US embassy cable - 05ATHENS2802

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 ATHENS 002802 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR EUR/SE, G/TIP 
HHS FOR A/S WADE HORN AND SPECIAL ASSISTANT PEDRO MORENO 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM, ELAB, PREL, PREF, GR, TIP 
SUBJECT: HHS ASSISTANT SECRETARY ADVANCES AGENDA ON TIP AND 
REFUGEE ISSUES 
 
REF: ATHENS 2635 AND PREVIOUS 
 
1.  (U) SUMMARY:  Dr. Wade Horn, Assistant Secretary for 
Children and Families at the U.S. Department of Health and 
Human Services, shared domestic U.S. policy and his 
compelling experiences on trafficking in persons, welfare 
issues, pension reform, and refugee integration during his 
October 9-11 visit to Athens.  Horn's messages on the 
benefits of close government-NGO cooperation on TIP, the 
positive U.S. experience of refugee integration, and his 
agency's success in empowering welfare recipients through 
employment, among other topics, were so well received by 
government officials, law enforcement, NGOs, IOs, and think 
tank experts that many interlocutors asked for follow-up 
information.  Horn's explanation of U.S. refugee acceptance 
and integration efforts were the highlight of a well-attended 
Public Affairs-hosted panel discussion on "Refugee Status in 
Receiving Countries."  Officials appreciated receiving 
first-hand information on domestic U.S. policy from a high 
level policy-maker.  Post would welcome similar visits in the 
future. END SUMMARY. 
 
GoG Officials Interested in U.S. Labor and Pension Reform 
--------------------------------------------- ------------ 
2.  (U)  As a follow on to the April OECD Ministerial in 
Paris, A/S Horn accepted Minister of Employment and Social 
Protection Panos Panayiotopoulos' invitation to visit Athens. 
 Dr. Horn and Minister Panayiotopoulos had a lengthy and 
wide-ranging introductory discussion on U.S. and Greek 
pension reform, the U.S. "Welfare to Work" program, and 
trafficking in persons (TIP).  During a meeting at the 
Ministry of Health (MOH) with Deputy Minister George 
Konstantopoulos, Secretary General Joanna Despotopoulou, and 
nearly a dozen key staff, the eager officials inquired about 
U.S. pension reform, welfare reform, and disability benefits. 
 The officials commented that Horn and his programs are "well 
known to doctors of Greece" and sought to benefit from his 
expertise and success in implementing new initiatives.  Horn 
detailed U.S. policies such as disability criteria and 
"Welfare to Work" goals, offering to provide follow-up 
material as needed.  An article published in the 
English-language Athens News described Horn's discussions on 
labor and pension reforms, and quoted Horn explaining U.S. 
reforms. 
 
Sharing Best Practices on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) 
--------------------------------------------- --------- 
3.  (U)  In TIP-focused meetings with a variety of officials, 
and at a dinner at the Ambassador's residence with key 
members of the GoG's Interministerial Council on TIP, Horn 
gave practical and attainable examples of U.S. anti-TIP 
initiatives and challenges faced in the U.S.  Horn described 
HHS' experience overcoming low initial penetration of its 
victim hotline, a similar problem the MOH faces with its 197 
line, by targeting local health and law enforcement 
authorities to make referrals rather than expecting victims 
to call in themselves.  In an apparent reference to Greece's 
tier ranking on the 2005 TIP report, the Deputy Minister of 
Public Order compared the number of victims and trafficking 
arrests in Greece last year to lower numbers in the U.S. 
cited by Horn, sardonically questioning why, then, there is 
continued U.S. criticism of Greece.  Pointing out the 
cross-border nature of TIP, Horn suggested that ongoing 
international cooperation, as well as close NGO cooperation, 
are useful methods to fight TIP in every country.  The head 
of the anti-TIP unit, Major Tonia Andriakou noted that the 
police have "very good relationships with NGOs." 
 
4.  (U)  During a private meeting with representatives of 
three anti-TIP NGOs, the outspoken activists detailed the 
"deficient and inconsistent" cooperation of the Greek 
authorities with NGOs on combating TIP, lengthy delays in 
promised GoG funding, and frustration at working with a 
bureaucracy that sometimes treats victims as criminals. 
Representatives from the European Network for Women, which 
runs a shelter and multilingual hotline, described the case 
of a recent victim they sheltered.  The victim agreed to have 
her statement taken by police after assurances from the 
special prosecutor that she would not be detained.  After her 
deposition, however, she was detained for a week due to her 
illegal visa status.  Horn remarked on the parallel problems 
in the U.S., explaining that against his protests, obvious 
victims of child-trafficking have been deported from the U.S. 
based on illegal residence status.  For this reason, he 
continued, education campaigns and training of health and law 
enforcement authorities must be an ongoing priority in every 
country. 
 
Refugee Panel Highlights Integration Efforts in U.S 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
5.  (U)  Post took advantage of Dr. Horn's expertise on HHS' 
refugee resettlement program to host a panel discussion with 
the UN High Commissioner for Refugees' Deputy Director in 
Greece and the Chief of Mission of the International 
Organization for Migration in Greece on "Refugee Status in 
Receiving Countries."  The audience of more than twenty 
government officials, IO and NGO representatives discussed 
the limited granting of refugee status in Greece, detention 
conditions, and the handling of asylum-seeking children who 
are separated from their families.  The panel discussion 
offered Horn a good opportunity to detail the number of 
refugees accepted into the U.S. and to highlight his agency's 
efforts to integrate those refugees into U.S. society. 
 
6.  (U) COMMENT:  The visit of HHS A/S Horn was a rare 
opportunity to share U.S. domestic best practices directly 
with our interlocutors.  Most of our contacts were extremely 
receptive and had seemingly unlimited questions for the 
Assistant Secretary.  Horn's discussion of TIP from the 
perspective of someone who is "in the trenches," rather than 
someone monitoring the fight, was a productive variation on 
our normal TIP approach.  The refugee panel was an useful 
opportunity to go beyond our analysis of the refugee 
situation in Greece to offer concrete examples of the U.S. 
approach.  We will follow up on the points raised during the 
successful meetings and welcome a follow-up visit in the 
future.  END COMMENT. 
RIES