VZCZCXRO2183
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHWR #0018/01 0081222
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 081222Z JAN 09
FM AMEMBASSY WARSAW
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7566
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHKW/AMCONSUL KRAKOW 2201
RUEAWJB/US DOJ WASH DC
RHMFIUU/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 WARSAW 000018 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
STATE FOR EUR/PGI, EUR/CE, G/TIP, INL/HSTC, DRL/IL 
LABOR FOR ILAB 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB PL
 
SUBJECT: Poland/TIP - Continued Forward Progress, But ... 
 
Ref: STATE 133137 (G/TIP ACTION GUIDE FOR POLAND) 
 
WARSAW 00000018  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) Summary. Poland has continued to make strides in its 
efforts to combat trafficking in persons.  Poland ratified the 2005 
Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human 
Beings on November 17.  It will enter into force on March 1, 2009. 
The Polish government and International Organization for Migration 
(IOM) sponsored a national trafficking awareness campaign -- a 
poster display that circulated at the country's major train 
stations.  The Polish Interior Ministry held its third national 
conference on trafficking on October 22 with a focus on law 
enforcement issues, forced labor, and child trafficking; the candid 
evaluation of Polish successes and shortcomings are encouraging 
signs of serious engagement and solid commitment to combat TIP. 
These positive developments notwithstanding, the possible closure of 
Poland's only specialized shelter for TIP victims (reported septel) 
is cause for concern.  End Summary. 
 
-------------------------------- 
The Council of Europe Convention 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) Poland was the 19th state to ratify the 2005 Council of 
Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings. 
Poland ratified the Convention on November 17.  The Convention will 
enter into force in Poland on March 1, 2009.  The Convention focuses 
on the protection and rights of victims of trafficking.  It defines 
TIP broadly and recommends preventive provisions and enhancements to 
nationally and internationally coordination. Because the GoP was 
already implementing the Convention's requirements, ratification at 
this stage is mostly a formality, albeit one with important symbolic 
value. 
 
----------------------------------- 
Anti-Trafficking Awareness Campaign 
----------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Polish national TIP conference coincided with the 
inauguration of a new public awareness campaign organized by the 
Interior Ministry and IOM, and co-sponsored by Embassy Warsaw.  This 
traveling exhibit was on display at Warsaw's central train station 
for one week before circulating to six other major train stations 
around the country, including Poznan, Lodz, Katowice, Krakow, 
Wroclaw and Gdynia.  The exhibit consisted of 18 posters which 
presented photographs of victims and statistical information about 
the phenomenon.  The goal of the project was to present the problem 
of trafficking to the widest possible audience.  The display 
received positive media attention. 
 
---------------------------------------- 
Third National Conference on Trafficking 
---------------------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) The Interior Ministry held its third national conference on 
trafficking in human beings on October 22.  The conference was 
attended by approximately 120 people, including representatives of 
numerous Polish ministries and central government institutions, law 
enforcement officials, lawyers, NGOs, academics, social workers and 
researchers.  The conference reviewed the successes of the past year 
but also broke into three working groups to conduct candid 
assessments of what still needs to be done and to formulate of 
specific recommendations. 
 
¶5. (SBU) Deputy Interior Minister Piotr Stachanczyk opened the 
conference and, inter alia, thanked the Warsaw University Human 
Trafficking Center and Justice Affairs Institute for its research 
during 2008, which lead to a more comprehensive understanding of the 
phenomenon in Poland.  Piotr Mierecki, Deputy Director for Migration 
Policy in the Interior Ministry whose department is responsible for 
coordinating national activities to combat TIP, then presented the 
successes of the 2007-2008 National Anti-Trafficking Action Plan. 
These included numerous information campaigns carried out by the 
Interior Ministry (e.g., an information campaign addressed to Poles 
who leave the country to work abroad and a campaign for persons from 
neighboring countries who come to work in Poland) and enhanced law 
enforcement capabilities thanks to the establishment the Police 
Central Anti-Trafficking Team in 2006, and the recent appointment of 
TIP coordinators in all regional Border Guard units.  All district 
prosecutors' offices now have appointed consultants who provide 
guidance on how to handle TIP-related cases.  Mierecki also cited 
improved international cooperation within the G-6 framework, in 
particular with the UK.  (NOTE: The G-6 countries are France, 
Germany, Italy, Poland, Spain, and the UK. END NOTE.) 
 
 
WARSAW 00000018  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
¶6. (SBU) Mierecki stated that the two areas of main concern are the 
lack of the definition of trafficking in Polish criminal law, and 
the need to develop a model of support and protection for underage 
victims.  Mierecki briefly outlined the proposed National 
Anti-Trafficking Program for 2009-2010, which inter alia addresses 
these issues.  In a separate meeting January 7, Mierecki told us 
that the interagency review of the plan should be complete by the 
end of January and the plan approved by Council of Ministers in 
March or April. 
 
--------------------------------- 
Conference Working Group Sessions 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶7. (U) The TIP conference was divided into three working groups 
focused on law enforcement issues, forced labor, and 
child-trafficking. 
 
LAW ENFORCEMENT WORKING GROUP 
 
¶8. (SBU) The law enforcement working group focused on a 
nuts-and-bolts analysis of prosecution patterns and available 
resources for TIP cases.  Prosecutor Krzysztof Karsznicki from the 
Justice Affairs Institute presented a detailed analysis of 
TIP-related cases which were closed without resolution by 
prosecutors between 2005 and 2007. Karsznicki said only 20 of the 40 
discontinued cases he analyzed were classified under Article 253 
(Trafficking), though all of them should have been.  The others were 
classified as pimping and smuggling, for example, rather than 
trafficking, because of the lack of a legal definition and thorough 
understanding of trafficking provisions in the Polish criminal code. 
 Prosecutor Karsznicki pointed out various problems with 
investigations carried out by prosecution offices, such as the lack 
of physical evidence, problems with proper classification of the 
offense, and investigations that were either too lengthy or too 
short before being discontinued.  The guidelines created by the 
National Prosecution Office on how to deal with TIP cases were used 
in only 10 percent of the cases and the provision for a 'reflection 
period' was not used at all in these 40 cases.  Karsznicki also 
observed that prosecutors are reluctant to use international legal 
aid, even in simple matters, such as identification of the address, 
or showing a photo of a perpetrator to the victim.  Karsznicki 
opined that prosecutors too easily decide to discontinue 
investigations, and expressed concern that it may be because the 
victims are foreigners who have often already returned home and are 
unlikely to appeal the decision.  In two cases, victims were charged 
with possession of false documents and immigration violations, and 
were released only after intervention by the leading 
anti-trafficking NGO LaStrada. Karsznicki opined that this problem 
supports the argument to move trafficking-related cases from the 
circuit to district prosecutorial level. He also observed that 
police generally do not run undercover operations (e.g., 
surveillance, wiretapping, etc.) to identify trafficking operations; 
the police only act in response to victim complaints. 
 
¶9. (SBU) The law enforcement working group recommended that: a legal 
definition of trafficking should be incorporated into the Polish 
criminal code; law enforcement officials should use more operational 
techniques to identify cases of trafficking and more sophisticated 
tools to gather evidence; prosecutors should be strongly encouraged 
(since they cannot be compelled because of their independence) to 
use standard operating procedures developed by the National 
Prosecution Office; and, prosecutors and consultants should meet 
more regularly to increase training opportunities. 
 
FORCED LABOR WORKING GROUP 
 
¶10. (SBU) The second working group focused on forced labor issues, 
including the new competencies assigned to the Polish Labor 
Inspectorate (PIP).  Jaroslaw Lesniewski, the Director of the PIP's 
Department for Controlling Legality of Employment, described the new 
tasks which were assigned to PIP as a result of the 2007 revision of 
the law.  The new powers include controlling the legality of 
employment of foreigners and the operation of employment agencies 
which help Poles find work abroad.  Mierecki noted that Poland is 
becoming a destination country for migrant workers and that there is 
a need to train PIP personnel, Border Guards, and labor inspectors 
to better identify and handle possible forced labor cases.  The 
Border Guard and PIP have signed a memorandum of cooperation and 
there are also lower-level agreements, but Mierecki noted that both 
sides need to take advantage of those mechanisms. 
 
¶11. (SBU) The working group also noted that there needs to be more 
cooperation with countries of origin and trade unions.  Mierecki 
 
WARSAW 00000018  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
observed that there is an urgent need for more awareness campaigns 
on the risks related to undertaking illegal work, including more 
cooperation with the countries of origin.  Lukasz Wieczorek from 
Warsaw University observed that Polish trade unions are rarely 
involved in the issues of forced labor and protecting rights of 
foreign workers.  He pointed out that this is not the case in other 
countries, such as the UK, Ireland, France, and Germany. 
 
¶12. (SBU) The recommendations of this group included the need to 
make trade unions and employers aware of the problem of forced 
labor.  The group also agreed that there should be a central 
register of monitoring and inspections carried out by labor 
inspectorate. 
 
CHILD-TRAFFICKING WORKING GROUP 
 
¶13. (SBU) The third working group focused on the problem of 
child-trafficking. During 2008, participation in the Ministry-funded 
Witness/Victim Protection program was offered to two victims younger 
than 18.  Working group participants observed that this has created 
new problems and opportunities and recommended: a definition of 
trafficking that distinguishes between adults and minors, as well as 
a legal definition for the term "unaccompanied minor"; the 
establishment of standard operation procedures for minors who fall 
victims of trafficking and providing training for law enforcement on 
how to combat child-trafficking; a 24/7 telephone hotline, which 
could serve as an emergency point of contact for rapid 
identification of TIP victims; the creation of an internet database 
for institutions that deal with trafficking in persons; and, 
training for judges on how to deal with children who are victims of 
trafficking. 
 
------- 
Comment 
------- 
 
¶14. (SBU) The ratification of the COE convention (even if mainly 
symbolic), the TIP awareness campaigns, and the candor of the TIP 
conference are encouraging signs that the GoP is examining 
trafficking with clear-sightedness and looking for pragmatic ways to 
address the problem.  It remains to be seen whether the GoP will 
allocate the resources necessary to move forward with the new 
recommendations outlined above, but Mierecki informed us that the 
recommendations have been incorporated into the proposed National 
Anti-Trafficking Program for 2009-2010.  The fact that government 
policy offices, law enforcement officials, NGOs and academics 
actively participated in the conference is a positive signal of 
transparency and cooperation across the board.  Our primary concern 
going forward is the possible closure of the country's only 
specialized TIP victim assistance shelter (as reported septel). 
 
ASHE