Tirana Times
TIRANA, June 29 – The 2011 Trafficking in persons report of the US Department of state kept Albania at Tier 2 as a source country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor, including the forced begging of children.
It said that Albanian victims are subjected to conditions of forced labor and sex trafficking within Albania and Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Kosovo, and Western Europe. Approximately half of the victims subjected to sex trafficking in hotels and private residences in Tirana, Durres, and Vlora. Children were primarily exploited for forced begging and other forms of forced labor; some girls were subjected to prostitution or forced labor after arranged marriage. There is evidence that Albanian men have been subjected to forced labor in the agricultural sector of Greece and other neighboring countries.
The Government of Albania does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so, it said.
Pervasive corruption in all levels and sectors of Albanian society continued to seriously affect the government’s ability to address its human trafficking problem. The government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of trafficking-related complicity in 2010.
The report recommends that Albania should continue to improve implementation of the strategy and ensure the full participation of all signatories; aggressively prosecute law enforcement officials who are complicit in human trafficking; vigorously investigate and prosecute sex and labor trafficking offenders; empower the new victim witness coordinator and specialized prosecutors to help create a more case-based, multidisciplinary response to trafficking; improve the functioning of regional anti-trafficking committees to improve the identification of and response to domestic trafficking cases; follow through on promised funding to NGOs providing critical care and reintegration assistance to victims; ensure proactive identification at border points and among persons exploited within Albania’s sex trade and labor sectors while intensifying partnerships with NGOs to increase detection and referral of all trafficking victims; and improve identification and specialized services for child trafficking victims.
