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US STATE DEPARTMENT PUBLISHED ANNUAL REPORT ON TRAFFICKING: ARMENIAN GOVERNMENT DEMONSTRATED PROGRESS IN ITS LAW ENFORCEMENT EFFORTS
http://times.am/?l=en&p=8776
US State Department has published the annual report on trafficking
in world. Report presents human slavery index in the world.
"Over the coming months we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of
the Emancipation Proclamation, which Abraham Lincoln announced on
September 22, 1862 and issued by Executive Order on January 1, 1863.
In 1865, as the guns of the Civil War fell silent, the Congress passed
and the states ratified as the 13th Amendment to the Constitution
President Lincoln's commitment that "neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude shall exist in the United States."
Like the United States, countries around the world have enacted
laws and adopted international instruments to end slavery as a legal
institution and to eliminate it as a criminal practice. The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights prohibits slavery and involuntary
servitude. More recently, the UN Palermo Protocol has made the
abolition of modern-day slavery a part of international law and a
policy-making priority. Governments across the globe are united in
this struggle.
Yet, despite the adoption of treaties and laws prohibiting slavery,
the evidence nevertheless shows that many men, women, and children
continue to live in modern-day slavery through the scourge of
trafficking in persons.
Trafficking in persons deprives victims of their most basic freedom:
to determine their own future. Our work in fulfilling the promise
of freedom should be not only the pursuit of justice, but also a
restoring of what was taken away. We should aim not only to put an
end to this crime, but also to ensure that survivors can move beyond
their exploitation and live the lives they choose for themselves.
This Report is a guide for our work. In the past decade, a global
community of governments, non-governmental organizations, and countless
other institutions and individuals have brought attention to this
often-hidden crime. Through the work of many, this Report provides
a clear and sobering analysis of the state of modern slavery.
It tells us which governments are making progress, which innovations
are working best, and how we can strengthen our efforts to bring
an end to this crime" US State Secretary Hilary Clinton writes as a
welcoming speech of the .
Referring to the situation in Armenia, the report especially says:
"Armenia is a source country for women and girls subjected to sex
trafficking, as well as a source country for women and men subjected
to forced labor. To a lesser extent it has been a destination country
for women subjected to forced labor. Women and girls from Armenia are
subjected to sex trafficking in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey,
and within the country. Armenian men and women are subjected to forced
labor in Russia. Armenian boys have been subjected to forced labor
within the country. An NGO reported a new trend of labor migrants
withdrawing their children from school and taking them abroad as
helpers; these children are vulnerable to conditions of forced labor.
The Government of Armenia does not fully comply with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making
significant efforts to do so. In 2011, the government convicted more
trafficking offenders than during the previous year, continued to
train hundreds of officials in partnership with NGOs and international
organizations, and strengthened anti-trafficking public awareness
campaigns. The number of victims identified by the government during
the year continued to drop".
"The Armenian government demonstrated progress in its law enforcement
efforts against human trafficking during the reporting period. Armenia
prohibits both sex trafficking and labor trafficking through articles
132 and 132-2 of its criminal code, which prescribe penalties of five
to 15 years' imprisonment - penalties that are sufficiently stringent
and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes such
as rape. The government investigated 16 sex trafficking cases and one
labor trafficking case in 2011, compared with 15 sex trafficking and no
labor trafficking cases in 2010. During 2011, the Armenian government
prosecuted eight new cases against 15 individuals for sex trafficking
offenses and no individuals for labor trafficking offenses, compared
with prosecutions against six alleged sex traffickers and no alleged
labor traffickers newly prosecuted in 2010.
During the year, the government continued to prosecute an additional
11 defendants whose cases had begun in previous years; nine were
charged with sex trafficking and two with labor trafficking. The
government convicted 13 trafficking offenders in 2011 - including 11
individuals for sex trafficking and two for labor trafficking - up
from a total of five convictions in 2010. All 13 convicted offenders
in 2011 were given sentences ranging from four to nine years'
imprisonment. Based on a request made by Armenian law enforcement
agencies in 2010, in September 2011 Turkey extradited an alleged
Armenian trafficker to Armenia; the alleged trafficker was escorted
by Armenian law enforcement officers from Istanbul to Yerevan. The
Armenian government sustained partnerships with anti-trafficking
NGOs, international organizations, and foreign governments to provide
anti-trafficking training to hundreds of government officials including
prosecutors, police, border guards, members of the judicial system,
and labor inspectors. Human trafficking continued to be included
in the curriculum of all education facilities of law enforcement
bodies. There were no reports of government officials' complicity in
trafficking during 2011".
"The Armenian government undertook strong trafficking prevention
efforts during the reporting period. The government spent the
equivalent of almost all of the $23,000 devoted in the budgets of the
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and Ministry of Youth and Sport
Affairs to further increase public awareness of human trafficking.
Many of these public awareness activities involved broadcasting
anti-trafficking public service announcements and other programs on
national and regional stations during peak viewing periods. Various
government agencies undertook prevention activities. The Ministerial
Council to Combat Trafficking in Persons and the Inter-Agency Working
Group against Trafficking in Persons continued to meet regularly
and coordinate the implementation of the 2010-2012 National Plan
of Action addressing human trafficking, in collaboration with NGOs
and international organizations, and began to work on the 2013-2015
National Plan of Action. The government regularly published reports on
its anti-trafficking activities during the reporting period. During
the year, the government took measures to identify and record the
unregistered births of children. In an effort to reduce the demand
for commercial sex, the government publicized its efforts to combat
prostitution. The government provided anti-trafficking training to
Armenian troops before their deployment overseas on international
peacekeeping missions", the report concludes.
From: Baghdasarian
http://times.am/?l=en&p=8776
US State Department has published the annual report on trafficking
in world. Report presents human slavery index in the world.
"Over the coming months we will celebrate the 150th anniversary of
the Emancipation Proclamation, which Abraham Lincoln announced on
September 22, 1862 and issued by Executive Order on January 1, 1863.
In 1865, as the guns of the Civil War fell silent, the Congress passed
and the states ratified as the 13th Amendment to the Constitution
President Lincoln's commitment that "neither slavery nor involuntary
servitude shall exist in the United States."
Like the United States, countries around the world have enacted
laws and adopted international instruments to end slavery as a legal
institution and to eliminate it as a criminal practice. The Universal
Declaration of Human Rights prohibits slavery and involuntary
servitude. More recently, the UN Palermo Protocol has made the
abolition of modern-day slavery a part of international law and a
policy-making priority. Governments across the globe are united in
this struggle.
Yet, despite the adoption of treaties and laws prohibiting slavery,
the evidence nevertheless shows that many men, women, and children
continue to live in modern-day slavery through the scourge of
trafficking in persons.
Trafficking in persons deprives victims of their most basic freedom:
to determine their own future. Our work in fulfilling the promise
of freedom should be not only the pursuit of justice, but also a
restoring of what was taken away. We should aim not only to put an
end to this crime, but also to ensure that survivors can move beyond
their exploitation and live the lives they choose for themselves.
This Report is a guide for our work. In the past decade, a global
community of governments, non-governmental organizations, and countless
other institutions and individuals have brought attention to this
often-hidden crime. Through the work of many, this Report provides
a clear and sobering analysis of the state of modern slavery.
It tells us which governments are making progress, which innovations
are working best, and how we can strengthen our efforts to bring
an end to this crime" US State Secretary Hilary Clinton writes as a
welcoming speech of the .
Referring to the situation in Armenia, the report especially says:
"Armenia is a source country for women and girls subjected to sex
trafficking, as well as a source country for women and men subjected
to forced labor. To a lesser extent it has been a destination country
for women subjected to forced labor. Women and girls from Armenia are
subjected to sex trafficking in the United Arab Emirates and Turkey,
and within the country. Armenian men and women are subjected to forced
labor in Russia. Armenian boys have been subjected to forced labor
within the country. An NGO reported a new trend of labor migrants
withdrawing their children from school and taking them abroad as
helpers; these children are vulnerable to conditions of forced labor.
The Government of Armenia does not fully comply with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making
significant efforts to do so. In 2011, the government convicted more
trafficking offenders than during the previous year, continued to
train hundreds of officials in partnership with NGOs and international
organizations, and strengthened anti-trafficking public awareness
campaigns. The number of victims identified by the government during
the year continued to drop".
"The Armenian government demonstrated progress in its law enforcement
efforts against human trafficking during the reporting period. Armenia
prohibits both sex trafficking and labor trafficking through articles
132 and 132-2 of its criminal code, which prescribe penalties of five
to 15 years' imprisonment - penalties that are sufficiently stringent
and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes such
as rape. The government investigated 16 sex trafficking cases and one
labor trafficking case in 2011, compared with 15 sex trafficking and no
labor trafficking cases in 2010. During 2011, the Armenian government
prosecuted eight new cases against 15 individuals for sex trafficking
offenses and no individuals for labor trafficking offenses, compared
with prosecutions against six alleged sex traffickers and no alleged
labor traffickers newly prosecuted in 2010.
During the year, the government continued to prosecute an additional
11 defendants whose cases had begun in previous years; nine were
charged with sex trafficking and two with labor trafficking. The
government convicted 13 trafficking offenders in 2011 - including 11
individuals for sex trafficking and two for labor trafficking - up
from a total of five convictions in 2010. All 13 convicted offenders
in 2011 were given sentences ranging from four to nine years'
imprisonment. Based on a request made by Armenian law enforcement
agencies in 2010, in September 2011 Turkey extradited an alleged
Armenian trafficker to Armenia; the alleged trafficker was escorted
by Armenian law enforcement officers from Istanbul to Yerevan. The
Armenian government sustained partnerships with anti-trafficking
NGOs, international organizations, and foreign governments to provide
anti-trafficking training to hundreds of government officials including
prosecutors, police, border guards, members of the judicial system,
and labor inspectors. Human trafficking continued to be included
in the curriculum of all education facilities of law enforcement
bodies. There were no reports of government officials' complicity in
trafficking during 2011".
"The Armenian government undertook strong trafficking prevention
efforts during the reporting period. The government spent the
equivalent of almost all of the $23,000 devoted in the budgets of the
Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs and Ministry of Youth and Sport
Affairs to further increase public awareness of human trafficking.
Many of these public awareness activities involved broadcasting
anti-trafficking public service announcements and other programs on
national and regional stations during peak viewing periods. Various
government agencies undertook prevention activities. The Ministerial
Council to Combat Trafficking in Persons and the Inter-Agency Working
Group against Trafficking in Persons continued to meet regularly
and coordinate the implementation of the 2010-2012 National Plan
of Action addressing human trafficking, in collaboration with NGOs
and international organizations, and began to work on the 2013-2015
National Plan of Action. The government regularly published reports on
its anti-trafficking activities during the reporting period. During
the year, the government took measures to identify and record the
unregistered births of children. In an effort to reduce the demand
for commercial sex, the government publicized its efforts to combat
prostitution. The government provided anti-trafficking training to
Armenian troops before their deployment overseas on international
peacekeeping missions", the report concludes.
From: Baghdasarian