VZCZCXRO9944
PP RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA RUEHLN
RUEHLZ RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
DE RUEHMD #0225/01 0591604
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 281604Z FEB 08
FM AMEMBASSY MADRID
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4358
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHUJA/AMEMBASSY ABUJA 0111
RUEHBO/AMEMBASSY BOGOTA 5329
RUEHBR/AMEMBASSY BRASILIA 0605
RUEHLA/AMCONSUL BARCELONA 3333
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 10 MADRID 000225
SIPDIS
SENSITIVE
SIPDIS
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, EUR/PGI, EUR/WE
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS TO USAID
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN SMIG KFRD ASEC PREF ELAB SP
SUBJECT: EIGHTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT
FOR SPAIN
REF: A. SECSTATE 2731
B. SECSTATE 7205
MADRID 00000225 001.2 OF 010
1. (SBU) Pursuant to REFTEL A, the following is input from
Embassy Madrid and CG Barcelona for the eighth annual
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Embassy POC is Political
Officer Matt Osborne, Tel. (34) 91-587-2294, Fax. (34)
91-587-2391.
Staff hours spent in preparation of this report are as
follows:
POLITICAL COUNSELOR - FE-OC: 5 HOURS
POLITICAL OFFICER - FS-04: 65 HOURS
POLITICAL ASSISTANT - LES-10: 15 HOURS
//OVERVIEW//
2. (SBU) Spain maintains an active set of political, legal
and social mechanisms to combat trafficking in persons (TIP).
The Spanish government places a high priority on fighting
TIP and coordinates this fight with national and
international law enforcement, regional and local
governments, and non-governmental organizations. During the
reporting period, Spain took continued measures to assist
trafficking victims, take down trafficking networks,
prosecute perpetrators, prevent future trafficking, and
reduce the demand for commercial sex. The Spanish government
has strict rules on the books for Spanish nationals caught
participating in international child sex tourism, and Spanish
peacekeepers deployed abroad receive anti-TIP training
through participation in multi-lateral efforts.
3. (SBU) Spain remains both a transit and destination
country for internationally trafficked persons, primarily
women between the ages of 18 to 25 trafficked for
prostitution. Spain is generally not a country of origin for
trafficking. Statistical data and information on Spanish
government efforts to combat TIP come from the Ministry of
Interior, which includes the Spanish National Police (SNP)
and the Civil Guard (GC), and the Spanish national courts.
Spanish law enforcement maintained an aggressive operational
tempo against traffickers, and many of the most significant
anti-TIP operations took place in the regions of Barcelona
and Palma de Mallorca. Police in May 2007 disrupted a
Brazilian-Spanish TIP network that was illegally brining
women into Mallorca for the purposes of forced prostitution.
Nineteen people were arrested, including the alleged leaders
of the network. That same month, an international
trafficking network operating mostly in the Barcelona
neighborhood of Raval was dismantled and 11 individuals were
arrested for coercing Romanian women into prostitution.
Three of the alleged ring leaders were Spanish, seven
Romanian, and one Pakistani. In June 2007, Spanish police
busted a Russian trafficking network bringing women to the
cities of Lleida, Granada and Almeria, and arrested 21
alleged traffickers. In November 2007, police took down a
trafficking network that smuggled workers from Algeria into
Spain and forced them to work the farms around the regions of
Aragon and Navarra. Police arrested 11 alleged traffickers
in this operation.
//STATISTICS AND DATA//
4. (SBU) The SNP once again furnished Post with a restricted
internal report that provides detailed information on TIP
enforcement trends, including TIP-related arrests and the
number of trafficking victims identified during the reporting
period. The report indicates that within Spain, police
dismantled a total of 115 trafficking networks for sexual
exploitation and 43 trafficking networks for the purposes of
forced labor. Police arrested 530 individuals involved in
sexual trafficking and 161 people affiliated with trafficking
for forced labor. The Spanish government continues to
distinguish between trafficking crimes and migrant smuggling,
and government statistics and information clearly reflect
this distinction. As in previous years, information on
specific TIP-related investigations, convictions and
sentencing was available through an on-line subscription to
MADRID 00000225 002.2 OF 010
the Spanish affiliate of WESTLAW (www.westlaw.es). The
Spanish government continues to make progress in normalizing
the compilation of its TIP-related judicial statistics, and
our National Court contacts tell us that by 2009 they will
have a one-stop shop database that will greatly facilitate
our access to this information. In 2007, our best
information indicates the government launched 240 TIP-related
investigations, prosecuted 102 cases of trafficking, and
secured 142 convictions with an average sentence of 4.6
years. Over 67% of the sentences were greater than 4 years,
and approximately 25% of the convictions resulted in a fine
and/or a suspended sentence. Anti-TIP NGOs continued to
assist trafficking victims and the primary Spanish anti-TIP
NGO, Proyecto Esperanza, reported assisting a total of 173
women since mid 2005, including 54 new cases in 2007.
5. (SBU) Embassy officials at all levels remained engaged in
the TIP process with the Government of Spain to encourage
action against human trafficking.
-- The GOS responded and continued to vigorously investigate
and prosecute all severe forms of trafficking identified in
the country and convicted and sentenced the persons
responsible for such acts.
-- Spain continued its bilateral cooperation with source
countries (particularly in Latin America) to improve cross
border cooperation to prevent and combat human trafficking,
and conducted a number of joint anti-TIP operations. Spain
announced in early 2008 that it would allot 5.7 million euros
to fund a cooperation agreement with several Central American
countries to strengthen the fight against human trafficking.
-- The GOS continued to fully fund previously-funded
victims, services NGOs and worked with these NGOs to ensure
that trafficking victims are advised of and offered all
available rights and benefits. These NGOs receive funding at
the federal level (Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs),
regional level (Madrid province) and city level (Madrid
City). The same occurs for anti-TIP NGOs based in Spain's
other major cities and regions.
-- Spain has a multi-disciplinary approach to fighting
trafficking and includes NGOs and relevant agencies in each
case. Spain's anti-TIP working group--chaired by the Vice
President and including the Ministries of Interior, Justice,
Labor, and Foreign Affairs--reached out to NGOs during the
drafting process of the national action plan and solicited
comments and advice on early drafts. Spain's local
governments, particularly in major cities such as Madrid,
Barcelona, and Sevilla, kept a focus on trafficking issues
and came up with innovative ways to discourage the
solicitation of commercial sex. In Barcelona in late 2005,
the Catalan Police (the Mossos d,Esquadra) took over
security for the city of Barcelona, which freed up the
National Police to focus on systemic issues, such as
combating trafficking and prostitution networks in the
region. This resulted in a two-fold increase in the number
of trafficking networks dismantled in Barcelona.
-- Per the new requirements laid out by the TVRPA of 2005,
Post reached out to Spanish military officials to relay to
them the importance of vigorously investigating, prosecuting,
convicting and sentencing Spanish soldiers deployed abroad
who engage in or facilitate severe forms of trafficking, or
exploit victims of such trafficking. Our GOS contacts told
us that the government has strict rules on the behavior of
its nationals deployed in peacekeeping operations abroad and
that its soldiers receive anti-TIP training through
participation in multi-lateral efforts. We have no
information on any Spanish nationals engaging in this
behavior. Likewise, we have no indication of Spanish public
officials participating in or facilitating trafficking.
6. (SBU) The Ambassador, DCM and Political officers engaged
Spanish officials to ensure that the GOS understood the new
Congressionally-mandated reporting requirements for TIP. The
GOS informed us that it continues its strong engagement with
TIP source and transit countries to prosecute traffickers and
MADRID 00000225 003.2 OF 010
improve cross border cooperation in preventing and combating
human trafficking.
//OVERVIEW OF SPAIN'S ACTIVITIES TO ELIMINATE TIP//
7. (SBU) Checklist 27 A. Spain continues to be both a
destination and transit country for trafficked persons for
the purposes of sexual exploitation, and to a lesser degree,
forced labor in the domestic agriculture section.
Trafficking in women and girls is mostly for exploitation and
prostitution. Available data over the past year from Spanish
law enforcement and NGOs indicates that trafficked women were
usually 18 to 25 years of age, but some girls were as young
as 16. Women were trafficked primarily from Latin America
(Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, Paraguay and Venezuela), Eastern
Europe (Romania, Russia, and Ukraine), and sub-Saharan Africa
(Nigeria). Asians, including Chinese, were trafficked to a
much lesser degree and more often for labor rather than for
sexual exploitation. NGOs still believe that more than
three-quarters of all trafficked women originate in five
countries: Romania, Russia, Brazil, Colombia, and Nigeria.
8. (SBU) Continue Checklist 27 A. Leading Spanish anti-TIP
NGO in Spain, Proyecto Esperanza, reported assisting a total
of 173 women since mid 2005, including 54 new cases in 2007.
The data collected this year by the Spanish National Police
and Civil Guard (and provided to the Embassy) in relation to
the number of victims they identified in their work (through
police raids, inspections, investigations, etc.) shows at
least 1,490 identifiable trafficking victims (1,035 victims
of sexual exploitation and 455 of forced labor), but the
police and NGOs estimate a greater number than those who come
to their attention. The internal report provided by the
Spanish police breaks out the victims of sexual and labor
trafficking by nationality, and police refer the vast
majority of these victims to the network of anti-trafficking
NGOs for assistance. The Spanish Ministries of Interior and
Justice provide the best and most reliable information on TIP
law enforcement investigations and judicial proceedings and
we believe this information reflects the best assessment of
the Spanish government on its TIP problem. During the
reporting period, analysis indicated that women were
trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation and, to a
lesser extent, men were trafficked for purposes of forced
labor.
9. (SBU) Checklist 27 B. Spanish political will to combat
TIP remains high, as evidenced by this year's law enforcement
and judicial statistics. Spanish President Jose Luis
Rodriguez Zapatero has placed a high priority on gender
issues and on combating domestic violence and human
trafficking. Trafficking trends have remained constant and
most trafficking to and through Spain is perpetrated by
organized criminals based in the source countries. In recent
years, law enforcement authorities and NGOs have seen
increasing incidents of victims being trafficked by
individuals and smaller groups of traffickers. Methods used
by traffickers to maintain control of their victims have
included physical abuse, forced use of drugs, withholding of
travel documents, and threats to the victim's family. One
continuing trend NGOs reported seeing again in 2007 is an
increase in instances of traffickers allowing their victims
to keep a portion of the money they earned through
prostitution to dampen the victims, desire to escape the
trafficking network.
10. (SBU) Continue Checklist 27 B. Traffickers lured some
victims from other regions with false promises of employment
in service industries and agriculture, but then forced them
into prostitution upon their arrival. The media reported
that criminal networks often lured their victims by using
travel agencies and newspaper advertisements in their home
countries that promised assured employment in Spain. In the
case of Romanian organized networks, women were typically
forced into prostitution and 90 percent of their earnings
went to the criminal network. NGOs and law enforcement
report a more recent trend in Romania of minors forced to
marry someone who, in many cases, is a procurer for
trafficking. Once married, minors adopt the name of their
MADRID 00000225 004.2 OF 010
"husbands," and can leave the country without the permission
of their parents. Some are then trafficked to Spain. With
their new identities, minors are very difficult to identify.
11. (SBU) Checklist 27 C-E. The office of the First Vice
President has the overall lead on anti-trafficking efforts in
Spain and oversees an inter-ministerial anti-TIP working
group composed of Labor and Social Services, Interior,
Foreign Affairs, Justice, Education, and Tourism. The
Ministry of Interior continues to coordinate day-to-day
anti-trafficking efforts and the national police have a
special unit, the Immigration Networks and Falsified
Documents Unit (UCRIF), which covers TIP- related issues.
The UCRIF intelligence unit analyzes statistical data and
trends, while coordinating efforts and sharing data with the
Civil Guard and Interpol. Regional offices of the national
police conduct quarterly reviews to set goals for combating
trafficking and to assess progress in meeting these goals
from the previous quarter. The reported 2007 figures were
once again higher across the board, including networks
dismantled and alleged perpetrators arrested. While funding
could always be increased, Spain treats TIP efforts as a
priority and will fund its national anti-TIP action plan with
20 million euros per year. We have no evidence that there is
any TIP-related corruption in Spain's government and the GOS
does not lack the resources to aid victims. GOS efforts over
the past year to finalize and enact its national action plan
against TIP has allowed it to systematically monitor its
anti-trafficking efforts on all fronts and has shared its
assessments with relevant NGOs in Spain, and also
international organizations such as the OSCE. The OSCE in
late January 2008 expressed interest in learning more details
on the Spanish national action plan and the GOS is allowing
OSCE experts to review the plan and offer comments to
strengthen its effectiveness.
//INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS//
12. (SBU) Checklist 28 A. Spain has specific laws to
prohibit trafficking in persons and other activities related
to sexual and labor exploitation. These laws are applied in
practice and are adequate to cover the full scope of
trafficking offenses. New legislation implemented over the
past year includes a law to allow Spanish Judges and
Prosecutors to pursue suspected TIP mafias outside Spanish
borders. Previously, these Spanish officials did not have
extra-territorial jurisdiction to follow these cases, but the
new law will modify the Organic Law of Judicial Power and
incorporate "trafficking in persons and illegal immigration"
into the category of crimes of "universal jurisdiction,"
along with terrorism, genocide, prostitution, and drug
trafficking. Additionally, the Spanish Congress approved in
October 2007 a change of the Spanish Penal Code that allows
the pursuit of ships believed to be transporting trafficked
persons or illegal immigrants, even if they are not in
Spanish waters, and even if the ship's final destination is
another EU country.
13. (SBU) Continue Checklist 28 A. Article 318 of Spain's
criminal and penal code is the main piece of legislation that
penalizes trafficking in persons. In the legislation,
trafficking in human beings and trafficking in children are
distinct crimes. Different paragraphs in Spain's Criminal
Code penalize activities related to trafficking as it is
defined in the Palermo Protocol. This includes, for both
adults and children, crimes of sexual exploitation, labor
exploitation, and slavery or practices similar to slavery,
and domestic servitude. Spain also has legal provisions
addressing the protection and assistance of victims,
protection and assistance of witnesses, special measures for
protection and assistance to children, residence permits for
victims of trafficking, and compensation of victims. There
are several other penal codes related to trafficking in
persons, including: Article 312, Crimes Against the Rights of
Foreigners; Article 313, Crimes Involving Forced Labor; and
the "Ley Organica" (Organic Law for measures related to
citizen security, domestic violence and the social
integration of the foreigner).
MADRID 00000225 005.2 OF 010
14. (SBU) Checklist 28 B. Spanish criminal law was amended
in September 2003 to adapt Spanish legislation to that of
other European Union countries. This amendment raised the
penalty for the crime of trafficking in persons for sexual
exploitation to a minimum of five years in prison and a
maximum of ten (previous sentencing guidelines ran from 2-4
years behind bars). Sentencing guidelines in convictions for
encouraging, favoring, or facilitating the trafficking of
persons from, in transit, or destined for Spain for the
purpose of sexual exploitation are subject to imprisonment of
5 to 10 years, with an increase to 12 to 15 years if
trafficking is carried out with violence, intimidation,
deceit or abuse of the victim. Spanish courts at all levels
use a combination of available penal codes in prosecuting
crimes related to trafficking in persons to ensure a
conviction because of a frequent lack of testimony from
victims.
15. (SBU) Article one (13) of the above mentioned law
modifies Article 318 bis. of the Penal Code:
-- Four to eight years in prison for a person who, directly
or indirectly, promotes or facilitates the illegal
trafficking of people or illegal immigration from, in transit
within, or with a destination of, Spain.
-- If the human trafficking is for sexual exploitation, the
prison sentences range from five to ten years.
-- If the person committing the crime uses his/her position
of authority to facilitate the trafficking, or if he/she is a
public servant, the penalty will be 6-12 years.
-- In the event the victim of the crime is under age or has
his/her life put in danger, or if the criminal belongs to an
organized crime or trafficking ring, then the sentences
applied will be on the higher scale.
16. (SBU) Spanish judges often combine a trafficking
sentence with a sentence for crimes involving theft, illegal
detention, forgery of documents, or extortion. When a
defendant is convicted of an additional crime two separate
sentences must be served. Once sentenced, prisoners
generally serve 75 percent of their sentence before being
eligible for parole. A Spanish Supreme Court judge ruled in
2006 that each request for a reduction in sentence for good
behavior must be applied to each sentence individually,
meaning it is now much more difficult for criminals
prosecuted on multiple counts related to trafficking to see
parole.
17. (SBU) Checklist 28 C. Article 313 and the Organic Law
11/2003 cover forced labor. The sentencing guidelines are
four to eight years in prison for the person who, directly or
indirectly, promotes or facilitates human trafficking from,
in transit within, or to Spain. While the forthcoming
National Integral Plan against TIP focuses primarily on
sexual exploitation, there will be some modifications to the
laws penalizing forced labor. Spanish officials tell us that
they have begun work on a second national action plan that
specifically targets trafficking for the purposes of forced
labor. Over the reporting period, 28 persons were convicted
of forced labor trafficking and sentenced to an average of
4.1 years behind bars.
18. (SBU) Checklist 28 D. The penalty for rape is 6 to 12
years in prison, increasing to a possible 15 years with
aggravating circumstances. The penalty for forcible sexual
assault is 1 to 4 years in prison, 4 to 10 years with
aggravating circumstances. Prescribed penalties for
encouraging, favoring, or facilitating the trafficking of
persons from, in transit within, or to Spain for the purpose
of sexual exploitation or forced labor now stand at 5 to 10
years, with a possible 12 to 15 years with aggravating
circumstances.
19. (SBU) As highlighted in last year's report, the GOS has
ratified all of the mentioned instruments, and the dates of
ratification are:
MADRID 00000225 006.2 OF 010
-- ILO Convention 182 (April 2, 2001)
-- ILO Convention 29 (August 29, 1932)
-- ILO Convention 105 (November 6, 1967)
-- Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the
Child (December 18, 2001)
-- Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in
Persons, Especially Women and Children (March 1, 2002)
20. (SBU) Checklist 28 E. Prostitution and the procurement
of prostitutes are decriminalized in Spain, but forcing
others into prostitution and organizing prostitution rings
are crimes. Furthermore, it is illegal for anyone to profit
from the prostitution of another. Spanish law makes it
illegal for pimps or brothels to receive money from the
prostitute's activities, even if the prostitute consents.
Spanish law prohibits the involvement of minors (under the
age of 18) in prostitution. The activities of the prostitute
are not criminalized, but the activities of the brothel
owner/operator, clients, pimps, and enforcers are
criminalized. Spain continues to review its laws regarding
prostitution. The Spanish Senate in March 2007 unveiled a
detailed report on prostitution that claimed prostitution was
intimately tied to the trafficking of women and sexual
exploitation and did not conform to the basic human dignities
required to be regulated as a job. The central Spanish
government remains the principal authority for
anti-trafficking enforcement while leaving the legal status
of prostitution to Spain's 17 regional governments.
21. (SBU) Checklist 28 F. The Embassy engaged with relevant
Spanish authorities early in the TIP reporting season to
reinforce the importance of law enforcement and judicial
statistics. Our contacts in the Spanish police, Civil Guard,
Ministry of Interior, and Ministry of Justice facilitated our
access to prosecution data. Additional information on
specific TIP-related investigations, convictions and
sentencing in Spain was available on-line through a
subscription service to the Spanish affiliate of WESTLAW
(www.westlaw.es). The Spanish government continues to make
commendable progress in normalizing the compilation of its
TIP-related judicial statistics, and our National Court
contacts tell us that by 2009 they aim to have a one-stop
shop database for all TIP-related law enforcement and
judicial statistics. Spanish authorities track TIP cases
separately from illegal immigration and false documentation.
Our best estimates indicate that in 2007 the Spanish
government launched 240 investigations (police and Civil
Guard), prosecuted 102 cases of trafficking, and secured 142
convictions with an average sentence of 4.6 years in prison.
Under Spanish labor laws, the government treats as
traffickers and criminally prosecutes employers who
confiscate workers, passports and use physical or sexual
abuse to keep workers in a state of service. Traffickers
serve an average of 75 percent of their sentence before being
eligible for parole, but Spanish penal law limits the number
of traffickers who receive early parole.
22. (SBU) Checklist 28 G-H. The GOS provides specialized
anti-trafficking training to law enforcement agencies.
Training is provided to new recruits at the National Police
academy in Avila. NGOs continue to remain active in helping
law enforcement agencies devise specialized training
curriculum for officers who will be working trafficking
cases. Officials from Proyecto Esperanza and other NGOs
participated throughout the reporting period, at the
invitation of the national police, in a "Specialized Course
on Trafficking in Persons Investigations." NGOs tell us
Spanish police are increasingly sensitized to and trained for
the special demands of TIP investigations. The GOS has
bilateral accords with several countries that are major
sources of TIP victims in Spain, and the GOS regularly
cooperates in the investigation and prosecution of
trafficking cases. During the reporting period, Spanish law
enforcement officials actively coordinated with counterparts
in nine different countries to investigate and arrest
traffickers, and realized a number of joint operations. The
Spanish National Police tell us that in 2007 they
participated in cooperative investigations with Algeria,
MADRID 00000225 007.2 OF 010
France, Germany, Guinea Bissau, Italy, Mali, Mauritania,
Morocco, Pakistan, Romania, and Senegal.
23. (SBU) Checklist 28 I-K. The GOS can extradite persons
charged with trafficking, including its own nationals, but
there have been no instances during the reporting period of
the GOS extraditing Spanish nationals charged with TIP
offenses. The GOS also has bilateral agreements with TIP
source countries to extradite persons who are charged with
trafficking. Spanish officials from the President on down
are committed to fighting TIP, and we have no evidence of any
Spanish government involvement in or tolerance of human
trafficking.
24. (SBU) Checklist 28 L-M. Embassy Madrid has reminded the
GOS on several occasions of the new requirements of the 2005
TVRPA for countries that contribute troops to international
peacekeeping efforts. Our Spanish military contacts tell us
that as part of their pre-deployment training, Spanish
government troops receive TIP awareness training. We have no
information of any Spanish nationals deployed abroad engaging
in or facilitating severe forms of trafficking. Press
reports suggest that some Spanish nationals travel abroad on
child sex tourism, but we do not have reliable numbers.
Spain's child sexual abuse laws do have extraterritorial
coverage and thus Spanish nationals could be prosecuted and
convicted for acts committed in known child sex tourism
destinations.
//PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS//
25. (SBU) Checklist 29 A. In 2007, the Spanish Government
increased its funding and support of NGOs that provided
assistance to foreign trafficking victims. Regional and
local governments also provided victim assistance through
NGOs. Medical attention, including emergency care, is
provided through the national health care system. The GOS
sends victims to NGOs, which provide temporary shelter and
access to legal, medical, and psychological services. The
victims are provided legal protection and temporary or
permanent residency status if they cooperate with the GOS in
going after the traffickers. The Spanish police reported
identifying 1,035 victims of sexual exploitation and 455
victims of forced labor trafficking in 2007.
26. (SBU) Checklist 29 B-C. Spain has several victim care
facilities which are accessible to trafficking victims, and
most are run under the auspices of a network of anti-TIP NGOs
with funding provided by the government and private sources.
As Spanish nationals are rarely if ever trafficking victims,
the vast majority of the assistance is provided to foreign
trafficking victims. Article 59 of Spain's immigration law
paved the way for recognizing the rights of those victims who
have reported a crime and have collaborated effectively with
police and legal authorities in the breaking up of TIP
networks. The law establishes a legal mechanism for victims
of trafficking to either obtain work and residence permits to
remain in Spain, as well as welfare benefits or to obtain
funding to return to their countries of origin. The
government funds NGOs to provide shelter, counseling, legal
and psychological assistance, job training, placement and
reinsertion services, and assistance in obtaining visas that
are available for those who testify against traffickers.
NGOs submit annual grant proposals to the government to
furnish services to victims. Proyecto Esperanza reported a
total of 54 women being placed in their shelters this year.
27. (SBU) Checklist 29 D-F. Spain does not have a formal
written plan or protocol that covers the referral of TIP
victims to NGOs, but in practice, victims are referred
directly by Spanish law enforcement to anti-TIP NGOs, who are
then able to provide both short- and long-term care. Spanish
authorities tell us they are working on a mechanism for
screening for trafficking victims among persons involved in
the decriminalized commercial sex trade. The GOS makes every
effort to respect the rights of TIP victims, and TIP and
prostitution victims are not considered criminals and do not
go to jail. They are sent to NGOs that ensure proper care is
provided to them. In the past, at least some TIP victims who
MADRID 00000225 008.2 OF 010
refused to testify against the perpetrators were jailed and
deported as illegal aliens, but our contacts tell us that is
not routine. If victims are in serious danger they may even
be provided with a new identity in order to help ensure
protection.
28. (SBU) Checklist 29 G-H. The GOS encourages victims to
assist in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers
and provides residence permits to those victims who provide
information essential to the investigation and prosecution of
traffickers. The law permits trafficking victims to remain
in the country if they agree to testify against the
perpetrators. Spain has a law for the protection of
witness, identity that allows a witness to remain anonymous.
After legal proceedings conclude, victims are given the
option of remaining in the country or returning to their
countries of origin. Victims are encouraged to help police
investigate trafficking cases and to testify against
traffickers. In 2007, the fixed period of time for victims
to recover and reflect, in a safe environment, before being
required to decide whether to cooperate with police
investigation and prosecution of their traffickers was set at
30 days. The government's violence education programs for
female victims and an NGO partner on trafficking reported
that over 80 percent of the victims they assisted pressed
criminal charges.
29. (SBU) Checklist 29 l-J. The GOS continued to fund and
encourage NGOs to provide specialized training for government
officials in recognizing trafficking and providing assistance
to trafficked victims. During the reporting period, this
training took place in Madrid, Barcelona, and Avila, among
other Spanish cities, and has been ongoing in recent years.
Training continues to be available for immigration officials
and social service providers. NGOs remained active in
helping law enforcement agencies devise specialized training
curriculum for officers who will be working trafficking
cases. Proyecto Esperanza officials participated throughout
2007, at the invitation of the national police, in a
"Specialized Course on Trafficking in Persons
Investigations." Spain is generally not a source country for
trafficking, and our contacts in the Ministry of Foreign
Affairs are not aware of any Spanish nationals abroad who are
either victims of trafficking or who have participated in or
facilitated severe forms of trafficking. If such cases do
arise, the GOS tells us they would provide medical aid,
shelter and financial help to its repatriated nationals.
30. (SBU) Checklist 29 K. A group of diverse and active
Spanish NGOs known as La Red Espanola contra Ia Trata de
Personas (Spanish Network against Trafficking in Persons)
formed in March 2006 to increase the effectiveness and
efficiency of its work with trafficking victims. The network
is currently made up of some 25 NGOs and is committed to
"prevent, identify, assist, protect and ensure the healing of
trafficking victims in Spain." The Embassy maintains very
close contacts with Spain's anti-TIP network and two of its
senior coordinators have participated in the Department's
International Visitor's Program. The Spanish government
contracts with and subsidizes NGOs and other programs that
provide shelter and vital services for trafficking victims
and witnesses, to include protection, housing, and
counseling. Several NGOs operated shelters in Madrid and
Barcelona, provided assistance with medical and legal
services, and acted as liaison with law enforcement for
victims who chose to testify against traffickers. Some of
these NGOs have a housing and reinsertion program for victims
of trafficking and smuggling who wish to remain in Spain and
will help women apply for residence visas. These NGOs
received many referrals directly from police. The Catalonian
regional and municipal government contracted with Caritas,
other NGOs, and sometimes religious organizations for the
same services. Spanish NGOs in Madrid receive funding at the
federal level (Ministry of Labor and Social Services),
regional level (Madrid province) and city level (Madrid
City). To use Proyecto Esperanza as an example, last year
the federal government provided 110,000 euros (approximately
USD 160,000), the regional government provided over 27,000
euros (over USD 39,000) and the city government gave 40,000
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euros (USD 58,000). Our GOS contacts say that they are
increasing funding for the current year and note that the
National Action Plan calls for increases across the board in
the support they will provide to anti-TIP NGOs.
//PREVENTION//
31. (SBU) Checklist 30 A-B. Spain acknowledges that it has a
serious trafficking problem and government officials at the
highest levels addressed the problem of trafficking during
the reporting period and pledged to continue the anti-TIP
fight. The Spanish government instituted a toll-free hotline
that offers TIP victims and potential victims assistance and
information about TIP. The hotline has received over 300
calls since its inception. Local governments, notably those
in Spain's largest cities of Madrid, Barcelona, and Sevilla
continued efforts to discourage prostitution (please see
paragraph 35 for a more detailed discussion of GOS efforts to
reduce demand).
32. (SBU) Checklist 30 C-D. Most of the 25 NGOs making up
Spain's Network Against TIP reported continued good relations
and cooperation with government ministries, with increased
collaboration on victim referral, although they would have
liked to have had more of a say in the drafting of the GOS's
national action plan. During the reporting period, the
Spanish government continued to monitor immigration and
emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking, and law
enforcement agencies screened for potential trafficking
victims at Spain's air and seaports, and along its border
with France. One trend noted in 2006 and continuing during
2007 was increasing cases of individual traffickers deceiving
their victims by establishing a relationship with them by
pretending they were their boyfriends. The trafficker and
victim arrived in Spain legally and with legal passports, and
once inside the country the trafficker would send his victim
into a trafficking network.
33. (SBU) Checklist 30 E-F. Spain's inter-agency mechanism
for coordination and communication is the anti-TIP working
group, established in February 2006 by Spanish Vice President
Maria Teresa Fernandez De La Vega. Working-level officials
in the Ministry of Interior oversee this group and remain in
frequent contact with the Embassy. VP De La Vega tasked the
ministries of Interior, Justice, Labor, Foreign Affairs, and
Education to produce a comprehensive plan to combat
trafficking in persons. The GOS shared early drafts with
relevant NGOs for review and comment. Senior GOS officials
publicly reiterated the importance the GOS places on
combating TIP and announced that Spain's National Integral
Plan against Trafficking in Persons would be passed during
the reporting period. The GOS furnished the Embassy with a
copy of the national plan and we believe it will strengthen
the fight against trafficking organizations involved in
sexual exploitation and increase assistance for trafficking
victims. The plan will receive an allocation of almost 30
million euros per year (approximately 44 million dollars) and
will dedicate over 200 new police and Civil Guards to its
enforcement. It is ambitious and provides for a broad policy
framework to fight trafficking in persons for sexual
exploitation with a dual-focus on victim protection and
perpetrator prosecution.
34. (SBU) The Spanish government did not enact its national
action plan before Congress dissolved in January 2008 and
government attention turned to preparations for national
elections in March. Senior Embassy officers pressed the
Spanish government on the plan's status, and discussed the
issue directly with top advisors in the office of the Vice
President. The Spanish officials said that enactment of the
plan was indeed a priority for the government, but it would
not be possible to put it in force prior to the election.
The Vice President has said the plan's rollout was delayed
due to the need to thoroughly vet and consult within the
government and Spanish civil society, as the GOS wanted a
well-crafted plan with institutional buy-in. In addition,
the GOS noted recent OSCE interest in the plan and needs time
for the international organization to review and comment.
The VP and her staff believe the OSCE's review will occur in
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April or May and that the Council of Ministers will give
final approval to the plan in June or July. The Ambassador
will meet early in the new legislature with the Spanish Vice
President (regardless of who wins the election) to press as
one of our top priorities the fight against TIP and the
importance of enacting Spain's national action plan.
35. (SBU) Checklist 30 G. Major Spanish cities are turning
more of their focus towards reducing demand for commercial
sex acts. Spain's largest cities of Madrid, Barcelona, and
Sevilla continued efforts to discourage the clients of
prostitution. The local governments in Barcelona and Sevilla
enacted plans in late 2007 and early 2008, respectively, with
the goal of eliminating street prostitution by fining sex
clients up to USD 5,000 and prosecuting repeat offenders.
The Madrid city government continued to focus efforts on
demand reduction begun in 2006 that target potential sex
solicitor males with posters claiming, "Because YOU pay,
prostitution exists." This past year the local government
expanded this demand-reduction campaign by targeting males
with a new slogan, "Do not contribute to the perpetuation of
21st-century slavery!" The Madrid government reported having
so much success with these efforts targeting sex solicitors
that it joined the city hall in Palma de Mallorca this past
year to launch a similar campaign in that European tourist
hotspot known for having a human trafficking problem. Other
anti-prostitution efforts in major Spanish cities during the
reporting period included advertising campaigns warning of
its dangers, restrictions on prostitution near schools, and
police actions such as road closings to deter clients from
seeking prostitutes.
36. (SBU) Checklist 30 H. The Spanish government has strict
rules on the books for Spanish nationals caught participating
in international child sex tourism. Press reports suggest
that some Spanish nationals have traveled abroad on child sex
tourism, but post does not have reliable numbers. Spain's
child sexual abuse laws do have extraterritorial coverage and
thus Spanish nationals could be prosecuted and convicted for
acts committed in known child sex tourism destinations.
During the reporting period, the Spanish government formed a
"Spanish working group against child commercial sexual
exploitation" and participated in activities under the
auspices of ECPAT and UNICEF to sensitize the Spanish public
to the existence of child sex tourism and to remind them of
the punishments for this activity. Under the motto "There
Are No Excuses," the Spanish government warned potential
child sex tourists that they may feel a sensation of legal
immunity when they are abroad in places such as Asia or Latin
America, but that Spanish law would still apply to them upon
their return. The Madrid Consular Section is negotiating
with Spanish law enforcement entities, and working with NGOs,
to exchange information on pedophiles and sexual predators to
include in our Consular Lookout and Support System
37. (SBU) Continue Checklist 30 H-I. In January 2008, the
Ministries of Labor and Social Affairs and Foreign Affairs
teamed up with the NGO Save the Children to host an
international conference on "Child Trafficking: How to
Improve Victim Identification and Protection." The
conference dealt heavily with the issue of child sex tourism
and GOS officials present described the extensive laws on the
books to fight this scourge and recent public awareness
campaigns intended to sensitize Spanish citizens to the legal
risk they run by participating in child sex tourism. OSCE
special representative on TIP Eva Biaudet challenged the GOS
to ratify the Council of Europe agreement on trafficking, and
GOS officials present said that this was on track to occur
early in the new Spanish legislature. The conference
received prominent media coverage in Spain and served to put
a spotlight on the issue in this country. Finally, and as
reported earlier, Spanish peacekeepers deployed abroad
receive anti-TIP training through participation in
multi-lateral efforts. We have no information suggesting
that Spanish troops have engaged in or facilitated severe
forms of trafficking, but GOS officials assure us that these
individuals would be dealt with severely.
AGUIRRE