Trafficking in Human Beings in Southeastern Europe - Iom

More documents

Recommendations

Info

Trafficking in Human Beingsin Southeastern EuropeVictim Referraland AssistanceSystem andGaps ThereinReintegration reaches only 7 % of trafficked women and girlsObstaclesRemedies• Weak reintegration programmes due tolack of funding and co-operationbetween government, NGOs and internationalorganisations.• Lack of support from Governments, wholeave all responsibility to internationalagencies.• Disempowerment of local NGOs andlack of capacity.• Shame and stigma of being labelled asa prostitute.• Discrimination against women and girlsin general, lack of opportunities, lowsocial position of women, bad economicsituation, unemployment, and familyviolence.• Implementation of NPAs - commitmentof governments, international agenciesand local NGOs to organise and run reintegrationprogrammes within NPA framework.• Cooperation with and funding for NGOs.• Long term programmes leading to sustainability:social and legal support, educationand vocational training, reschoolingin skills relevant to local needs,sustainable jobs, system of micro-credits.• Counselling and long-term support fortraumatised victims.• Special support to girls under 18.• Programme to raise awareness and preventionprogrammes.• Empowerment of women and girls.2.4. ProsecutionThe current situation is characterised by the following:• Majority of trafficked persons do not receive assistance;• Some of the victims are returned to the same conditions that originallycaused them to be trafficked;• Some are trafficked again, after taking part in return and reintegrationprogrammes;• New women are being trafficked to the Balkans and Western Europe.In this context, there is a danger that the whole system of victim assistanceand reintegration will have to expand to accommodate still bigger groups ofwomen and girls if trafficking is not stopped. Prosecution of traffickers, therefore,is an essential part of the system.At this moment, prosecution is the weakest part of the whole anti-traffickingsystem in SEE. Even if, in some countries, there are many people arrested andcharged with trafficking, very few are prosecuted and sentenced. In countrieswhere there is no anti-trafficking legislation, this is presented as the obstacleto prosecution, although the existing law, if applied, is usually sufficient toprosecute traffickers for crimes of kidnapping, slavery, sale, rape, etc. 166 Incountries where there is a new anti-trafficking law, corruption of the localpolice, who are deliberately not taking any action against traffickers, is thereforehighlighted. However, in BiH, where international police (IPTF) accompanylocal police or in Kosovo, where international police (CIVPOL) areresponsible for anti-trafficking actions, there are not many more cases of successfulprosecution in comparison with other places.In Kosovo, the new legislation, which came into force in January 2001, notonly allows traffickers to be arrested but also enterprises suspected of facilitatingtrafficking to be closed and the assets gained from trafficking to be confiscated.However, until the end of November 2001, there had been just a fewcases of prosecution of traffickers and only one person had been sentenced.Not one bar was shut down permanently and there were no cases of assetsbeing confiscated. The lack of witness protection programmes, a complicatedlaw that is not understood by judges, lack of training for law enforcementagencies and the judiciary, and corruption among not only local police but also146166.For example, see OSCE legal review of Albanian legislation: „Review of Albanian Legislationon Trafficking in Human Beings”, 5 April 2001, OSCE, Tirana, Albania.
Trafficking in Human Beingsin Southeastern Europeamong the politicians and allegedly amongst UN personnel, are the most commonlycited causes of impunity.Prosecution of traffickers is the most basic precondition for preventing traffickingand stopping the “recycling” of women and girls. Otherwise, the antitraffickingaction will stimulate illegal migration and trafficking rather thanreduce it. Return programmes will become free travel agencies used by traffickersto send back, at the international community’s expense, those womenand girls whom they choose to release.Victim Referraland AssistanceSystem andGaps ThereinProsecution – Little ProgressObstacles• Lack of political will and action againsttraffickers.• Lack of anti-trafficking legislation.• Failure to apply relevant existing lawexcept to prostitution.• Lack of enforcement of law due to corruption,lack of understanding of thelegislation, lack of knowledge abouttrafficking and anti-trafficking legislation.• Lack of information and training for thepolice and judiciary.• Written testimonies of the victims oftrafficking are not sufficient evidence inthe court.• No witness security.• Lack of international co-operation andexchange of information.Remedies• Political will.• Legal reform to implement Palermo Conventionand Trafficking Protocol.• Law enforcement.• Monitoring of law enforcement.• Anti-corruption measures and programmes.• Training of law enforcement agencies andthe judiciary.• Using confiscation of assets and closingenterprises involved in trafficking as partof anti-trafficking measures.• Witness security and assistance programmes.• International co-operation, exchange andtraining.2.5. Summary and concluding observationsAt present, governments in SEE have failed to discharge their internationalobligations with respect to protection and assistance for trafficked persons.Regional organised victim assistance programmes are currently implementedthrough IOM as part of their voluntary return programmes, and are thereforedesigned only for those trafficked women who would like to return home voluntarily.In some cases, NGOs are providing assistance on an ad hoc basis,including legal and psychological counselling, medical help and help in returnand reintegration for trafficked persons through direct contact between countriesof destination and origin.There are no standard procedures for the treatment of trafficked persons andno standard protocol for the behaviour of the law enforcement agencies, internationalorganisations and NGOs providing identification, referral and assistance.Decisions about the status of trafficked persons are very subjective andthe support they receive is inadequate. There is no monitoring or evaluationof assistance and reintegration programmes. There are also neither specialprocedures or programmes for the girls under 18 nor any HIV/AIDS/STIs preventionand protection programmes incorporated into the assistance, returnand reintegration activities.There is no comprehensive and systematic referral system. Women arrestedduring bar raids or who ask for help from the local police to return to theircountries of origin and are judged by the police 167 to be trafficked, arereferred to IOM or UNHCR. If the police decide that a woman came to thecountry voluntarily or does not want to be repatriated, she can be charged167.In BiH and Kosovo, international police.147
Page 3 and 4:
Trafficking in Human Beingsin South
Page 6 and 7:
VITrafficking in Human Beingsin Sou
Page 8 and 9:
Page 10 and 11:
Page 12 and 13:
XIITrafficking in Human Beingsin So
Page 14 and 15:
Page 16 and 17:
Page 18 and 19:
Page 20:
Page 23 and 24:
Page 25 and 26:
Page 29 and 30:
Page 31 and 32:
Page 33 and 34:
Page 35 and 36:
Page 37 and 38:
Page 39 and 40:
Page 41 and 42:
Page 43 and 44:
Page 45 and 46:
Page 47 and 48:
Page 50:
Page 54 and 55:
Page 56 and 57:
Page 58 and 59:
Page 60 and 61:
Page 62 and 63:
Page 64 and 65:
Page 66 and 67:
Page 68 and 69:
Page 70 and 71:
Page 72 and 73:
Page 74 and 75:
Page 76 and 77:
Page 78 and 79:
Page 80 and 81:
Page 82 and 83:
Page 84 and 85:
Page 86 and 87:
Page 88 and 89:
Page 90 and 91:
Page 92 and 93:
76Trafficking in Human Beingsin Sou
Page 94 and 95:
Page 96 and 97:
Page 98 and 99:
Page 100 and 101:
Page 102 and 103:
Page 104 and 105:
Page 106:
Page 109 and 110:
Page 111 and 112: Trafficking in Human Beingsin South
Page 161: Trafficking in Human Beingsin South
Page 213 and 214:
Page 215 and 216:
Page 217 and 218:
Page 219 and 220:
Page 221 and 222:
Page 223 and 224:
Page 225 and 226:
Page 227 and 228:
Page 229 and 230:
Page 231 and 232:
Page 233 and 234:
Page 235 and 236:
Page 237 and 238:
Page 239 and 240:
Page 241 and 242:
Page 243 and 244:
Page 245 and 246:
Page 247 and 248:
Page 249 and 250:
Page 251 and 252:
Page 253 and 254:
Page 255 and 256:
Page 257 and 258:
Page 259 and 260:
Page 261 and 262:
Page 263 and 264:
Page 265 and 266:
Page 267 and 268:
Page 269 and 270:
show all

Trafficking in Human Beings in Southeastern Europe - Iom

You also want an ePaper? Increase the reach of your titles

Delete template?

Save as template?