TRAFFICKING A NEW WAY OF HUMAN SLAVERY
By Marieta Makarian

AZG Armenian Daily
13/09/2007

120 People Underwent Sexual Exploitation

Human trafficking became one of the most serious problems for the
world. Every year the number of the trafficking victims, who are
mainly women and children, being sexually exploitated both in their
home countries and in the foreign ones. Unfortunately, lately, Armenia
became not only a transit country but also a providing one in the
issue of the human trafficking. The Armenian women make money mainly
in Turkey, the Arabian states and in Greece. It’s quite strange, but
RA Justice Minister David Haroutiunian still denies that trafficking
is a growing problem for Armenia, stating in particular, that it’s
too early to say that trafficking exists in Armenia as a phenomenon.

In response to the abovementioned attitude of the Minister, we would
like to represent the data provided by the relevant department of RA
Prosecutor’s Office.

Thus, according to the articles # 132, 132-1, 261, 262 of RA Criminal
Code (all of the articles are on the trafficking issues), in the
course of the first half of this year there had been 25 criminal
cases instituted. In the period under review, in fact, 120 people
became victims of sexual exploitation.

Moreover, according to unofficial data, the number of trafficking
victims surpasses several hundreds. Thus, 63 people of 120 were
exploitated in Armenia, 57 in foreign countries, 30 in the Arabian
Emirates, 27 in Turkey. 39 people underwent administrative punishment
for prostitution.