Croatia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in January 2003. [1]
Croatia is a destination, source, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced prostitution and forced labor. Croatian women and girls fall victim to sex trafficking within the country, and women and girls from Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and other parts of Europe are subjected to forced prostitution in Croatia and in Europe. Men reportedly are subjected to forced labor in agricultural sectors, and children, including Roma, are subjected to conditions of forced begging and theft. [2] In 2017, Taiwan women and men, as well as Croatian and Bosnian women, were subjected to forced labor and forced criminality in an illegal call center. [3] [4] [5]
In 2010 the Croatian Government fully complied with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. In 2009, the government continued to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenders, increased the minimum imposed penalty for convicted traffickers, and for the first time, ordered a trafficker to pay compensation to a victim. Croatia provided significant funding to NGOs providing assistance and shelter to trafficking victims during the reporting period and continued proactive training and outreach on victim identification. However, the government identified very few trafficking victims in 2009 and failed to protect some victim witnesses. [2]
Human-rights activist, Jana Kohut also came forward with her story. She was trafficked to Slovenia from Croatia in 2004, for sexual exploitation. A female friend had tricked her, which lead to her abduction, and eventually being forced into prostitution and rape until she managed to escape a year later. [6]
The International Centre for Migration Policy Development (ICMPD) publicized an assessment in September 2010, which focused on labour exploitation. With the help of data collected in 2007, 2008 and 2009, it was able to be determined that Croatia was no longer a transition destination but a source and destination country. The majority of victims being male, being trafficked and forced into labour. The two main forms of exploitation being first off prostitution, then secondly forced labour. Where as labour exploitation seems only to be less visible. [7]
Data collected by the Ministry of Interior of the Republic of Croatia: [7]
Number of Victims of labour exploitation by gender (2007 – 2009):
Women | 22% |
Men | 78% |
Number of victims of labour exploitation by age:
18 - 25 | 3 |
26 - 39 | 4 |
40 - 60 | 1 |
60+ | 1 |
Number of victims of labour exploitation by citizenship:
Croatia | 56% |
Republic of Serbia | 22% |
Bosnia and Herzegovina | 22% |
Number of victims in various areas of exploitation:
Agriculture | 4 |
Begging | 3 |
Mechanic's shop | 1 |
Car paint shop | 1 |
Number of foreigners detected in illegal employment in Croatia:
Year | Mol | State Inspectorate |
2007 | 2604 | 1377 |
2008 | 2060 | 880 |
2009 | 1665 | 593 |
In the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Trafficking in Persons Report report of 2012, it was noted that the report by the Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (CoE-GRETA) concluded that the extent of trafficking in Croatia could be considerably higher than that identified by the government. [8]
The U.S. State Department's 2017 report placed the country in "Tier 2". [9]
The 2019 TIP report stated that the government had implemented measures to proactively identify trafficking indicators, increased funding for NGO shelters, and launched the 2018-2021 National Action Plan. [4]
Croatia remained at Tier 2 in 2020. [3] [4] The government carried out awareness campaigns and thoroughly worked together with the Ministry of Interior (MOI) and the MDFYSP. Reports made about migrant abuse were denied by the MOI, who stated that internal investigations were done, despite claims from the society that the government did not constantly screen migrants for trafficking victims, as well as the lack of cooperation from migrants was caused by supposed police abuse. [5]
The 2021 GRETA report noted that between 2015 and 2019, 200 victims were identified (50% of whom were women and 25% of whom were children). [10]
Croatia remained at Tier 2 in 2023. [11]
The Croatian Government generally sustained its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts in 2009, though it prosecuted only half as many traffickers as it did the previous year. It continued to exclusively use its human trafficking law to prosecute and convict sex and forced labor trafficking during the reporting period.
Croatia criminally prohibits trafficking for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation through Criminal Provision 175 of its penal code. Provision 175 prescribes penalties for all forms of trafficking of one to 10 years’ imprisonment; these penalties are sufficiently stringent and are commensurate with those prescribed for rape. In 2009, the government investigated 13 suspected trafficking offenders, compared with 15 in 2008. It prosecuted six traffickers in 2009, a decrease from 12 prosecuted in 2008. Six trafficking offenders were convicted and given sentences ranging from two to eight years, compared with nine convictions obtained in 2008; however, one conviction was out on appeal and awaited a final verdict. Two of these convictions involved forced labor. In 2011, 37 suspects were investigated and 14 trafficking offenders were prosecuted in six cases. Seven of those offenders were convicted, where five fell under the trafficking statute and two cases were for forced pimping. That year, the police and boarder officials participated in a number of anti-trafficking training courses provided by the MOI. [8]
The government increased its minimum imposed sentence for all trafficking convictions from one to two years during the reporting period. In the first civil trafficking case, the court ordered the trafficker to pay $28,466 in compensation to the victim. The government continued to provide general anti-trafficking training to police officers, and continued its “train-the-trainer” program involving 26 police officers training counterparts on ways to recognize and assist trafficking victims. There were no specific reports of trafficking-related complicity during the reporting period. [2]
In 2018, the government conducted various investigations, including the largest trafficking case reported which involved 59 victims. During the 2018 reporting year, the government investigated nine cases, and prosecuted 12 defendants. [3] In the reporting period of 2019, it was stated that there was a substantial backlog of criminal cases causing long delays in the court proceedings. Seven cases were investigated by law enforcement involving 22 victims, nine of those cases involved 17 suspects from 2017. The courts convicted five traffickers. [4]
The Government sustained significant efforts to ensure that victims of trafficking received access to necessary care. It continued to fund NGOs as well as its two specialized shelters for adult women and children trafficking victims, totaling $96,461 in 2009. It also provided $45,937 to NGOs to support and assist trafficking victims. Four victims used shelter facilities in 2009. While the government continued to emphasize a victim-centered approach, it identified only eight victims during the reporting period, one more than 2008, but lower than the 15 victims identified in 2007. In 2018, the government funded two NGO shelters, one for adults and one that specializes in children, which accommodated seven adults and one child in the reporting period. Additionally, the Ministry of Demographics, Family, Youth and Social Policy (MDFYSP) accommodated 14 child victims. The MDFYSP allocated 360,000 kunas ($57,785) to support the NGO shelters and an additional 63,00 kunas ($10,110) for monthly living allowances for victims. The Office for Human Rights and Rights of National Minorities (OHRRNM) allocated 20,000 kunas ($3,210) for direct assistance to victims. [3]
The government amended its Law on Foreigners in March 2009 to extend the “reflection period” from 30 to 90 days; children continue to be eligible for a stay of 90 days. The government actively encouraged victim participation in trafficking cases and reported that all eight identified victims assisted in the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers in 2009. According to preliminary findings released in a January 2010 research project on trafficking and prostitution conducted between December 2008 and November 2009, the Croatian government did not provide adequate protections for some trafficking victims who testified against their traffickers. Researchers reported victims were required to testify repeatedly during trafficking trials; victim’s testimony can be arranged via video-conference system. In 2018, the Office of the Chief State Prosecutor continued the instruction to not penalize victims, and seven Victim and Witness Support Offices at county courts provided assistance. The OHRRNM provided a number of pro bono legal counsel to victims, but it was reported that the lawyers were lacking in training for representing trafficking victims. The government provided training for police officers in victim-centered investigations, but it was reported that some judges lacked sensitivity and understanding of the psychological trauma impacting victims. [3]
The government initiated a pilot assistance program for victim witnesses in four courts in 2009 to improve protections for these victims. Researchers also recommended that the government should intensify efforts to identify adequately all potential victims of forced prostitution. Although victims could be both witness and defendant in some court cases, researchers reported that the government made efforts to ensure that recognized trafficking victims were not penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their being trafficked.
In response to continued concerns about prostitution and potential trafficking during the high tourist season along the Adriatic coast, the government reported training over 250 police officers in coastal cities during 2009. Although police reported conducting 10 anti-trafficking operations along the coast in 2009, the government did not identify any trafficking victims as a result of these operations. The government provided foreign victims with legal alternatives to their removal to countries where they may face hardship or retribution. Out of the four foreign trafficking victims identified in 2009, the government repatriated one female to Bosnia and Herzegovina and three to Serbia. [2]
In 2009, the government continued its progressive national-level outreach and anti-trafficking training efforts to raise awareness and prevent trafficking. During the reporting period, it implemented numerous anti-trafficking education workshops and seminars for Croatian authorities, including social workers, diplomatic and consular staff, judges, prosecutors, police, and students, including members of mobile teams responsible for assisting trafficking victims. In November 2009, it organized a seminar for leaders in the tourism industry on ways to identify victims of trafficking. It continued to conduct anti-trafficking training for Croatian soldiers prior to their deployment to Afghanistan as international peacekeepers. [2]
A new National Plan for Combating Trafficking in Persons was implemented by the Croatian government in February 2012. In 2011, various anti-trafficking awareness campaigns were carried out by the government, three of which were broadcast, anti-trafficking, public service announcements. Additional efforts where placed into the EU Anti-Trafficking Day. [8] In connection with Croatia becoming a member of the European Union, tens of millions of euros of European assistance funds have been used to improve the border infrastructure, modernize equipment and train police officers. The EU border management agency Frontex reported about 35,000 people caught in illegal border crossings in that region for 2013, more than 33% higher than the previous year. [12]
In September 2015, the Croatian President asked the army to be prepared to respond and assist at the border, in order to slow the entrance of illegal immigrants, mostly from Serbia, making their way through Croatia since the Hungarian police closed the border crossing between Hungary and Serbia. [13] [14] [15] Croatian activists and NGO’s asked for assistance and safe passage for the refugees in the EU, the majority that were entering into the country plan to travel onwards to Western Europe, of the 75 000 that had entered, less than 10 had asked for asylum. [16] With the ongoing influx of refugees, Croatia’s surrounding countries announced plans to close up borders with fences and tighten the rail controls to slow the trafficking of humans through Slovenia, to Austria and Germany. [17]
In 2018, the government reported that it was still lacking a national action plan. The OHRRNM served as the secretariat for the senior-level national coordinating committee, and reported that there is a lacking in resources as well as staff. The OHRRNM allocated 197,000 kunas ($31,620) for prevention efforts in 2016 and 2017. [3] The OHRRNM added an NGO and the Labor inspectorate into the senior-level national coordination committee the following year, and adopted the 2018-2021 national action plan. [4]
Albania is a source country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor, including the forced begging of children. Albanian victims are subjected to conditions of forced labor and sex trafficking within Albania and Italy, North Macedonia, Kosovo, and Western Europe. Approximately half of the victims referred for care within the country in 2009 were Albanian; these were primarily women and girls subjected to conditions of forced prostitution in hotels and private residences in Tirana, Durres, Elbasan, and Vlora. Children were primarily exploited for begging and other forms of forced labor. There is evidence that Albanian men have been subjected to conditions of forced labor in the agricultural sector of Greece and other neighboring countries.
Armenia is 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 are subjected to sex trafficking in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey.
Austria is a destination and transit country for women, men, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor.
Bangladesh is a source and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. A significant share of Bangladesh's trafficking victims are men recruited for work overseas with fraudulent employment offers who are subsequently exploited under conditions of forced labor or debt bondage. It also includes the trafficking of children – both boys and girls – within Bangladesh for commercial sexual exploitation, bonded labor, and forced labor. Some children are sold into bondage by their parents, while others are induced into labor or commercial sexual exploitation through fraud and physical coercion. Women and children from Bangladesh are also trafficked.
Barbados is 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 are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation in “transactional sex” wherein a third party such as a parent receives 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 enter Barbados as illegal migrants, and some expect to engage in prostitution. Some of these women are exploited in forced prostitution subsequent to their arrival. Some other foreign women who entered the country illegally are 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, form partnerships with pimps and brothel owners from Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, and lure women to Barbados with offers of legitimate work. Trafficking victims tend to enter the country through legal means, usually by air; traffickers later use force and coercion to obtain and maintain the victims' work in strip clubs, massage parlors, some private residences, and “entertainment clubs” which operate as brothels. Traffickers use 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.
Belgium is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Victims originate in Eastern Europe, Africa, East Asia, as well as Brazil and India. Some victims are smuggled through Belgium to other European countries, where they are subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution. Male victims are subjected to forced labor and exploitation in restaurants, bars, sweatshops, horticulture sites, fruit farms, construction sites, and retail shops. There were reportedly seven Belgian women subjected to forced prostitution in Luxembourg in 2009. According to a 2009 ECPAT Report, the majority of girls and children subjected to forced prostitution in Belgium originate from Balkan and CIS countries, Eastern Europe, Asia and West Africa ; some young foreign boys are exploited in prostitution in major cities in the country. Local observers also report that a large portion of children trafficked in Belgium are unaccompanied, vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees. Criminal organizations from Thailand use Thai massage parlors in Belgium, which are run by Belgian managers, to sexually exploit young Thai women. These networks are involved in human smuggling and trafficking to exploit victims economically and sexually. Belgium is not only a destination country, but also a transit country for children to be transported to other European country destinations.
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 is a source and destination country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Parents in poor rural communities sometimes send their children to work for wealthier families as domestics in cities or as herders at remote cattle posts, where some of these children are vulnerable to forced labor. Batswana girls are exploited in prostitution within the country, including in bars and by truck drivers along major highways; it does not appear, however, that organized pimping of children occurs. In the past, women reported being forced into commercial sexual exploitation at some safari lodges, but there were no similar reports during this reporting period. Residents in Botswana most susceptible to trafficking are illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe, unemployed men and women, those living in rural poverty, agricultural workers, and children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Some women from Zimbabwe who voluntarily, but illegally, migrate to Botswana to seek employment are subsequently subjected by their employers to involuntary domestic servitude. Botswana families which employ Zimbabwean women as domestic workers at times do so without proper work permits, do not pay adequate wages, and restrict or control the movement of their employees by holding their passports or threatening to have them deported back to Zimbabwe.
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 Namibia was a country of origin, transit, and destination for foreign and Namibian women and children, and possibly for men subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and forced prostitution. Traffickers exploited Namibian children, as well as children from Angola and Zambia, through forced labor in agriculture, cattle herding, involuntary domestic servitude, charcoal production, and commercial sexual exploitation. In some cases, Namibian parents unwittingly sold their children to traffickers. Reports indicate that vulnerable Namibian children were recruited for forced prostitution in Angola and South Africa, typically by truck drivers. There was also some evidence that traffickers move Namibian women to South Africa and South African women to Namibia to be exploited in forced prostitution. Namibian women and children, including orphans, from rural areas were the most vulnerable to trafficking. Victims were lured by traffickers to urban centers and commercial farms with promises of legitimate work for good wages they may never receive. Some adults subjected children to whom they are distantly related to forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. Small business owners and farmers may also participated in trafficking crimes against women or children. Victims were forced to work long hours to carry out hazardous tasks, and may have been beaten or raped by traffickers or third parties.
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.
North Macedonia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in January 2005.
Malawi ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 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.
In 2010 Mongolia was a source country, and to a much lesser extent, a destination for men, women, and children who were subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Mongolian men, women, and children were found in these conditions in China, Macau, Malaysia, South Korea, and Hong Kong. Mongolian men and women were found in conditions of forced labor in Turkey, Kazakhstan, and the Czech Republic. Visa-free travel of Mongolians to Turkey resulted in a significant increase in the number of both labor and sex trafficking cases of Mongolian labor migrants in Turkey. There remained concerns about involuntary child labor in the Mongolian construction, mining, and industrial sectors, where children were vulnerable to injury and face severe health hazards. The problem of Mongolian women subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude after engaging in brokered marriages - mainly to South Korean men - continued. Trafficking within Mongolia often involved women and girls forced to work in saunas or massage parlors where they were subjected to forced prostitution. Anecdotal reports continued to indicate that South Korean and Japanese tourists engaged in child sex tourism in Mongolia.
Bulgaria ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in December 2001.
Women, and children from Eastern Europe, West Africa, and Asia, as well as the Caribbean and Brazil, subjected to trafficking in persons, forced prostitution and forced labor. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 1" in 2017. Women and children, many from Africa, continued to be subjected to forced domestic servitude. Often their "employers" are diplomats who enjoy diplomatic immunity from prosecution, including those from Saudi Arabia. Reportedly men from North Africa are subjected to forced labor in the agricultural and construction sectors in southern France. The Government of France estimates that the majority of the 18,000 women in France's commercial sex trade are likely forced into prostitution. It also estimates a significant number of children in France are victims of forced prostitution, primarily from Romania, West Africa, and North Africa. Romani and other unaccompanied minors in France continued to be vulnerable to forced begging. There were reportedly six French women subjected to forced prostitution in Luxembourg in 2009.