VZCZCXRO0830
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSW #0179/01 1081456
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 171456Z APR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BERN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4995
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BERN 000179 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, EUR/PGI, EUR/AGS 
DEPT PLEASE PASS USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD PREF ELAB SZ
SUBJECT: TIP - SWITZERLAND: Supplement 
 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
 
¶1. (U) The Federal Office of Police has adjusted its 
organization and hired new staff to step up the fight 
against trafficking in persons and child sexual abuse.  At 
the operational level, the former investigative unit 
"Pedophilia-Human Trafficking-Migrant Smuggling" in July 
2007 was split up into the two new investigative units 
"Pedophilia & Pornography" and "Human Trafficking & Migrant 
Smuggling".  Staffing was increased at both units: the 
"Pedophilia & Pornography" unit has a staff of five and the 
"Human Trafficking & Migrant Smuggling" unit has seven 
employees, compared with a total of five employees of the 
former (combined) "Pedophilia-Human Trafficking-Migrant 
Smuggling" unit.  The "Human Trafficking & Migrant 
Smuggling" unit supports both domestic and international 
investigations of TIP cases.  The "Pedophilia & 
Pornography" provides similar support to law enforcement 
authorities in the area of combating child sexual abuse and 
child sex tourism. 
 
¶2. (U) At the policy level, the Coordination Unit against 
the Trafficking of Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (KSMM) 
also increased staffing during the reporting period.  The 
KSMM is the federal government's interdepartmental body to 
coordinate and monitor anti-trafficking efforts.  At the 
beginning of 2008, the KSMM filled a new analyst position. 
The KSMM now consists of a staff of four: the head, deputy 
head, office management assistant, and the newly appointed 
analyst. 
 
 
CONVICTIONS: 
 
¶3. (U) According to the Swiss Federal Office of Statistics, 
the official number of convictions under Article 196/182 
(Trafficking) and Article 195 (Forced Prostitution) of the 
Penal Code were as follows: 
 
------------------------------------ 
Year  Art. 196/182  Art. 195   Total 
------------------------------------ 
1999       7          14          21 
2000       5          17          22 
2001       2          17          19 
2002       2          11          13 
2003       7           6          13 
2004       2          12          14 
2005      12          15          27 
2006*      8          12          20 
2007**     6           3           9 
 
¶4. (SBU) * Provisional statistics compiled by Embassy Bern 
as of April 16, 2008, based on data provided by the Swiss 
Federal Office of Statistics (BFS), information revealed by 
the Swiss Federal Office of Police, and reliable media 
reports of court convictions.  Official data released by 
BFS includes convictions only after all possibilities of 
appeal have been exhausted and verdicts are final.  On 
previous experience, there is a lag of approximately two 
years for BFS data to become final. 
 
¶5. (SBU) ** Preliminary data compiled by Embassy Bern as of 
April 16, 2008, based on information provided by the Swiss 
Federal Office of Police.  These data are only preliminary 
because some cantons follow a policy of reporting first- 
instance court verdicts to the Federal Office of Police 
only after they have become final. As we have experienced 
in the past, final numbers of convictions most likely will 
be higher after defendants have exhausted possibilities of 
appeal. 
 
 
2005 
 
Art. 195 (Forced Prostitution) 
 
Number of Sentences 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Unsuspended prison sentence                       1 
Suspended prison sentences                       14 
 
Length of sentence       Min    Max    Average 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
BERN 00000179  002 OF 004 
 
 
Unsuspended              487    487      487   days 
Suspended                 10    548      140   days 
 
Art. 196 (Trafficking) 
 
Number of Sentences 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Unsuspended prison sentence                       3 
Suspended prison sentences                        9 
 
Length of sentence       Min    Max    Average 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Unsuspended              136    487      360   days 
Suspended                 10    487      254   days 
 
 
2006* 
 
Art. 195 (Forced Prostitution) 
 
Number of Sentences 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Unsuspended prison sentence                       1 
Suspended prison sentences                       11 
 
Length of sentence       Min    Max    Average 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Unsuspended              731    731      731   days 
Suspended                 30    660      266   days 
 
Art. 196 (Trafficking) 
 
Number of Sentences 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Unsuspended prison sentence                       5 
Suspended prison sentences                        3 
 
Length of sentence       Min    Max    Average 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Unsuspended              548   1461      929   days 
Suspended                365    540      454   days 
 
¶6. (SBU) * Provisional statistics compiled by Embassy Bern 
as of April 16, 2008, based on data provided by the Swiss 
Federal Office of Statistics (BFS), information revealed by 
the Swiss Federal Office of Police, and reliable media 
reports of court convictions.  Official data released by 
BFS includes convictions only after all possibilities of 
appeal have been exhausted and verdicts are final.  On 
previous experience, there is a lag of approximately two 
years for BFS data to become final. 
 
 
2007** 
 
Art. 195 (Forced Prostitution) 
 
Number of Sentences 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Unsuspended prison sentence                       1 
Suspended prison sentences                        2 
 
Length of sentence       Min    Max    Average 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Unsuspended              300    300      300   days 
Suspended                150    455      302   days 
 
 
Art. 196/182 (Trafficking) 
 
Number of Sentences 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Unsuspended prison sentence                       1 
Suspended prison sentences                        5 
 
Length of sentence       Min    Max    Average 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
Unsuspended              910    910      910   days 
Suspended                 50    900      382   days 
 
 
¶7. (SBU) ** Preliminary data compiled by Embassy Bern as of 
April 16, 2008, based on information provided by the Swiss 
Federal Office of Police.  These data are only preliminary 
because some cantons follow a policy of reporting first- 
 
BERN 00000179  003 OF 004 
 
 
instance court verdicts to the Federal Office of Police 
only after they have become final. As we have experienced 
in the past, final numbers of convictions most likely will 
be higher after defendants have exhausted possibilities of 
appeal. 
 
 
Convictions in 2008 
------------------- 
 
¶8. (U) In late March 2008, the district court in Aarberg in 
the canton of Bern convicted a 32-year-old Serb national 
and a 29-year old Bulgarian national of trafficking 
offenses.  The two men had run a brothel in a Bern village 
near an interstate highway between April and December 2005. 
The court found them guilty of human trafficking in at 
least one instance.  The district court convicted the Serb 
national for the offences of human trafficking and forced 
prostitution.  He received a six-year unsuspended prison 
sentence, a fine of $3,600 suspended for a period of three 
years, plus a fine of $6,000.  The Bulgarian national, who 
joined in only in October 2005 but whom the district court 
considered the number two in the brothel operation, was 
also convicted of human trafficking and forced prostitution. 
He received an unsuspended prison sentence of 25 months, a 
fine of $3,300 suspended over a period of two years, plus a 
fine of $2,400. 
 
 
PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
 
¶9. (U) In 2007, the Zurich-based anti-TIP NGO FIZ counseled 
167 victims of human trafficking. This represents a 25 
percent increase over the 133 victims counseled in 2006. 
FIZ reported that 50 percent of TIP victims came from 
Eastern Europe, compared to 33 percent of victims 
originating in this region the previous year.  FIZ also 
reported that 50 percent of victims were referred by local 
police departments. This is a powerful indicator that the 
referral mechanism established as part of the local 
roundtable efforts between law enforcement agencies and the 
NGO FIZ is proving increasingly effective.  The cantons of 
Bern, Basel, Lucerne, Solothurn, Zurich, and Sankt Gallen 
have contracted the NGO FIZ to provide the emergency 
assistance and counseling services to which TIP victims are 
entitled under the law.  FIZ thus provides its specialized 
services to TIP victims in every major urban center in the 
German part of Switzerland. 
 
¶10. (U) In 2006, the most recent year for which data is 
available, the government-run victim assistance centers 
counseled a total of 80 victims of human trafficking and 
forced prostitution, compared to 63 victims in 2005.  Post 
previously misreported the figure of TIP victims assisted 
in 2005 as 126, based on erroneous data accidentally 
provided by GOS contacts. The correct figure of victims 
assisted in 2005 is 63.  Several cantons in the German part 
of Switzerland have contracted the Zurich-based NGO FIZ to 
provide emergency assistance services to TIP victims; these 
TIP victims do not appear in the statistics of government- 
run victim assistance centers. 
 
Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking 
in Human Beings 
 
¶11. (U) Switzerland played an active role in the drafting 
of the Council of Europe's Convention on Action against 
Trafficking in Human Beings adopted on May 16, 2005.  Swiss 
signature of the Convention is pending consultation with 
cantonal authorities regarding modalities for 
implementation. Legal review by the Federal Office of 
Police showed that Switzerland is already in compliance 
with most of the Convention's provisions, namely in the 
area of criminal law as well as regulations on stays and 
assistance to trafficking victims. However, standing legal 
provisions on the protection of witnesses outside the 
courtroom do not completely fulfill Article 28 of the 
Convention. Ratifying the Convention thus implies 
legislative action by the Swiss cantons, which hold 
jurisdiction over this issue. The Justice Minister 
therefore ordered that the cantons be consulted on the 
Convention and possible legal amendments to provide the 
required protection of victims and witnesses testifying in 
TIP cases. Consultations of the cantons are ongoing but 
preliminary results show cantons generally supportive of 
 
BERN 00000179  004 OF 004 
 
 
the Convention and the additional victim protection 
measures. 
 
Providing specialized assistance to TIP victims 
 
¶12. (U) The National Conference of the Directors of the 
Cantonal Social Welfare Departments, the Federal Office for 
Equal Opportunities, and the Federal Office of Police 
jointly financed a study on "The Situation and Protection 
of Victims of Human Trafficking in Switzerland" by the 
Swiss Forum for Migration and Population Studies (SFM) of 
the University of Neuchatel.  The specific goal of the 
study was to assess the need for specialized counseling 
services for victims of human trafficking and to explore 
possible models to implement such a program.  In a brief 
summary, the representatives of the three agencies that 
contracted the SFM study recommend that the cantons assign 
and task specialized agencies with the coordination of the 
support provided to trafficking victims (i.e. case 
management) and that the management of complex cases 
spanning several cantons as well as awareness raising and 
training programs be run on an inter-cantonal basis or 
delegated to an expert body. 
 
¶13. (U) In the meantime, several cantons, notably Lucerne, 
Solothurn, Bern, St. Gallen, and Zurich have signed 
agreements with FIZ on the financial compensation for 
specialized counseling services the latter provided to TIP 
victims.  These cantons, which in 2006 accounted for more 
than half of all TIP victims, concluded these agreements in 
the context of cantonal anti-TIP coordinating mechanisms. 
Several other cantons are holding discussions to the same 
end. 
 
 
PREVENTION 
 
¶14. (U) Swiss government agencies continued to fund several 
prevention and protection programs abroad, valued annually 
at between US$ 1-2 million (1-2 million Swiss francs). 
 
¶15. (U) On March 8, International Women's Day, a coalition 
of around 20 Swiss and International NGOs and civic groups 
launched their public awareness campaign aimed at 
highlighting the plight of trafficked women in Switzerland. 
The campaigners want to use the Euro 08 soccer 
championships, being co-hosted by Switzerland and Austria 
this summer, to draw attention to the issue - with male 
fans being the target audience.  The NGO coalition kicked- 
off the campaign "Euro 08 against Trafficking in Women" by 
holding demonstrations in four Swiss cities hosting games 
of the soccer championship. The Federal Government in 2007 
appropriated $100,000 to help kick-start the public 
awareness campaign. 
 
CARTER