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PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMD #0373/01 1030619
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 130619Z APR 09
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 0500
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE PRIORITY
RUEHBM/AMEMBASSY BUCHAREST PRIORITY 1423
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA PRIORITY 3944
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC PRIORITY
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 MADRID 000373 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, EUR/PGI, EUR/WE 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO USAID 
PASS TO ACBLANK 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB SP
KTIP 
SUBJECT: SPAIN: FURTHER INFORMATION FOR NINTH ANNUAL 
TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT 
 
REF: A. MADRID 298 
     ¶B. MADRID 187 
 
MADRID 00000373  001.2 OF 003 
 
 
1.(SBU) This cable assembles answers to various questions 
posed by the Department into a front-channel cable as further 
information to supplement Embassy Madrid's ninth annual 
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report and a previous addendum 
(REFTELS).  Embassy POC is Political Officer Hugh Clifton, 
Tel. (34) 91-587-2294, Fax. (34) 91-587-2391. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Post firmly believes that the GOS's efforts during 
2008 merit Spain's continued inclusion in the Tier 1 category 
of countries combating TIP. The GOS is firmly committed to 
combating TIP and that it undertook a series of concrete 
actions to carry out this political will.  Leading Spanish 
anti-TIP NGO in Spain, Proyecto Esperanza, concurs, telling 
the Embassy that - while there is always more that could be 
done - the GOS deserves the Tier 1 ranking this year.  In 
light of the GOS's long-awaited passage in December 2008 of 
its ambitious, three-year, 61-point plan to combat TIP for 
the purposes of sexual exploitation and the GOS's signing in 
June of the  Council of Europe's Convention to Fight 
Trafficking in Persons, it would be particularly 
counterproductive to downgrade Spain after it addresses 
successfully one of the NGO communities specific concerns. 
 
//ADDITIONAL STATISTICS RE: OPERATION ZARPA VICTIMS// 
 
¶3. (SBU) As mentioned in REF A, the GOS made great inroads 
dismantling what has been described as the largest network 
for trafficking in Russian women for sexual exploitation. 
Utilizing judicial detentions to disrupt trafficking, Spain 
initiated part III of Operation ZARPA, an ongoing Spanish 
National Police (SNP) investigation that began in November 
2006, and whose first detentions took place in April 2007 and 
continued with part II in June 2007.  The Ministry of 
Interior (MOI) has supplied additional statistics to Post on 
this Operation.  The cumulative total of the three phases of 
the operation resulted in the detention of 599 Russian 
prostitutes who were in Spain illegally. Of those, 25 have 
been declared protected witnesses, 13 have been obtained 
permanent residency through relatives in Spain, six have 
obtained residency permits for collaborating with the GOS 
against organized crime networks, and six have returned 
voluntarily to Russia.  Furthermore, 201 women were deported 
to their country of origin while an additional 348 have been 
ordered to leave Spain.  The MOI notes that this operation 
took place before the approval of the GOS's 30-day 
"reflection period" during which time the victims could 
decide on whether or not they wanted to cooperate with the 
GOS.  Our MOI contact cites "enormous progress" since then in 
the way that the Spanish screen and identify TIP victims and 
how they handle TIP cases.  Spain is making a serious and 
sustained effort to lead international anti-trafficking 
efforts. 
 
//CLARIFICATION ON JUDICIAL DATA// 
 
¶4. (SBU) Following emails with G/TIP, Post understands that 
there were differing definitions of "suspended sentence," 
which impacted the results reported in Para 3 of REF A. 
Another factor that led to a misunderstanding was the fact 
that - in keeping with last year's report - Post had combined 
two categories to come up with the statistic of 54 percent of 
TIP convictions having resulted in a fine or a suspended 
sentence.  Post has now separated those two categories.  The 
revised, separated statistics are:  95 percent of the 107 
convictions we found were for sentences of 1 year or more. 
Five percent of the 107 convictions received a suspended 
sentence (less than a year).  Forty-eight percent of the 107 
convictions received a fine.  The GOS is still finalizing 
comprehensive judicial statistics for TIP cases in 2008, 
however our contacts in the prosecutor's office have assured 
us many times that the GOS is entirely amenable to providing 
the data to Post when everything is ready.  They also inform 
us that they expect this process to be faster in 2010, when 
retrieving data for 2009. 
 
//FEDERAL FUNDING FOR PROTECTING VICTIMS// 
 
MADRID 00000373  002.2 OF 003 
 
 
 
¶5. (SBU) Para 29 of REF B reviews a detailed case study of 
statistics for the types of victims that a federally-funded 
NGO - Proyecto Esperanza - assisted in 2008.  Because Spain's 
central government has devolved funding for social issues to 
the regional level, the bulk of funding to protect TIP 
victims derives from the autonomous regional governments.  To 
use Proyecto Esperanza as an example, last year the regional 
government provided 364,000 euros (approximately USD 
465,000), the national government provided over 60,000 euros 
(over USD 76,000) and the city government gave 77,000 euros 
(nearly USD 100,000). All three figures are higher than the 
funding provided in 2007, when the federal government 
provided the NGO 110,000 euros (approximately USD 160,000), 
the regional government provided over 27,000 euros (over USD 
39,000) and the city government gave 40,000 euros (USD 
58,000).  Our GOS contacts say that they are increasing 
funding for the current year and note that the National 
Action Plan calls for increases across the board in the 
support they will provide to anti-TIP NGOs.  It is important 
to note that in early March 2009, the GOS approved the 
creation of two million euros for a fund to help trafficking 
victims, as called for in the recently passed national plan 
combat TIP for the purposes of sexual exploitation.  This 
money will cover the costs associated with specific programs 
(medical, legal, and psychological) for TIP victims and the 
will support the actions of NGOs who work in support of 
combating TIP. 
 
//TIP VICTIMS WHO CHOOSE TO COLLABORATE WITH GOS// 
 
¶6. (SBU) Proyecto Esperanza notes that - following the 
December 2008 passage of the GOS national plan to combat TIP 
- the legal frameworks guiding Spain's immigration, asylum, 
and penal code policies are under revision, as laws are 
updated to reflect what has been prescribed in the National 
Plan.  Traditionally, victims who cooperate receive a 
residency permit valid for one year, which is renewable for a 
two-year period if the victim obtains a legal job.  At this 
point, to destigmitize victims, they are asking for the 
renewal not as TIP victims but as any other immigrant would 
do.  If the victim can secure a second renewal for a total of 
five years, then the permit is for permanent residency. 
Consequently, victims who change their minds about 
collaborating can reconsider at any of these junctures. 
 
//FORMAL REFERRAL MECHANISM// 
 
¶7. (SBU) As reported in Para 38 of REF B, Spain has indeed 
established a formal referral mechanism, although admittedly 
this was done late in the reporting period.  Our Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs (MFA) contact has identified this anti-TIP 
working group as the entity which fulfills that role. 
 
//MUNICIPAL GOVERNMENTS' PUBLIC AWARENESS CAMPAIGNS// 
 
¶8. (SBU) Post confirms that the cities of Madrid, Barcelona 
and Sevilla conducted anti-TIP awareness campaigns. 
Madrid's campaign continued its theme from the previous year: 
 "Because you pay, prostitution exists...  Do not contribute 
to the perpetuation of 21st century slavery." 
 
//A GOVERNMENT-FUNDED HOTLINE// 
 
¶9. (SBU) The government does fund NGOs - such as Proyecto 
Esperanza - that provide 24-hour phone numbers for TIP 
victims, but the money is not specifically earmarked for this 
purpose and Proyecto Esperanza informs Post that the NGO does 
not consider this to be a national hotline.  The call is not 
free and there is no standard number to dial at the national 
level. There is a national hotline for gender-based violence 
that most women are likely to use to report trafficking 
related concerns. 
 
//VULNERABLE GROUPS// 
 
¶10. (SBU) Project Esperanza note that Romanian TIP victims 
form the largest victim group by nationality in Spain, but 
highlight the unusual circumstance that - due to revisions in 
 
MADRID 00000373  003.2 OF 003 
 
 
the EU law - they are no longer considered irregular 
immigrants.  This is also the case for Bulgarian TIP victims. 
 Citizens from Romania and Bulgaria now enjoy freedom of 
movement and the right to work in all other EU member states. 
 
 
//CHINESE TIP VICTIMS IN SPAIN// 
 
¶11. (SBU) Chinese TIP victims who become involved in forced 
labor are a very small community in Spain.  Neither our NGO 
nor GOS sources have any specific information regarding 
particular sectors of the economy in which Chinese victims 
are most often found. 
 
//SPECIALIZED SERVICES FOR SPECIFIC TIP VICTIM GROUPS// 
 
¶12. (SBU) Project Esperanza was not aware of any specialized 
victim protection services offered by the GOS to child 
victims or males who are forced labor trafficking victims. 
 
 
//PRE-DEPLOYMENT TRAINING FOR SPANISH PEACEKEEPERS// 
 
¶13. (SBU) Post understands that peacekeepers are included 
among the Spanish military who receive pre-deployment 
trafficking awareness training. 
 
//OSCE REPORT// 
 
¶14. (SBU) Post has no reason to believe that the OSCE will 
issue a negative report about Spain, especially in light of 
the fact that the GOS in 2008 shared a draft of its national 
plan with the OSCE for input and feedback. 
CHACON