U.S. Department of State 2002 Trafficking in Persons Report - Germany

Germany (Tier 1)

Germany is a primarily a destination country, but also a transit country, for women and girls trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The Federal Office for Criminal Investigation publishes an annual trafficking report – limited to sex trafficking. The vast majority of victims trafficked to Germany come from the countries of the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, especially Lithuania, Russia, Ukraine, Poland, the Czech Republic, and Latvia. Some victims also come from Africa and Asia.

The Government of Germany fully complies with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, including making serious and sustained efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking with respect to law enforcement, protection of victims, and prevention of trafficking. Germany has a variety of federal criminal and labor laws against trafficking. State, not federal, agencies have the primary responsibility to investigate and prosecute trafficking cases, and they do so vigorously. The number of investigations conducted this past year increased; expert prosecutors try trafficking cases. German courts handed down many convictions of traffickers. Federal police train state police and border control officials on the interdisciplinary handling of trafficking cases. Protection for trafficking victims includes the granting of some temporary immigration benefits, such as a four-week grace period and temporary toleration for witnesses who remain for the duration of a trial. The police are required to inform an NGO if they encounter a trafficking victim. The government covers the costs of repatriation of victims. Victims of violence are also entitled to federal victims' compensation. In a recent legal development, these benefits are available also to undocumented aliens if they are witnesses in a case. Germany provides funding to many counseling centers and provides for extensive witness protection. A federally-financed "Federal Association Against the Traffic in Women and Violence Against Women in the Migration Process" represents the counseling centers at the national and international level. Prevention activities are considerable. The national interagency working group on trafficking links federal and state efforts with NGOs and facilitates cooperation programs between counseling centers and the police. Some states also have their own task forces and interagency groups. Overseas prevention work includes a brochure – available in a variety of languages – distributed through embassies and consulates abroad to potential victims before they enter Germany. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs recently cosponsored an international conference on trafficking to raise awareness about the issue. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs also sponsors anti-trafficking projects in foreign countries. Germany actively participates in several regional law enforcement organizations that combat trafficking.