Trafficking in Persons Report 2013
The US State Department released the Trafficking in Persons Report 2013 today. This annual report consists of an International update on the current situation of human trafficking around the world.
The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report is the U.S. Government’s principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on human trafficking. It is also the world’s most comprehensive resource of governmental anti-human trafficking efforts and reflects the U.S. Government’s commitment to global leadership on this key human rights and law enforcement issue. It represents an updated, global look at the nature and scope of trafficking in persons and the broad range of government actions to confront and eliminate it. The U.S. Government uses the TIP Report to engage foreign governments in dialogues to advance anti-trafficking reforms and to combat trafficking and to target resources on prevention, protection and prosecution programs. Worldwide, the report is used by international organizations, foreign governments, and nongovernmental organizations alike as a tool to examine where resources are most needed. Freeing victims, preventing trafficking, and bringing traffickers to justice are the ultimate goals of the report and of the U.S Government’s anti-human trafficking policy. – US State Department
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 forced labor and women and children subjected to sex trafficking. Romanians represent a significant source of trafficking victims in Europe.”
Some of the highlights of the Romania Country Narrative are:
“Traffickers who recruit and exploit Romanian citizens are overwhelmingly Romanian themselves, typically seeking victims from the same ethnic group or within their own families. Frequently, traffickers exploit victims within Romania before transporting them abroad for forced prostitution or labor. The Romanian government reported increasing sophistication among Romanian criminal groups, including the transportation of victims to different countries in Europe in order to test law enforcement weaknesses in each.”
“In 2012, Romanian authorities investigated 867 human trafficking cases, in contrast to 897 cases investigated in 2011. The government prosecuted 667 and convicted 427 trafficking offenders in 2012, compared with 480 offenders prosecuted and 276 convicted in 2011. The government does not separately compile statistics for sex and labor trafficking. Reflecting on the prevalence of child victims, 255 of the 427 convictions were tried under the “trafficking in minors” article of the anti-trafficking law, as opposed to the more generalized “trafficking in persons” article. The government reported that approximately three-quarters of the convicted trafficking offenders—334 of 427—were sentenced to some time in prison, receiving terms ranging between one and 15 years’ imprisonment. The government gave specialized anti- trafficking training to police officers, although reports indicated that the training did not adequately emphasize that trafficking victims should not be prosecuted for any unlawful acts they commit as part of being trafficked. ”
“The Government of Romania demonstrated weak efforts to protect and assist victims of trafficking during the reporting period, although victim identification remained high. The government reported the identification of 1,041 victims in 2012, compared with 1,043 victims identified in 2011. Sexually exploited victims numbered 526, approximately half of the total, whereas 410 victims were subjected to labor trafficking. Other victims were forced into begging, theft, or pornography. The prevalence of children in the victim population increased from 319 to 370 in 2012. Of the total number of victims, 492 were subjected to internal trafficking.”
“Romanian trafficking victims participated in criminal prosecutions at a high rate; in 2012, 600 victims participated as an injured party in a trial and 205 victims testified, compared to 882 victims participating in 2011 and 123 testifying.”
“During the reporting period, it worked with NGOs to develop a new national strategy against trafficking in persons for the period 2012-2016 and the action plan for 2012-2014. The government implemented six national and regional public awareness campaigns and 36 local campaigns in 2012. These campaigns were visible in primary schools, high schools, bus advertisements, televisions in metro stations, movie theaters, and on the internet.”
“The government did not report specific efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts.”
TIP Report Recommendations for Romania
The country narrative for Romania also covers a wide variety of issues that still need addressed in Romania. The 2013 report recommends that the Romanian Government:
- Restore government funding for trafficking victim assistance programs, including grants for NGOs providing service to victims.
- Improve the quality of victim services, ensuring that psychological care, rehabilitation, and other victim assistance provide substantive care.
- Construct a trafficking-specific shelter for repatriated victims in Bucharest.
- Remove non-security related restrictions on victims’ movements while housed in government-funded shelters.
- Improve efforts to identify potential victims among vulnerable populations, such as undocumented migrants, foreign workers, Roma, and children involved in begging or prostitution.
- Vigorously investigate and prosecute acts of trafficking-related complicity allegedly committed by government officials, and punish officials convicted of such crimes with prison sentences.
- Improve the reporting of data on trafficking crimes prosecuted under Law No. 678/2001 and other relevant laws by disaggregating sex and labor trafficking offenses.
- Consider offering foreign trafficking victims the right to work during the duration of their temporary residence permits.
- Continue to provide victim sensitivity training for police and judges.
- Establish a national rapporteur to provide regular independent evaluations of national policies.
Comments from eLiberare
We are pleased with the reporting from the US State Department and US Embassy in Bucharest. We recognize that the Romanian National Agency Against Human Trafficking has taken steps to address the issues presented in the past reports. One of the biggest steps forward is the legal framework for direct funding to NGOs from the Government. With the legal framework in place, we hope to soon see funds given to the NGOs that are receiving the referrals from the National Agency. We also look forward to the opening of a trafficking-specific shelter in Bucharest ran by the National Agency.
