2007 Trafficking in Persons Report - Center for Women Policy Studies

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A R G E N T I N A Prosecution The government’s anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts were modest during the reporting period. Angolan law does not prohibit trafficking in persons, although elements of its constitution and statutory laws, including those criminalizing forced and bonded labor, could be used to prosecute trafficking cases. The government did not report trafficking investigations or prosecutions other than through articles in government print media. During the year, there were no publicly reported convictions, but the National Department of Criminal Investigation reported three arrests of suspected traffickers. The first case resulted from the trafficking of a woman from Cabinda to Lunda Sul for commercial sexual exploitation, while the other two cases involved international trafficking of Angolans to Portugal and Zimbabwe. The Immigration Service operated checkpoints at the international airport, border posts, and select internal locations, such as the trafficking hotspot of Santa Clara in Cunene Province, which screened well over 1,000 minors for proper travel documentation in 2006. Protection During the reporting period, the government’s focus shifted from caring for former child soldiers and other war-affected children to protecting victims of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. The National Institute for the Child’s (INAC) six mobile provincial teams conducted spot checks of suspected child trafficking routes by stopping vehicles containing children to check for identity cards and proof of relationship to the children and parental permission for the child to travel; data obtained from these spot checks were unavailable. INAC and UNICEF continued their joint development of Child Protection Networks that bring together government and civil society at the municipal and provincial levels to coordinate social policy and protective assistance to children. Active in six provinces, these networks served as “SOS Centers” through which crime victims between the ages of 9 and 16, including trafficking victims, accessed a variety of services provided by various government ministries. Victims over 16 were referred to shelters and social services provided by a quasi-governmental organization. Local police reportedly transferred five Ivorian and Nigerian women found in forced prostitution to an NGO shelter after detaining them in Luanda. During the reporting period, INAC and UNICEF began development of an assistance strategy for child victims. Prevention Angola made limited progress in 2006 in preventing new incidents of trafficking. The government’s Inter-Ministerial Commission to Combat Kidnapping, Child Labor, Abuse, Sexual Exploitation, and Trafficking of Children met quarterly to coordinate and plan the government’s ongoing efforts to fight child exploitation. The commission drafted a national action plan assigning anti-trafficking responsibilities to each ministry, but it has yet to be publicly released. Members of the commission also participated in conferences and news interviews on the subject of child trafficking throughout the year; government statements against child prostitution appeared frequently in the media. Angola has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol. ARGENTINA (Tier 2 Watch List) Argentina is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Most victims are trafficked within the country, from rural to urban areas, for exploitation in prostitution. Argentine women and girls also are trafficked to neighboring countries and Western Europe for sexual exploitation. Foreign women and children, primarily from Paraguay and Brazil, are trafficked to Argentina and Western Europe for commercial sexual exploitation. Bolivians and Peruvians are trafficked into the country for forced labor in sweatshops and agriculture. Reported cases of human trafficking have increased in Argentina, which may be due to growing public awareness of the issue, as well as a higher number of migrants in the country, some of whom are vulnerable to being trafficked. The Government of Argentina does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Argentina remains on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking, particularly in terms of providing greater assistance to victims and curbing official complicity in trafficking. Although there has been momentum over the last two years to pass comprehensive antitrafficking reforms, draft legislation is still pending in the Argentine Congress. Argentina’s overtaxed criminal justice system also slows down the government’s efforts to prosecute human traffickers. In the coming year, the Argentine government should: enact and implement its much-needed comprehensive anti- 54
trafficking bill; intensify and expedite prosecution efforts against traffickers; increase anti-trafficking training for judges and police; provide greater victim assistance; and make stronger efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict public officials who facilitate human trafficking. Prosecution The government demonstrated modest but uneven progress in its law-enforcement efforts against traffickers during the reporting period. Argentina does not prohibit all forms of trafficking in persons, though related offenses are criminalized by a variety of criminal and immigration statutes, which prescribe penalties of up to 20 years’ imprisonment. Such penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties for other grave crimes. Enactment of comprehensive federal anti-trafficking legislation would allow the government to move more aggressively against human traffickers. Bills are pending in both houses of the Argentine Congress, and approaching final passage. As a temporary measure until the legislation is passed, the Attorney General’s Office of Victims’ Assistance (OFAVI) in early 2006 drafted an executive decree to create a national program for anti-trafficking prevention and victim assistance, but the government elected not to sign the interim decree at that time, preferring to push for passage of a national law through the Argentine Congress instead. Government officials were not able to provide complete data or information about prosecutions against traffickers in 2006; lack of a federal anti-trafficking law impedes the collection of nationwide data and statistics and makes analysis of Argentina’s anti-trafficking efforts difficult to gauge. Anecdotal data indicate that 15 trafficking-related arrests took place during the reporting period, down from 33 arrests in 2005. However, the government showed progress by securing sentences against two convicted traffickers in separate cases for crimes involving minors: one defendant in Cordoba province, a former police officer, was sentenced to 14 years in prison; and a second defendant was sentenced to four years of incarceration. Other trafficking-related investigations and cases remain open, including several criminal actions against brothel owners. In one case, 37 women were forced into prostitution at a brothel in Chubut province were rescued. Formal charges have been filed against the brothel owners, who paid bribes to municipal officials. Prosecutors also are investigating police involvement in the case. But, in a notorious labor trafficking case involving Bolivians working in sweatshops in Buenos Aires, charges were dismissed against two suspected traffickers on technical grounds. Credible reports indicate that local law enforcement officials intimidated some of the witnesses or offered them bribes to change their testimony. Widespread corruption and collusion with traffickers at provincial and local levels has been reported and is considered to be a serious impediment to prosecuting cases. The government increased anti-trafficking training for judicial and law enforcement officials, including in the critical tri-border area with Brazil and Paraguay. Additional training for judges and police is sorely needed. Protection Despite limited resources, the government made some efforts to assist victims during the reporting period. The government did not systematically and pro-actively identify victims among vulnerable populations, such as persons detained for prostitution or immigration violations. OFAVI coordinated victimassistance policy and offered a limited number of victims access to medical and psychological treatment, legal counseling, referrals to other sources of assistance, and repatriation. The government does not operate victim shelters dedicated to trafficking, but victim-assistance offices worked with socialservices agencies to ensure that trafficking victims received shelter and appropriate care. The government began to provide funding to anti-trafficking NGOs in 2006. There are unconfirmed reports of victims being jailed for crimes committed, such as prostitution, as a direct result of being trafficked. Argentine authorities encourage victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers. Victims are rarely deported, and Argentine immigration law provides that citizens of Mercosur member or associate states can obtain temporary residency in Argentina. Prevention The government made modest progress in prevention activities during the reporting period. The government lent strong political support to IOM anti-trafficking campaigns featuring a popular Uruguayan singer in video and TV spots. The government also has taken the lead within Mercosur for a regional anti-trafficking prevention campaign. In October 2006, the government conducted a nationwide campaign against child labor. Through greater press coverage and NGO and government efforts, public awareness about the dangers of human trafficking in Argentina appears to be growing. A R G E N T I N A 55
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Trafficking in Persons Report June
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Dear Reader: Two hundred years ago,
Page 6 and 7: VICTIM PROFILES The victims’ test
Page 8 and 9: I N T R O D U C T I O N “There re
Page 10 and 11: I N T R O D U C T I O N INDIA Forc
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Page 14 and 15: I N T R O D U C T I O N To compile
Page 16 and 17: I N T R O D U C T I O N KENYA/ GERM
Page 18 and 19: I N T R O D U C T I O N “Human tr
Page 20 and 21: I N T R O D U C T I O N 18 NIGERIA/
Page 22 and 23: I N T R O D U C T I O N Criminal Pu
Page 24 and 25: I N T R O D U C T I O N Confiscatio
Page 26 and 27: I N T R O D U C T I O N Kyrgyz Repu
Page 28 and 29: I N T R O D U C T I O N UKRAINE/ IT
Page 30 and 31: I N T R O D U C T I O N Children Ex
Page 32 and 33: I N T R O D U C T I O N POLICY APPR
Page 34 and 35: I N T R O D U C T I O N Products Ma
Page 36 and 37: I N T R O D U C T I O N The Plight
Page 38 and 39: GLOBAL LAW ENFORCEMENT DATA I N T R
Page 40 and 41: C O M M E N D A B L E I N I T I AT
Page 42 and 43: H E R O E S A C T I N G T O E N D M
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Page 46 and 47: C O U N T R Y M A P S CHINA MONGOLI
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Page 52 and 53: 50 COUNTRY NARRATIVES
Page 54 and 55: A L G E R I A 52 trafficked onward
Page 58 and 59: A R M E N I A 56 ARMENIA (Tier 2 Wa
Page 60 and 61: A U S T R I A seas. Australia, as c
Page 62 and 63: B A H R A I N 60 BAHRAIN (Tier 3) B
Page 64 and 65: B E L A R U S 62 no efforts to prot
Page 66 and 67: B E L I Z E / B E N I N 64 BELIZE (
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Page 70 and 71: B R A Z I L 68 remained lacking. In
Page 72 and 73: B U R K I N A F A S O 70 ing invest
Page 74 and 75: B U R U N D I 72 trials lacking tra
Page 76 and 77: C A M B O D I A success in combatin
Page 78 and 79: C A N A D A 76 CANADA (Tier 1) Cana
Page 80 and 81: C H A D 78 tion, the government als
Page 82 and 83: C H I N A 80 CHINA (Tier 2 Watch Li
Page 84 and 85: C O S TA R I C A 82 The Government
Page 86 and 87: C R O AT I A 84 and girls are traff
Page 88 and 89: C Y P R U S 86 American tourists ev
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Page 96 and 97: E C U A D O R abandonment process,
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Page 100 and 101: E T H I O P I A 98 trafficking; how
Page 102 and 103: F I N L A N D 100 and subsequent co
Page 104 and 105: G A B O N 102 Prosecution The Gover
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G E O R G I A 104 should: increase
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G H A N A 106 in red light district
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G U AT E M A L A 108 The Government
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G U I N E A - B I S S A U 110 servi
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H O N D U R A S 112 particularly in
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H U N G A R Y 114 ficking. Sex traf
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I N D I A significant problem. Over
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I N D O N E S I A Though states hav
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I R A N medical clinic in its shelt
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I TA LY 122 Prior to passing the ne
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J A P A N 124 Prosecution The Gover
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J O R D A N 126 ing efforts in Thai
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K E N Y A 128 victims to NGOs. In 2
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K U W A I T 130 Equality and Family
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K Y R G Y Z R E P U B L I C / L A O
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L E B A N O N 134 of commercial sex
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L I B Y A 136 suspected trafficker
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L U X E M B O U R G approximately 7
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m a c e d o n i a 140 countries whe
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M A L A W I 142 20 children were se
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M A L I 144 establish a government-
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M A U R I TA N I A 146 The Governme
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M E X I C O 148 15 years’ impriso
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M O L D O V A 150 ing victims, Mexi
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M O N T E N E G R O 152 announced p
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M O Z M B I Q U E 154 result, poten
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T H E N E T H E R L A N D S Protect
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N I C A R A G U A 158 Reform Act fo
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N I G E R I A 160 ing, Niger should
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N O R W A Y 162 The D.P.R.K. regime
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P A K I S TA N 164 anti-trafficking
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P A P U A N E W G U I N E A Protect
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P H I L I P P I N E S 168 The Gover
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P O L A N D 170 referred victims to
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Q ATA R 172 the first government-fu
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R U S S I A 174 to systematically t
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S A U D I A R A B I A 176 governmen
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S E N E G A L 178 removal to countr
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S E R B I A 180 Protection The gove
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S I N G A P O R E 182 investigation
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S L O V E N I A / S O U T H A F R I
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S P A I N 186 Protection Government
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S U D A N 188 in trafficking. There
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S W E D E N 190 The Government of S
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S Y R I A 192 Protection The govern
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TA J I K I S TA N 194 of traffickin
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TA N Z A N I A The Government of Ta
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T O G O 198 has further drawn finan
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U G A N D A 200 complicit in traffi
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U K R A I N E 202 trafficking; howe
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U N I T E D K I N G D O M 204 tempo
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U Z B E K I S TA N UZBEKISTAN (Tier
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V I E T N A M job service centers a
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Z A M B I A 210 months’ to three
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Z I M B A B W E cases against traff
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A new public awareness campaign lau
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S P E C I A L C A S E S Government
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S P E C I A L C A S E S The Governm
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S P E C I A L C A S E S 220 Unlike
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S P E C I A L C A S E S country. Tu
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R E L E V A N T I N T E R N AT I O
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R E L E V A N T I N T E R N AT I O
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T R A F F I C K I N G V I C T I M S
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I n t e r n at i o n a l P e a c e
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I n t e r n at i o n a l P e a c e
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G L O S S A R Y GLOSSARY OF ACRONYM
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Hagar Foundation provides day-care
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2007 Trafficking in Persons Report - Center for Women Policy Studies

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