2007 Trafficking in Persons Report - Center for Women Policy Studies

G U AT E M A L A
108
The Government of Greece does not fully comply
with the minimum standards for the elimination
of trafficking; however, it is making significant
efforts to do so. In 2006, Greece allocated more
than $1 million for victim assistance and trafficking
prevention programs both domestically and in
source countries. The government also significantly
increased trafficking investigations, prosecutions, and
convictions. Despite these improvements, serious
concerns remain with regard to current victim identification
and protection. Some victims were reportedly
prosecuted and incarcerated in detention centers.
NGOs should be permitted greater access to all
deportation centers to screen for trafficking victims.
Authorities should forge stronger collaborative
relationships with NGOs, drawing on NGOs’ expertise
in identifying victims. The government should
continue to provide trafficking sensitivity training
for judicial authorities to improve the treatment
victims receive in court, and it should take steps to
ensure that traffickers receive increased sentences.
The Memorandum of Cooperation, signed by the
government and NGOs in 2005, should be expanded
to include more anti-trafficking NGOs and should
clarify the role of NGOs and the services available to
victims. The government should also increase efforts
to compile reliable trafficking statistics.
Prosecution
Greece significantly increased its law enforcement
efforts during the reporting period. Greek law
3064, adopted in 2002, prohibits trafficking for
both sexual exploitation and forced labor. Penalties
prescribed for trafficking include imprisonment of
up to 10 years and a fine of $13,000 to $65,000.
These penalties are commensurate with those for
other grave crimes, such as sexual assault, and are
sufficiently stringent. In 2006, police conducted
70 trafficking investigations, up from 60 in 2005,
and arrested 206 suspected traffickers, up from 202
arrests in 2005. Authorities conducted 49 prosecutions
and obtained convictions of 78 traffickers in
2006, a marked increase from the 9 convictions
obtained in 2005. However, sentences imposed
on convicted traffickers remained weak; moreover,
the majority of convicted traffickers remain free on
bail for five to six years while their convictions are
appealed. During the reporting period, at least three
traffickers were given sentences ranging from 12 to
19 years’ imprisonment.
Protection
Greece demonstrated modest progress in its overall
efforts to protect trafficking victims. Victim identification
continued to be a problem; only 83 trafficking
victims were identified by government authorities in
2006, a significant decrease from 137 victims identified
in 2005. According to NGO estimates, 13,000
to 14,000 victims are in Greece at any given time.
The government continued to implement formal
procedures for the identification of
victims among vulnerable populations. Based on
their November 2005 Memorandum of Cooperation
with NGOs, police referred 39 victims to state-run
shelters. Some of these eventually moved to NGOrun
shelters, where, in 2006, a total of 37 victims
received aid, compared to 19 victims in 2005.
However, shelters remain underutilized. Concerns
remain that victims not officially identified by prosecutors
or police remain vulnerable to deportation;
in 2006, only 34 of the 83 victims identified received
full victim status and 15 victims were granted residence
permits. Although the government allocated
and dispersed funding to approximately 13 NGOs
for victim assistance and rehabilitation, some NGOs
reported difficulty in actually receiving the full funding
promised. While there were reports of victims
being penalized or prosecuted during the reporting
period for acts committed as a direct result of being
trafficked, some Greek prosecutors waived prosecution
of trafficking victims. This year all 83 identified
victims assisted in investigations, an improvement
over last year.
Prevention
The Government of Greece continued its significant
efforts to prevent trafficking and raise awareness.
The Secretariat General for Gender Equality
completed a national awareness campaign targeting
commercial sex procurers, trafficking victims, and
citizens. The government distributed IOM and
government-produced information cards at ports
of entry to alert potential victims about available
law enforcement resources; the cards were printed
in Greek, English, Russian, and Romanian. The
government allocated approximately $600,000 for a
prevention project in Albania that will be conducted
for the next three years. The government also
continued to support NGOs in source countries
that conduct trafficking prevention work. Greece
has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.
GUATEMALA (Tier 2 Watch List)
Guatemala is a source, transit, and destination country
for Guatemalans and Central Americans trafficked
for the purposes of labor and commercial sexual
exploitation. Human trafficking is a significant and
growing problem in the country. Guatemalans and
women and children trafficked through Guatemala
from El Salvador, Honduras, and Nicaragua are