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RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHRL #0256/01 0631106
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 041106Z MAR 09
FM AMEMBASSY BERLIN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3451
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RHEFHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAUSA/DEPT OF HHS WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 18 BERLIN 000256 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, EUR/CE, EUR/PGI, DRL, G-AC, INL, AND PRM 
STATE - PLEASE PASS USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB GM
SUBJECT: GERMANY - 2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 
 
REF: A. STATE 00132759 
     ¶B. 07 BERLIN 256 
     ¶C. 09 BERLIN 65 
     ¶D. 08 BERLIN 750 
     ¶E. 08 BERLIN 1116 
 
BERLIN 00000256  001.2 OF 018 
 
 
 
¶1. (SBU) The following is Mission Germany's submission for 
the ninth annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.  The 
entire report should be treated as sensitive but 
unclassified.  Mission points of contact are David Fisher 
(email: fisherdl@state.gov; tel: 49-30-8305-2439) and Jacqueline 
Dadswell (email: dadswellj@state.gov; tel: 49-30-8305-2275). 
 
¶2. (U) THE COUNTRY'S TIP SITUATION: 
 
¶A.  What are the sources of available information on trafficking in 
persons?  What plans are in place (if any) to undertake further 
documentation of human trafficking?  How reliable are these 
sources? 
 
A vast amount of information is available from a multitude of 
sources, including multiple Federal government ministries, state 
level offices, the Federal Office of Criminal Investigation 
(Bundeskriminalamt; BKA), the state criminal police 
(Landeskriminaldmter; LKAs) and NGOs.  Given that TIP is an issue of 
considerable importance to the German government and civil society 
groups, new reports, statistics and studies are produced on a 
continuous basis.  Information produced by government offices is 
reliable.  As an example, the BKA makes a concerted effort to 
compile accurate statistics, but acknowledges that many instances of 
trafficking go unreported due to the difficulty in identifying 
victims.  Although studies and reports produced by NGOs typically 
reflect their individual viewpoints, the information is generally 
reliable. 
 
¶B.  Is the country a country of origin, transit, and/or destination 
for internationally trafficked men, women, or children?  Does 
trafficking occur within the country's borders?  To where are people 
trafficked?  For what purposes are they trafficked?  Provide, where 
possible, numbers or estimates for each group of trafficking 
victims.  Have there been any changes in the TIP situation since the 
last TIP Report (e.g. changes in destinations)? 
 
Germany is a transit and destination country for men and women 
trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation, and, 
to a lesser extent, forced labor.  Trafficking takes place into, 
within, and through Germany - no territory is out of the 
government's control.  As in recent years, most sex trafficking 
victims came from Eastern European countries.  Law enforcement 
authorities recorded 689 victims trafficked for sexual exploitation 
in 2007 compared to 775 in 2006.  The majority of victims (89 
percent) came from Europe, including Germany (27 percent).  The 
largest numbers of foreign victims came from Bulgaria (11 percent), 
Romania (10 percent), the Czech Republic (8 percent) and Poland (8 
percent).  The report notes a significant increase in the number of 
Bulgarian, Hungarian and Nigerian victims. 
Non-European victims came from Africa, Asia, and the Western 
Hemisphere.  Twelve percent of the victims were underage/younger 
than 18 years, half of them being German nationals.  One percent 
(seven victims) was younger than fourteen years (4 Germans, and one 
victim each from Poland, Albania and Turkey).  The majority of 
victims (57 percent; 392 victims) were under-21 year olds, a slight 
increase compared to 2006.  According to the BKA, and confirmed by 
the Berlin LKA for the Berlin area, the most probable reason for the 
significant number of under 21-year olds is the fact that it is 
easier to identify these alleged victims due to the penal norms laid 
down under section 232 subsection 1, sentence 2 of the Penal Code. 
This section criminalizes the inducement of a person under 
twenty-one years of age to engage in or continue to engage in 
prostitution. 
 
¶C.  What kind of conditions are the victims trafficked 
into? 
 
Victims are trafficked for purposes of sexual and labor 
exploitation.  The majority of sex trafficking victims worked in 
bars and brothels or apartments.  The number of victims working for 
escort services or in street prostitution was also significant. 
There have only been a handful of labor trafficking/exploitation 
cases, occurring mainly in restaurants and in domestic households 
 
BERLIN 00000256  002.2 OF 018 
 
 
where workers (often illegal residents) were exploited.  There were 
also reports of labor trafficking in the agricultural sector. 
 
¶D.  Vulnerability to TIP: Are certain groups of persons more at risk 
of being trafficked (e.g. women and children, boys versus girls, 
certain ethnic groups, refugees, IDPs, etc.)? 
 
As in previous years, the majority of sex trafficking victims (95 
percent) were women.  Sex trafficking victims are typically young 
women from Eastern Europe, Africa and Asia, but also Germans, who 
have low incomes, limited education/academic, difficult social 
backgrounds and little work experience. 
 
¶E.  Traffickers and Their Methods: Who are the 
traffickers/exploiters?  Are they independent business 
people?  Small or family-based crime groups?  Large 
international organized crime syndicates?  What methods 
are used to approach victims?  What methods are used to move the 
victims (e.g., are false documents being used?).  Are employment, 
travel, and tourism agencies or marriage brokers involved with or 
fronting for traffickers or crime groups to traffic individuals? 
 
The BKA registered 714 suspected sex traffickers in 2007, an 
increase of 8 percent compared to 2006.  78 percent of the 714 TIP 
suspects were men.  Despite increasing numbers, authorities 
registered an average of less than 2 suspected traffickers per 
investigation.  This suggests that smaller criminal groups or 
sub-structures of larger perpetrator groups were responsible for 
most trafficking.  According to the BKA report on Organized Crime, 
authorities investigated 28 organized crime cases in the area of 
"Crime related to Nightlife" in 2007, the majority being sexual 
exploitation TIP investigations. 
 
As in previous years, German nationals comprised the largest share 
of suspected traffickers (344 traffickers; corresponding to 48 
percent of the 714 trafficking suspects).  Seventy-one (21 percent 
of the 344) German citizen perpetrators were naturalized citizens 
with places of birth outside of Germany (primarily Poland, 
Kazakhstan Russia, and Turkey).  The largest number of non-German 
suspects came from Turkey (49 perpetrators, or 7 percent of the 714 
total), Bulgaria (42, or 6 percent), Hungary (29, or 4 percent), 
Romania (25, or 3 percent), and Poland (24, or 3 percent).  Just 90 
of the 714 traffickers held non-European nationalities: 28 from 
Asia, 16 African, 4 from the Americas, and 42 unknown. 
 
The BKA registered 71 suspected labor traffickers in 2007.  Of 
those, 40 were men and fifty-nine percent of the suspects were 
foreigners. 
 
With regard to sex trafficking, approximately one third of victims 
reported that they had agreed to engage in prostitution.  According 
to the BKA report, many victims who agreed to work as prostitutes 
were deceived regarding exploitative conditions of the work 
situation.  Fifteen percent of victims said they were professionally 
recruited (e.g., by talent agencies or newspaper advertisements). 
Twenty-five percent of victims reported being deceived about the 
true purpose of their entry into Germany.  According to the BKA 
report, 16 percent of the victims reported that traffickers used 
violence to coerce them into prostitution.  The majority of the 
victims worked in bars and brothels (362) or apartments (187).  The 
number of victims working for escort services (59) or in street 
prostitution (73) was also significant.  Sixty-nine victims stated 
they were unwilling to testify as a result of threats they had 
received. 
 
Traffickers promised victims high earnings and better living 
conditions, but traffickers exploited the fact that debts, e.g., for 
organizing passports or visas and travel expenses, had to be paid to 
deliberately create relationships of dependency.  The victims felt 
they had no option but to accept the conditions and permanently work 
as prostitutes. 
 
¶3. (U) SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP 
EFFORTS: 
 
¶A. Does the government acknowledge that trafficking is a problem in 
the country?  If not, why not? 
 
The government acknowledges TIP is a problem in Germany that must be 
vigorously combated.  When presenting the Federal Criminal Police 
Office's (BKA) 2007 TIP statistics in July 2008, BKA president Joerg 
 
BERLIN 00000256  003.2 OF 018 
 
 
Ziercke emphasized that fighting human trafficking is a "priority 
area for the BKA."  In meetings with Mission representatives, German 
officials stressed the importance of fighting TIP and described 
Germany's numerous anti-TIP initiatives and programs. 
 
¶B. Which government agencies are involved in anti-trafficking 
efforts and which agency, if any, has the lead? 
 
To varying extents, the following federal and state government 
agencies are involved in anti-TIP efforts. At the Federal level, the 
Ministry of Family Affairs, Senior citizens, Women and Youth (Family 
Ministry) is the lead agency in combating sex trafficking. The 
Justice Ministry, Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development 
(Development Ministry), the Ministry for Labor and Social Affairs, 
the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Ministry of the Interior, 
Office of Criminal Investigations (BKA), and Finance Ministry (The 
Customs Authorities' Illegal Employment Control Task Force (FKS) 
also participate in anti-TIP work at the Federal level. 
 
Numerous state (Laender) offices, including state ministries for 
Women and Gender Affairs, Social Affairs, Interior, Justice and 
Labor are involved in developing programs at the state level. 
Several states have interagency anti-TIP working groups and/or task 
forces that include NGOs.  Twelve of sixteen Laender have formal 
cooperation agreements between police and NGOs.  As an example, the 
Lower Saxony Interior Ministry enacted an amended TIP decree on July 
11, 2008.  This decree regulates the cooperation between police, 
prosecution offices, foreigner offices, social security offices, 
youth welfare offices, labor agencies, and TIP NGOs.  The goal is a 
cross-departmental, victim-centered, cooperative approach to protect 
the victims of trafficking. 
 
As a result of the 2005 amendment of trafficking provisions in the 
Federal Penal Code, state police authorities have restructured their 
organized crime or TIP units to include labor exploitation crimes. 
The Laender Offices of Criminal Investigations (LKA) have special 
units that deal with TIP or with organized crime and regularly 
review their strategies. 
 
Furthermore, a number of interagency cooperative bodies exist.  The 
Federal-State Interagency Working Group on Trafficking in Women, 
established in 1997 under the Family Ministry's lead, reviews 
counter-trafficking issues, disseminates best practices, and 
provides input for new laws and directives. (Please see the "Best 
Practices" Section at the end of this cable) 
 
A federal-state working group on combating sexual exploitation of 
children has existed since 2003 and meets several times every year. 
In November 2008, the Family Ministry published a Status report on 
the "Plan of Action of the Government of the Federal Republic of 
Germany for the Protection of Children and Young People from Sexual 
Violence and Exploitation" that evaluates the status of the Action 
Plan's goals and identifies areas of improvement. 
 
The Federal Ministry of the Interior created an inter-agency 
analysis and strategy center on illegal migration (GASIM) in 2006 
that is comprised of experts from the police, security agencies, 
customs authorities, the Foreign Ministry and the Agency for 
Refugees and Migration.  It is designed to exchange and collect 
information on illegal migration, related organized crime, visa 
fraud, illegal employment, and trafficking; to analyze the illegal 
migration situation; and to support investigations and international 
cooperation. 
 
The Labor Ministry is at present working to advance the strategic 
coordination between the federal and Laender levels in the area of 
labor TIP, drawing from the good experiences of the federal/state 
interagency working group set up in 1997 to coordinate action 
against sex trafficking. (Comment: The IOM - International 
Organization for Migration labor TIP project mentioned under 
Prevention question C: Mechanisms for Cooperation is a first step. 
End Comment.) 
 
¶C. What are the limitations on the government's ability to address 
this problem in practice?  Is overall corruption a problem?  Does 
the government lack the resources to aid victims? 
 
German officials pointed out the general difficulty of identifying 
trafficking victims and getting them to testify in trials. 
Testifying often means danger and sacrifices for the victims, even 
in cases when they enter victim protection programs.  Germany does 
 
BERLIN 00000256  004.2 OF 018 
 
 
not generally offer permanent residence status to victims - 
temporary residency permits are issued for those victims willing to 
cooperate with investigators and testify in trials.  However, these 
residency permits are of limited duration and therefore victims 
often see little personal advantage to cooperating with 
investigators. 
 
Four of the sixteen Federal Laender do not have formal cooperation 
agreements between TIP counseling centers and police. 
 
Not all prosecutors' offices of the Federal Laender have specialized 
departments dealing with TIP cases.  Moreover, some prosecution 
offices have decided in favor of a more general approach comprising 
sexual offences or organized crime. 
 
No cases of TIP-related corruption have come to the Embassy's 
attention. 
 
Generally speaking, the German government has the resources to aid 
TIP victims. 
 
 
-- D. To what extent does the government systematically 
monitor its anti-trafficking efforts (on all fronts -- 
prosecution, victim protection, and prevention) and 
periodically make available, publicly or privately and 
directly or through regional/international organizations, 
its assessments of these anti-trafficking efforts? 
 
The government and government-funded NGOs systematically monitor 
Germany's anti-trafficking efforts.  In addition, parliamentarians 
routinely query the government on efforts against TIP and related 
issues, obliging the government to publish reports in response.  The 
German government makes regular assessments of its counter-TIP 
efforts available to the UN, the EU, the Council of Europe, and the 
OSCE.  The BKA, as well as the Federal-State Interagency Working 
Group on Trafficking in Women, state level interagency working 
groups, and Laender Offices of Criminal Investigation (LKAs) meet 
regularly to evaluate and discuss counter-TIP programs.  Independent 
NGOs conduct their own evaluations of the government's counter-TIP 
efforts and regularly publish assessments. 
 
Each year the BKA produces a report on trafficking in persons in 
Germany covering the previous year's developments.  Topics include 
statistics on investigations, victims, and traffickers. 
 
In January 2009 the government-funded KOK (Association against 
Trafficking in Women and Violence against Women in the Migration 
Process) published an updated 180-page booklet that draws a 
comprehensive picture of TIP from the viewpoint of non-governmental 
organizations in Germany.  In 2008 the KOK also published a study on 
the abuse of Au-Pair relationships as a form of human trafficking. 
 
The Family Ministry is currently exploring the possibility of 
establishing a national trafficking rapporteur and has been 
reviewing and assessing other countries' approaches on national 
rapporteurs that might serve as a model for a German institution. 
(See Ref D for more details.) 
 
¶4. (U) INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS: 
 
¶A.  Existing Laws against TIP: Does the country have a 
law or laws specifically prohibiting trafficking in 
persons -- both for sexual exploitation and labor?  Please 
provide a full inventory of trafficking laws, including 
non-criminal statutes that allow for civil penalties 
against alleged trafficking crimes.  Does the 
law(s) cover both internal and transnational forms of 
trafficking? 
 
Trafficking for sexual exploitation is prohibited under Section 232 
of the Federal Penal Code and labor exploitation is prohibited under 
Section 233, both 
domestically and trans-nationally.  Trafficking for labor 
exploitation includes slavery, bondage, debt peonage, and working 
under exploitative working conditions. 
 
Furthermore, a vast array of related laws with similar penalties 
exist which are often used in trafficking cases, e.g., promotion of 
trafficking (Section 233a), kidnapping (Section 234), abduction 
(Section 234a), child stealing (Section 235), child trade (Section 
 
BERLIN 00000256  005.2 OF 018 
 
 
236), deprivation of liberty (section 239), extortionate kidnapping 
(Section 239a), coercion (Section 240), promoting sexual acts of 
minors (section 180), exploitation of prostitutes (Section 180a), 
pimping (Section 181a), sexual abuse of juveniles (Section 182), 
forcible sexual assault/rape (Section 177), sexual abuse of children 
(section 176), and human smuggling (Section 96 of the Immigration 
Law).  The German Penal Code makes a clear distinction between 
trafficking in persons and human smuggling. 
 
¶B.  Punishment of Sex Trafficking Offenses: What are the prescribed 
and imposed penalties for trafficking people for sexual 
exploitation? 
 
Penalties for sex trafficking (Section 232) range from six months 
(one year for serious cases) to ten years imprisonment.  These 
penalties are commensurate with penalties for other serious crimes. 
Attempted sex trafficking is also punishable under Section 232.  Per 
2005 amendments to the Penal Code, fines may no longer be imposed as 
penalties instead of prison sentences. 
 
It is standard German practice for judges to suspend prison 
sentences of two years or less for all crimes, not just TIP-related 
crimes.  Suspended sentences often are handed down to first-time 
offenders and those, such as drivers and telephone operators, who 
played an auxiliary role in the crime.  Those who receive suspended 
sentences are often required to perform community service, pay 
damages, and/or meet regularly with a parole officer. 
 
The Federal Statistics Office publishes conviction and sentencing 
statistics for all crimes each year.  The statistics are available 
on the Internet at http://www.destatis.de.  These detailed and 
comprehensive compilations list convictions, sentences, time served, 
nationality of the offenders, status as first-time and/or juvenile 
offenders, along with other data. 
 
Due to the implementation of a new program within the Federal 
Statistics Office, the statistics for 2007 prosecutions will not 
available before April 2009.  For 2006 statistics, please see ref B. 
 (Comment: Post will follow up and report as soon as the 2007 
statistics become available.  End Comment) 
 
Representative TIP court cases follows: 
 
On November 11, 2008 a court in Lower Saxony convicted an Italian 
national on charges of a severe case of trafficking, rape and bodily 
harm of a German prostitute, and sentenced him to a seven year 
prison sentence.  The sentencing became possible after the victim 
entered the witness protection program and comprehensively testified 
against the perpetrator. 
 
On January 29, 2008 the Hanover District Court found a Polish-German 
couple guilty of pimping, and sentenced them to five year, six month 
and three year, three month prison terms, respectively.  The couple 
exploited more than 30 young Polish females in apartment brothels. 
 
On July 2, 2008 the Verden Regional Court (Lower Saxony) sentenced 
two German men to 14 years and 12.5 years respectively for 
trafficking in persons, forced prostitution, kidnapping and rape. 
Both must also pay their five female victims 150,000 euros 
(approximately $189,000).  The victims were German and Bulgarian and 
all resident in Germany.  The perpetrators lured the women - who had 
sought jobs as baby sitters, nannies and cleaning personnel - under 
false pretenses and violently abducted them.  Subsequently, the 
victims were locked up, chained in a dog cage, and raped by the 
accused. 
 
In August, 2008 the Frankfurt Regional Court opened proceedings 
against 11 Nigerians on primarily trafficking and pimping charges. 
They were accused of trafficking 10 women from Nigeria to Germany. 
The accused threatened and intimidated victims with violence and 
voodoo rituals if they did not pay back loans for their 
transportation and forced them into prostitution in brothels in 
Frankfurt and Cologne.  The victims were lured to Germany with the 
promise of being able to work as bar tenders, dancers or cleaning 
ladies.  According to the police, the traffickers took the victims' 
money and passports.  On September 24, 2008 the court sentenced the 
main defendant to four years in prison for smuggling of foreigners 
and forging of documents on a commercial basis as well as aiding to 
pimping, and one of the "madams" was sentenced to a three-year and 
six month prison term (for TIP and pimping).  The court sentenced 
another to two years and six months of prison (for smuggling of 
 
BERLIN 00000256  006.2 OF 018 
 
 
foreigners on a commercial basis).  All defendants confessed before 
the hearing of evidence during the trial. 
 
When explaining TIP prosecutions and trials, prosecutors assured 
post that they seek to have perpetrators sentenced under any and all 
crimes possible.  This does not necessarily mean trafficking charges 
(although this is the objective), but could be other charges such as 
smuggling, violations of Residence Act, and tax evasions that are 
easier to prove if there is not sufficient evidence for a TIP 
prosecution. 
 
Prosecutors underlined that apart from pursuing justice in single 
cases, a prime goal is to uncover criminal structures.  Therefore, 
numerous investigations are often brought together which can take 
long periods of time and are not reflected in the general 
statistics.  Prosecutors also explained that confessions, especially 
in early stages of trials, can act as a mitigating factor in regards 
to sentencing.  According to Hamburg prosecutors, a confession can 
easily reduce 1/3 of the sentence. 
 
In Germany, prison sentences of up to two years for first time 
convicts -- regardless of the crime committed -- are often 
suspended, and convicted persons are released on probation.  The 
trial judge decides whether to suspend a sentence or sentence 
probation based on detailed rules of the Penal Code and case law. 
By law, prison sentences over two years have to be served, however 
release on probation is possible once two-thirds of the sentence 
(and in some cases, half of the sentence) has been served. 
 
¶C.  Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses: What are 
the prescribed and imposed penalties for trafficking for 
labor exploitation, such as forced or bonded labor? 
 
Section 233 of the Penal Code (Trafficking in Human Beings for the 
Purpose of the Exploitation of Workers) criminalizes the actions of 
individuals who "exploit another person through a coercive 
situation, or the helplessness that is associated with their stay in 
a foreign country, to induce them into slavery, serfdom, or debt 
bondage, or to take up or continue work with him or a third party 
under working conditions that are strikingly disproportionate to the 
working conditions of other workers who perform the same or a 
comparable activity." 
 
The penalties for labor trafficking, including slavery and forced 
labor, range from six months to ten years imprisonment.  Under 
Section 233a (promotion of trafficking) a recruiter in a source 
country could be sentenced to six months to ten years in prison. 
Section 233 covers employers or agents who exploit a victim's 
helplessness to bring him/her into slavery, bondage, debt peonage, 
or exploitative working conditions.  Attempted labor trafficking is 
also punishable under both sections. Depending on the circumstances 
confiscation of passports or travel documents are punishable under 
section 233 or can be punishable under sections 242 (theft), 274 
(suppression of documents). 
 
The Federal Statistics Office will not publish statistics on imposed 
penalties and prosecutions for 2007 before April 2009.  (See B. 
above) 
 
Compared to sex trafficking cases, there are significantly fewer 
labor trafficking investigations and prosecutions. This is partly 
due to the fact that Sections 233 and 233a of the Penal Code only 
became effective in 2005.  In regards to defining exploitative 
working conditions, working conditions are exploitative pursuant to 
Section 233 if they "...are in clear discrepancy to those of other 
workers performing the same or a similar activity".  As there is no 
statutory minimum wage for most sectors in Germany, it can be 
difficult for prosecutors and judges to determine on case by case 
basis if working conditions are exploitative. 
 
The following trials reflect some German efforts to bring labor 
traffickers to justice: 
 
On February 17, 2008 a Bavarian court sentenced a suspended police 
officer to three years and three months incarceration on forced 
labor charges.  The offender exploited a number of East Europeans 
working on his strawberry farm. 
 
In June 2008, another Bavarian court gave a two year suspended 
sentence on forced labor charges to a dog breeder for exploiting an 
Au pair girl from Mongolia over a period of two years.  The victim 
 
BERLIN 00000256  007.2 OF 018 
 
 
had to carry out gardening and household work, as well as clean 
dozens of dog cages.  The perpetrator received a four year 
probationary period and was ordered to pay 3000 Euro to a 
crime-victim organization and 4500 Euro to the victim.  The court 
reportedly considered the suspect's confession at an early stage in 
the trial as mitigating factor in sentencing deliberations. 
 
¶D.  What are the prescribed penalties for rape or forcible sexual 
assault? 
 
The penalty for rape under Section 177 of the Penal Code is two to 
fifteen years imprisonment.  This sentence is commensurate with 
penalties for other serious crimes.  Forcible sexual assault is 
punishable by one to ten years in jail.  Sexual assault of children 
is punishable by imprisonment from six months to fifteen years. 
 
¶E.  Law Enforcement Statistics: Did the government prosecute any 
cases against human trafficking offenders during the reporting 
period?  If so, provide numbers of investigations, prosecutions, 
convictions, and sentences imposed, including details on plea 
bargains and fines, if relevant and available.  Please note the 
number of convicted traffickers who received suspended sentences and 
the number who received only a fine as punishment. 
 
The latest statistics for TIP investigations available are for 2007. 
 The 2007 BKA report lists 454 completed pre-trial investigations 
for sex trafficking crimes conducted by state and federal police 
authorities, compared with 353 in 2006 (a 29 percent increase). 
Police authorities also launched 92 pre-trial investigations for 
labor trafficking crimes in 2007, which is an 18 percent increase 
compared to 2006.  A large number of investigations were conducted 
into other crimes linked to these trafficking investigations, 
including a variety of other sex crimes, such as abuse or rape (184 
investigations), offenses involving violence (64), smuggling 
offenses (42), narcotics violations (30), counterfeiting (16), and 
weapons-related violations (16).  According to the BKA report, the 
majority of cases were attendant or logistic offenses connected to 
trafficking. 
 
German law enforcement officials conducted a number of high profile 
TIP raids and prosecutions that led to the break-up of trafficking 
rings in 2008. 
 
For instance, at the end of May 2008, more than 150 police officers 
simultaneously raided 22 properties in Hamburg, Schleswig-Holstein 
and North Rhine-Westphalia in pursuit of an internationally 
operating trafficking ring.  A 40-year old of Romanian origin is 
believed to be the head of the trafficking ring.  An arrest warrant 
was issued against him for suspicion of trafficking and commercial 
smuggling of foreigners.  The other suspects, aged 30 to 60, are 
suspected of having lured women to Germany under false promises and 
having forced them into prostitution. 
 
Hamburg police conducted a further series of raids in September, 
2008 in connection with a criminal association of 13 German men. 
Police-obtained information that indicated the group of men was 
sexually abusing male children and juveniles, producing and 
distributing child-pornography and facilitating meetings between the 
boys and other men.  At the end of the investigation, police found 
that while their leads were accurate, the evidence obtained was 
insufficient for a court case.  However, one 51-year old man was 
arrested on September 15, 2008 and subsequently found guilty of six 
cases of sexual abuse of adolescents and one case of abuse of a 
13-year old child.  On January 23, 2009 a Hamburg court sentenced 
him to two years and three months incarceration for sexual abuse of 
adolescents.  Three further trafficking proceedings resulted from 
this case and are ongoing as of February 2009. 
 
On November 18, 2008 customs officials raided a production site in 
Zeven (Lower Saxony) and nine more locations in Lower Saxony.  An 
accused is suspected of trafficking and defalcation of wages.  The 
State Prosecution Office, which initiated an investigation against 
the German suspect, believes that he recruited 25 women in 
north-eastern Europe in order to exploit them as packagers in 
Germany. 
 
In May 2008, four male Germans, three men from Bulgaria and a woman 
from Poland were arrested and now face charges for human trafficking 
and forced prostitution.  They will stand trial in Koblenz.  The 
group is accused of forcing 14 women from Bulgaria into prostitution 
between September 2006 and December 2007.  The accused were arrested 
 
BERLIN 00000256  008.2 OF 018 
 
 
after police forces conducted a raid of brothels in five German 
states, including Rheinland-Pfalz.  One of the victims is a 17-year 
old woman from Bulgaria. 
 
In August and September 2008, Baden-Wuertenmberg (B-W) police forces 
conducted a series of raids in Stuttgart and its surrounding 
communities, in eastern B-W and in the northern and southern part of 
the Black Forest.  Most of the raids were connected to 
investigations against a group of Nigerians who had forced women 
into prostitution.  Several people were arrested during the raids. 
 
In June 2008, B-W police forces arrested a 38-year old man from 
Hungary and a 46-year-old woman who will stand trial in Stuttgart. 
Both are accused of forcing a 16-year old woman from Hungary into 
prostitution.  They face additional charges of human trafficking, 
rape and assault.  Both are in preliminary detention.  A trial date 
has not yet been set. 
 
The BKA report states that in 14 of the 454 pre-trial investigations 
in 2007, assets were seized, collecting 1.6 million Euros 
(approximately $2 million), compared to 2.2 million Euros seized in 
¶2006.  In TIP investigations, German police employ a full range of 
investigative techniques, including wiretaps, electronic 
surveillance, undercover operations, and offers of mitigated 
punishment for suspects who cooperate with police investigations. 
 
¶F.  Does the government provide any specialized 
training for government officials in how to recognize, 
investigate, and prosecute instances of trafficking? 
 
The government and government-funded NGOS provide a range of 
specialized TIP training to judges, prosecutors and police. 
 
The German Judicial Academy (Deutsche Richterakademie) is the 
national training academy for Judges and Prosecutors and is managed 
jointly by the Federal Ministry of Justice and the Laender (state) 
Ministries of Justice.  It offers training to prosecutors and judges 
that also cover issues of TIP and the sexual exploitation of women 
and children in connection with cross-border crime.  The Academy 
also offers training on domestic violence and child abuse, as well 
as dealing with victims of sexual violence. 
 
On the Federal level, the BKA regularly organizes specialized 
seminars that are primarily geared towards investigating officers, 
but are also offered to members of victim protection departments and 
prosecutors (often a colleague from German speaking countries, e.g. 
Austria or Switzerland also will attend).  During these seminars, 
representatives from various professional groups highlight different 
aspects of TIP.  The BKA also organized workshops in source and 
transit countries to improve international cooperation or invited 
officials from transit and source countries for workshops in 
Germany. 
 
Laender governments cooperated with numerous NGOS to provide 
training.  For example, Berlin LKA teamed with the NGO Ban Ying, 
(which is mainly funded by the Berlin Senate) to provide for TIP 
police training sessions in 2008. (Please see ref C.) 
 
¶G.  Does the government cooperate with other governments 
in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking 
cases?  If possible, provide the number of cooperative 
international investigations on trafficking during the 
reporting period. 
 
The Federal Office of Criminal Investigations (BKA) has a 
counter-trafficking office that coordinates international TIP cases, 
promotes cooperation with other countries and regional organizations 
(including through the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative 
(SECI) and the Baltic Sea Task Force), cooperates closely with 
Europol (Analytical Work File PHOENIX)and Interpol (Interpol Working 
Group on Trafficking Human Beings), and organizes training programs 
for German and foreign law enforcement authorities.  The BKA's 
Organized Crime Section covers both trafficking for purposes of 
sexual and for labor exploitation.  In 2008 the BKA conducted 
extensive international cooperation in sex trafficking cases where 
either foreign victims or perpetrators were involved or in crimes of 
international scope.  This cooperation has included the Netherlands, 
Poland, Bulgaria, Greece and Romania.  Due to ongoing investigations 
and operational agreements the BKA could not reveal further 
details. 
 
 
BERLIN 00000256  009.2 OF 018 
 
 
According to German prosecutors, cooperation in legal assistance 
matters with new EU member states such as Poland and the Czech 
Republic as well as Romania and Bulgaria is excellent.  Such 
cooperation facilitates efforts to investigate and identify from 
which regions and areas victims originated. 
 
¶H.  Does the government extradite persons who are charged with 
trafficking in other countries?  If so, please provide the number of 
traffickers extradited during the reporting period, and the number 
of trafficking extraditions pending. In particular, please report on 
any pending or concluded extraditions of trafficking offenders to 
the United States. 
 
In 2007, the latest year for which statistics are available, Germany 
extradited individuals on sex trafficking charges to the following 
countries: Belgium (3), France (1), Netherlands (4), Luxembourg (1), 
Poland (1), Ukraine (1) and Switzerland (1).  There were no cases of 
extraditions on trafficking charges to the United States. 
 
Law enforcement sources report the number of extradition requests is 
low because foreign traffickers arrested in Germany are generally 
prosecuted in Germany.  Germany can extradite non-German citizens or 
request the extradition of German and non-German citizens in 
accordance with extradition treaties or the Federal International 
Legal Assistance Code.  Under the EU Arrest Warrant Act (2006), 
German nationals accused of extraditable crimes (including TIP and 
sexual exploitation) can be extradited to other EU member states for 
the duration of their trials. 
 
¶I.  Is there evidence of government involvement in or tolerance of 
trafficking, on a local or institutional level?  If so, please 
explain in detail. 
 
There was no evidence that came to the attention of the Embassy of 
government involvement in, complicity or tolerance of trafficking. 
 
¶J.  If government officials are involved in trafficking, what steps 
has the government taken to end such participation? 
 
N/A 
 
¶K.  Is prostitution legalized or decriminalized? Specifically, are 
the activities of the prostitute criminalized?  Are the activities 
of the brothel owner/operator, clients, pimps, and enforcers 
criminalized?  Are these laws enforced?  If prostitution is legal 
and regulated, what is the legal minimum age for this activity? 
Note that in countries with federalist systems, prostitution laws 
may be under state or local jurisdiction and may differ among 
jurisdictions. 
 
Prostitution in Germany is legal, but highly regulated and 
restricted in practice.  Communities have the authority to ban 
prostitution or to use zoning ordinances to exclude its practice 
from specific areas, usually city centers and residential 
neighborhoods.  Prostitutes who violate this ban can be fined and 
charged under Section 184d of the Penal Code.  The minimum age for 
prostitution is 18 years.  However, individuals who induce another 
person under the age of 21 to take up or continue in prostitution or 
to commit sexual acts on or in front of the perpetrator or a third 
party are subject to criminal prosecution under Section 232 
(Trafficking in Human Beings for the Purpose of Sexual 
Exploitation). 
 
Brothel keepers or landlords are criminally liable under Section 
180a of the German Penal Code if they hold prostitutes in personal 
or financial dependency, or if they employ a person under 18 as a 
prostitute. 
 
Pimping, defined as exploiting a prostitute, controlling/arranging 
the services of a prostitute for monetary gain, or impairing a 
prostitute's financial or personal independence, is a crime under 
Section 181a of the penal code.  The maximum sentence is five years. 
 As noted above, individuals who induce another person under the age 
of 21 to engage in prostitution are criminally liable under Section 
232 (Trafficking in Human Beings for the Purpose of Sexual 
Exploitation). 
 
Section 182 II of the penal code criminalizes the acts of clients 
who solicit sexual services from a person under the age of 18.  In 
2008, legislation raising the "protection age" to 18 years entered 
into force.  Prior to these amendments the age of legal consent was 
 
BERLIN 00000256  010.2 OF 018 
 
 
16, and clients of voluntary prostitutes who were sixteen or 
seventeen years old did not commit a crime.  The new law 
criminalizes the acts of clients who patronize prostitutes younger 
than 18.  The law also criminalizes an attempt to do so and holds 
liable perpetrators over the age of 13 if the crime was committed 
under exploitation of a coercive situation (18 years in all other 
cases).  The legislation implements the requirements of a 2003 EU 
Framework Decision and an optional protocol of the Convention on the 
Rights of the Child. (Please see ref E.) 
 
The 2002 Law to Regulate the Legal Status of Prostitution was part 
of a wider effort to improve the social and legal situation of 
prostitutes.  Prostitutes working under contract (e.g., at a 
brothel) are legally required to contribute to social security and 
unemployment, health care, and retirement insurance.  Furthermore, 
prostitutes may participate in state-level retraining and assistance 
programs. 
 
In 2007, the Federal Government announced plans to introduce a 
regulation on the criminal liability of clients of those forced into 
prostitution.  Although these plans have yet to be implemented, the 
above mentioned law criminalizing the acts of clients of prostitutes 
under 18 years is characterized by German authorities as a step in 
this direction.  The government will also examine ways to increase 
penalties for landlords who exploit prostitutes by charging 
exploitatively high rent to make them on par with penalties for 
pimps. 
 
Following the recommendations of the government's evaluation, the 
Family Ministry is developing concepts for Model projects to help 
individuals get out of prostitution and is identifying NGO program 
implementers. 
 
Following a special hearing in the Baden-Wuertemberg state 
parliament on human trafficking in October 2007, the state Ministry 
of Finance established a new fund, which provides 100,000 Euros 
(approximately $126,000) annually as financial assistance to victims 
of forced prostitution.  In addition, the Baden-Wuertemberg state 
government now recognizes the 25th of November as an official day to 
raise awareness of violence against women. 
 
¶L.  For countries that contribute troops to international 
peacekeeping efforts, please indicate whether the government 
vigorously investigated, prosecuted, convicted and sentenced 
nationals of the country deployed abroad as part of a peacekeeping 
or other similar mission who engaged in or facilitated severe forms 
of trafficking or who exploited victims of such trafficking. 
 
International Peacekeeping.  Germany's anti-trafficking laws have 
extraterritorial effect under Section 6 of the Penal Code, i.e., it 
is a crime under German law to engage in/facilitate severe forms of 
trafficking or to exploit 
victims of such trafficking.  Post is not aware of any information 
indicating that German nationals deployed abroad as part of 
peacekeeping or police training missions engaged in or facilitated 
severe forms of trafficking or exploited victims of trafficking.  In 
the event such evidence came to light, German law requires 
authorities to investigate and, as warranted, prosecute suspected 
perpetrators. 
 
¶M.  If the country has an identified problem of child 
sex tourists coming to the country, what are the 
countries of origin for sex tourists?  How many foreign 
pedophiles did the government prosecute or 
deport/extradite to their country of origin?  If your 
host country's nationals are perpetrators of child sex 
tourism, do the country's child sexual abuse laws have 
extraterritorial coverage to allow the prosecution of suspected sex 
tourists for crimes committed abroad?  If so, how many of the 
country's nationals were prosecuted and/or convicted during the 
reporting period under the extraterritorial provision(s) for 
traveling to other countries to engage in child sex tourism? 
 
Germany's sexual abuse laws have extraterritorial effect.  Thailand 
is the primary destination for German (child) sex tourists, but also 
neighboring countries such as Vietnam, Cambodia and the 
Philippines. 
 
A small number of child sex tourism cases in the Dominican Republic 
came to the BKA's attention, but they primarily concern German 
residents in the country. 
 
BERLIN 00000256  011.2 OF 018 
 
 
 
Neither the BKA nor the federally-owned corporation Gesellschaft 
fuer Technische Zusammenarbeit (GTZ), which supports the German 
Government in achieving its development-policy objectives, has heard 
of any cases of German child sex tourists to Madagascar. 
 
Since 2006, the BKA has stepped up cooperation with law enforcement 
officials in South East Asia to investigate German sex tourists and 
pedophiles operating outside of Germany.  The goal is to facilitate 
prosecution of perpetrators in the countries where the crimes are 
committed, as well as in Germany. 
 
In July 2008, the Higher Regional court in Kiel sentenced a German 
citizen arrested in Cambodia in February 2007 on charges of sexual 
abuse of children, to a six and a half year prison term with 
subsequent preventive detention. 14 witnesses, including seven 
children were flown in from Cambodia to testify as witnesses in the 
case. 
 
In May 2008 authorities arrested a 66-year old German citizen in 
Thailand on suspicion of sexual abuse of two boys age 13 and 14 
years old. 
 
In December 2008 authorities arrested a 66-year old German citizen 
in Thailand along with two British citizens, a US citizen, as well 
as a Thai citizen on suspicion of sexual abuse of minors. 
 
¶5. (U) PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS: 
 
¶A.   What kind of protection is the government able under existing 
law to provide for victims and witnesses?  Does it provide these 
protections in practice? 
 
Several options exist in Germany regarding witness protection 
programs.  Victims may be placed under police protection and the 
care of NGOs.  Furthermore, prosecutors have the right to order 
protective measures as deemed necessary (such as bodyguards, 
testimony under disguise, etc.) for the duration of the trial.  In 
some cases, police witness protection programs may relocate the 
victim to an undisclosed location with a new identity. 
 
According to some NGOs, traditional witness protection programs 
which often entail a break of communication with family and friends 
and have not proved effective in practice for traumatized TIP 
witnesses, as their social networks are key to reintegrating TIP 
victims into society. 
 
 
¶B.  Does the country have victim care facilities 
(shelters or drop-in centers) which are accessible to 
trafficking victims?  Do foreign victims have the same 
access to care as domestic trafficking victims?  Where 
are child victims placed (e.g., in shelters, foster care, 
or juvenile justice detention centers)?  Does the country 
have specialized care for adults in addition to children? 
Does the country have specialized care for male victims 
as well as female?   Does the country have specialized 
facilities dedicated to helping victims of trafficking? 
Are these facilities operated by the government or by 
NGOs?  What is the funding source of these facilities? 
Please estimate the amount the government spent (in U.S. 
dollar equivalent) on these specialized facilities 
dedicated to helping trafficking victims during the 
reporting period. 
 
German NGOs operate counseling centers in approximately 45 German 
cities, providing assistance and facilitating victim protection. 
The vast majority of counseling centers focus on female victims 
corresponding to the fact that 95 percent of identified victims are 
female.  Cooperating closely with police authorities (in twelve of 
sixteen federal states through formal cooperation agreements), the 
centers help victims deal with the German authorities, escort them 
to trials, and provide them with shelter, legal counsel, 
interpreters, job training, and related rehabilitation services. 
Foreign victim witnesses are entitled to financial support for basic 
living expenses and basic health care under the Benefit Rules for 
Asylum Seekers.  These benefits are about 30 percent lower than 
benefits afforded to the unemployed under the Federal Social Welfare 
Law.  Victims who have been battered are entitled to long-term 
therapy, as well as pension and disability payments under the 
Victims' Compensation Act, even if they are illegal aliens. 
 
BERLIN 00000256  012.3 OF 018 
 
 
 
The government-funded KOK, the lead body representing 36 NGOs and 
counseling centers assisting victims, publishes a brochure that 
comprehensively explains the full range of benefits and compensation 
claims to which TIP victims are legally entitled.  The publication 
is designed to inform victims, counseling centers, and government 
agencies to ensure they make use of all of the support at their 
disposal.  In 2007, the Family Ministry and the KOK published a 
reference document for use by counseling centers that explains 
benefits available to trafficking victims, including psychological 
treatment, under the Victims Compensation Act.  This document is 
still current and frequently used in practice. 
 
Nongovernmental organizations providing services to trafficking 
victims receive their funding primarily from state and local 
governments as well as faith-based institutions (mainly affiliated 
with Catholic or Protestant Churches). 
 
¶C.  Does the government provide trafficking victims with access to 
legal, medical and psychological services? 
If so, please specify the kind of assistance provided. 
Does the government provide funding or other forms of support to 
foreign or domestic NGOs and/or international 
organizations for providing these services to trafficking 
victims? 
 
The Laender and municipal governments, as well as charities, support 
civil society organizations that provide a range of legal, medical 
and psychological services to trafficking victims.  Formal 
cooperation agreements in 12 of Germany's 16 states provide 
mechanisms for NGOs to assist victims as described in paragraph B 
above. 
 
The manner in which authorities finance subsistence for trafficking 
victims depends on their residence status. There are different kinds 
of residence permits and, correspondingly, different levels of 
social benefits. NGOS report that it is possible that a victim 
witness from a non-European country could receive more assistance 
based on asylum laws than an EU citizen who does not get any 
assistance, as is the usual practice in many German states or 
municipalities.  There is currently no standardized procedure in 
Germany regarding financial support for victim witnesses from EU 
countries.  In most cases, the approval of financial support depends 
on whether the police and/or prosecutors confirm the individual's 
status as a witness. In addition, the government agencies can find 
it difficult to ascertain the correct type and level of financial 
support for victims. 
 
Hamburg NGO KOOFRA, in cooperation with KOK, completed a study on 
the eligibility of victims from EU member states for benefits, 
analyzing the legal requirements.  The Federal State Working Group 
discussed the findings in February 2009 and communicated these to 
the Laender. Common/standardized practices are expected to be 
implemented in the future. 
 
People falling victim to human trafficking on German territory and 
who as a consequence have suffered damage to their health are 
generally entitled to claims under the Victims Compensation Act 
(OEG).  Damage to health may be physical or psychological, temporary 
or permanent.  The right to compensation generally exists from the 
point of application.  The extent of compensation is determined in 
accordance with the Federal Social Assistance Act 
(Bundesversorgungsgesetz) and includes in particular, health care, 
pension and invalidity benefit, supplementary help with living 
expenses, housing aid and help in respect to special living 
circumstances.  Damages for pain and suffering or compensation in 
respect of other damage to property or assets such as, for example, 
withheld earnings from prostitution, are excluded. 
 
Injured parties from EU member states generally receive payments as 
would German citizens.  Non-EU nationals are treated differently 
depending on the circumstances: where the injured party has been 
legally resident for a continuous period of between six months and 
three years within Germany, the victim is granted benefits from the 
OEG.  Has the individual been a legal and continuous resident in 
Germany for more than three years, the individual can claim as would 
a German citizen.  Injured parties legally resident for less than 
six months are entitled only to a single hardship payout. 
 
¶D.  Does the government assist foreign trafficking victims, for 
example, by providing temporary to permanent residency status, or 
 
BERLIN 00000256  013.2 OF 018 
 
 
other relief from deportation?  If so, please explain. 
 
In August 2007, Germany adopted amendments to the immigration law to 
implement EU Council Directive 2004/81/EC on the issuance of 
residence permits to TIP victims who are third-country nationals. 
The law formally codified the practice of granting TIP victims who 
reside in Germany illegally a minimum of a one month grace period 
before deportation.  Victims who agree to testify against the 
trafficker are entitled to remain in Germany for the duration of the 
trial.  Thereafter, victims must be repatriated.  However, if they 
face threats to life, personal injury, or freedom, a permanent 
residence permit may be granted. 
 
¶E.  Does the government provide longer-term shelter or housing 
benefits to victims or other resources to aid the victims in 
rebuilding their lives? 
 
TIP victims assistance programs are generally limited to the length 
of the legal process.  (For benefits available e.g. under the 
Victims Compensation Act, please see paragraph C above.) 
 
¶F.  Does the government have a referral process to transfer victims 
detained, arrested or placed in protective custody by law 
enforcement authorities to institutions that provide short- or 
long-term care (either government or NGO-run)? 
 
A well-established referral process exists in all 16 states.  In 
cases where a cooperation agreement exists, the process is 
formalized.  Authorities must inform victims of their rights and 
with their consent contact a counseling center.  As noted above, 
victims are granted a minimum one month grace period to decide 
whether to testify against their traffickers and, if they decide to 
testify, receive a temporary residence permit.  Victims who decline 
to testify are generally deported, but in certain cases may apply 
for asylum. 
 
Nongovernmental organizations providing services to trafficking 
victims receive their funding primarily from state and local 
governments. 
 
¶G.  What is the total number of trafficking victims 
identified during the reporting period?  Of these, how 
many victims were referred to care facilities for 
assistance by law enforcement authorities during the 
reporting period?  By social services officials?  What is 
the number of victims assisted by government-funded 
assistance programs and those not funded by the 
government during the reporting period? 
 
According to the BKA, the total number of trafficking victims was 
790 (689 sex trafficking and 101 labor trafficking victims) in 2007, 
the latest year for which numbers were available.  The German 
government does not publish detailed statistics addressing the 
remaining questions. 
 
¶H.  Do the government's law enforcement, immigration, 
and social services personnel have a formal system of 
proactively identifying victims of trafficking among 
high-risk persons with whom they come in contact (e.g., 
foreign persons arrested for prostitution or immigration 
violations)?  For countries with legalized prostitution, 
does the government have a mechanism for screening for 
trafficking victims among persons involved in the 
legal/regulated commercial sex trade? 
 
German states employ victim-centered, multidisciplinary approaches 
to identify and protect trafficking victims. These approaches 
involve police, prosecutors, immigration authorities, labor 
inspectors, municipal government officials, public health and safety 
authorities, NGOs, and victim services providers.  Some states have 
established counseling services (e.g., "intervention agencies" in 
Mecklenburg-Pomerania and Lower Saxony and mobile counseling 
services in Berlin) that actively reach out to at-risk women to 
supplement the activities of more traditional counseling centers. 
 
Guidelines developed in October 2007 by the Family Ministry for 
TIP-related training for police, counseling centers, prosecutors and 
judges and other authorities include standardized modules on victim 
identification techniques. In 2008 the Family Ministry distributed 
these through the State Social and Labor Ministers' Conference and 
will further distribute them to the competent state and municipal 
 
BERLIN 00000256  014.2 OF 018 
 
 
authorities.  The state-level feedback was very positive. 
 
Of the 454 sex trafficking investigations concluded in 2007, 145 (32 
percent) were the result of complaints filed by victims. 
Seventy-six (17 percent) involved complaints filed by third parties. 
 Slightly more than fifty percent were the result of police checks. 
According to the BKA report, police initiatives (e.g., random checks 
carried out in red-light districts) play an important role in the 
identification of trafficking victims and "contribute to gaining a 
better insight into the area of undetected crimes." 
 
¶I.  Are the rights of victims respected?  Are trafficking victims 
detained or jailed?  If so, for how long?  Are victims fined?  Are 
victims prosecuted for violations of other laws, such as those 
governing immigration or prostitution? 
 
Victims' rights are respected.  Victims are granted a grace period 
to stay in Germany.  Victims are not generally detained or fined, 
but placed with counseling centers.  Counter-TIP legislation enacted 
in February 2005 gives prosecutors more authority to decline 
prosecuting victims who have committed minor crimes. 
 
¶J.  Does the government encourage victims to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking?  How many victims 
assisted in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers during 
the reporting period?  May victims file civil suits or seek legal 
action against traffickers?  Does anyone impede victim access to 
such legal redress?  If a victim is a material witness in a court 
case against a former employer, is the victim permitted to obtain 
other employment or to leave the country pending trial proceedings? 
Are there means by which a victim may obtain restitution? 
 
The government encourages trafficked victims to cooperate in the 
investigation and prosecution of TIP cases.  Victim witnesses are 
entitled to join as "joint plaintiffs" in criminal proceedings 
against traffickers and to have a lawyer free of charge.  As joint 
plaintiffs, they can actively participate in the proceedings, and 
are entitled to pursue civil remedies, including claims for 
compensation, in addition to the criminal proceedings 
(Adhaesionsverfahren). 
 
TIP victims that received a residence permit on humanitarian grounds 
(Sec 25 Subsection 4a Residence Act -Aufenthaltsgesetz) for the 
duration of ongoing criminal proceedings, may be granted a work 
permit (Sec 6a Beschaeftigungsverfahrensordnung). 
 
The Victims' Rights Reform Law, enacted in 2004, expands the rights 
of crime victims in criminal proceedings.  The intent of the law is 
to reduce the psychological burden on crime victims, to increase 
their procedural rights, and to make it easier for victims to file 
claims for compensation against traffickers.  Victim witnesses 
qualified to join as joint plaintiffs are also entitled to an 
interpreter.  The law allows a third party, e.g., a representative 
from a counseling center, to be present when police or prosecutors 
question the victim.  Police and prosecutors are required to inform 
victims of their rights regarding witness protection, participation 
in the trial as joint plaintiffs, and access to an attorney free of 
charge in the case. 
 
¶K.  Does the government provide any specialized training for 
government officials in identifying trafficking victims and in the 
provision of assistance to trafficked victims, including the special 
needs of trafficked children?  Does the government provide training 
on protections and assistance to its embassies and consulates in 
foreign countries that are destination or transit countries?   What 
is the number of trafficking victims assisted by the host country's 
embassies or consulates abroad during the reporting period?  Please 
explain the type of assistance provided (travel documents, referrals 
to assistance, payment for transportation home). 
 
The government provided specialized training discussed in section 
Investigations and Prosecutions Questions under "F" above. 
 
In early 2009, the BKA published a guidance brochure on providing 
assistance for the professional treatment of sex trafficking 
victims.  The brochure will be available to federal and state 
police, judges and prosecutors, as well as to municipal employees 
e.g. working for foreigner and social welfare offices. 
 
The BKA also commissioned a study on Victim Identification that will 
be completed by mid 2009. 
 
BERLIN 00000256  015.2 OF 018 
 
 
 
Embassy contacts were not aware of any cases of German trafficking 
victims being identified in third countries. If such a case were to 
occur, German embassies and consulates abroad would provide consular 
assistance to victims.  This assistance could come in the form of 
counselling, acting as an intermediary to family, medical and other 
support institutions on the spot and in Germany, or by issuing 
travel documents and - if necessary - by subsidiary payment of 
transportation home. 
 
In October 2007, the Family Ministry published guidelines developed 
by the Federal-State Interagency Working Group on Trafficking that 
offer standardized modules for TIP-related training for police, 
counseling centers, prosecutors and judges and other authorities. 
The guidelines are intended to raise awareness and to contribute to 
the specialization of police and personnel in the justice system and 
the staff of foreigner services and social services offices in order 
to help them to recognize trafficking victims and to equip them to 
respond to victims' special needs.  These guidelines are still 
current and stakeholders continued to use them during the reporting 
period. 
 
¶L.  Does the government provide assistance, such as medical aid, 
shelter, or financial help, to its nationals who are repatriated as 
victims of trafficking? 
 
N/A 
 
¶M.  Which international organizations or NGOs, if any, work with 
trafficking victims?  What type of services do they provide?  What 
sort of cooperation do they receive from local authorities? 
 
International organizations and NGOs that work with victims include 
IOM, faith-based organizations (SOLWODI, Misereor, Caritas), and 
Terre-des-hommes.  Cooperation among numerous local NGOs and local 
authorities is close and in most Laender is formalized. 
 
¶6. (U) PREVENTION: 
 
¶A.  Did the government conduct anti-trafficking information or 
education campaigns during the reporting period?  Do these campaigns 
target potential trafficking victims and/or the demand for 
trafficking (e.g. "clients" of prostitutes or beneficiaries of 
forced labor)? 
 
German public awareness of trafficking has increased significantly. 
In 2008, the government continued to support and fund NGOs campaigns 
in Germany and abroad.  The awareness campaigns target potential 
trafficking victims and potential clients of trafficking victims. 
 
The Federal Family Ministry fully funds KOK, the lead body 
representing 36 NGOs and counseling centers assisting victims.  The 
KOK as a member of the Federal-State Interagency Working Group 
coordinates projects, conferences, studies, research, and outreach 
campaigns. 
 
NGOs routinely and continuously carry out public awareness campaigns 
mainly through streetworking but also other areas. 
 
For instance, the Coordination and Counseling Center for Victims of 
Trafficking (KOBRA) in Hannover organized two information campaigns 
in the framework of "Street work" in 2008.  On World Aids Day, KOBRA 
also held an information campaign designed to raise the awareness of 
clients to trafficking. 
 
A number of NGOS (e.g., Ban Ying, KOBRA, VERA) conducted public 
awareness campaigns e.g., produced postcards, showed films and 
organized meetings raising awareness about human trafficking. Berlin 
NGO Ban Ying (which is mainly funded by the Berlin Senate) operates 
the websites "verantwortlicher freier.de" (responsible client) and 
www.modern-slavery-in-germany.de. 
 
On October 7, 2008, Berlin labor unions teamed with NGOs to discuss 
trafficking and labor exploitation, in particular the subjects of 
illegal workers, forced labor and wage dumping. 
 
A number of Protestant faith-based organizations and the Nadeschda 
counseling center organized a two-day conference exploring the 
connection between TIP and sexually transmitted diseases. 
 
In Leipzig NGO Kobra (which is mainly funded by Saxony's Social 
 
BERLIN 00000256  016.2 OF 018 
 
 
Ministry) organized one of the traditional Monday peace prayers in 
the Nikolai-Church and dedicated it to the topic of trafficking. 
 
In 2008 NGO VERA organized a series of four films regarding human 
trafficking.  (Comment: Saxony Anhalt's Social Ministry provides 90 
percent of VERA's funding, the Workers Welfare Union funds the 
remaining 10 percent.  End Comment) The film showing was followed by 
discussions with members of VERA and the directors of the films. 
The series was supported by the city of Magdeburg and the State of 
Saxony-Anhalt.  VERA held two events with the police in order to 
improve the public awareness of human trafficking.  As preventive 
measures, VERA had produced a flyer, which they distributed at 
police stations, foreigners offices, immigration organizations and 
shelters for women. 
 
VERA has excellent links with groups throughout eastern Europe (many 
in part EU-funded) and can help make sure that women who return get 
not only counselling but, often, help in further training or 
education to give them job options in their home countries.  VERA 
applied for EU funds for language courses and vocational training 
for trafficking victims. 
 
The Hanns Seidel Foundation will hold a full-day seminar on TIP, 
March 5, 2009 in Munich. 
 
Combating trafficking in persons is also a focus of developmental 
cooperation projects. 
 
¶B.  Does the government monitor immigration and emigration patterns 
for evidence of trafficking? 
 
The Interagency Analysis and Strategy Center on Illegal Migration 
(GASIM), established in May 2006, monitors and analyzes illegal 
migration movements and patterns of organized crime, including 
trafficking.  Law enforcement officials use roving patrols to screen 
for potential TIP victims attempting to enter from bordering 
countries that are party to the Schengen Agreement.  Under the 
Schengen Agreement, Germany and other EU countries have reciprocally 
agreed to abolish border inspections.  Poland and the Czech Republic 
became party to the Schengen Agreement in December 2007.  Germany 
still retains formal border checkpoints along its border with 
Switzerland.  The Federal Police (Bundespolizei), as the successor 
agency since July 2005 to the Federal Border Police, cooperates 
closely with counterparts in neighboring countries.  In 2004, German 
and Polish authorities established joint border police task forces 
in Frankfurt/Oder to conduct joint investigations at the border. 
Similar joint police/customs task forces have been established along 
the German-Czech border. 
 
¶C.  Is there a mechanism for coordination and communication between 
various agencies, internal, international, and multilateral on 
trafficking-related matters, such as a multi-agency working group or 
a task force? 
 
In addition to the Federal-State Interagency Working Group on 
Trafficking in Women, similar interagency working groups and/or task 
forces exist in several states.  The BKA Division for Combating 
Trafficking is another important player promoting cooperation at 
both the national and international level).  The LKAs have 
counter-TIP or organized crime units, as well as public 
anti-corruption units and/or task forces. 
 
In 2008, Germany, through the Federal Ministry of Labor and Social 
Affairs, took the lead among five EU member states  in establishing 
a network on the subject of 'Asylum and Trafficking' supported by 
the European Social Fund (ESF).  Members met twice in 2008.  The 
network's goals are to promote information exchange, share 
experiences, connect projects and develop strategies.  Through 
transnational projects the network aims to increase an exchange 
between countries of origin and destination for labor TIP. 
 
In 2008 the Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs began developing a 
project to establish an alliance to identify, protect and support 
labor trafficking victims in Berlin that, in the future, may serve 
as a nationwide model cooperation concept. (The project will be 
executed by IOM that will team with partners such as the Labor 
Ministry, the Berlin Senate and labor unions.) The main goals are to 
sensitize and train professional groups that come into contact with 
potential labor trafficking victims; to establish a roundtable of 
key actors and to raise public awareness on labor TIP.  The ESF is 
co-funding the project that is expected to begin in spring 2009. 
 
BERLIN 00000256  017.2 OF 018 
 
 
 
Germany is active in numerous international fora on TIP (e.g., 
Baltic Sea Task Force against Trafficking in Human Beings, Baltic 
Sea Task Force on Organized Crime; Southeast European Cooperative 
Initiative Task Force; G8; Interpol; Europol).  Germany has also 
taken a leading role in the EU and UN on counter-trafficking. 
Germany contributes to the OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions 
and Human Rights (ODIHR) and its counter-trafficking project fund. 
 
The BKA has stationed liaison officers in German embassies in 
Eastern European countries and Asia; they focus on legal 
cooperation and legal assistance, including TIP and child sex 
tourism cases. 
 
In 2008, the Coordination and Counselling Center for Victims of 
Trafficking (KOBRA) in Lower Saxony carried out a comprehensive 
cooperation and exchange project with Poland aimed at cross-border 
cooperation, which was financed by the Lower Saxony government. 
Polish and German participants included police officers, police 
training centers, and TIP NGOs in Germany as well as Poland.  Three 
police officers at a time spent a week working with their 
counterparts in the other country.  Following that, a workshop was 
held with all the participants to evaluate the experiences. 
 
KOBRA was also engaged in a networking project with Bulgaria.  For 
four days KOBRA representatives visited a local TIP NGO, the police, 
and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in Bulgaria 
for the purpose of exchanging information.  Later on, 
representatives of the Bulgarian TIP NGO Animus visited Lower Saxony 
for four days.  The NGOs created a joint prevention and information 
flyer for dissemination in Bulgaria and a flyer with pictograms for 
easier understanding of trafficking cases for distribution in 
Germany. 
 
¶D.  Does the government have a national plan of action 
to address trafficking in persons?  If the plan was 
developed during the reporting period, which agencies 
were involved in developing it? 
 
Germany first developed a national action plan to counter violence 
against women, including TIP, in 1999 and issued the second action 
plan in 2007.  The Federal Family Ministry, the lead government 
ministry for combating TIP, is responsible for coordinating the 
government-wide implementation of the action plan.  The main 
coordination tool is the Federal-State Interagency Working Group, 
which brings together all federal and state agencies plus select NGO 
representatives.  The Ministry's action plans are posted on the 
Ministry's website (www.bmfsfj.de). 
 
¶E.  What measures has the government taken during the reporting 
period to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts? 
 
Because prostitution is legal in Germany, the government does not 
take steps to reduce demand for commercial sex acts.  However, 
state-funded NGOs conducted a variety of public awareness campaigns 
focused on TIP. (See Prevention section, paragraph A above.)  The 
federal government also worked on developing model projects on 
possibilities for prostitutes to get out of prostitution. 
 
 
¶F.  Required of all Posts: What measures has the government taken 
during the reporting period to reduce the participation in 
international child sex tourism by nationals of the country? 
 
The German government supported a number of projects concerning 
child sex tourism.  The German association of travel agencies and 
tour organizers (DRV) and the federal association for the tourism 
sector have signed the Code of Conduct for the Protection of 
Children from child sex tourism developed by ECPAT.  Since 2001, the 
German travel industry has distributed a leaflet to clients 
developed by EPCAT, DRV and German police authorities to raise 
awareness of concerning sexual abuse of children.  This brochure was 
updated in 2008. 
 
¶G.  Required of posts in countries that have contributed over 100 
troops to international peacekeeping efforts: What measures has the 
government adopted to ensure that its nationals who are deployed 
abroad as part of a peacekeeping or other similar mission do not 
engage in or facilitate severe forms of trafficking or exploit 
victims of such trafficking? 
 
 
BERLIN 00000256  018 OF 018 
 
 
The Action Plan to Combat Violence against Women requires prevention 
measures and efforts to raise awareness within the German armed 
forces and among German police officers deployed abroad.  German 
Government training for military personnel and police officers in 
advance of deployments abroad, including UN, EU and other 
peacekeeping and police training missions, already includes sessions 
focused on sexual exploitation, abuse and other human rights issues. 
 Unit commanders receive special training on human trafficking, 
including how to sensitize their subordinates. 
 
¶7. (U) BEST PRACTICES 
 
German authorities have developed a number of innovative 
arrangements to promote the cooperation between federal and state 
authorities in combating TIP. 
 
-- Federal-State Interagency Working Group on Trafficking in Women 
 
The Federal-State Interagency Working Group on Trafficking in Women, 
established in 1997 under the Family Ministry's lead, facilitates a 
constant exchange between stakeholders and is responsible for 
coordinating various activities and initiatives against trafficking 
on the national (both Federal and State) and international level. 
The Working Group reviews counter-trafficking issues, disseminates 
best practices, and provides input for new laws and directives. The 
group meets roughly three times a year.  Participants include 
representatives from the Federal Ministries of Justice, Interior, 
Foreign Affairs, Economics and Technology, Labor, Health, and 
Development, as well as from NGOs, law enforcement agencies, and 
state governments.  The working group developed a model cooperation 
agreement to formalize cooperation among police, welfare agencies, 
and NGOs to enhance protection and assistance to victims and to 
encourage victims to testify against traffickers.  Twelve of the 
sixteen federal states have concluded a cooperation agreement. 
 
Family Ministry representatives agreed that one of the TIP Report's 
primary goals is to call on other countries to recognize their 
responsibility to combat trafficking.  With this in mind, Germany's 
approach -- if properly highlighted in future reports -- could serve 
as a model for other countries, particularly those with a federal 
structure. 
 
--  Association against Trafficking in Women and Violence against 
Women in the Migration Process (KOK) 
 
The Federal Family Ministry fully funds KOK, the lead body 
representing 36 NGOs and counseling centers assisting victims.  KOK 
offers a nationwide networking structure for German NGOs involved in 
combating human trafficking and violence against women in the 
process of migration.  The KOK coordinates member activities and 
organizes projects, conferences, studies, research, and outreach 
campaigns.  KOK facilitates cooperation between governmental and 
non-governmental actors and also operates on an international level. 
 KOK is a member of the Federal-State Interagency Working Group. 
 
KOK's medium term work plan includes continuing lobbying activities 
to strengthen domestic TIP legislative proposals, further 
international engagement with sending and transit countries, 
improving victims assistance efforts and seeking increased funding 
for these programs. 
 
Post will pouch copy of KOK booklet to G/TIP. 
 
German government officials stated that such an institution is 
unique in Europe and therefore might serve as a model for other 
countries. 
 
¶8. (U) Mission hours spent researching, compiling, and clearing this 
report: 
 
-- Drafter: FS-02: 10 hours; FSN-10: 100 hours. 
 
-- Clearance: FS-02: 1 hour; FS-02: 0.5 hour; FS-02: 0.5 hours; 
FS-02, 1.5 hours; FS-03: 0.5 hour; FS-04: 0.5 hour; FS-04: 0.5 
hours; FSN-10: 1 hour. 
 
-- Approval: FE-MC: 1.5 hours. 
 
KOENIG