VZCZCXRO8110
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHRL #0459/01 0660917
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 070917Z MAR 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7343
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0097
RUEHBK/AMEMBASSY BANGKOK 0217
RUEAWJC/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEFHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 17 BERLIN 000459 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/AGS, EUR/PGI, G/TIP, DRL/IL, INL/HSTC, AND PRM 
STATE - PLEASE PASS USAID 
JUSTICE FOR T. MARCH BELL 
HHS FOR PEDRO MORENO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN KJUS SMIG ELAB PREL PGOV ASEC
PREF, GM 
SUBJECT: GERMANY - 2007 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 
 
REF: A. 06 STATE 202745 
     ¶B. BERLIN 390 
     ¶C. HAMBURG 16 
     ¶D. BERLIN 269 
     ¶E. 06 BERLIN 2754 
     ¶F. 06 BERLIN 2465 
     ¶G. 06 BERLIN 2266 AND PREVIOUS 
     ¶H. 06 BERLIN 1809 
     ¶I. 06 BERLIN 1094 
     ¶J. 06 MUNICH 347 
     ¶K. 06 FRANKFURT 4232 AND PREVIOUS 
 
BERLIN 00000459  001.4 OF 017 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) The following is Mission Germany's submission for 
the seventh annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.  The 
entire report should be treated as sensitive but 
unclassified.  Mission points of contact are Craig Conway 
 
SIPDIS 
(email: conwaycm@state.gov; tel: 49-30-8305-2127) and 
Caroline Sheldon (email: sheldonc@state.gov; tel: 
49-30-8305-2337). 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY:  The German government continued to make 
important strides in combating TIP: 
 
-- Germany seized on the World Cup as a way to boost public 
awareness of TIP and to step up efforts to combat it. 
Earlier fears about an upswing in TIP victims in Germany 
during the June - July 2006 Soccer World Cup Championship 
proved unfounded.  The International Organization for 
Migration (IOM), police, counseling centers, and key German 
anti-trafficking NGOs all concluded independently of each 
other that there was no significant increase in TIP during 
the World Cup.  These organizations and others credit 
extensive government-funded public awareness and prevention 
campaigns, as well as comprehensive police measures, enhanced 
international coordination, and stepped-up cooperation 
between government agencies and counseling centers.  German 
officials briefed the EU Council's trafficking working group 
in January 2007 on measures taken during the World Cup and 
suggested how the German experience might be used to develop 
best practices for future large-scale events.  Post nominates 
Germany's successful efforts against TIP during the World Cup 
for inclusion among best practices highlighted in the 
Department's 2007 TIP Report. 
 
-- Germany completed ratification of the UN Convention 
against Transnational Organized Crime together with the 
Convention's Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish 
Trafficking in Persons (Palermo Protocol) on June 14, 2006. 
 
-- Germany established a new inter-agency strategy and 
analysis center on illegal migration and related crimes 
(GASIM) in May 2006.  Law enforcement personnel and experts 
from multiple government agencies coordinate efforts to 
collect data and analyze the scope of and relationship 
between illegal migration, organized crime, human smuggling, 
and trafficking in persons. 
 
-- As in previous years, the government funded various 
campaigns to raise awareness of child sex tourism in 2006. 
 
-- In January 2007, German officials announced government 
plans to submit federal legislation to criminalize the 
activities of clients who knowingly patronize forced 
prostitutes. 
 
-- German authorities conducted a number of high profile TIP 
raids and legal proceedings that broke up trafficking rings. 
 
-- Germany began using new labor trafficking laws passed in 
2005 and restructured its police units to improve 
enforcement, but has not yet developed an inter-agency 
cooperation mechanism similar to the federal/state 
interagency working group set up in 1997 to coordinate action 
against sex trafficking.  END SUMMARY. 
 
¶3. (SBU) Responses below are keyed to questions posed in 
paras 27-34 of ref A: 
 
 
BERLIN 00000459  002.4 OF 017 
 
 
-------------------- 
Checklist - Overview 
-------------------- 
 
¶A.  Victims.  Germany is a country of origin, transit and 
destination for trafficked persons.  Trafficking takes place 
into, within, and through Germany.  The Federal Office of 
Criminal Investigation (BKA) makes a concerted effort to 
compile accurate statistics, but acknowledges many instances 
of trafficking go unreported.  The key reason for this is the 
difficulty in identifying victims.  Although authorities say 
EU enlargement has not had a significant impact on the number 
of identified vctims, victims who are EU citizens and thus 
legaly permitted to reside in Germany are often moredifficult to identify. 
 
In its most recent report covering 2005, the BKA recorded 
642 sex trafficing victims, compared to 972 in 2004. 
According o the report, the significant drop in the overall 
number of victims is attributable to a one-time sike in the 
number of victims from Ukraine in 2004(183 Ukrainian victims 
were identified in 2004, compared to 20 in 2005) that 
resulted from a single police investigation.  Of the 642 
victims identified in 2005, 115 were German nationals (18 
percent -- up five percent over 2004).  The number of TIP 
victims age 18-24 was 339.  Eight percent (51 victims) were 
under 18 and German nationals comprised the largest portion 
of these victims (28).  These statistics capture sex 
trafficking only, not actions against other related crimes, 
such as pimping, exploitation of prostitutes, child sex 
abuse, or human smuggling. 
 
¶B.  Situation.  As in recent years, most victims continue to 
come from European -- and in particular Eastern European -- 
countries.  Of the 642 victims reported in 2005, 86 percent 
(down 4 percent from 2004) came from Europe, including 
Germany. Of the foreign victims, Romanian (18.4 percent) and 
Russian women (15.7 percent) were the largest groups. 
Non-European victims came primarily from Nigeria (11 victims 
or 1.7 percent) and Thailand (3 victims or 0.5 percent). 
Victims from African countries numbered 32 (5 percent). 
Victims from Asia numbered 17 (2.7 percent).  Thirty victims 
(4.7 percent) were from the Western Hemisphere. 
 
Government Efforts to Combat TIP and Political Will. 
Political will to combat trafficking exists at all levels of 
government, including the Federal Chancellery, Cabinet, and 
Federal Parliament.  Measures enacted in connection with the 
World Cup demonstrate official commitment at the federal, 
state, and local levels.  Steps the police worked out in 
advance of the June 9 - July 9 events included the World Cup 
Security Strategy, the state-federal law enforcement 
information-sharing framework, greater police presence in red 
light districts and in the vicinity of commercial sex venues, 
additional inspections and raids, efforts to raise awareness 
among hotels, and enhanced cooperation with social 
institutions and counseling centers.  To raise public 
awareness during the World Cup, almost all state (Laender) 
parliaments focused on trafficking, either debating or 
reaching agreement to implement additional measures to combat 
trafficking in persons. 
 
The government plans in 2007 to update the "Action Plan on 
Violence against Women" adopted by the previous Schroeder 
Government in 1999.  The action plan laid out a comprehensive 
approach to combat trafficking in women.  The plan also set 
goals to improve prevention, strengthen cooperation between 
government agencies and NGOs, punish traffickers, sensitize 
officials, police, and the general public, and expand 
international cooperation.  The 2003 "Action Plan for the 
Protection of Children and Juveniles from Sexual Violence and 
Exploitation," which Germany is now implementing, includes 
public awareness campaigns on child sex tourism.  Both the 
federal and Laender governments devote substantial resources 
to combating TIP in Germany and in source countries. 
 
The Christian Democratic Union/Christian Social Union 
(CDU/CSU) and Social Democratic Party (SPD) coalition 
 
BERLIN 00000459  003.4 OF 017 
 
 
partners in the German government (elected in November 2005) 
listed combating trafficking in persons as a high priority in 
their coalition agreement.  The coalition agreement forms a 
roadmap for major policies and strategies to be implemented 
in the government's four-year term and specifically cited 
TIP, as well as improving the overall migration situation, as 
issues on which the government will focus. 
 
Trafficking Conditions.  Victims are trafficked for purposes 
of sexual and labor exploitation. 
 
Traffickers.  The BKA registered 683 suspected sex 
traffickers in 2005.  As in previous years, German nationals 
comprised the largest share of suspected traffickers (283 or 
41 percent in 2004).  Fifty-seven or 8.3 percent of those 
were born outside of Germany (primarily Russia, Kazakhstan, 
Turkey, Poland, and Romania). 
 
Methods used by Traffickers.  With regard to sex trafficking, 
220 victims reported being deceived about the true purpose of 
their entry into Germany, 166 reported having been recruited 
by professional agencies.  Seventy-eight reported traffickers 
used violence against them.  According to the BKA report, 
many victims who agree to prostitute themselves are deceived 
regarding exploitative conditions of the work situation.  The 
majority of the victims worked in brothels (307) or 
apartments (229).  Victims working for escort services (170) 
or in street prostitution (66) were mainly found in big 
cities.  Ninety-three of the 325 questioned victims reported 
threats received from their alleged traffickers negatively 
influenced their willingness to testify. 
 
¶C.  Practical Limitations. 
 
C-1.  Federalism.  Under Germany's post-World War II federal 
structure, the Laender (states) have primary responsibility 
for investigating and prosecuting crimes, including TIP. 
Local government resources for law enforcement, assistance to 
victims, and counseling by NGOs depend on the budgets of the 
Laender, a situation which NGOs report can lead to an uneven 
distribution of funding.  Federal Family Ministry officials 
promote the funding mechanism used by Rhineland-Palatinate as 
a best practice model for ensuring regular funding of 
programs that assist victims.  Under this model, a general 
budget line item is allocated annually to help trafficked 
victims without allotting a fixed sum to each locality. 
Baden-Wuerttemberg also adopted this model.  The 
government-funded Association against Trafficking in Women 
and Violence against Women in the Migration Process (KOK) 
published results of a 2006 conference that focused on best 
practices and funding models. 
 
C-2.  Resources for Victims.  Trafficked victims are entitled 
by law to basic medical care and to assistance for basic 
living expenses.  Local social welfare authorities are 
responsible for distributing benefits.  NGOs have expressed 
concern that basic benefits identified by governing 
legislation do not include psychological treatment, though 
some Laender cover the cost of psychological treatment on a 
case-by-case basis.  In April 2006, KOK published a handbook 
giving a comprehensive overview of available resources for 
TIP victims.  In November 2006, the Federal Constitutional 
Court ruled that compensation payments for pain and suffering 
-- including payments to TIP victims -- can no longer be 
deducted from payments for basic expenses under the benefits 
law for asylum seekers. 
 
¶D.  Surveys, Reports.  The government and government-funded 
NGOs systematically monitor Germany's anti-trafficking 
efforts.  In addition, parliamentarians routinely query the 
government on efforts against TIP and related issues, 
obliging the government to publish reports in response.  The 
German government makes regular assessments of its 
counter-TIP efforts available to the UN, the EU, the Council 
of Europe, and the OSCE.  The BKA, as well as the 
Federal-State Interagency Working Group, state level 
interagency working groups, and Laender Offices of Criminal 
Investigation (LKAs) meet regularly to evaluate and discuss 
 
BERLIN 00000459  004.4 OF 017 
 
 
counter-TIP programs.  Independent NGOs conduct their own 
evaluations of the government's counter-TIP efforts and 
regularly publish assessments. 
 
Each year the BKA produces a report on sex trafficking in 
persons in Germany covering the previous year's developments. 
 Topics include statistics on investigations, victims, and 
traffickers.  The ILO in June 2006 published a report on the 
results and recommendations of conferences held between 2004 
and 2006 on capacity building to combat the forced labor 
outcomes of human trafficking in Germany and five other 
European countries.  In June 2006, the government published a 
report on its efforts to combat sexual exploitation of 
children at the German-Czech Border, in response to a query 
from the German Federal Parliament. 
 
In September 2006, the German Federal Parliament published a 
report on organizational and other measures to improve visa 
issuance.  This report is the result of the findings released 
by a parliamentary investigatory committee set up to review 
visa issuance policies during the previous legislative 
period.  This body and an earlier investigative committee 
were established in response to a reported increase in the 
number of visas issued during 2001-2003 and suspicions of 
fraud in Eastern Europe.  The government took a series of 
steps worldwide to tighten rules governing visa issuance, 
beginning in 2002. 
 
In December 2006, The Interior Ministry published a report on 
the 2006 Soccer World Cup Championship, which focuses on the 
nationwide security concept German authorities implemented 
during the games, including measures taken to prevent and 
combat TIP.  In January 2007, the Family Ministry presented 
an internal report on preventive measures implemented against 
TIP in connection with the World Cup, including public 
awareness and prevention campaigns conducted by NGOs with the 
support of the Family Ministry and other government agencies. 
 This report and an Interior Ministry "experience report" on 
law enforcement measures taken against TIP during the World 
Cup were presented to an EU working group in January 2007 
(ref D). 
 
In February 2007, the government published a report on labor 
trafficking legislation enacted in 2005 under the Schroeder 
Government that broadened and strengthened existing penal 
code provisions. 
 
---------- 
PREVENTION 
---------- 
 
¶A.  Germany's government acknowledges TIP as a problem that 
must be vigorously combated.  During meetings with the 
Ambassador in 2006, Federal Family Minister von der Leyen and 
other high-ranking German officials stressed the importance 
of fighting TIP and described Germany's engagement (ref E). 
In numerous discussions with our consuls general, Laender 
ministers have also reaffirmed their commitment to fight TIP 
and child sex tourism.  German officials at all levels have 
underscored their resolve and their efforts to fight TIP to 
officers from several USG agencies and at every level of the 
Mission (refs G-K). 
 
¶B.  Government Agencies.  Within the German government, the 
Federal Family Ministry has the lead for preventing TIP and 
funds numerous public awareness campaigns and education 
projects implemented by NGOs. 
 
The Federal Justice Ministry in 2006 drafted a number of TIP 
related laws, including legislation to improve the protection 
of juveniles against sexual exploitation.  The Ministry 
manages the National Training Academy for Judges and 
Prosecutors, which offers training regarding cases involving 
organized crime, child victim witnesses, and international 
cooperation. 
 
The Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development 
(Development Ministry) has funded development projects abroad 
 
BERLIN 00000459  005.4 OF 017 
 
 
to combat TIP since 2003.  Since 2004, the Ministry has also 
funded programs to combat trafficking in children.  The 
German Society for Technical Cooperation (GTZ), a 
government-owned corporation for international development 
cooperation, develops and executes these projects. 
 
The Federal Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs, through 
its government employment offices, offers former prostitutes 
and trafficked victims job-placement assistance and training 
in other fields.  The Ministry has issued strict guidelines 
to ensure job seekers are not offered employment in the 
commercial sex industry, unless a job seeker expressly 
requests information about such employment.  Government 
regulations and guidelines stipulate employment agencies 
cannot compel unemployed people to accept such employment, 
nor can job seekers be denied unemployment benefits for 
refusing to accept employment in the commercial sex industry. 
 The Labor Ministry administers EQUAL funds -- an EU-funded 
project run by IOM and NGOs that sponsors reintegration 
programs for TIP victims and runs through 2007. 
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), in addition to 
tightening rules and procedures for reviewing visa 
applications, is actively involved in outreach to potential 
victims in countries of origin (see PREVENTION C). 
 
The Federal Office of Criminal Investigations (BKA) has a 
counter-trafficking office that coordinates international TIP 
cases, promotes cooperation with other countries and regional 
organizations (including through the Southeast European 
Cooperative Initiative (SECI) and the Baltic Sea Task Force), 
cooperates closely with Europol and Interpol, and organizes 
training programs for German and foreign law enforcement 
authorities.  The BKA established a federal-state working 
group in 2005 comprised of police officials from a number of 
Laender, the BKA, and Customs to explore the effects of the 
new counter-TIP legislation and to focus on trafficking of 
children.  It is currently reviewing areas for further 
research regarding the exploitation of children.  The BKA has 
expanded its Organized Crime Section's illegal immigration 
unit to cover trafficking for labor exploitation as well. 
 
The Federal-State Interagency Working Group on Trafficking in 
Women, established in 1997 under the Family Ministry's lead, 
reviews counter-trafficking issues, disseminates best 
practices, and provides input for new laws and directives. 
Members include representatives from the Federal Ministries 
of Justice, Interior, Foreign Affairs, Economics and 
Technology, Labor, Health, and Development, as well as from 
NGOs, law enforcement agencies, and Laender governments.  The 
working group has developed a model cooperation concept 
agreement to formalize cooperation among police, welfare 
agencies, and NGOs to enhance protection and assistance to 
victims and to encourage victims to testify against 
traffickers.  Nine of the sixteen Laender have concluded 
cooperation agreements.  Instead of a formal cooperation 
agreement, the North-Rhine Westphalia Interior Ministry 
issued a regulation formalizing cooperation among agencies 
and NGOs as early as 1994. 
 
A federal-state working group on combating sexual 
exploitation of children has existed since 2003 and meets 
several times every year. 
 
The Laender Offices of Criminal Investigations (LKAs) have 
special units that deal with TIP or with organized crime. 
The Hamburg police, for example, deploy approximately 20 
officers to deal with TIP and pimping.  The BKA and the 
Hamburg police have attributed the high investigation success 
rate and the high number of victims willing to approach the 
police in Hamburg to the trust that specially trained milieu 
police have built up.  Numerous Laender offices, including 
Family, Social, Justice and Labor ministries, are involved in 
developing programs at the state level.  Several Laender have 
interagency working groups or task forces that include NGOs. 
Hesse, Baden-Wuerttemberg, Bavaria, and Thuringia have signed 
inter-state memoranda of understanding to coordinate in 
fighting TIP.  Saarland has established an interagency unit 
 
BERLIN 00000459  006.4 OF 017 
 
 
in the Ministry of Interior to combat TIP.  As a result of 
the 2005 amendment of trafficking provisions in the Federal 
Penal Code, state police authorities have restructured their 
organized crime or TIP units to include labor exploitation 
crimes and have started to cooperate with the Customs 
Authorities' Illegal Employment Control Units (FKS) to 
enforce the new laws (PROSECUTION A-1, A-2). 
 
GASIM.  The Federal Interior Ministry created a new 
inter-agency analysis and strategy center (GASIM) in May 2006 
that is comprised of experts from the police, security 
agencies, customs authorities, the Foreign Ministry and the 
Agency for Refugees and Migration.  It is designed to 
exchange and collect information on illegal migration, 
related organized crime, visa fraud, illegal employment, and 
trafficking; to analyze the illegal migration situation; and 
to support investigations and international cooperation. 
 
Federal Finance Ministry.  The Customs Authorities' Illegal 
Employment Control Unit (FKS) under the Federal Finance 
Ministry was restructured in 2004 and increased its personnel 
through 2006.  It now employs approximately 7,000 at 113 
offices throughout Germany.  The Illegal Employment Control 
Unit investigates violations of the Illegal Employment Law, 
including cases of exploiting foreigners working in Germany 
without residence or work permits.  Under the law, it is not 
only a criminal offense to employ foreigners working in 
Germany illegally, but also to pay them less than prevailing 
wages or to provide them substandard working conditions.  The 
Unit cooperates closely with a number of agencies, including 
federal and state police authorities, especially in cases 
where the labor exploitation reaches the level of labor 
trafficking. 
 
¶C.  Public Information and Education Campaigns.  German 
public awareness of trafficking has increased significantly. 
In 2006, the government continued to support and fund NGOs 
campaigns in Germany and abroad. 
 
The Federal Family Ministry fully funds KOK, the lead body 
representing 34 NGOs and counseling centers assisting 
victims.  The KOK as a member of the Federal-State 
Interagency Working Group coordinates projects, conferences, 
studies, and research. 
 
German embassies and consulates conduct outreach programs, 
including distribution of brochures in 13 languages that warn 
about trafficking.  For example, the German Ambassador to 
Kenya called for strengthening Kenya's laws against child sex 
tourism at an anti-trafficking conference in February 2007. 
 
World Cup Campaigns.  Top German Government officials were 
personally engaged in supporting World Cup anti-TIP campaigns 
or initiatives.  For instance, Federal Interior Minister 
Schaeuble invited NGOs to discuss anti-TIP campaigns before 
and during the World Cup; the Mayor of Berlin -- along with 
the President of the German Soccer Association (DFB) -- 
served as patrons of a campaign; and Hesse Minister-President 
Roland Koch participated in a night-time sweep through 
Frankfurt's large red-light district to identify trafficking 
victims in the run-up to the World Cup.  The sweep followed a 
much larger May 10 raid of brothels, bars, and private 
apartments across the state.  The raids, involving hundreds 
of police and justice officials, were designed to identify 
trafficking victims in the commercial sex industry as well as 
traffickers (refs J-K). 
 
Nongovernmental organizations throughout Germany -- with 
government or faith-based support -- conducted 21 TIP 
awareness campaigns during the World Cup.  Most campaigns 
received financial assistance from federal, state, or local 
governments.  The Federal Family Ministry funded several of 
the most prominent campaigns, as well as two of the three 
NGO-operated telephone hotlines for TIP victims, potential 
clients, and others.  For example, the Ministry funded a 
nationwide TIP awareness campaign during the World Cup 
conducted by the German Women's Council, an umbrella group of 
over 50 women's professional associations.  According to the 
 
BERLIN 00000459  007.4 OF 017 
 
 
German Women's Council, nearly 1,000 local and regional 
groups participated in the campaign and collected signatures 
of approximately 80,000 people for the campaign's petition. 
Diakonie -- the Lutheran Church's social aid organization -- 
sponsored a campaign to place billboards that read "Say No to 
Forced Prostitution" in multiple languages inside and outside 
major train stations during and after the World Cup.  The 
organization also ran ads in major newspapers and set up a 
24/7 telephone hotline for TIP victims.  The Catholic NGO 
Solwodi conducted a nationwide information campaign during 
the World Cup that included the distribution of 100,000 
flyers, 10,000 posters and 40,000 stickers nationwide. 
Solwodi also operated a telephone hotline (refs D,G,J,K). 
 
Evaluations conducted by the Family Ministry and individual 
NGOs concluded public awareness and prevention initiatives 
reached a wide and multi-faceted spectrum of society far 
beyond the women's movement and other organizations normally 
engaged on the issue.  Counseling centers reported a decline 
in the number of forced prostitutes during the World Cup. 
The police reported five cases of sex trafficking linked to 
the World Cup.  The IOM concluded there was no significant 
increase in TIP during the World Cup and credited extensive 
prevention campaigns and an increased police focus (ref D). 
 
Conferences.  Two experts from the U.S. Department of Justice 
visited Germany in October 2006 to brief German experts on 
the U.S. approach to prosecuting trafficking crimes and the 
provision of residence benefits and other social services to 
TIP victims in the United States.  They spoke with 
parliamentarians, key federal and state government officials 
-- including the Bavarian Justice Minister, who had recently 
returned from the U.S. after participating in an 
International Leadership Visitor Program that featured TIP 
issues -- and state prosecutors general.  German 
working-level experts attended TIP-related roundtable 
discussions organized in Berlin, Frankfurt, and Munich by the 
Embassy and consulates. 
 
International Campaigns.  In December 2006, the GTZ started a 
new initiative to promote women's rights that will focus, 
inter alia, on combating trafficking and labor exploitation 
of women, preventing trafficking, and providing counseling 
for women.  In addition, the GTZ will continue to conduct 
programs through 2007 to implement the Optional Protocol to 
the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) on the Sale 
of Children, Child Prostitution, and Child Pornography and to 
counter child sex tourism. 
 
Child Sex Tourism.  The German government continued to 
co-fund the Association to Protect Children from Sexual 
Exploitation (ECPAT) in Germany to undertake programs to 
raise awareness regarding child sex tourism, including 
distributing a flyer against child sex tourism to tour 
operators, and briefings for employees in the tourism sector 
in 2006.  Both the German association of travel agencies and 
tour organizers and the federal association for the tourism 
sector signed the Code of Conduct for the Protection of 
Children from child sex tourism developed by ECPAT.  In 
October 2006, ECPAT offered for the first time a GTZ-funded 
train-the-trainer workshop for German tour operators. 
 
The Federal Family Ministry funds several campaigns organized 
by the NGO Terre-des-hommes to stop child sex tourism, 
including the campaign "Please Disturb" an Internet platform 
that contains information about child sex tourism and calls 
for tourists to notify authorities to help stop the practice. 
 The Ministry is providing 200,000 euros for this campaign 
from 2005 through 2007.  The Federal Family Ministry also 
co-funded a new advertisement for this campaign that LTU, one 
of Germany's largest charter airlines, started to show on 
April 1, 2006.  LTU specializes in holiday travel and flies 
to vacation spots throughout the Mediterranean, as well as to 
locations such as Sri Lanka, Thailand, and the Caribbean. 
LTU included awareness-raising ads in its airline magazines 
as well.  The campaign is geared to reach potential clients 
and aims at encouraging tourists to report suspicious 
activities. 
 
BERLIN 00000459  008.4 OF 017 
 
 
 
In 2006, the GTZ's project pursuant to the UN Convention on 
the Rights of the Child, "Protection of Minors against Sexual 
Exploitation," continued to conduct projects in a number of 
countries.  For example, in May 2006 together with the German 
association of travel agencies and tour operators (DRV) and 
ECPAT, the GTZ conducted a workshop for tourism experts, 
hoteliers, police and NGOs in the Dominican Republic.  The 
training focused on sensitizing these groups and illustrating 
the Code of Conduct. 
 
Throughout 2006, the GTZ also supported ECPAT Guatemala in 
implementing training courses for approximately 600 law 
enforcement and migration officers in Guatemala to sensitize 
them with regard to sexual exploitation of children in 
tourism. 
 
¶D.  Other Government Support.  The Federal Family Ministry's 
mandate is to promote women's interests and all aspects of 
gender mainstreaming, to raise public awareness for women's 
issues, and to sponsor related programs. 
 
¶E.  Government Relationships with NGOs.  German federal and 
Laender governments and agencies work actively with civil 
society and NGOs, both secular and faith-based, to combat 
TIP.  Nongovernmental organizations participate in the 
Federal-State Interagency Working Group, as well as in 
similar Laender working groups, and several Laender-level 
cooperation agreements have been concluded with NGOs.  The 
government-funded GTZ cooperates closely with numerous NGOs 
abroad to implement projects.  The BKA shares information 
with ECPAT about criminal proceedings in Germany against 
child sex tourists to enable ECPAT to facilitate the 
participation of child victims abroad as joint-plaintiffs. 
ECPAT keeps the BKA informed regarding cases abroad to 
expedite investigations.  The Federal Family Ministry funds 
the KOK.  The Federal Family Ministry, the Federal Interior 
Ministry, BKA, and Laender police and government agencies 
cooperated closely with NGOs, counseling centers, and experts 
in the preparations for the World Cup (refs D,E,G,J,K). 
 
¶F.  Monitoring Immigration and Emigration Patterns.  The new 
inter-agency analysis and strategy center on illegal 
migration (GASIM), established in May 2006, monitors and 
analyzes illegal migration movements and patterns of 
organized crime, including trafficking.  Law enforcement 
officials screen for potential TIP victims attempting to 
enter from countries not party to the Schengen Agreement. 
Under the Schengen Agreement, Germany and other EU countries 
party to the agreement have reciprocally agreed to abolish 
border inspections (neither Poland nor the Czech Republic is 
yet party to the Schengen agreement).  The Federal Police 
(Bundespolizei), as the successor agency since July 2005 to 
the Federal Border Police, cooperates closely with 
counterparts in neighboring countries.  In 2004, German and 
Polish authorities established a joint border control office 
in Frankfurt/Oder to conduct joint investigations at the 
border.  German and Czech authorities also conduct joint 
inspections at border crossings.  During the World Cup, 
Germany selectively re-established border controls at borders 
with other Schengen members (i.e., Germany's borders with 
Austria, Belgium, Denmark, France, Luxembourg, and the 
Netherlands) on the basis of law enforcement and intelligence 
information.  The government continued closely monitoring 
entry into Germany (i.e., at non-Schengen borders) and 
patterns of migration into the country. 
 
German Child Sex Tourism in the Czech Republic.  Since May 1, 
2004, under a German-Czech bilateral agreement, eight border 
control points have been staffed with both countries' border 
police.  For several years, a German-Czech 
counter-trafficking working group has operated to enhance 
police cooperation and information sharing.  Child sex crimes 
committed by Germans abroad are prosecuted in Germany under 
an extraterritoriality provision in the Penal Code.  The 
German police maintain close contact with NGOs that are 
actively involved in combating child sex tourism.  In June 
2006, the government published a report on the situation of 
 
BERLIN 00000459  009.18 OF 017 
 
 
combating child sex tourism at the German-Czech border.  The 
report highlights Germany's efforts to stop trafficking and 
child sex tourism. 
 
¶G.  Interagency Work Groups/Task Forces.  In addition to the 
Federal-State Interagency Working Group on Trafficking in 
Women, similar interagency working groups and/or task forces 
exist in several Laender.  The BKA Division for Combating 
Trafficking is another important player promoting cooperation 
at both the national and international level (see PROSECUTION 
B).  The LKAs have counter-TIP or organized crime units, as 
well as public anti-corruption units or task forces.  At the 
federal level, an anti-corruption directive applies to all 
federal government employees.  The BKA has an internal 
affairs unit to combat corruption. 
 
International Cooperation.  Germany is active in numerous 
international fora on TIP (e.g., Baltic Sea Task Force on 
Organized Crime; Southeast European Cooperative Initiative 
Task Force; G8; Interpol; Europol).  Germany has taken a 
leading role in the EU and UN on counter-trafficking.  As a 
member of the Council of Europe (COE), Germany is the 
vice-chair in the working group that drafted the Convention 
on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings.  Germany 
contributes to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions 
and Human Rights (ODIHR) and its counter-trafficking project 
fund. 
 
The BKA has stationed liaison officers in German Embassies in 
Eastern European countries and Asia; they focus on legal 
cases, including TIP cases, and the BKA trains law 
enforcement authorities in source countries. 
 
Turkey selected Berlin and a group of Austrian cities to 
conduct an 18-month twinning project to raise the standards 
for combating TIP in Turkey to the level of EU member states. 
 A team of Berlin law enforcement experts will implement the 
project through 2007. 
 
¶H.  National Action Plan.  The Federal Family Ministry is in 
close contact with other agencies and NGOs, especially 
through the Federal-State Interagency Working Group.  The 
Ministry's action plans on TIP (see OVERVIEW B) and child 
sexual exploitation are posted on the Ministry's website 
(www.bmfsfj.de). 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
¶A.  Criminal Law on Trafficking.  Germany's criminal law on 
trafficking was amended and expanded in 2005 to broaden and 
strengthen provisions on sex and labor trafficking.  Under 
the new law, trafficking for sexual exploitation is 
prohibited under Section 232 of the federal Penal Code, and 
labor exploitation is prohibited under Section 233, both 
internally and trans-nationally.  Trafficking for labor 
exploitation includes slavery, bondage, debt peonage, and 
working under exploitative working conditions. 
Alternatively, a vast array of related laws with similar 
penalties exist which are used in trafficking cases, e.g., 
promotion of trafficking (Section 233(a)), kidnapping 
(Section 234), abduction  (Section 234(a)), child stealing 
(Section 235), child trade (Section 236), deprivation of 
liberty (section 239), extortionate kidnapping (Section 239 
a), coercion (Section 240), sexual exploitation of minors 
(Section 176), promoting sexual acts of minors (section 180), 
exploitation of prostitutes (Section 180(a)), pimping 
(Section 181(a)), sexual exploitation of juveniles (Section 
182), sexual coercion/rape (Section 177), sexual abuse of 
children (section 176), and human smuggling (Section 96 of 
the Immigration Law). 
 
In August 2006, the Federal Cabinet approved a bill now 
pending before the Federal Parliament to amend the Penal Code 
to increase protection of juveniles from sexual exploitation 
(see D-2). 
 
BERLIN 00000459  010.4 OF 017 
 
 
Immigration Law.  Since January 1, 2005, a new Immigration 
Act has regulated all aspects of immigration, integration, 
asylum, and deportation.  Under a new provision, human 
smuggling into Germany now constitutes a compelling ground 
for deportation (Section 54(V)).  Law enforcement authorities 
believe this new provision will be an effective deterrent to 
traffickers. 
 
Labor Laws.  Several labor laws ban illegal employment. 
Individuals or companies employing persons who do not have 
residence or work permits violate the Illegal Employment Law 
and are subject to administrative or criminal penalties. 
Furthermore, employers who employ foreigners without a 
residence or work permit under "exploitative work conditions" 
-- working conditions significantly below the standards under 
which a German employee would perform a comparable job -- 
commit a criminal offense.  Prior to inclusion of the 
expanded labor trafficking provision (Section 233) in the 
Penal Code in 2005, slavery and bondage were covered by 
Section 234 (kidnapping).  Since 2005, Section 233 
criminalizes all forms of labor exploitation, including 
slavery and bondage cases.  Section 234 was amended 
accordingly and limited to cases where someone is kidnapped 
to bring him into a helpless situation. 
 
Criminal Procedure Law.  Germany has forfeiture laws under 
which police can seize assets that traffickers obtained from 
criminal activity. 
 
In January 2007 a new law came into effect expanding 
government authority to confiscate proceeds of criminal 
activity and to strengthening the corresponding rights of 
crime victims.  TIP counseling centers have applauded the new 
law, which can be applied in trafficking cases where the 
victim desires to leave Germany quickly.  Previously, 
proceeds confiscated from traffickers were returned to the 
perpetrators three months after their conviction, if no one 
filed a claim.  Now, victims have three years to file claims 
for compensation against their exploiters.  If no claims are 
filed within the three-year period, the confiscated proceeds 
become state property rather than reverting back to the 
convicted criminal, as was previously the case.  Furthermore, 
under the new law, crime victims' claims have priority over 
claims of creditors.  Finally, the law simplifies and 
streamlines filing procedures. 
 
¶B.  Penalties.  Penalties for sex and labor trafficking range 
from six months to ten years imprisonment.  These penalties 
are commensurate with penalties for other serious crimes. 
Under the new law from 2005, fines may no longer be imposed 
as penalties instead of prison sentences.  It is standard 
German practice for judges to suspend prison sentences of two 
years or less for all crimes, not just TIP-related crimes. 
Suspended sentences are generally handed down to those, such 
as drivers and telephone operators, who played an auxiliary 
role in the crime.  Those who receive suspended sentences are 
often required to perform community service, pay damages, 
and/or meet regularly with a parole officer. 
 
¶C.  Punishment for Labor Trafficking Offenses.  Under the 
2005 law, penalties for labor trafficking (Section 233), 
including slavery and forced labor, range from six months to 
ten years imprisonment.  Under Section 233(a) (promotion of 
trafficking) a recruiter in a source country could be 
sentenced to six months to ten years in prison.  Section 233 
covers the employers or agents who exploit a victim's 
"helplessness" to bring him/her into slavery, bondage, debt 
peonage, or exploitative working conditions.  Attempted labor 
trafficking is also punishable under both sections.  Because 
Sections 233 and 233(a) became effective in 2005 and because 
of the time-intensive nature of labor trafficking 
investigations, comprehensive statistics on the number of 
investigations, prosecutions, and punishments handed down are 
not yet available. 
 
¶D. Rape/Sexual Assault Penalties.  The penalty for rape under 
Section 177 of the Penal Code is two to fifteen years 
imprisonment.  This sentence is commensurate with penalties 
 
BERLIN 00000459  011.4 OF 017 
 
 
for other serious crimes.  Forcible sexual assault is 
punishable by one to ten years in jail.  Sexual assault of 
children is punishable by imprisonment from six months to 
fifteen years. 
 
¶E.  Legal Situation of Prostitutes.  Prostitution in Germany 
is legal, but highly regulated and restricted in practice. 
Communities have the authority to ban prostitution or to use 
zoning ordinances to exclude its practice from specific 
areas, usually city centers and residential neighborhoods. 
Prostitutes who violate this ban can be fined and charged 
under Section 184(d) of the Penal Code.  The 2004 conviction 
statistics list 180 convictions under this section.  The 
minimum age for prostitution is eighteen years. 
 
The 2002 Law to Regulate the Legal Status of Prostitution was 
part of a wider effort to improve the social and legal 
situation of prostitutes.  Prostitutes may now contribute to 
social security and unemployment, health care, and retirement 
insurance.  Furthermore, prostitutes may participate in 
Laender-offered retraining and assistance programs.  The 
German government completed an evaluation of the effects of 
the law that was published in January 2007.  The evaluation 
concluded the legislation established a legal framework to 
improve the legal and social situation of prostitutes, but in 
practice little use was made of these new tools.  The report 
also recommended additional measures to improve the situation 
of prostitutes; greater emphasis on programs to help 
prostitutes get out of prostitution; additional programs to 
educate clients; and improvements in protection programs for 
trafficking victims.  In a public statement in January 2007, 
Family Minister von der Leyen said the German Government does 
not consider prostitution a suitable form of employment and 
noted the Ministry's primary goal is to help individuals get 
out of prostitution (ref B). 
 
Legal Status of Brothel Owners/Clients/Pimps. 
 
Brothel Keepers.  Brothel keepers or landlords are criminally 
liable under Section 180(a)(I) of the German Penal Code if 
they hold prostitutes in personal or financial dependency, or 
if they employ a person under 18 as a prostitute.  In 2004, 
fourteen adults were convicted under this section of the 
penal code.  In January 2007, the Family Minister announced 
the German government plans to review ways to increase 
penalties for landlords who exploit prostitutes by charging 
exploitatively high rent to make them on par with penalties 
for pimps (ref B). 
 
Clients.  Section 182(II) of the penal code criminalizes 
clients who solicit sexual services from a person under the 
age of 16.  Because the age of legal consent is 16, clients 
of voluntary prostitutes who are sixteen or seventeen years 
old currently do not commit a crime.  In late 2006, the 
government submitted legislation to parliament to raise the 
"protection age."  The new bill will criminalize clients who 
patronize prostitutes younger than 18.  The bill also 
criminalizes an attempt to do so and holds liable any 
perpetrator over the age of 13.  Currently, only perpetrators 
over 18 may be prosecuted.  The bill is designed to improve 
the protection of juveniles from sexual exploitation and 
implement the 2003 EU Framework Decision to combat the sexual 
exploitation of children and child pornography.  Family 
Ministry officials expect the legislation to be passed by 
spring of 2007. 
 
The November 2005 agreement of the then newly elected 
governing coalition stipulated that the government should 
review ways to punish clients of forced prostitutes.  The 
Family Minister reiterated this plan in January 2007 and 
announced the Merkel government plans to draft a law to 
criminalize clients who knowingly patronize trafficking 
victims or forced prostitutes.  The expressed intent of the 
law is to reduce dmand and serve as a signal for clients 
(ref B). 
Pimps/Enforcers.  Pimping, defined as exploiting a 
prostitute, controlling/arranging the services o a 
prostitute for monetary gain, or impairing a rostitute's 
 
BERLIN 00000459  012 OF 017 
 
 
financial or personal independence, is a crime under Section 
181(a) of the penal code (71 convictions in 2004).  The 
maximum sentence is five years.  Pimps who induce persons 
under 18 to prostitute themselves are criminally liable under 
Section 180 (14 convictions). 
 
¶F.  Number of Trafficking Investigations/Convictions.  During 
2005 German law enforcement officials conducted a number of 
high profile TIP raids and prosecutions that led to the 
break-up of trafficking rings.  For example, in June 2006 
court hearings began in a criminal case against ten members 
of a Hamburg organized crime group charged with membership in 
a criminal organization, trafficking in persons for the 
purpose of sexual exploitation, and pimping.  According to 
the Hamburg Public Prosecutor,s Office, the gang forced 196 
German women into prostitution between 2001 and November 
2005, held them under restrictive conditions, and withheld 
most of their earnings.  In December 2006 the Hamburg 
regional court released the defendants on bail.  The 
proceedings are expected to continue through the spring of 
¶2007.  Hamburg police reported to consulate staff in February 
2007 that charges against the gang will be lowered to 41 
cases of trafficking of persons under the age of 21 and ten 
cases of pimping in order to obtain the highest possible 
penalties. 
 
Sex Trafficking Statistics.  The latest statistics available 
are for 2005.  The 2005 BKA report lists 317 completed 
pre-trial investigations for sex trafficking crimes.  In 
2005, the BKA adopted a new approach for tracking TIP-related 
cases that tallies the number of investigations concluded, 
rather than the number launched, in a given calendar year. 
In comparison, the number of trafficking investigations 
launched in 2004 was 370.  The BKA report cautions that the 
expansion of the EU -- which ended visa requirements for the 
new Eastern European and Baltic members -- made it more 
difficult for police officials to identify TIP victims 
because of the reduced opportunities to use charges of human 
smuggling and immigration violations as starting points to 
launch trafficking investigations. 
 
The Federal Statistics Office publishes conviction and 
sentencing statistics for all crimes each year.  The 
statistics are available on the Internet at 
http://www.destatis.de.  This detailed and comprehensive (ca. 
470-page) compendium lists convictions, sentences, time 
served, nationality of the offenders, first-time offenders, 
and juvenile offenders, along with other data.  Statistics 
for 2005 are not yet available.  In 2004, 137 adults and four 
juveniles were convicted on charges of sex trafficking. 
Government statistics on trafficking convictions generally 
under-represent the total number of accused traffickers 
sentenced and under-report the severity of sentences handed 
down (ref I).  For instance, the statistics do not include 
cases where traffickers were convicted on multiple charges 
and one of the charges, such as rape or murder, carried a 
higher maximum penalty.  Moreover, in convictions categorized 
under "trafficking," statistics report only the sentence 
handed down for the trafficking violation and not the 
aggregate sentence for all convictions. 
 
An independent study completed by the Max-Planck 
Criminological Institute concluded German prosecutors seek 
maximum sentences for suspected traffickers by whatever means 
they can, e.g., by dropping charges of trafficking in favor 
of charges of human smuggling, tax evasion, or other crimes 
in order to improve the chances of successful prosecution. 
 
Labor Trafficking Statistics.  According to a government 
report, accurate and complete statistics on labor trafficking 
provisions (put in place in August 2005) will not be 
available until statistics covering CY 2006 are released, due 
to the long-term nature of most investigations.  Police 
statistics from 2005, which included section 233(a) 
investigations as of August 2005, listed one completed 
investigation.  In 2006, several major labor trafficking 
cases received media attention.  In October 2006, 700 federal 
Illegal Employment Control Unit (FKS) officials searched 
 
BERLIN 00000459  013 OF 017 
 
 
facilities throughout Germany in connection with a labor 
exploitation investigation against a group of five persons 
suspected of labor trafficking and human smuggling.  In 
August 2006, German police and FKS officials raided more than 
100 ice cream parlors as part of an investigation of an 
organized crime ring believed to have smuggled thousands of 
Eastern Europeans, some of whom were allegedly trafficked, 
into Germany.  In December 2006, four suspects were convicted 
and sentenced to ten years in prison on charges of alien 
smuggling.  According to Interior Ministry officials, the 
full range of related laws has been used to prosecute labor 
trafficking cases. 
 
Time Served.  In Germany, prison sentences up to two years 
for first time convicts are generally suspended, and 
convicted persons are released on probation.  The trial judge 
decides whether to suspend a sentence or sentence probation 
based on detailed rules of the Code of Criminal Procedure and 
case law.  By law, prison sentences over two years have to be 
served, however release on probation is possible once 
two-thirds of the sentence (and in some cases, half of the 
sentence) has been served. 
 
¶G.  Trafficking Groups.  The 2005 BKA Report on Organized 
Crime found 6.9 percent of organized crime investigations 
were related to pimping, trafficking, and gambling.  Of the 
683 persons suspected of sex trafficking reported to the BKA 
in 2005, 283 (41 percent) were Germans.  Of the 283 German 
suspects, 57 were not born in Germany.  The number of 
suspects from Turkey was 71 (10.4 percent); Romania was 39 
(5.7 percent); and Bulgaria was 38 (5.6 percent).  No reports 
exist on how and where profits from TIP are channeled.  The 
BKA seized assets in 23 of the 317 pre-trial investigations 
in 2005, collecting 1.16 million Euros. 
 
¶H.  Investigation and Prosecution.  In TIP investigations, 
German police employ a full range of investigative 
techniques, including wiretaps, electronic surveillance, 
undercover operations, and offers of mitigated punishment for 
suspects who cooperate with police investigations. 
 
¶I.  Training.  Counter-TIP training is offered to police both 
within and outside Germany.  The BKA offers seminars to train 
federal and LKA officers and border police in the 
inter-disciplinary handling of TIP cases, as well as seminars 
on investigating cases of sexual abuse of children. 
Counseling centers and representatives from several different 
ministries participate in these training programs.  Laender 
police conducted training to explain the effects of the new 
counter-TIP legislation on law enforcement activities. 
 
The National Training Academy for Judges and Prosecutors 
managed by the Federal Ministry of Justice offers trainings 
to prosecutors and judges that also cover issues of sexual 
exploitation of women and children in connection with 
cross-border crime.  In 2006, training courses were offered 
on organized crime, as well as dealing in judicial 
proceedings with victims of sexual violence (including 
children), and dealing with children as witnesses. 
 
¶J.  International Law Enforcement Cooperation.  German law 
enforcement authorities routinely cooperate with counterparts 
abroad.  Several bilateral police cooperation agreements with 
neighboring countries have been reached (see PREVENTION G and 
H).  In June 2006, Germany and France, Spain, Belgium, the 
Czech Republic and Luxembourg signed the Pruem Agreement, 
which allows the countries to request and receive criminal 
records from each through an automated electronic transmittal 
system, including convictions of traffickers.  Prior to that 
time, information exchange on criminal records had to be 
conducted through lengthy formal legal assistance procedures. 
 The Federal Interior Minister announced in February 2007 
that Germany will seek to transform this instrument into an 
EU-wide agreement.  Germany provides legal assistance to 
other countries requesting assistance and participates in a 
number of regional initiatives (see PREVENTION H). 
 
In August 2006, Germany and Vietnam concluded an agreement on 
 
BERLIN 00000459  014 OF 017 
 
 
combating serious and organized crime.  The agreement 
strengthens cooperation by allowing for coordinated 
operations and increased information exchange.  According to 
the Interior Ministry, this agreement will make combating 
significant areas of crime, such as human smuggling, human 
trafficking, sexual exploitation of children and child 
pornography, more efficient.  In September 2006, Germany and 
the Netherlands concluded a justice and police agreement that 
brings police cooperation to a new level.  The agreement 
allows police forces of one country to conduct operations in 
the other country if executed under the lead of this 
country's police forces.  This tool is especially useful for 
large events.  In October 2006, Germany and France signed a 
police cooperation agreement that will allow the 
establishment of joint investigative teams and improve 
information exchange in trans-national crimes.  In November 
2006, the German and the Russian Justice Ministries concluded 
a cooperation agreement to exchange experiences in the areas 
of criminal law and enforcement of sentences. 
 
German police cooperated closely on anti-trafficking 
investigations with police in other countries -- EU member 
states and non-member states -- during the reporting period. 
For example, German police cooperated closely with Dutch 
authorities in an anti-TIP investigation that disrupted a 
major international network of traffickers and led to the 
arrest of twelve suspected traffickers.  Seven of the accused 
traffickers were arrested in Germany in February 2007. 
 
Strengthening the European border management agency FRONTEX 
is a top German priority for its January-June 2007 EU 
presidency.  Germany's Interior Minister highlighted this 
issue at the EU home affairs ministerial meeting in February 
¶2007. 
 
¶K.  Extradition.  Statistics on the numbers of traffickers 
extradited are not available.  Law enforcement sources report 
the number of extradition requests is low because foreign 
traffickers arrested in Germany are generally prosecuted in 
Germany.  Germany can extradite non-German citizens or 
request the extradition of German and non-German citizens in 
accordance with extradition treaties or the Federal 
International Legal Assistance Code.  Under the new EU arrest 
warrant bill, adopted by the Cabinet and before Parliament 
for approval, German nationals can be extradited to other EU 
member states for the duration of their trials for those 
accused of extraditable crimes, including TIP and sexual 
exploitation. 
 
L./M. No evidence came to the attention of the Embassy of 
government involvement in or tolerance of trafficking. 
 
¶N.  Jurisdiction.  Germany's sexual abuse laws have 
extraterritorial effect.  Countries of origin include the 
Czech Republic, Thailand, Vietnam and other South East Asian 
countries, as well as Brazil and Morocco.  According to a 
government report on child sex tourism published in 2005, the 
BKA from 2000 to 2003 investigated an average of 21 Germans 
annually for child sexual abuse in South East Asia, Brazil, 
and other countries.  ECPAT reported three cases in which 
German tourists were prosecuted in Morocco for child sex 
tourism in 2006. 
 
¶O.  Ratification of International Instruments.  Germany 
ratified ILO Convention 182 on April 18, 2002.  Germany 
ratified ILO Convention 29 on June 13, 1956 and ILO 
Convention 105 was ratified on June 22, 1959.  Germany 
ratified the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the 
Rights of the Child on the Sale of Children, Child 
Prostitution, and Child Pornography on September 6, 2000. 
Germany ratified the UN Convention on Transnational Organized 
Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish 
Trafficking in Persons Especially Women and Children, signed 
on December 12, 2000, on June 14, 2006. 
 
Germany is in the final stages of ratifying the Optional 
Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the 
sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. 
 
BERLIN 00000459  015 OF 017 
 
 
Germany signed the Protocol September 8, 2000.  The Cabinet 
approved the draft bill approving ratification in August 
¶2006.  It is now with the German Parliament for approval. 
Amendments to the Penal Code to implement measures in the 
Protocol are currently before the German Parliament as part 
of a second bill that also implements requirements of the 
2003 EU framework decision to combat the sexual exploitation 
of children and child pornography.  Germany signed the 
Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in 
Human Beings in May 2005, and is currently preparing for its 
ratification in 2007. 
 
------------------------------------ 
PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶A.  Residence Status.  Germany grants TIP victims who reside 
in Germany illegally a minimum of a four-week grace period 
before deportation.  Victims who agree to testify against the 
trafficker are entitled to remain in Germany for the duration 
of the trial.  Thereafter, victims must be repatriated. 
However, if they face threats to life, personal injury, or 
freedom, a permanent residence permit may be granted. 
 
The Federal Interior Ministry is currently drafting a bill to 
implement the EU Council Directive 2004/81/EC from 2004 "on 
the residence permit issued to third-country nationals who 
are victims of trafficking in human beings or who have been 
the subject of an action to facilitate illegal immigration, 
who cooperate with the competent authorities."  The draft law 
is expected to codify formally the practice of granting a 
30-day reflection period, which is currently granted based on 
regulation vice statute. 
 
Services and Health Care.  German NGOs operate counseling 
centers in approximately 45 German cities, providing 
assistance and facilitating victim protection.  Cooperating 
closely with police authorities -- and in nine of sixteen 
Laender through formal cooperation agreements -- the centers 
help victims deal 
with the German authorities, escort them to trials, and 
provide them with shelter, legal counsel, interpreters, job 
training, and related rehabilitation services.  Victim 
witnesses are entitled to financial support for basic living 
expenses and basic health care under the Benefit Rules for 
Asylum Seekers.  These benefits are about 20 percent lower 
than benefits afforded to the unemployed under the Federal 
Social Welfare Law.  Victims who have been battered are 
entitled to long-term therapy, as well as pension and 
disability payments under the Victims' Compensation Act, even 
if they are illegal aliens. 
 
In April 2006, the government-funded KOK published a brochure 
that comprehensively explains the full range of benefits and 
compensation claims to which TIP victims are legally 
entitled.  The publication is designed to inform victims, 
counseling centers, and government agencies to ensure they 
make use of all possibilities at their disposal. 
 
¶B.  Government Funding for Protection.  Federal, state or 
other public entities, as well as private donors, provide 
funding for the 25 domestic NGOs that operate counseling 
centers for trafficked persons.  Counseling centers largely 
depend on state resources.  The GTZ is developing several 
projects with foreign NGOs (see PREVENTION B). 
 
¶C.  Referral Process.  A well-established referral process 
exists in all Laender.  In cases where a cooperation 
agreement exists, the process is formalized.  Authorities 
must inform victims of their rights and with their consent 
contact a counseling center.  Victims are granted a minimum 
four-week grace period to decide whether to testify against 
their traffickers and, if they decide to testify, a temporary 
residence permit.  Victims who decline to testify are 
generally deported, but in certain cases may apply for 
asylum. 
 
¶D.  Victims' Rights.  Victims' rights are respected.  Victims 
 
BERLIN 00000459  016 OF 017 
 
 
are granted a grace period to stay in Germany.  Victims are 
not generally detained or fined, but placed with counseling 
centers.  The new counter-TIP legislation from February 2005 
gives prosecutors more authority to decline prosecuting 
victims who have committed minor crimes. 
 
¶E.  Victim Participation in Court Proceedings and 
Compensation.  The government encourages trafficked victims 
to cooperate in the investigation and prosecution of TIP 
cases.  Victim witnesses are entitled to join as "joint 
plaintiffs" in criminal proceedings against traffickers and 
to have a lawyer free of charge.  As joint plaintiffs, they 
can actively participate in the proceedings, and are entitled 
to pursue civil remedies, including claims for compensation, 
in addition to the criminal proceedings. 
 
The Victims' Rights Reform Law, enacted September 1, 2004, 
expands the rights of crime victims in criminal proceedings. 
The intent of the law is to reduce the psychological burden 
on crime victims, to increase their procedural rights, and to 
make it easier for victims to file claims for compensation 
against traffickers.  Joint plaintiff victims are now also 
entitled to an interpreter.  The law allows a third party, 
e.g., a representative from a counseling center, to be 
present when police question the victim.  Police and 
prosecutors are now required to inform victims of their 
rights regarding witness protection, participation in the 
trial, and access to an attorney free of charge. 
 
In December 2006, another bill became law that improves the 
protection of victims of juvenile offenders.  The new law 
allows victims to join as co-plaintiffs, and to make claims 
for compensation in the trial, which was previously not 
allowed if the offender was a juvenile. 
 
¶F.  Witness Protection.  Several options exist in Germany 
regarding witness protection programs.  Victims may be placed 
under police protection and the care of NGOs (see PREVENTION 
A).  Furthermore, prosecutors have the right to order 
protective measures as deemed necessary (such as bodyguards, 
testimony under disguise, etc.) for the duration of the 
trial.  In some cases, police witness protection programs may 
relocate the victim to an undisclosed location with a new 
identity. 
 
¶G.  Training.  See INVESTIGATION H.  In 2005, the North-Rhine 
Westphalia police developed a manual on best practices for 
combating trafficking crimes under the new legislation.  The 
BKA included a similar manual on its restricted access 
intranet site for police officers in 2006 to make the 
information widely available to police officers throughout 
Germany. 
 
¶H.  Repatriation.  The Federal and Laender governments share 
equally in covering the basic costs for repatriation, e.g., 
travel costs and pocket money, under IOM's Reintegration and 
Emigration Program for Asylum-Seekers (REAG program) in 
Germany.  From 1999 until mid 2005, 727 TIP victims were 
repatriated under the program.  In December 2006, IOM in 
cooperation with the Bavarian government conducted a 
conference on trafficking and on facilitating the return of 
victims. 
 
In 2004, the EU Social Fund, working through the Federal 
Ministry of Economics and Labor, granted IOM Germany funds 
(so-called EQUAL funds) to launch a program, which runs 
through 2007, for reintegration programs for TIP victims. 
Since October 2005, IOM Germany and eight NGOs have 
implemented EQUAL projects ranging from professional training 
for TIP victims, to creating a database on reintegration 
issues for counseling centers, as well as conducting research 
projects. 
 
¶I.  NGOs.  International organizations and NGOs that work 
with victims include IOM (details under H.), faith-based 
organizations (Solwodi, Misereor, Caritas), ECPAT, and 
Terre-des-hommes.  Cooperation among numerous local NGOs and 
local authorities is close and in several Laender has been 
 
BERLIN 00000459  017 OF 017 
 
 
formalized. 
 
-------------- 
BEST PRACTICES 
-------------- 
 
German anti-TIP measures enacted in connection with the 2006 
World Cup merit serious consideration for inclusion among 
best practices in the 2007 TIP Report.  The German 
government, police, and NGOs initiated planning for the event 
in mid-2005.  The comprehensive prevention and protection 
measures implemented were unprecedented and have received 
widespread recognition.  The Swedish International 
Development Agency (SIDA) and IOM credited these extensive 
measures with preventing the increase in trafficking during 
the World Cup that many had expected and feared.  (Copies of 
informational pamphlets and other materials have been sent to 
G/TIP via unclassified pouch.)  The German approach is a 
model for other countries planning to host similar 
large-scale international sporting events (see refs D,G,J,K). 
 
German law enforcement authorities started to develop police 
strategies and concepts to prevent and investigate crime, 
including trafficking, during the World Cup as much as one 
year before the games commenced.  These measures included an 
overall World Cup National Security Concept, a state-federal 
law enforcement information-sharing framework, greater police 
presence in red-light districts, additional inspections and 
raids, selective reinstatement of border controls, and other 
measures.  Politicians and public figures at all levels 
actively promoted anti-TIP efforts during the World Cup. 
 
The government funded a number of the major campaigns 
conducted by NGOs nationwide, as well as a telephone hotline 
for TIP victims and potential clients.  Posters displayed in 
key areas throughout Germany and flyers available at places 
where fans gathered to watch games/events on large outdoor 
screens, are only a few examples of the scope of the 
campaigns.  The issue of trafficking reached an audience 
larger than previous anti-TIP campaigns and triggered debates 
in all Laender parliaments. 
 
As a result, only five cases of sex trafficking in connection 
with the World Cup were confirmed, and several reports by the 
German and Swedish governments, as well as the IOM and 
several anti-TIP NGOs, concluded that Germany's counter-TIP 
efforts in connection with the World Cup were successful. 
The EU is evaluating Germany's experiences to develop best 
practices for future large events.  A number of countrieshave already contacted the German government to lern from 
Germany's counter-TIP experiences. 
 
Th scope and depth of counter-TIP initiatives at alllevels 
throughout Germany in connection with the 006 World Cup has 
been unsurpassed by any other ountry hosting a large sports 
event.  It serves s a model for all other countries. 
 
Mission hour spent researching, compiling, and clearing thisreport: 
 
-- Drafter: FS-02: 30 hours; FSN-11: 100 hours. 
 
-- Clearance: FE-MC: 7 hours; FE-OC: 1 hour; FS-01: 2 hours; 
FS-02: 1 hour; FS-02: 2 hours; FS-03: 6 hours; FS-03: 1 hour; 
FS-04: 4 hours; GS-01: 1 hour; FSN-10: 4 hours; FSN-10: 2 
hours; FSN-10 1 hour; FSN-10: 3 hours; FSN-10: 4 hours. 
 
-- Approval: FE-OC: 2 hours. 
 
KOENIG