Trafficking in Persons Report 2015
The US State Department released the Trafficking in Persons Report 2015. This annual report consists of an International update on the current situation of human trafficking around the world.
This year’s Report places a special emphasis on human trafficking in the global marketplace. It highlights the hidden risks that workers may encounter when seeking employment and the steps that governments and businesses can take to prevent trafficking, including a demand for transparency in global supply chains.
The bottom line is that this is no time for complacency. Right now, across the globe, victims of human trafficking are daring to imagine the possibility of escape, the chance for a life without fear, and the opportunity to earn a living wage. I echo the words of President Obama and say to them: We hear you, and we will do all we can to make that dream come true. In recent decades, we have learned a great deal about how to break up human trafficking networks and help victims recover in safety and dignity. In years to come, we will apply those lessons relentlessly, and we will not rest until modern slavery is ended. – John F. Kerry, Secretary of State
TIP Report Romania Country Narrative
Since the 2002 TIP Report, Romania has been ranked as a Tier 2 country. (In the first TIP Report back in 2001, Romania was ranked Tier 3)
The US State Department describes the Tier 2 ranking as “Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.”
The report lists states, “Romania is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to labor trafficking and women and children subjected to sex trafficking. Romanians represent a significant source of sex and labor trafficking victims in Western Europe (particularly the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and France)
and Central and Southern Europe (particularly the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Greece).”
Some of the highlights of the Romania Country Narrative are:
“Romanian men, women, and children are subjected to labor trafficking in agriculture, construction, domestic service, hotels, and manufacturing, as well as forced
begging and theft in Romania and other European countries. Romanian women and children are victims of sex trafficking in Romania and other European countries. Romanian victims of forced begging and forced criminal activities are often Romani children.”
“Romania is a destination country for a limited number of foreign trafficking victims, including sex trafficking victims from Moldova and Poland and labor trafficking victims from Bangladesh and Serbia. Government officials have been convicted of human trafficking crimes, and there have been reported instances of local officials obstructing trafficking investigations.”
“The Government of Romania does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is
making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated strong law enforcement efforts, but issued weak or suspended sentences that did not deter traffickers or keep victims safe when traffickers were released. The government identified a large number of victims, but public and private institutions assisted only half of them.”
“The government did not provide funding to NGOs offering victim assistance, and victims had difficulty obtaining medical services, psychological counseling, and restitution from traffickers. Some victims who had been returned to their homes by the government, instead of being placed in shelters, were subjected to trafficking again by family members.”
TIP Report Recommendations for Romania
- Allocate public funding for NGOs providing services to victims and provide funding to staff the new government shelter for trafficking victims;
- improve victim access to medical assistance and increase quality of psychological counseling;
- investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers, including complicit officials, and seek and obtain sentences that are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with the severity of the crime;
- assess safety of home environments before releasing victims to prevent re-trafficking; withhold from publication names of trafficking victims who testify in trials;
- consistently inform victims of their right to apply for compensation;
- increase efforts to proactively identify potential victims among vulnerable populations, such as undocumented migrants, foreign workers, Roma, and children involved in begging;
- operate the anti-trafficking
- hotline on evenings and weekends;
- and do not prosecute victims for crimes committed as a direct result of their being subjected to human trafficking.
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