Trafficking in Human Beings in Southeastern Europe - Iom

Trafficking in Human Beingsin Southeastern EuropeIntroductionand OverviewThe main focus of the Palermo Convention and its Protocols is on law enforcementand organised crime. The Trafficking Protocol determines that traffickedpersons are to be granted protection additional to that accorded to smuggledmigrants. “Unfortunately, there is little guidance in either instrument regardinghow the identification process is to be undertaken and by whom. This isespecially important because identifying an individual as a trafficked personcarries different responsibilities for a State party than is the case if that personis identified as a smuggled migrant. It is hoped that States parties will addresssuch issues in the near future.” 8 . One of the aims of this report is to assesshow the obligations are translated into actions and to identify major issuesand gaps of implementation on the ground from the human rights perspective.3. Statistical data on the number of traffickedpersonsAccess to reliable data on the number of trafficked persons is not possible. Allgeneral assessments are hard to verify and vary according to the context andsource of information. Governments, international agencies and NGOs providedifferent kind of data, which is often not comparable.For example, according to US State Department estimates, “at least 700,000persons, especially women and children, are trafficked each year across internationalborders. Some observers estimate that the number may be significantlyhigher.” 9 According to the Swedish NGO, Kvinna Till Kvinna “Estimated500,000 women from over the world are trafficked each year into WesternEurope alone. A large proportion of these come from the former Soviet Unioncountries.” 10 The International Organisation for Migration (IOM) states that“In 1997, an estimated 175,000 women and girls were trafficked from Centraland Eastern Europe and the Newly Independent States.” 11 Recent IOM figuresshow that “120,000 women and children are being trafficked into theEuropean Union each year, mostly though the Balkans.” And “10,000 womenmostly from Moldova, Romania and Ukraine are working in the country(Bosnia and Herzegovina [BiH]) sex trade.” 12However it is difficult to verify these figures with the information from particularregions or countries. For example, the data provided by IOM about traffickedwomen who were assisted to return from BiH to their countries of originin the year 2000 (approximately 180) does not reflect any percentage or proportionof the total number of trafficked women and girls in BiH. Rather, thisreflects the joint actions of the local police and the International Police TaskForce (IPTF), who refer to IOM women and girls detained during raids, whomthey have determined to be trafficked during interviews immediately followingthe raids. In 2000, 80 percent of all such raids took place in December, andtherefore IOM statistics for 2000 reflect mostly the number of women and girlsIPTF referred to IOM during that one month. As such, the information does notsay anything about the real number of trafficked women and interventionsduring 2000.48.“Smuggling and trafficking in persons and the protection of their human rights”, Note bythe Secretary-General, E/CN.4/Sub.2/2001/26, 5 July 2001, p.3.9. U.S. Department of State, Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000:Trafficking in Persons Report (2001), p.1.10.“Crossing Borders Against Trafficking in Women and Girls.A Resource Book for WorkingAgainst Trafficking in the Baltic Sea Region”. Kvinnaforum, Stockholm, November 1999,p.1.11.Bureau of Intelligence and Research, United States Department of State “Global Traffickingin Women and Children: Assessing the Magnitude”, March 1998. Cited by: Trafficking inHuman Beings: Implication for the OSCE. OSCE Review Conference September 1999.ODIHR Background Paper 1999/3. ODCE/ODIHR, Warsaw, Poland, p.5.12.Ian Burrell, “From the Balkans to brothels in Soho”.The Independent, 21 January 2002.