Cablegate: Update On Gop's Anti-Trafficking Policies
This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.
UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 WARSAW 004113
SIPDIS
UNCLASSIFIED
SIPDIS
E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: PGOV PHUM PREF KCRM KJUS PL
SUBJECT: Update on GOP's Anti-Trafficking Policies
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SUMMARY
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1. Our discussions with Polish government officials, NGOs,
and academic institutions reveal that the GOP has taken
significant steps to combat trafficking in persons (TIP) in
Poland. For the first time ever, the GOP has allocated
funds from the state budget for the implementation of the
National Anti-Trafficking Plan. Additionally, a recent
revision of the Law on Aliens introduced the provision of a
reflection period during which foreign trafficking victims
are able to legally stay in Poland for two months while they
decide whether or not to cooperate with law enforcement
agencies. Police continue to work on a number of trafficking
cases that were identified last year; however, the number of
new cases identified this year has decreased. End Summary.
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The GOP implements Anti-Trafficking Plan for 2005-2006
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2. On November 18, Piotr Mierecki, Counselor of the
Department of European Integration and International
Cooperation at the Ministry of Internal Affairs and
Administration, and administrative coordinator for the inter-
ministerial Anti-Trafficking Plan, briefed Embassy officers
on the implementation of the plan for 2005-2006. The
National Anti-Trafficking Plan was approved by the Council
of Ministers in April 2005, and received funding of
approximately $78,000 for victim protection in late 2005 and
60 percent of those funds will be spent on victim protection
while the remainder will be used for educational outreach
and trainings. In 2006 the Plan's GOP funding is projected
to double and 80 percent of the funds will be spent on
victim protection.
3. According to Mierecki, the implementation of the Anti-
Trafficking Plan in the past six months has fulfilled
several objectives. In Mierecki's opinion, the most notable
achievement was a series of trainings for police, border
guards, prosecutors, judges and social workers, which were
delivered regionally in 10 of the 16 Polish provinces. The
remaining provinces' trainings will be completed by February
2006. The Ministry of Interior-funded training was conducted
by experts from local NGOs La Strada, and the Nobody's
Children Foundation, as well as Ministry of Interior
experts. As a result of these trainings, Mierecki hopes to
develop a Polish network of regional TIP experts and
specialists who will work closely together, and share
information and expertise on TIP-related issues.
4. Looking ahead, Mierecki stated that the GOP priorities
for next year include a national conference on TIP issues,
an active media campaign addressed to the potential and
actual victims of trafficking in Poland, and the creation of
new independent units within the Ministry of Interior and
police both on national and regional levels, which will be
assigned to work only on TIP-related issues. (Currently, TIP
experts are given this responsibility in addition to other
portfolios, many of which are very time-consuming.)
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New Legislation on Trafficking Victims Enters into Force
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5. On October 1, 2005, the revised Law on Aliens entered
into force. Article 33 of this law introduces the so-called
reflection period for potential trafficking victims. During
this reflection period, which may last up to two months, a
foreign victim may legally stay in Poland to make a decision
on whether or not to cooperate with law enforcement agencies
rather than face the decision of cooperation or immediate
deportation. If the victim decides to stay in Poland to
testify, he or she may then receive a temporary residence
permit for a definite time period. During training for
prosecutors on November 28, prosecutor Krzysztof Karsznicki
from the Justice Ministry, pointed out that this new
provision should lead to an increase in the number of cases
and prosecutions. As he explained, one of the main
obstacles in prosecuting TIP cases up until now was that
Poland previously lacked the legal provisions to allow
foreign victims to stay in Poland to decide whether they
would like to testify against their traffickers, and most
were deported immediately.
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Law Enforcement Agencies Continue to Work on TIP cases
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6. During a meeting on November 29, Inspector Boguslaw
Tomtala, the leading TIP expert at the National Police told
Embassy officers that, while the police continue to work on
TIP cases, in the first six months of 2005 there was a
considerable decrease in the number of TIP cases identified
by police. (Five in comparison to 39 identified in the first
six months of 2004.) Tomtala attributed this decrease in
2005 to the fact that police officers are still working on
cases from 2004. Tomtala explained that the four
trafficking cases they are currently working on are complex
and require substantial operational activities to collect
sufficient evidence. Preparing such cases often takes up to
two or three years before the case goes to court. He also
informed us that police are developing a standard set of
guidelines for police officers on methods to identify and
assist TIP victims, which should help police officers
identify more trafficking cases. As a Border Guard
representative explained in a separate meeting, a similar
set of guidelines has been prepared for Border Guard
officers, who are often the first point of contact for the
TIP victims.
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La Strada Continues to Assist and Critique
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7. La Strada, the lead NGO providing assistance to victims
of trafficking, celebrated its tenth anniversary of
operation in Poland in September. During a meeting on
November 29, Stana Buchowska, Director of La Strada Poland,
pointed out that although the legal situation of victims has
improved, there is still the lingering problem of too few
prosecutions. In her opinion, the limited number of
trafficking cases identified by police this year reflects
the GOP's lack of will and resources. She also underlined
that critical improvements are needed in the witness
protection program for TIP victims and the cooperation
between NGOs and law enforcement.
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COMMENT
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8. Comment: Recent improvements in anti-trafficking policies
show that the GOP has recognized trafficking as a serious
problem that needs to be fought with state budget funding,
legislation to assist victims and law enforcement entities,
and nationwide cooperation. Thanks to the new provisions of
the Law on Aliens, there is a possibility that victims will
choose to testify and that more traffickers will be
prosecuted and convicted. However, we find it disconcerting
that there has been a considerable decrease of the number of
TIP cases identified by police this year. We hope that the
fact that police are working on more complex TIP-related
cases leads to more prosecutions in the future, but time
will tell. In his initial courtesy call on December 6 with
the Minister of Justice, Zbigniew Ziobro, Ambassador Ashe
raised our commitment to combating trafficking and our hope
that the new GOP will also make it a priority. The Embassy
will continue to press for further programs on TIP issues
with the Polish government.
HILLAS