ANALYSIS

Report documents human trafficking

by Roman Kupchinsky
RFE/RL Crime, Corruption and Terrorism Watch

The International Organization for Migration (IOM) on January 8 issued a report on the extent of human trafficking for sexual exploitation in the Balkans.

This report on trafficking used more than 200 sources in 28 countries and territories, mainly from NGOs, ministries, governmental agencies, international organizations and other entities assisting victims of trafficking.

Despite a lack of reliable data, the report clearly establishes that trafficking in the Balkans remains a significant problem, affecting a growing number of women and children. It underlines that this lack of adequate data partly reflects the low priority many governments give to trafficking - a phenomenon made worse by inadequate legislation and rampant corruption that hinders the prosecution of perpetrators and their associates.

It is estimated that some 120,000 women and children are trafficked every year into Western Europe, including women and children from Africa, South America and Asia.

The report says the Balkans cannot be viewed as a homogeneous region. While Kosovo and Bosnia-Herzegovina remain destination countries, and Albania, Bulgaria, Moldova and Romania are sending countries, each has become, to varying degrees, a country of origin, transit and/or destination.

According to this report, the largest groups of women trafficked to Western Europe through and from the Balkans are Moldovan, and they are primarily trafficked to Kosovo and Bosnia- Herzegovina. Albanian women are mostly trafficked to Italy, but also to Belgium and Greece, and to a lesser extent to the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. Bulgarian and Romanian women are mainly trafficked to Greece, Italy and Austria. Ukrainian women usually transit through Hungary and Yugoslavia before being taken to Kosova and Bosnia.

Some victims are then retrafficked via Albania to Italy and to other countries in Western Europe.

The Balkans will remain an important transit region between Eastern and Western Europe because conflicts have led to a breakdown of social, political and legal structures, a situation that continues to give traffickers significant freedom to operate.

During 2001, IOM offices in the Balkans assisted 697 victims of trafficking, mostly from Moldova (47 percent), Romania (25 percent), Ukraine (11 percent), Lithuania (3 percent), Russia (3 percent), Bulgaria (2 percent), Latvia (1 percent) and Albania (1 percent). Other victims assisted by the IOM came from Africa, Asia and South America.

The report recommends that compatible and appropriate legislation be adopted and implemented to effectively counter trafficking. Protection and assistance mechanisms for victims of trafficking should also be developed and/or strengthened. Prevention through socio-economic support and awareness-raising activities also is an effective way to combat trafficking.

The IOM report underlines the urgent need to collect and exchange information on trafficking through the establishment of a trafficking focal point and to allocate sufficient funds to monitor trafficking, create databases and carry out further research on this issue.

Roman Kupchinsky is editor of RFE/RL Crime, Corruption and Terrorism Watch.

Copyright © The Ukrainian Weekly, February 10, 2002, No. 6, Vol. LXX

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