ARMENIA MAKES PROGRESS IN ITS ANTI-TRAFFICKING EFFORTS
Noyan Tapan
June 19, 2009
YEREVAN, JUNE 19, NOYAN TAPAN. "Armenia has made progress in its
anti-trafficking efforts" is said in the U.S. Department of State’s
2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report released by Secretary of
State Hillary Clinton on June 16.
According to a report of the U.S. embassy in Armenia, Armenia’s annual
ranking by TIP Report improved, with the country being removed from
the Tier Two Watch List, where it had remained in 2005-2008, and
elevated to the Tier Two category of the U.S. Department of State’s
four-tier ranking system.
The report notes that the Armenian government does not fully meet the
minimum standards of trafficking elimination, although the country
has taken serious steps in this direction. The U.S. Department of
State welcomed the resumption of inquiry into the case of corruption
related to trafficking in 2006, as well as the allocation of state
funds for the protection of trafficking victims and increasing the
society’s awareness of trafficking dangers. The Department of State
recommended that the Armenian government use the best experience and
standards in international practice.