Germany is not only a destination country, but also a transit country through which people are trafficked. According to the criminal statistics, the police has registered 1, 197 victims of traffcking in the year 2000, of which 1, 174 were women. However, the undetected figure is much higher. Of the victims known to the police in Germany, almost 90% come from Central and Eastern European countries, with Ukraine at the top of the list of countries of origin, followed by Russia, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia and Poland.

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To better combat traffic in women, the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth has set up in 1997 a nationwide working group "Traffic in Women" in which the various federal and Land ministries, the Federal Criminal Police Office as well as the specialised advisory services are involved. It is the task of this working group to:

ensure the mutual exchange of information among its members concerning measures to combat traffic in women,

analyse the problems which could stand in the way of effectively combating traffic in women,

elaborating joint activities and proposals,

preparing German statements in the context of international measures.

One of the working group's achievements has been the elaboration of proposals concerning theadministrative regulations with respect to the Aliens Act,which were adopted on Oct. 9th, 2000 and grant victims of trafficking a grace period of at least 28 days, in order to give them time to prepare their return to their country of origin and to decide whether they want to co-operate with the German authorities as a witness for the prosecution. Another achievement is the development ofa co-operation concept for the protection of victim-witnessesin trials having to do with the traffic in human beings which is currently being discussed in the Conference of Ministers Responsible for Internal Affairs. This special witness protection concept builds on institutionalised co-operation between the police and the specialised advisory services and is therefore an additional example of this type of co-operation.

Furthermore, the Working Group on Traffic in Women has been responsible for deciding on the content of the information material destined for distribution in the main countries of origin (the pamphlets were translated, printed and distributed with the financial assistance of the Federal Ministry for Family Affairs, Senior Citizens, Women and Youth) and has discussed the contents of a campaign against traffic in women. On the agenda for the future are topics such as:

the implementation of the already elaborated witness protection concept, clarification of funding issues,

the question of job opportunities or training for women who remain in Germany for several years to serve as witnesses,

the planned law to improve the siphoning-off of extra profits,

the United Nation's additional protocol on traffic in human beings, especially women and children, which is currently being drawn up,

issues concerning the new media and the Internet.

In addition, co-ordinated co-operation between the authorities and specialised advisory services at home and abroad is of assistance in ensuring the safe return of foreign women to their home countries.

Source:Council of Europe, "Trafficking in Human Beings", EG (2000) 2 rev. 2, Volume II, April 2002, Joint OSCE ODIHR - Federal Republic of Germany Conference Report "Europe Against Trafficking in Persons", 15-16 October 2001, Berlin.

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