VZCZCXRO1866
RR RUEHAG RUEHDF RUEHIK RUEHLZ RUEHROV RUEHSR
DE RUEHLE #0052/01 0561147
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251147Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY LUXEMBOURG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 6534
INFO RUCNMEM/EU MEMBER STATES
RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KYIV 0008
RUEHMO/AMEMBASSY MOSCOW 0411
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 LUXEMBOURG 000052 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP, G-ACBLANK, INL, DRL, PRM, EUR/PGI 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB
LU 
SUBJECT: LUXEMBOURG'S 9TH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS 
SUBMISSION 
 
REF: 08 STATE 132759 
 
¶1.  (U)  Post hereby submits the ninth annual Trafficking in 
Persons Report for Luxembourg. 
 
¶2.  (U)  Post point of contact for the TIP report is Adam 
Center, phone: 352 46-01-23.x2227; fax: 352 22-64-57.  Post 
spent approximately 30 hours compiling this report: FSO 
FO-03: 15 hours; FSN-10: 15 hours; A/DCM FO-03: 1 hour. 
 
¶3.  (SBU)  The content below is keyed to reftel questions. 
 
THE COUNTRY'S TIP SITUATION 
 
¶A.  Sources for this report include the head of the 
Luxembourg Vice Squad, members of the special criminal 
investigation unit specializing in TIP investigations, 
Amnesty International, representatives from the Ministry for 
Promotion of Women, the Ministry of Justice, the public 
prosecutor's office, the Red Cross Drop-In Center, and ASTI - 
an NGO that provides shelter to women in distress. 
 
The government fully monitors its anti-trafficking efforts 
and periodically makes available its assessments of these 
efforts. 
 
Numbers and sources are deemed by Post to be reliable and 
accurate.  Post believes Luxembourg interlocutors have no 
reason or desire to hide trafficking.  Contacts appear eager 
to identify and actively address the issue. 
 
¶B.  Luxembourg is a country of destination for 
internationally trafficked women.  During the reporting 
period, the government identified ten trafficking victims: 
nine from Ukraine and one from Russia, all of which were 
women.  Because of Luxembourg's small size, combined with its 
rigorously controlled legal prostitution sector and police 
who are well-educated on the trafficking issue, Post does not 
believe the scope of the problem in Luxembourg greatly 
exceeds the documented cases. 
 
¶C.  Trafficking victims are mostly recruited abroad through 
agents who arrange for their travel and promise lucrative 
jobs in Luxembourg cabarets.  In most cases, the women are 
escorted to their destinations, and their agents remain in 
Luxembourg or in one of the neighboring countries (Belgium, 
Germany, or France).  When the police detain traffickers, the 
alleged trafficking victims generally refuse to cooperate 
with the police and claim that the traffickers are 
acquaintances or boyfriends. 
 
An increasing number of women from Africa, primarily Nigeria, 
are engaged in prostitution in Luxembourg.  They generally 
come to Luxembourg from Spain or Italy where they have 
obtained temporary residence permits.  Nigerian women 
generally do not cooperate with the police.  Often, they have 
borrowed exorbitant amounts of money to finance their trips 
to Luxembourg and find themselves obligated to agents. 
 
¶D.  Given the small volume of trafficking victims in 
Luxembourg, identifying a vulnerability trend is difficult. 
All of the victims in Luxembourg come from Eastern Europe, 
but it's a far stretch to say Eastern European women are 
particularly vulnerable to trafficking. 
 
¶E.  Arrested traffickers in Luxembourg have included 
Italians, Romanians, and French.  Most were individuals 
involved in both human and drug trafficking.  They recruited 
victims abroad directly or through agents and generally 
provided both travel arrangements the and promise of 
lucrative jobs in Luxembourg cabarets.  There is no evidence 
of systemic abuses of human trafficking within Luxembourg 
employment, travel, or tourism agencies. 
 
SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS 
 
¶A.  The government improved its counter-trafficking 
legislation by adopting two laws during the reporting period. 
 A new immigration law contains a chapter on trafficking in 
human beings, which provides a "reflection and recovery 
period" for trafficking victims with an option to obtain 
 
LUXEMBOURG 00000052  002 OF 005 
 
 
temporary residence status. 
 
In February 2009, Parliament adopted the long-awaited law on 
trafficking in human beings which implements: i) The Protocol 
to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, 
Especially Women and Children - supplementing the Convention 
against Transnational Organized Crime (the Palermo Protocol), 
defining the crime of trafficking in human beings, and 
broadening the definition of trafficking from the 
exploitation of prostitution to include other forms of sexual 
exploitation such as forced labor, slavery and domestic 
servitude or the removal of organs (for children, the 
definition would extend to forced prostitution, illicit 
international adoption, recruitment as child soldiers, and 
beggary); ii) the Council of Europe Convention on Action 
against Trafficking in Human Beings, adopted by the Council 
of Europe in May 2005; and iii) the EU Council Framework 
decision of July 2002 on combating trafficking in human 
beings. 
 
The new law clearly differentiates human trafficking from 
people smuggling or illegal immigration, and prescribes 
higher sanctions for traffickers.  The new law provides fines 
of 50,000 to 100,000 Euros (vice 500 to 125,000 Euros in old 
legislation) and prison terms of five to ten years (vice six 
months to three years). 
 
The previous legislation incriminated trafficking in human 
beings for sexual exploitation of adults or children, but did 
not offer a comprehensive and workable definition of the 
phenomenon and also omitted certain forms of exploitation, 
such as forced labor.  The new legislation addresses these 
deficiencies. 
 
¶B.  The Luxembourg Vice Squad, a new Criminal Police Unit 
specialized in trafficking in persons investigations, the 
Ministry for Equal Opportunity, the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs and Immigration, the Ministry of Justice, the 
Ministry of Employment, the city of Luxembourg, the General 
Prosecutor's Office, and the Tribunal d'Arrondissement are 
all involved in anti-trafficking efforts. 
 
The Air Border Security Service (part of Immigration) would 
become involved should there be a suspicion that trafficking 
was occurring through Luxembourg's sole commercial airport. 
 
The Ministry of Justice has the lead in anti-trafficking 
efforts. 
 
¶C.  The government is fully capable of addressing the 
trafficking situation in Luxembourg.  Corruption is not a 
problem and resources are not lacking. 
 
¶D.  The government fully monitors its anti-trafficking 
efforts and periodically makes available its assessments of 
these efforts. 
 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
 
¶A.  See answer A. to previous section for detailed 
description of new legislation.  The previous legislation 
governing trafficking in human beings is contained in 
Luxembourg Penal Code Article 379.  The law provided 
penalties for sexual exploitation as well as for facilitating 
an alien's illegal entry and residence through direct or 
indirect assistance.  Luxembourg's anti-organized crime 
statutes historically also applied in some trafficking in 
persons cases. 
 
The new legislation described in answer A above was adopted 
on 11 February 2009 and amended Luxembourg's Penal Code as 
described.  This legislation covers both internal and 
transnational forms of trafficking. 
 
¶B.  Please see Answer A in section "SETTING THE SCENE..." 
 
¶C.  Please see Answer A in section "SETTING THE SCENE..." 
 
¶D.  Any act of sexual penetration through force is considered 
rape and punishable with five to ten years imprisonment.  If 
the victim is under fourteen years of age, then any act of 
 
LUXEMBOURG 00000052  003 OF 005 
 
 
sexual penetration is considered rape and punishable with 
imprisonment of ten to fifteen years.  If the rape leads to a 
victim's death, the punishment is fifteen to twenty years 
imprisonment.  Murder committed in order to facilitate the 
rape or ensure its impunity is punishable with lifetime 
imprisonment.  According to Luxembourg Penal Code Article 
372, any assault on decency committed with force or threat 
carries penalties ranging from six months to five years. 
 
¶E.  There were several cases during the reporting period that 
resulted in convictions, fines and prison sentences. 
 
In April, an Italian and a Romanian pimp were charged with 
procuring prostitution and human trafficking and each were 
sentenced to three years' imprisonment and ordered to pay a 
four thousand euro fine. 
 
Also in April, an Italian and a French pimp arrested in 2004 
and charged with procuring prostitution and human trafficking 
were sentenced, respectively, to three months' imprisonment 
and a five thousand euro fine, and to three months' 
imprisonment and a three thousand euro fine. 
 
In May, two Italian pimps arrested in 2006 and charged with 
procuring prostitution and human trafficking were both 
sentenced to two years' imprisonment and ordered to pay a 
five thousand euro fine. 
 
In June, an Italian pimp charged with procuring prostitution 
and human trafficking was sentenced to thirty months in jail 
and a three thousand euro fine. 
 
In each of these cases, Luxembourg Penal Code Article 379 was 
implemented. 
 
Each of these cases involved commercial sexual exploitation 
and all victims were women over the age of eighteen. 
 
¶F.  In 2008, the Ministry for Equal Opportunity conducted, in 
cooperation with Ministry of Justice and the Luxembourg 
police, a specialized counter-trafficking training course for 
NGO workers and law enforcement officials.  This working 
group also met on various occasions throughout the reporting 
period to discuss the draft law on assistance and protection 
to trafficking victims (this law has not yet been adopted), 
and the new immigration and trafficking legislation. 
 
In December 2008, the Ministry for Equal Opportunity 
participated in a seminar organized by the NGO Women in 
Distress entitled "Identification and Taking Care of 
Trafficking in Persons Victims."  During this seminar, the 
Ministry of Equal Opportunity presented the draft legislation 
on the assistance and protection of victims, expected to 
become law in 2009. 
 
The Ministry of Justice maintained a training program, 
launched in 2006, aimed at educating police, immigration and 
other relevant government officials, as well as NGO workers, 
on how to properly identify trafficking victims. 
 
The Air Border Security Service provides continuous training 
on an international level, especially with its EU 
counterparts, and coordinates with customs officials.  They 
are trained to detect irregularities in immigration patterns, 
recognize unusual behavior, and watch for travelers belonging 
to particularly vulnerable groups. 
 
Additionally, Post has nominated one member of the former 
special criminal investigation unit specializing in 
trafficking in persons to attend an International Visitor 
program called "Combating Trafficking in Persons." 
 
¶G.  Until 2005, the Government of Luxembourg had an Office of 
Police Coordination with the German, French, and Belgian 
governments to coordinate on immigration- and 
trafficking-related criminal activity.  This office was 
replaced, however, on 1 October 2005 by the European Union 
Border Management Agency, which now coordinates efforts to 
check crime, illegal immigration and related matters within 
the European Union. 
 
 
LUXEMBOURG 00000052  004 OF 005 
 
 
¶H.  Luxembourg's extradition laws date from 1972.  There is 
no law in Luxembourg that says Luxembourg nationals cannot be 
extradited for trafficking.  Luxembourg also participates in 
the European Arrest Warrant program, under which no 
extradition is required to move and prosecute criminals 
within signatory members of the European Union. 
 
¶I.  There is no evidence of government involvement in or 
tolerance of trafficking. 
 
¶J.  Not applicable to Luxembourg. 
 
¶K.  Prostitution is legal, but heavily restricted, in 
Luxembourg.  Any prostitution by an individual under age 
eighteen is illegal.  Activity as a brothel owner/operator, 
client, pimp, or any other profiteer from 
prostitution-related activity is illegal.  The law is 
effectively enforced. 
 
¶L.  There is no indication that any Luxembourg nationals 
deployed abroad as part of a peacekeeping or other similar 
mission engaged in or facilitated severe forms of trafficking 
or who exploited victims of such trafficking. 
 
¶M.  Not applicable to Luxembourg. 
 
PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE OF VICTIMS 
 
¶A.  The immigration legislation adopted in August 2008 
provides temporary residence status for trafficking victims. 
A period of reflection and recovery of ninety days may be 
granted to alleged trafficking victims.  This period is 
designed to help the victim recover and escape the influence 
of the offenders, but also to obtain the full knowledge of 
the facts before deciding whether to cooperate with the 
competent authorities.  The period is not conditional on the 
victim's cooperation with the authorities handling the 
investigation and prosecution.  The alleged victim is 
guaranteed that no deportation will occur during the period 
of reflection. 
 
In practice, law enforcement authorities provide protection 
by establishing the first contact between the trafficking 
victims and the assistance services, by informing trafficking 
victims of their rights, and by providing them with temporary 
protective shelter. 
 
¶B.  The government funds two domestic NGOs that provide 
services for women in distress, including victims of 
trafficking.  The government contributed 114,500 euros to 
these facilities during the reporting period.  Foreign 
victims have the same access to these services as domestic 
victims.  The Red Cross Drop-In Center provides free medical 
care to victims of trafficking.  There are two shelters for 
adults with children.  Child victims (in Luxembourg, there 
are no reported trafficked children) are placed in a shelter 
for juveniles. 
 
¶C.  Luxembourg does not have a Witness Protection Program. 
The government has worked with neighboring governments on a 
Witness Protection Program for two trafficking victims. 
 
¶D.  The Luxembourg Vice Squad and Ministry of Women's 
Promotion work with Caritas, including its COATNET 
representative, SOS Women in Distress, and the Comite de 
Liaison et d'Action des Etranger (CLAE), to ensure that 
trafficking victims are given shelter. 
 
The period of reflection and recovery described above 
provides for ninety days where there is a guarantee that the 
victim will not face deportation, regardless of cooperation 
with the investigation. 
 
¶E.  There is no government-provided long-term shelter or 
housing benefits for victims of trafficking. 
 
¶F.  The police do work with NGOs to provide victims shelter, 
food, and protection 
 
¶G.  During the reporting period, the government identified 
ten trafficking in persons victims.  All victims were 
 
LUXEMBOURG 00000052  005 OF 005 
 
 
referred to the care facilities for assistance. 
 
¶H.  The Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Immigration Asylum and 
Refugee Office is very cognizant of the possibility of 
trafficking when conducting interviews and investigations of 
asylum seekers.  Luxembourg's Air Border Security unit 
employs prescreening, profiling, and international risk 
analysis for air passenger traffic in and out of the country. 
 EU country statistics are sent to the Risk-Analysis Center 
(RAC) in Helsinki every semester, and monthly to Eurostat, 
where they are analyzed for trends and patterns. 
 
¶I.  The rights of victims are generally respected.  There is 
no evidence of victims being jailed or detained. 
 
¶J.  The government encourages victims to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of traffickers.  In one case 
during the reporting period, the victim filed legal action 
against a trafficker who was charged with procuring 
prostitution and human trafficking, and subsequently 
sentenced to 30 months in jail and a fine of three thousand 
euros. 
 
¶K.  See Answer F in section "INVESTIGATION..."  There is no 
indication that the Government of Luxembourg provides 
specialized anti-trafficking training to its embassies or 
consulates in countries that are destination or transit 
countries. 
 
¶L.  Not applicable to Luxembourg. 
 
¶M.  See Answers B and D in this section. 
 
PREVENTION 
 
¶A.  During the reporting period, the government launched a 
public outreach campaign about trafficking in persons, 
highlighted by advertisements at bus stops depicting a nude 
girl under shrink wrap, as though she were for sale at a 
grocery store meat or fish counter.  This ad campaign stoked 
considerable public discussion on the state of sexual 
exploitation in Luxembourg, whether related to human 
trafficking or to prostitution.  The current debate about 
whether to prosecute those soliciting the services of a 
victim of human trafficking or prostitution reflects a 
growing awareness on the part of the Luxembourg general 
public that sexual exploitation, whether a result of 
trafficking or not, is indeed a part of life in Luxembourg. 
In April 2008, the Ministry of Equal Opportunity launched an 
awareness campaign on prostitution based on street posters 
bearing the slogan, "If you hire a prostitute, you are 
financing human trafficking."  The campaign was renewed in 
November 2008. 
 
¶B.  The government does observe immigration and emigration 
patterns for evidence of trafficking. 
 
¶C.  The Ministry of Justice trafficking in persons 
coordinator serves as the principal point of contact and 
coordinator for all counter-trafficking in persons efforts 
with the Government of Luxembourg.  There is excellent 
cooperation among all the involved agencies. 
 
¶D.  A draft law on treatment of human beings was submitted to 
Parliament in November 2007.  This legislation would contain 
a national "plan of action." Its passage is expected during 
the 2009 legislative session. 
 
¶E.  Please see answer A, this section. 
 
¶F.  For 2008, the Government of Luxembourg allocated 100,000 
euros for the promotion of children's rights and for raising 
public awareness about sexual exploitation of children. 
BOUGHTER