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### Viewing cable 06HELSINKI182, FINLAND: 2006 ANNUAL TRAFFICKING-IN-PERSONS REPORT

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Reference ID | Created | Released | Classification | Origin
--- | --- | --- | --- | ---
06HELSINKI182 | 2006-03-08 07:07 | 2011-04-24 00:12 | UNCLASSIFIED//FOR OFFICIAL USE ONLY | Embassy Helsinki

`

    This record is a partial extract of the original cable. The full text of the original cable is not available.

    080756Z Mar 06

` `

    UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 09 HELSINKI 000182

    SIPDIS

    SENSITIVE

    STATE FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, AND EUR/NB

    E.O. 12958: N/A
    TAGS: PHUM SOCI SMIG PGOV KCRM ELAB KWMN ASEC KFRD PREF FI
    SUBJECT: FINLAND:  2006 ANNUAL TRAFFICKING-IN-PERSONS REPORT

    REF: A. STATE 03836

         ¶B. 05 HELSINKI 01277
         ¶C. 05 HELSINKI 00353

    ¶1.  (SBU)  The following responses are keyed to the checklist
    in ref A.  Embassy Helsinki's point of contact on TIP is
    Political Officer David Allen Schlaefer;
    SchlaeferDA2@state.gov; 358-09-6162-5482 or
     358-050-322-7923.  The Embassy estimates that 80 hours of
    time were spent preparing this report.

    Overview of Trafficking in Finland
    ----------------------------------
    ¶2.  (SBU)  A:  Finland is a transit and destination country
    for trafficked men, women, and children; it is not a source
    country.  There are no reliable estimates as to the actual
    incidence of TIP in Finland, and there have been no
    systematic studies of the phenomenon.  The GoF has agreed to
    fund a comprehensive IOM survey of trafficking in Finland;
    IOM expects to begin this project in the summer of 2006.
    Past estimates of the incidence of TIP in Finland appear to
    have been inaccurate due to conflation of organized
    prostitution/trafficking, and to circular reporting within
    the GoF and the NGO community.  The GoF identified 15 likely
    TIP victims during the reporting period; however, it is
    believed that the number of victims trafficked through
    Finland to elsewhere in Europe (and, in some cases, even the
    United States) may be higher.  Most victims trafficked
    through Finland are probably women and girls destined for
    western Europe's commercial sex industry and come from
    Russia, China, and, to a lesser extent, Moldova and the
    Caucasus.

    ¶3.  (SBU)  B:  There is strong political will at the highest
    levels to combat TIP.  Law enforcement officials believe
    trafficking patterns through Finland have changed in recent
    years.  The Criminal Intelligence Division of Finland's
    National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) reports that Estonian
    organized crime syndicates formerly engaged in trafficking
    and prostitution are no longer active in these areas;
    however, they remain active in narcotics smuggling.  Finnish
    officials attribute this to Estonia's entry into the EU and
    pending entry into the Schengen region, as well as economic
    development within Estonia.  Overall, the number of Estonian
    women working as prostitutes in Finland has dramatically
    decreased.  Russian organized crime syndicates remain active
    in trafficking and prostitution.  Although there are no "red
    light" districts in Finland, there are a handful of
    nightclubs and casinos in larger cities such as Helsinki,
    Turku, and Tampere that are run by or associated with the
    Russian mafia.  Russian women work as prostitutes inside
    these nightclubs.  Finnish authorities and NGOs believe some
    of the women working in these clubs may have been trafficked;
    the women were aware that they were coming to Finland to work
    as prostitutes, but after arrival the "rules" are changed and
    they receive less compensation and are pressured to see more
    clients than anticipated.  It is believed that economic
    coercion and exploitation of women with limited financial
    resources plays a larger role than physical coercion in the
    recruitment and retention of these women by the crime
    syndicates.

    ¶4.  (SBU)  B, cont.:  Despite the presence of Russian
    criminal organizations in Finland, the actual number of TIP
    victims inside the country appears low.  However, Finnish
    police are increasingly concerned about the transit dynamic,
    particularly trafficking from Asia.  According to police,
    Chinese snakehead gangs have begun to use expanded air routes
    to Helsinki's Vantaa Airport from Beijing, Shanghai, and
    Bangkok for human smuggling and trafficking.  Migrants and
    TIP victims then change planes and fly to their destinations
    elsewhere in the Schengen Region.  Since the travellers
    usually have valid visas for their onward destinations and --
    even in TIP cases -- are often uncooperative when referred to
    secondary inspection, it is difficult for Finnish Frontier
    Guard and Customs officials to intercept them.  More than 100
    presumed smuggled migrants have been stopped at Vantaa
    Airport during the past year and referred to asylum and
    refugee processing centers.  (NOTE: These migrants have an
    opportunity to claim asylum before deportation proceedings).
    Since Finnish reception centers are "open," almost all of the
    referred Chinese persons subsequently disappeared from the
    shelters, usually within 24 hours of arrival.  It is presumed
    that they continued on toward their destination by ferry.
    Ten Asians (Chinese and Thai) were intercepted at Vantaa and
    presumed to be TIP victims.  Seven of the 10 were minors.
    These victims were taken into protective custody and housed
    in separate facilities at a government refugee reception
    center.  After having been given an opportunity to remain at
    least temporarily in Finland, they chose to return to China.

    ¶5.  (SBU)  B, cont.:  The March-April 2005 case (see ref C)
    of a busload of Georgian women attracted considerable
    attention in Finland and Georgia.  The bus was intercepted at
    the Finnish-Russian border, and the women on board were
    subsequently housed at a reception center run by the Labor
    Ministry until their return to Georgia.  The women were
    uncooperative with police and, although offered the
    opportunity to remain at least temporarily in Finland, asked
    to be returned immediately to Georgia.  Georgian (and some
    Finnish) media criticized the GoF's handling of the case,
    accepting the women's' claim that they were tourists
    travelling to Italy, and alleging that they would now face
    stigmatization and humiliation in Georgia as presumed
    prostitutes.  Finnish officials maintain that the women were
    illegal migrants being smuggled to Italy to work as
    domestics, and that the bus in question was only the latest
    in a series of similar incidents in which tourist buses were
    used to transport both smuggled migrants and TIP victims
    through Finland and into the EU.  Subsequent to the incident,
    Finnish authorities report that the "Georgian bus" phenomenon
    has ceased, and that the organizers and traffickers have
    apparently chosen to bypass Finland and attempt alternate
    routes into the EU.

    ¶6.  (SBU)  B, cont.:  Labor Ministry officials are concerned
    about labor trafficking to Finland.  The incidence of such
    activity is unknown, but the GoF believes that some smuggled
    workers in the construction industry could be exploited after
    arrival in Finland.  The ministry has formed a special
    working group together with trade union officials to
    investigate the situation.  The group's initial report is due
    in May 2006.  The GoF also believes a smaller number of
    Asians may be forced to work in unacceptable conditions in
    restaurants and as domestic workers (employed by Asians,
    often with family ties to the victims).  Finnish police
    report that investigating such cases is very difficult
    because of the closed nature of the small Asian community in
    Finland, language barriers, and the unwillingness of victims
    or witnesses to cooperate with Finnish authorities.

    ¶7.  (SBU)  C:  Corruption is not a problem in Finland.  Law
    enforcement and legal authorities suffer from some
    underfunding due to budget constraints.

    ¶8.  (SBU)  D:  The GoF has an interagency TIP working group
    that meets regularly and monitors all aspects of the
    government's anti-TIP efforts.  The working group is
    currently monitoring the implementation of the 2005 National
    Action Plan (NAP).  The GoF releases periodic statements
    about its anti-TIP efforts, as well as disseminating
    information through multilateral organizations like the
    Nordic-Baltic Task Force Against Trafficking.  GoF
    representatives brief NGO-sponsored seminars and meetings on
    trafficking.

    Prevention
    ----------
    ¶9.  (SBU)  A:  The GoF acknowledges the trafficking problem
    and has taken proactive steps to combat it.

    ¶10.  (SBU)  B:  The GoF's interagency working group is
    composed of representatives from the Ministries of Foreign
    Affairs, Labor, Interior, Justice, Social Affairs, and
    Education, and from the Frontier Guard, Customs Service, and
    National Bureau for Investigation.  The Labor and Interior
    Ministries have the lead and rotate every six months as
    chair.  Mervi Virtanen, the Director of International
    Relations at the Labor Ministry, is the current chairperson.

    ¶11.  (SBU)  C:  Within Finland, the Social Affairs Ministry
    has the lead on domestic prevention programs.  The programs
    are primarily geared toward demand reduction, especially
    Finns who might travel abroad to engage in sex tourism.
    During the reporting period, posters and other media
    targeting clients and challenging the view that sex tourism
    is a "victimless" crime have been displayed at
    ports-of-entry, post offices, and other locations.  A
    separate information campaign running from 2003-2006 in
    northern Finland aims to discourage clients and advise
    Russian women that they can seek help from Finnish
    authorities.  Similar campaigns are underway in Finnish
    Karelia and in Oulu.  The Education Ministry includes
    education about trafficking in its curriculum for high school
    students.  The GoF also funds an NGO-operated hotline for TIP
    and domestic violence victims.

    ¶12.  (SBU)  C, cont.:  Finland's largest prevention projects
    are outside its borders, aimed at creating economic
    opportunities for at-risk women and girls before they are
    caught up in the trafficking dynamic.  Projects that are
    currently being funded by the GoF include:

    Russia:

    --  Finland is a main contributor to a Nordic-Baltic Task
    Force Against Trafficking project in Murmansk focused on
    providing education, information, and economic opportunities
    for at-risk women.

    --  In St. Petersburg, Finland has funded a 400,000 Euro
    ILO-IPEC (International Program for the Elimination of Child
    Labor) program to combat the abuse of homeless children
    preyed on by traffickers and sexual predators.  The program
    runs from 2005-2007.

    --  In Moscow, Finland has funded a similar 300,000 Euro
    ILO-IPEC program to combat the abuse of homeless children
    at-risk for trafficking.  The program also runs from
    2005-2007.

    --  In Kaliningrad, Finland has funded a 151,040 Euro IOM
    project called "Trafficking Assessment and
    Counter-trafficking Capacity Building for the Kaliningrad
    Oblast."  The aim of the project is to prepare an extensive
    study on human trafficking in the region and promote
    cooperation among local judicial, police, and NGO actors to
    combat TIP. The project runs through the end of 2006.

    --  In Russian Karelia, Finland is currently financing an
    anti-TIP project parallel to the one described in para 11 on
    the Finnish side of the border.

    Ukraine:

    --  Finland is currently financing an NGO project that
    includes a hotline and video spots targeting TIP victims.
    Informational seminars were also conducted by the same
    project in several areas of the country, including video
    presentations at schools.  To date, the GoF has provided
    32,376 Euro for the project, operated by the "La Strada
    Ukraine" NGO.

    Moldova:

    --  In 2004, Finland provided 1 million Euro to IOM for an
    ongoing multi-year anti-trafficking project; the grant was
    the single-largest grant to an NGO in Finnish history.

    --  Finland is currently financing a project by the
    International Helsinki Foundation (IHF) that aims to combat
    human trafficking through a combination of police training
    and education campaigns for women's rights.

    Multilateral Prevention Efforts:

    --  In addition to the above projects, Finland plays an
    active role in the anti-TIP efforts of the Nordic-Baltic Task
    Force Against Trafficking, the Council of Baltic Sea States,
    the Barents Euro Arctic Council, and provides additional
    funding to these organization's projects.

    ¶13.  (SBU)  D:  See response in para 12 above.

    ¶14.  (SBU)  F:  Finland is a social welfare state where the
    government is expected to assume responsibility for many
    services that elsewhere are largely provided by NGOs.  As a
    result, there are no NGOs exclusively working on TIP, and
    only a few that address it among other issues of concern to
    women.  Finnish NGOs receive almost all of their funding from
    the GoF with few restrictions on their activity; however,
    Finnish NGOs in the past have been critical about the GoF's
    response to the problem.  This began changing in 2004-2005
    when NGOs were invited to participate in drafting the
    country's National Action Plan on TIP.  Relations have now
    considerably improved.  The Labor Ministry has formed a
    partnership with two NGOs to refer victims whenever possible
    from government-run shelters to NGO-run shelters.  NGO
    representatives are also participating in police training
    programs on victim identification.  Finn Church Aid, the
    Finnish Lutheran Church's assistance organization, has formed
    a particularly close collaborative relationship with the GoF.

    ¶15.  (SBU)  G:  Finnish law enforcement authorities monitor
    immigration patterns and screen applicants at ports-of-entry
    for TIP victims.  Given the close geographic proximity of St.
    Petersburg to the Finnish border, Finnish consular officers
    face a difficult task in screening visa applicants.  Russian
    applicants with modest resources may still credibly claim
    they intend to make a short, inexpensive visit to Finland for
    shopping or to visit friends, making adjudication tricky.  In
    response, the MFA in late 2005 designed a training program to
    teach Finnish officers to better detect trafficking
    situations as well as how to follow up when TIP is suspected
    (rather than simply refuse the visa).  The program was
    developed in cooperation with the Frontier Guard.

    ¶16.  (SBU)  H:  See para 10 above.

    ¶17.  (SBU)  J:  Finland's National Action Plan was formally
    adopted in April 2005.  The interagency working group is
    responsible for its implementation.  The plan calls for a
    victim-centered approach to TIP.  NGOs were a part of the
    working group that drafted the plan.  The NAP has been widely
    disseminated in Finnish society and was kicked off with a
    press conference by Foreign Minister Erkki Tuomioja.  As part
    of the overall implementation process, each agency
    represented in the working group in late 2005 developed its
    own internal implementation plan for its areas of
    responsibility.

    Investigation and Prosecution of Traffickers
    --------------------------------------------
    ¶18.  (SBU)  A:  Trafficking-in-persons for both sexual
    exploitation and forced labor is illegal.  The definition of
    trafficking used in the law mirrors that of the Palermo
    Protocol.  The maximum penalty for trafficking is up to 7
    years, allowing Finnish law enforcement authorities to use
    electronic surveillance techniques when investigating TIP
    cases.  Trafficking of minors is considered an aggravated
    offense, and penalties could be higher.  Related offenses
    such as human smuggling, kidnapping, pimping, pandering, and
    child rape can and have been used to prosecute traffickers.
    Finnish prosecutors have successfully prosecuted Finnish
    citizens who travelled abroad to have sex with minors
    (Thailand and Estonia).  These laws are adequate to cover the
    full scope of trafficking.

    ¶19.  (SBU)  B:  See para 18 above.

    ¶20.  (SBU)  C:  The maximum penalty for rape is 7 years, the
    same as that for trafficking.  An aggravated offense could
    carry a longer penalty.

    ¶21.  (SBU)  D:  Prostitution is legal, but the sale and
    purchase of sex in public is illegal.  The law is interpreted
    in such a way that brothels or other clubs with sex on
    premises are prohibited.  There are no "red light" districts
    in Finland.  Pimping, pandering, and organized prostitution
    are illegal.  The laws are generally enforced in practice,
    and there are periodic raids on nightclubs where prostitutes
    are known to operate to enforce the prohibition on public
    commercial sex.  Most "Finnish" prostitution is facilitated
    through the internet and takes place in hotel rooms or
    private apartments.  Foreign prostitutes, chiefly Russian,
    meet their clients at nightclubs and casinos.  The GoF in
    late 2005 introduced legislation to criminalize prostitution
    along the Swedish model, but it is still unclear how soon
    such a law might be approved by Parliament owing to
    opposition by feminist organizations that support legalized
    prostitution.

    ¶22.  (SBU)  E:  According to the Prosecutor-General's Office,
    there were three convictions during the reporting period for
    offenses related to trafficking.  In all three cases,
    prosecutors believed the essential elements of trafficking
    were present and initially sought trafficking convictions,
    but ultimately pursued related charges in order to obtain
    more punitive convictions quickly.  All three were "transit"
    cases, two involving Chinese nationals and one involving a
    Russian national.  The convicted traffickers are currently in
    prison in Finland.  Prosecutors also attempted to bring
    charges against two Russians who fled the country before
    arrests could be made.  The NBI reports that as of February,
    there were several ongoing investigations that could result
    in charges being brought against additional individuals in
    ¶2006.

    ¶23.  (SBU)  E, cont.:  Finnish prosecutors are eager to use
    new anti-TIP laws to prosecute traffickers, but admit that
    they lack the training and experience to do so effectively.
    Most trafficking cases in Finland involve individuals
    transiting through the country to elsewhere in Europe.
    Transit-trafficking cases are difficult to prove since the
    victims are intercepted in "mid-stream" and have not reached
    their final destination.  The GoF is taking steps to remedy
    this.  A training seminar for TIP prosecutors was held in
    Tampere in December, and another is scheduled for May.  The
    Embassy is also working with the Finns to increase their
    effectiveness.  Our Legatt will accompany three FBI profilers
    specializing in TIP to Finland in early April for training
    seminars with prosecutors and law enforcement personnel on
    victim identification and interviewing methods, and
    interrogatory techniques with trafficking suspects.  Our POL
    and PAS Sections are also working with the
    Prosecutor-General's Office to arrange a VOLVIS program in
    early fall putting Finnish prosecutors together with
    experienced American counterparts.
    ¶24.  (SBU)  F:  Trafficking to and through Finland is
    believed to be controlled by large Russian and Chinese
    organized crime syndicates.  The organizers typically remain
    outside of Finland, although lower-level operatives may
    accompany victims.  Travel agencies and marriage brokers are
    not involved.  The government is not involved.

    ¶25.  (SBU)  G:  Finland actively investigates trafficking.
    As part of its internal action plan, the National Bureau of
    Investigation formed a dedicated anti-trafficking unit.
    Finnish liaison officers with anti-trafficking responsibility
    are now stationed in Murmansk, Petrozavorsk, St. Petersburg,
    Moscow, Tallinn, The Hague, Lyon, Malaga, and as of April
    2006, Beijing.  Finland also participates in the "Nordic
    Cooperation Network," a network of Finnish, Swedish, Danish,
    Norwegian, and Icelandic law enforcement liaison officers
    scattered throughout Europe, Asia, and the Middle-East.
    Maximum sentences for traffickers are sufficient (7 years) to
    allow law enforcement to use electronic surveillance
    techniques when investigating trafficking rings.

    ¶26.  (SBU)  H:  See para 15 for a description of the MFA's
    training program for Finnish consular officers; and para 23
    for a description of Justice and Interior Ministry training
    programs for prosecutors and law enforcement personnel.  In
    addition, the NBI in December began an awareness and victim
    identification training program for police, and since April
    2005 approximately 400 Frontier Guards have cycled through a
    victim-identification training course designed by Major Ilkaa
    Herranen, a 2005 anti-trafficking IV participant.  Plans call
    for 1000 Frontier Guards to have completed the course by the
    end of 2006.

    ¶27.  (SBU)  I:  The GoF cooperates with other governments in
    the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases.
    Finnish officials are currently involved in several regional
    investigations, and in 2004-2005 played a major role in
    breaking up a regional Baltic trafficking ring that led to
    successful prosecutions in Latvia (including a Finn, who also
    faces additional charges in Finland when he is released from
    jail in Latvia).

    ¶28.  (SBU)  J:  Finland will extradite persons charged with
    trafficking to any country with which it has an extradition
    treaty.  Finland will extradite its own nationals on a case
    by case basis to other countries with which it has an
    extradition treaty, provided that the individual would not be
    subject to the death penalty if convicted of an offense.
    Finland has ratified the EU Arrest Warrant.

    ¶29.  (SBU)  K:  Government officials are not involved in
    trafficking.

    ¶30.  (SBU)  M:  Finland is not a source or destination
    country for child sex tourism.  At least two Finns have been
    prosecuted for having sex with minors abroad (Estonia and
    Thailand).

    ¶31.  (SBU)  N:  Finland is a signatory to the listed ILO,
    CRC, and UN conventions.

    Protection and Assistance to Victims
    ------------------------------------
    ¶32.  (SBU)  A:  Trafficking victims are taken to reception
    centers for refugees and asylum seekers operated by the Labor
    Ministry.  The system has a capacity for 2,539 persons
    country-wide, and operates at any point in time at 60%-80%
    capacity.  Two centers have been designated as "preferred"
    TIP shelters, one in Helsinki and another near the Russian
    border.  TIP victims are housed in separate units within the
    centers.  Finnish reception centers are open (residents can
    come and go), but visitors are screened by officials and not
    allowed to contact residents without their consent.  Victims
    receive legal counseling, medical and psychological services,
    and monthly stipends.  Recently, after urging from IOM and
    other NGOs, the GoF has revised its policy and is now
    encouraging victims to leave the reception centers as soon as
    possible for private NGO-run shelters.  There are several
    shelters for victims of domestic abuse that have expanded
    their services to include counseling and care for trafficking
    victims.  Through February, 8 of the 15 TIP victims
    identified during the past year were sheltered in a Labor
    Ministry-run reception center.

    ¶33.  (SBU)  A, cont.:  Finnish officials admit that the
    current system could be improved.  The reception centers are
    clean and well-run, and medical services are adequate, but
    counseling services remain a work in progress.  Psychologists
    from Finland's national health system have experience with
    victims of domestic abuse, but little to no experience with
    trafficking victims.  The GoF plans to address this training
    shortfall this year by pooling resources with other Nordic
    countries to sponsor a seminar(s) for counselors working with
    victims.  The language barrier can also be a problem.  There
    are few Chinese or Thai speakers in Finland, and Asian TIP
    victims may have difficulty communicating with Finnish
    caregivers.  Finally, the open nature of the reception
    centers can be problematic.  Finnish officials do not want to
    "detain" TIP victims, but several presumed victims left
    reception centers shortly after arrival and "disappeared"
    into Finnish society; it is unclear whether they attempted to
    reconnect with the traffickers that brought them to Finland,
    left the country on their own, or stayed in Finland as
    illegal migrants.  Dozens of smuggled persons brought to
    reception centers have also "disappeared" over the past year.

    ¶34.  (SBU)  B:  The GoF provides the majority of funding to
    Finnish NGOs for victim services.  The GoF also provides
    funding to IOM for work inside Finland and elsewhere.

    ¶35.  (SBU)  C:  The GoF in early 2006 began to refer and
    transfer victims from government reception centers to NGO-run
    shelters whenever possible.  This is only done in cases where
    government and NGO officials believe it is safe and in the
    best interest of the victim.  The IOM Office in Helsinki told
    the Embassy that after some initial hesitation, the GoF
    adopted this policy as a "best practice" that is successful
    in many other countries.  Finnish hesitation stems from the
    country's welfare-state culture that emphasizes the state's
    role in providing health, social and protective services.

    ¶36.  (SBU)  D:  The rights of TIP victims are now generally
    respected.  In the past, the police were quick to arrest and
    deport foreign prostitutes without screening to identify TIP
    victims.  Law enforcement officials now emphasize the
    screening process, and Finland intentionally adopted a
    victim-centered model to eliminate further trauma for
    possible TIP victims.

    ¶37.  (SBU)  E:  The government encourages victims to assist
    in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking.  Police
    and prosecutors have an informal system in place to protect
    victims that cooperate with investigations; the Interior
    Ministry is currently working on a formal witness protection
    program.
    ¶38.  (SBU)  F:  In addition to the open reception centers
    described in para 32, the GoF also uses "closed" centers to
    provide greater protection for persons deemed at-risk.  Seven
    of the 15 TIP victims identified during the reporting period
    were housed in these secure facilities, including all of the
    identified minors.  The same medical and psychological
    services described above are available to those in protective
    custody, but no outside contacts are allowed (other than
    medical, legal, and consular visits, etc.), and information
    about residents is protected.  Victims who testified at
    trials would be sheltered in such facilities.  Victims in
    protective custody are not allowed to leave the facility
    without supervision (if at all).  The GoF emphasizes that it
    uses protective custody arrangements only when absolutely
    necessary, and that any victims who choose to return to their
    country of origin will be allowed to do so as soon as
    arrangements can be made.  TIP victims are kept in separate
    units, and minors are kept in sex-segregated juvenile
    facilities apart from adults.

    ¶39.  (SBU)  See paras 15,23, and 26 for a description of GoF
    training initiatives.

    ¶40.  (SBU)  H:  There are no known cases of Finnish
    trafficking victims.

    ¶41.  (SBU)  I:   Major NGOs addressing trafficking (in
    addition to other issues) include:  IMO, Finn Church Aid,
    League of Finnish Feminists, Pro-tukipiste, MonikaNaiset, the
    Refugee Advice Center, and the National Council of Women in
    Finland.  Several of these NGOs operate shelters that provide
    assistance and counseling to TIP victims.  Pro-tupikiste
    operates a phone hotline.  Some NGOs are also active in
    demand reduction efforts.  All Finnish NGOs receive the bulk
    of their funding from the GoF.  NGOs participated in drafting
    the National Action Plan and are regularly consulted by the
    GoF on TIP issues.  Most recently, the Labor Ministry has
    worked with NGOs to develop a referral system to get TIP
    victims out of government-run reception centers and into NGO
    shelters whenever possible.  NGOs will also participate in an
    April law enforcement seminar on victim identification.

    A Finnish Hero
    --------------
    ¶42.  (SBU)  Major Ilkaa Herranen of Finland's Frontier Guard
    has played an instrumental role in influencing Finland's
    proactive victim-centered approach to combating TIP.  There
    has been a real sea change in official and public attitudes
    toward trafficking since 2002 in Finland.  Many Finns tended
    to downplay the seriousness of the phenomenon, seeing TIP as
    a "foreign problem" that didn't occur in or affect Finland.
    Finnish officials--especially law enforcement
    officials--generally shared this perspective.  Herranen
    stepped in to help change this.  First, he educated himself,
    taking advantage of opportunities like EU conference and
    training seminars and an Embassy-funded IV program to
    increase his understanding of the problem.  Next, he
    patiently and persistently worked within the system to change
    the political culture of the law enforcement community.
    Herranen did this at considerable risk to his career;
    trafficking was seen as a "soft" issue in law enforcement
    circles, and some supervisors and colleagues scoffed at his
    initial attempts to raise TIP's profile.  Eventually his work
    paid off.  As more officials were influenced by his growing
    expertise, and as senior opinion leaders like President Tarja
    Halonen spoke out against TIP, attitudes changed.  Finnish
    law enforcement today is committed to combating the problem,
    and Herranen is a big part of the reason why.

    ¶43.  (SBU)  Major Herranen has also influenced public
    attitudes toward trafficking.  Herranen has spoken at
    literally dozens of seminars, conferences, and smaller
    meetings, as well as appearing on television news coverage of
    trafficking.  Examples of his public outreach include remarks
    before the Orthodox and Lutheran Church hierarchies, before
    Parliament, at several NGO meetings including a roundtable of
    virtually all Finnish NGOs addressing women's issues, at
    several schools, and on a major television news magazine's
    expose of trafficking in the Nordic-Baltic region.  Shifting
    public opinion has enabled policymakers to secure the
    necessary resources to implement the National Action Plan.

    BEST PRACTICES
    --------------
    ¶44.  (SBU)  Finland's National Action Plan to combat
    trafficking was adopted in 2005.  An inter-agency working
    group co-chaired by the Labor and Interior Ministries was set
    up to oversee the NAP's implementation, providing horizontal
    integration to the process.  In addition, the working group
    required each ministry and agency to draft an "internal
    action plan" that mirrored the NAP's structure and style.
    Progress and problems related to the internal plans are
    regularly reported to the main working group.  This formal
    structural requirement--internal plans for all agencies with
    equity in the TIP process--has increased agency
    accountability and compliance, and enhanced the effectiveness
    of the national-level working group as a coordinating body.

    WARE

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