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### Viewing cable 09REYKJAVIK49, NINTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT FOR

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
09REYKJAVIK49 | 2009-03-06 16:04 | 2011-01-13 05:05 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Reykjavik

`

    VZCZCXRO2379
    OO RUEHAG RUEHAST RUEHDA RUEHDBU RUEHDF RUEHFL RUEHIK RUEHKW RUEHLA
    RUEHLN RUEHLZ RUEHNP RUEHPOD RUEHROV RUEHSK RUEHSR RUEHVK RUEHYG
    DE RUEHRK #0049/01 0651625
    ZNR UUUUU ZZH
    O 061625Z MAR 09
    FM AMEMBASSY REYKJAVIK
    TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 4006
    INFO RUEHZL/EUROPEAN POLITICAL COLLECTIVE
    RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
    RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC
    RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
    RUEAHLC/HOMELAND SECURITY CENTER WASHDC

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 REYKJAVIK 000049

    SENSITIVE

    SIPDIS

    DEPARTMENT FOR EUR/NB, G/TIP, G (ACBLANK), INL, DRL, PRM, AND
    EUR/PGI
    STATE PASS USAID

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: PHUM KCRM KWMN ELAB SMIG KTIP KFRD PREF IC
    SUBJECT:  NINTH ANNUAL ANTI-TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS (TIP) REPORT FOR
    ICELAND (PART 1 OF 2)

    REFS: A) STATE 5577
      B) 08 STATE 132759

    SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED -- ENTIRE TEXT

    ¶1.  (SBU) Embassy point of contact on the trafficking in persons
    (TIP) issue is Political Officer Brad Evans, tel.
    +354-562-9100x2294, fax +354-562-9139, unclassified e-mail
    EvansBR@state.gov.

    Hours spent on preparation:
    - Pol Officer (FS 02) 18 hrs
    - Pol Assistant  50 hrs
    - DCM      1 hrs
    Total:    63 hrs

    ¶2.  (SBU) Part 1 of Embassy's submission follows, keyed to reftel
    format.  Part 2 will follow septel.

    Begin text of submission:

    THE COUNTRY'S TIP SITUATION:

    -- A. Sources of information:

    The only information presently available on TIP is anecdotal in
    nature, though government officials' and NGOs' accounts of the
    problem are largely consistent.  As in years past, post's sources -
    especially NGOs - maintain that they have seen several concrete
    examples of trafficking.  There are no current government plans to
    undertake comprehensive documentation of trafficking.

    Official reporting on the problem of TIP is limited to a brief
    discussion in the February 2009 annual report by the National Police
    Commissioner on threats to Iceland from organized crime and
    terrorism.  The report noted the existence of (illegal) organized
    prostitution rings in Iceland and speculated that these rings may
    traffic women to Iceland for the purposes of prostitution.
    Government officials have confirmed to post that they believe
    trafficking exists in Iceland and have shared anecdotal information
    on the issue, but have reiterated that no comprehensive reporting
    exists.

    There has been some limited media reporting on TIP, generally
    related to specific cases.  During the reporting period two cases of
    alleged trafficking in persons received media coverage.

    The Icelandic Red Cross began an investigation in January 2009 to
    measure the scope of the trafficking problem, and expects to issue a
    report on it in June 2009.

    -- B. Is the country a country of origin, transit, and/or
    destination for internationally trafficked men, women, or children?
    Internal trafficking? Outline of victims and changes to situation?

    Summary:  Estimates by police sources and NGOs put the number of
    victims during the reporting period between 5-20.  Iceland is a
    country of destination and likely a country of transit for
    trafficked women (primarily in the sex industry) and to a lesser
    extent for men (restaurant and construction industry).  One NGO
    source reported knowledge of a woman resident in Iceland who was
    trafficked from the country during the reporting period.  There are
    no indications of trafficking within Iceland; post sources agree
    that with rare exception victims are trafficked internationally to
    the greater Reykjavik metropolitan area.  The situation with regard
    to sex trafficking to and through Iceland appears unchanged.
    Reports of labor exploitation of foreign construction workers (in
    rare cases, possibly trafficked to Iceland) have decreased
    dramatically.  Individual cases of alleged trafficking received
    greater attention in the media than in previous years.  End
    summary.

    The government did not officially identify any cases of trafficking
    during the reporting period.  However, estimates by police and NGO
    sources agree that there were likely 5-20 alleged victims, most if
    not all female. There were isolated cases of origin and destination.

    For the current reporting period, post considers 5-20 victims to be
    a credible estimate of the scope of the problem, though we are
    concerned over the lack of a formal, comprehensive study of TIP in
    Iceland.  Even the harshest critics of government policy concede

    REYKJAVIK 00000049  002 OF 006

    that there are likely only a handful of victims each year.

    Most alleged cases include underpaid and/or mistreated workers in
    nightclubs and massage parlors as well as prostitutes trafficked
    from Eastern Europe, Africa, Brazil, and Southeast Asia.  Nightclub
    and massage parlor workers -- who are alleged to be forced to work
    as prostitutes -- may stay for several months before being
    trafficked onward, while other prostitutes may spend only a few days
    in Reykjavik before being moved abroad.

    A Metropolitan Police source said that there had been five possible
    TIP cases during the reporting period, all involving foreign
    prostitutes and most likely linked to European-based organized crime
    rings. An NGO representative said that she had seen as many as 13
    possible TIP victims who had been involved in prostitution or
    abusive marriages.

    One of Post's sources claimed at least one woman had been trafficked
    into prostitution from Iceland to a Pacific island, a direct
    consequence of the economic crisis that hit Iceland beginning in
    October 2008.  The woman's nationality is unknown, but she is not of
    Icelandic origin and does not have Icelandic citizenship.  Post has
    been unable to independently confirm this case.

    Undocumented foreign workers - mostly Baltic and Eastern European -
    in Iceland's construction and manufacturing sector may be exploited,
    but most sources opine that these are cases of immigrant and
    employment law violations rather than trafficking in persons.  Post
    agrees with this assessment.  Press accounts of such cases have
    drastically decreased during the reporting period compared to the
    previous year; post's contacts in the government confirm a decline
    in reported violations. Furthermore, size of the immigrant labor
    force has been reduced drastically as a result of Iceland's
    financial and economic collapse beginning in fall 2008..

    There was one reported case in February 2008 that came to light
    during the reporting period alleging that at least two and as many
    as five workers at a Chinese restaurant were trafficked to Iceland
    and forced to work under substandard conditions.

    There was no evidence of trafficking in children.

    -- C. What kind of conditions are the victims trafficked into?

    With regard to sex trafficking, most alleged cases include underpaid
    and/or mistreated workers in nightclubs and massage parlors as well
    as prostitutes trafficked from Eastern Europe, Africa, Brazil, and
    Southeast Asia.  Nightclub dancers and massage parlor workers -- who
    are alleged to be forced to work as prostitutes in addition to their
    stated job duties -- may stay for several months before being
    trafficked onward, while other prostitutes may spend only a few days
    in Reykjavik before being moved abroad.

    Legal measures to reduce the number and operations of strip clubs in
    the Reykjavik Metropolitan Area -- the predominant loci of TIP
    cases, according to post sources -- have been somewhat successful.
    Beginning in 2007, police and municipal governments strengthened the
    licensing requirements for such establishments, leading many to go
    out of business.  At the end of the reporting period only three
    strip clubs remained in operation in the whole country, all in the
    Reykjavik Metropolitan Area.  The owners were apparently able to
    exploit loopholes in the law on the operations of entertainment
    establishments to remain in operation, although this legislation had
    in effect outlawed strip shows as well as lap dances in 2007.  NGO
    representatives and police say that rumors continue to circulate
    regarding prostitution and illegal nude shows and lap dances in the
    handful of the remaining establishments.

    Nightclub dancers are allegedly encouraged, and sometimes obligated,
    to provide sexual services during performances in private rooms as
    well as to make prostitution calls outside the clubs.  Foreign
    prostitutes brought to Iceland for shorter periods of time are often
    required to provide sexual services in hotels or private apartments,
    where they stay during their time in the country.  In one case, the
    head of a prostitution ring seized the passports of four foreign
    women resident in Iceland and forced three of them to work as
    prostitutes in order to earn money in exchange for the return of
    their documents.  The women worked as prostitutes in apartments in
    the greater Reykjavik area but were not forced to live there
    full-time.  [See Overview E, below.]

    Media reports of undocumented foreign workers living in industrial

    REYKJAVIK 00000049  003 OF 006

    space and less-than-optimal living conditions -- having mostly
    vanished from news reports during 2007 -- did not resurface during
    the reporting period.  The inflow of Eastern European and Baltic
    citizens who have been coming to Iceland in search of employment,
    virtually stopped and many have returned to their home countries in
    wake of the financial and economic collapse that hit Iceland in
    October 2008.  In the case of Chinese restaurant workers allegedly
    trafficked to Iceland, the workers were reportedly forced to live in
    the same building as the restaurant and were paid grossly
    substandard wages.  Their travel documents were falsified by the
    traffickers, who seized the documents upon the victims' arrival in
    Iceland.

    -- D. Vulnerability to TIP: Are certain groups of persons more at
    risk of being trafficked (e.g. women and children, boys versus
    girls, certain ethnic groups, refugees, IDPs, etc.)?

    Women from Eastern Europe, Russia, Africa, Brazil, and Southeast
    Asia appear to be the primary victims of TIP in Iceland.

    -- E. Traffickers and Their Methods:

    A February 2009 report by the National Police Commissioner on
    organized crime and terrorist threats in Iceland confirmed the
    existence of organized prostitution involving international
    organized crime rings, who traffic foreign women to Iceland for the
    purpose of prostitution.  Traffickers are often connected with
    dealers of illegal narcotics.  Icelandic criminal elements serve as
    local agents for the foreign organized crime rings, according to the
    report and the 2008 edition of the same report.

    Iceland is in the Schengen Zone as well as the European Economic
    Area (EEA), which allows for the free flow of travelers and workers
    between Iceland and other European countries.  Workers from EEA
    countries may come to Iceland visa-free for up to three months to
    seek employment.  Traffickers reportedly use this provision to bring
    prostitutes to the country and then move them again before the
    expiration of the three-month period, thereby removing the need for
    false documents or fraudulent work permit applications.

    Suspected trafficking victims from non-EEA states most commonly hold
    valid visas from other Schengen countries, according to police
    officials.  Police officials tell post that as these travelers most
    commonly are arriving from elsewhere within the Schengen zone,
    police and customs officials at the port of entry (i.e., the
    country's sole international airport) have limited authorization to
    detain them for further questioning unless they are suspected of
    involvement in narcotics trafficking.

    There are no reports of travel or employment agencies or marriage
    brokers acting as fronts for traffickers.

    Two cases during the reporting period shed further light on
    traffickers' methods.  In the first, in March 2008, labor
    authorities and union representatives reported that the Chinese
    owners of a Chinese restaurant in Reykjavik were suspected of having
    trafficked several of its kitchen staff to the country.  Two Chinese
    individuals were allegedly forced to live above the restaurant --
    while being registered as living in an apartment elsewhere in
    Reykjavik -- and were not paid according to union contracts.  The
    Chairman of the Icelandic Union of Food and Restaurant Workers said
    that the restaurant applied for work permits for five Chinese chefs
    in 2007.  The qualifications of the workers submitted by the
    restaurant were not adequate.  The owners left Iceland in the fall
    of 2007, perhaps for Belgium and France where they had their legal
    address. At that time, the Icelandic immigration authorities were
    alerted to the case. However, it was not until March 2008 that
    police got the information about alleged human trafficking.

    In this case, the union discovered that payments to the five workers
    were not in accordance with union contracts. The union chairman
    claims that the employers had at least two of the Chinese workers
    pay them money to come to work in Iceland, and then give ten percent
    of their wages to them under threat of violence.  The workers were
    brought to Iceland using false documents procured by the traffickers
    and which were seized by the traffickers upon arrival in the
    country.  The union chairman said that at least two of the workers
    had never seen their hiring contracts, and had only received 50-100
    thousand Icelandic kronur ($443 - $885) per month. The other three
    workers did not comment on their pay or working conditions, and
    police and union officials suspect they were in fact relatives of
    the restaurant's owners.  The union chairman complained to post that

    REYKJAVIK 00000049  004 OF 006

    police resources -- and perhaps priorities -- were insufficient to
    see the case to its conclusion. No charges were filed by the victims
    in the case, but police started the investigation on their own
    accord. The police finished the investigation in September and sent
    the case to the Metropolitan Police Prosecution Division where it
    remains as of the end of the reporting period.

    The second, more prominent case during the reporting period involved
    a female Icelandic citizen of Equatorial Guinean descent, who is
    suspected of having operated brothels in apartments in central
    Reykjavik and in the neighboring town of Hafnarfjordur.  The woman
    forced four other Equatorial Guinean women into prostitution.  In a
    television interview, the alleged madam confirmed that the women
    were "entertaining men" but denied that anything improper had taken
    place.  Police officials confirmed to post the substance of media
    reports alleging that in September 2008 the woman employed had three
    Icelandic men, who had connections to the narcotics world, assault
    the four victims and seize their money and passports.  All four
    women had a Schengen area residence permit and were resident in
    Iceland at the time of the assault.

    The madam then told the victims that in order to retrieve their
    passports, they would have to prostitute themselves and use the
    proceeds to pay 100,000 kronur ($885) each.  All four were
    subsequently forced into prostitution.  One of the victims, who had
    suffered a miscarriage as a result of the assault, made claims in
    the media that the madam did not successfully force her into
    prostitution.  Police, however, told post that these claims were
    incorrect. The women eventually sought temporary shelter at the
    country's sole Women's Shelter, but their stay was short-lived.
    [See PROTECTION, B.]  The victims were still present in Iceland at
    the end of the reporting period and were assisting in the case
    investigation.  Their passports were recovered by police and
    returned to them.

    In February, the madam was arrested at Keflavik International
    Airport on arrival from Amsterdam on drug-related charges both in
    Iceland and abroad.  She was additionally charged with sexual
    violence offenses stemming from the prostitution-related
    allegations.  She was held in police custody for questioning for one
    week, and has subsequently been released while the investigation
    continues.

    SETTING THE SCENE FOR THE GOVERNMENT'S ANTI-TIP EFFORTS:

    -- A. Does the government acknowledge that trafficking is a problem
    in the country?  If not, why not?

    The government of Iceland has acknowledged that trafficking is a
    worldwide problem, including Iceland.  That said, the government's
    focus on TIP issues remains on victim protection and assistance as
    in the previous year.  Iceland is a signatory to the Palermo
    Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime as well as the two
    Palermo Protocols on TIP and Migrant Smuggling.  However, despite
    the parliament's approval of ratification of the Palermo Convention
    in May 2008, the government has yet to deposit its instruments of
    ratification.  The parliament has yet to ratify the two Palermo
    Protocols.

    The greatest commitment to dealing with the problem of TIP has come
    from the current Prime Minister, who for most of the reporting
    period was the Minister of Social Affairs and only assumed her
    current position in February 2009. As Minister of Social Affairs,
    she requested in the fall of 2007 that her ministry become the lead
    agency on TIP, and announced plans to develop a government-wide
    action plan on prevention of trafficking in persons and support to
    TIP victims (see PREVENTION: D)

    Police reports (such as the National Commissioner of Police
    assessment referred to in Overview A and E above) note the existence
    of prostitution connected to international criminal organizations
    and utilizing foreign prostitutes, and assume that Iceland is a
    destination and transit country for TIP as a result. During the
    reporting period, police officials -- such as the District
    Commissioner for Sudurnes, which includes the country's sole
    international airport -- also frankly stated in media interviews and
    in interviews with Post that TIP exists in Iceland, though only in
    limited numbers.

    -- B. Which government agencies are involved in anti-trafficking
    efforts and which agency, if any, has the lead?

    REYKJAVIK 00000049  005 OF 006

    The following agencies are involved in anti-trafficking efforts:
    -- Ministry of Social Affairs (including the Equal Rights Office and
    Directorate of Labor): lead agency.
    -- Ministry of Justice (including the Directorate of Immigration,
    State Prosecutor's Office, and National Commissioner of Police and
    local police forces.
    -- Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

    -- C. What are the limitations on the government's ability to
    address this problem in practice?

    Government efforts to address TIP face two major limitations.  The
    first is the lack of a detailed understanding of the problem.  As
    noted above, there has been no detailed official
    information-gathering on the scope of the problem.  Post concurs
    with the Icelandic government and NGO community's anecdotal
    assessment that the problem affects 5-20 victims per year, but has
    consistently noted the lack of hard statistics.

    Post's assessment is that the lack of detailed official study of the
    problem ties into the second major obstacle:  a shortage of
    available police assets in Iceland.  For example, the country's
    entire local and national police forces have fewer than 800
    personnel, including administrative and support staff.  The National
    Police Commissioner's Office, which has primary responsibility for
    organized crime and narcotics investigations at the national level,
    has only three officers in its national security division (which
    covers both international organized crime and counterterrorism
    issues) and six officers in its narcotics division.  Given these
    limitations it is on some levels unsurprising that the police are
    unable to devote assets exclusively to the problem of TIP.

    The collapse of the Icelandic financial system in October 2008 and
    the ramifications of that required police to focus their energies on
    providing public order and crowd control at political protests that
    in their scope, number, and intensity were unlike anything the
    country had seen in the last half-century.  Allocation of manpower
    and funds to other fronts, including TIP, thus became very limited,
    exacerbating previous resource issues.  Post anticipates that
    government-wide budget cuts and already-announced police layoffs
    will only worsen this situation over the coming year.

    Previously, funding for police and other institutions that handle
    TIP issues was adequate for a reactive approach but inadequate to
    fund active measures to prevent potential new cases. The January
    2007 launch of an intelligence and analytical unit within the office
    of the National Police Commissioner, intended to strengthen
    proactive measures to combat international organized crime, has
    improved National Police and Ministry of Justice awareness of
    organized crime problems.  However, some local police commissioners
    have in the past noted to post that they have seen little direct
    benefit from the intelligence and analytical unit, and that
    cooperation between national and local levels on TIP and other
    organized crime issues could be improved greatly.  The Reykjavik
    Metropolitan Police say they have a close relationship with other
    police districts, and this would also apply in the case of possible
    TIP issues.

    Programs to provide emergency shelter and crime victim compensation,
    which in theory could be used to help TIP victims, have rarely been
    tested in the trafficking context.

    Given this resource shortage, police are likely directed to focus
    their limited assets elsewhere.  NGO sources observed to post that
    Icelandic police do not question possible TIP victims - such as
    foreign prostitutes purportedly employed by a third party - to find
    out if they are trafficking victims, but instead quickly deport them
    on other grounds.  Police sources confirmed this claim.

    -- D. To what extent does the government systematically monitor its
    anti-trafficking efforts?

    There is no systematic government monitoring of anti-trafficking
    efforts as such - i.e., none beyond ordinary recordkeeping as to
    laws proposed and passed.  Primary responsibility for
    anti-trafficking work currently lies with the Ministry of Social
    Affairs, which oversees victim protection and assistance.

    Post expects that the national anti-TIP action plan currently being
    drafted (see PREVENTION D) will include measures to systematically
    monitor government anti-TIP efforts.

    REYKJAVIK 00000049  006 OF 006

    End text of submission Part 1 of 2.

    VAN VOORST

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    SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED

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