Cablegate: 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report for Italy Part 2

VZCZCXRO3043
RR RUEHIK
DE RUEHRO #0208/01 0561217
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 251217Z FEB 10 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY ROME
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 3315
INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
RUEHFL/AMCONSUL FLORENCE 4059
RUEHMIL/AMCONSUL MILAN 0501
RUEHNP/AMCONSUL NAPLES 4288

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 ROME 000208

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KFRD KWMN PGOV PHUM PREF
SMIG, KMCA, PREL, IT
SUBJECT: 2009 TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT FOR ITALY PART 2

REF: SECSTATE 02094

ROME 00000208 001.3 OF 004

Protection of and Assistance to Victims
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28. A The government protects victims and witnesses. Victims
are enrolled in programs run by NGOs or religious communities
that provide shelter and support.

28. B Article 13 of the Law 228/2003 provides for three to
six months assistance to victims while article 18 of Law
286/1998 guarantees shelter benefits for another twelve
months and reintegration assistance. Moreover, victims
usually obtain temporary residence/work permits that can lead
to permanent residency. In fact adults who are identified as
trafficking victims are granted a six-month residency permit,
renewable if the victim finds employment or has enrolled in a
training program, and are sheltered in special facilities.
Minors receive an automatic residence permit until they are
18, and they are hosted in separate centers. NGOs run these
services with funding provided by national, regional and
local authorities. According to the Ministry of Equal
Opportunity, NGOs and local authorities have been using these
methods

28. C In 2009, 810 victims obtained temporary residence
visas, according to the Ministry of Interior. The government
provides legal and medical assistance through NGOs as soon as
a victim has been identified. Assistance programs are carried
out mainly in larger cities, such as Rome, Milan, Turin,
Genoa, Florence and Naples, where the majority of victims are
concentrated.

In 2007, under Article 13, more than 400 victims accessed
assistance, 10 percent of whom were minors. The top countries
of origin were Nigeria (40 percent), China (16 percent),
Romania (13 percent), and Morocco (10 percent).

Under Article 18, about 1,100 victims, including about 50
minors and 100 men, entered social protection programs in
2008. Also in 2008, NGOs provided health care (16 percent),
legal advice (8 percent), psychological support (10 percent),
social counseling (20 percent) and other services (13
percent). Of the victims placed in social protection
programs, approximately 50 percent were from Nigeria, 15
percent were from Romania, 5 percent were from China, and
another 4 percent were from Moldova. The prospect of
obtaining a residence permit had been an effective incentive
for Romanian victims who requested assistance until 2007 when
Romania entered the EU. More broadly, the significant drop in
the total number of victims assisted is the result of the
adoption of a more accurate monitoring system which allowed
authorities to identify victims by name, avoiding double
counting.

The majority of victims were housed in shelters, while others
lived independently with support. Other funded projects
included reintegration, assisted repatriation, victims'
assistance and job training programs. NGOs, with government
funding, provided literacy courses for 588 people and
vocational training for 313; helped 436 victims find
temporary employment and another 907 individuals find
permanent jobs.

28. D See above. Almost all assisted victims are foreign
nationals.

28. E. Under article 13 of the Law 228/2003 the Ministry of
Equal Opportunity provides three to six months assistance to
victims. Under article 18 of Law 286/1998 guarantees shelter
benefits for another twelve months and reintegration
assistance.

28. F. Article 18 provides for the identification and
transfer of victims placed under protective custody to NGOs
that provide transition, reintegration and/or repatriation
services to victims. NGOs that receive victims are registered
by the Ministry of Labor and Welfare and monitored by the
Ministry for Equal Opportunity.

28. G In 2008, 664 obtained residence permits as victims of
trafficking, according to the Ministry of Interior. About 300
were enrolled in educational institutions; 150 were enrolled
in training courses, and 200 more received job offers.

28. H There is no standard mechanism for screening for
victims among people involved in the sex trade. OIM has
drafted common guidelines on the identification of victims
based on best international practices.

ROME 00000208 002.3 OF 004

The Ministry for Equal Opportunity is implementing a project
in cooperation with Portugal, Hungary, and the Czech Republic
and funded by the European Union, designed to identify a
transnational referral mechanism for victims of trafficking
that will be submitted to the European Commission for further
action.

28. I Victims in Italy usually do not face prosecution for
other laws they may have broken if they file a complaint
against a trafficker.

28. J. The government encourages victims to assist in the
investigation and prosecution of trafficking through the
offer of a temporary residence permit. Italian law does not
allow victims to seek redress or compensation through civil
court proceedings. A victim who is a material witness in a
court case against a former employer is allowed to obtain
other employment. Under a victim restitution program
monitored by the International Organization for Migration, 81
victims were repatriated in 2008. These victims were given
500 euro by the Government for repatriation, up to 1,600 euro
for resettlement in their home country, and reintegration
assistance for six months.

28. K. The Ministry of Interior trains police officers in
victim identification and victim assistance under various
programs, but not in a systematic or comprehensive way. The
Ministry of Equal Opportunity promotes training initiatives
and an exchange of best practices for experts and social
workers every three months. Because Italian citizens
generally are not trafficking victims, Italy does not provide
training to its embassies and consulates and does not need to
provide assistance to repatriated nationals.

28. L. Italian nationals generally are not victims of
trafficking.

28. M. There are over 200 domestic and international NGOs in
Italy that work on the trafficking issue. The most notable
include:

(a) PARSEC. This is a social research institute that collects
the most reliable data on trafficking in Italy. It also
operates several mobile assistance units and works closely
with local governments.

(b) On The Road Association. Located in the Marche, Abruzzo,
and Molise regions, it provides legal, medical, social, and
psychological assistance through its mobile units, shelters
and safe houses. It also has an employment program that
provides victims with jobs and pays them for their work.

(c) CARITAS. This is a large lay Catholic association that
works with the needy in numerous shelters throughout Italy.
It collects statistics on and works with immigrant
communities providing food, shelter and assistance.

(d) ECPAT (End Child Prostitution, Pornography and
Trafficking) and Save the Children. Both work with other NGOs
to ensure that police treat juvenile sex workers as
trafficking victims, not criminals.

(e) Gruppo Abele and IROKO in Turin, the Orlando Association
in Bologna, and Progetto Arcobaleno in Florence also have
multiple projects to assist trafficking victims.

Prevention
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29. A The Ministry for Equal Opportunity has the lead in
funding public awareness programs. NGOs continue to
distribute materials updated on a regular basis, including
brochures, posters, bumper stickers and TV/radio ads
providing information and assistance to victims. An ad
campaign called "Stop Trafficking" continued in 2009 with the
support of the Ministry of Interior in cooperation with the
Ministry of Equal Opportunity. Equal Opportunity also
established a toll-free hot line in 2000 to provide
information and assistance to victims. In June 2009,
authorites reported that the hotline received almost 15,000
calls in the previous 12 months.

The Ministry for Equal Opportunity identified 14 focal points
nationwide to implement public awareness campaigns for
informing victims of protection programs and to solicit
citizens to report trafficking cases. Social workers started
calling sex workers and other potential victims to provide
information about assistance programs.

ROME 00000208 003.3 OF 004

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs financed a project
implemented by UNICRI in cooperation with UNODC, the Nigerian
government and NGOs designed to increase awareness on
trafficking in the state of Edo, Nigeria, from where large
numbers of minors are smuggled to Italy. the main objective
is preventing human trafficking through strategic
partnerships aimed at fostering community mobilization and a
communication campaign targeted at potential victims and
government officials. The activities include visits to
schools, meetings held in street markets, and radio programs.

29. B With over 2,000 miles of coastline and geographic
proximity to both North Africa and Eastern Europe, Italy has
become a major frontier for illegal immigration. Large
numbers of immigrants arrived after transiting Libya and
Tunisia.

In August 2008, the government signed a pact with Libya that
provides for patrolling the Libyan coasts by common Italian
and Libyan enforcement teams. The agreement allows all
immigrants departing from Libya--not only Libyan
nationals--to be turned back before they reach Italian
territory. In May 2009, under the Italy-Libya agreement, the
Italian coast guard escorted 500 immigrants back to Libya;
subsequent similar operations produced a dramatic decline in
the number of immigrants who reached Italian shores. (see
25.D.) Human Rights Watch and Amnesty International
criticized the government for its failure to screen
foreigners and identify refugees, unaccompanied minors, and
victims of trafficking.

29. C The Ministry for Equal Opportunity leads an
interministerial committee charged with monitoring
trafficking and coordinating government activity to combat
it. Other members include the Ministries of Interior,
Justice, Labor and Social Affairs, and Foreign Affairs, as
well as the special anti-Mafia prosecutorial unit. The
government works closely with over 200 NGOs involved in
anti-trafficking initiatives that offer advice on prevention
and enforcement of legislation.

29. D Italy does not have a national action plan to combat
trafficking. There is a national action plan for assisting
victims. The inter-ministerial Committee Against Trafficking,
led by the Ministry for Equal Opportunity, is responsible for
coordinating policy at the national level. The Ministry
regularly works with NGOs to coordinate and implement
anti-TIP initiatives.

29. E Authorities of some cities, including Milan, Rome,
Verona, Florence and Venice enforced rules which prohibit
street prostitution. Between January and November 2009, the
city of Milan issued 11,600 fines against sex workers and
clients. From September 2008 to May 2009, Rome police fined
3,800 sex workers and 1,200 clients. The 14 regional focal
points established by the Ministry of Equal Opportunity (see
29.A.) carried out demand-reduction education campaigns at
the local level in cooperation with municipalities, police,
social services and NGOs. The Ministry of Interior
implemented an information campaign, which included
television and radio advertisements aimed at informing the
public of the possibility that sex workers present in their
towns might be victims of slavery. (see 29. A) The initiative
was taken in the context of Operation Pentametro, funded by
the European Union.

29. F See 27. M

29. G The Center of Excellence for Stability Policing Units
(COESPU), created by the Ministry of Defense, in cooperation
with the US Government in 2005, regularly organizes training
sessions on human rights and trafficking for civilians and
military personnel who serve in international missions.

The armed forces regularly organize training on exploitation
of children and sex workers for troops deployed abroad.

Partnership
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30. A The Labor Ministry implemented two projects designed to
prevent trafficking in unaccompanied minors for labor
exploitation, in cooperation with the Egyptian and Albanian
governments. The former was funded with national and European
resources and implemented with the assistance of IOM. It
encompassed television advertisements, posters, media
outreach, and the establishment of a vocational training
center for minors who aim to find a legal job in Italy or

ROME 00000208 004.3 OF 004

Egypt.

In Albania, Italian authorities promoted an exchange of best
practices and training of social workers who assist
vulnerable minors. Another partnership has been proposed to
the Moroccan government but has not yet been approved,
pending the adoption of a legal framework for the protection
of minors.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs sponsored a program
implemented by IOM aimed at strengthening capabilities of
Nigerian NGOs which prevent trafficking and support victims.
It has also funded the program "Preventing and Combating
Trafficking of Minors and Young Women from Nigeria to Italy"
carried out by UNICRI in cooperation with UNODC, Nigerian
institutions and NGOs (See 29. A.)

The Ministry of Interior reached an agreement with Ghana and
Niger aimed at reducing flows of smuggled and trafficked
immigrants. (See 25. D)

30. B The government promotes the exchange of best practices,
training of law enforcement officers, international
investigations (See 27. G), identification of a common
referral mechanism for the identification of victims (see 28.
H), and prevention initiatives. (see 30. A)
THORNE

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