Human trafficking in Armenia

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Armenia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in July 2003. [1]

Contents

In 2017, Armenia was a source country for women subjected to trafficking in persons (TIP), specifically forced prostitution; a source and destination country for women in forced labor; and a source country for men in forced labor. Women from Armenia were subjected to sex trafficking in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.

Armenian men and women were subjected to forced labor in Russia while Armenian women were subjected to forced labor in Turkey. Armenian boys were subjected to conditions of forced labor and Armenian women and girls were subjected to forced prostitution within the country. Women from Russia were subjected to conditions of forced labor in Armenia. [2] [3]

In January 2010, the Armenian government enacted legislation that increased the minimum penalty for convicted trafficking offenders to five years’ imprisonment, allowed for the confiscation of assets from convicted trafficking offenders, and exempted trafficking victims from criminal prosecution for crimes committed as a direct result of being trafficked. While the government did not provide funding for victim assistance in 2009, in March 2010 it allocated approximately $15,000 to an NGO-run shelter for facility rent. The government continued to implement its national trafficking victim referral mechanism and nearly doubled the number of victims it identified compared with the previous year. The government demonstrated modest progress in combating government officials’ complicity in trafficking. [2]

International response

The U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report was released in June 2014, and Armenia maintained its Tier 1 status, which they had achieved the year before making the country the only one to advance to the highest Tier. The ranking indicates that the government has acknowledged the existence of human trafficking, made significant efforts towards the problem, and complies with the given standards. Armenia was one of the world's most successful countries when it comes to the fight against human trafficking. [4]

The 2016 TIP report placed Armenia once again in "Tier 1", it made mention of the pivotal role Armenia's Anti-TIP Working Group was making, including representation from the government, civil society, and international organizations. [5]

The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 1" in 2017. [6] The country remained on "Tier 1" through the demonstration of serious and sustained efforts in the identification of victims, the adoption of a national action plan, and the establishment and allocation of funds for a compensation fund for trafficking victims. [3] Armenia delegates attended the 18th Alliance against Trafficking in Person Conference that was organized by the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) in Vienna in April 2018. 80 Countries were represented through various international and civil society organizations. The conference included various workshops focused on topics like enhancing access to compensation for crime victims, aspects of gender and human trafficking, the role of civil society, caring for minors, and the importance of the media in the fight against human trafficking. Armenia’s participation supports its efforts to modernize its law enforcement and counter transnational crime, including human and drug trafficking. [7]

In 2019, Armenia did not comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and therefore remained in "Tier 2", as in 2018. The government showed increasing efforts by providing training to law enforcement, organizing various awareness campaigns, actively identifying forced labor victims, and training 64 social workers to work together on trafficking issues. [8]

The country was placed at Tier 2 in 2023. [9]

In 2023, the Organised Crime Index gave the country a score of 3 out of 10 for human trafficking. [10]

Prosecution

The Armenian government has increased its overall law enforcement efforts against human trafficking; however, it has not demonstrated efforts to prosecute cases linked to previous allegations of government officials’ complicity. Armenia prohibits trafficking in persons for both forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation through Articles 132 and 132-1 of its penal code which, as amended in January 2010, prescribe penalties of at least five years’ imprisonment and up to 15 years’ imprisonment - penalties that are commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape.

The government investigated 15 cases of trafficking - including nine sex trafficking and six labor trafficking investigations - compared with 13 investigations in 2008. Armenian courts prosecuted 19 individuals in 12 trafficking cases during the reporting period, compared with eight individuals prosecuted in 2008. Authorities convicted 11 trafficking offenders in 2009 - including eight individuals for sex trafficking and three for labor trafficking - up from four convictions in 2008. All 11 convicted offenders in 2009 were given prison sentences; no traffickers received suspended sentences. Four offenders were given sentences ranging from three to five years’ and seven offenders were given sentences ranging from seven to 13 years’ imprisonment. As a result of the government’s anti-trafficking partnerships with outside parties, approximately 447 government officials received training from anti-trafficking NGOs, international organizations, foreign governments, and the Armenian government on a range of anti-trafficking issues including the application of Armenia’s anti-trafficking law and the national victim referral mechanism, investigation techniques, and forced labor. Although there were no new reports of government officials’ complicity in trafficking over the last year, the government demonstrated only modest progress in the reopened investigation of a well-documented 2006 corruption case. The separate trial of a former deputy principal of a state-run special needs school who was accused of forcing two students to beg in 2008 remained in progress at the conclusion of this reporting period. [2]

In 2017, the government of Armenia maintained the law enforcement efforts, and investigated 16 trafficking cases, compared to the 14 investigations from 2015. From the 16 cases, 5 were sex trafficking, 10 labor trafficking and one was both. That year the government also trained 334 investigators from the Investigative Committee and 83 police officers on labor trafficking issues. In cooperation with INTERPOL, the Armenian government coordinated investigations with four foreign governments. [3]

In 2019, Armenia did not convict any traffickers and prosecuted less than in 2018, making it the third consecutive year that the government identified fewer trafficking cases. Victims were subject to low access to justice, procedures and victim-witness protection which resulted in re-victimization and homelessness. Not a single government labor inspection was conducted throughout the reporting period which caused a reduction in the ability to identifying, investigating and preventing forced labor. [11]

Protection

The Government of Armenia has demonstrated mixed efforts to identify and provide protection to victims of trafficking. The government did not spend the funding that it had allocated for victim assistance in 2009, but in March 2010, it signed an agreement with a local NGO to provide funding for facility rent for one trafficking shelter from February through December 2010.

In September 2009, the government issued a decree that ensures victims are provided access to free state-provided medical services; two victims received such medical assistance during the reporting period. The government continued to implement its national victim referral mechanism. In March 2010, the government enacted changes to the national referral mechanism, increasing government-funded assistance and shelter for trafficking victims from seven to 30 days after their initial identification; additional assistance was contingent upon their cooperation with law enforcement investigations.

NGOs expressed concern that the national referral mechanism was disproportionately focused on prosecuting trafficking offenders rather than assisting victims. The government significantly increased the number of identified victims during the reporting period: law enforcement officials identified 60 victims in 2009 and referred 22 of them to NGOs for assistance, compared with 34 victims identified and 20 referred for assistance in 2008. Foreign-funded NGOs assisted 26 victims in 2009, compared with 24 victims in 2008. Victims were encouraged to cooperate with law enforcement bodies; in 2009, all 60 victims assisted police with trafficking investigations.

NGOs also reported improved sensitivity for victims’ rights among judges and prosecutors. Foreign trafficking victims identified within Armenia were permitted to stay in the country and work in the local economy. In November 2009, the government enacted a legislative amendment that exempts trafficking victims from criminal prosecution for any unlawful acts they may have committed as a direct result of being trafficked; there were no reports of victims being penalized for such acts during the reporting period. The lack of appropriate victim-witness protection continued to be an issue of concern; this may have hampered Armenia’s prosecution efforts. [2]

The protection efforts were maintained in 2017, where 22 victims were identified compared to the 9 from 2015. 19 of the victims accepted assistance from NGO-run shelters, and the government allocated 18.8 million AMD ($39,260) for victim protection efforts, including the costs to run the shelters. The government also placed 1.8 million AMD ($3,650) into the compensation fund which provides trafficking victims with a one time pay out of 250,000 AMD ($520). In February 2017, one of the NGO-run shelters was closed since the donor-funded project had ended. [3]

Prevention

The Armenian government has undertaken anti-human trafficking prevention efforts, particularly through awareness raising during the reporting period. In 2009, the government’s Migration Agency allocated about $8,000 for the publication and distribution of 100,000 brochures and leaflets describing legal procedures for Armenians seeking to work abroad. These materials were distributed to migrant travelers at the airport in Yerevan and also at employment centers and social resource centers.

The government also provided approximately $20,000 for an awareness campaign targeted at adolescents titled “Campaigns Among Youth to Increase Awareness on the Threat of Trafficking.” The campaign included a digital video conference discussion of the dangers of trafficking that aired on Armenian public television. The campaign also included additional regional workshops to train youth leaders about the dangers of trafficking – this information was then disseminated to their peers. Border officials did not specifically monitor emigration and immigration patterns for evidence of trafficking, and the government made no discernible efforts to reduce demand for commercial sex acts. [2]

In 2017 the government increased the prevention efforts for human trafficking and developed and adopted the 2016-2018 National Action Plan (NAP). The Inter-Agency Working Group against Trafficking in Persons regularly met throughout the year and published semi-annual and annual activity reports. Various prevention projects and activities were conducted by government agencies, and the police held awareness-raising discussions in schools, transmitted videos, and participated in television programs devoted to trafficking issues. Individuals that were crossing the border were provided with information on the risks of trafficking from the Ministry of Diaspora. [3]

See also

Related Research Articles

In 2010, Barbados was a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Some children in Barbados were subjected to commercial sexual exploitation in “transactional sex” wherein a third party such as a parent received a benefit from the child's participation in sexual activity. Researchers identified patterns of transactional sex within families, most often by adult male caretakers such as step-fathers, as well as child prostitution outside the home. Women from the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Jamaica voluntarily entered Barbados as illegal migrants, and some expected to engage in prostitution. Some of these women were exploited in forced prostitution subsequent to their arrival. Some other foreign women who entered the country illegally were exploited in involuntary domestic servitude in private homes. Foreign men have been transported to Barbados for the purpose of labor exploitation in construction and other sectors. Sex traffickers, primarily organized criminals from Guyana, formed partnerships with pimps and brothel owners from Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, and lured women to Barbados with offers of legitimate work. Trafficking victims tend to enter the country through legal means, usually by air; traffickers later used force and coercion to obtain and maintained the victims' work in strip clubs, massage parlors, some private residences, and “entertainment clubs” which operate as brothels. Traffickers used methods such as threats of physical harm or deportation, debt bondage, false contracts, psychological abuse, and confinement to force victims to work in construction, the garment industry, agriculture, or private households.

In 2009, Belarus was a source, destination, and transit country for women, men, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. The majority of identified Belarusian victims were females forced into prostitution abroad, including in: Russia, Germany, Latvia, other European countries, Turkey, Kazakhstan, Lebanon, and the UAE. There were reports that women from low-income families in Belarus’ regions were subjected to forced prostitution in Minsk. Belarusian men, women, and children continued to be subjected to forced begging, as well as forced labor in the construction industry and other sectors in Russia. According to the Ministry of Interior, Belarusian single, unemployed females between the ages of 16 and 30 were most at risk of being trafficked. Human traffickers often used informal social networks to approach potential victims.

Bolivia Bolivia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in May 2006.

In 2009 Bosnia and Herzegovina was primarily a source for Bosnian women and girls who were subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution within the country, though it was also a destination and transit country for foreign women and girls in forced prostitution in Bosnia and Western Europe. There were four identified victims from Serbia in 2009. Most trafficked women entered the country through Serbia or Montenegro. There were reports that some girls, particularly Roma, were trafficked, using forced marriage, for the purpose of involuntary domestic servitude, and that Roma boys and girls were subjected to forced begging by organized groups. There was one case involving Bosnian males recruited for labor and subjected to coercive conditions in Azerbaijan in 2009. NGO's report that traffickers frequently use intermediaries to bring clients to private apartments, motels, and gas stations where victims are held.

Botswana ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in August 2002.

Turkmenistan ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in March 2005.

Trinidad and Tobago ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in November 2007.

Romania is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and women and children in forced prostitution.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Papua New Guinea</span>

In 2009, Papua New Guinea was a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Women and children were subjected to commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude; trafficked men were forced to provide labor in logging and mining camps. Children, especially young girls from tribal areas, were most vulnerable to being pushed into commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor by members of their immediate family or tribe. Families traditionally sold girls into forced marriages to settle their debts, leaving them vulnerable to involuntary domestic servitude, and tribal leaders trade the exploitative labor and service of girls and women for guns and political advantage. Young girls sold into marriage were often forced into domestic servitude for the husband's extended family. In more urban areas, some children from poorer families were prostituted by their parents or sold to brothels. Migrant women and teenage girls from Malaysia, Thailand, China, and the Philippines were subjected to forced prostitution, and men from China were transported to the country for forced labor.

In 2009, Paraguay was a source and transit country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically sex trafficking, as well as a source and transit country for men, women, and children in forced labor. Most Paraguayan trafficking victims were found in Argentina, Spain, and Bolivia; fewer victims were exploited in Brazil, Chile, France, South Korea, and Japan. In one case, 44 suspected Paraguayan trafficking victims were detained at the international airport in Amsterdam, and Dutch authorities arrested the alleged trafficking offender. In another case, 13 Paraguayan women were found in conditions of forced prostitution in a brothel in La Paz, Bolivia. Paraguay was a destination country for 30 Indonesian orphans, who were allegedly brought into the country for a long-term soccer camp, but who the government suspects are trafficking victims.

Portugal ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in May 2004.

In 2009, Norway was a destination and to a lesser extent, a transit and origin country for women and girls subjected to human trafficking, specifically forced prostitution, and men and women subjected to forced labor in the domestic service and construction sectors. Some foreign migrants may have been subjected to forced labor in the health care sector. Victims identified in 2009 originated in 45 countries, but most originated in Nigeria or other African countries and Eastern Europe. Often, victims were from minority groups in their countries of origin. Criminal organizations were often involved in human trafficking in Norway, and trafficking schemes varied by victims' countries of origin. Children in Norwegian refugee centers and migrants denied asylum were vulnerable to human trafficking in Norway; 44 children went missing from refugee centers during the 2009 calendar year.

Hungary ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in December 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Ghana</span>

In 2009, Ghana was a country of origin, transit, and destination for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. The nonconsensual exploitation of Ghanaian citizens, particularly children, was more common than the trafficking of foreign migrants. The movement of internally trafficked children was either from rural to urban areas, or from one rural area to another, as from farming to fishing communities.

Guinea-Bissau is a source country for children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor, principally begging, and forced prostitution. Boys are sent to Senegal, and to a lesser extent Mali and Guinea, under the care of Koranic teachers called marabouts, or their intermediaries, to receive Islamic religious education. These teachers, however, routinely beat and subject the children, called talibé, to force them to beg, and subject them to other harsh treatment, sometimes separating them permanently from their families. UNICEF estimates that 200 children are taken from Guinea-Bissau each month for this purpose, and in 2008 a study found that 30 percent of the 8,000 religious students begging on the streets of Dakar are from Guinea-Bissau. Men, often former talibés from the regions of Bafata and Gabu, are the principal traffickers. In most cases they operate in the open, protected by their stature in the Muslim community. Some observers believe girls are also targets, and may be subjected to domestic labor in Guinea-Bissau or Senegal.

North Macedonia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in January 2005.

In 2009 Mauritius was not a major source for children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced prostitution within the country. Secondary school-age girls and, to a lesser extent, younger girls from all areas of the country, including from Rodrigues Island, were induced into prostitution, often by their peers, family members, or businessmen offering other forms of employment. Taxi drivers were known to provide transportation and introductions for both the girls and the clients. Girls and boys whose mothers engaged in prostitution were reportedly forced into prostitution at a young age. Some drug-addicted women were forced into prostitution by their boyfriends, who serve as their pimps. In Great Britain, two Malagasy nationals were convicted in 2009 of holding a small number of Mauritian nationals, as well as citizens of other countries, in conditions of forced labor; this appeared to be an isolated case of transnational human trafficking involving Mauritian citizens. Students from all over the world were forced into prostitution within the country.

Bulgaria ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in December 2001.

Croatia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in January 2003.

In 2009 El Salvador was a source, transit, and destination country for women and children who were subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Most victims were Salvadoran women and girls from rural areas who were forced into commercial sexual exploitation in urban areas, though some adults and children were subjected to forced labor as agricultural workers and domestic workers. The majority of foreign victims were women and children from neighboring countries, such as Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic, who migrated to El Salvador in response to job offers, but were subsequently forced into prostitution or domestic servitude. Trafficking offenders used fraudulent documentation to facilitate the movement of foreign victims. Salvadorans have been subjected to forced prostitution in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, the United States, Spain, and Italy.

References

  1. ↑ United Nations Treaty Collection website, Chapter XVIII Penal Matters section, Section 12a, retrieved August 19, 2024
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 "Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 Country Narratives - Countries A Through F". US Department of State. 2010-06-17. Archived from the original on 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2023-02-06.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  3. 1 2 3 4 5 "Trafficking in Persons Report 2017 on Armenia". U.S. Embassy in Armenia. 2017-07-07. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  4. ↑ "2014 TIP Report". U.S. Embassy in Armenia. 2014-06-20. Retrieved 2021-10-09.
  5. ↑ "Tier 1 rating in U.S. TIP Report". U.S. Embassy in Armenia. 2016-07-01. Retrieved 2021-10-12.
  6. ↑ "Trafficking in Persons Report 2017: Tier Placements". www.state.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  7. ↑ "Armenian Delegation attends OSCE 18th Counter-Trafficking-in-Persons Alliance Conference". U.S. Embassy in Armenia. 2018-05-22. Retrieved 2021-10-15.
  8. ↑ "Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) 2019". U.S. Embassy in Armenia. 2019-07-02. Retrieved 2021-10-18.
  9. ↑ US Government website, Trafficking in Persons Report 2023
  10. ↑ Organised Crime Index website, Armenia: 2023
  11. ↑ "Armenia (Tier 2) 2019" (PDF). U.S. Embassy in Armenia. Retrieved 2021-10-26.
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