US embassy cable - 04BRATISLAVA1018

UNCLAS  BRATISLAVA 001018 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP JENNIFER TOPPING 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, PGOV, SOCI, LO 
SUBJECT: SLOVAK TIP MID-YEAR UPDATE 
 
 
1.  Summary.  Jennifer Topping, from the Office of 
Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP), visited Slovakia from 
October 22 to 26.  Topping applauded the efforts of law 
enforcement officials in investigating trafficking cases. 
She also encouraged officials to consider broader 
governmental coordination on anti-TIP initiatives by forming 
an interagency working group and appointing a trafficking 
point of contact.  In the framework of her visit, the 
embassy organized discussions with trafficking organizations 
and relevant officials to facilitate communication about the 
trafficking situation in Slovakia.  End Summary. 
 
Discussion and Working Groups 
----------------------------- 
 
2.  Trafficking is assumed by some observers to be more of a 
problem in larger cities close to borders, but areas in the 
middle of the country report more trafficking cases. 
Discussions organized in Banska Bystrica, the regional 
capital of Central Slovakia, confirmed that coordination for 
victim assistance between NGOs and law enforcement is 
lacking in these areas, more so than in the capital.  In 
January 2003, Justice Minister Lipsic founded an interagency 
working group to discuss solutions to strengthen victim 
protection laws and procedures in Slovakia.  The group has 
met twice during the course of 2004 with success.  Recently, 
Parliament passed a new law on victim assistance requiring 
police to provide victims of any crime a list of 
organizations that can help them.  Trafficking organizations 
stated that this will help foster closer cooperation between 
law enforcement officers and active NGOs. 
 
Criminal Code Changes and New Police Practices 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
3. Parliament approved the UN Protocol to Suppress 
Trafficking in Persons in May, and it was ratified on Sept 
21.   According to EU directives and UN requirements, 
Parliament recently amended relevant trafficking legislation 
to reflect that the crime of trafficking occurs both within 
the country's border and across the country's borders.  The 
Head of the Anti-Trafficking Unit at the Police Presidium, 
Anna Babincova, stated that the legal definition of 
trafficking was expanded to include that the trafficker must 
use fraudulent means, violence, threat, or other forms of 
coercion to elicit agreement from a victim older than 18 
years person for a crime of trafficking. 
 
4. Babincova also outlined some new initiatives from the 
anti-trafficking unit.  By January 2005, a central anonymous 
information hotline for tips about traffickers or victims 
will become operational.  She stated that police sometimes 
receive useful information pertaining to trafficking 
networks, but often too late.  The Ministry of Interior 
(MOI) postponed the plan within the reorganization of the 
police to change the anti-trafficking unit to a department. 
It continues to remain a unit under the directorship of the 
Bureau of Organized Crime. 
 
New Ministry of Labor (MOL) Lottery Grants 
------------------------------------------ 
 
5.  Several anti-trafficking NGOs this year received money 
from Ministry of Labor (MOL) grants funded through the state 
lottery system.  Ivan Mako, the director of the Young Roma 
Association, received 100,000 SK (3,225 USD) to operate an 
awareness program for at-risk Roma communities in Central 
Slovakia.  Dafne, an organization that assists returned 
victims, estimated that 46 percent of their clients were 
Roma.  Andrea Bucek, Director of the Regional Roma 
Plenipotentiary's Office, stated that this crime is a 
problem in Roma communities and needs to be addressed, 
however more immediate concerns (e.g. education, housing, 
employment) have taken precedence. 
 
6.  Two organizations are looking for funds to begin 
operating a full-time anonymous shelter specifically to 
assist and protect TIP victims.  Dafne has much of the 
necessary funding through foreign donors and the regional 
government to operate a shelter, which will cost 
approximately 130,000 USD a year.  They are currently 
negotiating with the municipal government to acquire a 
recently closed school, but the city wants to sell it for 
three million more crowns (125,000 USD) than Dafne can 
afford.  Another organization applied for money but was only 
given a third of what it needed.  With no other donors, the 
organization will likely return the money. 
 
Comment 
------- 
 
7.  A UN project slated to begin in Slovakia to support 
legal analysis, the preparation of a National Action Plan, 
and materials for the anti-trafficking unit continues to be 
delayed.  The MOI, the ministry responsible for the TIP 
agenda, has not made initial progress in these areas without 
the dispersal of project funds.  Fortunately, the MOI and 
police have been able to increasingly partner with a number 
of more active NGOs for training and public awareness 
activities to combat trafficking.  The embassy will continue 
to meet with government officials about the necessity of 
increasing inter-governmental cooperation on TIP issues. 
 
8. This cable was not cleared by Ms. Topping. 
 
WEISER 
 
 
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