Armenia “source” of human trafficking – US State Department

Armenia “source” of human trafficking – US State Department

Arminfo
6 Jun 05

Yerevan, 6 June: The US State Department has included Armenia on a
watch list of countries in its annual human trafficking report.

“Armenia is more like a source of trafficking rather than a transit
country,” the document says. According to the document, Armenian women
and girls are sent for sex exploitation mainly to Turkey and the UAE,
and according to some information, to European countries. According to
UN information, more than a 1,000 women are engaged in prostitution in
the UAE and Turkey, most of them being victims of
trafficking. According to the State Department report, although the
Armenian authorities are making efforts to fight this phenomenon, they
are not achieving a proper result. Armenia was included on the watch
list of countries because last year it could not prove that it has
increased its efforts in the fight against this phenomenon, the
document says.

[Passage omitted: the Armenian Criminal Code envisages punishment for
human trafficking]

The report also notes that some officials’ involvement in this
phenomenon hinders the appropriate fight against it. Specifically, the
report notes that some prosecutors illegally help people engaged in
trafficking while officers of the border service take bribes and
simplify procedures for crossing the border. The Armenian authorities
have proved incapable of investigating these cases and punishing the
culprits, the document says.