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RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHSQ #0067/01 0441452
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 131452Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY SKOPJE
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 8026
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE 0475

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 12 SKOPJE 000067 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, G-ACBLANK, INL, DRL, PRM, EUR/PGI, EUR/SCE, INFO 
USAID, DOJ, DHS, DOL, DOT 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREF PHUM KCRM KTIP KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC ELAB MK
 
SUBJECT: 2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT FOR MACEDONIA 
 
REF: 09SKOPJE65 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY 
 
¶1. SUMMARY: During the reporting period the GOM continued to show a 
strong commitment to combating trafficking-in-persons (TIP) and 
participated in cross-border operations and other international 
activities directed at identifying and eliminating human 
trafficking.  High-ranking GOM officials took an active interest in 
combating TIP and made public statements against TIP.  The National 
Commission (NC) for Prevention and Suppression of Trafficking in 
Persons and Illegal Migration worked proactively with the 
international community and the primary TIP NGOs in the country to 
improve its TIP prevention, prosecution, and victim protection. 
 
¶2. The NGOs and international organizations that work with the NC 
overwhelmingly reported positive collaboration and cooperation with 
the GOM.  The OSCE reported a dramatic improvement in the GoM's TIP 
combating efforts in the past two reporting periods versus the years 
prior.  The office of the National Referral Mechanism (NRM) under 
the Ministry of Labor ad Social Policy (MLSP) reported that the 
previous NC (up until 2006) often refused to even admit TIP existed 
in Macedonia and was determined to do away with the office.  Under 
the current NC the NRM reported exceptional support and a proactive 
attitude towards acknowledging and combating TIP. 
 
¶3. During the reporting period Macedonia saw considerable results 
from the streamlining of its judicial process for handling TIP 
crimes and its new TIP legislation.  Case times decreased 
dramatically and sentences for TIP crimes were higher and more 
consistent.  The GoM was proactive in its fight against TIP, seeking 
the expert advice of the international TIP-combating community to 
build its own programs. It provided extensive trainings internally 
and reached out to regional and international partners to bolster 
TIP prevention cooperation. 
 
¶4. PolOff Matt Keener currently serves as post's TIP Officer. 
Post coordinates anti-TIP programs through a TIP committee comprised 
of the DCM, POL, PAO, OPDAT, ICITAP and USAID. Keener's contact 
information:  Embassy phone 389-2-3116-180, ext 2111; fax 
389-2-3133-601; unclassified e-mail KeenerM@state.gov. PolOff Keener 
is an FS-04 and spent approximately 100 hours on the preparation and 
writing of this TIP Report. 
 
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CHECKLIST 
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¶23. (U) MACEDONIA'S TIP SITUATION: 
 
--A. Post's main sources of information on TIP were the NC; the 
National Referral Mechanism (NRM) under the Ministry of Labor and 
Social Policy (MLSP); the International Organization for Migration 
(IOM); OSCE; the Vienna-based International Centre for Migration 
Policy Development (ICMPD), the Red Cross, two local NGOs that 
provide assistance to victims of trafficking in the country's two 
TIP victim shelters and a handful of additional NGOs that work on 
TIP prevention. In January 2009 the NC published an annual National 
TIP report detailing TIP related activities and statistics during 
¶2008. A National Reporter of TIP was recently appointed and, with 
the support of the OSCE and ICMPD, is working to implement a 
comprehensive monitoring and evaluation report that will provide a 
qualitative assessment of TIP activities to complement the more 
quantitative annual report. 
 
 
--B. Macedonia remained primarily a transit country for foreign 
victims of trafficking. However, international trafficking crimes 
dropped during the reporting period versus previous years.  Foreign 
victims were primarily trafficked from neighboring countries such as 
Albania, Kosovo and Bosnia with destinations in the European Union. 
There were some victims who were trafficked into Macedonia as a 
destination point. Much of the trafficking that occurred during the 
reporting period was internal.  Internal TIP victims were primarily 
minors, trafficked from poor rural areas of the country to wealthier 
urban centers, often with the complicity of family members or 
acquaintances. 
 
During the reporting period the Organized Crime Unit of the MOI 
successfully conducted two major operations to foil the activities 
of a large international criminal trafficking and smuggling 
organization that has been smuggling migrants from central and 
eastern Asia through Macedonia to Greece. Coordinating with the 
regional Southeast Europe Cooperation Initiative (SECI) center, 
Macedonia worked in close cooperation with law enforcement partners 
in Albania, Serbia and Bulgaria in these investigations to make 
dozens of arrests and discover large groups of smuggled migrants. 
The charges in both operations were for migrant smuggling since the 
 
SKOPJE 00000067  002 OF 012 
 
 
crimes were foiled in transit and no trafficking offenses had 
occurred yet.  However, elements of the same organization were tied 
to previous forced labor trafficking crimes in Albania and victim 
interviews indicated that a portion of the smuggled migrants would 
have become TIP victims upon reaching their final destinations.  The 
most recent operation in November resulted in 18 arrests, two 
additional arrest warrants and the discovery of 64 smuggled 
migrants. 
 
During the reporting period 130 people were assisted as presumed TIP 
victims in Macedonia's two TIP shelters: 118 foreign and 12 
Macedonian.  Macedonia's Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) 
consider a person a "presumed TIP victim" if there are any 
indications that a person may have been a victim of TIP.  The GoM 
provides a full range of TIP victim services to presumed TIP 
victims.  Only after an extensive interview by a competent, 
trafficking in human beings authority can a potential victim become 
a "confirmed victim of TIP."  During the reporting period eighteen 
confirmed TIP victims were assisted in the two shelters: fourteen 
Macedonians and four foreign victims; fifteen of the eighteen 
victims were children.  The Centers for Social Welfare assisted 
seven confirmed victims of TIP, six minors. 
 
 
--C. The changing modus operandi of traffickers in recent years has 
resulted in a change in the overall conditions for trafficking 
victims.  While a small number of individual cases revealed 
trafficking victims kept in slave-like conditions, most traffickers 
have resorted to fear and coercion rather than physical force to 
maintain control over their victims.  Victims were generally allowed 
some freedom of movement and were sometimes even paid small salaries 
by their traffickers.  Under these conditions it proved more 
difficult for police to gather strong evidence against the 
traffickers and victims were less likely to self-identify. 
 
During the reporting period there was speculation by the OSCE about 
the existence of trafficking elements in the unofficial labor 
market, specifically in the textile and seasonal agricultural 
industries.  However, the OSCE has been careful to point out that 
there was no concrete evidence to support this, maintaining only 
that more investigation is needed.  The GoM and IOM admitted that 
there were serious problems with labor exploitation in these 
industries but were skeptical that the elements of force or coercion 
needed to elevate these issues to TIP were present.  Nonetheless, 
the OSCE and MLSP have agreed to make the investigation of these 
suspicions their primary objective during the upcoming reporting 
period and have begun to organize victim identification trainings 
focused specifically on labor trafficking for labor inspectors, 
police, centers for social welfare and public prosecutors.  The MLSP 
is also coordinating with UNICEF and the OSCE to develop a set of 
internal procedures and documentation to more effectively address 
the more visible problem of organized begging in the Roma 
community. 
 
 
--D. According to the NRM and NGOs; poor, uneducated, single women 
between 15 and 35 years old were at the highest risk of becoming 
victims of trafficking.  Single mothers and ethnic minorities were 
also identified as at-risk. 
 
During the reporting period, the MLSP and IOM continued their 
Economic and Social Stabilization (ESS) TIP project that began in 
2007, focused on helping people from vulnerable victim groups create 
micro-businesses in order to improve their financial stability and 
significantly reduce their risk factors.  In 2007 and 2008 the 
project focused on Tetovo and Kriva Palanka.  During 2008, the 
project assisted 40 women from Kumanovo and Bitola through the 
program.  The project is on-going. 
 
 
--E. No standard profile for traffickers emerged during the 
reporting period.  Victims were trafficked both by large, 
international trafficking and smuggling organizations and smaller, 
one-off traffickers.  Most traffickers had previous criminal 
backgrounds. The traffickers used coercion tactics more often than 
outright kidnapping or abduction.  Traffickers used devices such as 
false marriage proposals and enticing job offers to lure their 
victims. There were more reports of the involvement of friends and 
family members in the recruitment phase and eventual trafficking of 
the victims, especially in cases that involved minors. 
 
Traffickers and smugglers of foreign victims often used fake 
passports from third countries with fake EU visas to transit their 
victims.  In some cases the victims were trafficked through 
Macedonia to countries without visa requirements using their actual 
documentation. 
 
 
 
SKOPJE 00000067  003 OF 012 
 
 
¶24. (U) SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP 
EFFORTS: 
 
 
-- A.  The Government was acutely aware of the problem trafficking 
in persons presents domestically, regionally and globally and 
continued to make combating TIP a GoM priority at the highest 
levels.  Many GoM officials publicly spoke out against trafficking, 
and highlighted it as an issue the government must address. GOM 
officials, NGO leaders, media and others stated publicly the 
importance of effective anti-TIP measures to Macedonia's continued 
progress towards Euro-Atlantic integration. 
 
 
-- B.  The NC was the government body responsible for drafting 
legislation and coordinating the GoM's anti-trafficking efforts. The 
NC was headed by the National Coordinator for Combating Trafficking 
in persons.  Within the NC were representatives from MOI's 
Department for Organized Crime, the NRM under the MLSP, the MOE, 
Skopje Criminal Court One (which tries all TIP cases) and the 
Centers for Social Welfare.  The Department of Organized Crime's 
Sector for Anti-trafficking of Human Beings was in charge of all 
TIP-related law enforcement activities.  The NRM under the MLSP was 
the lead on prevention campaigns and trainings related to victim 
identification, protection and assistance. The NRM also coordinated 
the work of 58 social workers from 27 centers for social welfare who 
dealt with internally trafficked victims around the country. 
 
 
--C. During the previous two reporting periods the government 
addressed numerous legislative obstacles to effectively combating 
TIP.  At the end of the last reporting period the GoM made 
significant changes to the criminal code for TIP crimes against 
minors and removed a previously existing loophole for mediation in 
prostitution involving minors.  The government also increased the 
sentencing guidelines for mediation in prostitution to reduce the 
tendency of judges to use that crime to mitigate the sentenced of 
traffickers. Both legislative changes resulted in tangible 
sentencing increases during the reporting period. Additionally, to 
address international recommendations that the government take a 
bigger role in domestic victim protection, the GoM passed amendments 
to a law on family and a law on social welfare that created a legal 
basis to institutionalize the domestic shelter with government 
funding and NGO support. 
 
While evidence of TIP related corruption was minimal, overall 
corruption continued to be a problem in Macedonia.  Low level 
municipal corruption sometimes hampered criminal investigations, 
including investigations into the types of clubs and bars that 
feature prostitution, which is illegal in Macedonia, where TIP 
victims were often discovered. 
 
 
--D.  The government consistently monitored its anti-trafficking 
efforts on all fronts. The National Coordinator for TIP gathered and 
compiled statistical data from the entire spectrum of TIP-related 
agencies and organizations and held frequent meetings with the 
primary TIP NGOs and international community to disseminate this 
information and discuss ongoing TIP activities.  In January 2009, 
the NC published an in-depth annual report that included data on 
trafficked victims, information on GoM and NGO prevention and victim 
protection activities, and information on GoM officials' training 
related to TIP.  The GoM also operated two databases: one on TIP 
victims (hosted by the NRM), and another on TIP criminals (hosted by 
the MOI). Working with OSCE and ICMPD, the newly appointed National 
Reporter on TIP is working to implement an additional, comprehensive 
monitoring and evaluation report that will provide a qualitative 
assessment of TIP activities as well. 
 
 
¶25. (U) INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS: 
 
 
-- A.  Macedonia has a law specifically prohibiting trafficking in 
persons. This law criminalizes TIP not only when carried out for 
purposes of sexual exploitation, but also for other purposes, such 
as forced labor, involuntary removal of human organs for 
transplantation, pornography, forcible marriage or fertilization, 
and illegal adoption. 
 
The TIP-specific articles in the Criminal Code were introduced in 
2004: Article 418a ("Trafficking in persons"); Article 418b 
"Smuggling of migrants", Article 418c "Organizing a group for TIP" 
and Article 418g "Trafficking in juveniles."  On January 4, 2008, 
the Macedonian Parliament adopted amendments to the 2004 Criminal 
Code which fully harmonized the relevant Macedonian legislation with 
the 2000 UN Palermo Convention against trans-national organized 
crime and its Supplementing Protocols, and provided the legislative 
 
SKOPJE 00000067  004 OF 012 
 
 
basis for the ratification of the Council of Europe's Convention on 
Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (2005) and the Convention 
on the Protection of Children against Sexual Exploitation and Sexual 
Abuse (2007). 
 
In addition, the GoM amended Article 191 of the criminal code, 
"mediation in prostitution" twice in 2008.  Amendments in January 
2008 eliminated a subsection pertaining to minors and increased the 
minimum sentence from six months to one year.  In November an 
additional amendment increased the minimum sentence to three years. 
As a result, all crimes related to prostitution involving minors 
must now be charged as "Trafficking in Minors" under Article 418g. 
The new minimum sentence for mediation in prostitution involving 
adults is now more in-line with the four year minimum sentence under 
418a.  Section 191 can still be used where trafficking evidence is 
lacking, and mediation in prostitution also includes a subsection on 
prostitution "by using force or by serious threat to use force." 
The sentence for this subsection was increased to eight years 
(previously three years) in November 2008.  These changes to Article 
191 helped eliminate the temptation of judges and prosecutors to use 
section 191 simply as a means to mitigate the sentences of crimes 
that otherwise would have been charged under 418a. 
 
In fact, in one case during the reporting period the charge was 
actually elevated from 191 to 418g.  In March the court reopened the 
case of a perpetrator who had previously been convicted to a one and 
a half year sentence for mediation in prostitution of a minor and 
retried the case under 418g. The case is currently awaiting 
sentencing. 
 
 
-- B.  Penalties for traffickers engaging in sexual exploitation 
carry a minimum of four years imprisonment. Penalties for offenders 
for keeping other persons "in a slavery relationship" carry a 
minimum four year sentence. Penalties for the confiscation or 
destruction of a persons ID, passport or other documentation in 
connection with any of these crimes carries a minimum sentence of 
four years.  Penalties for a person who knowingly obtains or enables 
others to obtain sexual services from a trafficked person range from 
six months to five years.  Any of the aforementioned crimes 
committed against a minor, with the exception of document 
confiscation or destruction, carries a minimum sentence of either 
eight years or ten years.  The minimum penalty for 
mediators/organizers of prostitution is three years. 
 
 
-- C.  Article 418a criminalizes trafficking for purposes of forced 
labor. The Law on Labor Relations and the Law on Criminal Procedure 
cover all acts of labor exploitation. Child labor abuse, not 
specifically as a result of trafficking, is dealt with in Section 
XIII, Articles 172-176, of the Law on Labor Relations. Article 173 
bans employees under the age of 18 from working in difficult or 
dangerous labor conditions, while Article 175 precludes them from 
working between 10:00 pm and 6:00 am. 
 
 
-- D.  Penalties for rape or forcible sexual assault are prescribed 
in Articles 186 through 189 of Criminal Code and carry a sentence 
ranging from three years to a maximum of 15 years imprisonment.  For 
rape committed against a child less than fourteen years of age the 
minimum sentence is eight years. 
 
 
--E. During the reporting period eleven cases were prosecuted under 
the two sections of Article 418 that deal exclusively with 
trafficking: three cases under 418a "Trafficking in Human Beings" 
and eight cases under 418g "Trafficking in Minors."  The total 
number of individuals prosecuted in those cases was 28, resulting in 
17 convictions to date: seven under 418a and ten under 418g.  The 
average sentence for 418a convictions was 5.57 years; all sentences 
were at or above the legally stipulated minimum.  The average 
sentence for 418g convictions was 5.8 years; none of the sentences 
were below the legally stipulated minimum of four years.  However, 
the four year minimum sentence under Article 418g only pertains to 
document confiscation or destruction; otherwise the minimum sentence 
is eight years. Six 418g convictions were below eight years and at 
least four of those were for items under 418g that stipulate an 
eight year minimum sentence.  According to the court those four 
sentences (two separate cases) were mitigated under Article 40 of 
the Criminal Code: "The court may mete out a punishment for the 
offender under the limit prescribed by law or apply a more lenient 
form of punishment when: 1) the law foresees that the offender may 
be punished more leniently; or 2) it concludes special mitigating 
circumstances, which point out that the aim of the punishment shall 
be achieved also through a more lenient punishment, exist."  Both 
cases are currently in the appellate court and the trial monitoring 
NGO All4Fair Trails believes the current sentences will be 
overturned and increased. (Note- prior to this reporting period 
 
SKOPJE 00000067  005 OF 012 
 
 
cases involving minors were primarily prosecuted as "mediation in 
prostitution" offenses which carried a minimum sentence of six 
months at the time.  Even with the mitigated sentences in these four 
instances the sentencing for trafficking crimes involving minors 
significantly increased versus previous reporting periods.) 
 
There are three 418a and 418g cases where sentencing has not yet 
occurred.  One case, involving one perpetrator, is still awaiting 
sentencing.  Another case is in the early stages of investigation 
and the exact number of perpetrators involved has not been 
disclosed. In a case that involved a minor victim trafficked to 
France, the court pressed charges against five perpetrators in 
absentia and has been working with Serb authorities to locate them. 
In a case in Croatia that involved two Croatian perpetrators and a 
Macedonian victim the investigation was carried out through the 
Transnational Referral Mechanism (TRM) and the perpetrators are 
being tried in Croatia. Charges were dropped against a total of 
three perpetrators in 418a and 418g cases due to a lack of 
evidence. 
 
 
--F. During the reporting period the NRM, with the support of the 
OSCE and ICMPD, conducted three separate Standard Operating 
Procedure trainings to more than 100 people from the MOI, Centers 
for Social Work, Judiciary, MOJ and Prosecutors office.  Two 
trainings took place in April and one in October.  The trainings 
were organized as trainings for trainers, so the people trained 
could effectively disseminate the information to the rest of their 
organizations.  In October the NRM also conducted a two day training 
for MOI spokespersons and newspaper editors on responsible reporting 
of TIP crimes in the media, with particular attention to victim 
sensitivity and confidentiality. 
 
The ICMPD and OSCE are currently developing a project with the GoM 
to better educate local level officials on the details of the SOPs, 
an area where some shortcomings have been identified. 
 
Embassy officers from the US Department of Justice representing 
ICITAP and OPDAT worked closely with the GoM to provide broad 
training and assistance to the Judiciary and law enforcement. Their 
assistance has had a direct and positive impact on Macedonia's 
ability to investigate and prosecute TIP.  The OSCE's Rule of Law 
office also provided extensive support to the Judiciary and law 
enforcement, including two officers assigned exclusively to human 
trafficking and smuggling. 
 
 
-- G.  During the reporting period the GoM made international TIP 
cooperation a high priority.  Working with the ICMPD, the GOM began 
developing its trans-national referral mechanism (TRM) for TIP with 
other governments throughout Europe. The ICMPD has praised the GoM 
for its efforts in this area.  Macedonia's decision to develop 
unique, parallel procedures for foreign victims versus domestic 
victims within the same document (the SOPs) and then to formally 
adopt the SOPs as official government procedure gave Macedonia the 
ability to efficiently and effectively implement trans-national 
referral mechanisms with other countries.  ICMPD cited these two 
acts as a best practice and is encouraging other countries it works 
with to follow suit. 
 
The transnational referral mechanism was implemented by Macedonia in 
three cases during the reporting period. 
 
In April French authorities found a 13 year-old Roma girl from 
Kavadarci, Macedonia in Carcassonne, France after being trafficked 
through Serbia and Italy by three Serbs and a Croat.  The 
perpetrators convinced the victim's family to agree to a false 
marriage proposal from one of the perpetrator's relatives and then 
took her to France where she was introduced to her alleged husband, 
who forced her to work and provide sexual services to clients of a 
caf/restaurant, as well as to steal.  The victim was repatriated to 
Macedonia, where she was offered a full range of victim services and 
returned to her family at her request. 
 
In March police discovered a Bosnian woman trafficked by three 
Macedonian citizens to Macedonia for the purpose of a forced 
marriage.  The woman was immediately sheltered, and although the 
woman had no documentation, or any record of her citizenship in 
Bosnia's national database due to data loss that occurred during the 
war, the MOI quickly confirmed that she was a Bosnian citizen 
through close cooperation with Bosnian contacts established under 
the TRM.  The Macedonian citizens were charged under 418a and the 
Bosnian citizen was repatriated with the assistance of IOM. 
 
In May, Macedonian authorities, following up on a missing persons 
report, exercised excellent cooperation with Croatian authorities 
through the TRM to locate an e-Albanian Macedonian who was 
trafficked to Croatia on a false promise of marriage in Germany. 
 
SKOPJE 00000067  006 OF 012 
 
 
Macedonian police passed all their information along from an 
internal investigation to Croatian authorities who pressed 
trafficking charges against two Croats.  The victim was repatriated 
to Macedonia where she was sheltered, received legal support, 
medical insurance and new documentation. 
 
During the reporting period Macedonia also served as rotating 
president of the Migration, Asylum and Refugee Regional Initiative 
(MARRI).  This Presidency runs from May 2008 to May 2009.  The MARRI 
headquarters have been located in Skopje since 2005. The 
intergovernmental organization includes six member states and 
focuses on regional projects to control irregular and illegal 
migration through programs focused on regional cooperation and 
coordination.  Current projects include a project to regionally 
coordinate efforts to combat TIP.  During the reporting period the 
GoM hosted eight regional MARRI conferences and meetings. 
 
Additionally, Macedonia has taken a leadership role coordinating 
smuggling and TIP investigations through the Southeast Europe 
Cooperation Initiative (SECI) center which led to the dismantling of 
two major international smuggling/trafficking organizations during 
¶2008. "Operation Dragon" was carried out in March 2008 and the 
perpetrators were tried in May 2008.  "Operation Dora" was carried 
out November 3, 2008, and is still in trial.  The Greek ringleader 
of both organizations is still at large and believed to be residing 
abroad but was sentenced in absentia for Dragon and will likely be 
sentenced for Dora in the same fashion.  The charges in both 
operations were for migrant smuggling since the crimes were foiled 
in transit and no trafficking offenses had occurred yet.  However, 
elements of the same organization were tied to previous forced labor 
trafficking crimes in Albania and the investigations and victim 
interviews during Dora and Dragon suggest many of the migrants would 
have arrived at the same fate upon reaching their final 
destination. 
 
 
-- H.  The GoM extradites foreign criminal suspects upon receiving a 
request from authorities in the country of origin. However, the 
Macedonian constitution prohibits the extradition of Macedonian 
nationals who are charged with criminal offenses. In such cases, the 
GoM requests that the other country transfer its jurisdiction for 
criminal action against, for example traffickers, to the GoM for 
prosecution. The government can extradite other-country nationals 
who are charged with trafficking. The extradition procedure is 
delineated in the Law on Criminal Procedure, bilateral extradition 
treaties, and the Council of Europe's Extradition Convention. 
 
 
-- I. There was no evidence of involvement of high-level GoM 
officials in TIP, or of tolerance or condoning of TIP at any 
official level.  As previously mentioned, low level municipal 
corruption occasionally hampered criminal investigations into clubs 
and bars featuring prostitution, which is illegal in Macedonia, 
where TIP elements may have been present.  The MOI's Sector for 
Anti-trafficking identified presumed TIP victims during 17 
successful bar and club raids during the reporting period.  However, 
there were reports of several raids in which bar and club owners 
appeared to have been tipped off by local contacts in advance and 
managed to elude serious charges by clearing out commercial sex 
workers just prior to the raid.  Please refer to REFTEL for 
additional information on government official involvement in 
trafficking and smuggling crimes. 
 
 
--J. No government officials were prosecuted for involvement in 
trafficking-related crimes during the reporting period. Please refer 
to REFTEL for additional information on ongoing investigations into 
government officials involved in trafficking and smuggling crimes. 
 
 
-- K.  Prostitution is not legal in Macedonia. According to the Law 
on Misdemeanor Offenses, prostitution is punishable by two months in 
prison or a monetary fine. 
 
Activities of brothel owners, pimps and enforcers are criminalized. 
Article 191 of the Criminal Code addresses these illicit activities. 
The November 4, 2008 amendments of the Criminal Code raised the 
minimum penalties for Article 191 cases. Offenders can be sentenced 
from 5 years (previously one year) to ten years (previously five 
years) in prison for recruiting, instigating, stimulating or 
enticing others into prostitution. Individuals who organize 
activities such as recruiting or instigating, or who through the use 
of force, serious threat of force, or by deceit induce others to 
give sexual services, will receive a minimum sentence of 8 years 
(previously three to five years) of imprisonment.  Individuals who 
enable another to use sexual services for profit will receive a 
sentence of three to five years (previously up to a year). 
 
 
SKOPJE 00000067  007 OF 012 
 
 
 
-- L.  Even though Macedonia does not contribute more than 100 
soldiers to peacekeeping or other similar missions abroad, the GoM 
continued to provide pre-deployment training for soldiers that 
included awareness and prevention training on the dangers of TIP and 
its link to the demand for commercial sex. 
 
 
-- M.  Macedonia is not considered to have a significant incidence 
of sex tourism involving children nor is there any indication that 
Macedonian nationals engage in sex tourism at a significant level. 
Nonetheless Macedonia was particularly aggressive its investigation 
and prosecution of TIP crimes against minors during the reporting 
period. 
 
 
¶26. (U) PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS: 
 
 
--A. Macedonia offers formal witness protection services to victims 
testifying in high-risk, high profile cases.  Witnesses are often 
housed in safe houses or hotels and receive 24-hour police 
protection.  No TIP cases during the reporting period required this 
level of witness protection and in recent years only one case has 
required such protection.  The international community and TIP NGOs 
all commended the effectiveness and professionalism with which the 
GoM provided witness protection services during that particular 
case. Additionally, the Reception Center for foreign victims 
included round-the-clock police security and the domestic shelter 
maintained a high level of secrecy and discretion with its location 
and employed an on-call private security company.  There have been 
no TIP cases in recent years where victim protection failed. 
 
 
--B. The MOI, with IOM support and the help of NGO specialists, 
fully operated the Reception Center (formerly the Shelter Transit 
Center) for foreign victims of trafficking and irregular migrants. 
The Center provided safe housing for victims at the pre-trial, 
trial, and post-trial stages, until the eventual repatriation of 
victims to their countries of origin.  In late November the MOI 
added positions for an additional psychologist, an additional social 
worker and eight new security officers to the Center.  The 
government budget for the Reception center was approximately 
$105,000. 
 
During the reporting period domestic victims were housed in the 
domestic victims' shelter, run by the NGO OpenGate and funded by the 
Dutch International NGO Lastrada. In March the MLSP will take full 
financial and material responsibility for the Domestic Victims 
shelter.  The new domestic shelter will include OpenGate and For 
Happy Childhood as NGO partners to work exclusively with the 
victims. The MOI will provide security.  The NGO OpenGate voiced 
some concerns during the reporting period over the exact 
organizational structure of the planned shelter.  However, the NC 
and the two partner NGOs recently agreed to an equal partnership in 
the shelter and to determine a specific division of responsibilities 
for the shelter's operation to address these concerns.  The NGO 
OpenGate has expressed satisfaction with the terms of the agreement 
thus far.  The MLSP currently runs a shelter for victims of domestic 
violence using a similar format and there have been no reported 
problems with that shelter.  Additionally, the MOI's current NGO 
partner in the Reception Center, Happy Childhood, has been positive 
about its partnership with the GoM in the Reception Center has not 
expressed any concerns over plans for the new domestic shelter. 
 
Domestic victims who opted not to stay in the domestic shelter, or 
had previously stayed in the domestic shelter and left, could also 
receive social, psychiatric and reintegration services from any of 
the 27 centers for social welfare throughout the country. The 
government budget for the Centers for Social Welfare was 
approximately $6,200,000 in 2008 and the government budget for the 
Centers for Social Welfare in 2009 is approximately $8,300,000. 
 
During the reporting period, six confirmed TIP victims stayed at the 
GoM run Reception Center. All six of the victims were minors. Two of 
the victims were Macedonian victims sheltered in the Reception 
Center due to security concerns.  The Reception Center had better 
round the clock protection to ensure the safety of at-risk victims. 
The NGO-run shelter for domestic TIP victims assisted twelve 
confirmed victims during the reporting period.  The Centers for 
Social Welfare assisted seven TIP victims during 2008. 
 
 
--C. In the Reception Center the GoM provided social and 
psychological services through resident civil servants.  The GoM 
also provided office space for the NGO Happy Childhood to provide a 
variety of victim services.  The MLSP provided legal services to 
victims through a legal advocate employed in the NRM.  The legal 
 
SKOPJE 00000067  008 OF 012 
 
 
advocate also served as a specially appointed guardian for three 
domestic minor victims.  The GoM has standing agreements to 
compensate both shelters for victim medical expenses but the 
shelters have reported complications receiving that compensation. 
The GoM claims those problems were related to accounting problems 
stemming from the privatization of the medical industry.  To resolve 
this issue the government recently established a partnership with 
the Red Cross to provide basic medical services to victims and is 
working with the Ministry of Health to ensure victims of trafficking 
are included as a specific victim category within health care laws 
entitled to specialized treatment.  Under the agreement with the Red 
Cross the government will reimburse the Red Cross directly as a 
services provider for the government, thus eliminating any 
complications involved with compensating a private clinic. 
 
Additionally, domestic victims who choose not to reside in the 
domestic shelter can receive psychological and social services from 
any of the 27 MLSP-run centers for social welfare.  The centers for 
social welfare also provide victim reintegration services. 
Additionally, the centers for social welfare in conjunction with the 
NGO OpenGate established a program to assist TIP victims with job 
placement upon reintegration. 
 
 
--D. The Law on Foreigners, which came into force on January 1, 
2008, allows persons suspected of being TIP victims to be given a 
two-month temporary residence permit in the country while they are 
deciding whether or not to testify. During that period, the GoM is 
to support and protect the presumed victims. The period can be 
extended for victims who are minors. Article 82 allows for the 
granting of a six-month temporary residence permit for all TIP 
victims who have agreed to testify.  No victims requested the 
temporary residence permit during the reporting period. 
 
 
--E. After domestic victims leave the domestic shelter they can 
continue to receive a full range of victim support services through 
the Centers for Social Welfare, including social reintegration 
services, psychiatric services and in some cases skills training and 
employment services. 
 
 
--F. The National Referral Mechanism and the SOPs outlined detailed 
procedures for victim referral to either the domestic shelter or 
Reception Center by police, social workers, prosecutors and other 
potential TIP first responders. 
 
 
--G. 130 presumed trafficking victims were referred to the two TIP 
victim shelters during the reporting period.  According to the SOPs, 
all presumed victims must be referred to care facilities and are 
considered presumed victims until formally evaluated by a trained 
trafficking-in-persons professional.  Of the 130 presumed victims, 
18 victims were confirmed as victims of trafficking.  Even when the 
result of the evaluation did not result in TIP victim confirmation, 
the presumed victims were given a full range of contact information 
for TIP shelters, medical and psychological assistance, legal 
assistance, NGOs and other services available to them.  118 people 
were evaluated in the Government-run Reception Center and twelve 
people were evaluated in NGO-run domestic victims' shelter during 
the reporting period.  Seven TIP victims were assisted by the 
centers for social welfare in 2008. 
 
 
--H. The TIP SOPs, formally adopted by the GoM at the beginning of 
2008, establish a formal system for victim identification for use by 
the police, social services personnel and any other potential first 
responders.  All the police, immigrations officers, prosecutors and 
social workers expected to encounter TIP victims were trained on the 
SOPs during 2008.  The SOPs were developed to fully conform to 
accepted international standards on victim identification and 
treatment. 
 
The Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs requires its consular 
officers to receive training on recognizing potential victims of 
trafficking. Consular officers are instructed not to routinely issue 
visas or work permits to women for employment in the "entertainment 
industry." Such requests are flagged and sent to the MOI's internal 
review board, which assesses the credentials of the applicant as 
well as the authenticity of the Macedonian establishment where the 
visa applicant is to work. 
 
 
-- I.  Most presumed victims of trafficking were discovered during 
police raids on bars and nightclubs. Initial screening of victims 
was carried out by TIP-trained police officers in the unit to combat 
human trafficking and social workers from the local centers for 
social work.  Where police and social workers suspected any elements 
 
SKOPJE 00000067  009 OF 012 
 
 
of TIP they referred victims to one of the two shelters. The 
shelters provided any immediate health or social services to the 
presumed victims.  The SOPs permitted presumed domestic TIP victims 
an up to 30 day reflection period during which they could stay in 
the shelter before taking part in the formal victim identification 
process.  Foreign presumed victims were permitted a two month 
reflection period.  Once presumed victims deemed themselves capable, 
a trained social worker, often accompanied by an NGO representative, 
formally interviewed the presumed victim to determine whether or not 
they were a victim of trafficking. 
 
The NRM served as the central authority in TIP victim identification 
and assistance. The office was responsible for facilitating an 
institutionalized and operational network for adequate 
identification, as well as providing assistance and protection for 
victims of internal TIP, particularly minors, without regard to 
nationality, ethnicity, age or gender. 
 
The handling and treatment of victims by law enforcement officials 
and representatives of other governmental institutions overall was 
in accordance with generally accepted procedures. NGOs that observed 
police procedures reported that victims were informed of their 
rights and briefed before testifying as witnesses/victims at 
trials. 
 
Isolated reports of unsatisfactory adherence to the SOPs still 
occurred in specific prostitution raids conducted by local police. 
In one of these raids in Skopje, where prostitutes were allegedly 
submitted to medical checks and some were later deported, the MOI 
maintained that at least one TIP-trained police officer was involved 
and the prostitutes were ruled out as presumed TIP victims prior to 
being subjected to a criminal investigation for prostitution. 
Nonetheless, the GoM acknowledged this as a potential problem and in 
January 2009 implemented a new requirement that all raids conducted 
by local police are now required to include an officer from the 
Sector for Anti-Trafficking to ensure the SOPs are being followed 
and improve the overall victim identification skills of local police 
forces.  Using Macedonia's IPA (EU) funds allotted for police 
reform, the IOM and MOI are also coordinating a project to focus on 
front line training for local police, border police and labor 
inspectors to assure appropriate victim treatment and identification 
in full accordance with the SOPs. 
 
 
-- J.  The GoM encouraged victims to participate in investigations 
and trials, and provided support to them. In cases when foreign 
victims of trafficking are witnesses against their traffickers, the 
victims do not have the right to obtain other employment in the 
country.  In cases in which the witness has not been repatriated, 
victims typically stay at government-protected shelters. 
 
Victims can institute civil proceedings to claim damages and/or 
compensation.  For the first time, rulings for compensation were 
made in three TIP cases during 2008.  However, the MLSP and the OSCE 
report that compensation still has not been awarded in any of those 
cases.  The OSCE notes that the current process for victim 
compensation is too complex and victims awarded compensation have 
thus far been unable to see the entire process through to fruition. 
To remedy this problem the NC is pushing for the creation of a TIP 
victims' fund from which victim compensation could be paid out as 
soon as compensation rulings are awarded by the court.  This would 
place the responsibility for seizure of assets entirely on the GoM 
rather than requiring the victim to pursue compensation. 
 
 
--K. During the reporting period the MLSP, with the support of the 
OSCE and ICMPD, conducted three separate SOP trainings to more than 
100 people from the MOI, Centers for Social Work, Judiciary, MOJ and 
Prosecutors office.  Two trainings took place in April and one in 
October.  The trainings were organized as trainings for trainers, so 
the people trained could effectively disseminate the information to 
the rest of their organizations. 
 
Additionally, social workers from the centers for social welfare 
received extensive training from international experts on 
interviewing techniques with suspected TIP victims in November 2008. 
 This training was organized by the OSCE and MLSP. 
 
The Macedonian Ministry of Foreign Affairs requires its consular 
officers to receive training on recognizing potential victims of 
trafficking. Consular officers are instructed not to routinely issue 
visas or work permits to women for employment in the "entertainment 
industry." Such requests are flagged and sent to the MOI's internal 
review board, which assesses the credentials of the applicant as 
well as the authenticity of the Macedonian establishment where the 
visa applicant is to work. 
 
 
 
SKOPJE 00000067  010 OF 012 
 
 
--L. The two repatriated Macedonian TIP victims discovered abroad 
during the reporting period were permitted to stay in the domestic 
shelter and given access to a full range of services offered by the 
Centers for Social Welfare. They also received new identity 
documentation, a government health insurance card and legal 
representation from the office of the NRM. 
 
 
-- M.  Several NGOs and international organizations were active in 
prevention and awareness-raising projects in Macedonia.  To date, 
those involved in working directly with victims of trafficking are: 
 
a) "For Happy Childhood" is an NGO responsible for the psychosocial 
support of victims of trafficking in the MOI Reception Center. In 
March the NGO will become one of the MLSP's two NGO partners in the 
new domestic victims' shelter. The GoM provided office space, phones 
and computers to Happy Childhood at the Reception Center and the 
University of Skopje (where they oragnized prevention activities) 
during the reporting period. 
 
b) The International Organization for Migration (IOM), which 
provided financial support to the Reception Center, is responsible 
for the repatriation program for foreign TIP victims and provided 
material support and funding for a number of awareness campaigns. 
Additionally, the IOM worked on an ESS TIP project that began in 
2007 that helped vulnerable victim groups create micro-businesses in 
order to improve their financial stability, thus reducing their risk 
factors. 
 
c) "Open Gate - La Strada" is an NGO that managed the shelter for 
victims of internal trafficking and victims of Macedonian origin. In 
March the NGO will become one of the MLSP's two NGO partners in the 
new domestic victims' shelter.  Through the domestic shelter the NGO 
provided a full range of support services including adult education 
programs and specialized skills training.  During victim 
reintegration Open Gate worked with the centers for social welfare 
to help place victims in jobs where they could receive practical 
training in their new skill set.  Open Gate also operated the 
national toll-free TIP victims' helpline which received more than 
400 calls during 2008. 
 
d) Red Cross- In October the NC signed a memorandum of understanding 
with the Red Cross which will integrate the Red Cross into the 
victim identification process and allow the Red Cross to provide 
medical services to TIP victims in both shelters. 
 
All these organizations have reported that Macedonian authorities 
are cooperative and supportive of the NGOs and international 
organizations in their anti-trafficking programs and activities. 
 
¶27. (U) PREVENTION: 
 
--A. During the reporting period the government conducted a variety 
of anti-trafficking education and awareness campaigns.  Between 
November 2007 and March 2008 the MLSP conducted a national awareness 
campaign titled "It's Simple," a TIP awareness campaign directed at 
potential victims that featured ads on TV, radio and internet and 
print materials distributed throughout the country.  Although the 
campaign ended in March, the internet ads ran during all of 2008 and 
the NRM continued to distribute the print materials at various 
forums during the entire reporting period.  In May 2008 the NRM 
conducted a nationwide survey on TIP awareness.  The survey included 
responses from 1022 citizens and asked six close-ended questions 
designed to specifically determine nationwide TIP awareness.  Using 
the results of the survey, the NRM identified specific areas where 
public TIP awareness was lacking.  From this analysis the NRM 
developed and conducted nine public roundtable discussions 
throughout the country to improve the public's understanding of TIP 
in Macedonia.  The Ministry of Education (MOE) requires primary and 
secondary schools to include TIP education in their standard 
curriculum.  The NGO For Happy Childhood provided training to the 
teachers who present these lessons. Additionally, in March 2008 the 
MOE signed an agreement with Open Gate to go into the primary and 
secondary schools and provide more extensive TIP education directly 
to the students.   This campaign focused on high-risk communities 
and featured specialized curriculums based on the age of the 
students involved.  The NGO worked with nine schools during the 
reporting period, reaching more than 2000 students.  The NGO also 
used the trainings to identify peer-leaders among the students and 
then provided additional specialized trainings to them.  In addition 
to the aforementioned NRM trainings for MOI spokespersons and 
newspaper editors, Open Gate conducted a separate training for 
Macedonian journalists on responsible TIP reporting with the support 
of an expert from the MOI's Sector for Anti-trafficking.  The MLSP 
and NC provided support to the IOM in a regional awareness campaign 
it ran through April 2008, which featured billboards, TV and radio 
spots, and internet banners.  Many of the TV and Radio spots 
continued to run after April.  In the second week of December 2008 
 
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the NC organized a National Anti-TIP week.  Throughout the week a 
number of high-level government officials publicly spoke about TIP 
in televised interviews and speeches and the NRM organized public 
TIP roundtable discussions. The NC organized booths in more than a 
dozen cities throughout Macedonia to distribute TIP awareness 
materials and the University of Skopje organized public 
presentations promoting TIP awareness during the entire week.  The 
University of Skopje also offered similar TIP awareness 
presentations at a less frequent rate throughout the reporting 
period. 
 
 
--B. As a member of the regional governmental organization, the 
Migration, Asylum and Refugee Regional Initiative (MARRI), Macedonia 
has participated in a number of projects focused on improving 
regional cooperation and implementing tools to monitor and control 
regional migration more effectively.  The projects include 
harmonizing identification documents and visas between the member 
states, facilitating the exchange of migration information between 
countries and integrated border management. 
 
All of Macedonia's border police and immigration officers have 
received victim identification training and specialized training to 
identify fraudulent documents and visas. 
 
 
--C. Internally, the NC was responsible for coordinating the 
anti-trafficking efforts between all of Macedonia's primary TIP 
stakeholders. The NC was headed by the National Coordinator for 
Combating Trafficking in persons.  Within the NC were 
representatives from MOI's Department for Organized Crime, the NRM 
under the MLSP, the MOE, Skopje Criminal Court One (which tries all 
TIP cases) and the Centers for Social Welfare. 
 
The MOI law enforcement Sector for Anti-trafficking worked closely 
with the SECI center, which coordinates the international law 
enforcement efforts of 13 member countries and has successfully 
broken up a number of regional human trafficking and smuggling 
operations. 
 
The GoM coordinates many of its regional, policy-level TIP 
activities through MARRI, a governmental organization formed out of 
the 2003 Stability Pact for Southeastern Europe, which includes six 
regional member states.  These activities include projects 
specifically to combat regional TIP as well as a number of other 
projects designed to bolster regional cooperation and 
infrastructures for monitoring and controlling migration. 
 
During the reporting period the GoM, in conjunction with the ICMPD, 
proactively worked to develop transnational referral mechanisms with 
fourteen countries throughout Europe. 
 
 
--D. Having accomplished all the objectives of its previous National 
Action Plan (NAP) to combat TIP well ahead of schedule, the NC 
collaborated with the international community and NGOs during three 
full days of open debate and discussion in December 2008 to 
formulate a new NAP for 2009-2012 during National Anti-Trafficking 
week in the first week of December.  The international community and 
NGOs have cited the new NAP as an excellent example of collaboration 
between all the key stakeholders combating TIP in Macedonia.  The 
final version of the new NAP was agreed upon by all parties in the 
first week of February and is expected to be formally published 
imminently. 
 
 
--E. The public University of Skopje, through an ongoing partnership 
with the NGO "For Happy Childhood," organized presentations 
throughout the year, including seminars and films promoting TIP 
awareness.  During National Anti-TIP week they stepped up these 
activities and organized TIP awareness presentations every day. 
These presentations and films included speakers and materials 
focused specifically on demand reduction, including presentations by 
lawyers and doctors on the severe consequences of procuring 
commercial sex services. 
 
A regional campaign funded by the IOM included materials directed at 
clientele for commercial sex acts but that campaign ended early in 
the reporting period.  The same demand reduction materials were also 
used in a separate nationwide campaign organized by the NC during 
National Anti-TIP Week in December.  For this campaign the NC set up 
TIP awareness booths in city squares across the country to promote 
Anti-TIP Week and distribute TIP awareness materials. 
 
 
--F. The government did not take any specific measures to combat 
international child sex tourism by Macedonian nationals during the 
reporting period.  The international community, NGOs and GoM 
 
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generally concur that Macedonia does not have a significant number 
of nationals travelling abroad for sex tourism. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
NOMINATION OF HEROES AND BEST PRACTICES 
--------------------------------------- 
 
¶28. (U) HEROES 
 
Kiro Todorovski, National Anti-TIP Commission Secretary since 2006, 
has raised the bar for the National Commission to Combat TIP.  He 
has invested huge amounts of time and energy in turning a previously 
ineffective government commission into a benchmark for other 
government commissions to follow.  He has proactively encouraged all 
the TIP stakeholders in government, the NGO community and the 
international community to actively participate in the development 
and improvement of Macedonia's TIP combating efforts.  In the 
National Commission he has created an environment of open debate and 
discussion focused on achieving positive, tangible results.  His 
efforts have created a commission that seeks constructive criticism 
to improve its own operations, which is particularly impressive in a 
government that often fiercely shields itself from criticism and 
shows strong reluctance to effect significant change.  During his 
time in the National Commission every one of the NGOs and 
International Organizations has reported a remarkable improvement in 
the GoM's cooperation, willingness and ability to combat TIP.  Many 
have cited the National Commission's work as a model that other 
governments should follow to overcome their own challenges in TIP. 
His leadership has not only had a significant impact on the fight 
against TIP in the Balkans but has created a positive example for 
the rest of the Macedonian government as it tries to overcome a 
variety of challenging issues. 
 
¶29. (U) BEST PRACTICES 
 
The international community and NGOs cited two practices in 
Macedonia that could serve as best practices in combating TIP in 
other countries.  The ICMPD praised the GoM for its development of a 
transnational referral mechanism that can be implemented quickly and 
efficiently in bilateral and multilateral agreements.  ICMPD 
attributes this to two specific best practices by the GoM.  First, 
the GoM's decision to create unique procedures for dealing with 
domestic victims versus foreign victims and include them 
side-by-side in the same document (the SOPs) created a clear 
framework for implementing the same procedures at an international 
level.  Second, the GoM's decision to adopt the SOPs at the highest 
level of government allowed those procedures to easily be adopted in 
bilateral agreements.  ICMPD has reported that these two steps have 
made Macedonia substantially more nimble and effective in 
implementing its transnational referral mechanism than virtually all 
the other countries in ICMPD's program. 
 
The second item cited as a potential best practice by the GoM during 
the reporting period was the NC's decision to organize a working 
group midway through the projected timeline of the NAP to evaluate 
its progress and look for ways to revise it.  As previously 
mentioned, the working group ultimately determined the NAP had been 
almost completely executed and the evaluation resulted in decision 
to create a completely new NAP which will keep Macedonia 
aggressively moving forward in its efforts to combat TIP. 
 
NAVRATIL