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TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB EN
SUBJECT: ESTONIA - EIGHTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING REPORT 
 
REF: A) STATE 2731 
 
¶1. (U) The following is Embassy Tallinn's Anti- 
Trafficking Report for Estonia.  Responses are keyed to 
the checklist (Ref A).  Post's points of contact on 
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) are Political Officer Alamanda 
Gribbin (Email: GribbinAL@state.gov; tel: +372-668-8291) 
and Political Assistant Riina Tannia (Tel: +372-668-8233; 
Email: Tanniar@state.gov). 
 
¶2. (SBU) SUMMARY: Trafficking is still an issue in Estonia, 
but the Government of Estonia (GOE) has made important 
progress in combating the problem, developing stronger 
coordination with local NGOs active on this issue, 
improving services to victims and expanding the penal code 
statues relating to enslavement.  During the reporting 
period the Estonian Government confirmed eight cases of 
trafficking.  As a result, Estonia does not meet either the 
State Department's 'significance' threshold or the '100 
confirmed cases' benchmark for inclusion in the trafficking 
report as a Tier Two country.  We recommend that the 
Department move Estonia to Tier One.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Checklist and Overview of Trafficking in Estonia: 
 
¶3. (U)A: Estonia is believed to be a country of origin, 
transit, and destination for trafficked men, women, and 
children. For the reporting period, the Ministry of Justice 
(MOJ) documented 2 confirmed cases involving Estonian 
trafficking victims abroad (both in the UK), while the 
Ministry of Social Affairs (MSA) reported that 6 
trafficking victims - all prostitutes according to a local 
NGO - were placed in trafficking specific shelters in 
Estonia.  (Estonian prostitutes with drug addictions were a 
particularly vulnerable trafficking risk group.) 
According to the MSA, it is still difficult to track the 
exact number of trafficking victims in Estonia.  To improve 
the tracking mechanism, MSA is working with relevant NGO's 
on the development of a victim identification model.  MSA 
hopes to have the model in place by next year. 
 
¶4. (U)A, Cont: In addition to GOE agencies and NGOs, post 
also consulted with the resident Liaison Officer for Nordic 
Customs and Police Cooperation (covering Denmark, Finland, 
Iceland, Norway and Sweden).  According to the Liaison 
Officer, cataloguing the exact number of Estonian 
trafficking victims abroad is quite difficult.  The Nordic 
Customs and Police agencies only report trafficking victims 
to the country of origin in certain cases:  1) when a case 
goes to court and the victim's identity cannot be 
identified; 2) when victims request services from the 
country of origin.  According to the liaison, the 
Government of Sweden (GOS) is currently prosecuting 2 cases 
involving 5 alleged Estonian trafficking victims.  However, 
this investigation is still pending and the GOS has not 
reported these alleged victims to the GOE. 
 
¶5. (U)A, Cont:  Based on discussions with Nordic Police, 
Nordic diplomats in Tallinn, US Embassy Stockholm and the 
Estonian MFA, we understand that there were no Estonian 
trafficking victims in Finland or Norway and that seven 
Estonian trafficking victims received services in Swedish 
shelters. 
 
¶6. (U)A, Cont: As Estonia has no trafficking-specific 
statutes in its criminal code, the GOE prosecutes 
trafficking crimes under its 'enslavement' article.  During 
the reporting period, there were three convictions based on 
'enslavement.'  All documented trafficking cases within 
Estonia's borders during the reporting period were for the 
purposes of commercial sex. 
 
¶7. (U)A, Cont. In addition to the official statistics 
provided by the MOJ, Post has received data from the MSA, 
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the Ministry of 
Internal Affairs (MIA), local NGOs 'Eluliin' (City of Life) 
and Living for Tomorrow, the Nordic Police and Customs 
Cooperation Office in Tallinn, the Estonian Embassy in 
Helsinki, and the Helsinki office of the International 
Organization for Migration (IOM).  The information 
assembled in this report is based on the most current and 
reliable data available at this time. 
 
¶8. (U)B: According to Estonian law enforcement, most 
traffickers were generally small-scale operators, who often 
had ties to local organized crime groups.  The most common 
lure traffickers use is the promise of legitimate 
employment abroad (e.g., hotels, restaurants, massage 
parlors, and strip clubs).  In December 2007, Estonia 
formally joined the EU's Schengen Agreement for common visa 
and immigration borders on land and sea.  Estonia is 
scheduled to join the Schengen area for air borders on 
March 30, 2008.  This agreement allows for the free 
movement of people within Schengen countries (the UK, 
Ireland, and Denmark are not members), eliminating the need 
for obtaining false documentation to move victims between 
Estonia and the rest of the EU. 
 
¶9. (U)C: During the reporting period, the following 
ministries and agencies were involved in anti-trafficking 
activities: MFA, MIA, MOJ, MSA, Ministry of Education 
(MOE), Ministry of Finance (MOF), Citizenship and Migration 
Board (CMB), the Border Guards, Police Board, the Central 
Criminal Police (CCP), INTERPOL and EUROPOL liaison 
offices, and the Prosecutor's Office.  Recognizing that 
trafficking extends beyond the scope of any single agency, 
the GOE's National Action Plan designates the MOJ as the 
lead ministry to better coordinate the government's 
efforts. During the reporting period, the MOJ, MSA, MIA, 
and MFA met regularly at various working-levels. 
 
¶10. (U)D: Post found no evidence of trafficking-related 
corruption within the GOE.  We are also not aware of any 
instances of bribe-taking related to trafficking among GOE, 
law enforcement, or border guard officials. With respect to 
public corruption, there is a "Select Committee on the 
Application of the Anti-Corruption Act" in the Riigikogu 
(the Estonian Parliament) which promoted full 
implementation of anti-corruption legislation. 
 
¶11. (U)D, Cont: Previously, inadequate funding limited the 
GOE's ability to combat trafficking.  However, the GOE 
recognized this deficiency and has steadily increased the 
amount of funding committed to anti-trafficking measures. 
In 2006, the anti-trafficking budget was approximately 
14,000 USD.  In 2007, the GOE spent approximately 181,000 
USD on prevention and victim assistance. 
 
¶12. (U)E: In 2006, the GOE founded the National Anti- 
Trafficking Network. The tasks of the network are recorded 
in the National Action Plan for the years 2006-2009. The 
Network is represented by the relevant Ministries, police, 
border guards, prosecutors and NGOs dealing directly with 
the trafficking issue. Representatives meet throughout the 
year and correspond frequently via e-mail. Each year, the 
Network drafts an assessment of the previous year's 
activities.  GOE ministries are currently circulating the 
2007 assessment; it will likely be published in late March. 
 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS: 
 
¶13. (U)A: Estonia does not have any trafficking-specific 
laws in its criminal code.  The GOE contends that its 
prohibition under Article 133, the prohibition of 
enslavement, is an adequate mechanism for addressing 
trafficking cases.  In March 2007, the GOE expanded article 
133 in accordance with a July 19, 2002 framework decision 
of the EU Council. Article 133 now also includes taking 
advantage of a person's helpless situation as part of the 
definition of enslavement.  Also in 2007, Article 134 was 
expanded to include forcing a person to work or perform 
duties against their will for the benefit of another 
person. 
 
¶14. (U)A, Cont: Over the last few years, the MOJ has 
expanded the number of articles it can use to prosecute 
trafficking and related crimes. The following is a list of 
laws that the GOE can use in addition to Article 133 when 
prosecuting traffickers: 
 
-- Article 134: Abduction; 
-- Article 136: Unlawful deprivation of liberty; 
-- Article 138: Illegal conduct of human research; 
-- Article 139: Illegal removal of organs or tissue; 
-- Article 140: Inducing persons to donate organs or 
tissue; 
-- Article 143: Compelling persons to engage in sexual 
intercourse; 
-- Article 143/1: Compelling persons to engage in 
satisfaction of sexual desire; 
-- Article 172: Child kidnapping; 
-- Article 173: Sale or purchase of children; 
-- Article 175: Disposing minors to engage in 
prostitution; 
-- Article 176: Aiding prostitution involving minors; 
-- Article 177: Use of minors in manufacture of 
pornographic works; 
-- Article 178: Manufacture of works involving child 
pornography or making child pornography available; 
-- Article 259: Illegal transportation of aliens across 
state border or temporary border line of Republic of 
Estonia; 
-- Article 268: Provision of opportunity to engage in 
unlawful activities, or pimping; 
 
During the reporting period, the MOJ recorded 136 
individual criminal offenses related to these statues.  At 
the same time, as a single suspect can be charged with 
multiple violations, the actual number of court judgments 
related to the above statues was 60 and the number of 
convicted persons was 35.  The MOJ noted that in three 
instances the alleged violations specifically related to 
trafficking (see paragraph 15B and 19F).  The remaining 
violations were related to illegal commercial sex 
activities (e.g., pimping, exploitation of minors, 
kidnapping, etc.). 
 
¶15. (U)B: The penalty for 'enslavement' for the purposes of 
sexual exploitation is up to 5 years imprisonment. If there 
are two or more victims or if the victims are minors the 
penalty is up to 12 years of imprisonment. During the 
reporting period 3 persons were convicted of 'enslavement' 
under Article 133 of the Penal Code.  Two of the suspects 
were sentenced to 3 years and 1 year imprisonment.  The 
third suspect was sentenced to 1 year in prison and 
assessed a fine of 25,000 USD. 
 
¶16. (U)C: The prescribed penalty for labor trafficking is 
one to five years imprisonment.  In severe cases, the 
penalty is three to twelve years imprisonment. There were 
no cases of labor trafficking during the reported period. 
 
¶17. (U)D: The penalties for trafficking under enslavement, 
abduction, rape, sexual assault, and sexual abuse of minors 
are five years imprisonment in the case of adult victims, 
and 12 years for child victims under age 18.  Prosecutors 
may also add violations of additional statutes to increase 
the penalty (i.e., rape, abuse of a minor, etc.). 
 
¶18. (U)E: Prostitution and the solicitation of commercial 
sex are not illegal in Estonia.  Pimping, however, is 
illegal.  The activities of brothel owners/operators, 
pimps, and enforcers are criminalized and the GOE regularly 
enforces the laws. 
 
¶19. (U)F: During the reporting period, 3 persons were 
convicted of trafficking related crimes under the expanded 
Article 133 relating to enslavement.  (See Paragraph 15 for 
information concerning their sentencing.) 
 
¶20. (U)F, Cont: Estonian labor laws forbid inappropriately 
high or illegal fees or commissions by labor recruiters, 
confiscating of workers' passports/travel documents and the 
destruction, damaging, theft or concealment of these 
documents.  Violators can be prosecuted under paragraphs 
209 and 346 of the Estonian Penal Code dealing with fraud 
and theft, and receive punishment in the form of a minimum 
fine of 5,000 USD or 5 to 15 years imprisonment.  The 
switching of contracts or terms of employment without a 
worker's consent is forbidden by paragraph 12 of the Labor 
Market Services and Benefits Act.  The Labour Inspectorate, 
a government agency operating under the umbrella of the 
MSA, enforces these provisions.  There were no prosecutions 
for these crimes during the reporting period. 
 
¶21. (U)G: Together with NGOs, the MSA conducted 15 training 
seminars for GOE officials and authorities on how to 
recognize, investigate and prosecute instances of 
trafficking.  The total cost of these seminars was 
approximately 15,276 USD. 
 
¶22. (U)G, Cont: In addition to MSA initiated training, 
several NGOs conducted 9 anti-trafficking trainings all 
over Estonia targeting youth counselors, women's 
organizations, police, border guards, social workers, 
educators, representatives of local governments and school 
medical personnel.  In May 2007, the International 
Organization for Migration (IOM) held a seminar in Tallinn 
on trafficking specific investigation and prosecution 
techniques.  In September 2007, MFA representatives took 
part in a UNESCO anti-trafficking seminar in Tallinn. In 
December 2007, representatives of the MFA, the Estonian 
Embassy in Riga and the Estonian Consulate in St. 
Petersburg participated in a training for consular officers 
organized by the Council of Baltic Sea States anti- 
trafficking workgroup. 
 
¶23. (U)G, Cont: During the reporting period, the USG was 
also active in efforts to bring the Baltic anti-trafficking 
community together. In June 2007 Embassy Tallinn hosted 
members of the National Anti-Trafficking network for a 
roundtable discussion on strategies to assist Estonians 
searching for employment abroad. Representatives from the 
MSA, MOJ, the Labor Office, the Finnish Trade Union in 
Estonia and the NGOs: Eluliin, the Vega Center, the 
Estonian Women's Studies and Resource Center, the Lifelong 
Learning Foundation, Living for Tomorrow and EURES attended 
this roundtable.   IOM Helsinki also used USG funds to 
conduct a five-day anti-trafficking seminar in Kiev for 
members of the law enforcement community, including seven 
Estonian law enforcement officials. 
 
¶24. (U)HQThe Estonian Central Criminal Police exchanges 
information on a regular basis with counterparts from 
Sweden, Denmark, Norway, Germany, Finland, Great Britain 
and Belgium.  They received 15 requests for assistance from 
abroad during 2007.  The Nordic Customs and Police 
Cooperation Liaison in Tallinn reported that cooperation 
with Estonian counterparts takes many forms, from 
assistance in suspect surveillance and interrogation to 
providing victim and perpetrator identities.  The Liaison 
characterized Estonia's cooperation in trafficking related 
matters as good. 
 
¶25. (U)I: GOE policy is to extradite persons, including its 
own nationals, who are charged with trafficking in other 
countries.  However, no extraditions took place during the 
reporting period. 
 
¶26. (U)J: There was no evidence of government involvement 
in or tolerance of trafficking at either the local or 
institutional level. 
 
¶27. (U)K: See paragraph 26 J. 
 
¶28. (U)L: There was no evidence of Estonian peacekeepers' 
engagement in trafficking. 
 
¶29. (U)M: Estonia does not have an identified child sex 
tourism problem (either as a source or a destination 
country). 
 
PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS: 
 
¶30. (U)A: In 2006, the GOE incorporated EU Council 
Directive 2004/81/EC into national law to make it possible 
for trafficking victims to obtain a temporary residency 
permit for the duration of criminal investigations and 
legal proceedings.  The law was enacted in February 2007. 
No trafficking victim applied for a residency permit during 
the reporting period. 
 
¶31. (U)B: In 2007, three shelters designated specifically 
for trafficking victims began operating in Estonia.  The 
shelters, available to foreign and domestic victims alike, 
were established as part of the Nordic-Baltic pilot project 
and offered psychological, career and legal counseling to 
victims. According to the MSA, during the reporting period 
6 victims received services in these facilities. Funding 
for the shelters was provided by the Ministry of Finance, 
European Social Fund and project funds from the NGO EQUAL. 
These shelters also received funds under an MOI-directed 
program to support regional investments with taxes on 
gambling.  The GOE also supported a children's hotline 
dedicated to the early recognition of child victims and 
providing assistance.  The GOE allocated approximately 75 
percent of it overall 181,000 USD anti-trafficking budget 
to victims' assistance programs. 
 
¶32. (U)C: The GOE contributed 4,000 USD to IOM for a 
brochure on assistance to trafficking victims. This 
brochure is a practical guide for social workers and others 
who assist victims.  The NGO Living for Tomorrow received 
2,000 USD from the Estonian Gambling Tax Council.  The 
funds supported 24 trafficking awareness training sessions 
for secondary and vocational school students and 5 training 
sessions for adults.  The MSA provided the NGO Living for 
Tomorrow 18,000 USD to fund its anti-trafficking Hotline 
service. 
 
¶33. (U)D: See paragraph 34 E. 
 
¶34. (U)E: There is no government mechanism for screening 
for trafficking victims.  This work is done on the NGO 
level. The NGO Atoll's regular field survey of area 
prostitutes includes efforts to identify trafficking 
victims. 
 
¶35. (U)F. Post found no evidence that trafficking victims 
were unlawfully detained, jailed, and/or deported.  There 
were also no incidents of trafficking victims or witnesses 
having their rights to seek damages impeded. 
 
¶36. (U)G. Under Estonia's Victim Assistance Act (VAA), the 
MSA was responsible for overseeing victim assistance 
services for trafficking victims.  The MSA worked closely 
with local and county governments and NGOs in providing 
victim's assistance, as well as training and supervising 
volunteers. 
 
¶37. (U)G, Cont: Under Estonia's Crime Victim's Compensation 
Act (CVCA), trafficking victims are eligible for financial 
assistance and compensation of up to 70 percent of the 
damages caused by the crime.  During the reporting period, 
none of the CVCA recipients were identified as trafficking 
victims. 
 
¶38. (U)H: During the reporting period, a Baltic Sea States 
region-wide witness protection agreement (signed by 
Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania) was in force.  However, no 
Estonian trafficking victims elected to participate in the 
Baltic program. 
 
¶39. (U)H, Cont: The MFA took steps to ensure that, upon 
repatriation, trafficking victims were made aware of 
assistance services available from GOE agencies and NGOs. 
Minor victims are referred to the Tartu Child Support 
Center for assistance. 
 
¶40. (U)H, Cont:  The Estonian Embassy in London assisted in 
repatriating a female trafficking victim back to Estonia 
from the UK.  Upon her return to Estonia, the woman was 
placed in a shelter for trafficking victims. 
 
¶41. (U)I: The Ministry of Social Affairs holds an annual 
training session for consular officers on recognizing and 
assisting trafficking victims.  The training material is 
 
available electronically as well.  Estonian Consulates and 
Embassies have developed good relations with NGOs and 
international organizations that serve trafficking victims. 
Additional training programs are detailed in paragraphs 21, 
22 and 23 G. 
 
¶42. (U)J: The Government of Estonia provides medical aid, 
shelter and financial help to its nationals who are 
repatriated as victims of trafficking. 
 
¶43. (U)K: The following NGOs and international 
organizations work with trafficking victims: 
 
--Living for Tomorrow (prevention and outreach; trafficking 
prevention hotline); 
--HIV/AIDS Prevention Center (prevention and outreach); 
--International Organization for Adolescents (prevention, 
outreach, and victim assistance); 
--Human Rights Legal Information Center (prevention and 
outreach); 
--Estonian Women's Studies and Resource Center (ENUT); 
--Tartu Child Support Center (prevention and support); 
--Equal (outreach and assistance to prostitutes); 
--Atoll (outreach and assistance to prostitutes); 
--International Organization for Migration (outreach, 
prevention, assistance to victims); 
--Eluliin 
--The Vega Center 
 
In general, (as cited in paragraphs 31 B and 32 C) during 
the reporting period, the GOE allotted 181,000 USD to 
trafficking related training, campaigns and other 
activities.  Approximately 75 percent of this budget was 
spent on victim services, including hotlines, and the 
remaining 25 percent was spent on prevention.  (See 
paragraph 31 B for a description of available shelter 
services.) 
 
PREVENTION: 
 
¶44. (U)A: The government of Estonia has acknowledged that 
trafficking is a problem. 
 
¶45. (U)B: The MFA has been active in disseminating 
informational materials on trafficking at the Ministry 
itself, on their webpage, at Estonian Embassies in Berlin 
and in Paris and at the Tallinn airport and harbors. The 
MFA also disseminated trafficking related materials at 
TourEst 2007, the annual tourism fair, which was attended 
by approximately 23,465 people over three days.  The MFA 
also operated a 24-hour hotline for Estonians traveling 
abroad. Estonian Embassies offered voluntary registration 
for Estonian citizens traveling abroad. 
 
¶46. (U)C: The National Anti-Trafficking Network comprises 
not only representatives of the relevant ministries, but 
also NGOs. The representatives of the ministries have 
stressed that NGO participation in the network is crucial, 
as they have the best knowledge of the problem and have the 
closest contacts with trafficking victims. 
 
¶47. (U)D: The GOE adequately monitored its borders for 
trafficking.  The GOE monitored immigration and emigration 
patterns for evidence of trafficking unilaterally and in 
concert with regional border guards and law-enforcement 
partners.  One strategy of the 2007 National Action Plan 
was to pay closer attention to minors crossing the EU 
border, including questioning minors or persons 
accompanying minors, contacting the parents of the child 
and requesting additional documents. During the reporting 
period, the Ministry of Social Affairs and the NGO ENUT 
conducted training sessions for border guards on 
identifying victims and put together a handbook covering 
this issue. 
 
¶48. (U)E: In 2006, the GOE founded a national Anti- 
Trafficking working group.  This group, represented by MFA, 
MIA, MOJ, MSA, Ministry of Education (ME), Ministry of 
Finance (MOF), Citizenship and Migration Board (CMB), the 
Border Guards, Police Board, Central Criminal Police (CCP), 
INTERPOL and EUROPOL liaison offices and the Prosecutor's 
Office, drafted a National Action Plan to combat 
trafficking for the period 2006-2009.  The MOJ is the lead 
agency and is responsible for the implementation of the 
plan and inter-agency coordination. There is also a public 
corruption taskforce under the authority of the MOJ. 
 
¶49. (U)F: Estonia has a National Action Plan on trafficking 
for the years 2006-2009.  Each year, a thorough review is 
conducted of the previous years' goals and areas for 
improvement are identified.  The 2007 goals are currently 
under review at the inter-ministerial level. 
 
¶50. (U)G:  The GOE has undertaken several initiatives to 
reduce sex tourism in Estonia.  In 2007, the MSA, utilizing 
EU Social Funds, offered training courses designed to help 
those at risk for prostitution develop job skills.  The GOE 
also conducted a media campaign on the dangers of 
prostitution and conducted prostitution prevention programs 
in schools.  Police also continued their efforts to crack 
down on area brothels.  In the beginning of 2006, there 
were 43 known brothels operating in Estonia.  According to 
the Nordic Police Liaison, currently only 2 or 3 remain in 
operation.  The Liaison cited an increase in the complexity 
of ownership and operation of the brothels as reasons why 
the police have not yet been successful in closing the 
remaining locations down. 
 
¶51. (U)H: There were no known instances of international 
child sex tourism by Estonian nationals.  However, the 
Estonian MSA and various law enforcement agencies held 
regular trainings for child protection workers and police 
officers on how to recognize child trafficking victims. 
The GOE also took part in the Council of Baltic Sea States 
Working Group for Cooperation on Children at Risk. (Estonia 
is the Chair country for 2007-2008).  55 specialists from 
the Baltic Sea States took part in the training, resulting 
in the establishment of an international specialist 
network. 
 
¶52. (U)I: Estonia did not meet this criteria. 
 
PHILLIPS