VZCZCXRO3043
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHRO #0208/01 0561217
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251217Z FEB 10 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3315
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE 4059
RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN 0501
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 4288

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ROME 000208 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PGOV PHUM PREF
SMIG, KMCA, PREL, IT 
SUBJECT: 2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT FOR ITALY PART 2 
 
REF: SECSTATE 02094 
 
ROME 00000208  001.3 OF 004 
 
 
 
Protection of and Assistance to Victims 
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - 
¶28. A The government protects victims and witnesses. Victims 
are enrolled in programs run by NGOs or religious communities 
that provide shelter and support. 
 
¶28. B Article 13 of the Law 228/2003 provides for three to 
six months assistance to victims while article 18 of Law 
286/1998 guarantees shelter benefits for another twelve 
months and reintegration assistance. Moreover, victims 
usually obtain temporary residence/work permits that can lead 
to permanent residency. In fact adults who are identified as 
trafficking victims are granted a six-month residency permit, 
renewable if the victim finds employment or has enrolled in a 
training program, and are sheltered in special facilities. 
Minors receive an automatic residence permit until they are 
18, and they are hosted in separate centers. NGOs run these 
services with funding provided by national, regional and 
local authorities. According to the Ministry of Equal 
Opportunity, NGOs and local authorities have been using these 
methods 
 
¶28. C In 2009, 810 victims obtained temporary residence 
visas, according to the Ministry of Interior. The government 
provides legal and medical assistance through NGOs as soon as 
a victim has been identified. Assistance programs are carried 
out mainly in larger cities, such as Rome, Milan, Turin, 
Genoa, Florence and Naples, where the majority of victims are 
concentrated. 
 
In 2007, under Article 13, more than 400 victims accessed 
assistance, 10 percent of whom were minors. The top countries 
of origin were Nigeria (40 percent), China (16 percent), 
Romania (13 percent), and Morocco (10 percent). 
 
Under Article 18, about 1,100 victims, including about 50 
minors and 100 men, entered social protection programs in 
¶2008. Also in 2008, NGOs provided health care (16 percent), 
legal advice (8 percent), psychological support (10 percent), 
social counseling (20 percent) and other services (13 
percent). Of the victims placed in social protection 
programs, approximately 50 percent were from Nigeria, 15 
percent were from Romania, 5 percent were from China, and 
another 4 percent were from Moldova. The prospect of 
obtaining a residence permit had been an effective incentive 
for Romanian victims who requested assistance until 2007 when 
Romania entered the EU. More broadly, the significant drop in 
the total number of victims assisted is the result of the 
adoption of a more accurate monitoring system which allowed 
authorities to identify victims by name, avoiding double 
counting. 
 
The majority of victims were housed in shelters, while others 
lived independently with support. Other funded projects 
included reintegration, assisted repatriation, victims' 
assistance and job training programs. NGOs, with government 
funding, provided literacy courses for 588 people and 
vocational training for 313; helped 436 victims find 
temporary employment and another 907 individuals find 
permanent jobs. 
 
¶28. D See above. Almost all assisted victims are foreign 
nationals. 
 
¶28. E. Under article 13 of the Law 228/2003 the Ministry of 
Equal Opportunity provides three to six months assistance to 
victims. Under article 18 of Law 286/1998 guarantees shelter 
benefits for another twelve months and reintegration 
assistance. 
 
¶28. F. Article 18 provides for the identification and 
transfer of victims placed under protective custody to NGOs 
that provide transition, reintegration and/or repatriation 
services to victims. NGOs that receive victims are registered 
by the Ministry of Labor and Welfare and monitored by the 
Ministry for Equal Opportunity. 
 
¶28. G In 2008, 664 obtained residence permits as victims of 
trafficking, according to the Ministry of Interior. About 300 
were enrolled in educational institutions; 150 were enrolled 
in training courses, and 200 more received job offers. 
 
¶28. H There is no standard mechanism for screening for 
victims among people involved in the sex trade. OIM has 
drafted common guidelines on the identification of victims 
based on best international practices. 
 
ROME 00000208  002.3 OF 004 
 
 
 
The Ministry for Equal Opportunity is implementing a project 
in cooperation with Portugal, Hungary, and the Czech Republic 
and funded by the European Union, designed to identify a 
transnational referral mechanism for victims of trafficking 
that will be submitted to the European Commission for further 
action. 
 
¶28. I Victims in Italy usually do not face prosecution for 
other laws they may have broken if they file a complaint 
against a trafficker. 
 
¶28. J. The government encourages victims to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking through the 
offer of a temporary residence permit. Italian law does not 
allow victims to seek redress or compensation through civil 
court proceedings. A victim who is a material witness in a 
court case against a former employer is allowed to obtain 
other employment. Under a victim restitution program 
monitored by the International Organization for Migration, 81 
victims were repatriated in 2008. These victims were given 
500 euro by the Government for repatriation, up to 1,600 euro 
for resettlement in their home country, and reintegration 
assistance for six months. 
 
¶28. K. The Ministry of Interior trains police officers in 
victim identification and victim assistance under various 
programs, but not in a systematic or comprehensive way. The 
Ministry of Equal Opportunity promotes training initiatives 
and an exchange of best practices for experts and social 
workers every three months. Because Italian citizens 
generally are not trafficking victims, Italy does not provide 
training to its embassies and consulates and does not need to 
provide assistance to repatriated nationals. 
 
¶28. L. Italian nationals generally are not victims of 
trafficking. 
 
¶28. M. There are over 200 domestic and international NGOs in 
Italy that work on the trafficking issue. The most notable 
include: 
 
(a) PARSEC. This is a social research institute that collects 
the most reliable data on trafficking in Italy. It also 
operates several mobile assistance units and works closely 
with local governments. 
 
(b) On The Road Association. Located in the Marche, Abruzzo, 
and Molise regions, it provides legal, medical, social, and 
psychological assistance through its mobile units, shelters 
and safe houses. It also has an employment program that 
provides victims with jobs and pays them for their work. 
 
(c) CARITAS. This is a large lay Catholic association that 
works with the needy in numerous shelters throughout Italy. 
It collects statistics on and works with immigrant 
communities providing food, shelter and assistance. 
 
(d) ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Pornography and 
Trafficking) and Save the Children. Both work with other NGOs 
to ensure that police treat juvenile sex workers as 
trafficking victims, not criminals. 
 
(e) Gruppo Abele and IROKO in Turin, the Orlando Association 
in Bologna, and Progetto Arcobaleno in Florence also have 
multiple projects to assist trafficking victims. 
 
Prevention 
- - - - - 
 
¶29. A The Ministry for Equal Opportunity has the lead in 
funding public awareness programs. NGOs continue to 
distribute materials updated on a regular basis, including 
brochures, posters, bumper stickers and TV/radio ads 
providing information and assistance to victims. An ad 
campaign called "Stop Trafficking" continued in 2009 with the 
support of the Ministry of Interior in cooperation with the 
Ministry of Equal Opportunity. Equal Opportunity also 
established a toll-free hot line in 2000 to provide 
information and assistance to victims. In June 2009, 
authorites reported that the hotline received almost 15,000 
calls in the previous 12 months. 
 
The Ministry for Equal Opportunity identified 14 focal points 
nationwide to implement public awareness campaigns for 
informing victims of protection programs and to solicit 
citizens to report trafficking cases. Social workers started 
calling sex workers and other potential victims to provide 
information about assistance programs. 
 
ROME 00000208  003.3 OF 004 
 
 
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs financed a project 
implemented by UNICRI in cooperation with UNODC, the Nigerian 
government and NGOs designed to increase awareness on 
trafficking in the state of Edo, Nigeria, from where large 
numbers of minors are smuggled to Italy. the main objective 
is preventing human trafficking through strategic 
partnerships aimed at fostering community mobilization and a 
communication campaign targeted at potential victims and 
government officials. The activities include visits to 
schools, meetings held in street markets, and radio programs. 
 
¶29. B With over 2,000 miles of coastline and geographic 
proximity to both North Africa and Eastern Europe, Italy has 
become a major frontier for illegal immigration. Large 
numbers of immigrants arrived after transiting Libya and 
Tunisia. 
 
In August 2008, the government signed a pact with Libya that 
provides for patrolling the Libyan coasts by common Italian 
and Libyan enforcement teams. The agreement allows all 
immigrants departing from Libya--not only Libyan 
nationals--to be turned back before they reach Italian 
territory. In May 2009, under the Italy-Libya agreement, the 
Italian coast guard escorted 500 immigrants back to Libya; 
subsequent similar operations produced a dramatic decline in 
the number of immigrants who reached Italian shores. (see 
25.D.) Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International 
criticized the government for its failure to screen 
foreigners and identify refugees, unaccompanied minors, and 
victims of trafficking. 
 
¶29. C The Ministry for Equal Opportunity leads an 
interministerial committee charged with monitoring 
trafficking and coordinating government activity to combat 
it. Other members include the Ministries of Interior, 
Justice, Labor and Social Affairs, and Foreign Affairs, as 
well as the special anti-Mafia prosecutorial unit. The 
government works closely with over 200 NGOs involved in 
anti-trafficking initiatives that offer advice on prevention 
and enforcement of legislation. 
 
¶29. D Italy does not have a national action plan to combat 
trafficking. There is a national action plan for assisting 
victims. The inter-ministerial Committee Against Trafficking, 
led by the Ministry for Equal Opportunity, is responsible for 
coordinating policy at the national level. The Ministry 
regularly works with NGOs to coordinate and implement 
anti-TIP initiatives. 
 
¶29. E Authorities of some cities, including Milan, Rome, 
Verona, Florence and Venice enforced rules which prohibit 
street prostitution. Between January and November 2009, the 
city of Milan issued 11,600 fines against sex workers and 
clients. From September 2008 to May 2009, Rome police fined 
3,800 sex workers and 1,200 clients. The 14 regional focal 
points established by the Ministry of Equal Opportunity (see 
29.A.) carried out demand-reduction education campaigns at 
the local level in cooperation with municipalities, police, 
social services and NGOs. The Ministry of Interior 
implemented an information campaign, which included 
television and radio advertisements aimed at informing the 
public of the possibility that sex workers present in their 
towns might be victims of slavery. (see 29. A) The initiative 
was taken in the context of Operation Pentametro, funded by 
the European Union. 
 
¶29. F See 27. M 
 
¶29. G The Center of Excellence for Stability Policing Units 
(COESPU), created by the Ministry of Defense, in cooperation 
with the US Government in 2005, regularly organizes training 
sessions on human rights and trafficking for civilians and 
military personnel who serve in international missions. 
 
The armed forces regularly organize training on exploitation 
of children and sex workers for troops deployed abroad. 
 
Partnership 
- - - - - - 
 
¶30. A The Labor Ministry implemented two projects designed to 
prevent trafficking in unaccompanied minors for labor 
exploitation, in cooperation with the Egyptian and Albanian 
governments. The former was funded with national and European 
resources and implemented with the assistance of IOM. It 
encompassed television advertisements, posters, media 
outreach, and the establishment of a vocational training 
center for minors who aim to find a legal job in Italy or 
 
ROME 00000208  004.3 OF 004 
 
 
Egypt. 
 
In Albania, Italian authorities promoted an exchange of best 
practices and training of social workers who assist 
vulnerable minors. Another partnership has been proposed to 
the Moroccan government but has not yet been approved, 
pending the adoption of a legal framework for the protection 
of minors. 
 
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sponsored a program 
implemented by IOM aimed at strengthening capabilities of 
Nigerian NGOs which prevent trafficking and support victims. 
It has also funded the program "Preventing and Combating 
Trafficking of Minors and Young Women from Nigeria to Italy" 
carried out by UNICRI in cooperation with UNODC, Nigerian 
institutions and NGOs (See 29. A.) 
 
The Ministry of Interior reached an agreement with Ghana and 
Niger aimed at reducing flows of smuggled and trafficked 
immigrants. (See 25. D) 
 
¶30. B The government promotes the exchange of best practices, 
training of law enforcement officers, international 
investigations (See 27. G), identification of a common 
referral mechanism for the identification of victims (see 28. 
H), and prevention initiatives. (see 30. A) 
THORNE