VZCZCXRO9944
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMD #0225/01 0591604
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 281604Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4358
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0111
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 5329
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 0605
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 3333
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 MADRID 000225 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, EUR/PGI, EUR/WE 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB SP
SUBJECT: EIGHTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT 
FOR SPAIN 
 
REF: A. SECSTATE 2731 
     ¶B. SECSTATE 7205 
 
MADRID 00000225  001.2 OF 010 
 
 
¶1. (SBU)  Pursuant to REFTEL A, the following is input from 
Embassy Madrid and CG Barcelona for the eighth annual 
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Embassy POC is Political 
Officer Matt Osborne, Tel. (34) 91-587-2294, Fax. (34) 
91-587-2391. 
 
Staff hours spent in preparation of this report are as 
follows: 
 
POLITICAL COUNSELOR - FE-OC: 5 HOURS 
POLITICAL OFFICER - FS-04: 65 HOURS 
POLITICAL ASSISTANT - LES-10: 15 HOURS 
 
//OVERVIEW// 
 
¶2. (SBU)  Spain maintains an active set of political, legal 
and social mechanisms to combat trafficking in persons (TIP). 
 The Spanish government places a high priority on fighting 
TIP and coordinates this fight with national and 
international law enforcement, regional and local 
governments, and non-governmental organizations.  During the 
reporting period, Spain took continued measures to assist 
trafficking victims, take down trafficking networks, 
prosecute perpetrators, prevent future trafficking, and 
reduce the demand for commercial sex.  The Spanish government 
has strict rules on the books for Spanish nationals caught 
participating in international child sex tourism, and Spanish 
peacekeepers deployed abroad receive anti-TIP training 
through participation in multi-lateral efforts. 
 
¶3. (SBU)  Spain remains both a transit and destination 
country for internationally trafficked persons, primarily 
women between the ages of 18 to 25 trafficked for 
prostitution.  Spain is generally not a country of origin for 
trafficking.  Statistical data and information on Spanish 
government efforts to combat TIP come from the Ministry of 
Interior, which includes the Spanish National Police (SNP) 
and the Civil Guard (GC), and the Spanish national courts. 
Spanish law enforcement maintained an aggressive operational 
tempo against traffickers, and many of the most significant 
anti-TIP operations took place in the regions of Barcelona 
and Palma de Mallorca.  Police in May 2007 disrupted a 
Brazilian-Spanish TIP network that was illegally brining 
women into Mallorca for the purposes of forced prostitution. 
Nineteen people were arrested, including the alleged leaders 
of the network.  That same month, an international 
trafficking network operating mostly in the Barcelona 
neighborhood of Raval was dismantled and 11 individuals were 
arrested for coercing Romanian women into prostitution. 
Three of the alleged ring leaders were Spanish, seven 
Romanian, and one Pakistani.  In June 2007, Spanish police 
busted a Russian trafficking network bringing women to the 
cities of Lleida, Granada and Almeria, and arrested 21 
alleged traffickers.  In November 2007, police took down a 
trafficking network that smuggled workers from Algeria into 
Spain and forced them to work the farms around the regions of 
Aragon and Navarra.  Police arrested 11 alleged traffickers 
in this operation. 
 
//STATISTICS AND DATA// 
 
¶4. (SBU)  The SNP once again furnished Post with a restricted 
internal report that provides detailed information on TIP 
enforcement trends, including TIP-related arrests and the 
number of trafficking victims identified during the reporting 
period.  The report indicates that within Spain, police 
dismantled a total of 115 trafficking networks for sexual 
exploitation and 43 trafficking networks for the purposes of 
forced labor.  Police arrested 530 individuals involved in 
sexual trafficking and 161 people affiliated with trafficking 
for forced labor.  The Spanish government continues to 
distinguish between trafficking crimes and migrant smuggling, 
and government statistics and information clearly reflect 
this distinction.  As in previous years, information on 
specific TIP-related investigations, convictions and 
sentencing was available through an on-line subscription to 
 
MADRID 00000225  002.2 OF 010 
 
 
the Spanish affiliate of WESTLAW (www.westlaw.es).  The 
Spanish government continues to make progress in normalizing 
the compilation of its TIP-related judicial statistics, and 
our National Court contacts tell us that by 2009 they will 
have a one-stop shop database that will greatly facilitate 
our access to this information.  In 2007, our best 
information indicates the government launched 240 TIP-related 
investigations, prosecuted 102 cases of trafficking, and 
secured 142 convictions with an average sentence of 4.6 
years.  Over 67% of the sentences were greater than 4 years, 
and approximately 25% of the convictions resulted in a fine 
and/or a suspended sentence.  Anti-TIP NGOs continued to 
assist trafficking victims and the primary Spanish anti-TIP 
NGO, Proyecto Esperanza, reported assisting a total of 173 
women since mid 2005, including 54 new cases in 2007. 
 
¶5. (SBU)  Embassy officials at all levels remained engaged in 
the TIP process with the Government of Spain to encourage 
action against human trafficking. 
 
-- The GOS responded and continued to vigorously investigate 
and prosecute all severe forms of trafficking identified in 
the country and convicted and sentenced the persons 
responsible for such acts. 
 
-- Spain continued its bilateral cooperation with source 
countries (particularly in Latin America) to improve cross 
border cooperation to prevent and combat human trafficking, 
and conducted a number of joint anti-TIP operations.  Spain 
announced in early 2008 that it would allot 5.7 million euros 
to fund a cooperation agreement with several Central American 
countries to strengthen the fight against human trafficking. 
 
-- The GOS continued to fully fund previously-funded 
victims, services NGOs and worked with these NGOs to ensure 
that trafficking victims are advised of and offered all 
available rights and benefits.  These NGOs receive funding at 
the federal level (Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs), 
regional level (Madrid province) and city level (Madrid 
City).  The same occurs for anti-TIP NGOs based in Spain's 
other major cities and regions. 
 
-- Spain has a multi-disciplinary approach to fighting 
trafficking and includes NGOs and relevant agencies in each 
case.  Spain's anti-TIP working group--chaired by the Vice 
President and including the Ministries of Interior, Justice, 
Labor, and Foreign Affairs--reached out to NGOs during the 
drafting process of the national action plan and solicited 
comments and advice on early drafts.  Spain's local 
governments, particularly in major cities such as Madrid, 
Barcelona, and Sevilla, kept a focus on trafficking issues 
and came up with innovative ways to discourage the 
solicitation of commercial sex.  In Barcelona in late 2005, 
the Catalan Police (the Mossos d,Esquadra) took over 
security for the city of Barcelona, which freed up the 
National Police to focus on systemic issues, such as 
combating trafficking and prostitution networks in the 
region.  This resulted in a two-fold increase in the number 
of trafficking networks dismantled in Barcelona. 
 
-- Per the new requirements laid out by the TVRPA of 2005, 
Post reached out to Spanish military officials to relay to 
them the importance of vigorously investigating, prosecuting, 
convicting and sentencing Spanish soldiers deployed abroad 
who engage in or facilitate severe forms of trafficking, or 
exploit victims of such trafficking.  Our GOS contacts told 
us that the government has strict rules on the behavior of 
its nationals deployed in peacekeeping operations abroad and 
that its soldiers receive anti-TIP training through 
participation in multi-lateral efforts.  We have no 
information on any Spanish nationals engaging in this 
behavior.  Likewise, we have no indication of Spanish public 
officials participating in or facilitating trafficking. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The Ambassador, DCM and Political officers engaged 
Spanish officials to ensure that the GOS understood the new 
Congressionally-mandated reporting requirements for TIP.  The 
GOS informed us that it continues its strong engagement with 
TIP source and transit countries to prosecute traffickers and 
 
MADRID 00000225  003.2 OF 010 
 
 
improve cross border cooperation in preventing and combating 
human trafficking. 
 
//OVERVIEW OF SPAIN'S ACTIVITIES TO ELIMINATE TIP// 
 
¶7. (SBU) Checklist 27 A.  Spain continues to be both a 
destination and transit country for trafficked persons for 
the purposes of sexual exploitation, and to a lesser degree, 
forced labor in the domestic agriculture section. 
Trafficking in women and girls is mostly for exploitation and 
prostitution.  Available data over the past year from Spanish 
law enforcement and NGOs indicates that trafficked women were 
usually 18 to 25 years of age, but some girls were as young 
as 16.  Women were trafficked primarily from Latin America 
(Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Venezuela), Eastern 
Europe (Romania, Russia, and Ukraine), and sub-Saharan Africa 
(Nigeria).  Asians, including Chinese, were trafficked to a 
much lesser degree and more often for labor rather than for 
sexual exploitation.  NGOs still believe that more than 
three-quarters of all trafficked women originate in five 
countries: Romania, Russia, Brazil, Colombia, and Nigeria. 
 
¶8. (SBU) Continue Checklist 27 A.  Leading Spanish anti-TIP 
NGO in Spain, Proyecto Esperanza, reported assisting a total 
of 173 women since mid 2005, including 54 new cases in 2007. 
The data collected this year by the Spanish National Police 
and Civil Guard (and provided to the Embassy) in relation to 
the number of victims they identified in their work (through 
police raids, inspections, investigations, etc.) shows at 
least 1,490 identifiable trafficking victims (1,035 victims 
of sexual exploitation and 455 of forced labor), but the 
police and NGOs estimate a greater number than those who come 
to their attention.  The internal report provided by the 
Spanish police breaks out the victims of sexual and labor 
trafficking by nationality, and police refer the vast 
majority of these victims to the network of anti-trafficking 
NGOs for assistance.  The Spanish Ministries of Interior and 
Justice provide the best and most reliable information on TIP 
law enforcement investigations and judicial proceedings and 
we believe this information reflects the best assessment of 
the Spanish government on its TIP problem.  During the 
reporting period, analysis indicated that women were 
trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation and, to a 
lesser extent, men were trafficked for purposes of forced 
labor. 
 
¶9. (SBU) Checklist 27 B.  Spanish political will to combat 
TIP remains high, as evidenced by this year's law enforcement 
and judicial statistics.  Spanish President Jose Luis 
Rodriguez Zapatero has placed a high priority on gender 
issues and on combating domestic violence and human 
trafficking.  Trafficking trends have remained constant and 
most trafficking to and through Spain is perpetrated by 
organized criminals based in the source countries.  In recent 
years, law enforcement authorities and NGOs have seen 
increasing incidents of victims being trafficked by 
individuals and smaller groups of traffickers.  Methods used 
by traffickers to maintain control of their victims have 
included physical abuse, forced use of drugs, withholding of 
travel documents, and threats to the victim's family.  One 
continuing trend NGOs reported seeing again in 2007 is an 
increase in instances of traffickers allowing their victims 
to keep a portion of the money they earned through 
prostitution to dampen the victims, desire to escape the 
trafficking network. 
 
¶10. (SBU) Continue Checklist 27 B.  Traffickers lured some 
victims from other regions with false promises of employment 
in service industries and agriculture, but then forced them 
into prostitution upon their arrival.  The media reported 
that criminal networks often lured their victims by using 
travel agencies and newspaper advertisements in their home 
countries that promised assured employment in Spain.  In the 
case of Romanian organized networks, women were typically 
forced into prostitution and 90 percent of their earnings 
went to the criminal network.  NGOs and law enforcement 
report a more recent trend in Romania of minors forced to 
marry someone who, in many cases, is a procurer for 
trafficking.  Once married, minors adopt the name of their 
 
MADRID 00000225  004.2 OF 010 
 
 
"husbands," and can leave the country without the permission 
of their parents.  Some are then trafficked to Spain.  With 
their new identities, minors are very difficult to identify. 
 
¶11. (SBU) Checklist 27 C-E.  The office of the First Vice 
President has the overall lead on anti-trafficking efforts in 
Spain and oversees an inter-ministerial anti-TIP working 
group composed of Labor and Social Services, Interior, 
Foreign Affairs, Justice, Education, and Tourism.  The 
Ministry of Interior continues to coordinate day-to-day 
anti-trafficking efforts and the national police have a 
special unit, the Immigration Networks and Falsified 
Documents Unit (UCRIF), which covers TIP- related issues. 
The UCRIF intelligence unit analyzes statistical data and 
trends, while coordinating efforts and sharing data with the 
Civil Guard and Interpol.  Regional offices of the national 
police conduct quarterly reviews to set goals for combating 
trafficking and to assess progress in meeting these goals 
from the previous quarter.  The reported 2007 figures were 
once again higher across the board, including networks 
dismantled and alleged perpetrators arrested.  While funding 
could always be increased, Spain treats TIP efforts as a 
priority and will fund its national anti-TIP action plan with 
20 million euros per year.  We have no evidence that there is 
any TIP-related corruption in Spain's government and the GOS 
does not lack the resources to aid victims.  GOS efforts over 
the past year to finalize and enact its national action plan 
against TIP has allowed it to systematically monitor its 
anti-trafficking efforts on all fronts and has shared its 
assessments with relevant NGOs in Spain, and also 
international organizations such as the OSCE.  The OSCE in 
late January 2008 expressed interest in learning more details 
on the Spanish national action plan and the GOS is allowing 
OSCE experts to review the plan and offer comments to 
strengthen its effectiveness. 
 
//INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS// 
 
¶12. (SBU) Checklist 28 A.  Spain has specific laws to 
prohibit trafficking in persons and other activities related 
to sexual and labor exploitation.  These laws are applied in 
practice and are adequate to cover the full scope of 
trafficking offenses.  New legislation implemented over the 
past year includes a law to allow Spanish Judges and 
Prosecutors to pursue suspected TIP mafias outside Spanish 
borders.  Previously, these Spanish officials did not have 
extra-territorial jurisdiction to follow these cases, but the 
new law will modify the Organic Law of Judicial Power and 
incorporate "trafficking in persons and illegal immigration" 
into the category of crimes of "universal jurisdiction," 
along with terrorism, genocide, prostitution, and drug 
trafficking.  Additionally, the Spanish Congress approved in 
October 2007 a change of the Spanish Penal Code that allows 
the pursuit of ships believed to be transporting trafficked 
persons or illegal immigrants, even if they are not in 
Spanish waters, and even if the ship's final destination is 
another EU country. 
 
¶13. (SBU) Continue Checklist 28 A.  Article 318 of Spain's 
criminal and penal code is the main piece of legislation that 
penalizes trafficking in persons.  In the legislation, 
trafficking in human beings and trafficking in children are 
distinct crimes.  Different paragraphs in Spain's Criminal 
Code penalize activities related to trafficking as it is 
defined in the Palermo Protocol.  This includes, for both 
adults and children, crimes of sexual exploitation, labor 
exploitation, and slavery or practices similar to slavery, 
and domestic servitude.  Spain also has legal provisions 
addressing the protection and assistance of victims, 
protection and assistance of witnesses, special measures for 
protection and assistance to children, residence permits for 
victims of trafficking, and compensation of victims.  There 
are several other penal codes related to trafficking in 
persons, including: Article 312, Crimes Against the Rights of 
Foreigners; Article 313, Crimes Involving Forced Labor; and 
the "Ley Organica" (Organic Law for measures related to 
citizen security, domestic violence and the social 
integration of the foreigner). 
 
 
MADRID 00000225  005.2 OF 010 
 
 
¶14. (SBU) Checklist 28 B.  Spanish criminal law was amended 
in September 2003 to adapt Spanish legislation to that of 
other European Union countries.  This amendment raised the 
penalty for the crime of trafficking in persons for sexual 
exploitation to a minimum of five years in prison and a 
maximum of ten (previous sentencing guidelines ran from 2-4 
years behind bars).  Sentencing guidelines in convictions for 
encouraging, favoring, or facilitating the trafficking of 
persons from, in transit, or destined for Spain for the 
purpose of sexual exploitation are subject to imprisonment of 
5 to 10 years, with an increase to 12 to 15 years if 
trafficking is carried out with violence, intimidation, 
deceit or abuse of the victim.  Spanish courts at all levels 
use a combination of available penal codes in prosecuting 
crimes related to trafficking in persons to ensure a 
conviction because of a frequent lack of testimony from 
victims. 
 
¶15. (SBU)  Article one (13) of the above mentioned law 
modifies Article 318 bis. of the Penal Code: 
 
-- Four to eight years in prison for a person who, directly 
or indirectly, promotes or facilitates the illegal 
trafficking of people or illegal immigration from, in transit 
within, or with a destination of, Spain. 
 
-- If the human trafficking is for sexual exploitation, the 
prison sentences range from five to ten years. 
 
-- If the person committing the crime uses his/her position 
of authority to facilitate the trafficking, or if he/she is a 
public servant, the penalty will be 6-12 years. 
 
-- In the event the victim of the crime is under age or has 
his/her life put in danger, or if the criminal belongs to an 
organized crime or trafficking ring, then the sentences 
applied will be on the higher scale. 
 
¶16. (SBU)  Spanish judges often combine a trafficking 
sentence with a sentence for crimes involving theft, illegal 
detention, forgery of documents, or extortion.  When a 
defendant is convicted of an additional crime two separate 
sentences must be served.  Once sentenced, prisoners 
generally serve 75 percent of their sentence before being 
eligible for parole.  A Spanish Supreme Court judge ruled in 
2006 that each request for a reduction in sentence for good 
behavior must be applied to each sentence individually, 
meaning it is now much more difficult for criminals 
prosecuted on multiple counts related to trafficking to see 
parole. 
 
¶17. (SBU) Checklist 28 C.  Article 313 and the Organic Law 
11/2003 cover forced labor.  The sentencing guidelines are 
four to eight years in prison for the person who, directly or 
indirectly, promotes or facilitates human trafficking from, 
in transit within, or to Spain.  While the forthcoming 
National Integral Plan against TIP focuses primarily on 
sexual exploitation, there will be some modifications to the 
laws penalizing forced labor.  Spanish officials tell us that 
they have begun work on a second national action plan that 
specifically targets trafficking for the purposes of forced 
labor.  Over the reporting period, 28 persons were convicted 
of forced labor trafficking and sentenced to an average of 
4.1 years behind bars. 
 
¶18. (SBU) Checklist 28 D.  The penalty for rape is 6 to 12 
years in prison, increasing to a possible 15 years with 
aggravating circumstances.  The penalty for forcible sexual 
assault is 1 to 4 years in prison, 4 to 10 years with 
aggravating circumstances.  Prescribed penalties for 
encouraging, favoring, or facilitating the trafficking of 
persons from, in transit within, or to Spain for the purpose 
of sexual exploitation or forced labor now stand at 5 to 10 
years, with a possible 12 to 15 years with aggravating 
circumstances. 
 
¶19. (SBU)  As highlighted in last year's report, the GOS has 
ratified all of the mentioned instruments, and the dates of 
ratification are: 
 
MADRID 00000225  006.2 OF 010 
 
 
 
-- ILO Convention 182 (April 2, 2001) 
-- ILO Convention 29 (August 29, 1932) 
-- ILO Convention 105 (November 6, 1967) 
-- Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the 
Child (December 18, 2001) 
-- Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in 
Persons, Especially Women and Children (March 1, 2002) 
 
¶20. (SBU) Checklist 28 E.  Prostitution and the procurement 
of prostitutes are decriminalized in Spain, but forcing 
others into prostitution and organizing prostitution rings 
are crimes.  Furthermore, it is illegal for anyone to profit 
from the prostitution of another.  Spanish law makes it 
illegal for pimps or brothels to receive money from the 
prostitute's activities, even if the prostitute consents. 
Spanish law prohibits the involvement of minors (under the 
age of 18) in prostitution.  The activities of the prostitute 
are not criminalized, but the activities of the brothel 
owner/operator, clients, pimps, and enforcers are 
criminalized.  Spain continues to review its laws regarding 
prostitution.  The Spanish Senate in March 2007 unveiled a 
detailed report on prostitution that claimed prostitution was 
intimately tied to the trafficking of women and sexual 
exploitation and did not conform to the basic human dignities 
required to be regulated as a job.  The central Spanish 
government remains the principal authority for 
anti-trafficking enforcement while leaving the legal status 
of prostitution to Spain's 17 regional governments. 
 
¶21. (SBU) Checklist 28 F.  The Embassy engaged with relevant 
Spanish authorities early in the TIP reporting season to 
reinforce the importance of law enforcement and judicial 
statistics.  Our contacts in the Spanish police, Civil Guard, 
Ministry of Interior, and Ministry of Justice facilitated our 
access to prosecution data.  Additional information on 
specific TIP-related investigations, convictions and 
sentencing in Spain was available on-line through a 
subscription service to the Spanish affiliate of WESTLAW 
(www.westlaw.es).  The Spanish government continues to make 
commendable progress in normalizing the compilation of its 
TIP-related judicial statistics, and our National Court 
contacts tell us that by 2009 they aim to have a one-stop 
shop database for all TIP-related law enforcement and 
judicial statistics.  Spanish authorities track TIP cases 
separately from illegal immigration and false documentation. 
Our best estimates indicate that in 2007 the Spanish 
government launched 240 investigations (police and Civil 
Guard), prosecuted 102 cases of trafficking, and secured 142 
convictions with an average sentence of 4.6 years in prison. 
Under Spanish labor laws, the government treats as 
traffickers and criminally prosecutes employers who 
confiscate workers, passports and use physical or sexual 
abuse to keep workers in a state of service.  Traffickers 
serve an average of 75 percent of their sentence before being 
eligible for parole, but Spanish penal law limits the number 
of traffickers who receive early parole. 
 
¶22. (SBU) Checklist 28 G-H.  The GOS provides specialized 
anti-trafficking training to law enforcement agencies. 
Training is provided to new recruits at the National Police 
academy in Avila.  NGOs continue to remain active in helping 
law enforcement agencies devise specialized training 
curriculum for officers who will be working trafficking 
cases.  Officials from Proyecto Esperanza and other NGOs 
participated throughout the reporting period, at the 
invitation of the national police, in a "Specialized Course 
on Trafficking in Persons Investigations."  NGOs tell us 
Spanish police are increasingly sensitized to and trained for 
the special demands of TIP investigations.  The GOS has 
bilateral accords with several countries that are major 
sources of TIP victims in Spain, and the GOS regularly 
cooperates in the investigation and prosecution of 
trafficking cases.  During the reporting period, Spanish law 
enforcement officials actively coordinated with counterparts 
in nine different countries to investigate and arrest 
traffickers, and realized a number of joint operations.  The 
Spanish National Police tell us that in 2007 they 
participated in cooperative investigations with Algeria, 
 
MADRID 00000225  007.2 OF 010 
 
 
France, Germany, Guinea Bissau, Italy, Mali, Mauritania, 
Morocco, Pakistan, Romania, and Senegal. 
 
¶23. (SBU) Checklist 28 I-K.  The GOS can extradite persons 
charged with trafficking, including its own nationals, but 
there have been no instances during the reporting period of 
the GOS extraditing Spanish nationals charged with TIP 
offenses.  The GOS also has bilateral agreements with TIP 
source countries to extradite persons who are charged with 
trafficking.  Spanish officials from the President on down 
are committed to fighting TIP, and we have no evidence of any 
Spanish government involvement in or tolerance of human 
trafficking. 
 
¶24. (SBU) Checklist 28 L-M.  Embassy Madrid has reminded the 
GOS on several occasions of the new requirements of the 2005 
TVRPA for countries that contribute troops to international 
peacekeeping efforts.  Our Spanish military contacts tell us 
that as part of their pre-deployment training, Spanish 
government troops receive TIP awareness training.  We have no 
information of any Spanish nationals deployed abroad engaging 
in or facilitating severe forms of trafficking.  Press 
reports suggest that some Spanish nationals travel abroad on 
child sex tourism, but we do not have reliable numbers. 
Spain's child sexual abuse laws do have extraterritorial 
coverage and thus Spanish nationals could be prosecuted and 
convicted for acts committed in known child sex tourism 
destinations. 
 
//PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS// 
 
¶25. (SBU) Checklist 29 A.  In 2007, the Spanish Government 
increased its funding and support of NGOs that provided 
assistance to foreign trafficking victims.  Regional and 
local governments also provided victim assistance through 
NGOs.  Medical attention, including emergency care, is 
provided through the national health care system.  The GOS 
sends victims to NGOs, which provide temporary shelter and 
access to legal, medical, and psychological services.  The 
victims are provided legal protection and temporary or 
permanent residency status if they cooperate with the GOS in 
going after the traffickers.  The Spanish police reported 
identifying 1,035 victims of sexual exploitation and 455 
victims of forced labor trafficking in 2007. 
 
¶26. (SBU) Checklist 29 B-C.  Spain has several victim care 
facilities which are accessible to trafficking victims, and 
most are run under the auspices of a network of anti-TIP NGOs 
with funding provided by the government and private sources. 
As Spanish nationals are rarely if ever trafficking victims, 
the vast majority of the assistance is provided to foreign 
trafficking victims.  Article 59 of Spain's immigration law 
paved the way for recognizing the rights of those victims who 
have reported a crime and have collaborated effectively with 
police and legal authorities in the breaking up of TIP 
networks.  The law establishes a legal mechanism for victims 
of trafficking to either obtain work and residence permits to 
remain in Spain, as well as welfare benefits or to obtain 
funding to return to their countries of origin.  The 
government funds NGOs to provide shelter, counseling, legal 
and psychological assistance, job training, placement and 
reinsertion services, and assistance in obtaining visas that 
are available for those who testify against traffickers. 
NGOs submit annual grant proposals to the government to 
furnish services to victims. Proyecto Esperanza reported a 
total of 54 women being placed in their shelters this year. 
 
¶27. (SBU) Checklist 29 D-F.  Spain does not have a formal 
written plan or protocol that covers the referral of TIP 
victims to NGOs, but in practice, victims are referred 
directly by Spanish law enforcement to anti-TIP NGOs, who are 
then able to provide both short- and long-term care.  Spanish 
authorities tell us they are working on a mechanism for 
screening for trafficking victims among persons involved in 
the decriminalized commercial sex trade.  The GOS makes every 
effort to respect the rights of TIP victims, and TIP and 
prostitution victims are not considered criminals and do not 
go to jail.  They are sent to NGOs that ensure proper care is 
provided to them.  In the past, at least some TIP victims who 
 
MADRID 00000225  008.2 OF 010 
 
 
refused to testify against the perpetrators were jailed and 
deported as illegal aliens, but our contacts tell us that is 
not routine.  If victims are in serious danger they may even 
be provided with a new identity in order to help ensure 
protection. 
 
¶28. (SBU) Checklist 29 G-H.  The GOS encourages victims to 
assist in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers 
and provides residence permits to those victims who provide 
information essential to the investigation and prosecution of 
traffickers.  The law permits trafficking victims to remain 
in the country if they agree to testify against the 
perpetrators.  Spain has a law for the protection of 
witness, identity that allows a witness to remain anonymous. 
 After legal proceedings conclude, victims are given the 
option of remaining in the country or returning to their 
countries of origin.  Victims are encouraged to help police 
investigate trafficking cases and to testify against 
traffickers.  In 2007, the fixed period of time for victims 
to recover and reflect, in a safe environment, before being 
required to decide whether to cooperate with police 
investigation and prosecution of their traffickers was set at 
30 days.  The government's violence education programs for 
female victims and an NGO partner on trafficking reported 
that over 80 percent of the victims they assisted pressed 
criminal charges. 
 
¶29. (SBU) Checklist 29 l-J.  The GOS continued to fund and 
encourage NGOs to provide specialized training for government 
officials in recognizing trafficking and providing assistance 
to trafficked victims.  During the reporting period, this 
training took place in Madrid, Barcelona, and Avila, among 
other Spanish cities, and has been ongoing in recent years. 
Training continues to be available for immigration officials 
and social service providers.  NGOs remained active in 
helping law enforcement agencies devise specialized training 
curriculum for officers who will be working trafficking 
cases.  Proyecto Esperanza officials participated throughout 
2007, at the invitation of the national police, in a 
"Specialized Course on Trafficking in Persons 
Investigations."  Spain is generally not a source country for 
trafficking, and our contacts in the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs are not aware of any Spanish nationals abroad who are 
either victims of trafficking or who have participated in or 
facilitated severe forms of trafficking.  If such cases do 
arise, the GOS tells us they would provide medical aid, 
shelter and financial help to its repatriated nationals. 
 
¶30. (SBU) Checklist 29 K.  A group of diverse and active 
Spanish NGOs known as La Red Espanola contra Ia Trata de 
Personas (Spanish Network against Trafficking in Persons) 
formed in March 2006 to increase the effectiveness and 
efficiency of its work with trafficking victims.  The network 
is currently made up of some 25 NGOs and is committed to 
"prevent, identify, assist, protect and ensure the healing of 
trafficking victims in Spain."  The Embassy maintains very 
close contacts with Spain's anti-TIP network and two of its 
senior coordinators have participated in the Department's 
International Visitor's Program.  The Spanish government 
contracts with and subsidizes NGOs and other programs that 
provide shelter and vital services for trafficking victims 
and witnesses, to include protection, housing, and 
counseling.  Several NGOs operated shelters in Madrid and 
Barcelona, provided assistance with medical and legal 
services, and acted as liaison with law enforcement for 
victims who chose to testify against traffickers.  Some of 
these NGOs have a housing and reinsertion program for victims 
of trafficking and smuggling who wish to remain in Spain and 
will help women apply for residence visas.  These NGOs 
received many referrals directly from police.  The Catalonian 
regional and municipal government contracted with Caritas, 
other NGOs, and sometimes religious organizations for the 
same services.  Spanish NGOs in Madrid receive funding at the 
federal level (Ministry of Labor and Social Services), 
regional level (Madrid province) and city level (Madrid 
City).  To use Proyecto Esperanza as an example, last year 
the federal government provided 110,000 euros (approximately 
USD 160,000), the regional government provided over 27,000 
euros (over USD 39,000) and the city government gave 40,000 
 
MADRID 00000225  009.2 OF 010 
 
 
euros (USD 58,000).  Our GOS contacts say that they are 
increasing funding for the current year and note that the 
National Action Plan calls for increases across the board in 
the support they will provide to anti-TIP NGOs. 
 
//PREVENTION// 
 
¶31. (SBU) Checklist 30 A-B.  Spain acknowledges that it has a 
serious trafficking problem and government officials at the 
highest levels addressed the problem of trafficking during 
the reporting period and pledged to continue the anti-TIP 
fight.  The Spanish government instituted a toll-free hotline 
that offers TIP victims and potential victims assistance and 
information about TIP.  The hotline has received over 300 
calls since its inception.  Local governments, notably those 
in Spain's largest cities of Madrid, Barcelona, and Sevilla 
continued efforts to discourage prostitution (please see 
paragraph 35 for a more detailed discussion of GOS efforts to 
reduce demand). 
 
¶32. (SBU) Checklist 30 C-D.  Most of the 25 NGOs making up 
Spain's Network Against TIP reported continued good relations 
and cooperation with government ministries, with increased 
collaboration on victim referral, although they would have 
liked to have had more of a say in the drafting of the GOS's 
national action plan.  During the reporting period, the 
Spanish government continued to monitor immigration and 
emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking, and law 
enforcement agencies screened for potential trafficking 
victims at Spain's air and seaports, and along its border 
with France.  One trend noted in 2006 and continuing during 
2007 was increasing cases of individual traffickers deceiving 
their victims by establishing a relationship with them by 
pretending they were their boyfriends.  The trafficker and 
victim arrived in Spain legally and with legal passports, and 
once inside the country the trafficker would send his victim 
into a trafficking network. 
 
¶33. (SBU) Checklist 30 E-F.  Spain's inter-agency mechanism 
for coordination and communication is the anti-TIP working 
group, established in February 2006 by Spanish Vice President 
Maria Teresa Fernandez De La Vega.  Working-level officials 
in the Ministry of Interior oversee this group and remain in 
frequent contact with the Embassy.  VP De La Vega tasked the 
ministries of Interior, Justice, Labor, Foreign Affairs, and 
Education to produce a comprehensive plan to combat 
trafficking in persons.  The GOS shared early drafts with 
relevant NGOs for review and comment.  Senior GOS officials 
publicly reiterated the importance the GOS places on 
combating TIP and announced that Spain's National Integral 
Plan against Trafficking in Persons would be passed during 
the reporting period.  The GOS furnished the Embassy with a 
copy of the national plan and we believe it will strengthen 
the fight against trafficking organizations involved in 
sexual exploitation and increase assistance for trafficking 
victims.  The plan will receive an allocation of almost 30 
million euros per year (approximately 44 million dollars) and 
will dedicate over 200 new police and Civil Guards to its 
enforcement.  It is ambitious and provides for a broad policy 
framework to fight trafficking in persons for sexual 
exploitation with a dual-focus on victim protection and 
perpetrator prosecution. 
 
¶34. (SBU)  The Spanish government did not enact its national 
action plan before Congress dissolved in January 2008 and 
government attention turned to preparations for national 
elections in March.  Senior Embassy officers pressed the 
Spanish government on the plan's status, and discussed the 
issue directly with top advisors in the office of the Vice 
President.  The Spanish officials said that enactment of the 
plan was indeed a priority for the government, but it would 
not be possible to put it in force prior to the election. 
The Vice President has said the plan's rollout was delayed 
due to the need to thoroughly vet and consult within the 
government and Spanish civil society, as the GOS wanted a 
well-crafted plan with institutional buy-in.  In addition, 
the GOS noted recent OSCE interest in the plan and needs time 
for the international organization to review and comment. 
The VP and her staff believe the OSCE's review will occur in 
 
MADRID 00000225  010.2 OF 010 
 
 
April or May and that the Council of Ministers will give 
final approval to the plan in June or July.  The Ambassador 
will meet early in the new legislature with the Spanish Vice 
President (regardless of who wins the election) to press as 
one of our top priorities the fight against TIP and the 
importance of enacting Spain's national action plan. 
 
¶35. (SBU) Checklist 30 G.  Major Spanish cities are turning 
more of their focus towards reducing demand for commercial 
sex acts.  Spain's largest cities of Madrid, Barcelona, and 
Sevilla continued efforts to discourage the clients of 
prostitution.  The local governments in Barcelona and Sevilla 
enacted plans in late 2007 and early 2008, respectively, with 
the goal of eliminating street prostitution by fining sex 
clients up to USD 5,000 and prosecuting repeat offenders. 
The Madrid city government continued to focus efforts on 
demand reduction begun in 2006 that target potential sex 
solicitor males with posters claiming, "Because YOU pay, 
prostitution exists."  This past year the local government 
expanded this demand-reduction campaign by targeting males 
with a new slogan, "Do not contribute to the perpetuation of 
21st-century slavery!"  The Madrid government reported having 
so much success with these efforts targeting sex solicitors 
that it joined the city hall in Palma de Mallorca this past 
year to launch a similar campaign in that European tourist 
hotspot known for having a human trafficking problem.  Other 
anti-prostitution efforts in major Spanish cities during the 
reporting period included advertising campaigns warning of 
its dangers, restrictions on prostitution near schools, and 
police actions such as road closings to deter clients from 
seeking prostitutes. 
 
¶36. (SBU) Checklist 30 H.  The Spanish government has strict 
rules on the books for Spanish nationals caught participating 
in international child sex tourism.  Press reports suggest 
that some Spanish nationals have traveled abroad on child sex 
tourism, but post does not have reliable numbers.  Spain's 
child sexual abuse laws do have extraterritorial coverage and 
thus Spanish nationals could be prosecuted and convicted for 
acts committed in known child sex tourism destinations. 
During the reporting period, the Spanish government formed a 
"Spanish working group against child commercial sexual 
exploitation" and participated in activities under the 
auspices of ECPAT and UNICEF to sensitize the Spanish public 
to the existence of child sex tourism and to remind them of 
the punishments for this activity.  Under the motto "There 
Are No Excuses," the Spanish government warned potential 
child sex tourists that they may feel a sensation of legal 
immunity when they are abroad in places such as Asia or Latin 
America, but that Spanish law would still apply to them upon 
their return.  The Madrid Consular Section is negotiating 
with Spanish law enforcement entities, and working with NGOs, 
to exchange information on pedophiles and sexual predators to 
include in our Consular Lookout and Support System 
 
¶37. (SBU) Continue Checklist 30 H-I.  In January 2008, the 
Ministries of Labor and Social Affairs and Foreign Affairs 
teamed up with the NGO Save the Children to host an 
international conference on "Child Trafficking: How to 
Improve Victim Identification and Protection."  The 
conference dealt heavily with the issue of child sex tourism 
and GOS officials present described the extensive laws on the 
books to fight this scourge and recent public awareness 
campaigns intended to sensitize Spanish citizens to the legal 
risk they run by participating in child sex tourism.  OSCE 
special representative on TIP Eva Biaudet challenged the GOS 
to ratify the Council of Europe agreement on trafficking, and 
GOS officials present said that this was on track to occur 
early in the new Spanish legislature.  The conference 
received prominent media coverage in Spain and served to put 
a spotlight on the issue in this country.  Finally, and as 
reported earlier, Spanish peacekeepers deployed abroad 
receive anti-TIP training through participation in 
multi-lateral efforts.  We have no information suggesting 
that Spanish troops have engaged in or facilitated severe 
forms of trafficking, but GOS officials assure us that these 
individuals would be dealt with severely. 
AGUIRRE