VZCZCXRO0834
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK
RUEHYG
DE RUEHPS #0314/01 2120540
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 310540Z JUL 09
FM AMEMBASSY PRISTINA
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 9168
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHNO/USMISSION USNATO 1180
RUFOADA/JAC MOLESWORTH RAF MOLESWORTH UK
RUCNDT/USMISSION USUN NEW YORK 1695
RHFMIUU/AFSOUTH NAPLES IT
RHMFISS/CDR TF FALCON
RHEFDIA/DIA WASHDC
RUEKJCS/SECDEF WASHINGTON DC
RUEPGEA/CDR650THMIGP SHAPE BE
RHEHNSC/NSC WASHDC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUZEJAA/USNIC PRISTINA SR

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 PRISTINA 000314 
 
SIPDIS 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP, G - ACBLANK, EUR/SCE, EUR/PGI, INL, DRL, PRM, USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KTIP KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB KV
SUBJECT: STEADY PROGRESS ON KOSOVO'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS 
 
Ref: Pristina 20 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - PLEASE PROTECT ACCORDINGLY. 
 
¶1. (SBU) SUMMARY: Kosovo devotes high-level government attention to 
anti-trafficking and continues to make steady progress.  A recent 
investigation into five Kosovo Police officers suspected of 
involvement in trafficking resulted in suspensions, and prosecutors 
are continuing the investigation.  The Ministry of Internal Affairs 
(MOIA) is staffing its new Anti-Trafficking Secretariat and hired 
the first staff member in May.  Secretariat employees will, as part 
of their duties, use a new TIP database to help track victims of 
trafficking (VOT) and their traffickers, redressing a shortcoming in 
the MOIA's use of court data.  Ongoing concerns include an 
unexplained decrease in the number of identified VOT, and the 
limited use of shelters by TIP victims.  END SUMMARY. 
 
Taking Action: 
-------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) On March 3, the Kosovo Police (KP) suspended, with pay, 
five officers on suspicion of Abuse of Authority, Trafficking in 
Persons, and Facilitating Prostitution.  Three of the officers 
worked at Pristina Airport with the Kosovo Border Police.  The other 
two worked in the Office for Immigration and Foreigners (OIF) and 
were in regular contact with known traffickers.  Standard procedure 
requires that all foreigners intending to work in Kosovo must first 
register at the OIF.  When victims of trafficking (VOT) arrived, the 
officers at the airport would direct them to the OIF, which would 
ensure they received one-year resident permits.  The victims, now 
legal residents, were then forced to work for traffickers at local 
bars.  The KP's Trafficking in Human Beings Section (THBS) linked 
the five officers to known traffickers via text messages sent from 
their cell phones.  Once THBS established the link, they suspended 
the officers with pay and turned the case over to the Kosovo Special 
Prosecutors Office for further investigation, which is ongoing. 
 
The Anti-Trafficking Secretariat: 
--------------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) In May 2009, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MOIA) 
reestablished and hired one employee for its Anti-Trafficking 
Secretariat, which had lapsed following the departure of Kosovo's 
first National Anti-Trafficking Coordinator (NATC). When fully 
staffed, the Secretariat will have three employees.  Previously, the 
NATC relied on political advisors with limited involvement in the 
GOK's anti-TIP efforts to implement directives.  With the 
Secretariat, the NATC gains an action arm that will professionalize 
the GOK's anti-TIP efforts and allow employees to develop 
specialized expertise. 
 
¶4. (SBU) The new Secretariat is bolstering the GOK's ability to 
track trafficking data.  In response to the USG 2008 TIP report, and 
its criticism of the GOK's limited trafficking data collection 
efforts, the MOIA started looking for a solution and turned to the 
International Center for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) for 
help.  On June 8, the ICMPD donated to the Secretariat a database -- 
complete with training -- that will allow the MOIA to follow both 
victims of trafficking (VOT) and traffickers from identification to 
resolution, whether repatriation (in the case of VOT) or 
incarceration (for traffickers).  The Secretariat is pursuing 
memoranda of understanding with relevant ministries and stakeholders 
in the GOK -- including the Kosovo Police, the Ministry of Justice, 
the Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare, and international and 
local NGOs -- that will guarantee access to the information needed 
to update the database.  Once operational, the database will improve 
Kosovo's poor record keeping on TIP-related criminal intelligence. 
 
Identifying and Helping Victims: 
-------------------------------- 
 
¶5. (SBU) From April 2007 to January 2008, the KP THBS reported 32 
trafficking victims.  For the same time period in 2008-2009, the KP 
reported 24 victims.  In recent discussions with the Kosovo Police 
 
PRISTINA 00000314  002 OF 002 
 
 
about this drop, senior officers tell us that they are facing 
problems in identifying victims of trafficking.   Fewer women are 
willing to admit they are victims, and the police are also assessing 
whether or not previous interview techniques, which they say were 
not as accurate as current methods, may have affected earlier VOT 
totals. 
 
¶6. (SBU) The GOK has established and funded TIP shelters (reftel), 
but few VOT use them.  The Center for the Protection of Victims and 
Prevention of Trafficking in Human Beings (PVPT) is sheltering four 
VOT (their maximum capacity is five).  Neither Hope and Homes (HAH) 
nor the Interim Security Facility (ISF) are currently sheltering any 
VOTs.  The shelters are open, but not used.  We are encouraging the 
Anti-Tip Secretariat to develop an action plan for making better use 
of these shelters. 
 
¶7. (SBU) Comment:  The Kosovo Police has taken a welcome step in 
extending their TIP investigations to include members of their own 
police force, although we withhold further praise until we see the 
outcome.  We are also encouraged that the GOK is resurrecting its 
Anti-TIP Secretariat, and we are seeing signs that it is addressing 
shortcomings in the GOK's anti-TIP regime.  Now, the onus is on the 
MOIA to use this new data to improve investigations and to identify 
more victims of trafficking.  With its shelters and its new 
database, the GOK has some foundational elements for a decent 
anti-TIP program, but we  need to see some more action. 
YAZDGERDI