US embassy cable - 04MADRID720

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 07 MADRID 000720 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, AND EUR/PGI 
DEPARTMENT PASS TO USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, PHUM, KWMN, SMIG, KFRD, ASEC, PREF, ELAB, SP 
SUBJECT: SPAIN - ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT - 2004 
 
REF: STATE 07869 
 
Sensitive But Unclassified.  Please Protect Accordingly. 
 
Following is Embassy Madrid input on Spain for the annual 
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report.  Embassy POC is 
Political Officer Joseph Babb, tel. (34) 91 587-2294, fax 
(34) 91 587-2391.  The following text is keyed to the 
questions/sections in reftel.  Staff hours spent in 
preparation of the report includes the following: 
Deputy Chief of Mission: 2 hours 
Political Counselor - FE-OC: 6 hours 
Consul General - FE-OC: 2 hours 
Consul General, Barcelona - F0-01: 0.5 hour 
Public Affairs Officer - FE-OC: 1 hour 
Deputy Political Counselor - FS-02: 8 hours 
Political Officer - FS-04: 60 hours 
Political Assistant - LES-9: 7 hours 
Political Assistant, Barcelona - LES-9: 0.75 hour 
Consular Legal Advisor - LES-11: 6 hours 
Consular Assistant - LES-8: 7 hours 
Dept. of Homeland Security Officer in Charge: 3 hours 
Dept. of Homeland Security Asst. Officer in Charge: 3 hours 
Political Intern: 8 hours 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
Spain - 2004 Trafficking in Persons Report Responses 
--------------------------------------------- -------- 
 
18. OVERVIEW 
 
A.  Spain is a destination and transit country for trafficked 
persons.  Information on trafficking in persons comes from 
the Ministry of Interior (which includes the Civil Guard and 
National Police) and an NGO contracted by the government to 
provide victims assistance, Project Hope (Proyecto 
Esperanza).  All sources are generally reliable. The Spanish 
National Police (SNP) reports that 1,527 victims of 
trafficking in persons were liberated in 2003.  The majority 
were victims of sexual exploitation.  Sexual trafficking in 
Spain almost exclusively involves women victims, with no 
identifiable reports of male victims and only one reported 
case of a minor under 17 years of age.  Project Hope reports 
that victims they assisted were in the following age ranges: 
under 17 yrs - 1%; between 18 and 25 yrs - 70%; between 26 
and 30 - 22%; older than 30 yrs - 4%; unknown age - 3%. 
According to a victim's profile study by the Spanish National 
Police, persons most at risk of being trafficked are young 
women with low education and few economic resources, with the 
majority (77%) coming from five countries: Romania, Russia, 
Brazil, Colombia and Nigeria.  Trafficking does occur inside 
the country's borders.  There are no areas of Spain that are 
outside of government control. 
 
B.  Trafficked victims arrive from three major regions: 
Eastern Europe (Romania, Russia, Bulgaria, Ukraine), Latin 
America (Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador), and sub-Saharan Africa 
(Nigeria, Guinea Conakry).  Trafficking in Asians, normally 
Chinese, is much less frequent, and is divided between those 
brought to Spain for work in sweatshops and service 
industries and those transiting to the U.S. and Canada. 
Spain is a destination point for the majority of persons 
trafficked, especially those from Latin America and Eastern 
Europe.  Some African groups use Spain as a transit country 
for travel to France and Germany. 
 
C. Overall numbers of victims of sexual exploitation and the 
number of arrests for trafficking remained comparable to the 
prior period.  Of the five major countries of origin, the 
only significant change was in the number of victims from 
Brazil, which doubled from the prior year. 
 
D. The SNP maintains a special unit, the Immigration Networks 
and Falsified Documents Unit (UCRIF), that deals with 
trafficking in persons, and the UCRIF Intelligence Unit 
analyzes trends and statistics year-round.  UCRIF also 
coordinates efforts and shares data on trafficking with the 
Civil Guard and Interpol.  Regional SNP offices conduct 
reviews every three months to set goals in combating 
trafficking and to assess success in meeting goals from the 
prior period.  The regional units receive financial benefits 
from the Ministry of Interior for meeting their goals.  Data 
available this year, which was not existent last year, 
includes a comprehensive report from the UCRIF Intelligence 
Unit, which includes 2003 arrest statistics, victims 
statistics, victim profile, legal codes used in prosecuting 
trafficking, information on cooperative efforts and 
inter-ministerial programs, and maps of major routes used by 
international trafficking rings for trafficking into Spain. 
Development of this comprehensive assessment on the nature 
and extent of trafficking in and through Spain was a specific 
goal set by G/TIP for the Spanish government.  Also available 
this year was a November 2003 report from the University of 
Deusto on trafficking in persons in Spain. 
 
E. Victims are trafficked into Spain for both sexual 
exploitation (most frequently involving prostitution and work 
in nude dancing and alternative clubs) and labor exploitation 
(primarily agricultural, construction, and domestic 
employment).  Methods used by traffickers to maintain control 
of their victims include physical abuse, forced use of drugs, 
withholding of travel documents, and threats to the victim's 
family. 
 
F.  Spain is generally not a country of origin for 
trafficking. 
 
G.  There is political will at the highest levels to combat 
trafficking and the government makes a good faith effort to 
seriously address trafficking.  The second-ranking official 
in the Ministry of Interior coordinates anti-trafficking 
efforts.  Anti-trafficking efforts also receive support from 
the Office of the President, Ministry of Labor and Social 
Services, the Ministry of Justice, and the Ministry of 
Education.  There were no instances reported of government 
officials involved in trafficking.  Though government 
corruption is not a problem in Spain, isolated instances of 
official misconduct have been aggressively prosecuted in the 
past.  No cases of government corruption were reported this 
year.  The government commits resources from the Civil Guard 
and police authorities to control borders and investigate 
trafficking activities, and commits resources from the 
Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Labor and Social 
Services to prosecute violators, inspect workplaces, and 
assist victims.  The government also funds NGO groups who 
provide assistance to victims. 
 
H. There were no instances of government officials 
facilitating or condoning trafficking, taking bribes, or in 
any way assisting in trafficking operations. 
 
I. Willingness of victims to press charges remains the main 
limitation in combating trafficking.  This is despite Spanish 
provisions for witness protection and availability of visas 
for those who testify against trafficking rings.  No 
limitations exist in funding for police or other governmental 
institutions, nor was corruption a problem.  Project Hope, 
the principal NGO contracted for victim assistance, reports 
that current year funding from the government was increased, 
and that they have no funding limitations for their programs. 
 
J. The National Police's UCRIF Intelligence Unit maintains 
ongoing monitoring of trafficking trends, and statistics. 
Regional SNP units review their anti-trafficking efforts 
every three months and receive financial benefits for 
achieving goals.  The SNP and Civil Guard participate in 
ongoing coordination and data-sharing with the Interpol and 
Europol, and the Ministry of Interior coordinates and 
evaluates anti-trafficking efforts inside the Spanish 
government.  Information on anti-trafficking efforts, 
statistics and trends are available publicly through the SNP 
and Civil Guard. 
 
K. Prostitution, in itself, is decriminalized in Spain. 
However, as of September 30, 2003, it is illegal for anyone 
to profit from prostitution other than the actual prostitute. 
 This law makes it illegal for pimps or brothels to receive 
money from the prostitute's activities, even if the 
prostitute consents to it.  Also, as part of a joint City of 
Madrid and Ministry of Labor and Social Services 
anti-prostitution educational campaign launched in January 
2004, the Madrid city government announced it was studying a 
system of fines and jail sentences for clients of 
prostitution, using the Swedish system as an example. 
Spanish law prohibits involvement of minors in prostitution 
(under age 18), and prohibits activities associated with 
trafficking in persons, including the use of force, violence, 
threats or fraud for sexual exploitation.  Prison sentences 
for the latter offenses are specified as 5 to 10 years, with 
12 to 15 year sentences possible for aggravating 
circumstances.  These sentences are higher than the previous 
year, as in September 2003 the Spanish Senate passed a 
tougher anti-trafficking law.  Passage of this law was one of 
the specific goals set out in G/TIP's objectives for Spain. 
 
 
L. There were no reports of the buying or selling of child 
brides in Spain. 
 
 
19. PREVENTION 
 
A. The government acknowledges that trafficking is a problem 
and takes measures to address the problem. 
 
B. Spain commits resources of the Ministry of Interior (SNP 
and Civil Guard), Ministry of Labor and Social Services, 
Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education, Ministry of 
Culture and Sports, Ministry of Public Administration, and 
the Ministry of Health and Consumer Affairs.  Spain also 
funds several NGO groups that provide assistance to victims 
of trafficking. 
 
C. Spain sponsors programs to educate women victims of 
violence about social services and to encourage women to 
report instances to the police and to press charges.  Project 
Hope reports that 89% of women that they assist now press 
criminal charges, a rate which is much higher than that 
associated with victims of labor exploitation, which remains 
minimal.  In January, the Madrid city government, in 
conjunction with the Ministry of Labor and Social Services, 
announced the beginning of an anti-prostitution and 
anti-trafficking in women education campaign that will target 
the clients of prostitutes. 
 
D. The government supports programs to increase employment 
opportunities for women.  NGOs funded by the government 
provide work training and job placement services for women 
liberated from trafficking rings to give them an alternative 
to returning to prostitution. 
 
E. Governmental agencies and victim assistance NGOs report 
that funding resources are sufficient to operate their 
programs. 
 
F. NGO representatives report that they have good and open 
relationships with governmental agencies and officials. 
Project Hope reports that it cooperates well with the Spanish 
National Police, is actively informed of victims of 
trafficking, and is included in trafficking in persons 
training programs for recruits at the SNP's academy in Avila. 
 
G. The government adequately monitors its borders, especially 
committing resources to the Civil Guard to patrol its sea 
borders, where illegal immigration is particularly dangerous 
due to hazardous crossings of open ocean and Straights of 
Gibraltar sea-lanes.  The SNP and Civil Guard both monitor 
immigration patterns for evidence of trafficking.  Both 
agencies respond appropriately to evidence, with cooperation 
between the Civil Guard and Embassy DHS Immigration Service 
personnel being especially good. 
 
H. The Ministry of Interior coordinates anti-trafficking 
efforts and maintains workgroups for the coordination of SNP 
and Civil Guard activities.  Both the SNP and the Civil Guard 
also participate in coordination and data sharing workgroups 
with Interpol and Europol.  Public sector corruption is not 
generally a problem in Spain, and anti-corruption 
investigations would be processed through normal law 
enforcement and judicial agencies. 
 
I. The government coordinates the anti-trafficking activity 
of its law enforcement agencies with Interpol, Europol, and 
EU illegal-immigration working groups.  Spain also has 
cooperative agreements with many North African and 
Sub-Saharan African nations.  Spain has provided 
French-language training to high-level SNP officials to aid 
in cooperation with countries in French-speaking Africa.  The 
SNP has actively sought Embassy, RSO, and FBI Legal Attach 
assistance in finding contacts in African nations to share 
intelligence related to trafficking-in-persons and 
illegal-immigration routes and criminal organizations in 
sub-Saharan Africa.  Spain participates in EU and Schengen 
Group cooperative efforts to combat trafficking from Eastern 
Europe, particularly with those countries set to join the EU 
in May.  Increasing bilateral cooperation with source 
countries was a specific goal in G/TIP objectives for Spain, 
and the increased focus on countries of origin is evident. 
Of special note, in response to requests by G/TIP in the 
summer of 2003, officials of both the SNP and Civil Guard 
offered their assistance to specifically investigate a report 
of isolated instances of trafficking in persons originating 
from Latvia.  Embassy also transmitted these offers of 
assistance. 
 
J. The government has a National Immigration Plan that 
addresses combating illegal immigration into Spain, which is 
a major component in preventing trafficking.  The Ministry of 
Interior coordinates anti-trafficking efforts within 
workgroups involving its law enforcement agencies, the 
Ministry of Labor and Social Services, the Ministry of 
Justice, Interpol, Europol, and NGOs responsible for victim 
assistance.  NGOs report that the government consults with 
them in coordinating programs, and the principle NGO, Project 
Hope, is included in anti-trafficking training for law 
enforcement officers.  Plans, analyses, and statistics are 
available through the SNP and Civil Guard. 
 
K. The Ministry of Interior takes the lead in directing 
anti-trafficking efforts. 
 
20. INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
 
A. Spain has specific laws to prohibit trafficking in persons 
and other activities related to sexual and labor 
exploitation.  These laws are applied in practice and are 
adequate to cover the full scope of trafficking in persons. 
The law prohibits trafficking in persons from, through, or to 
Spain.  The law also prohibits trafficking in workers; sexual 
exploitation involving violence, intimidation or fraud; the 
sexual exploitation of minors, including use for prostitution 
or pornography; forging or certifying false government 
documents; and illicit association with trafficking in 
persons networks.  The Organic Law for Specific Measures 
Related to Citizen Security, Domestic Violence and the Social 
Integration of Foreigners was passed by the Spanish Senate in 
September 2003.  This section of the Organic Law increased 
the penalties for trafficking in persons (from 2 to 4 years 
previously, to the current 5 to 10 years) and other 
activities related to trafficking, such as trafficking for 
sexual exploitation, the use of threats, violence or fraud, 
the involvement of minors, or the placing of the victim's 
life in danger (these latter offences increasing the penalty 
to 6 to 12 years).  Passage of this law was a specific goal 
for Spain in the country objectives set by G/TIP last summer. 
 
B. The penalty for trafficking in persons for sexual 
exploitation is 5 to 10 years in prison, increasing to 6 to 
12 years if aggravating circumstances are present.  The 
penalty for trafficking in persons for labor exploitation is 
2 to 5 years and a fine. 
 
C. The penalty for rape is 6 to 12 years in prison, 
increasing to a possible 15 years with aggravating 
circumstances.  The penalty for sexual assault is 1 to 4 
years in prison, increasing to 4 to 10 years with aggravating 
circumstances. 
 
D. The SNP reports a total of 677 trafficking networks 
dismantled, with 2,028 responsible individuals arrested in 
2003.  Sentencing guidelines call for 5 to 10 years in 
prison, with an increase to 6 to 12 years with aggravating 
circumstances.  Detailed data of individual sentences are 
recorded at the local and regional jurisdiction levels, and 
the Spanish General Council of the Judiciary is tabulating 
these records to provide the Embassy statistics on sentencing 
for trafficking crimes.  This effort should be completed 
shortly.  The Embassy's Locally Employed Staff lawyer in the 
Consular Section conducted a sampling of individual 
sentencing records that are available on an Internet site for 
Spanish legal professionals.  All records sampled were 
covered by the pre-September 2003 sentencing guidelines of 2 
to 4 years, and showed an average sentence of three years for 
trafficking offences.  Once sentenced, Spanish prisoners must 
generally serve 75% of their sentences before being eligible 
for parole. 
 
E. Trafficking into Spain is generally controlled by 
organized criminal gangs, who are especially prevalent in 
trafficking for sexual exploitation.  The largest such groups 
are Romanian criminal organizations that traffic prostitutes, 
often luring victims with false offers of employment. 
Victims and the criminal organizations that traffic them are 
generally of the same nationality.  There were no reports of 
involvement by Spanish government officials, and government 
corruption is not a problem in Spain.  Profits from 
trafficking both stay with the traffickers in Spain and are 
channeled back to associates of the same criminal 
organization in the country of origin. 
 
F. The government actively investigates cases of trafficking. 
 Law enforcement agencies are permitted by law, and use in 
practice, active investigative techniques such as phone taps, 
undercover operations and surveillance activities. 
 
G. The government provides specialized 
anti-trafficking-in-persons training to law enforcement 
agencies.  Training is provided to recruits at the Spanish 
National Police Academy in Avila, and is also mandatory for 
candidates for promotion to the inspector level.  The NGO 
Project Hope has been involved in teaching courses on 
trafficking in persons and victims assistance at the SNP 
Academy. 
 
H. Spain cooperates with several countries of origin, as well 
as with the EU, Interpol and Europol, to investigate 
trafficking cases.  The SNP reports that in 2003, they 
cooperated in investigations in countries of origin that 
resulted in the arrests of 303 individuals and the 
dismantling of 194 organized trafficking networks. 
 
I. The government can extradite persons charged with 
trafficking, including its own nationals.  Spanish officials 
identified seven extraditions for trafficking-related 
offences this period (three Romanians, and one each from 
Lithuania, Albania, Ukraine, and the Czech Republic). 
 
J. There is no evidence of government involvement in 
trafficking or tolerance of trafficking at any level of the 
government. 
 
K.  There were no cases of government officials involved with 
trafficking in persons this period. 
 
L. The government has ratified all of the mentioned 
instruments. Dates of ratification are: 
ILO Convention 182 - April 2, 2001 
ILO Convention 29 - August 29, 1932 
ILO Convention 105 - November 6, 1967 
Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the 
Child - December 18, 2001 
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in 
Persons, Especially Women and Children - March 1, 2002 
 
21. PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
 
A. The government provides assistance to trafficking victims. 
 Medical attention is provided through the national health 
care system.  The government funds various NGOs to provide 
shelter, counseling and psychological assistance, legal 
assistance, job training, placement and reinsertion services, 
and assistance in obtaining visas that are available for 
victims who testify against traffickers.  The primary 
assistance NGO, Project Hope, reports that financing by the 
government was increased this year and that its funding is 
sufficient to implement their programs.  Providing additional 
support for comprehensive victims assistance services was a 
specific goal set in the G/TIP objectives for Spain last 
summer. With increased funding this year, Project Hope 
reports that problems with providing victims services at peak 
volumes, which had been a problem in previous years, has been 
resolved for this 2003-2004 period.  HIV/AIDS tests are 
provided to trafficking victims.  Project Hope reports that 
there is a low percentage of positive tests. 
 
B. The government funds NGOs to provide the majority of 
victim assistance services.  NGOs submit annual proposals for 
services to the government and receive yearly grants to fund 
those proposals. 
 
C. Trafficking victims are referred directly from the SNP and 
Civil Guard to Project Hope, or other NGOs in areas not 
served by Project Hope. 
 
D. Trafficking victims who agree to cooperate in the 
prosecution of traffickers receive special treatment and are 
processed separately from the criminal population.  Those who 
fulfill promises to testify are eligible for visas to stay in 
Spain, and the victim assistance NGOs aid those individuals 
in applying for visas.  Those victims who choose not to 
cooperate are repatriated, which must legally occur within 40 
days.  Project Hope provides those waiting for repatriation 
with all their normal services, except for the visa 
application aid.  Victims who testify do not face prosecution 
for prostitution, and can have their immigration status 
normalized by means of the previously described visas. 
 
E. The government actively encourages victims to assist in 
the investigation and prosecution of traffickers.  Victims 
may seek legal action against traffickers and receive 
restitution from them, though this process is combined with 
the criminal prosecution, not in a separate civil suit as in 
the United States.  Government-funded NGOs provide legal 
assistance to victims and no impediments to access to legal 
redress were reported.  Victims testifying against an 
employer may seek visas that allow for employment in Spain. 
There is a victims restitution program. 
F. The government may provide witness protection in the form 
of allowing witnesses to remain anonymous, detailing police 
escorts and providing economic assistance.  The government 
provides these protections in practice to victims the 
presiding judge determines to be at risk. 
 
G. The government provides specialized training (in both 
recognition of trafficking and in victim assistance) to law 
enforcement officers at the academy recruit level, and again 
for candidates for promotion to inspector.  Project Hope is 
involved in the recruit training, which is held at the SNP 
Academy in Avila.  The chief and deputy-chief of the SNP's 
UCRIF Unit have been involved in the training for the 
inspector candidates.  Spain provides financial and 
repatriation assistance to its citizens at its embassies and 
consulates; however, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' 
Consular Division reports that they have never received 
reports of Spaniards becoming victims of trafficking rings 
overseas.  Spain is almost exclusively a destination country 
for trafficking.  The SNP does consult with Spanish embassies 
and consulates on trafficking in persons investigations. 
 
H.  The government provides for medical assistance, economic 
assistance and repatriation for its citizens through Spanish 
embassies and consulates, however, the Ministry of Foreign 
Affairs says it is not aware of Spanish citizens becoming 
victims of trafficking. 
 
I.  NGOs are funded by the government to provide victims 
assistance, including shelter, legal aid, counseling and 
psychological assistance, and job training, placement and 
reinsertion services.  NGOs funded include Project Hope, the 
Association for Attention, Prevention and Reinsertion of 
Women Prostitutes (APRAMP), the Voluntary Association of 
Dominican Mothers (VOMADE), Association for Cooperation in 
the South-the Segovias (ACSUR), Association of Raped Women, 
General Association in Defense of the Rights of Prostitutes 
(HETAIRA), Villa Teresita Safe House, CARITAS, the Red Cross, 
and Hermanos Oblatas.  The main NGO contractor, Project Hope, 
reports that the NGOs cooperate fully with both the SNP and 
the Civil Guard. 
ARGYROS