INDEPENDENT NEWS

Cablegate: Turkey: Fifth Annual Tip Report Update

Published: Wed 2 Mar 2005 07:38 AM
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 03 ANKARA 001097
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, INL/CTR, DRL, PRM, IWI
DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/SE, EUR/PGI
DEPARTMENT FOR USAID
DEPARTMENT PLS PASS ALL AID MISSIONS IN EUROPE
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB TU TIP IN TURKEY
SUBJECT: TURKEY: FIFTH ANNUAL TIP REPORT UPDATE
REF: A) SECSTATE 273089 B) ANKARA 589 C) ANKARA 590
D) ANKARA 591 E) ANKARA 592 F) ANKARA 903
1. (U) Sensitive but unclassified. Please protect accordingly.
2. (U) Post's responses are keyed to questions in Reftel A,
supplementing responses submitted previously in Reftels B, C,
D, and E. Embassy point of contact is Maria Lane. Lane
(rank: FS-05) spent approximately 20 hours in preparation of
this report. Political Counselor John Kunstadter (rank:
FS-01) spent approximately 2 hours in preparation of this
report.
Overview
--------
A. (SBU) Between January 1, 2005 and February 25, 2005, the
International Organization of Migration (IOM) alone assisted
36 trafficked individuals, more than half the total of 66 for
the entire year of 2004. IOM Strategic Consultant Allan
Freedman believes that this increase is due to Turkish law
enforcement working more aggressively to identify victims of
trafficking and referring them to IOM.
B. (U) For the 239 foreign victims identified in 2004 data
compiled by the Ministry of Interior, the source countries
were distributed as follows: Moldova (62), Russia (61),
Ukraine (26), Azerbaijan (23), Kyrgyzstan (19), Georgia (16),
Romania (11), Kazakhstan (9), Uzbekistan (5), Turkmenistan
(3), Belarus (2), and Iran (1). In 2005 to date, IOM has
repatriated victims to the following countries: Ukraine (24),
Moldova (5), Russia (5), Kazakhstan (4), Georgia (1), Belarus
(1), and Uzbekistan (1) (data for seven were unavailable).
In 2005, twenty-one victims were between 19 and 25 years old.
Five victims were older than 26, and four were between 16
and 18 years old.
G. (U) In addition to GOT efforts described in reftels B, C,
D, and E, on February 11, 2005 the GOT launched a joint
anti-trafficking campaign with IOM. The GOT is contributing
100,000 USD to the campaign, launched at an MFA press
conference (see reftel F). This campaign, to be implemented
by IOM in coordination with the GOT, includes the following
activities:
--PREVENTION: Turk Telecom and the GOT agreed on the new
hotline number 157 for victims of trafficking. IOM will
operate the hotline in its first six-month "training period,"
then turned over to a qualified NGO. The anti-trafficking
campaign will also include public awareness targeting
potential victims, the general public, and those creating a
"demand" for trafficked victims. Potential/actual victims
will be given a passport insert at the border highlighting
the hotline number. IOM will work with an Istanbul-based
survey firm to develop two messages, one geared at the
general public and one raising awareness of the "clients" to
make them part of the solution.
--PROTECTION: As part of the anti-trafficking campaign, staff
working at the Istanbul shelter for trafficking victims run
by Human Resource Development Foundation (HRDF) completed
training focusing on base shelter operations, psychological,
and social assistance. The Ankara municipality has also
committed to supporting a shelter in Ankara. MFA officials,
together with MinInt officials, IOM, and HRDF, will select an
NGO to run the Ankara shelter in early March 2005. In
mid-February, 2005, 1500 Jandarma recruits attended a
counter-terrorism orientation program presented by IOM at the
Jandarma's request. MinInt Departments of Public Order and
Organized Crime have also requested training, at their own
expense.
--PROSECUTION: Sweeping revisions to the Turkish penal code,
which enter into effect April 1, 2005, include stiffened
penalties for traffickers and wider definitions of human
trafficking. As preparation, the Ministry of Justice is
currently conducting 5-day workshops around the country,
training a total of 6,000 prosecutors and judges in the new
changes to the law. Article 80, governing human trafficking,
is included in the training.
Prevention
----------
C. (U) The MFA released a press statement on February 11,
2005 launching an anti-trafficking campaign, which was
covered in all the major Turkish dailies. The project is
funded by a 600,000 USD ESF grant and a 100,000 USD in-kind
contribution from the GOT. A large component of the project
is public awareness, as described in excerpts from the press
release:
BEGIN TEXT: On February 11, 2005, the Government of Turkey
launched the "Counter-Trafficking Now!" campaign. The
one-year project is aimed at preventing trafficking in human
beings through a nationwide information and awareness
campaign and stepped up law enforcement. Safe housing and
other assistance to trafficked persons is also part of the
$700,000 USD initiative. The project will be implemented by
the International Organization for Migration, funded by the
U.S. Government (sic) and coordinated by the Government of
Turkey. Key activities include:
Information and Awareness: The initiative would fund the
first nationwide information and awareness campaign about the
realities of human trafficking in Turkey. Potential
trafficked individuals will receive information at key border
crossings. These handouts will include key facts on the
danger signs of trafficking and include the three-digit
national toll-free telephone hotline for emergency
assistance. When fully operational this spring, the hotline
may be called anywhere, anytime from any phone, including
mobiles. Trafficked individuals are routinely tricked and
deceived before and after they cross the border by promises
of good jobs, only to be forced to work in the sex industry
and elsewhere against their will and for no pay. The
campaign will also target the general public with television
and radio advertisements and an international web site on
human trafficking in Turkey and what we can all do to combat
human trafficking. END TEXT.
Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers
--------------------------------------------
D. (SBU) According to statistics obtained by the MFA,
prosecutions were opened against 227 suspected traffickers
who were caught. (Note: According to judicial contacts in
Ankara, when there is any evidence about the committal of a
crime, the case must be brought to trial, even if evidence is
not strong. Contacts estimated that one-third of the cases
are dismissed for lack of evidence. End Note.) MFA and MOJ
officials cite difficulties in gathering and tracking data on
human trafficking from the 80 courts with jurisdiction over
the issue. In addition to the logistical problems in
gathering information, there is some degree of confusion in
the lower courts over distinctions between trafficking in
persons and illegal migration. As a result, MOJ officials
gathering TIP data sometimes have to make the determination
themselves whether a case is properly labeled trafficking in
persons.
G. (U) In February, 2005, the MOJ began a series of five-day
training programs for judges and prosecutors dealing with the
new changes to the Penal Code, Execution of Punishments Law,
and Criminal Procedural Code. Over 150 trainers will travel
to 19 centers throughout the country to train 6,000 judges
and prosecutors. According to Ilyas Pehlivan from the MOJ
Training Department, the new Article 80 regarding human
trafficking will be included, though the amount of time
devoted to each section will vary according to the region's
priorities. In mid-February, more than 50 prosecutors and
judges from Ankara participated in a workshop on prosecuting
TIP cases organized by IOM and Embassy Ankara Public Affairs,
with support from the MOJ. Dr. Cetin Arslan, Public
Prosecutor for the Supreme Court, outlined the recent changes
in Turkish law on human trafficking, and Barbara Carlin, RLA
in Skopje, worked with participants to develop strategies to
prosecute traffickers and analyze case studies.
Protection and Assistance to Victims
------------------------------------
F. (U) In addition to the Istanbul shelter, for which the
Istanbul Municipality contributes rent, concrete plans are
underway for opening another shelter in Ankara. The Ankara
Municipality has pledged to support the shelter's rent and
other in-kind contributions (e.g., electricity, etc.). Aside
from physical protection such as the Istanbul shelter, the
MinInt has issued circulars instructing that victims are
treated and protected in the following ways:
-- Assigning female personnel in civil clothing to the
victims in their operations at their request;
-- Taking measures to prevent victims being in the same area
as traffickers and accomplices when they are needed for
identification;
-- Taking measures to prevent victims from being exposed
during investigation and repatriation, including allowing
them to go directly to the airplane and bypass passport
control;
-- Providing for rehabilitation and treatment of victims;
-- Taking special measures to safeguard child victims.
In surveys conducted by IOM source country offices regarding
victims' treatment by police/jandarma/law enforcement in
Turkey, 99% indicated that they had been treated well, with
one victim stating that she was not treated well.
EDELMAN
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