US embassy cable - 04FRANKFURT6697

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 FRANKFURT 006697 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PGOV, PHUM, KCRM, KWMN, SOCI, SMIG, GM 
SUBJECT: TIP: Rheinland-Pfalz Pioneers Innovative Concept to 
Fight Trafficking in Persons, Sees Positive Results 
 
 
Sensitive but unclassified  not for internet distribution 
 
1.  (SBU) SUMMARY: The government of Rheinland-Pfalz (R-P) 
has developed a victim-oriented approach to combating human 
trafficking that offers police protection, NGO (non- 
governmental organization) counseling, and immigration 
advice for trafficked women.  The initiative supports women 
willing to testify against trafficking syndicates.  In 
contrast to Germany's national TIP witness protection 
scheme, victims are required only to provide information 
related to their own experiences (as opposed to an 
indictment of senior figures within the trafficking 
organization) to qualify for the program.  Several other 
German states have expressed interest in adopting R-P's 
approach because of its success in procuring the cooperation 
of victims often afraid to testify against their captors. 
END SUMMARY. 
 
2.  (SBU) ConGen Frankfurt Pol/Econ representatives met with 
R-P Interior Ministry and police officials to discuss the 
state's unique approach to combating trafficking in persons. 
Officials explained that the initiative was a joint effort 
by the Ministries of Interior, Education, and Labor, the R-P 
police, and NGOs to provide comprehensive support to the 
victims of human trafficking.  The program provides 
counseling, police protection, and immigration assistance 
for those women willing to testify against human trafficking 
syndicates.  In contrast to the national-level TIP witness 
protection program, women do not have to directly finger 
senior trafficking figures or provide detailed information 
on the structures of trafficking syndicates to qualify for 
services under the R-P initiative.  Victims enjoy full 
anonymity for the length of their stay in Germany. 
 
3.  (SBU) R-P Police head of Witness Protection Wolfgang 
Merken noted that police raids are responsible for the 
discovery of most TIP victims.  Once the women agree to 
cooperate and enter police custody, they receive advice and 
aid from NGO counselors who accompany them for the duration 
of the trial.  Following the proceedings, the NGO works with 
the R-P Immigration Office to facilitate the victim's 
voluntary return home.  Those who wish to stay in the 
country are eligible to apply for asylum but are subject to 
the same immigration regulations governing other potential 
asylees.  The R-P Immigration Office assists those who do 
not qualify with repatriation to their home country. 
 
4.  (SBU) Interior Ministry officials admitted that long- 
term financing of the program had been the biggest initial 
hurdle.  Rheinland-Pfalz implemented the concept in 2003 and 
asked local communities to fund associated costs from social 
welfare budgets.  While the program helped eleven 
trafficking victims that year, local communities balked at 
the continued financial burden and refused to fund the 
initiative for 2004.  Ultimately, the Interior Ministry 
appropriated a yearly allocation of 100,000 euros (from its 
budget for the re-integration of ethnic Germans) to fund the 
program.  Merken estimates that about 20 women will qualify 
for the program this year.  The vast majority of R-P's TIP 
victims (87.2%) come from Eastern Europe, with the remainder 
hailing largely from Africa (4.3%), Asia (3.4%), and North 
America (1.4%). 
 
5.  (SBU) Interior Ministry official Eberhard Weber contends 
that information provided by victims under R-P's new program 
has increased TIP convictions and provided a deterrent to 
trafficking.  Weber cites a major recent R-P TIP conviction 
obtained through victim eyewitness testimony as proof of his 
claim (overall figures are unavailable because of the 
relative newness of the program).  Moreover, Weber asserts 
that Rheinland-Pfalz's concept and its successful 
implementation have attracted the attention of several other 
German states, including Baden-Wuerttemberg and Hesse.  The 
European Union has also expressed interest in Rheinland- 
Pfalz's initiative as part of its greater emphasis on TIP- 
related issues. 
 
6.  (SBU) COMMENT: Originally, the federal interagency anti- 
trafficking working group developed a model for interagency 
cooperation at the laender level that was offered to the 
laender for their use.  Since the laender are responsible 
for coordinating the interagency cooperation in trafficking 
victims cases, somewhat different approaches have been 
followed by each land depending on the scope of the problem 
in the land, resources, etc.  Rheinland-Pfalz's integrated 
approach to combating human trafficking springs from a need 
for credible eyewitness testimony to obtain convictions as 
well as a recognition of the physical, emotional, and social 
impact of trafficking on its victims.  The comprehensive 
approach results in a well-coordinated interagency response 
that reduces the potential for conflicts to arise between 
organizations dealing with victims of trafficking.  The 
program has also benefited from the fact that R-P has only a 
small portion of Germany's total number of TIP victims (62 
out of 805 in 2003) which keeps the scale of the program at 
a more easily managed level.  END COMMENT. 
 
7.  (U) This message has been coordinated with Embassy 
Berlin. 
 
BODDE