US embassy cable - 04ROME4454

UNCLAS  ROME 004454 
 
SIPDIS 
 
 
DEPT FOR G-TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PREL, PHUM, IT 
SUBJECT: ITALY:  HHS A/S HORN PROMOTES TIP INITIATIVES 
 
1.  This is an action request.  G-TIP, please see para 8. 
 
2.  Summary:  HHS A/S for Children and Families visited Rome 
to discuss pro-family initiatives and trafficking in persons 
with Italian and Vatican officials and NGOs.  A lunch hosted 
by the DCM prompted several TIP initiatives, including a 
request for a joint DVC with U.S. and Italian experts on 
victims' assistance.  End Summary. 
 
3.  HHS A/S for Children and Families Dr. Wade Horn visited 
Rome Nov 7-10 at the invitation of Deputy PM (now also FM) 
Fini to discuss pro-family initiatives and trafficking in 
persons with Italian and Vatican officials and NGOs.  During 
a lunch on trafficking hosted by DCM, Dr. Horn told Italian 
officials from the Ministries of Interior and Welfare and 
representatives from NGOs PARSEC (which fights trafficking) 
and ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Pornography and 
Trafficking) that the U.S. had just begun to combat its role 
as a receiving state for trafficked persons.  Since 2000, 
there had been increased realization of the problem and a new 
effort to promote public awareness campaigns on TIP. 
Although we have programs to assist victims, we have only 
begun to identify those victims and much more work needs to 
be done. He strongly urged Italy to bolster its efforts at 
fighting traficking and to reduce the demand for 
prostitution that so often relies on trafficking victims. 
 
4.  The Italians briefed Horn on the nature of trafficking 
issues in Italy.  The number of different ethnic cultures 
involved made victim identification, police action and 
victims' assistance complex.  For example, trafficking of 
Albanians occurred through highly organized crime rings while 
Nigerians (who comprise the majority of prostitutes) operated 
more independently.  More efficient police action was pushing 
prostitution off the streets and into apartments where it was 
much more difficult to monitor and where victims were more 
difficult to reach.  Crime syndicates were becoming more 
sophisticated at moving trafficked persons from city to city 
and across borders.  The new wave of illegal immigrants 
flooding Sicily dramatically increased the potential for 
additional trafficking and forced labor, but the Government 
had limited resources to deal with the influx.  The Ministry 
of Interior representative insisted that the Government 
continues to process illegal immigrants for asylum claims and 
possible trafficking victims.  All the Italian participants 
praised the new 2003 anti-trafficking law but admitted that 
it would take time for all police and magistrates to fully 
implement it.  There was still some official and public 
confusion about the difference between illegal immigration 
and trafficking issues. 
 
5.  The representative from the Ministry of Labor and Welfare 
explained government programs to assist victims but agreed 
that, to date, too few victims had been re-integrated into 
Italian society.  There were adequate laws to provide for 
repatriation and integration, but often victims faced 
persecution if they returned home and those who applied for 
integration assistance faced the glacial pace of progress 
through the Italian bureaucracy.  The Ministry was working to 
improve the process, and they believed that increased 
awareness of the need to integrate the immigrant community at 
large would likely assist in this effort over the longer 
term.  There were also government programs at the municipal 
and regional levels that actively supported the 
anti-trafficking work of NGOs. 
 
6.  Horn asked about child labor and trafficking and was told 
there were approximately 2,000 children involved in street 
prostitution throughout Italy.  There were also some problems 
of sweatshops in the leather industry, primarily in 
family-owned businesses.  However, Italian law provided 
absolutely for services to assist child trafficking victims 
brought here with or without parents. The ECPAT 
representative also described Italian government efforts to 
crack down on child pornography over the Internet. 
 
7.  The NGO representatives strongly supported efforts to 
reduce demand for prostitution, but admitted this was a 
culturally delicate question.  They estimated that perhaps 
half of the adult male population had (legally) engaged the 
services of a prostitute.  To reduce demand it was necessary 
to begin in elementary schools to change the culture. They 
welcomed ideas from the U.S. on how to approach an adult 
population.  Horn's office promised to provide information on 
the public service announcements used by the U.S. military to 
highlight the connection between prostitution and trafficking. 
 
8.  PARSEC's representative proposed a DVC where U.S. and 
Italian experts could share best practices and a follow-up 
report would be published in English and Italian focusing on 
legislation, investigations and prosecution on the subjects 
of demand reduction and victims' assistance.  Action request 
for G-TIP:  Post would be delighted to arrange the DVC if 
 
G-TIP can identify potential candidates and arrange a 
mutually convenient time.  PARSEC has requested assistance 
from the Italian Ministry of Equal Opportunity to fund the 
research and publication of this study. 
 
SEMBLER 
 
 
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	2004ROME04454 - Classification: UNCLASSIFIED