulate granting TIP victims a four-week reflection period 
to decide whether or not to testify against their 
traffickers.  The regulations also mandate that immigration 
officials consult with police case officers when analyzing 
the risks victims might face if they are returned to their 
countries of origin (ref B). 
 
Legislation on the Status of Prostitution 
----------------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (C) In response to a question raising concerns about the 
legal status of prostitution in Germany, Welskop-Deffaa 
explained legislation passed in 2002 had narrowed the 
definition of criminal promotion of prostitution and pimping 
(ref C), but did not actually legalize prostitution. 
Prostitution has been legal in Germany for over 100 years, 
she added.  Welskop-Deffaa said the 2002 law was a difficult 
but necessary compromise to improve prostitutes' legal and 
social situation.  Pre-2002 restrictions on promoting 
prostitution, designed to make prostitution unattractive, had 
resulted in poor working conditions and other violations of 
prostitutes' basic rights, she continued.  Welskop-Deffaa 
said the Family Ministry's goal was to create possibilities 
for women to get out of prostitution by removing the 
associated social stigma.  She argued the 2002 law had made 
it easier to detect forced prostitution and created a 
disincentive for brothel owners to engage in trafficking. 
The Family Ministry expects to submit a report on the results 
of the 2002 legislation, first to the Cabinet and then to the 
Bundestag, by the end of December.  She noted as well that 
the Merkel Government's November 2005 coalition agreement had 
made fighting forced prostitution a priority. 
 
The Need for International Efforts against TIP 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶8. (C) Welskop-Deffaa said Germany is looking at fighting TIP 
in source countries, particularly in Eastern Europe, and 
German cooperation and assistance had focused on improving 
police capabilities to fight and dismantle criminal 
organizations involved in trafficking and raising public 
awareness of trafficking for purposes of sexual and labor 
exploitation.  Welskop-Deffaa said many trafficking victims 
are drawn to work as prostitutes because they can earn more 
money faster than as secretaries or clerks.  Welskop-Deffaa 
said German public awareness efforts in countries of origin 
also focus on trafficking in human organs.  Welskop-Deffaa 
said Germany and the EU have focused on developing anti-TIP 
NGO networks in the former Soviet Union, which have had a 
harder time because they could not draw on the 
resources/long-term presence of faith-based organizations. 
 
KOENIG