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DE RUEHVI #0157/01 0441203
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 131203Z FEB 09
FM AMEMBASSY VIENNA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 1981
INFO RUEHSL/AMEMBASSY BRATISLAVA 2129
RUEHBM/AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST 1444
RUEHUP/AMEMBASSY BUDAPEST 1287
RUEHCH/AMEMBASSY CHISINAU 0574
RUEHKV/AMEMBASSY KYIV 0070
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RUEHSF/AMEMBASSY SOFIA 1158
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0087
RUEHOS/AMCONSUL LAGOS 0214
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 VIENNA 000157 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP (JDONNELLY AND AROFMAN), G-ACBLANK, INL, DRL, PRM, 
AIDAC, AND EUR/AGS FOR KGARRY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP PHUM KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB AU
SUBJECT: AUSTRIA: NINTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT 
 
REF: 08 STATE 132759 
 
¶1. (U) Entire cable is sensitive but unclassified; please treat 
accordingly. 
 
¶2. (U) Below please find Embassy Vienna's submission for the ninth 
annual TIP report.  Responses are keyed to reftel. 
 
BEGIN TEXT: 
 
¶23. (SBU) THE COUNTRY'S TIP SITUATION 
------------------------------------- 
 
¶A. The available information on trafficking in persons comes from a 
wide range of sources, including the government's annual reports on 
trafficking, official law enforcement and judicial statistics, and 
reports compiled by NGOs.  Post considers this data to be reasonably 
reliable and accurate.  Austria is conducting a pilot project with 
the International Organization of Migration (IOM) to improve the 
collection of trafficking data in Europe. 
 
¶B. Austria as a Country of Transit and Destination 
 
Government and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) confirm that 
Austria is both a transit and destination country for trafficked 
persons.  Police say that it is unclear exactly how many victims 
there are in Austria, as many are never identified or do not 
identify themselves as trafficked victims.  Many remain hidden from 
law enforcement authorities.  Most victims are trafficked into 
prostitution, although there are also reports of cases of labor 
exploitation. 
 
Police estimate that the final destinations for many of these 
victims are other EU countries, especially Italy, France, and Spain. 
 Austria is also a country of destination for traffickers and 
victims.  Until the late 1980s, most trafficked women came from 
Latin America and Asia.  Since the early 1990s, victims have 
originated almost exclusively from Eastern Europe.  Officials 
believe that trafficked persons come from Romania, Bulgaria, and 
Hungary, as well as the countries of the former Soviet Union, 
including Russia, Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine.  Almost all of the 
small number of African trafficking victims come from Nigeria. 
 
Vienna is the largest urban center in Austria and has experienced 
the majority of the trafficking cases.  Trafficking is also a 
problem in other urban centers, such as Graz, Linz, Salzburg, and 
Innsbruck. Police believe that trafficking is a problem throughout 
the country, because of the flexibility of the trafficking network 
and the demand for "new" prostitutes. 
 
Trafficking in children from Bulgaria and Romania has decreased 
substantially since 2006 due to GOA cooperation with Romania and 
Bulgaria in setting up crisis centers in these countries for 
trafficked children.  In 2008, the Crisis Center for Unaccompanied 
Minors assisted 90 children, compared to 72 in 2007, 319 in 2006 and 
700 in 2005. 
 
¶C. Victims are primarily trafficked into forced prostitution. There 
were also reports of cases of labor exploitation as housemaids or au 
pairs. 
 
¶D.  Women from Eastern Europe and some African and Asian countries 
are more at risk of being trafficked. There is also still some 
trafficking of Roma and Sinti boys and girls from Romania and 
Bulgaria. 
 
¶E.  The traffickers are to some extent international organized crime 
groups, but also smaller groups or Austrian individuals.  Often more 
than one trafficker will handle a trafficked person, handing her off 
to one intermediary after another until the victim reaches the final 
destination.  Traffickers often attract women by offering lucrative 
positions, for example as an au pair or a cleaner, in order to lure 
 
VIENNA 00000157  002 OF 006 
 
 
them into trafficking.  Children from Romania and Bulgaria tend to 
be sold by their own families.  Victims are moved into Austria, 
which has no land border controls, as all its neighbors belong to 
the Schengen area.  Often the traffickers subject these women to 
abuse and require them to repay the traffickers their debt through 
forced prostitution.  One NGO source reports that traffickers use 
voodoo, trickery, and coercion by family members to entice women 
from Nigeria.  The traffickers will force these women to repay a 
debt of 15,000-40,000 euros through prostitution. 
 
¶24. (U) Setting the Scene for the 
Government's Anti-Tip Efforts: 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶A.  The government acknowledges that trafficking is a problem in 
Austria. 
 
¶B.  There is a Task Force on Trafficking in which the Ministries of 
Foreign Affairs, Justice, Interior, Women's Affairs, Social Affairs, 
and Economics are represented. The Foreign Ministry has the lead. 
 
¶C.  Victims are often afraid to testify against the traffickers, 
thus limiting the government's ability to prosecute. 
 
¶D. The government has a National Action Plan, and in May 2008 the 
Foreign Ministry issued and made publicly available through its 
website its annual report on combating human trafficking. 
 
¶25. (U) Investigaion and 
Prosecution of Traffickers 
------------------------- 
 
¶A.  Existing Laws against TIP: 
Article 217 of the Austrian Criminal Code, amended in January 1999, 
and Article 104a of the Crimina Code, which went into effect in May 
2004, are the key provisions for the prosecution of traffickers. 
Paragraph 1 of Article 217 prohibits "border-crossing trafficking 
for the purpose of prostitution." Paragraph 1 refers to inducing or 
recruiting aliens for prostitution. Paragraph 2 of Article 217 
covers trafficking for prostitution through  deception regarding the 
purpose of journey to Austria or through coercion or use of force. 
Article 104a prohibits trafficking for the purpose of sexual 
exploitation, exploitation of human organs, or labor exploitation. 
 
 
Article 104 of the Criminal Code deals with trafficking for the 
purposes of slavery. 
 
Article 114 of the Aliens Police Act of 2005 contains criminal-law 
provisions on alien smuggling.  Sometimes, traffickers are 
prosecuted under this section of law because facilitation of illegal 
entry is easier to prove than trafficking and does not require the 
testimony of victims.  With Article 116, the Aliens Police Act also 
contains a criminal law provision generally prohibiting the 
exploitation of aliens. 
 
Articles 1325-1329 of the Austrian Civil Code of 1811 provide the 
basis for civil law compensation of victims due to physical injury, 
abuse, forced sexual intercourse and deprivation of personal 
liberty. 
 
Article 20(b) of the Criminal Code provides for asset seizure and 
the forfeiture of illegal proceeds. In connection with organized 
crime, all assets are subject to seizure and forfeiture, including 
bank assets, other financial assets, cars, legitimate businesses, 
and real estate. 
 
¶B. Punishment of Sex Trafficking Offenses: 
 
Punishment under Article 217 of the Criminal Code results in 
sentences from six months to 10 years.  Article 104a also provides 
 
VIENNA 00000157  003 OF 006 
 
 
for sentences up to 10 years.  Article 104 of the Criminal Code 
requires sentences ranging from 10 to 20 years. Article 114 of the 
Aliens Police Act provides for sentences of up to 10 years for 
persons convicted of alien smuggling. Article 116 of the Aliens 
Police Act provides for sentences of up to three years for persons 
who exploit aliens, and under special circumstances, such as the 
death of the victim, of up to 10 years. 
 
¶C. Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses: 
 
As indicated in para A., Article 104a of the Criminal Code also 
applies for trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation, and 
prescribes sentences of up to 10 years. 
 
¶D. Rape: 
 
Article 201 of the Criminal Code provides for imprisonment of six 
months to 10 years for convictions for rape.  Under specific 
circumstances such as torture, sentences can reach 15 years.  In 
cases leading to the death of victims, sentences can reach 20 
years. 
 
¶E. Law Enforcement Statistics: 
 
The Foreign and Justice Ministries have made available detailed 
statistics, listing all proceedings involving trafficking charges, 
not only those where trafficking was the main crime.  According to 
these statistics, there were 524 proceedings against suspected 
traffickers under Article 217 (cross-border trafficking for the 
purpose of prostitution) in 2007.  There were 85 convictions under 
Article 217, 177 proceedings were pending.  Under 104a of the 
Criminal Code (trafficking), there were 18 proceedings, 2 
convictions, and 6 pending proceedings. 
 
The Justice Ministry provided a breakdown of sentences for which 
trafficking was the leading cause.  The court handed out thirty 
sentences on charges of trafficking. 
 
The court handed out one sentence according to Article 104a of the 
Criminal Code, which resulted in a partially suspended prison 
sentence of 12-24 months, of which 4-8 months were not suspended. 
 
The court handed out 29 sentences according to Article 217 of the 
Criminal Code.  This total included 14 non-suspended sentences, 11 
partially suspended sentences, and 4 completely suspended sentences. 
 Out of the 14 non-suspended prison sentences, two received between 
3 and 5 years, eight received between 1 and 3 years, two received 
between 6 and 12 months, and two received between 3 and 6 months. 
 
11 persons received partially suspended prison sentences.  Out of 
this number, one received a partially suspended prison sentence of 
more than 24 months.  Eight received partially suspended prison 
sentences of between 12 and 24 months, of which six were for 4 - 8 
months not suspended, and two were for 1 - 4 months not suspended. 
Two received partially suspended prison sentences of between 6 and 
12 months, with 2-4 months not suspended. 
 
Three persons received completely suspended prison sentences, of 
which two were for 6-12 months, and one was for 3-6 months.  One 
person received a suspended fine 
 
 
¶F. Training 
 
The government funds training for law enforcement and judicial 
personnel to identify trafficking victims and to sensitize officials 
on the issue of trafficking. The NGO Lefoe/IBF provides the 
training. 
 
¶G. Cooperation with Other Governments 
 
The government, at both the national and local levels, cooperates 
 
VIENNA 00000157  004 OF 006 
 
 
with authorities from other countries to investigate and prosecute 
trafficking cases. Cooperation with East European governments has 
been especially useful in prosecuting trafficking rings.  Intensive 
cooperation with Austria's neighboring countries as well as Belarus, 
Romania and Ukraine has been successful in disclosing several cases. 
 Austrian police authorities point to the EU's action plan against 
trafficking, in effect since December 2, 2005, as a key instrument 
to coordinate efforts. 
 
¶H. Extradition 
 
Alien trafficking is an extraditable offense. Under the European 
Extradition Convention of December 13, 1957, "extradition shall be 
granted in respect of offenses punishable under the laws of the 
requesting Party and of the requested Party by deprivation of 
liberty or under a detention order for a maximum period of at least 
one year or by a more severe penalty." 
 
¶I.  There is no evidence of government involvement in or tolerance 
of trafficking. 
 
¶J.  N/A 
 
¶K. Prostitution is legal in Austria and regulated at the state 
level.  The law requires prostitutes to undergo mandatory health 
checks, register with authorities, and pay taxes.  Prostitutes 
receive national health insurance. Prostitutes who do not conform to 
these requirements are subject to prosecution.  The legal minimum 
age in all states is 18.  There are 700 legal brothels in Austria 
and up to three times as many illegal ones.  Approximately 500 women 
are registered as prostitutes in Vienna.  The Ministry of Interior 
and state health authorities monitor the activities of the legal 
bordellos. 
 
¶L. There were no reported cases of trafficking involvement of 
Austrians in peacekeeping operations 
 
¶M. Under Austrian law, any citizen engaging in the sexual abuse of a 
child in a foreign country is punishable under Austrian law, even if 
the actions are not punishable in the country where the abuse was 
committed.  There were no reported cases of foreign pedophiles 
prosecuted, deported, or extradited by Austria.  The court 
prosecuted three elderly men on charges of sexually abusing a minor 
in Morocco, but the men failed to appear at their September 2008 
court date.  The case is still pending. 
 
¶26. (U) PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS: 
--------------------------------------------- 
 
¶A.  The Austrian government provides temporary resident status for 
trafficking victims and subsidizes the NGO LEFOE/IBF which provides 
assistance and shelter to victims. 
 
¶B. Victim Care Facilities 
 
The primary NGO dealing with trafficking in persons in Austria is 
LEFOE/IBF. Although the group's initial focus upon its creation in 
1985 was counseling and educating immigrant women from Latin 
America, it has since expanded to help female victims of trafficking 
from all nations. 
 
LEFOE/IBF provides psychological, legal, and health-related 
counseling and assistance, emergency housing, and German language 
courses. LEFOE/IBF workers will also assist victims in preparing for 
court proceedings against traffickers and accompany victims at 
court.  LEFOE/IBF assists victims in returning to their country of 
origin, including liaising with counseling centers in these 
countries to ensure that victims receive services upon return. 
 
Outside of Vienna, the "Independent Integration Center for 
Immigrants" in Linz provides counseling for trafficked women. 
Innsbruck, Salzburg, Graz, Klagenfurt and St. Poelten provide 
 
VIENNA 00000157  005 OF 006 
 
 
assistance to trafficked women through their intervention centers 
for domestic abuse. Federal and local governments finance these 
intervention centers. 
 
NGOs report generally good relations with authorities.  Each 
province also has at least one women's shelter that provides 
assistance to battered women. Victims of trafficking are allowed to 
stay in such shelters. 
 
The Vienna Center for Unassisted Minor Aliens offers unaccompanied 
illegal minors legal, medical, and social assistance, and employs 
interpreters who help communicate with foreign minors. 
 
¶C.  The government provides trafficking victims with access to 
medical services.  LEFOE/IBF, which is subsidized by the government, 
provides legal and psychological assistance. 
 
¶D.  Article 10(4) of the Aliens Act provides for temporary resident 
status of at least six months for victims of human trafficking. 
 
¶E.  Victims may remain in Austria if they meet certain criteria such 
as the willingness and ability to integrate in Austria.  In Albania, 
the Austrian government provided 1.2 million dollars to fund an OSCE 
project to assist trafficking victims in reintegrating into society, 
through providing legal assistance and economic empowerment using 
small business loans. 
 
¶F.  Law enforcement authorities refer victims to partner NGOs, which 
provide care to victims. 
 
¶G. In the 70 cases filed under Article 217 of the Criminal Code in 
2007 for which trafficking was the main offense, of the 166 victims 
there were one Austrian and 165 foreigners, out of which 47 were 
Hungarian, followed by 35 Moldovans, 18 Belarussians, 10 Romanians, 
and victims from several other European countries.  In the 11 cases 
filed under Article 104a of the Criminal Code in 2007 for which 
trafficking was the main offense, of the 12 victims one was Austrian 
and 11 were foreigners - 5 Hungarians, 4 Romanians, one from the 
Czech Republic and one from Ethiopia.  In 2007, LEFOE/IBF provided 
counseling to 170 victims of trafficking.  The largest number were 
Romanians, followed by Bulgarians. LEFOE/IBF provided shelter to 33 
victims. 
 
¶H.  The government's law enforcement, immigration and social 
services personnel proactively attempt to identify victims of 
trafficking.  Law enforcement personnel regularly screen red light 
districts and interview prostitutes to find trafficking victims. 
Prostitutes are required to undergo weekly health checks with 
government authorities. 
 
¶I.  Trafficking victims are referred to NGOs offering assistance and 
shelter.  Victims are not prosecuted for violating laws governing 
immigration and prostitution, and are granted a 30-day reflection 
period without requirement to cooperate. 
 
¶J.  The government encourages victims to assist in the investigation 
and prosecution of trafficking.  Victims may file civil suits for 
compensation or seek legal action against traffickers.  Victims who 
are material witnesses in court cases may obtain employment and are 
permitted to leave the country. 
 
¶K.  The government provides special training for government 
officials in identifying trafficking victims, including addressing 
the needs of trafficked children.  Austrian consulates in source 
countries attempt to inform visa applicants on the potential dangers 
of trafficking. 
 
¶L.  N/A (since Austria is not a source country) 
 
¶M.  IOM is the primary international organization working with 
trafficking victims, involved mainly in the repatriation of victims. 
 Local authorities work closely with IOM. 
 
VIENNA 00000157  006 OF 006 
 
 
 
¶27. (U) PREVENTION: 
------------------- 
 
¶A.  The government organized and/or supported numerous public 
awareness events and programs. Austria hosted several international 
conferences dealing with the subject of trafficking:  In April 2008, 
the Vienna Migration Group held a conference on "Monitoring 
Approaches towards European Policies in Trafficking in Human 
Beings." Also in April, the government staged an event honoring the 
10th anniversary of the NGO LEFOE/IBF, which included panel 
discussions and lectures on the issue of trafficking.  In May 2008, 
the government organized a conference in conjunction with the OSCE 
on the issue of child trafficking.  On the EU Day against 
Trafficking in October 2008, the Ministry for Health, Family and 
Youth Matters organized a symposium on trafficking and the 
exploitation of youth.  Also in October, the government hosted in 
conjunction with the NGO LEFOE/IBF an international conference for 
approximately 100 experts on the continuing development of 
competence and strategies on trafficking.  Austria also spearheads 
an EU project to standardize data collection on trafficking. The 
Austrian Federal Ministry of the Interior, in cooperation with IOM 
Vienna, staged a conference at the European parliament in Brussels 
in September 2008 on "European Approaches Towards Data Collection on 
Trafficking in Human Beings." On February 23-24, 2009, there is a 
follow-up conference on this topic.  The government also subsidized 
several TV programs dealing with the issue of trafficking.  In 
conjunction with Euro 2008, Austria conducted a campaign to protect 
prostitutes' rights and against forced prostitution. 
 
¶B.  The government monitors immigration patterns for evidence of 
trafficking. 
 
¶C.   There is a Task Force on Trafficking in which the Ministries of 
Foreign Affairs, Justice, Interior, Women's Affairs, Social Affairs, 
and Economy are represented. The Foreign Ministry has the lead. 
 
¶D.  The government has a national action plan on trafficking, which 
the agencies of the Trafficking Task Force developed.  NGOs are also 
represented in the task force and were consulted in the development 
of the Action Plan. 
 
¶E.  In the area of demand-reduction, the government employed various 
measures, many with a focus on the European Soccer Championship in 
June/July 2008.  The government subsidized and widely distributed a 
brochure by LEFOE/IBF, informing sex workers of their rights and 
sensitizing the public. The Austrian Social Democrat EU MP Christa 
Prets initiated and handed out 150,000 copies of an anti-trafficking 
brochure entitled a "Red Card for forced prostitution."  In the 
province of Lower Austria, the government organized a round-table 
discussion on the issue of trafficking.  The government also 
published a brochure on child trafficking in Austria, describing the 
situation of victims and providing advice for assisting victims. 
 
¶F. The government continued its campaign encouraging tourists and 
travel agencies to report cases of witnessed child sex tourism. 
 
¶G.  The government funds courses conducted by LEFOE/IBF for members 
of peacekeeping missions, in order to sensitize them to the issue of 
human trafficking. 
 
28./29. (U) Post has no nominations for Heroes or Best Practices. 
Post Point of Contact for the TIP Report is Economic-Political 
Officer Jeremy Chen, Tel +43 (1) 31339-2398, Fax +43 (1) 
31339-2916.