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Viewing cable 09HAMBURG25, MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN OPENS TIP COUNSELING CENTER - ALL

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Reference ID Created Released Classification Origin
09HAMBURG25 2009-08-07 08:36 2011-08-24 01:00 UNCLASSIFIED Consulate Hamburg
VZCZCXRO7151
RR RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSL RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHAG #0025/01 2190836
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 070836Z AUG 09
FM AMCONSUL HAMBURG
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 0288
INFO RUEHRL/AMEMBASSY BERLIN 0256
RUCNFRG/FRG COLLECTIVE
RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHAG/AMCONSUL HAMBURG 0329
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 HAMBURG 000025 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, DRL, EUR, INL,PRM 
STATE - PLEASE PASS TO USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG ASEC KFRD ELAB PREF GM
SUBJECT: MECKLENBURG-VORPOMMERN OPENS TIP COUNSELING CENTER - ALL 
STATES NOW COVERED 
 
HAMBURG 00000025  001.2 OF 002 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION 
 
 
 
1.  (U) SUMMARY:  On May 4, a counseling center for victims of 
forced prostitution and trafficking-in-persons (TIP) opened in 
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern (M-V).  With this new center, all sixteen 
German federal states now host NGOs explicitly dedicated to TIP. 
 M-V registers approximately 20 TIP cases annually, but due to 
victims often not coming forward to authorities this figure 
likely under represents the true number of cases, which is 
believed to be substantially higher.  END SUMMARY. 
 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
---------------------------------- 
One-Person TIP Operation Receives Local, State and National NGO 
Support 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
---------------------------------- 
 
2.  (U)  On July 16, Congen Hamburg representatives visited 
Mecklenburg-Vorpommern's newly opened Counseling Center for 
Victims of Forced Prostitution and Trafficking (ZORA) in the 
capital city of Schwerin and talked to Center Director Nicole 
Musolf.  ZORA is a one-person operation with an initial two-year 
mandate that is funded by the state of M-V.  Musolf has begun 
building a network of police, prosecutors, foreigner office, and 
other TIP NGOs on state and federal levels.  According to 
Musolf, it was through Dr. Margret Seemann's efforts as M-V 
parliamentary state secretary for women and equal opportunity 
that ZORA was created. 
 
 
3.  (U)  The supporting organization of ZORA is the Worker's 
Welfare Organization - Section Schwerin-Parchim (AWO).  Musulf 
pointed out that AWO has substantial expertise in counseling 
victims of domestic violence and considerable experience in 
cooperating with police, the justice system and government 
offices, both factors that can be employed in providing 
comprehensive assistance to TIP victims.  Musolf added that the 
well-known anti-TIP coordinating body ("Koordinierungskreis 
gegen Frauenhandel und Gewalt an Frauen im 
Migrationsprozess/KOK") provided significant administrative 
start-up support.  She noted that ongoing support is provided 
primarily by TIP NGOs in the neighboring states of Hamburg 
(Coordination Center Against Trafficking in Women/KOOFRA) and 
Lower Saxony (Coordination and Counseling Center for Victims of 
Trafficking/KOBRA); both of these NGOs have qualified foreign 
language speakers who can counsel TIP victims in their mother 
tongue. (Note:  From our frequent interaction with the heads of 
KOOFRA and KOBRA we know that they have an extraordinarily 
dedicated staff with extensive experience assisting TIP-victims. 
 End Note.). 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
--------------- 
Interior Ministry Still Skeptical that TIP is a Problem in M-V 
--------------------------------------------- -------------- 
--------------- 
 
4.  (SBU)  Musolf believes that the state of M-V, and the 
interior ministry in particular, have underestimated the TIP 
challenge in M-V and the necessity to create a victims 
assistance organization.  To underscore this assessment Musolf 
pointed out that the M-V state criminal police (LKA) and NGOs 
assisting TIP victims have not been able to develop a successful 
working relationship over the past years, essentially because 
the interior ministry argued that given the low number of TIP 
cases in M-V, a binding cooperation agreement was not needed. 
Musolf feels that the creation of ZORA marks a clear turning 
point in how TIP is being viewed and handled in M-V, although a 
cooperation agreement has yet to be concluded. 
 
5.  (SBU)  Musolf remarked that while the interior ministry is 
not completely convinced that there is a need for a separate TIP 
organization in M-V, she is confident that ZORA will prove 
otherwise.  Getting full cooperation from state authorities is, 
however,  still an uphill battle.  Currently, M-V has nine 
shelters for battered women.  Each can accommodate only one or 
two TIP victims at any given time and TIP victims are not 
allowed to stay more than three days at a shelter, for fear, 
according to the interior ministry, that other women will be 
exposed to reprisals by pimps. 
 
 
HAMBURG 00000025  002.2 OF 002 
 
 
6.  (SBU)  COMMENT:  Prior to the opening of the ZORA counseling 
center, M-V authorities did not place a strong emphasis on 
providing TIP victim support services, believing that M-V is 
largely a transit, rather than a destination, state for TIP 
victims.  The opening of a TIP-specific NGO in M-V indicates 
that M-V is taking, at least for now, a new approach toward TIP 
victim assistance.  The fact that colleagues from TIP NGOs in 
neighboring states are supporting Musolf is a positive sign of 
the close and practical cooperation among TIP NGOs in northern 
Germany.  ConGen Hamburg will note its support of this 
counseling center to M-V authorities, particularly those in the 
interior ministry.  In addition, we will seek to place Musolf in 
an International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) on 
cooperative efforts in combating TIP.  END COMMENT. 
 
7.  This message has been coordinated with Embassy Berlin. 
JOHNSON