New gov’t pledges better fight again human trafficking

TIRANA, Oct. 19 – Prime Minister Edi Rama has pledged to take Albania out of the list of countries closely watched by the international community as a place of origin for human trafficking.
He made the comments in a conference dealing with the issue held last week in Tirana to coincide the European Day Against Human Trafficking.
Human trafficking has for years been a topic of concern for Albania and the region since the fall of the communist regimes more than two decades ago.
Authorities say the fight against human trafficking needs the efforts of the government and the entire society, and it can’t be successful only with isolated efforts. The phenomenon is a complex, global crime that threatens the security and safety of all the countries and citizens. It involves many types of criminal activities, including facilitation of illegal migration, forced begging and forging identity or travel documents, experts say.
Those participating at the conference said authorities should address the root causes of trafficking, starting with poverty and lack of education and employment, in addition to fighting the end results.
Over recent years, Albania has made achievements in the fight against human trafficking: advanced legislation is now in place, supported by specialized law-enforcement and social structures, coordinating mechanisms and civil society organizations.
However, important challenges remain in strengthening prosecution and conviction of the perpetrators to ensure that the severe penalties envisaged by the Albanian Criminal Code are applied andthose traffickers are prosecuted, according to authorities, as the conviction rate for these crimes is still low.
Rama said that his administration would work hard to change the country’s image in this area. He spoke again on the theme of Hollywood movies portraying Albania as an exporter of human traffickers. He had originally spoken on the topic at the United Nations earlier in September.
The prime minister also criticized what he called an abuse of funds set for such a fight by the previous governments. He also criticized the civil society for being too weak in achievements its goals in this field.
Rama said that fighting human trafficking is a major challenge, calling it an “emergency” for Albania, and adding immediate action should be undertaken in law enforcement, protection of witnesses and increasing the capacity of the institutions and other segments to fight and prevent this phenomenon.