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DE RUEHBM #0183/01 0701322
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P 101322Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST
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UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 14 BUCHAREST 000183 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI 
DEPT FOR EUR/NCE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: EAID ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PGOV PHUM PREF PREL
RO, SMIG, SOCI 
SUBJECT: ROMANIA'S EIGHTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN 
PERSONS REPORT 
 
REF: STATE 00002731 
 
Embassy Bucharest's submission for the annual Trafficking in 
Persons 
report follows below with answers keyed to reftel. 
 
¶1.  (SBU) OVERVIEW: 
------------------- 
 
¶A.  Romania is a country of origin and transit for 
trafficking in persons (TIP).  While the majority of TIP 
cases pertain to international trafficking between Romania 
and Western Europe, there are cases of domestic trafficking 
as well.  Victims ) primarily women and children - are 
trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation, labor 
exploitation and forced mendicancy. The total number of 
victims identified by the Government of Romania (GOR) in 2007 
was 1662, compared to 2285 identified victims in 2006. 
 
Out of the 1662 identified victims, 751 were male, 911 were 
female and 274 were minors. The types of exploitation were as 
follows: 680 - sexual exploitation; 780 labor exploitation 
(532-agriculture; 219-construction; 29 - hotel industry); 139 
begging; 63 other forms.  There has been a rise in labor 
trafficking compared to the previous year and this is likely 
related to Romania's entrance into the EU and new 
opportunities for Romanians from the rural parts of the 
country to travel and to work abroad who are being exploited. 
It is also possible that these figures may also reflect the 
fact that because Romanians are now European citizens and can 
travel to other European destinations freely, they are more 
likely to report cases of forced labor than in the past, when 
they were less likely to report cases of labor exploitation 
because of their lack of proper documentation and their 
illegal status. 
 
The primary destination countries for trafficking victims 
were: Italy - 445; Spain- 406; Czech Republic- 215; Romania- 
201; Greece-169; Germany- 83; France- 27; Netherlands- 18; 
Turkey- 
11; Other destinations- 87.  The numbers for Italy and Spain 
reflect the large numbers of Romanian citizens who seek out 
low-wage work in these two countries.  As for the Czech 
Republic, there were numerous groups of Romanians trafficked 
for jobs in construction and agriculture.  In some of these 
cases, the trafficking was committed by Ukrainian citizens 
and, due to the good cooperation between the Czech and 
Romanian authorities, many of these cases came under 
investigation. 
 
In 2007, 12.09% of the identified TIP victims were victims of 
internal trafficking.  The percentage of victims trafficked 
internally remained roughly the same as in 2006. 
 
In 2007, the International Organization for Migration (IOM) 
assisted 107 victims.  IOM figures indicate that the average 
age of the victims they assisted was 23-24 years old; 
approximately 12% of the victims they assisted were minors 
(under the age of 18).  Of the 107 victims assisted by IOM, 
33 were repatriated from Italy, 17 were repatriated from 
Greece, 15 were repatriated from Spain and 13 were victims of 
 
BUCHAREST 00000183  002 OF 014 
 
 
internal trafficking.  In previous years, Bosnia-Herzegovina 
and the Republic of Macedonia were the destination countries 
for a high number of victims, but that number has been 
reduced significantly in recent years.  The increase in 
trafficking victims destined for Italy, Greece and Spain 
parallels the increase in overall migration of young 
Romanians who travel to these countries for low-wage jobs. 
 
¶B.  The profile of traffickers is broad and varied.  In some 
cases traffickers belong to internationally organized groups, 
which also specialize in other crimes such as the smuggling 
of drugs, guns,etc.; however in the majority of cases, 
traffickers appear to comprise small groups with loose 
structures, including family members or other individuals who 
are often known to the victims. Some victims may at some 
point become traffickers themselves, particularly as 
recruiters, as they see no other opportunities before them. 
 
The number of victims identified by the GOR likely does not 
reflect the total number of victims of TIP-related crimes. 
Many victims are reluctant to identify themselves, primarily 
because of the social stigma associated with TIP activities. 
There is also a general distrust among TIP victims of 
government officials and their readiness to assist them. 
Many victims either seek no assistance or prefer to take 
advantage of other options rather than accept government 
assistance. 
 
A National Interest Program for victim assistance was created 
by the National Agency Against Trafficking in Persons 
(NAATIP) in the last quarter of 2006.  This program, the 
first of its kind in the Ministry of Interior and 
Administrative Reform, made approximately 160,000 USD 
available to NGOs in the form of grants.  The funds were made 
available late in 2007 and the administration of the funds 
was a complex endeavor.  For this reason, only three NGOs had 
their grants approved, for a total of approximately 72,000 
USD distributed.  The NGOs were: Ad Pare 48,000, AFIV 
Artemis- 8,800 USD and ANMRF Louis Pasteur Dej-23,000 USD. In 
2007, governmental support for NGOs became more consistent. 
 
¶C. NAATIP is the governmental agency that leads the efforts 
of all other agencies involved in anti-trafficking.  The 
director of NAATIP is the chairman of the Inter-ministerial 
Working Group (IWG) on Human Trafficking.  Other government 
agencies involved in anti-TIP activities include: the 
Ministry of Administration and Interior (MAI), the General 
Inspectorate of Border Police(GIBP), the General Prosecutor 
Office (GPO), the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), the Ministry of 
Labor and Social Solidarity (MLSS), the Ministry of Education 
and Research (MER), the Ministry of Health (MOH), the 
Ministry of Finance (MOF), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
(Human Rights Department), the National Authority for Child 
Protection (NACP), the Ministry of Public Administration 
(MPA), the Ministry of European Integration, the National 
Office for Refugees, the Ministry of Culture and Religion, 
the National Audio-Visual Council, the National Authority for 
the Labor Force, the Ministry of Youth, the Agency for 
Student Camps and Tourism and the National Authority for 
Child Protection and Adoptions.  All of these agencies are 
members of the IWG. 
 
BUCHAREST 00000183  003 OF 014 
 
 
 
¶D.  In 2007, funding was increased in order to provide 
personnelresponsible for combating trafficking in persons, 
and there are no serious monetary impediments for the GOR to 
combat TIP on all levels.  Since Romania  accession into the 
European Union there has been a serious focus on addressing 
corruption and providing better funding for law enforcement 
personnel and prosecutors.  These plans remain works in 
progress, however, and although improvements have been made, 
more work is necessary to enable Romania to reach the 
standards of the more established members of the European 
Union. The vast majority of victims identified by the GOR 
held Romanian citizenship and were eligible for the same 
social services as any other Romanian citizen.  By U.S. and 
Western European standards, some of these social services - 
particularly health services ) were lacking, but this is 
part of a larger social issue that affects TIP victims in a 
similar manner as it does the majority of Romanian citizens. 
There are still serious cultural taboos to being identified 
as a TIP victim, especially young women who were forced into 
prostitution.  Due to these taboos, victims often remain 
silent about what crimes were committed against them and this 
makes the identification of the total number of trafficking 
victims a difficult task. 
 
¶E.  The GOR monitors anti-trafficking efforts through the 
NAATIP and in 2007 has improved its ability to gather 
statistics regarding TIP victims and prosecutions of TIP 
offenders.  This has been done through the advancement of a 
TIP National Database (nominated below as a "Tip Best 
Practice")that has been instrumental in tracking countrywide 
trends in trafficking, and serving as a way to ensure that no 
victims fell into the "cracks" of the system.  The General 
Prosecutors Office and Ministry of Justice were responsible 
for providing the number of prosecuted and trialed TIP cases, 
including the number of arrested and convicted persons.  The 
GOR has been very forthcoming in sharing these statistics 
with NGOs, other governments and international organizations. 
 Twice a year the GOR provides a public update on progress 
regarding TIP issues; foreign government representatives, 
international organizations, NGOs and all relevant GOR 
institutions were invited to participate. 
 
 
¶2.  (SBU) INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS: 
--------------------------------------------- ---------- 
 
¶A.  Law no. 678/2001 specifically prohibits trafficking and 
seeks to protect and assist trafficked victims.  Article 2 of 
the law specifically covers both trafficking for sexual 
exploitation and trafficking for non-sexual purposes (e.g. 
forced labor).  Moreover, the law sets forth prosecution 
measures and punishments for traffickers.  Law no. 39/2003 
for Combating Organized Crime specifically defines TIP as a 
serious crime, and includes TIP offenses.  Article 2 of the 
law defines an organized criminal group as: "a structured 
group formed of three or more persons that exist for a period 
of time and acts in a coordinated manner for the purpose of 
committing one or more grave offenses, in order to obtain 
directly or indirectly a financial benefit or other material 
benefit." The GOR also uses other laws in the prosecution of 
 
BUCHAREST 00000183  004 OF 014 
 
 
trafficking cases, especially laws prohibiting pimping.  All 
of these laws taken together cover the full scope of 
trafficking offenses. 
 
TIP victims have the right to seek a civil remedy, and this 
can occur simultaneously with the criminal proceeding, at the 
conclusion of the criminal proceeding or completely separate 
from the criminal case. 
 
The following are pieces of legislation were added in 2007 to 
bolster existing TIP legislation: 1) Government Decision 
1238/2007, which approved specific National Standards for 
specialized assistance services for trafficking victims and 
ensured a minimum of individualized services which were 
dependent on each specific case; 2) Draft of NAATIP President 
Decision 1/2007, to approve the National Interest Program to 
improve assistance provided to victims and support NGOs with 
non-reimbursable funds; 3)  Joint Order of ministers and 
agency presidents to set up, organize and bring into 
operation the Thematic Working Group to nationally coordinate 
activities for the protection of victims of trafficking, 
published in the Official Journal no. 799/2007. 
 
¶B.  Violations of Article 12 of Law no. 678/2001 carry 
sentences of three to 12 years and raise the sentence to five 
to 15 years for aggravating circumstances.  The sentence 
provided in Article 13 paragraph 1 is from five to 15 years 
if the victims are below the age of 18.  The same article 
carries terms of seven to 18 years in case of trafficking of 
minors under certain aggravating characteristics, such as 
kidnapping while armed, by a group of persons, or causing 
bodily injury.  If the kidnapping results in the death or 
suicide of the victim, the sentence goes from 15 to 25 years. 
 Law 678/2001 defines trafficking in two articles (12 and 13) 
and several paragraphs that interact to provide a complex set 
of sentences ranging from three years (at a minimum) to 25 
(at a maximum).  The sentence is dependent on factors such 
as: number of perpetrators, age of the victim, and severity 
of damage caused to the victim, kidnapping or fraud, and if 
violence or threats were used. 
 
¶C.  The same penalties awarded in sexual exploitation cases 
are also applied for labor trafficking offenses, to include 
recruiters. 
 
¶D.  Article 197, which covers rape, carries a sentence of 
three to 10 years, with the penalty raised to five to 15 
years if the act involves any of the following: two or more 
participants; is 
conducted by the guardian of the rape victim; or if severe 
injuries result.  The penalties rise to 10 to 20 years if the 
victim is under 14.  If the victim dies or commits suicide, 
the sentence increases to 15 to 25 years.  These penalties 
overall are comparable to penalties for sex trafficking, as 
sentences for both range from three to 25 years. 
 
¶E.  In Romania, all prostitution activities are criminalized, 
to include the activities of brothel owners and pimps. 
However, there is no law to punish the client, with the 
exception that if the prostitute was a minor and the client 
admitted knowing that fact before the act, the client can be 
 
BUCHAREST 00000183  005 OF 014 
 
 
prosecuted for sexual acts with a minor. 
 
¶F.  Between January 1, 2007 and December 31, 2007, the courts 
rendered final convictions against 188 persons for committing 
the offence of trafficking in persons. Out of these: 
 
- 1 person was sentenced to 6-12 months imprisonment; 
- 76 persons were sentenced to 1-5 years imprisonment; 
- 66 persons were sentenced to 5-10 years imprisonment; 
- 1 person was sentenced to 10-15 years imprisonment; 
- 17 (1 being a minor) persons were sentenced to a penalty 
for which the sentence was conditionally suspended; 
- 26 (1 being a minor) persons were sentenced to a penalty 
for which the sentence was suspended under observation; 
- 1 person was sentenced to a penalty for which the 
court pronounced the sentence at the working place. 
 
Under the Romanian Penal Code, an individual serving prison 
time for a TIP offense can be released early from prison if 
two thirds of the sentence has been served and the individual 
has demonstrated significant moral rehabilitation.  The 
Romanian legal system does not provide for plea bargains or 
fines - only imprisonment sanctions are given for TIP 
offenses. 
 
The legal framework encourages the traffickers to cooperate 
with the prosecution within the criminal proceedings. 
Article 20 from Law no. 678/2001 provides: "The person who 
committed one of the offences provided by this law and during 
the criminal lawsuit denounces and helps for identification 
of the other participant to the crime, shall benefit by 
reducing his own penalty with a half." 
 
In 2007, the Government indicted 398 defendants in 160 files 
for 
committing TIP offenses. 
 
Labor recruiters are prosecuted under Law no. 678/2001. 
 
¶G.  In 2007, the USG provided training to prosecutors, police 
officers, judges, NAATIP officials and other law enforcement 
officials through a DOJ sponsored Victim Witness Coordination 
program.  Most of this training took place in the North and 
West regions of Romania.  The program brought in experts from 
the U.S to instruct Romanian officials on how to work 
effectively with victims of trafficking during all legal 
proceedings.  The responsibility for sustaining this program 
fell under the NAATIP. 
 
¶H.  In 2007, Romanian prosecutors and law enforcement 
officials collaborated with their counterparts from other 
countries in numerous investigations regarding TIP offenses; 
113 requests for information were initiated by foreign 
judicial authorities and 119 were initiated by Romanian 
prosecutors.  There are Romanian Law Enforcement Liaison 
officers deployed to all Romanian embassies of main 
destination countries. 
 
Also, General Directorate for Combating Organized Crime 
(GDCOC) and the Border Police have in many cases collaborated 
with officers from other European Union countries. 
 
BUCHAREST 00000183  006 OF 014 
 
 
 
¶I.  The Romanian government extradites persons who are 
charged with trafficking in other countries, if the legal 
conditions for extradition are fulfilled.  In 2007 there were 
no cases of extradition for trafficking offenses. 
 
Art. 19 from the Romanian Constitution provides: 
      (1) No Romanian citizen shall be extradited or expelled 
from Romania. 
      (2) By exemption from the provision of para. 
(1),Romanian citizens can be extradited               based 
on the international agreements Romania is a party to 
according to the law and            on a mutual basis. 
      (3) Aliens and stateless persons may be extradited only 
in compliance with an                     international 
convention or in terms of reciprocity. 
      (4) Expulsion or extradition shall be ruled by the 
court. 
 
¶J.  There is no evidence of government involvement in or 
tolerance of TIP.  There were no prosecutions of Romanian 
officials for TIP offences during the reporting period. 
 
¶K. N/A. 
 
¶L. The NAATIP was responsible for training all Romanian 
peacekeepers on the realities of trafficking in persons prior 
to their deployments.  These training sections were conducted 
several times by NAATIP officials during 2007. 
 
¶M. Romania does not have an identified child sex tourism 
problem, although the media have reported some incidents of 
sexual abuse of children by foreign nationals visiting 
Romania. Romania  child sexual abuse laws have 
extra-territorial coverage.  In the past,foreign pedophiles 
were arrested and prosecuted in Romania for child sex 
offenses. 
 
In 2007 there were no cases of foreign pedophiles extradited 
to their origin country. 
 
The National Authority for Protection of Children Rights, in 
cooperation with MAI, Romanian Hotel Industry Federation, 
Ministry of Transportation, Ministry of Tourism and NGOs, 
continued the project "Intersectorial collaboration between 
public and private for prevention of trafficking and sexual 
exploitation in hotel industry and tourism." A conduct code 
for protection of children against sexual exploitation in 
tourism industry were expanded and promoted within this 
project. 
 
 
¶3.  (SBU) PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶A. The GOR provides assistance to foreign trafficking 
victims, but since Romania is not a destination country, 
there were few victims identified from other countries, the 
exception to this being Moldovan citizens.  In many cases the 
Moldovan victims are treated similarly to Romanian citizens, 
since many of them are legally in Romania.  There were no 
 
BUCHAREST 00000183  007 OF 014 
 
 
reported incidents where foreign trafficking victims were 
deported from Romania.  IOM has the lead on any cases 
involving the repatriation of foreigners and has a good 
working relationship with the GOR. 
 
¶B. Under the provision of Law no. 678/2001, victims of 
trafficking shall receive special physical, legal and social 
protection and assistance.  They are also entitled to 
physical, psychological and social recovery.  Upon request, 
TIP victims can receive temporary accommodation in government 
shelters for ten days.  The accommodation time can be 
extended by three months or for the entire duration of the 
criminal procedure, upon the request of the criminal 
investigation authority.  Victims of trafficking are also 
covered under the Protection of Crime Victims Law, which 
entered into force in January 2005.  The law specifies that 
Romanian authorities offer: information regarding victims' 
rights; psychological aid; legal aid; and financial 
compensation funded by the GOR.  In 2007, government reports 
mentioned at least eight operational state shelters for adult 
victims of trafficking, each providing access to legal, 
medical and psychological services to varying degrees. 
 
In 2007, 669 victims of trafficking were assisted by the 
NAATIP. This was an increase compared to 2006, when 476 
victims were assisted.  This indicates that aid provided by 
the GOR is reaching more victims than before.  Most of the 
assistance provided in 2007 was in the form of social/legal 
assistance.  Only 69 of the victims were placed in shelters 
by NAATIP, 27 in NGO shelters and 42 in state-run shelters. 
Most TIP victims in Romania opted to receive services while 
staying with friends and family. In Romania there is a severe 
bias, dating to the communist times, against state-run 
facilities; even though some state-run shelters are in good 
condition, few victims take advantage of these types of 
services. 
 
¶C.  The National Interest Program for victim assistance was 
created by the NAATIP in the last quarter of 2006.  This 
program, the first of its kind in the Ministry of Interior 
and Administrative Reform, made approximately 160,000 USD 
available to NGOs in the form of grants.  The funds were made 
available late in 2007 and the administration of the funds 
was a complex endeavor.  For this reason, only three NGOs had 
their grants approved, for a total of approximately 72,000 
USD distributed.  The NGOs were: Ad Pare- 48,000, AFIV 
Artemis- 8,800 USD and ANMRF Louis Pasteur Dej- 23,000 USD. 
In 2007, governmental support for NGOs became more consistent. 
 
¶D. The National Authority for Protection of Child Rights set 
up an identification system for minor victims of trafficking. 
 Some law enforcement agencies have procedures for 
identifying victims of trafficking; this has improved through 
the training and expertise provided by the 15 regional 
centers of the NAATIP. 
 
¶E. Not applicable since in Romania there is no legalized 
prostitution. 
 
¶F. According to Romanian law, modified in 2005, victims of 
trafficking who are arrested for prostitution or begging 
 
BUCHAREST 00000183  008 OF 014 
 
 
cannot be prosecuted for these offenses.  Normally, victims 
that come from other countries are identified prior to their 
repatriation; there are sometimes delays in identifying 
internal victims.  Children are always considered victims in 
relation to trafficking and they are the beneficiaries of 
support and protection according to the Romanian laws.  In 
the past there were anecdotal reports of trafficking victims 
being arrested for crimes, but these reports have reduced in 
¶2007. 
 
¶G.  Romanian legislation contains special provisions that 
provide benefits and protections for victims who assist in 
the investigation and prosecution of trafficking offenses. 
Prosecutors responsible for TIP cases usually keep an 
objective viewpoint when investigating TIP cases and are 
required to remain unbiased when investigating whether a 
crime took place. 
 
There are no legal impediments to a victim seeking legal 
redress, but the Romanian legal system is slow-moving and 
often victims are not able to remain in the location when the 
investigation/trial is taking place.  Victims are able to 
file civil suits against their traffickers as part of the 
criminal process or as a separate civil action.  There is 
nothing preventing witnesses from leaving the country, and 
foreigners who are victims of trafficking are repatriated at 
the expense of the Romanian government.  The repatriations 
are often as dictated by bilateral treaties which Romania has 
with neighboring and western European countries. Foreign 
citizens who are victims of trafficking have the right to 
wait 90 days to decide if the would like to cooperate in a 
criminal proceeding.  The victim witness coordination program 
that is outlined in the "best practice" section of this 
report has begun to address this issue. 
 
¶H.  The GOR has both formal and informal measures for 
protecting victims and witnesses of trafficking offenses. 
The formal system includes assistance in changing the 
witness's identity and residence.  This is a specialized 
system that requires a prosecutors' request and an assessment 
based upon criteria used by the witness protection unit. 
Although these measures have been used to protect witnesses 
in TIP cases in the past, they were not used to protect any 
TIP victims in 2007.  In addition, the victim can invoke less 
formal judicial procedures to assist in protecting their 
identity and reduce their contact with the defendant and 
defendant's associates while testifying in court.  TIP 
investigators in several counties describe taking a personal 
interest in ensuring the protection of TIP victims.  At the 
same time, individual TIP victims have continued to complain 
about being contacted or harassed by traffickers and their 
associates. 
 
The GOR provides shelter services for both adult and juvenile 
victims of TIP offenses.  There are currently nine 
operationalstate-sponsored TIP shelters for adult victims. 
The state facilities are emergency shelters and are not 
designed for long-term rehabilitation.  Despite this, they 
offer a full range of medical, psychological, and educational 
services along with social services and employment assistance 
through staff that are most commonly affiliated with broader 
 
BUCHAREST 00000183  009 OF 014 
 
 
social service programs for children.  Since the state 
shelters are administered through local officials, their 
facilities, services, and relationship to other service 
providers vary.  Upon the request of the prosecutor, victims 
are entitled to remain in the shelter throughout the 
investigation and trial. Police and prosecutors have a 
statutory obligation to inform victims of the right to go to 
a state shelter and to have access to other services.  In 
practice, investigators report that a majority of victims do 
not want to go to a state shelter.  The interpretation of 
applicable privacy rules often prevents law enforcement from 
placing the victim in a state shelter without the victim's 
approval.  The best scenario for a trafficking victim who is 
interested in long-term assistance would be to be placed with 
one of the NGOs that support TIP victims who are in a better 
position to provide long-term care for the victim. 
 
Minors who are victims of trafficking have a series of 
possible care facilities which include: emergency centers, 
transit centers, the victim's family with the support of 
social services, foster care, or placement centers.  If a 
child is identified as a victim of trafficking he/she would 
not be placed in a juvenile justice detention center. 
 
In 2006, the Romanian Ministry of Justice1 changed existing 
law to make it easier for TIP victims to testify in court 
cases using video testimony. 
 
¶I.  Specialized training for GOR officials continued in 2007. 
 
The National Authority for Protection of Child Rights has 
developed partnerships for specialized training from 
international organizations to include: ICMPD, International 
Migration Organization, UNICEF, ILO and local NGOs. 
 
The Romanian Ministry of Foreign Affairs encourages its 
embassies to foster contacts with NGOs and international 
organizations that are involved in TIP issues.  The training 
received by MFA officers prior to their assignment has some 
applicability in assisting TIP victims, but, specific 
training for MFA officers on TIP issues is limited. 
 
Romania's diplomatic missions have relationships with 
different NGOs that specialize in providing assistance for 
trafficked victims, as well as with IOM (International 
Organization for Migration) for assistance in the voluntary 
return of trafficked victims. 
 
¶J.  The Romanian government provides assistance to TIP 
victims who are repatriated.  The victims are repatriated at 
the cost of the government and are eligible to receive the 
same benefits as internal victims.  These benefits were 
described above in section A. 
 
¶K.  In 2007, as noted above, the GOR increased funding for 
NGOs. The Romanian government cooperates with the following 
international organizations and NGOs that work on TIP issues: 
 
IOs: UNICEF, UNHCR, ANAEM France, IOM, International Labor 
Organization. 
 
 
BUCHAREST 00000183  010 OF 014 
 
 
NGOs: Red Cross - Romania - information education campaigns 
to prevent child trafficking. 
 
Salvati Copii (Save the Children) 
- Activities aiming to prevent trafficking and sexual 
exploitation in the hotel and tourism industries. A group of 
experts developed a code of conduct for hotels and tourism 
industries.  Information materials were produced and 
distributed in hotels and through the tourism agencies. 
- Social assistance and counseling for child victims of 
trafficking. 
- Training for border police, police and social workers on 
interviewing children victims of trafficking. 
 
Caritas - anti-TIP and anti-drug information education 
campaigns in schools. 
 
AIDRom - Prevention and training activities for governmental 
and non-governmental representatives to acquire the necessary 
skills for identifying and solving potential situations that 
could lead to trafficking and to establish a network of local 
contacts involved in similar anti-TIP activities. 
 
Young Generation - shelter, social assistance and counseling 
to victims of trafficking 
 
Social Alternatives - prevention activities, anti-trafficking 
newsletter, psychological assistance to victims of trafficking 
 
Reaching Out - long-term reintegration services to victims of 
trafficking, social assistance, counseling and shelter 
 
Adpare - shelter, counseling, reintegration services for 
victims and also prevention activities including peer 
education program in Bucharest schools 
 
Betania - social assistance and counseling 
 
Conexiuni - social assistance and counseling 
 
 
¶4. (SBU) PREVENTION: 
-------------------- 
 
¶A.  The Romanian government recognizes that trafficking in 
persons is a serious problem.  In Embassy discussions with 
senior Romanian officials, all of them from across the 
political spectrum recognize TIP as a problem in Romania. 
The additional funding received by the NAATIP in 2007 
reflects this high level interest.  The GOR is also very 
active in hosting the SoutheastEuropean Cooperative 
Initiative (SECI) Bucharest-based regional anti-crime center, 
and throughout 2007 a Romanian official headed the Task Force 
on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings within SECI.  SECI 
is a regional model for the sharing of law enforcement 
information, including about TIP, and its TIP task force is 
one of SECI's most successful endeavors. 
 
¶B.  The GOR partnered with several different NGOs to produce 
anti-trafficking campaigns.  There have been several 
informational and educational campaigns both at the national 
 
BUCHAREST 00000183  011 OF 014 
 
 
and at the local levels in which the government has been 
either the initiator or a key. Some campaigns were financed 
by the government, while others were financed by 
international donors through NGOs. 
 
Campaigns developed in 2007: 
 
 
- NAATIP conducted a national anti-trafficking campaign 
called "Watch out!  There's a price to pay!" This campaign 
contained information for the public at large about TIP 
issues and was 
intended to promote the NAATIP sponsored toll free number. 
There were television spots, spots on the TAROM international 
flights to and from Bucharest, and many promotional products. 
 The National Agency for Roma translated the materials into 
Romani and helped to disseminate this information to the Roma 
community; 
- There was a campaign specifically targeting at-risk groups 
(at-risk children, the elderly, persons with disabilities and 
asylum seekers) called "Beware of Perfect Opportunities with 
Perfect Jobs!" This campaign was carried out with materials 
and participation of a theater group that performed skits on 
TIP topics for at-risk groups. This campaign was carried out 
between July 2007 and February 2008; 
- On EU Anti-Trafficking Day, 18 October, 2007, NAATIP 
carried out awareness activities in Bucharest and counties 
throughout the country.  Most of these activities were 
associated with existing campaigns; 
- The National Authority for Protection of Children Rights 
continued the public education campaign regarding the rights 
of the child "The Rights of the Child are Law." which ran 
throughout 2007; 
 
¶C.  The relationships between government officials and NGOs 
concerned with trafficking continued to improve in 2007. 
There is particularly good cooperation at the working-level 
that is often driven by personal contacts. 
 
At the national level, NGOs and international organizations 
participate in the IWG meetings. NGOs report that their 
presence in these meetings is useful at the level of 
information exchange, but their power in influencing policy 
is limited. 
 
More Romanian counties reported that they created similar 
working-level multi-agency teams comprised of representatives 
of civil society and various governmental institutions 
involved in anti-trafficking activities at the local level. 
This was being driven by the 15 regional NAATIP offices 
located throughout the country. These multi-agency teams met 
on a regular basis and have had positive results. 
 
¶D.  The GOR monitors its borders through the General 
Inspectorate of Border Police (GIBP).  The GIBP monitors 
immigration and immigration patterns and uses this analysis 
to prevent trafficking from occurring.  The National TIP 
Database is also instrumental in identifying trafficking 
trends, particularly concerning the Czech Republic. 
 
¶E. Coordination on TIP issues among the 
 
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government,international organizations and NGOs occurs within 
the framework of the IWG, which is made up of various 
governmental ministry representatives and international 
organizations and is coordinated by the Ministry of 
Administration and Interior (MAI).  NGOs and US Embassy 
representatives are invited to all IWG meetings.  In December 
2005, the Romanian government passed a law establishing the 
National Agency for the Prevention of TIP and for Monitoring 
the Protection of TIP Victims. 
The GOR has a specialized investigative and prosecutorial 
unit for public corruption based on the task force model. 
The government formed an inter-ministerial council at the end 
of 2005 that meets regularly to coordinate the fight against 
corruption.  The Minister of Justice acts as the council's 
coordinator, and invites NGO representatives and journalists 
to the council's meetings.  This council oversees 
implementation of the 2005-2007 National Anticorruption 
Strategy, which aims to prosecute high-level corruption, 
increase transparency in public administration, prevent 
corrupt business practices, and increase the integrity of the 
judiciary. 
 
¶F.  A five year National Action Plan for Combating 
Trafficking in Human Beings was adopted in 2001.  National 
agencies responsible for the implementation of the Plan 
include: MAI-GDCOC, MOJ, MOF, MFA, NACP, MLSS, MPA and MER. 
NGOs were consulted in the process of adopting the decision, 
and are intended to act as partners during all phases of 
implementation.  The National Action Plan was widely 
disseminated through seminars and training sessions.  In 
2004, the government adopted a separate National Action Plan 
on the Prevention of Trafficking in Children.  The Ministry 
of Administration and Interior working in conjunction with 
UNICEF developed a draft anti-trafficking strategy for 
2006-2010 accompanied by a detailed action plan for 
2006-2008.  A final form of the strategy and action plan was 
endorsed by each ministry and then adopted by the government 
in mid 2006. 
 
¶G.  Several of the awareness campaigns sponsored by the 
NAATIP targeted reducing demand for commercial sex acts by 
emphasizing respect for women and children.  NGOs that are 
sponsored by the GOR are also active in protecting women's 
rights. 
 
¶H.  As a relatively new EU member with a developing economy, 
Romania has a comparatively small number of tourists 
traveling abroad. Correspondingly, there have been no reports 
of Romanian citizens traveling abroad to participate in child 
sex tourism.  The GOR, through NAATIP, has an awareness 
program on child rights that serves to educate people on how 
to assist children in difficult circumstances.  Romanian laws 
regarding pedophilia have extra-territoriality coverage for 
Romanian citizens. 
 
¶I.  The NAATIP was responsible for training all Romanian 
peacekeepers on the realities of trafficking in persons prior 
to their deployments.  These training sections were conducted 
several times by NAATIP officials during 2007. 
 
 
 
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¶5.  (SBU) NOMINATION OF HEROES AND BEST PRACTICES 
--------------------------------------------- ---- 
 
¶A.   TIP Heroes:  Post would like to nominate Ms. Gina 
Stoian,President of the Association for Developing 
Alternative Practices for Reintegration and Education 
(ADPARE), Romania as a TIP Hero 
 
Gina Stoian's NGO ADPARE provides alternative social services 
for the reintegration of victims of trafficking in persons 
and of young people at risk. In 2007, 40 trafficking victims 
received crisis assistance and over 100 victims received 
long-term assistance, assistance in the family, and 
monitoring. 
 
Originally part of an International Labour Organization 
initiative, ADPARE evolved into a NGO and has been operating 
since 2002. The objectives of ADPARE are to combat human 
trafficking and defend human rights through prevention 
campaigns, victim assistance for reintegration, and lobbying 
efforts. 
 
ADPARE provides both crisis services and long-term support 
for victims, including: psychotherapy, housing assistance, 
educational assistance, and leisure activities. A 
collaboration with ADPARE Holland created several campaigns 
such as "Adoptive Families for Victims" and "Protected 
Housing." In collaboration with AidRom and Caritas Bucharest, 
ADPARE launched an awareness campaign entitled "Beware of 
'Perfect' opportunities." The MTV Exit Campaign honored 
ADPARE with the 2006 "MTV Award for the Best Pro-Social 
Campaign against trafficking in persons." ADPARE is currently 
expanding its services to include juridical assistance in 
collaboration with the authorities, as well as medical 
assistance in emergency situations and routine check-ups. 
 
¶B.  Best Practice:  One area of serious improvement in 2007 
on the TIP fight in Romania has been the institutionalization 
of the TIP National Database that was created by NAATIP. 
This database, which was introduced in late-2006, is a 
tertiary IT system using a central database and a web 
interface application.  With this system, law enforcement 
personnel are able to input data on TIP victims and all of 
the information is de-conflicted and processed at the NAATIP 
Headquarters in Bucharest.  There are roughly 100 data fields 
to be completed for each victim, which allows NAATIP to very 
rapidly identify TIP trends.  In one case regarding an 
increase in labor trafficking to the Czech Republic, NAATIP 
officials, through use of the National database, rapidly 
identified this trend and was the first GOR institution to 
bring this information to law enforcement and policy leaders. 
 Since Romania is a country of origin, this database is 
customized to handle Romanian victims, but could be useful in 
other countries that have a similar TIP phenomenon.  With 
this database, Post has much greater confidence in the TIP 
victim data being presented, since problems such as 
duplicates and other anomalies are much less likely with this 
new system. 
 
¶6.  (U) Embassy POC is Philip Knecht, at 011-40-21-200-3435, 
Fax 011-40-21-200-3442. The following Embassy personnel spent 
 
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the approximate time indicated in the preparation of this 
report: PolOff Philip Knecht, grade, FS-04, 150 hours; POL 
Assistant, Rodica Barlanescu, 6 hours; Political Chief, 
Theodore Tanoue, grade FS-02, 6 hours. 
 
¶7.  (U) Amembassy Bucharest's reporting telegrams are 
available on the Bucharest SIPRNET Website: 
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/bucharest. 
TAUBMAN