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Viewing cable 09DUSSELDORF37, DECREASE IN REPORTED TIP CASES IN NRW COULD HIDE ADDITIONAL

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09DUSSELDORF37 2009-09-25 10:46 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY Consulate Dusseldorf
VZCZCXRO4374
RR RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHDF #0037/01 2681046
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251046Z SEP 09
FM AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0234
INFO RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL CQCTIVE
RUEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFIUU/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHDF/AMCONSUL DUSSELDORF 0250
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 DUSSELDORF 000037 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, EUR/CE, EUR/PGI, DRL, G-AC, INL, AND PRM 
STATE - PLEASE PASS TO USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB GM
SUBJECT: DECREASE IN REPORTED TIP CASES IN NRW COULD HIDE ADDITIONAL 
VICTIMS 
 
DUSSELDORF 00000037  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
1.  (U) Summary:  The number of human trafficking perpetrators 
and known victims in North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) decreased 
significantly from last year, but the statistics likely do not 
capture the full numbers of trafficking perpetrators and 
victims.   Most victims are non-German with many coming from new 
EU member states in Eastern Europe, meaning they entered Germany 
legally and were usually working legally.  Because fewer laws 
are broken due to the EU expansion and changes in German law 
legalizing prostitution, police face challenges in starting TIP 
investigations as suspicions of residency violations and/or 
prostitution do not provide grounds to open a case.   End 
summary. 
 
 
 
2. (U) The number of identified trafficking in persons (TIP) 
perpetrators continued to sink from 124 in 2007 to 101 in 2008, 
marking the lowest number in 10 years.  The perpetrators are 
predominantly foreign, with the NRW State Police (LKA) reporting 
that 56 suspects were non-German, while 29 were German (down 
from 63 and 55 respectively in 2007, with the remainder 
unidentified in the report).  The foreign perpetrators stem 
mostly from Romania, Poland, Bulgaria and Turkey.   The 40% drop 
in known victims was even sharper, from 130 in 2007 to 79 in 
2008, but it should be noted that 2007 had an exceptionally high 
number due to a few large cases.  Almost 3/4 of the victims 
(71%) were non-German, coming primarily from Eastern Europe, 
particularly Bulgaria and Romania. 
 
 
 
3. (SBU) Barbara Meier-Beck, expert at the NRW Ministry of 
Generations, Family, Women and Integration on TIP, told Poloff 
that she expects the number of unreported cases of TIP victims 
has remained static because the poor economic situation in 
Eastern Europe hasn't improved.   The LKA predicts that the 
number of human trafficking proceedings will remain static or 
decrease marginally, and our other source predicts that, given 
the long-term economic development that comes with EU 
membership, the number of victims from traditional source 
countries will eventually decline. 
 
 
 
4. (U) The number of victims appears smaller mostly because the 
expansion of the EU has made it more difficult for the police to 
track human trafficking activity.  Only 14% of victims were 
illegally in Germany, and the majority of those only became 
illegal by working.  Significantly, more (65%, compared with 
2007's 54%) proceedings were initiated by the victim's complaint 
and fewer (17%, compared with 2007's 28%) came from police 
investigations.   Due to legalized prostitution, nearly half 
(47%) of victims' activity was registered, although our source 
in NRW government considers the legalization of prostitution 
less relevant than the decrease in border control. 
 
 
 
5. (SBU) The eight NGOs in NRW dedicated to TIP issues play a 
vital role in investigating trafficking cases.  With fewer raids 
on brothels recently due to the legalization of prostitution, 
the NGOs work to find victims directly by maintaining contact 
with other sex workers and assisting potential victims. 
According to Meier-Beck, an NGO in Dortmund reports receiving up 
to 30 tips a week from customers about prostitutes they suspect 
are forced to do sex work.  NGOs organize conferences among the 
police, LKA, and government representatives from the EU and 
source countries.  The police cooperate closely with 
organizations that support victims, considering them essential 
in stabilizing the victims and housing witnesses.  The victims, 
coming from southeastern Europe and Africa, are often unfamiliar 
with NGOs, and their mistrust of these organizations makes them 
likely to refuse counseling. 
 
 
 
6. (U) NRW is a trafficking transit and destination site, with 
traffickers frequently relocating the victims, largely within 
the EU Schengen zone, to keep them isolated and unfamiliar with 
their surroundings, and also to offer customers different 
options.   African victims are commonly brought in through the 
Netherlands, and are particularly challenging for NRW NGOs to 
establish contact with because of cultural differences.  Another 
 
DUSSELDORF 00000037  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
growing trend involves women who travel willingly to Germany for 
sex work, but are then forced to work off real or invented debts 
under physical and/or psychological threat, often with their 
identification confiscated. 
 
 
 
7. (SBU) Comment:  The lower reported figures of both victims 
and suspects do not necessarily reflect a decrease in human 
trafficking for sexual exploitation.  While legalized and 
monitored prostitution, combined with open EU borders, have 
complicated the work of the police, possibly resulting in a 
decrease of police-initiated cases in NRW, the rise in 
victim-initiated cases could be due to more NGOs and other 
assistance providers being active in the field and supporting 
victims in bringing cases forward.  NGOs are trying to fill the 
gap and find more victims, but they face different obstacles. 
As long as there is demand in NRW, economic development of one 
source country will only result in victims coming from a 
different, more underdeveloped, country. 
 
 
 
8. (U) This message was coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
WEINER