U.S. report says Albanian efforts are reducing human trafficking

TIRANA, June 12 – The United States State Department has issued a report on international human trafficking that reviewed the problem in Albania, among other countries.
The report noted Albania is a country of origin for women and girls trafficked both internationally and internally for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. It said, however, that Albania is no longer considered a major country of transit, and it is not a significant country of destination.
The report said that Albanian victims were trafficked to Greece and Italy, with many trafficked onward to the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands.
What the reported noted with concern was that internal sex trafficking of women and children was on the rise in Albania.
Though the government did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, it said that it was making sincere efforts to do so, especially showing a significant effort to prosecute and convict traffickers, created a nationwide
toll-free help line, and ratifying a bilateral anti-child trafficking agreement with Greece.
The U.S. report did criticize the government for not instituting a victim case-tracking database that should form the core of its national referral mechanism, which would greatly improve care for trafficking victims.
Reintegration and rehabilitation services remained critical to prevent the re-trafficking of Albanian citizens, and the report urged the government to continue implementation of its national actions, and vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking-related corruption at all levels of law enforcement.
The Government of Albania continued to vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking in 2006, according to the report.
It added that Albania’s laws prescribe penalties for both labor and sex trafficking that are sufficiently stringent.
The report gave some figures, such as police referring 51 new trafficking cases to the General Prosecutor’s Office, which investigated 65 people on charges related to trafficking. Sixty-five offenders were sentenced to up to 10 years imprisonment.
The report also mentions the arrest of a British operator of an orphanage on charges of child molestation and trafficking in Albanian children for sexual exploitation to foreign pedophiles visiting Albania specifically for seeking sex with children.
It also wrote that some police officers, customs officials, and border police facilitated trafficking by accepting bribes, tipping off traffickers, and furnishing travel documents to traffickers. Lawyers and judges are allegedly bribed, permitting traffickers to prevent their own prosecution, if arrested.
The Government of Albania continued its modest efforts to protect and reintegrate victims of trafficking during 2006, wrote the State Department report.
Albania encourages victims to testify against traffickers, but they often refuse as a result of intimidation by traffickers. In 2006, only 20 out of 227 suspected or identified trafficking victims offered testimony against their traffickers. Victims generally do not initiate arrests due to their distrust of the police and judiciary.
The government’s National Victim Referral Center provided assistance to 46 Albanian and third-country national trafficking victims; many were transferred to other shelters for reintegration.
Albania ratified a bilateral agreement with Greece to assist with the return of child trafficking victims.
The State Department noted that Albania made progress in anti-trafficking prevention and awareness activities during 2006, but relied primarily on NGOs and international organizations for financial support.
The government, with support from IOM and UNODC, carried out a limited campaign to help launch the opening of an anti-trafficking hotline, to publicize the hotline’s number and raise awareness among potential victims. With support of the ILO, the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities implemented a micro-loan program for female trafficking victims to assist them in starting small businesses, foster reintegration, and prevent re-trafficking.