VZCZCXRO2711
RR RUEHFL RUEHNP RUEHTRO
DE RUEHRO #0411/01 0610621
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 020621Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7314
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEAHLC/DHS WASHDC
INFO RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN 8422
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE 2220
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 2369
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0163
RUEHBM/AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST 0593
RUEHCH/AMEMBASSY CHISINAU 0135
RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KIEV
RUEHTI/AMEMBASSY TIRANA 4286
RUEHBJ/AMEMBASSY BEIJING 1252
RUEHTRO/AMEMBASSY TRIPOLI
RUEHTH/AMEMBASSY ATHENS 1762
RUEHNC/AMEMBASSY NICOSIA 0547

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 08 ROME 000411 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, EUR/PGI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMNSMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB IT
SUBJECT:  ITALY: 2007 TIP REPORT 
 
REF: STATE 202745 
 
¶1.  (U) This is the 2007 Trafficking in Persons report for Italy. 
Answers are keyed to questions in reftel.  The Embassy point of 
contact is Labor Counselor Candace Putnam, telephone: 
39-06-4674-2327, fax 39-06-4674-2623. 
 
¶2. (SBU) 27. A.  Italy is a country of destination and transit for 
internationally trafficked men, women and children.  There is no 
evidence that Italy is a country of origin.  The Prodi government 
that was elected in April 2006 is actively increasing Italy's 
anti-TIP activities (see 27.C). 
 
Both NGO and government TIP experts agree that the number of TIP 
victims remained stable in 2006.  There were some increases in the 
number of prostitutes from China and South America. According to 
NGOs, a growing number of prostitutes from Eastern Europe are 
arriving and working voluntarily and thus cannot be classified as 
TIP victims.  However, the EU-mandated closure of orphanages in 
Romania did result in an increase in the number of Romanian minors 
working as prostitutes.  Other continuing trends include a growing 
role for women acting as recruiters and pimps for their 
countrywomen, traffickers moving victims more frequently between 
cities and countries, and a continuing decline in the age of 
prostitutes. 
 
According to the Ministry of Interior there were approximately 3,000 
TIP victims in 2006, a number consistent with estimates by PARSEC, 
the only social research institute that collects reliable statistics 
on TIP. PARSEC, which published an overall report on new 
trafficking trends in 2006, asserted that there are approximately 
20,000 street prostitutes (overwhelmingly foreign); the Ministry of 
Interior (MOI) agrees, maintaining there are approximately 15,000 
street prostitutes.  Of these PARSEC calculates there are 
approximately 13,000 prostitutes active in apartments or clubs. 
Approximately 4,500-5,000 prostitutes move in and out of the country 
every year, especially in the summer; traffickers are also moving 
victims more frequently with stays in major cities like Rome or 
Milan for only a few months at a time.  The percentage of minors has 
increased slightly to 7-10% of total victims with a drop in the age 
of Eastern European prostitutes.  Minors represented about 15% of 
the total victims smuggled from Romania. 
 
There are no specific statistics for other trafficking victims, 
including forced adult domestic or agricultural labor and 
trafficking in children; however, the Ministry of Labor is engaged 
in an effort to compile data on forced labor.  Problems with forced 
labor occur primarily in the agricultural sector and mostly in the 
South.  In one case that received wide press coverage, police freed 
113 Polish tomato pickers in Puglia during raids that revealed 
prison-like labor camp conditions. Italian and Polish authorities 
exposed an international criminal gang which smuggled an estimated 
1,000 Polish workers to Italy.  Many of the victims, who responded 
to newspaper advertisements promising seasonal jobs, were forced to 
work at least 12 hours a day controlled by armed guards and received 
wages of only $1.25-$3.75 per hour. Trafficked children work 
primarily in the sex industry and as beggars. Overall, women and 
children are more at risk than men. 
 
Sources of information include Government and NGO officials, 
research projects contracted by the Government and prepared by 
social research organizations, Government statistics and reports, 
international conferences, and media reports. 
 
¶3.  (SBU) 27. B.  Persons trafficked to Italy primarily come from 
Nigeria, Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, and Albania. Other countries of 
origin include Russia, Bulgaria, China, East and North African 
countries and South America (Ecuador, Peru, Columbia, Brazil, 
Argentina).  Greece and Cyprus increasingly are transit countries 
for victims trafficked from Eastern Europe. Sources report that most 
trafficked Nigerians enter northern Italy legally, via air, from 
other EU countries; the estimated cost of travel is approximately 
5,000 euro.  Victims from North and East Africa arrive illegally, 
via sea routes, especially from Libya, where the journey costs an 
average of 2,000 euro.   Traffickers moving Chinese illegal 
 
ROME 00000411  002 OF 008 
 
 
immigrants are demanding passage fare of 7,000 euro.  According to 
Government and NGO sources, organized traffickers are increasingly 
sophisticated in the way they routinely move victims between cities 
and regions within Italy, as well as between European countries. 
This mobility makes it particularly difficult to accurately measure 
the number of victims.  Trafficking organizations continue to employ 
principally three north-south axes (focused along the Adriatic and 
Tyrrhenian coasts) and three east-west axes to move their victims. 
 
PARSEC estimates that 35% of women involved in the sex trade are 
Nigerian.  The vast majority of victims are Romanian, Bulgarian, 
Ukrainian and Moldovan.  Data on the origin of victims who receive 
temporary resident permits and services provide a general sketch of 
the trafficking situation:  In 2006, 927 victims received residence 
permits, down slightly from 942 in 2005.  In 2006, health care, 
shelter and job training services were provided to victims from 
Nigeria (38%), Romania (30%), other former Soviet Union countries 
(11%), Albania (5%) and other countries (16%). Sources confirmed an 
increase in temporary (summer) traffic in prostitutes from Latin 
America who are believed to be TIP victims. 
 
As the majority of trafficked victims in Italy are women and female 
children forced to work into prostitution, they face all the 
attendant risks of unsafe or unprotected sex, and few have access 
public health services.  The majority of Nigerian women arrive 
willingly, often unaware of actual working conditions.  Eastern 
Europeans often arrive on legal tourist visas in search of 
legitimate jobs but find themselves in debt and exploited by the 
co-nationals who loaned them money for the trip.  Increasingly, 
however, Eastern European prostitutes are arriving and working 
voluntarily.  Traffickers enforce compliance by seizing the victims' 
documents and subjecting them to imprisonment, beatings and rape. 
 
¶4.  (SBU) 27. C. The government recognizes the problem and has 
devoted significant resources to combating trafficking in persons. 
The previous Berlusconi government enacted legislation in 2006 to 
raise the minimum legal age for prostitution from 15 to 18 years of 
age.  The Prodi government elected in April 2006 has increased 
Italy's focus on anti-TIP activities.  Under the Prodi government, 
the Council of Ministers issued a decree to extend Article 18 
benefits (job training, assistance) to TIP victims from EU countries 
and a pending law to establish minimum levels of assistance to 
victims of violence and allow NGOs to represent victims of 
trafficking in court.  There is pending legislation to extend 
Article 18 benefits to victims of forced labor and to increase 
protection of women from violence.  The Ministry of Interior has a 
new committee designed to better monitor and prosecute TIP crimes 
and has welcomed NGOs into the policy-making process. 
 
The 2006-2007 "Operation Spartacus" campaign was aimed at stopping 
trafficking in persons and illegal immigration.  The operation also 
focused on counterfeiting of documents, exploitation of illegal 
workers and organized criminal syndicates. It resulted in the arrest 
of 784 persons on charges of trafficking in persons and smuggling of 
illegal workers; 1,311 people were being investigated.  Further 
investigations are underway on the subject of suspected visa fraud, 
although no arrests have been made to date.  Our Ministry of 
Interior contacts report they are committed to prosecuting TIP cases 
but said that it was hard to meet the law's evidentiary standards, 
so in many cases authorities rely on immigration law to stop 
trafficking. 
 
The police report that, in the past, a small number of Chinese 
prostitutes worked exclusively in Chinese immigrant communities but 
now they are present in massage and beauty parlors frequented by 
Italians.  Although their numbers are growing, the authorities do 
not consider most to be victims.  Nigerian minors continue to be 
subject to voodoo rituals, and police report that some Nigerian 
parents are selling their children into slavery. The number of 
prostitutes working on the streets is decreasing while the number 
working in private residences where it is more difficult to monitor 
or to assist victims is growing. 
 
Operation Spartacus also revealed Rom children working as beggars. 
In a disturbing development, our sources report that the EU-mandated 
 
ROME 00000411  003 OF 008 
 
 
closure of Romanian orphanages had the unintended consequence of 
making many of these minors TIP victims.  Because they are now 
members of the EU, these Romanians are sent to shelters for minors 
(vs. police-controlled immigration centers as in the past) where 
they are eligible for assistance.   However, many simply run away 
before Italian NGOs can provide help.  Government authorities 
neither condone nor facilitate trafficking. 
 
¶5.  (SBU) 27. D.  Italy does not systematically monitor its 
anti-trafficking efforts.  However, the Minister for Equal 
Opportunities is implementing a new monitoring system at national 
and regional levels.  "On the Road", an NGO which assists victims, 
has created an independent observatory on trafficking funded by the 
European Union. Various Government agencies do collect national data 
on TIP arrests and prosecution, victims' assistance programs, 
illegal immigrants intercepted, issuance of temporarily residence 
permits, and calls to a victims' hotline.  Most national funding is 
disbursed through grants to NGOs; regional and local governments 
also fund programs.  However, there is no central mechanism for 
monitoring these activities. 
 
PREVENTION 
---------- 
 
¶6.  (SBU) 28.A.  The Government recognizes that trafficking in 
persons is a problem and has devoted significant resources to 
combating TIP. 
 
¶7.  (SBU) 28.B.  In 1998, Italy established an inter-ministerial 
committee to coordinate the fight against trafficking.  Government 
agencies involved include the Ministries of Interior, Equal 
Opportunity, Justice, Labor and Welfare (now split into Labor and 
Social Affairs), and Foreign Affairs, as well as an anti-Mafia 
prosecutorial unit. Regional and municipal governments are also 
actively engaged in efforts to combat trafficking.  (See also 
27.C.) 
 
¶8.  (SBU) 28.C.  The Ministry of Equal Opportunity has the lead in 
funding public awareness programs. NGOs continue to distribute 
materials produced in 2004 and 2005, including brochures, posters, 
bumper stickers and TV/radio ads providing information and 
assistance to victims.  A new ad campaign will be implemented in 
¶2007.  Equal Opportunity also established a toll-free hot line to 
provide information and assistance to victims and trained its 
operators.  (TO BE UPDATED:  Between January and November 2005, the 
hotline received over 73,000 calls, nine percent of which were from 
trafficking victims.) 
 
In 2006, the Ministry of Interior (MOI) completed its 
outreach/information campaigns in Bosnia-Herzegovina (police 
training) and Bulgaria (campaign in schools) Hungary and Croatia. 
In 2005 MOI also distributed a new book for law enforcement 
officials on TIP laws and best practices for dealing with victims. 
Italy combats trafficking through its law enforcement activities and 
funds numerous national and international projects aimed at helping 
victims.  Italy spent 6.8 million euro on TIP victims' assistance 
programs in 2006; 70% of victims' assistance was provided by the 
national government and 30% by regional and municipal governments. 
 
 
¶9.  (SBU) 28.D.  The Ministry of Social Affairs (a new ministry 
under the Prodi government) funds programs for unaccompanied minors 
that include housing, social assistance and education and are 
implemented by NGOs. 
 
¶10.  (SBU) 28.E. The government funds and works closely with over 
200 NGOs involved in anti-trafficking initiatives; many of these 
provide independently funded services for TIP victims. Under the 
Prodi government, NGO representatives are members of a Committee on 
TIP appointed by the Ministry of Interior to offer advice on 
prevention and enforcement of legislation. Both jointly participate 
in seminars, conferences, training, and outreach programs.  NGOs do 
not hesitate to express their opinions, even when they disagree with 
government officials. 
 
 
ROME 00000411  004 OF 008 
 
 
¶11.  (SBU) 28.F.  With over 2,000 miles of coastline and geographic 
proximity to both North Africa and Eastern Europe, Italy has become 
a new frontier for illegal immigration.  Between 50,000-70,000 
illegal immigrants entered Italy in 2006, 22,800 of them from North 
Africa.  Approximately 25,000 were expelled and 21,000 denied entry 
in 2006.  The Government has responded with both bilateral and 
international initiatives to control illegal immigration.  Italy 
successfully conducted joint border patrols with and provided 
immigration control training to Slovenia and Albania, efforts that 
dramatically cut trafficking flows across the Adriatic.  It began a 
similar effort with Libya in 2003-04; according to the International 
Organization for Migration, this reduced considerably the number of 
illegal immigrants entering Italy from North Africa. 
 
Following criticism of the previous government on the way Italy 
handled immigrants at detention/processing centers, the MOI 
appointed an independent commission to study complaints about 
discrimination and mistreatment.  Based on the committee's report, 
the MOI intends to improve the screening process of illegal 
immigrants for asylum seekers and TIP victims. 
 
¶12. (SBU) 28.G.  The Ministry for Equal Opportunity leads an 
inter-ministerial committee charged with monitoring trafficking and 
coordinating government activity to combat it.  Other members 
include the Ministries of Interior, Justice, Labor and Social 
Affairs, and Foreign Affairs, as well as a special anti-Mafia 
prosecutorial unit.  In October 2004, Italy created a Public 
Corruption Task Force. 
 
¶13. (SBU) 28.H.  There is no national action plan to combat 
trafficking, although for the first time authorities are discussing 
the need for one.  There is a national action plan for assisting 
victims.  The inter-ministerial Committee Against Trafficking, led 
by the Ministry of Equal Opportunity, is responsible for 
coordinating policy at the national level.  The Ministry regularly 
works with NGOs to coordinate and implement anti-TIP initiatives. 
 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION 
----------------------------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) 29.A.  The most recent anti-trafficking law was enacted in 
¶2003.  It specifically prohibits trafficking in persons; trafficking 
previously had been prosecuted using other sections of the Penal 
Code.  The law provides for increased sentences of 8-20 years' 
imprisonment for trafficking in persons and for enslavement.  For 
convictions in which the victims were minors destined for 
prostitution, sentences were increased by one-third to one-half (to 
12-30 years). The law applies special anti-Mafia prison conditions 
to traffickers that are designed to limit criminals' ability to 
continue their operations from jail.  The law also mandates strong 
penalties (4-12 years' imprisonment; fines up to 15,000 euro for 
each alien smuggled) to combat alien smuggling and human 
trafficking. 
 
¶15. (SBU) 29.B.  See 29.A. 
 
¶16. (SBU) 29.C.  Forced labor is covered under the anti-trafficking 
law. 
 
¶17. (SBU) 29.D.  The penalty for rape or forcible sexual assault is 
up to 12 years' imprisonment. 
 
¶18. (SBU) 29.E. Prostitution is legal in Italy and prostitutes may 
solicit clients on the street or make arrangements to meet in 
private residences.  A law approved in 2006 raised the new legal 
minimum from 15 to 18 years of age.  Prostitution is not formally 
regulated.  Prostitutes do not face criminal charges for their 
activities, but authorities use other administrative regulations 
(i.e., loitering and traffic laws) to discourage their activities. 
The law does criminalize organized prostitution.  Brothel 
owners/operators and pimps do face criminal charges. 
 
¶19. (SBU) 29.F.  Italy's anti-TIP law does not require the 
government to maintain statistics on prosecution; however, the 
Ministry of Justice is now providing national data on 
 
ROME 00000411  005 OF 008 
 
 
investigations, arrests, prosecutions and convictions.  This data 
continues to lag behind the USG TIP Report's schedule. 
 
Investigations and arrests:  The Ministry of Justice has provided 
only partial data for 2006 which covers only 37% of jurisdictions. 
We will provide complete data as soon as it is available.  (TO BE 
UPDATED: The number of persons investigated for trafficking 
increased from 1,861 in 2004  to 2,045 in 2005; arrests decreased 
from 341 to 304  respectively.) 
 
Convictions and prosecutions:  The slow pace of the Italian justice 
system creates extensive delays between arrests and convictions, but 
most trafficking defendants remain in detention during criminal 
proceedings.  The MOJ reports on the number of court rulings acted 
upon; one case can include more than one person charged with 
multiple crimes.  (TO BE UPDATED: Between 2004-2005, the number of 
lower court rulings decreased from 120 to 102 with 125 defendants 
convicted and 48 acquitted; the total number of convictions 
decreased from 77 to 50 respectively; the number of appeals 
decreased from 40 to 38 with 26 defendants convicted and 3 
acquitted, but appeals were denied in 92 percent of the cases.) 
 
¶20. (SBU) 29.G.  Traditionally, trafficking victims from the Balkans 
and Eastern Europe are controlled by organized crime groups, 
frequently from Romania and Albania.  Although Albanian groups 
continue to participate heavily in trafficking in Italy, their role 
as middlemen has diminished as Romanian, Moldovan, Bulgarian and 
Ukrainian crime organizations traffic in their co-nationals. 
Because the Albanian mafia is considered the most violent, a decline 
in their activities has decreased violent abuse of trafficked 
prostitutes.  An unwelcome development, however, is the increased 
use of women from Eastern European acting as recruiters and pimps 
for their countrywomen.  Women reportedly are considered by victims 
as more trustworthy interlocutors, and police are less likely to 
stop a group of women traveling together than a man and a group of 
women. 
 
Nigerian prostitutes work individually or are controlled by a 
Nigerian madam, usually a formerly trafficked person, who holds the 
lien on the loan paid by the victim.  Victims from Africa and the 
Middle East usually are controlled by small, freelance operators who 
generally smuggle individuals for a one-time fee.   The police noted 
an increase in the number of Chinese prostitutes (See 27.C.). 
 
Italian organized crime has not traditionally been involved in 
trafficking, except for providing logistical support and lodging. 
Routes and operations tend to follow established methods and 
organizations for moving illegal drugs, weapons and other 
contraband. 
 
¶21. (SBU) 29.H.  Italians use a full range of methods, including 
electronic surveillance and undercover operations, to investigate 
trafficking cases.  Prosecutors report that telephone intercepts are 
the most widely-used tool in investigations.  Plea bargaining is not 
allowed in Italy, but those convicted may receive reduced sentences 
if they cooperate with prosecutors.  Article 18 of the 
Anti-Trafficking Law allows victims to receive a temporary resident 
permit.  Investigators consider this a useful tool in obtaining 
cooperation and testimony leading to the arrest and conviction of 
traffickers. 
 
¶22. (SBU) 29.I.  The MOI has specialized training to sensitize 
police to the problem of trafficking, the difference between 
trafficking and illegal immigration, the need to treat victims as 
victims, and the special skills to investigate cases.  In 2006 the 
European Union funded a program of training the trainers for 
magistrates, law enforcement agents and NGOs who work with victims 
of trafficking.  In 2007 this initiative will be extended to include 
a large number of beneficiaries. In 2005, the Ministry of Equal 
Opportunity also printed and distributed a booklet outlining the 
provisions of the 2003 anti-Trafficking law and participated in 
training programs for magistrates and police officers.  In 2005, the 
MOI also produced a book for law enforcement officers on TIP laws 
and best practices for assisting victims. 
 
 
ROME 00000411  006 OF 008 
 
 
¶23. (SBU) 29.J. The Government cooperates with other governments in 
investigating and prosecuting trafficking cases.  In 2004, the 
anti-Mafia unit of the MOJ signed an agreement with the Nigerian MOJ 
to improve the exchange of information on investigations under the 
aegis of UNICRI (United Nations Interregional Crime and Justice 
Institute), Italy actively participates in EU-wide initiatives to 
share information on law enforcement, especially cross-border 
crimes, but differences in legal systems, law-enforcement 
organization, and criminal statutes impeded cooperation. 
 
In 2006-07, the Italian Central Operations Division of the Ministry 
of Interior's Anti-Crime Directorate cooperated with colleagues from 
Romania to conduct "Operation Spartacus," aimed at stopping 
trafficking in persons and illegal immigration.  In 2005, Italian 
police worked with their counterparts in Greece, France, UK and 
Turkey to disrupt 90 members of a criminal organization that had 
trafficked more than 5,000 Kurds and other nationals from the Middle 
East.  In 2006, Italian police, in cooperation with Libyan 
authorities, disrupted a 33-person gang (Libyans, Ethiopians, 
Bulgarians) accused of trafficking and smuggling illegal immigrants; 
of the 22 arrested, some may face charges of murder for killing two 
Nigerians who attempted to escape during a sea crossing. 
 
¶24. (SBU) 29.K.  Italy has not been asked to extradite persons 
charged with trafficking in other countries, nor has it had any 
cases requiring extradition of one of its own nationals charged with 
a trafficking offense.  The 2003 law provides a clear new legal 
basis for such extraditions. 
 
¶25. (SBU) 29.L.  There is no evidence to indicate Government 
involvement in, or tolerance of, trafficking on a local or 
institutional level.  Operation Spartacus, however, did prompt a new 
investigation into alleged visa fraud. 
 
¶26. (SBU) 29.M.  See 29.L. 
 
¶27. (SBU) 29.N.  Italy does not have a child sex tourism problem 
and, in fact, has a model Code of Conduct for the Italian tourism 
industry to combat sex tourism.  Under the law, domestic courts may 
try citizens, and permanent residents who engage in sex tourism, 
including outside the country, even if the offense is not a crime in 
the country in which it occurred. In 2006, in the first case 
applying the extra-territorial aspect of the law against sexual 
tourism, prosecutors charged an individual for activities in 
Thailand in 2003-2005. 
 
The law punishes with imprisonment and/or stiff fines crimes 
relating to child prostitution and child pornography, even when the 
offense is committed abroad. This law applies to Italian 
military/police participating in overseas operations. 
 
¶28. (SBU) 29.O.  In 2000, Italy signed and ratified ILO Convention 
182 Concerning the Prohibition and Immediate Action for the 
Elimination of the Worst Forces of Child Labor. 
--Italy has signed and ratified ILO Convention 29 and 105 on forced 
or compulsory labor. 
 
--In 2000, Italy signed the Optional Protocol to the Convention on 
the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution, 
and child pornography; Italy ratified it in 2002. 
 
--In 200, Italy signed the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish 
Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing 
the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime; Italy 
ratified it in 2002. 
 
PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
------------------------------------ 
 
¶29. (SBU) 30.A.  Italy continued to expand implementation of the 
2003 Anti-Trafficking Law (see 27.C).  Article 18 of the Immigration 
Law provides for temporary residence/work permits that can lead to 
permanent residency and victims' assistance programs.  Minors 
receive an automatic residency permit until they are 18.  Adults who 
are identified as trafficking victims are granted a six-month 
 
ROME 00000411  007 OF 008 
 
 
residency permit, renewable if the person has found work or has 
enrolled in a training program.  In 2006, victims obtained 927 
temporary residence visas.  The Government provides legal and 
medical assistance through NGOs as soon a victim has been 
identified.  In 2006 the Department of Equal Opportunities allocated 
2.5 million euro for an additional plan for emergency assistance to 
victims based on Article 13 of Law 228/03, and approved 26 projects 
implemented by NGOs. 
 
In 2006, the Ministry of Equal Opportunity spent over 4.3  million 
euro on 77 projects to assist 7,300 women victims.  The services 
provided included health care (45%), legal advice (27%), and 
psychological support (23%) and other services (5%). In 2006, under 
Article 18, 2,100 victims, including 196 minors, entered social 
protection programs, a 41% increase from 2005.  The majority of 
victims were housed in shelters, while others lived independently 
with support.  Other projects funded included reintegration, 
assisted repatriation, victims' assistance and job training 
programs.  NGOs, with Government funding, provided literacy courses 
for 340 people and vocational training for 430; they helped 301 
victims find temporary employment and another 888 find a permanent 
job.  Officials noted the challenge of assisting a diverse group of 
victims; Nigerians often arrived illiterate with few job skills, 
while most Eastern Europeans were better educated and more easily 
integrated into both society and the workplace. 
 
¶30. (SBU) 30.B.  Yes, the Government provides funding for both 
domestic and foreign NGOs.  See above. 
 
¶31. (SBU) 30.C.  Article 18 provides for the identification and 
transfer of victims placed under protective custody to NGOs that 
provide transition, reintegration and/or repatriation services to 
victims.  NGOs that receive victims are registered by the Ministry 
of Labor and Welfare and monitored by the Ministry of Equal 
Opportunity. 
 
¶32. (SBU) 30.D.  Victims in Italy usually do not face prosecution 
for other laws they may have broken if they file a complaint against 
a trafficker.  There was still some deportation of victims, 
especially Nigerian prostitutes. An independent Committee nominated 
by the Minister of Interior criticized the screening process of 
illegal immigrants aimed at identifying victims that was deemed 
partially ineffective. (See 28.F) 
 
¶33. (SBU) 30.E.  The Government encourages victims to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking through the offer of a 
temporary residence permit.  Italian law does not allow victims to 
seek redress or compensation through civil court proceedings. A 
victim who is a material witness in a court case against a former 
employer is allowed to obtain other employment.   Under a victims' 
restitution program monitored by the IOM, 69 victims (Romanians and 
Nigerians) were repatriated in 2006. These victims were given 500 
euro by the Government for repatriation, up to 1,600 euro for 
resettlement in their home country, and reintegration assistance for 
six months. 
 
¶34. (SBU) 30.F.  The Government can and does protect victims and 
witnesses.  Victims are enrolled in programs run by NGOs or 
religious communities that provide shelter and support. 
 
¶35. (SBU) 30.G.  Both MOI and the Ministry of Equal Opportunities 
provide training to identify and assist victims.  (See 29.I)  Since 
Italian citizens are not victims of trafficking, Italy does not 
provide training to its embassies and consulates and does not need 
to provide assistance to repatriated nationals. 
 
¶36. (SBU) 30.H.  Italian nationals are not victims of trafficking. 
 
¶37. (SBU) 30.I.  There are over 200 domestic and international NGOs 
working in Italy that work on the trafficking issue.  The most 
notable include: 
 
(a) PARSEC.  This is a social research institute that collects the 
most reliable data on trafficking in Italy.  It also operates 
several mobile assistance units and works closely with local 
 
ROME 00000411  008 OF 008 
 
 
governments. 
 
(b) On The Road Association.  Located in the Marche, Abruzzo, and 
Molise regions, it provides legal, medical, social, and 
psychological assistance through its mobile units, shelters and safe 
houses.  It also has an employment program that provides victims 
with jobs and pays them for their work. 
 
(c) CARITAS.  This is a large lay Catholic association that works 
with the needy in numerous shelters throughout Italy.  It collects 
statistics on and works with immigrant communities providing food, 
shelter and assistance. 
 
(d) ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Pornography and Trafficking) and 
Save the Children.  Both work with other NGOs to ensure that police 
treat juvenile prostitutes as trafficking victims, not criminals. 
 
(e) Gruppo Abele and IROKE in Turin, the Orlando Association in 
Bologna, and Progetto Arcobaleno in Florence also have multiple 
projects to assist trafficking victims.