VZCZCXRO2341
PP RUEHIK
DE RUEHSW #0056/01 0431152
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 121152Z FEB 10
FM AMEMBASSY BERN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 6305
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 14 BERN 000056 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP (J.DONNELLY/A.ROFMAN), INL, DRL, PRM, 
IWI, EUR/PGI (J.BUCKNEBERG), EUR/CE (J.LUNA) 
 
DEPT PLEASE PASS USAID 
 
SENSITIVE, SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KTIP KCRM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC
PREF, ELAB, KMCA, SZ 
SUBJECT: TIP - SWITZERLAND: ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING 
IN PERSONS REPORT 
 
REF:  STATE 2094 
 
BERN 00000056  001.2 OF 014 
 
 
------------------------------ 
¶I. SUMMARY OF NEW DEVELOPMENTS 
------------------------------ 
 
(U) Switzerland continued to make progress in its 
anti-trafficking-in-persons practices and 
achievements. To further improve the process for 
gathering statistics on investigations and 
prosecutions, the 26 cantons decided to harmonize 
cantonal recording and reporting practices by 2010. 
However, these efforts to consolidate national TIP 
data have thus far proved to be more difficult than 
authorities anticipated.  Swiss officials are still 
working out apparent anomalies between 2008 case 
information reported to the Federal Statistics 
Office and information reported or otherwise 
available to the Federal Office of Police from the 
cantons.  The government cooperated with other 
governments in the investigation and prosecution of 
trafficking and trafficking-related offenses. 
 
(U) Protection: The government enacted new 
protective measures for TIP victims.  Data on the 
number of TIP victims referred by Swiss authorities 
to assistance centers for victims of crime in 2008 
are not yet available, but expected soon. 
 
(U) Efforts to improve the legal protections of TIP 
victims continued.  In 2008, the government amended 
the Federal Law on Foreigners, thereby reinforcing 
the legal framework in which cantons can provide TIP 
victims stays of deportation proceedings to recover 
from their trauma and weigh participation in 
judicial proceedings.  The law further allows the 
federal government to logistically and financially 
assist trafficking victims and witnesses, for whom a 
return is acceptable, in the re-integration in their 
countries of origin.  The government also revised 
the Federal Victims Assistance Law.  The revision, 
which entered into force on January 1, 2009, 
enhances crime victims' right to emergency 
protections and allows cantons to pool resources to 
establish regional victim assistance centers 
specializing in certain types of crime (e.g. TIP). 
 
(U) On November 27, the Swiss government submitted 
to the Parliament a bill for the ratification of the 
Council of Europe's Convention on Human Trafficking 
and for the adoption of a comprehensive witness 
protection program that enables officials to provide 
victims of crime with new identities. 
 
(U) Prevention: Swiss government agencies continued 
to fund several prevention and protection programs 
abroad. 
 
(U) On September 29, the Federal Office of Police 
announced that in the previous 12 months, 
approximately 12 cases of suspected child sex 
tourism were reported on a Web site it established 
in 2008 to enable travel agencies and individuals to 
report suspicious travel. The federal police 
forwarded relevant information to the competent 
municipal, cantonal, or international police offices 
for further investigation. 
 
------------------------------- 
II. THE COUNTRY'S TIP SITUATION 
------------------------------- 
 
(U) A. The Swiss Federal Office of Statistics 
collects data on TIP and TIP-related crimes.  Useful 
NGO information also is available, particularly with 
regard to assistance provided to victims of TIP 
crimes. 
 
(SBU) The Federal Office of Police Coordination Unit 
against the Trafficking of Persons and Smuggling of 
Migrants (KSMM) also collects TIP data.  It is 
currently working to determine why the Federal 
 
BERN 00000056  002.2 OF 014 
 
 
Office of Statistics does not have information on as 
many TIP convictions for 2008 as have been reported 
to the KSMM by cantonal officials.  The KSMM will 
provide authoritative case information for 2008 as 
soon as it has resolved these anomalies, and KSMM 
contacts are aware of the importance of this data to 
the TIP report process. 
 
(U) B. Switzerland is primarily a country of 
destination for persons being trafficked, almost 
exclusively women, but transit also occurs. 
Trafficking occurs both across borders and within 
the country.  Swiss officials estimate the number of 
trafficking victims at a few hundred per year. 
Federal Police assess that the total number of 
potential trafficking victims currently living in 
Switzerland is between 1,500 and 3,000.  The great 
majority of trafficking victims are forced into nude 
dancing and prostitution.  Trafficking for the 
purpose of labor exploitation as domestic servants 
also occurs but appears to be relatively limited. 
 
(U) Several cantons (states), including Zurich, 
Geneva, Basel, Bern, Vaud, and Ticino, recorded an 
increase in the number of registered prostitutes and 
commercial sex establishments. In the city of 
Zurich, prostitution reportedly has increased 
significantly in 2009. According to police 
estimates, 795 new prostitutes arrived in Zurich in 
2009, compared to 605 in 2008. At least 300 
prostitutes came from Hungary; many of them were 
part of the Roma minority and were reportedly 
particularly vulnerable for trafficking. 
 
(U) C. In some cases, victims are subjected to 
physical and sexual violence, threats to themselves 
or their families or both, drugs, withholding of 
documents, and incarceration.  Police estimates 
suggest that up to 50 percent of illegal 
prostitutes' gross income is paid to brothel owners 
and traffickers who organize the passage and entry 
to Switzerland.  While the majority of TIP victims 
still are found in Swiss urban areas, in recent 
years police and NGOs increasingly have encountered 
TIP victims working in contact bars in more rural 
areas. 
 
(U) D. Both Federal Police and NGO sources noted a 
considerable increase in 2009 in the number of young 
women being trafficked into Switzerland for sexual 
exploitation from Eastern Europe, particularly 
Hungary.  TIP victims in Switzerland typically come 
from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union 
(Hungary, Poland, Bulgaria, Slovakia, Czech 
Republic, Slovenia, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova), 
Latin America (Brazil, Dominican Republic), Asia 
(Thailand, Cambodia), and to a lesser extent from 
Africa (Nigeria, Cameroon).  The Zurich-based 
Information Center for Women from Africa, Latin 
America, and Eastern Europe (FIZ) reported that 
roughly 43 percent of the 160 TIP victims counseled 
in 2008 came from Eastern Europe, another 30 percent 
from Latin America, about 15 percent from Asia, 9 
percent from Africa and the remaining 3 percent from 
Western Europe. 
 
(U) E. Trafficking into the country is primarily 
performed by individuals and small groups related 
through ethnic, clan, or family ties, as well as 
organized criminals.  Federal Police have reported 
that traffickers are increasingly well organized 
with far-reaching international networks.  Often, 
the perpetrators and victims are from the same 
cities and regions.  In addition to men, women also 
play a role in the recruitment, intermediary, or 
exploitation process.  How many trafficking victims 
were lured into Switzerland under false pretenses 
and how many were brought in fully aware that they 
were going to engage in prostitution in Switzerland 
is unclear, but under Swiss law both are punishable 
as human trafficking. 
 
 
BERN 00000056  003.2 OF 014 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
III. SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENTQS ANTI-TIP 
EFFORTS 
--------------------------------------------- ------- 
 
(U) A. Government officials at the highest level 
acknowledge that trafficking is a problem.  On 
November 27, the Swiss government submitted to the 
Parliament a bill for the ratification of the 
Council of Europe's Convention on Human Trafficking 
and for the adoption of a comprehensive witness 
protection program that enables officials to provide 
victims of crime with new identities. With the 
adoption of the law on a comprehensive witness 
protection program, Switzerland will reportedly meet 
the requirements of the Convention. 
 
(U) B. The Federal Office of Police (BAP) is the 
federal government's primary actor in anti- 
trafficking efforts.  The BAP's Federal Criminal 
Police handles international cooperation and 
investigations of organized crime; the Service for 
Analysis and Prevention, i.e. the domestic 
intelligence service, does strategic analysis of 
information.  The Federal Office of Police also 
hosts the Coordination Unit against the Trafficking 
of Persons and Smuggling of Migrants (KSMM), which 
is the federal government's interdepartmental body 
to coordinate and monitor anti-trafficking efforts. 
The KSMM develops anti-TIP strategies and policies 
in consultation with its constituting ministries 
that retain final responsibility for their 
implementation. 
 
(U) The prosecution of illegal prostitution (i.e. 
prostitution without a valid work permit) and 
trafficking of persons normally falls under the 
jurisdiction of cantonal police and judicial 
authorities.  However, cases linked to organized 
crime fall under the authority of the federal 
authorities to investigate and prosecute.  The 
Federal Office of Migration has the lead in easing 
the return of trafficking victims and assisting in 
their re-integration in their home societies. 
 
(U) The following government agencies are 
represented on the Steering Committee of the KSMM, 
taking active part in the fight against human 
trafficking: 
 
Federal Level: 
-- Ministry of Foreign Affairs 
   - Political Division IV (Human Security) 
   - Directorate for International Law 
   - International Development Cooperation 
-- Finance Ministry 
   - Swiss Border Guards 
-- Ministry for Justice and Police 
   - Office of the Prosecutor General 
   - Federal Office for Migration 
   - Federal Office of Justice 
   - Federal Office of Police 
-- Economics Ministry 
   - Directorate of Labor 
Cantonal (i.e. state) Level: 
-- National Conference of Cantonal Chiefs of Police 
-- National Conference of Prosecuting Offices 
-- National Conference of Equal Opportunity Offices 
-- National Conference of Victims Assistance Centers 
-- National Conference of Cantonal Migration Offices 
NGOs/IOs: 
-- Information Center for Women from Africa, Latin 
America, and Eastern Europe (FIZ), Zurich 
-- International Organization for Migration, Bern 
-- Foundation Terre des Hommes, Lausanne 
-- Association Libert`, Geneva 
 
(U) C. In general, criminal cases against 
traffickers are not pursued (for lack of evidence) 
unless their victims are willing to testify. 
Federal and cantonal police and immigration 
authorities follow a policy of granting potential 
 
BERN 00000056  004.2 OF 014 
 
 
TIP victims a stay of deportation proceedings to 
give them time to recover from their trauma and to 
let them freely decide whether to participate in 
judicial proceedings against their tormentors.  On 
December 17, the Federal Office for Migration issued 
instructions on the conditions for providing 
residency permits to victims and witnesses of human 
trafficking in Switzerland. The instructions state 
that a "hardship" residency permit may be granted 
independently of the victim's willingness to 
testify. 
 
(U) A number of major urban centers and suburban 
cantons have established written agreements on a 
referral process for TIP victims in the context of 
regular roundtable meetings between NGOs and 
cantonal justice, police, and immigration 
authorities.  As a direct result of the federal 
regulations to stay deportation proceedings and the 
better local cooperation between NGOs and law 
enforcement officials, the number of TIP victims 
willing to testify against their traffickers has 
risen considerably. 
 
(U) D. The Federal Office of Police's Coordination 
Unit against the Trafficking in Persons and 
Smuggling of Migrants (KSMM) is the federal 
government's main coordinating and monitoring body 
of its anti-trafficking efforts.  Through its 
coordinating role, the KSMM keeps abreast of anti- 
trafficking efforts on all fronts (prevention, 
victim protection, and prosecution) both at the 
federal and cantonal level.  In addition, its remit 
includes monitoring of parliamentary ratification of 
international conventions and offering expert advice 
on trafficking-relevant legislative reform. 
 
(U) The KSMM has made available its assessment of 
Swiss anti-trafficking efforts to the Council of 
Europe, the OSCE, and the UN.  The Federal Police's 
Service for Analysis and Prevention, i.e. the 
government's domestic intelligence service, does 
strategic analysis of human trafficking in and 
throughout Switzerland and publishes its findings in 
the Federal Office of Police's annual report on 
homeland security. 
 
(U) E. The Civil Register Office of every 
municipality is responsible for the registration of 
births, deaths and marriages as well as 
acknowledgements of paternity.  In Switzerland, all 
births must be reported to the civil register office 
of the place of birth. 
 
(U) All foreign nationals desiring to reside in 
Switzerland must register at the Residents' 
Registration Office within eight days of their 
arrival. The Residents' Registration Office is 
responsible for changes of address, temporary or 
permanent residence permits and issues passports and 
ID cards. 
 
(U) F. Because Switzerland has a federQ system in 
which 26 cantons have primary and largely 
independent authority for law enforcement, national 
data collection is a more cumbersome process than in 
centralized states.  Moreover, data on convictions 
and sentences often changes until judicial appeals 
processes have run their course, which can take 18 
months or more.   To further improve the process for 
gathering statistics on investigations and 
prosecutions, the 26 cantons decided to harmonize 
cantonal recording and reporting practices by 2010. 
However, these efforts to consolidate national TIP 
data have thus far proved to be more difficult than 
authorities anticipated.  Swiss officials are still 
working out apparent anomalies between 2008 case 
information reported to the Federal Statistics 
Office and information reported or otherwise 
available to the Federal Office of Police from the 
cantons. 
 
 
BERN 00000056  005.2 OF 014 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
IV. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
--------------------------------------------- --- 
 
(U) A. The Swiss Penal Code has two articles 
specifically prohibiting trafficking in persons: 
Article 182, effective since December 1, 2006, 
stipulates that anyone acting as the supplier, 
broker, or buyer in the trafficking of a human being 
for the purposes of sexual exploitation, labor 
exploitation, or to remove a body organ shall be 
liable to imprisonment or a fine, or both.  The act 
of recruiting an individual for the purposes 
aforementioned also qualifies as trafficking and is 
liable to the same punishment.  If the trafficking 
victim is a minor under 18 years of age or if the 
perpetrator repeatedly engages in human trafficking, 
the minimum penalty is a prison sentence of one 
year.  Article 182 applies universally; traffickers 
are subject to prosecution in Switzerland even if 
the act of trafficking was committed abroad, and 
regardless of whether trafficking is a crime in the 
foreign country where the act took place. 
 
(U) Article 195 prohibits the promotion of 
prostitution and states that anyone inducing a 
person into prostitution by abusing a situation of 
dependency or promising pecuniary advantage, anyone 
impairing a prostitute's freedom of movement by 
checking on the activities in question or fixing the 
place, time or extent or any other circumstances of 
the prostitution, or anyone secluding a person for 
prostitution shall be liable to imprisonment. 
 
(U) Other forms of trafficking or exploitation of 
human beings are implicitly covered by the Penal 
Code's provisions against threat, coercion, 
deprivation of personal liberty, and kidnapping 
(Articles 180, 181, 183).  The Immigration and 
Naturalization Law penalizes facilitating the 
illegal immigration of foreigners into Switzerland 
as well as the employment of foreigners without 
proper work permission.  The Constitution implicitly 
bans forced or compulsory labor.  Article 27 
provides for economic freedom and explicitly 
guarantees the right to choose freely one's 
profession as well as unrestrained access to and 
unencumbered exercise of a gainful occupation. 
Forced or bonded labor by children is explicitly 
forbidden under Article 30 of the 1964 Labor Act. 
 
(U) B. The maximum sentence for trafficking in 
persons for sexual exploitation is a prison term of 
twenty years (Penal Code Article 182).  Coercing 
someone into prostitution or restricting a 
prostitute's personal freedom (Penal Code Article 
195) can carry a prison sentence of up to ten years. 
 
(U) C. Under Penal Code Article 182 the penalties 
prescribed for trafficking for labor exploitation 
are the same as for trafficking for sexual 
exploitation.  The minimum penalty is a fine; if the 
victim was a minor under 18 years of age, the 
minimum penalty is a one-year prison sentence. 
Maximum penalty is 20 years in prison.  Article 182 
explicitly prohibits all acts related to labor 
trafficking - recruitment, supply, transfer, or the 
receipt of persons being trafficked.  Thus, both the 
labor recruiters in labor source countries and the 
employers or labor agents in labor destination 
countries are subject to prosecution in Switzerland. 
Article 182 applies universally; labor recruiters 
are subject to prosecution in Switzerland, even if 
the act was committed in a foreign country where 
labor trafficking may not constitute a criminal 
offense. 
 
(U) D. The Penal Code also punishes rape, forcible 
sexual assault, and other sex crimes.  Sexual 
activity with minors (Article 187) and sexual acts 
with dependent persons (Article 188) are punishable 
with up to five years imprisonment; sexual coercion 
 
BERN 00000056  006.2 OF 014 
 
 
(Article 189), rape (Article 190), and sexual 
violations of mentally or physically incapacitated 
persons (Article 191) are liable to a maximum ten 
year prison sentence; sexual acts with detainees 
(Article 192) and taking advantage of a person's 
distress or dependency due to employment or any 
other condition to induce a sexual act or acceptance 
thereof (Article 193) carry a maximum penalty of 
imprisonment for up to three years. 
 
(U) E. The investigation and prosecution of forced 
prostitution and human trafficking as well as the 
protection of victims in Switzerland normally fall 
under the jurisdiction of the cantons, and 
consolidating national statistics can lag by 12-18 
months. 
 
(U) Under Switzerland's federal structure, the 
cantons hold jurisdiction over most criminal 
infractions, and statistical records of reported 
crime and police investigations vary greatly from 
canton to canton.  In 2007, the inter-cantonal 
Working Group on Human Trafficking and Migrant 
Smuggling established a database on the ongoing 
investigations and prosecutions on suspicion of 
human trafficking or forced prostitution in the 
cantons. Cantonal authorities report ongoing 
investigations/prosecutions on a voluntary basis. 
 
The data base is maintained by the Human 
Trafficking/Migrant Smuggling Investigative Unit of 
the Federal Criminal Police, which also coordinates 
inter-cantonal and international trafficking 
investigations.  According to this developing 
database, there were at least 26 police 
investigations or prosecutions during 2008 for human 
trafficking for the purposes of sexual or labor 
exploitation. 
 
CONVICTIONS: 
------------------------------------ 
Year Art. 196/182  Art. 195   Total 
------------------------------------ 
1999       7          14          21 
2000       5          17          22 
2001       2          17          19 
2002       2          11          13 
2003       7           6          13 
2004       2          12          14 
2005      12          15          27 
2006       5          14          19 
2007      18          17          35 
 
(U) (Note:  Swiss Federal Police contacts inform us 
that they are working to resolve anomalies between 
2008 TIP conviction data collected by the Federal 
Office of Statistics and data reported directly to 
the KSMM by cantonal officials.  KSMM contacts are 
aware of the importance of this data to our TIP 
reports process and will provide post with the most 
authoritative data available as soon as possible.) 
 
(U) On January 22, the Lausanne Criminal Court found 
a Ugandan guilty on charges of human trafficking and 
aggravated extortion and sentenced him to a prison 
sentence of four years. 
 
(U) On September 16, the High Court of Zurich upheld 
a sentence of three and a half years in prison 
against a Bulgarian who had forced women into 
prostitution and trafficked some of them. 
 
(U) F. Investigators of the Federal Criminal Police 
receive specialized training in investigating 
incidences of organized crime, including human 
trafficking.  Under the 2001 Efficiency Bill, the 
Federal Criminal Police obtained from the cantons 
the jurisdiction to investigate and prosecute more 
complex cases of human trafficking that span several 
cantons or are linked to organized crime.  The 
Federal Criminal Police also handles international 
cooperation in the investigation of incidences of 
 
BERN 00000056  007.2 OF 014 
 
 
human trafficking. 
 
(U) G. The Swiss government readily cooperates with 
other governments in the investigation and 
prosecution of trafficking cases.  The Federal 
Criminal Police takes part in the expert working 
groups of both Europol and Interpol. 
 
(U) Switzerland has a bilateral cooperation accord 
between Europol and the Swiss Police, allowing the 
latter to obtain information from Europol's 
intelligence files on organized crime, drug 
trafficking and terrorism.  Under the terms of the 
agreement, Swiss Federal Police have assigned to The 
Hague a liaison officer whose role is to support and 
coordinate the cooperation between Switzerland and 
other EU countries.  There is also a Swiss Police 
liaison at the headquarters of Interpol. 
 
(U) H. Extradition is permitted if the act in 
question is punishable under Swiss law and the law 
of the requesting state, liable to a term of 
imprisonment of at least one year, and no Swiss 
court is competent in the matter.  No Swiss national 
shall be extradited to a foreign country for penal 
prosecution or execution of a verdict without his or 
her written consent.  The person in question may 
revoke consent until the order for the extradition 
is issued. 
 
A request for extradition is complied 
with only if the requesting country accords 
reciprocity.  Foreigners may be extradited to 
another state for offenses punishable under its laws 
or for serving a term of imprisonment if this state 
applies for extradition or accepts, upon request of 
the Swiss authorities, to prosecute the person in 
question or to execute a verdict cast by Swiss 
authorities.  Swiss Police statistics record 
extraditions only by country so no extraditions 
statistics are available for specific criminal 
offenses. There have been no changes to extradition 
law. 
 
(U) I. Trafficking is not tolerated in Switzerland, 
and there are no indications or reports that 
government officials are involved. 
 
(U) J. N/A 
 
(U) K. There have been no indications or reports 
that Swiss military or civilian personnel deployed 
on international peace-keeping missions have engaged 
in or facilitated severe forms of trafficking or 
exploited victims of such trafficking.  Switzerland 
pursues a zero-tolerance policy regarding sexual 
exploitation by personnel participating in 
international peace-keeping missions. 
 
(U) L. The 2002 partial revision of the Penal Code 
providing for the extraterritorial coverage of 
Switzerland's child sexual abuse laws entered into 
force on January 1, 2007.  Anybody violating Swiss 
child sexual abuse laws is subject to prosecution in 
Switzerland under the extraterritorial provisions of 
the Penal Code regardless of the legislation of the 
foreign country where the abuse took place. 
 
--------------------------------------- 
¶V. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
--------------------------------------- 
 
(U) A. Under the Swiss Victims Assistance LAW (OHG), 
all TIP victims are entitled to help from 
government-funded victims assistance centers for 
abuse victims or women shelters and enjoy special 
safeguards during criminal proceedings, and cantonal 
authorities do provide these protections in 
practice.   On November 27, the Federal Government 
submitted a bill to the parliament on a 
comprehensive witness protection program that allows 
authorities to provide victims of crime with new 
 
BERN 00000056  008.2 OF 014 
 
 
identities. The draft proposed the creation of a 
centralized witness program agency. The consultation 
period in the Swiss parliament will last until mid- 
March 2010. 
 
(U) On January 1, 2009, a revision entered into 
force, which requires the cantonal victim assistance 
centers to take into account the special needs of 
different groups of victims of crime.  Under the 
revised OHG, a canton can pay financial compensation 
to another canton for counseling services provided 
to a victim of crime within the latter cantonQs 
jurisdiction.  This is meant to provide urban 
centers additional incentives and resources to 
establish specialized victim counseling centers, 
such as a victims' assistance centers tailored to 
supporting TIP victims. 
 
(U) In 2007, Parliament adopted a new federal code 
of criminal trial proceedings that will supplant the 
existing 26 cantonal codes.  The new federal code 
strengthens the existing witness protection measures 
under the OHG in order to avoid a perpetrator in a 
TIP case learning the identity of a prosecution 
witness and it gives witnesses the right to call on 
an attorney and/or a confidante during court 
proceedings.  The government plans to put the new 
federal code into effect on January 1, 2011. 
Implementation requires several years because, even 
under the new federal code of criminal trial 
proceedings, law enforcement remains the dominion of 
the cantons.  Cantons need time to amend their 
legislation and adjust cantonal operating modes to 
the new federal regulations on court proceedings. 
 
(U) B. Under the OHG, TIP victims are entitled to 
free and immediate material and medical aid as well 
as psychological, social, and legal assistance. 
Local victims assistance centers have to provide TIP 
victims with a minimum of 14 days of emergency 
lodging, 14 days of living allowance, 4 hours of 
consultation with a lawyer and 5 sessions of 
psychotherapy, with all other expenses for medical 
treatment, transportation, personal safety, or 
translation services being covered by the 
government.  If recovery requires more time, the 
government is obligated to assume the additional 
cost of longer-term care.  The victims' assistance 
center may lodge a TIP victim in a shelter for 
battered women. 
 
(U) According to Swiss federal government 
statistics, in 2007(most recent figures available) a 
total of 128 victims of human trafficking or forced 
prostitution received help from government victims 
assistance centers, compared to 90 in 2006.  Swiss 
officials are aware of our interest in this 
information for TIP reporting purposes, and will 
provide 2008 data to post as soon as it is 
available.  The NGO FIZ Makasi, a victim assistance 
center counseling TIP victims, assisted 186 
trafficking victims in 2009, compared to 160 in 
2008, 167 in 2007, 133 in 2006 and 116 in 2005.  FIZ 
Makasi, which was launched in 2004 by the Zurich- 
based NGO FIZ, has received some financial 
contributions from the federal government and 
several cantons for counseling services offered to 
TIP victims under their jurisdiction. 
 
(U) Foreign juvenile victims of crime under 18 years 
of age have to be placed under the protection of the 
Cantonal Guardianship Office 
(Vormundschaftsbehoerde) during their stay in 
Switzerland.  In criminal court proceedings, the OHG 
provides special protective measures for juvenile 
victims of crime: Questioning by police or the 
investigative magistrate must occur soon and the 
testimony is recorded on videotape.  Cross- 
examinations are not allowed.  The questioning has 
to be done by a recognized expert and no more than 
two sessions are allowed.  The law recognizes the 
special needs of juvenile victims of crime and they 
 
BERN 00000056  009.2 OF 014 
 
 
may only serve as witnesses of the prosecution if 
their testimony is indispensable for the conviction 
of a suspect. 
 
(U) In case of the repatriation of a juvenile victim 
of crime (after the end of the stay-of-deportation 
proceedings or a criminal court procedure), the 
Federal Office for Migration and cantonal migration 
offices have to take into account that the person in 
question is a minor under 18 years of age.  Under 
the law, a return to the country of origin is only 
permissible if the authorities have ascertained that 
the juvenile can be placed again in the care of the 
parents or a close relative, or if there is a 
satisfactory care structure in place in the country 
of origin. 
 
(U) C. Federal and cantonal governments provide some 
funding to NGOs and women shelters that provide 
services to TIP victims, primarily on the basis of 
agreed per capita payments for services rendered to 
victims.  Under the 1993 OHG, all cantons are 
obligated to offer TIP victims the services listed 
above.  Internationally, the Swiss Ministry of 
Foreign Affairs provides funding to International 
Organizations and NGOs providing services to TIP 
victims, primarily through its development aid arm 
SDC and the rest through its human rights and human 
security division.  Post has requested the MFAQs 
TIP-related funding statistics for 2009, and will 
provide that information in a supplemental report. 
 
(U) D. The government does assist foreign victims of 
trafficking by granting relief from deportation and 
providing temporary to permanent residency status in 
cases of serious hardship.  Under the Federal Law on 
Foreigners, effective January 1, 2008, cantonal 
immigration authorities are expected to grant TIP 
victims a minimum 30-day stay of deportation 
proceedings to let them recover from their trauma 
and weigh participation in judicial proceedings 
against their traffickers. Cantonal immigration 
authorities may admit TIP victims willing to 
cooperate with judicial authorities for up to three 
months or may issue short-term residency permits 
(with the consent of the federal authorities) if the 
criminal investigation takes longer.  In 2008, 
cantonal immigration offices granted the 30-day 
stays of deportation proceedings to 22 trafficking 
victims (33 in 2007) and issued 20 short-term 
residency permits for the duration of legal/court 
proceedings against their traffickers (6 in 2007). 
Post will provide 2009 statistics on stays of 
deportation proceedings for TIP victims in a 
supplemental report, when that information is 
available from Swiss federal authorities. 
 
(U) E/F. The new Federal Law on Foreigners further 
strengthens the legal status of TIP victims and 
witnesses, explicitly authorizing the government to 
waive normal immigration requirements and grant 
residency permits for victims of human trafficking 
as well as witnesses in human trafficking cases. 
The Federal Office for Migration grants trafficking 
victims temporary admission in Switzerland if they 
are at risk of personal harm as witnesses in 
criminal proceedings or if a return to the country 
of origin is deemed unreasonable.  In 2008, four 
victims were granted such long-term residency 
permits on grounds of personal hardship after the 
end of court proceedings (four in 2007).  The law 
also allows the federal government to logistically 
and financially assist trafficking victims and 
witnesses for whom a return is acceptable in their 
re-integration in their countries of origin.  In 
April 2008, the Federal Office for Migration started 
a two-year pilot project to assist trafficking 
victims and witnesses in their return to and re- 
integration in their home societies.  Post will 
provide 2009 statistics on any residency permits 
provided to TIP victims in a supplemental report, 
when that information is available from Swiss 
 
BERN 00000056  010.2 OF 014 
 
 
federal authorities. 
 
¶G. The number of TIP victims receiving counseling 
services from professional assistance centers for 
victims of crime rose from 90 in 2006 to 128 in 
¶2007.  Swiss officials are aware of our interest in 
this information for TIP reporting purposes, and 
will provide 2008 data to post as soon as it is 
available. 
 
(U) Embassy contacts have stressed that statistics 
available indicate that persons on L-permits do not 
figure prominently among TIP victims. Police 
authorities have shared the assessment that the 
great majority of TIP victims enter the country 
without any proper documentation. 
 
(U) H. Thirteen out of Switzerland's 26 cantons have 
established a formal referral process for TIP 
victims to improve their protection and security by 
regulating the procedures for identifying and 
referring TIP victims for assistance.  Four major 
cantons (Bern, Ticino, Vaud and Zurich) have put in 
place special police units for screening for 
trafficking victims involved in the legal commercial 
sex trade. 
 
(U) I. Under the Federal Law on Foreigners, 
effective January 1, 2008, cantonal migration 
authorities are expected to grant TIP victims a stay 
of deportation proceedings to recover from their 
trauma and weigh participation in judicial 
proceedings.  The new law further strengthens the 
legal status of TIP victims and witnesses, 
explicitly authorizing the government to waive 
normal immigration requirements and, in cases of 
serious hardship, grant residency permits for 
victims of human trafficking as well as witnesses in 
human trafficking cases. 
 
(U) The new Federal Law on Foreigners also allows 
the federal government logistically and financially 
to assist in the voluntary return to and re- 
integration of trafficking victims and witnesses in 
their countries of origin.  The Federal Office for 
Migration in April 2008 started a two-year pilot 
project to assist primarily victims and witnesses of 
human trafficking and secondarily cabaret dancers in 
Switzerland who are in an exploitative situation. 
The pilot project is being implemented in co- 
operation with cantonal bodies assisting returning 
migrants and the International Organization for 
Migration.  Under the new Federal Law on Foreigners, 
the beneficiaries of the pilot program receive the 
same assistance and have access to the same 
counseling services as are offered to asylum seekers 
returning voluntarily.  This includes financial, 
material, and medical assistance in the return to 
the country of origin.  The pilot project takes into 
account the special needs of TIP victims (i.e. risk 
assessment, rehabilitation programs, etc.).  After 
the pilot phase, the project will be evaluated and 
potentially slightly modified.  It will then be 
turned into an indefinite TIP victim return 
assistance program. 
 
(U) J. The Swiss Government encourages TIP victims 
to assist judicial authorities in trafficking 
investigations and prosecutions by granting them 
temporary residency and financial support, and 
admitting them to stay if a return to their country 
of origin posed a serious risk of personal harm. 
The Swiss Victims Assistance Law (OHG) safeguards 
TIP victims' rights in criminal prosecutions with 
special rules for trial procedures and for 
compensation and redress.  The OHG covers all 
victims of crimes, including foreigners staying 
illegally in Switzerland.  The OHG provides for the 
special protection of witnesses' identity in 
criminal court proceedings: victims/witnesses may 
request the trial to take place behind closed doors 
and avoid confrontation with the defendant.  The OHG 
 
BERN 00000056  011.2 OF 014 
 
 
is a federal law and thus binding on all cantonal 
codes of criminal trial proceedings.  TIP victims 
may also file civil suits against their traffickers 
and seek financial compensation.  Under the Federal 
Law on Foreigners, effective January 1, 2008, TIP 
victims temporarily admitted for the duration of 
court proceedings against their traffickers may be 
issued a work permit during their stay. On September 
7, the Court of Solothurn sentenced two owners of a 
brothel in the canton of Solothurn to prison 
sentences of 4 1/2 years (for the main offender) and 
15 months, without requiring the victims to testify. 
The Court found that the facts that the  victims 
were in Switzerland illegally, that the victims did 
not speak any Swiss languages, nor have other 
sources of support, proved that the victims were 
totally dependent upon the brothel owners, and that 
their self-determination was therefore limited to a 
decisive extent. 
 
(U) Several major urban centers have established a 
referral process for TIP victims in the context of 
regular roundtable meetings between NGOs and 
cantonal justice, police and immigration 
authorities. As a direct result of the regulation to 
stay deportation proceedings and the better 
cooperation between NGOs and law enforcement 
officials, the number of TIP victims willing to 
testify against their traffickers has risen 
considerably. 
 
(U) K. The GOS provides extensive training for 
government officials in identifying trafficking 
victims and providing assistance.  The Swiss Police 
Institute in 2009 held specialized five-day anti-TIP 
workshops for migration and law enforcement 
officials and border guards. From November 9 to 13, 
the first course in French was held in the French 
Speaking part of the country and from November 19 to 
20, a special training session for representatives 
from the judiciary took place in Bern. 
 
(U) The Swiss Department of Foreign Affairs briefs 
experts and diplomatic personnel about the problem 
of trafficking in human beings prior to their 
postings abroad, and draws their attention to a code 
of conduct drafted by a joint working group on human 
trafficking.  According to these rules, diplomatic 
staff shall stay clear of any person who can 
reasonably be suspected of engaging in trafficking 
in human beings or those who are involved in other 
criminal activities under the laws of either the 
host country or of Swiss or international law.  The 
Department of Foreign Affairs also urges its 
embassies and consulates to develop ongoing 
relationships with NGOs assisting trafficking 
victims. 
 
(U) The Federal Department of Foreign Affairs anti- 
TIP information and prevention program for visa 
applicants is conducted by all Swiss consulates 
worldwide.  The program consists of the following 
elements: a personal interview with every first-time 
L-visa applicant; the signing of a standardized 
labor contract with a Swiss night club in the 
presence of a Swiss consular official; a briefing of 
the L-visa applicant on her or his legal and 
contractual rights; and an information brochure with 
the phone numbers and addresses of victim assistance 
hotlines or drop-in centers in Switzerland for 
persons in need. 
 
(U) L. N/A 
 
(U) M. The following is a list of IOs and NGOs 
operating in Switzerland that provide services to 
trafficking victims: 
Terre des Hommes, Switzerland; 
Ecpat Switzerland (end child prostitution, child 
pornography and trafficking of children for sexual 
purposes); 
International Organization for Migration; 
 
BERN 00000056  012.2 OF 014 
 
 
International Labor Organization; 
Association Libert` (end human trafficking); 
Women's Information Center for Women from Africa, 
Asia, Latin America and Eastern Europe (FIZ): 
counseling, publications/articles, 
symposiums/workshops, participation in round tables 
with aids-prevention and anti-violence groups, 
multi-lingual educational radio programs, and 
international contact building. 
 
(U) In addition, a number of smaller NGOs 
counseling women in the sex trade as well as women 
shelters that exist in most urban centers, deal with 
the problem of human trafficking.  A great number of 
these organizations are linked in the national 
network "Prostitution Collective Reflection" 
(ProKoRe).  The major counseling centers and primary 
points of contact of ProKoRe are FIZ in Zurich, 
Xenia in Bern, and ASPASIE in Geneva. 
 
(U) The 'Association Libert`' started as a joint 
pilot project of the awareness raising campaign 'End 
Human Trafficking Now!' and 'Friend of Humanity' in 
June 2008 with a specialized hotline for victims of 
human trafficking in Geneva. The initiators reported 
that in their first year they assisted 31 victims of 
human trafficking, which encouraged the initiators 
in June 2009 to form a local NGO aspiring to fill 
gaps in French speaking Switzerland in terms of 
victims' protection through a comprehensive approach 
to victims' assistance. Since then, they concluded a 
cooperation agreement with the Zurich based TIP 
counseling center FIZ. 
 
(U) The national organizations and domestic NGOs 
typically deal with TIP victims, prostitutes, and 
victims of domestic violence and offer victim 
counseling, crisis intervention and emergency 
lodging, legal and medical assistance, and assisted 
returns to the country of origin.  Cooperation with 
local authorities is varied but typically includes 
regular meetings and institutionalized information 
exchange, cooperation in the context of working 
groups or roundtables, financial support by local 
communities and cantons, as well as public funding 
for specific projects. 
 
-------------- 
VI. PREVENTION 
-------------- 
 
(U) A. The City of Zurich together with FIZ hosted a 
symposium on June 11 dedicated to the topic of 
'Women trafficking in Switzerland' combating 
strategies. The symposium was held in Zurich and 
attended by experts from the federal and the 
cantonal governments, NGOs and multi-lateral 
organizations. The symposium got wide media coverage 
throughout Switzerland. 
 
(U) B. Switzerland's borders are adequately 
monitored and immigration regulations are stringent. 
Switzerland's visa sections in countries of origin 
inform applicants of "artistic visa" or L-permits 
about their rights when working in Switzerland. 
Information brochures are available in 16 languages. 
Some embassies have also displayed respective 
information on their homepage. 
 
(U) Swiss Foreign Affairs Department officials have 
sensitized visa adjudicators to the problem and have 
invited NGOs to give training to embassy staff. 
 
(U) The Swiss Border Guards, an administrative unit 
of the Federal Department of Finance, cooperate 
closely with the Federal Office for Migration on 
issues of asylum and migration.  Combating irregular 
migration and the smuggling of migrants is a 
priority for the Swiss Border Guards.  Border Guard 
officials receive special training to heighten 
awareness of human trafficking as part of the normal 
training program. Border guards report all 
 
BERN 00000056  013.2 OF 014 
 
 
suspicious activities to the cantonal police force 
of the area, which holds sole authority for further 
criminal investigations.  However, in practice it 
has proven difficult for border guard officials to 
spot victims of human trafficking because the latter 
often give only limited information about themselves 
and commonly do not denounce their traffickers out 
of fear of reprisals.  The leadership of the Swiss 
Border Guards, the Federal Office for Refugees, and 
the Federal Office for Migration are all represented 
on the KSMM to assure the flow of information and 
the analysis of immigration patterns for evidence of 
trafficking. 
 
(U) The Ministry of Foreign Affairs constantly 
adjusts measures to combat visa abuse, ensuring that 
procedures are tailored to local conditions.  In 
2005 the MFA introduced systematic risk assessments 
and began subjecting Swiss missions to comprehensive 
inspections every four years.  The MFA puts 
special importance on raising awareness among visa 
clerks and their line managers and on their careful 
screening and preparation for the task in high-risk 
missions. 
 
(U) C. The key office coordinating the anti- 
trafficking efforts of the various government 
agencies is the Coordination Unit against the 
Trafficking of Persons and Smuggling of Migrants 
(KSMM), which started operations at the beginning of 
¶2003.  Formally a part of the Federal Office of 
Police, the KSMM processes and passes information 
and coordinates policy within the federal 
administration as well as between the federal 
agencies and the cantons (states).  It is also the 
primary point of contact for international inquiries 
on all issues linked to illegal migration and human 
trafficking. 
 
(SBU) In February, 2010, the Swiss federal 
government organized a visit of Swiss police 
officials to Hungary for a dialogue on TIP 
prevention and to coordinate on some concrete TIP 
cases.  MFA officials have informed post that the 
Swiss federal government plans to use this exchange 
as a model for dialogue and coordination with other 
countries. 
 
(U) Internationally, Switzerland was one of the 
initiators of the OSCE Action Plan to Combat 
Trafficking in Human Beings and has been supporting 
the OSCE Special Rapporteur since 2000, both 
financially and with expert secondments. 
 
(U) D. The KSMM seeks to implement the national 
action plan that its interdepartmental steering 
committee first adopted in 2003.  In keeping with 
its decentralized structure, the steering committee 
is the KSMM's highest organ.  The steering committee 
consists of directorate-level representatives of the 
federal departments involved in combating human 
trafficking, delegates from cantonal conferences and 
associations, as well as representatives from three 
NGOs and international organizations with a 
consultative status.  The Steering Committee sets 
targets and the guidelines for the KSMM's activities 
and controls the drafting and implementation of 
measures.  The Steering Committee is chaired by the 
Federal Office of Police. 
 
(U)Specific measures are developed and implemented 
either by working groups set up for that purpose or 
by individuals with special support from the KSMM 
Secretariat. 
 
(U) E. In conjunction with the European Soccer Cup 
(Euro 08), which Switzerland hosted jointly with 
Austria in June 2008, the federal government 
provided $96,000 (100,000 Swiss francs) to NGOs to 
kick-start suitable public awareness campaigns 
against trafficking and forced prostitution.  The 
campaign primarily targeted potential 'clients' of 
 
BERN 00000056  014.2 OF 014 
 
 
prostitutes. 
 
(U) F. In summer 2008, the Association of Travel 
Offices in Switzerland signed an International Code 
of Conduct related to preventing child abuse abroad. 
In coordination with this effort, the Swiss federal 
police added a form to its internet site where 
suspected incidents of child sex tourism can be 
reported to appropriate law enforcement authorities. 
On September 29, the Federal Office of Police 
announced that in the previous 12 months, 
approximately 12 cases of suspected child sex 
tourism were reported on the Web site. The federal 
police forwarded relevant information to the 
competent municipal, cantonal, or international 
police offices for further investigation. 
 
(U) G. N/A. 
 
----------------- 
VII. PARTNERSHIPS 
----------------- 
 
(U) A.  On June 24, the Federal Department of Foreign 
Affairs started a three-year series of round tables 
on human trafficking for foreign experts in close 
cooperation with the International Organization for 
Migration (IOM). The first round table consisted of 
talks between Swiss experts and a delegation from 
Hungary (representatives from the Office of the 
National Coordinator against Human Trafficking in 
the Hungarian Ministry of Justice, the Hungarian 
national police force and the police and state 
prosecutor of the City of Budapest and Interpol). 
The talks aimed at sharing experiences and 
strengthening cooperation, since Hungary was one of 
the main countries of origin of victims of human 
trafficking in Switzerland. 
 
(U) B. Post is awaiting update from GOS on the 
international assistance they've provided to other 
countries to address TIP. 
 
-------- 
Post POC 
-------- 
 
Chris Buck, Deputy POL/E Counselor 
Tel. [41] (31) 357-7213 
Fax. [41] (31) 357-7344 
[Note:  Post will provide an estimate of the number 
of hours spent in preparation of this report (and 
the ranks of the various personnel contributing 
those hours), when the report has been finalized. 
End Note] 
 
BEYER