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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHTH #0206/01 0481447
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 171447Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY ATHENS
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3227
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0089
RUEHGB/AMEMBASSY BAGHDAD 0129
RUEHKA/AMEMBASSY DHAKA 0051
RUEHIL/AMEMBASSY ISLAMABAD 0678
RUEHNR/AMEMBASSY NAIROBI 0061
RUEHBUL/AMEMBASSY KABUL 0454
RUEHNE/AMEMBASSY NEW DELHI 0327
RUEHNT/AMEMBASSY TASHKENT
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 ATHENS 000206 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
FOR G/TIP, G-ACBlank, EUR/SE, EUR/PGI, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KTIP PREF ASEC KCRM KFRD KWMN SMIG ELAB GR
SUBJECT:  Greece: 2009 TIP Report Submission - Part 4 of 4 
 
REF: 08 STATE 132759 
 
¶1.  (U) This document is Sensitive But Unclassified.  Please 
protect accordingly. 
 
¶2.  (U) This is the last of four cables.  The cable text is 
keyed to REFTEL paragraphs 27 (PREVENTION), 28 (TIP HEROES), and 
29 (TIP BEST PRACTICES).  TIP point of contact information and an 
estimate of hours spent in preparation of the TIP Report 
submission are included at the end of the cable. 
 
---------- 
PREVENTION 
---------- 
 
¶3.  (SBU) -- A. Did the government conduct anti-trafficking 
information or education campaigns during the reporting period?  If 
so, briefly describe the campaign(s), including their objectives and 
effectiveness.  Please provide the number of people reached by such 
awareness efforts, if available.  Do these campaigns target 
potential trafficking victims and/or the demand for trafficking 
(e.g. "clients" of prostitutes or beneficiaries of forced labor)? 
(Note: This can be an especially noteworthy effort where 
prostitution is legal. End Note.) 
 
The government conducted multiple anti-trafficking information, 
education, and public awareness campaigns during the reporting 
period.  In 2008, these initiatives targeted a variety of audiences, 
including members of Parliament, commuters, local authorities, law 
enforcement officials, potential victims of trafficking, and the 
general public. 
 
TIP DOCUMENTARY:  The Anti-Trafficking Police, in cooperation with 
private TV producer ALPHA, filmed and broadcasted a documentary on 
trafficking issues aimed at general public awareness as well as 
potential victims of trafficking. 
 
MFA / UNICEF JOINT CAMPAIGN:  In 2008, the MFA partnered with UNICEF 
on a multifaceted, child-focused anti-trafficking public awareness 
campaign.  The MFA provided 140,000 euro (196,000 USD) in funds to 
support the following initiatives: 
 
-- A press conference at the Museum of Cycladic Art launching the 
MFA / UNICEF campaign, hosted by Foreign Minister Dora Bakoyiannis 
on April 16, 2008. 
 
-- An anti-TIP handbook for Parliamentarians and opinion leaders 
entitled "Combating Child Trafficking."  Foreign Minister Dora 
Bakoyiannis hosted a special event to present the handbooks. 
 
-- News bulletin program describing "seven true stories of child 
victims of trafficking" narrated by popular TV broadcasters.  The 
program was aired on all major public and private TV channels (NET, 
MEGA, ANT1, ALTER, STAR, ALPHA, SKAI) on April 16 and 17, 2008. 
 
-- A one-day "radio marathon" awareness campaign organized by UNICEF 
on all major Greek radio stations on April 17, 2008. 
 
-- An outdoor poster information campaign at 120 bus stops 
throughout Athens, from April 12-25, 2008. 
 
-- 3-part series of TV public service announcements, called "OXI" 
("no" in Greek).  The PSAs featured well-known celebrities saying 
"OXI" to child trafficking, and was aired on national, regional, and 
local TV channels from May 12 to June 12, 2008. 
 
-- Radio PSA broadcasted on all Greek stations from May 12 to June 
12, 2008. 
 
-- Multiple child trafficking features in UNICEF Greece's quarterly 
magazine. 
 
-- Direct mail pieces highlighting trafficking in children sent to 
20,000 recipients:  local authorities, social workers, police 
officers, doctors, educators, and prosecutors. 
 
 
ATHENS 00000206  002 OF 005 
 
 
The MFA / UNICEF campaign focused primarily on child trafficking as 
a global phenomenon and not on TIP in Greece.  We continue to 
encourage the Greek government to make public awareness campaigns 
more locally relevant. 
 
MFA / IOM JOINT CAMPAIGNS:  The government continued to partner with 
IOM on: 
 
-- Proucing information cards, printed in multiple lanuages to 
cover the major TIP victim source contries, alerting potential 
victims to the law enforcement and legal resources available to 
them.  The card was distributed at border checkpoints to women 
entering Greece from specific countries. 
 
-- Anti-trafficking poster awareness campaign, featuring child 
trafficking, sex trafficking, and trafficking for organs.  Some 
posters were directed at foreign migrants and included information 
on legal resources.  Posters were distributed to police offices, 
public transportation terminals, government offices, and NGOs in 
early 2008. 
 
The MFA / IOM joint campaign explicitly acknowledged trafficking as 
a problem in Greece and was directed at both the general public as 
well as potential TIP victims. 
 
The government did not run public awareness campaigns specifically 
targeting the clients of prostitutes or beneficiaries of forced 
labor. 
 
-- B. Does the government monitor immigration and emigration 
patterns for evidence of trafficking?  Do law enforcement agencies 
screen for potential trafficking victims along borders? 
 
Law enforcement authorities, including the Border Police, Aliens 
Police, Anti-Trafficking Police, Coast Guard, and airport 
authorities, screen arriving migrants for possible TIP victims and 
fraudulent documents under Schengen regulations.  Airport and 
immigration law enforcement specialists are included in 
anti-trafficking training programs and are represented in the 
Interministerial Committee on Trafficking in Persons. 
 
The Anti-TIP Police monitors immigration and emigration patterns for 
evidence of trafficking. 
 
Over the last several years, a surge in undocumented migrants and 
refugees coming into Greece via the Greece-Turkey land border and 
via the Aegean Sea has strained Greece's ability to control its 
borders.  Tens of thousands of illegal immigrants cross or are 
smuggled into the country every year. 
 
-- C. Is there a mechanism for coordination and communication 
between various agencies, internal, international, and multilateral 
on trafficking-related matters, such as a multi-agency working group 
or a task force? 
 
There are eight national ministries with official responsibility for 
anti-trafficking efforts.  The Interministerial Committee on 
Trafficking in Persons is comprised of nine Secretaries General (SG) 
from those ministries and the Committee is the primary mechanism for 
coordination and communication between government agencies on all 
trafficking-related matters.  In 2008 the MFA SG became the chair of 
the Committee and created a new working-level interministerial task 
force to work more effectively on TIP issues. 
 
Some NGOs reported that the coordination meetings that previously 
took place between NGOs and the Interministerial Committee had 
stopped taking place. 
 
-- D. Does the government have a national plan of action to address 
trafficking in persons?  If the plan was developed during the 
reporting period, which agencies were involved in developing it? 
Were NGOs consulted in the process?  What steps has the government 
taken to implement the action plan? 
 
The government has an interministerial national plan of action to 
counter trafficking in persons called "Ilaeira," named after a woman 
 
ATHENS 00000206  003 OF 005 
 
 
in Greek mythology who was abducted and represents the earliest 
example of a victim of trafficking.   Ilaeira lays out the 
interminsterial coordination mechanism and specific responsibilities 
of each of the eight ministries, and NGOs were consulted heavily in 
its development.  For more information on each individual ministry's 
responsibilities, please see the section on goernment agencies and 
their role in combating tafficking. 
 
In addition, the Ilaeira plan encompasses all law enforcement 
anti-trafficking operations, as well as all TIP-related training. 
For more information on law enforcement activities, please see the 
section on "Law Enforcement Statistics."  For more information on 
government TIP training, please see the section on training. 
 
-- E: What measures has the government taken during the reporting 
period to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts?   (see ref B, 
para. 9(3) for examples) 
 
We are not aware of measures taken by the government to reduce the 
demand for commercial sex, as it is legal in Greece. 
 
-- F. Required of all Posts: What measures has the government taken 
during the reporting period to reduce the participation in 
international child sex tourism by nationals of the country? 
 
Article 323B of the Greek Penal Code provides for imprisonment for 
up to ten years for "any person who organizes, finances, advertises 
or negotiates for tourism, the intention of which is to perform 
sexual intercourse of other lewd acts with a person under the age of 
18 and further provides for at least one year imprisonment for any 
person who engages in such travel. 
 
We are unaware of any public awareness efforts or enforcement 
efforts specifically targeted at reducing the participation of Greek 
citizens in international child sex tourism.  However, multiple MFA 
public awareness campaigns with UNICEF higlighted the more general 
topic of child sex trafficking. 
 
-- G. Required of posts in countries that have contributed over 100 
troops to international peacekeeping efforts (Argentina, Australia, 
Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Benin, Bolivia, Brazil,  Cambodia, 
Cameroon, Canada, Chile, China, Cote d'Ivoire, Croatia, Egypt, El 
Salvador, Ethiopia, Fiji,  France, Gambia, Germany, Ghana, Greece, 
Guatemala, Hungary, India, Indonesia,  Italy, Jordan, Kenya, Korea 
(South), Malawi, Malaysia, Mali, Mongolia, Morocco,  Nepal,  Niger, 
Nigeria, Pakistan, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal,  Romania, 
Russia, Rwanda, Senegal, Slovakia, South Africa, Spain, Sri Lanka, 
Tanzania, Togo, Tunisia, Turkey, Uganda, Ukraine, United Kingdom, 
Uruguay, Yemen, Zambia, and Zimbabwe): What measures has the 
government adopted to ensure that its nationals who are deployed 
abroad as part of a peacekeeping or other similar mission do not 
engage in or facilitate severe forms of trafficking or exploit 
victims of such trafficking?  If posts do not provide an answer to 
this question, the Department may consider 
including a statement in the country assessment to the effect that 
"An assessment regarding Country X's efforts to ensure that its 
troops deployed abroad for international peacekeeping missions do 
not engage in or facilitate trafficking or exploit trafficking 
victims was unavailable for this reporting period." 
 
All Greek troops on multinational Peace Support Operations (NATO, 
EU, UN missions, etc.) receive training at the Hellenic 
Multinational Peace Support Operations Training Center (MPSOTC) 
before deploying abroad.  The MPSOTC training program is certified 
by the UN and NATO and includes a module on the impact of TIP on 
human rights, stability, and security. 
 
-------------------------------------- 
NOMINATION OF HEROES AND BEST PRACTICES 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶28. (U) HEROES:  The introduction to the past four TIP Reports has 
included a section honoring Anti-Trafficking "Heroes" These 
individuals or representatives of organizations demonstrate an 
exceptional commitment to fighting TIP above and beyond the scope of 
their assigned work.  The Department encourages post to nominate one 
 
ATHENS 00000206  004 OF 005 
 
 
or more such individuals for inclusion in a similar section of the 
2009 Report.  Please submit, under a subheading of "TIP Hero(es)," a 
brief description of the individual or organization's work, and note 
that the appropriate individual(s) has been vetted through databases 
available to post (e.g. CLASS and any law enforcement systems) to 
ensure they have no visa ineligibilities or other derogatory 
information. 
 
-- Major George Vanikiotis is the commander of the Anti-Trafficking 
Unit, Organized Crime Division, of the Attica Police.  Major 
Vanikiotis is known throughout the law enforcement and NGO community 
as an enthusiastic, professional, and focused proponent of 
anti-trafficking initiatives.  As one of Greece's most knowledgeable 
TIP experts, Major Vanikiotis provides training to police cadets, 
prosecutors, health professionals, labor inspectors, and NGOs 
throughout the country.  In addition, he leads anti-trafficking 
seminars at high schools and universities.  He directs Greece's 
anti-trafficking law enforcement strategy, which concentrated on 
tackling several major urban trafficking rings in 2008 and will 
focus on rural labor exploitation in 2009.  Major Vanikiotis is 
credited by many for single-handedly expanding Greece's law 
enforcement initiative against traffickers, and for that he is a 
true TIP Hero. 
 
George Vanikiotis has no derogatory hits in CLASS. 
 
-- Maria Vasileiou is the President of the Human Rights Defense 
Center (KEPAD), an organization established in 1998 to promote and 
protect human rights in Greece and in the broader Balkans area.  Ms. 
Vasileiou actively promotes the fight against trafficking through 
the ARIADNE Network, which coordinates regional anti-TIP efforts 
with 17 NGOs in 11 countries, including Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina, 
Bulgaria, Croatia, Moldova, Ukraine, Macedonia, Romania, Serbia, 
Montenegro, and Turkey.  Under Ms. Vasileiou's leadership, KEPAD 
gained consultative status with the United Nations Economic and 
Social Council (ECOSOC) and works closely with the Council of 
Europe, the EU, OSCE, and the Stability Pact for Southeastern 
Europe.  Ms. Vasileiou's background as a UN diplomat and her special 
focus on academic, legal, and policy research for anti-trafficking 
initiatives has made her an important champion for the fight against 
TIP in Greece. 
 
Maria Vasileiou has not yet been checked in CLASS. 
 
-- Daniel Esdras, Chief of Mission for the International 
Organization for Migration in Greece, has innovatively and 
tirelessly worked to improve the Government of Greece's 
anti-trafficking enforcement efforts, services to victims, and 
public awareness on human trafficking.  Through a long-term series 
of innovative prosecutorial training conferences on TIP (see "Best 
Practices" below), Mr. Esdras has put the judicial spotlight on 
trafficking crimes.  He also oversees IOM's repatriation efforts, 
where trafficking victims are provided safe voluntary travel to 
their home countries.  Mr. Esdras also spearheaded a high-impact 
poster campaign on sex and child trafficking in early 2008. 
 
Daniel (Daniil) Esdras has no derogatory hits in CLASS. 
 
¶29. (U) BEST PRACTICES.  For the past five years the Report has 
carried a section on "Best Practices" in addressing TIP.  This 
section highlights particular practices used by governments or NGOs 
in addressing the various challenges of TIP and serves as a useful 
guide to foreign governments and posts as they design anti-TIP 
projects and strategies.  The Department encourages post to nominate 
"best practices" from their host countries for showcasing in the 
2009 Report.  Please submit, under a "Best Practice" subheading, a 
brief summary of the activity or practice, along with the positive 
effect it has had in addressing TIP. 
 
The International Organization for Migration (IOM), in coordination 
with the MFA, Ministry of Justice, and other ministries, continued a 
series of intensive anti-trafficking training conferences for 
government prosecutors.  As a part of the Greek government's 
long-term efforts to build judicial awareness of trafficking crimes 
and to ensure that sentences for traffickers are tougher and more 
uniform, IOM hosted two training conferences for prosecutors in 
 
ATHENS 00000206  005 OF 005 
 
 
¶2008. 
 
In previous years, training conferences were held in Crete and in 
Rhodes and focused on anti-trafficking case studies, legal 
coordination, and awareness-building.  In April 2008, IOM, in 
coordination with Microsoft and the Ministry of Employment, provided 
a two-day training session focusing on child pornography and 
exploitation in Corinth.  In November 2008, IOM partnered with the 
MFA and the Ministry of Justice to host a two-day seminar on 
Transborder Organized Crime in the Balkans.  For the first time, 
IOM's anti-trafficking training series included prosecutorial 
representatives from ten neighboring countries.  The seminar focused 
heavily on trafficking, narcotics, and organized crime interdiction, 
and was held in Volos. 
 
IOM's innovative series of anti-trafficking seminars is especially 
innovative because it takes a sustainable, long-term approach to an 
important problem - a lack of TIP awareness and enforcement 
coordination between Greek prosecutors and judges, who enjoy 
significant independence in their work.  Daniel Esdras, IOM Chief of 
Mission for Greece, started and has sustained this long-term 
training initiative, which has significantly raised the profile of 
trafficking crimes among prosecutors.  His efforts have been so 
successful that the National Association of Judges has requested 
similar anti-trafficking training for 2009. 
 
-------------------------------- 
TIP CONTACT PERSON, HOURS WORKED 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶4.  (U) Embassy Athens' point of contact on TIP-related matters is 
political officer David Muehlke. 
 
EMAIL:  muehlkedv@state.gov 
TEL: (30) 210-720-2551 
FAX: (30) 210-729-4307 
 
¶5.  (U) The number of hours spent preparing the TIP report cable is 
as follows: 
 
FS-01 Officer: 3 hours 
FS-02 Officer: 2 hours 
FS-04 Officer: 30 hours 
LES-11 Political Specialist: 30 hours 
 
SPECKHARD