CC BY
45
dition of local economy, which can be obtained through analyzing each of its segments, must become a vital element of the national development policy.
In a market economy, the state can support growth by creating conditions that enhance the competitiveness of the economy. This framework may, therefore, be viewed as one of improving Georgia’s competitiveness, which should promote the formation of the basis of government’s strategic priorities.
C o n c l u s i o n
Based on the latest knowledge and experience from abroad we are convinced, that the long-term competitiveness of Georgia can only be achieved by the implementation of the essential structural reforms creating conditions for the realization of National and Regional Innovation Systems.
Effective fulfillment of proposed concept will require adequate funds, including public and private financing and international donors’ assistance. It is, therefore, important that the resources are invested with the explicit aim of increasing the competitiveness and growth of the entire Georgian economy. Elaborating the innovation policy of the Government of Georgia and the financial instruments for its implementation over the period 2008-2012 will be crucial for the long-term competitiveness of Georgian economy.
Aysel ALLAHVERDIEVA
Ph.D. candidate at the School of Law, University College Dublin (Dublin, Republic of Ireland).
TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS: A TRANSNATIONAL THREAT OF THE GLOBALIZATION ERA (COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF THE CENTRAL CAUSASIAN STATES)
Abstract
T
he article discusses one of the most dangerous and serious, in the social-humanitarian respect, challenges of
the current stage in world globalization— trafficking in human beings, especially in women and children, which has become
Support for this publication was provided in part by the FLEX Alumni Grants Program, which is funded by the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs of the United States Department of State (ECA) and administered by the
an international problem in recent years. The article takes a look at the special features of the human trafficking problem in post-Soviet states, primarily in the Central Caucasian countries, caused by the powerful migration flows generated by the
collapse of the Soviet Union. The main aim of this article is to carry out a comparative analysis of the implementation of international anti-trafficking laws in the national legislation of the Central Caucasian states.
I n t r o d u c t i o n
The term trafficking in humans is circulating with increasing frequency in the mass media, although just two decades ago many countries had no idea what it meant. However, when addressing this phenomenon, media representatives and human rights activists primarily reduce it to trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation. And although this picture of the trafficking phenomenon is largely justified, the range of victims of this type of slavery extends much broader to include men and children. For example, the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons gives the following extensive definition: “‘Trafficking in persons’ shall mean the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person, for the purpose of exploitation. Exploitation shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or service, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”1
According to the data of the International Labor Organization, some 2.45 million people (mainly women and children) in Europe alone are the victims of human trafficking.2 Interpol indicates that every year approximately 120,000 women and children from East European countries become victims of human trafficking in West European states.3 In the context of growing world globalization, the problem of trafficking in human beings is gradually turning into a transnational threat and becoming a topic of current interest in almost every country of the post-Soviet expanse, including the Central Caucasian states.4
This article aims to examine the most important issues, in particular it looks at:
American Councils for International Education ACTR/ACCELS. The opinions expressed herein are the author's own and do not necessarily express the views of either ECA or the American Councils for International Education.
1 Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the U.N. Convention against Transnational Organized Crime. Resolution 55/25 of the U.N. General Assembly of 15 November, 2000, available at [http://www.unhcr.org/refworld/docid/4720706c0.html].
2 See: “Trafficking in Women. The Misery behind the Fantasy: From Poverty to Sex Slavery,” A Comprehensive European Strategy, Justice and Home Affairs, The European Commission, available at [http://ec.europa.eu/justice_home/ news/8mars_en.htm], 20 March, 2009.
3 See: “Trafficking in Human Beings in the European Union: A Europol Perspective,” Europol, February 2008.
4 The author upholds the structurization of the Caucasian region offered by Azerbaijani researcher E. Ismailov, according to which the following political-geographic sub-regions are singled out: the Northern Caucasus (the autonomous state formations of the Russian Federation bordering on the region); the Central Caucasus (Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia); the Southern Caucasus (the ils of Turkey bordering on Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia [Southwestern Caucasus] and northwestern ostanha of Iran (Southeastern Caucasus) (see: E. Ismailov, M. Esenov, “Central Eurasia in New Geopolitical and Geo-economic Dimensions,” in: Central Eurasia, Analytical Annual 2005, CA&CC Press, Sweden, 2006, pp. 11-43).
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—how big the crime of human trafficking really is in the globalization era and how the determinants of trafficking change in the context of the growing global economic crisis;
—what is being done to enforce international anti-trafficking legislation in the Central Caucasian states;
—the current situation and national mechanisms for combating human trafficking in the Central Caucasian states.
Trafficking in Human Beings— A Phenomenon of the Global World
It should first be noted that the problem is of current interest for essentially every country of the world, which are divided into countries of source,5 transit, and destination.6 Given that trafficking in human beings as a global phenomenon is relatively new and has its own peculiarities, it is incumbent upon researchers to give this problem their close attention.
In so doing, it is extremely difficult, even practically impossible, to present albeit approximate figures of the victims of trafficking, since the illegal nature of this phenomenon makes these data difficult to assess. Moreover, even that information presented by different international organizations is contradictory. According to the estimates of the U.S. Department of State, approximately 800,000 women, men, and children are moved across international borders every year for the purpose of profitable sexual exploitation.7 According to the U.N. data, over 21,400 victims were identified in 2006 among the 111 countries reporting victim data for that year.8 Approximately 66% of them are women, 12% are men, 13% are girls, and 9% are boys.9 As it can be seen, the figures presented by different international structures significantly differ from each other. It seems to us that such discrepancies cannot only be explained by the different methods used for assessing the victims of trafficking, but also by the hidden nature of this type of crime, which makes any data about it very approximate.
Some think that an increase in migration flows is prompting the creation of additional migration barriers in the destination countries.10 This may provide new and fertile ground for cultivating organized criminal activity with respect to moving and keeping illegal migrants in slave-like conditions.
The reasons for human trafficking as a global phenomenon should primarily be sought in the socioeconomic conditions of those countries where it is flourishing. Indeed, more often vic-
5 As of today, countries of source or countries that supply victims of human trafficking to the European Union are Moldova, Ukraine, Bulgaria, Rumania, Russia, and Nigeria (see: “Trafficking in Human Beings in the European Union: A Europol Perspective”).
6 As of today, countries of destination in Europe are primarily the countries of the European Union, such as Germany, Austria, France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, and Great Britain (see: “Trafficking in Human Beings in the European Union: A Europol Perspective”).
7 See: Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State [http://www.state.gov/g/tip/c16467.htm], 23 March, 2009.
8 See: Global Report on Trafficking in Persons. Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), February 2009, available at [http://www.unodc.org/documents/
Global_Report_on_TIP.pdf].
9 Ibidem.
10 See: S. Volpicelli, Understanding and Counteracting Trafficking in Persons. The Acts of the Seminar for Women Religious, IOM, Rome, 2004.
tims of human trafficking come from disadvantaged states where, in an effort to overcome poverty, they often make an easy prey for human traffickers. Nevertheless, currently there are many frequently overly simplified and biased approaches in the existing interpretations of such a complex problem:
—human trafficking is a relatively new problem;
—the problem of trafficking in human beings primarily affects developing countries and countries in transition;
—this problem can be resolved by means of political and legal means and responsibility for their enforcement rests on the governments themselves of the source and transit countries of human trafficking;
—source countries are mainly taking anti-trafficking action in the scope of their fight against illegal immigration;
—this type of crime is being committed by organized crime groups and so is only of an organized crime nature.
Human history is very familiar with relations based on the subordination of weaker people to stronger and generated by economic demand. In contrast to the long history of trafficking in human beings, action against this anti-social phenomenon has much more modest time parameters. Contemporary international law usually singles out the most significant milestones in this action, which essentially did not begin until the 19th century,11 as:
— Convention for the Suppression of Traffic in Persons and the Exploitation of Prostitution of Others of 2 December, 1949;
— Supplementary Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade, and Institutions and Practices Similar to Slavery of 7 September, 1956;
—Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocol to it on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography of 25 May, 2000;
—Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the U.N. Convention against Transnational Organized Crime of 15 November, 2000;
—Brussels Declaration of the European Conference on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings (18-20 September, 2002);
— Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (16 May, 2005), and others;
— Council of Europe Framework Decision on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings 2002/629/JHA (19 July, 2002);
—Directive of the European Council on the Short Term Residence Permit Issued to Victims of Action to Facilitate Illegal Immigration or Trafficking in Human Beings who Cooperate with the Competent Authorities 2004/81/EC (29 April, 2004);
11 Appendix to the Ban on Trafficking in Africans at the International Level to the General Act adopted by the Vienna Congress (1815); the London Treaty (1841) entered by England, France, Russia, Austria, and Prussia, which puts slave trade on the same level as piracy; the General Act of the Berlin Conference (1885), which envisages the prohibition of slave labor by international law; the General Act of the Brussels Conference (1890), which sets forth the obligation to adopt in national law criminal liability for the forced seizure of hostages; the Saint-Germain Treaty (1919), which regulates the obligation to cooperate in order to completely eradicate slavery and slave trade (see: I.I. Lukashuk, A.N. Naumov, Mezhdunarodnoe ugolovnoe pravo, Spark, Moscow, 1999).
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—Directive of the European Council on Defining the Facilitation of Unauthorized Entry, Transit and Residence 2002/90/EC (28 November, 2002);
—Resolution of the U.N. General Assembly on Trafficking in Women and Girls adopted at its 63rd session on 18 December, 2008.
Currently, many states are adopting a whole series of legislative measures aimed at combating human trafficking on the basis of the above-mentioned documents of international law. As of November 2008, 63% of the 155 countries and territories had passed laws against human trafficking addressing the major forms of trafficking.12 Another 16% had passed anti-trafficking laws that cover only certain elements of the definition13 in this Protocol.14 In 2003, only one third of the countries covered by this report had legislation against human trafficking; at the end of 2008, four-fifths did. The number of countries having anti-trafficking legislation more than doubled between 2003 and 2008 in response to the passage of the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. In addition, 54% of the responding countries have established special anti-human trafficking special police units, and more than half have developed national action plans to deal with this issue.15
From the above, it can be seen that quite a number of regulatory acts have been passed against human trafficking in international law. But despite all its diversity, this action basically boils down to two aspects:
—an approach based on criminal legal proceedings (including prevention, protection, investigation, and criminal prosecution);
—an approach based on combating human trafficking in the source and transit countries by means of increased public awareness.
But how productive are such approaches? How can we explain the fact that trafficking in human beings has become so widespread in just the past few decades and why are the numerous international and national anti-trafficking programs often far from being effective? Among the other mytholo-gemes associated with the problem of human trafficking, a few more should be noted. Let us try and figure them out.
Mythologeme of “demonization” of international criminal groups engaged in trafficking. It is an opinion of the author that the attempts to reduce the reasons for the globalization of human trafficking to the excessive greed of international crime syndicates or to the corruption of government structures in certain countries to be narrow-minded and even somewhat naive. They, in themselves, are not independent factors but essentially fulfill the role of conducting channels for actualizing the shadow aspects of the basic law of the market economy—the balance between supply and demand.
In our opinion, the multi-billion revenues obtained from trafficking and the stable dynamics of their growth16 are associated with several objective determinants that make migration waves essentially inevitable:
—the different types of population reproduction in the developed and developing countries generate a bilateral need for mass migration;
12 Laws, according to which at least sexual exploitation or forced labor regardless of age or sex of the victims are recognized as criminally punishable.
13 For example, laws which cover only sexual exploitation or ensure the protection of only women and children.
14 See: Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, Executive Summary, p. 4.
15 Ibidem.
16 For more on the shadow aspects of the global economy, including those associated with its criminalization, see: “Kriminalnaia globalizatsiia ekonomiki,” Ekonomicheskaia teoriia prestuplenii i nakazanii, Issue 5, ed. by L.M. Timofeev, V.A. Latov, RGGU, Moscow, 2002.
—the large gaps in the levels of income between the population of the developing and developed countries make migration extremely attractive;
—the absence of a so-called specific advantage (in material production, the service sector, and so on) in most developing countries frequently makes economic migration the only real way for the active part of their population to meet their material needs.
In this way, the needs of people themselves—in some countries to buy and in others to sell (workforce, entertainment, “personal services,” donor organs)—dictate the mass movement of the population.
It stands to reason that the global dimensions of migration, when state borders and the limitations set by national governments (migration quotas, legislative regulations, and so on) must be contended with and with which these dimensions just do not coincide, inevitably make it difficult to control and encourage the appearance of enormous black markets and criminal schemes for transporting and exploiting people. In other words, illegal international human trafficking is becoming a form of response to market demand.
Mythologemes generated by feminist interpretations in the approaches to this problem, according to which human trafficking boils down primarily to forced sexual exploitation of women. Most experts believe that between 80% and 90% of the victims of human trafficking are women. The U.N. Report on Human Trafficking for 2008 prepared by the U.N. Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) contains fresh data on contemporary forms of slavery, describes its nature and truly global dimensions, and also indicates that sexual exploitation (79%) and forced labor (18%) are the most widespread forms of trafficking in human beings.17
It is an opinion of the author that the classical approaches to understanding the problem of trafficking largely reflect an inverted form of the cause-and-effect relations that exist here. This is primarily manifested in the fact that in the “source country-transit country-destination country” trafficking chain, it is the source country that is customarily considered the starting point. As paradoxical as it may seem, in so doing the economic component of the human trafficking problem is explained in most cases by categories outside the economy, since the main mechanism of the market economy is ignored—“supply is generated by demand.”
It is precisely the growing demand in the host countries associated with the high cost of local services in the sex industry of developed countries18 that is leading to the appearance of competitive monopoly markets. Their existence, in combination with the low salary of migrant women, is created by giant economic scissors which make the sex industry a segment of the workforce market that is extremely profitable for its organizers with all the ensuing negative and criminal consequences. Here are the roots of this type of criminal business, which is in third place in terms of revenue after arms trafficking and the drug business. According to experts, “to date, it has remained unclear whether human trafficking enterprises were driven primarily by networks situated in the source countries or in the destination countries.”19 The launching mechanism of human trafficking should nevertheless be sought in the destination countries, in the existence of the enormous black market of illegal workforce consumption, the toughening up of the migration regime in them, and the creation of a general free trade and movement zone,20 which in turn stimulates the appallingly widespread victimization of
17 UNODC Report on Human Trafficking Exposes Modern Form of Slavery, available at [http://www.unodc.org/un-odc/en/human-trafficking/global-report-on-trafficking-in-persons.html].
18 An explanation of the high costs in the sex industry caused by the inelastic supply of workforce in this sphere is set forth in: D. Coyle, Sex, Drugs & Economics: An Unconventional Introduction to Economics, Texere, New York, London, 2002.
19 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, Executive Summary, pp. 7-8.
20 For example, according to the Schengen acquis, border control is not carried out on the domestic borders be-
tween countries of the Schengen group.
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women and children. Noteworthy in this respect is conference of the Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) of the OSCE held in September 2004 entitled “Ensuring Human Rights Protection in Countries of Destination: Breaking the Cycle of Trafficking” at which attention was focused on the importance of increasing cooperation between source countries of human trafficking victims and countries of destination.21
There is another aspect of the problem associated with the fact that men make up more than 90% of the prison populations of most countries and are particularly over-represented as perpetrators of violent crime. Thus, it might be assumed that human trafficking, where violence and threats are keys to the business, would likewise be overwhelmingly male dominated. However, the data gathered on the gender of offenders in 46 countries suggest that women play a key role as the perpetrators of human trafficking. In Europe, for example, women make up a larger share of those convicted for human trafficking offences than for most other forms of crime.22
The authors of the above-mentioned U.N. Global Report also recognize the need for a defeminized interpretation of the trafficking problem. The fact that more women are engaged in slave trade proved a surprise even to them: “Surprisingly, in 30% of the countries which provided information on the gender of traffickers, women make up the largest proportion of traffickers. In some parts of the world, women trafficking women is the norm.”23 At the same time, according to Eva Biode, a special representative of the OSCE on the fight against trafficking, the fact that mainly women are brought to account for trafficking in human beings in no way excludes the fact that men, more influential forces, and big money stand behind them.24
So, although the international law base for combating human trafficking and for identifying and helping its victims has become increasingly stronger in the past twenty years and the range of corresponding studies in this area is constantly expanding, the problem of trafficking is steadily becoming more globalized. With respect to the Central Caucasian Region, the problem areas can mainly be systematized within the framework of two groups of issues:
—the implementation and correlation of national legislation of the region’s states to international law;
—the current situation and national mechanisms for combating trafficking in human beings.
Implementation of International Law in Action against Trafficking in the Central Caucasian States
As it was noted earlier, the problem of trafficking in human beings is complex in nature. The lack of necessary legal tools is conducive to drawing women into the illegal migration processes and their victimization. This is precisely why the international community believes bringing the national legislative base into harmony with international law standards to be one of its priority tasks in this sphere.
21 See: “Ensuring Human Rights Protection in Countries of Destination: Breaking the Cycle of Trafficking, 23-
24 September, 2004,” available at [http://www.osce.org/item/15919.html].
See: Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, Executive Summary, p. 7. See: UNODC Report on Human Trafficking Exposes Modern Form of Sla [http://echo-az.info/obshestvo06.shtml], 18 June, 2008.
It should be noted that recognizing the importance of the trafficking problem, the Central Caucasian states have also exerted immense efforts over the past decade in this area to introduce international standards into their legislative bases (see Table 1).25
Table 1
Central Caucasian States
Central Caucasian States International Conventions Azerbaijan Armenia Georgia
Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocol to It on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography of 25 May, 2000 8.09.2000 3.07.2002 24.9.2003 30.09.2005
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and 12.12.2000 15.11.2001 13.12.2000
Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the U.N. Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime of 15 November, 2000 30.10.2003 1.07. 2003 5.09.2006
Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings of 16 May, 2005 16.05.2005 14.04.2008 19.10.2005 14.03.2007
However, the signing and ratification of acts of international law provides no guarantee that they will be efficiently enforced. For the purposes of this article it is expedient to take a look at the specific aspects of enforcing international standards based on the example of the Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings,26 which entered into force on 1 February, 2008 and which is used as the main tool for taking action to combat trafficking.
It is expected that the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings may significantly change the situation in protecting and rehabilitating victims in source countries (mainly post-Soviet countries) and destination countries (mainly Member States of the European Union). However, it is important to note that the Convention may not be enforced equally in all the Member States of the Council of Europe since there are significant differences among the 47 countries that are members of the Council of Europe. The Member States of the Council of Europe range from groups of countries with a transition economy to the economically strong and politically stable countries of the European Union. As a result, even if the national legislative frameworks are brought into harmony, the pertinence of the Council of Europe Convention will
25 Compiled by the author on the basis of U.N. and Council of Europe data on the status of the Conventions.
26 Council of Europe Convention on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings (adopted in Warsaw on 16 May, 2005) entered into force on 1 February, 2008 (10 ratifications, including 8 member states). As of March 2009, it had already been signed by 40 and ratified by 20 member states of the Council of Europe (see: “Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings,” Council of Europe Information Document No. 197. Status on 18/3/ 2009, available at [http://www.coe.int/trafficking].
THE CAUCASUS & GLOBALIZATION
greatly vary in practice depending on the traditions of the local cultures, norms of legal conscience, principle of the rule of the law, and degree of economic growth.
The first, most obvious, difference among the Central Caucasian countries is that the CE Convention is a legally binding document for Armenia and Georgia, but not for Azerbaijan, which as of today has not signed or ratified it. It should be noted that apart from Azerbaijan, another five countries—members of the Council of Europe—Liechtenstein, Monaco, Russia, Turkey, the Czech Republic, and Estonia as of today have not yet signed the Convention for different reasons; while other 20 countries (Belgium, Hungary, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Spain, Italy, and others) have signed it but not ratified it. Experts explain such a large number of states in which the CE Convention has not entered into force by the need for bringing the legislative base of these countries into harmony with the offered standards. After ratification of the Convention its regulations become legally binding.
Another legal aspect of the problem lies in the Central Caucasus’ conflict zones—Nagorno-Karabakh, Abkhazia, and South Ossetia—which in so doing create a legal vacuum in the fight against human trafficking within the Council of Europe’s single space. In addition, the fate of the numerous Azeri citizens in Armenian captivity and subjected to slave labor essentially remains beyond the framework of international law. According to the International Red Cross in Azerbaijan, the families of more than 4,400 people who are missing due to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict still have no information about the fate of their relatives. These people have the right to know and the authorities are obligated to provide them with the necessary information.27 But the Armenian government refuses to provide information on this issue.
In all three Central Caucasian countries the Council of Europe is planning to carry out programs to raise public awareness about the potential threat of human trafficking, as well as render the governments assistance both in protecting local and transit victims of trafficking and in criminally prosecuting people engaged in this practice. These lengthy and planned initiatives are intended to ease the ratification and implementation of the three main legal instruments in this area:
—the U.N. Convention against Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children;
—the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking;
—the Convention on the Rights of the Child and the Optional Protocol to it on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution and Child Pornography.
The Current Situation and National Mechanisms for Combating Trafficking in Human Beings in the Central Caucasian States
The differences among the region’s countries are also manifested in the nature and scale of the trafficking problem in each of them. Keeping in mind that one of the generally accepted analysis tools in the international research literature is rating data on trafficking published annually by the U.S.
[http://www.icrc.org/web/rus/siterus0.nsf/html/azerbaijan-news-130209].
27
Department of State,28 relying on them the article will try to briefly describe the situation in each of the Central Caucasian countries.
Azerbaijan
Azerbaijan is primarily a source and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women from Azerbaijan are trafficked to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) for purposes of sexual exploitation. Men are trafficked to Russia for the purpose of forced labor. Men and women are also trafficked to Iran, Pakistan, and India for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Children from Azerbaijan are often trafficked to Turkey for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and to Russia for the purpose of forced labor. In addition, Azerbaijan serves as a transit country for victims from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan, and Moldova trafficked to Turkey and the U.A.E. for sexual exploitation.29
Data on the number of human trafficking victims presented by the Azerbaijani state structures and nongovernmental organizations are extremely different. But in contrast to the other two Central Caucasian states, in Azerbaijan the data of the state structures are twice as high as those of NGOs, which could show the desire of the official departments not to hide the real state of affairs (see Figs. 1 and 2).
On the whole, according to the official statistics, the strategy of action against human trafficking carried out in Azerbaijan has shown positive dynamics over the past five years. For example, an order of the country’s president Ilham Aliev in 2004 approved “The Plan of National Measures against Trafficking in Azerbaijan” and appointed a national coordinator for implementing this plan. In 2005, the country’s parliament adopted a Law on the Fight against Trafficking in Persons. In addition, in 2006, a special anti-trafficking unit was created at the Azerbaijan Republic Ministry of the Interior.
In 2006, 27 cases and 85 victims were identified in the country, and in 2007, 74 cases and 101 victims. In 2008, as many as 342 trafficking-related crimes were exposed in Azerbaijan. This is 119 cases more than in 2007, and 68 of them are qualified under Art 68 of the Criminal Code on trafficking in persons. A total of 315 people have been prosecuted for offenses in this area. The report by the National Coordinator also notes that most of the 48 human trafficking victims placed in shelters in 2008 have been reintegrated into society, 7 were provided with jobs, 3 took professional courses, and 9 received compensation through court decisions for the material damage inflicted on them; 41 victims received benefits during the reintegration process.30
This shows a perceptible improvement in the efforts to expose crimes and an overall increase in the professionalism of officials involved in this activity, but it does not mean that all the problems
28 The compilers of the U.S. State Department report distribute countries in keeping with the following tiers: Tier 1: Countries whose governments fully comply with the Act’s minimum standards. Tier 2: Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the Act’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards. Tier 2 Watch List: Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the Act’s minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards, and: (a) The absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is increasing significantly; or (b) There is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year; or (c) The determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year. Tier 3: Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so, available at [http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/reports/2009/116114.htm].
29 See: Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State [http://www.state.gov/g/tip/c16467.htm].
30 See: Informational juridical portal Legal.Az, available at [http://www.legal.az/content/view/6167/115/].
Figure 131
Victims of Trafficking in Persons Identified by State Authorities in Azerbaijan, by gender and age (2006-2007)
Figure 232
Victims Sheltered by the NGO Clean World in Azerbaijan, by gender and age (2004-2007)
31 [www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/global-report-on-trafficking-in-persons.html].
32 Ibidem.
have been resolved, which was reflected in the Interim Assessment of the U.S. Department of State for May-November 2008. Azerbaijan, which according to the results of 2006-2007 was ranked as a Tier 2 country, failed to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons last year (see Fig. 3).33
Figure 3
Azerbaijan Tier Ranking by Year
The main problems in Azerbaijan in the current situation relating to trafficking are:
> In February 2008, all human trafficking cases were referred to the anti-trafficking unit. However, the unit has failed to carry out training sessions in trafficking in persons and human rights for its personnel, although one of its main tasks is victim identification.
> State structures and NGOs are failing to efficiently cooperate in victim identification.
Armenia
Armenia, in contrast to the other two Central Caucasian countries, is primarily a source country for women and girls trafficked to the United Arab Emirates and Turkey for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Armenian men and women are also trafficked to Russia for the purpose of forced labor.34 The U.S. State Department report also states that destination countries now include Kuwait, Qatar, and Bahrain, but no official cases involving these countries as destinations have surfaced. Data on the number of human trafficking victims presented by state structures and NGOs are comparable and artificially low.
According to the U.S. Department of State report, in 2007 the government of Armenia investigated only 14 cases of trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation. On the whole, however, according to the U.S. State Department, approximately 2,000 Armenian women are involved in human trafficking. The Armenian government convicted a total of 11 trafficking offenders, with sentences ranging from one to eight years’ imprisonment and fines. At the same time, the State Department points out that it failed to demonstrate evidence of investigation, prosecutions, convictions, and sentences of officials complicit in trafficking.35 The Interim Assessment of the U.S. Department of State for May-
33 “Trafficking in Persons Interim Assessment (May-November 2008),” in: Trafficking in Persons Report, 27 January, 2009, available at [http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/reports/2009/116114.htm].
34 See: Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State.
35 See: Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State.
Figure 4 36
Victims of Trafficking in Persons Identified by State Authorities in Armenia, by gender and age (2004-2006)
Figure 537
Victims of Trafficking in Persons Sheltered by NGOs in Armenia, by gender and age (2003-March 2007)
36 [www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/global-report-on-trafficking-in-persons.html].
37 Ibidem.
November 2008 indicates that the Armenian government has achieved modest progress in combating human trafficking in the reporting period but has failed to fulfill its commitments to undertake future actions over the coming year, so remains on Tier 2 Watch List for the fourth consecutive year, i.e. since 2005 (see Fig. 6).38
Figure 6
Armenia Tier Ranking by Year
The main problems in Armenia in the current situation regarding combating trafficking are:
> According to the State Department data, although the government identified more victims of human trafficking than in Georgia and Azerbaijan, these statistics are conflated with figures for smuggling and prostitution crimes;
> Armenia adopted a National Action Plan and National Mechanism for referring trafficking victims to NGOs and other structures for assistance, but neither of these documents is available to the broad public in English or Russian;
> Only a small number of convicted Armenian traffickers receive serious sentences. In Armenia, traffickers are eligible for release from prison after serving half of their sentences, and early release is routinely granted.
> Human rights organizations for combating trafficking are limping.
Georgia
This is a source and transit country for women and girls trafficked from Georgia, as well as through Georgia from Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, and other former Soviet countries, to Turkey, the United Arab Emirates, and Western Europe.39
In contrast to Azerbaijan and Armenia, the data on the number of human trafficking victims in Georgia mainly rely on the information provided by the republic’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The absence of alternative data from NGOs makes it impossible to verify the official statistics. The compilers of the trafficking ranking note significant improvements in this area in Georgia for 2007-2008 and have placed it on Tier 1 (see Fig. 7).40
38 See: “Trafficking in Persons Interim Assessment (May-November 2008).”
39 See: Secretary for Democracy and Global Affairs, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State.
40 See: “Trafficking in Persons Interim Assessment (May-November 2008).”
Figure 7
Georgia Tier Ranking by Year
The main anti-trafficking problems in Georgia in the current situation are:
> The mechanism for referring victims to NGOs, although it is largely efficient, requires improvement of the coordination between these organizations and state structures;
> There were reports that the government unknowingly jailed trafficking victims on immigration violations.
So, although it varies (Georgia is Tier 1, Azerbaijan and Armenia are Tier 2), the current situation regarding trafficking in the three Central Caucasian countries has a low number of exposed victims in common (particularly in Armenia). It is difficult to assess the real dimensions of trafficking in human beings, but according to reliable statistics more victims have been identified in Azerbaijan than in Armenia and Georgia.
Table 241
Years 2004 2005 2006 2007
s n io e ti ta az ti a rg or NGOs State organ izations NGOs S tate organ izations NGOs S tate organ izations NGOs
Data of organizations
Azerbaijan — 10 — 6 85 26 101 50
Armenia 9 33 53 21 47 30 — 6
Georgia — — 13 — 21 — — —
The response in these countries to signals about trafficking-related complicity of law enforcement personnel is still low, as is the investigation and prosecution of this complicity. In the court rooms victims are often treated as criminals and the psychological technique of placing the responsi-
41 The summary table was compiled on the basis of data available at [www.unodc.org/unodc/en/human-trafficking/ global-report-on-trafficking-in-persons.html].
bility on the victims of human trafficking themselves is widespread: “the women were looking for it themselves, they are stupid and naive, they knew they were going to work as prostitutes, they were looking for easy money and did nothing to escape,” and so on. The victims of trafficking in human beings often encounter misunderstanding and victimization from the people who should be helping them.
A separate and rather difficult problem is that of the voluntary return of trafficking victims to their homeland. Azerbaijan, Armenia, and Georgia are currently facilitating the voluntary return of foreign citizens who have become the victims of human trafficking to their country of source with the help of nongovernmental organizations, the corresponding state structures, and international immigration organizations (IMO). At present, there is no reliable data on the implementation of this process.
According to the legislation of Azerbaijan, Georgia, and Armenia, a victim cannot be deported if he or she is underage (for example, Art 16 of the Law of the Azerbaijan Republic on Combating Trafficking in Persons). Art 15 of the Law on Trafficking in Persons contains general provisions stating that all victims should be returned and reintegrated into their habitual way of life.42 The law also protects the rights and interests of citizens of Azerbaijan who have become the victims of trafficking in persons and their return to Azerbaijan. But in reality, in Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, trafficking victims may be deported since the legislation of the two sides involved does not envisage voluntary return to the homeland or cooperation with the state structures of the other country in order to prevent re-victimization.
As the documents of the OSCE Office on Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR) note, one of the most effective ways to achieve progress in combating trafficking is to create mechanisms for redirecting trafficking victims at the national level, with the following being singled out as the main components: identification of alleged trafficking victims; the main principles of agreements on cooperation; protection and support services; repatriation and social integration.43 The mentioned components are envisaged in all the National Action Plans to Fight Trafficking in Persons adopted in all the Central Caucasian countries.44 But, first, only a general declaration of them is made and, second, they do not contain a specific strategy or implementation tools. So in 2008-2009, efforts have been stepped up to create national mechanisms. After a six-month national experimental investigation, in November 2008 the government of Armenia officially adopted its national referral mechanism for trafficking victims. According to media reports, in the first six months of 2009 the Cabinet of Ministers of Azerbaijan approved “Mechanisms of Assistance to Trafficking Victims.” The document stipulates the need for identifying trafficking victims, rendering them legal and medical assistance, and ensuring their integration into society.45 This will also help to resolve one of the most important aspects of the enforcement problem since the legislation of the Central Caucasian states has contained no mandatory provisions to date on rendering support to victims, including financial. “Access to and providing housing, protection and assistance to victims should be timely and adequately financed. In the context of trafficking in human beings this frequently means proper financing of the functions of international, intergovernmental, and non-governmental organizations with respect to
42 See: Law of the Azerbaijan Republic on Combating Trafficking in Persons, Art 16. Rendering Assistance to Children who Have Become Victims of Trafficking in Persons; Art 15. Social Rehabilitation of Victims of Trafficking in Persons, available at [www.mia.gov.az].
43 See: “National Referral Mechanisms—Joining Efforts to Protect the Rights of Trafficked Persons: A Practical Handbook. OSCE Office for Democratic Institutions and Human Rights (ODIHR),” OSCE/ODIHR 2004, pp. 68-120, available at [www.osce.org/odihr].
44 See: “National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings in the Republic if Azerbaijan”; “National Action Plan on Combating TIP of Georgia 2007-2008”; “Action Plan for Prevention of Trafficking in the Republic if Armenia 2007-2009.”
45 See: “Preodolet ‘sindrom nasiliia,’” 14 March, 2009, Zerkalo, 17 June, 2009, available at [http:// www.zerkalo.az./rubric.php?id=40467].
THE CAUCASUS & GLOBALIZATION
providing housing. This will also help to ensure the independent status of these organizations, particularly NGOs.”46
There are two basic models for providing financial assistance to alleged victims of human trafficking. The first model is allotting funds directly to trafficking victims from the state budget. The second, more frequently used, model for rendering financial services is to allot funds to organizations and structures providing services to protect and support the alleged victims of human trafficking. And finally in the countries of Western, Central, and Eastern Europe a combination model of international and national financing of services is found.47 It is an opinion of the author that this latter model would best suit the conditions of the Central Caucasian states since it allows for the consolidated efforts of national governments, civil society institutions, and international organizations.
C o n c l u s i o n
Some of the aspects of the problem of trafficking in human beings discussed in this article not only reveal its transnational nature but also show the need for a comprehensive approach to its solution. The U.N. and Council of Europe Conventions and the OSCE documents set forth specific methods for resolving the problem of trafficking in human beings: eliminating shadow labor markets, fighting poverty and exploitation services, and carrying out a targeted fight against the crime industry engaged in human trafficking. But the growing globalization of this shameful crime of the 21st century clearly shows that the underdeveloped legislative base, insufficient activity of the law-enforcement structures, and ineffective international cooperation are also factors provoking or stimulating trafficking.
So when drawing up national strategies for combating trafficking in human beings, the governments of the Central Caucasian states should strengthen cooperation among themselves as well as with the leading countries of the world and authoritative international structures, ensure the adoption of the national legislation on fighting trafficking in human beings in compliance with international standards, and execute rapid ratification of the international instruments against trafficking in human beings.
46 See: Recommendations of the European Conference on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings -Global Challenges of the 21st Century, 18-20 September, 2002, Brussels Declaration on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Human Beings: “Protocols of minimum standards should be drawn up between law enforcement services and IOs and NGOs on the immediate treatment of trafficked victims” (Art 13).
47 “National Referral Mechanisms,” pp. 82-84.
