ΕΚΘΕΣΗ ΤΟΥ STATE DEPARTMENT ΑΠΟΚΑΛΥΠΤΕΙ ΟΤΙ…

Η ΕΚΘΕΣΗ ΓΙΑ ΤΑ ΣΚΟΠΙΑ

Macedonia (Tier 1)

Macedonia is a source, transit, and destination country  for women and children trafficked for the purpose of  commercial sexual exploitation. Macedonian women  and children are trafficked within the country. Victims  trafficked into Macedonia are primarily from Albania  and Kosovo. Macedonian victims and victims transiting  through Macedonia are trafficked to South Central
and Western Europe. Children, primarily ethnic Roma,  are trafficked for the purpose of forced begging within  the country. Victims were trafficked for the purpose of  forced labor in Macedonia's service sectors. Traffickers'  modus operandi continued to evolve in response to law  enforcement tactics, including increased use of more  hidden, private sectors, such as beauty salons and  massage parlors.

The Government of Macedonia fully complies with  the minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking. While the government could strengthen its  performance in certain areas, the government improved  implementation of the anti-trafficking statute to obtain  convictions of trafficking offenders and continued  to expand the usage of its victim-centered standard
operating procedures for the treatment and protection of  trafficking victims.

Recommendations for Macedonia: Continue appreciable  progress in victim protection and assistance; proactively  implement the new standard operating procedures on  victim identification; ensure institutionalized protection  and reintegration services for victims; continue to ensure  convicted traffickers receive adequate jail time; vigorously  prosecute, convict, and punish public officials complicit  in trafficking; and expand overall prevention and demand  reduction awareness efforts to educate clients of the sex   trade and forced labor about trafficking.

Prosecution

The Government of Macedonia demonstrated someimportant progress in its anti-trafficking law enforcement  efforts in 2008 by decreasing processing times for  trafficking cases and securing increased sentences for  convicted trafficking offenders. While one organization  reported that traffickers were still sometimes prosecuted  under smuggling laws, significant improvement in
prosecuting suspected traffickers under the antitrafficking  statute was reported during the year. The government prohibits sex and labor trafficking through  its 2004 criminal code; Article 418(a) and (g) covers  all forms of trafficking in persons. The minimum  penalty prescribed for trafficking for commercial sexual  exploitation is four years' imprisonment, which is  sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties  prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. In 2008,  the government prosecuted 11 cases under article 418(a)  and (g) involving 28 trafficking suspects, resulting in  the conviction of 17 trafficking offenders. The average  sentence imposed was five years' imprisonment.

The  government prosecuted three cases on forced labor  charges. These prosecutions resulted in eight sentences:  four of four years, two of five years, one of six years, and  one of seven years. There were reports that some law  enforcement officials, including prosecutors and judges,  continued to demonstrate an inadequate understanding  of trafficking and insensitivity towards victims' rights,  including in courtroom settings. The government did  not prosecute any acts of trafficking-related complicity  by government officials during the reporting period;
however, reports indicated that corruption continued  to directly hamper Macedonia's anti-trafficking efforts. 
For example, local brothel owners were occasionally  tipped off prior to raids, allowing traffickers to elude  law enforcement and brothel owners to hide potential  trafficking victims.
Protection
The Government of Macedonia demonstrated some  progress in its protection of trafficking victims in 2008.
It continued to conduct training, with the support  of international donors, on its standard operating  procedures (SOPs) on the identification and referral  of trafficking victims, and implementation of these  procedures has continued to improve; however,application of the SOPs by local police was at times ad  hoc and dependent on particular, victim-sensitive officers.
The government has acknowledged that local police  need more consistent understanding and application  of the SOPs, and in January 2009 implemented a new  requirement that all raids conducted by local police  must include an officer from the police anti-trafficking   unit.

An international organization reported that border  police did not employ systematic procedures to identify  trafficking victims among migrants at Macedonian  borders, although several victims were identified as a  result of border police efforts. The government did not  take proactive and systematic efforts to identify victims  among vulnerable groups within its labor sectors. The  government has not yet funded an NGO providingprotection and assistance to domestic trafficking  victims. It recently announced plans to take over full  financial and material responsibilities for the country's  domestic trafficking shelter, but there were concerns  about the impact on victims' rights; these concerns were  addressed and alleviated in a January meeting between  the government and the NGO that voiced them.

The 194
MADAGASCAR government continues to operate a reception center for foreign migrants and trafficking victims; victims' freedom  of movement in this center is severely restricted. Although law enforcement reported it identified 130 "presumed"  victims in 2008, only 18 victims, 14 of whom were  Macedonian, qualified as trafficking victims during the reporting period. The government encouraged victims to  participate in investigations and trials. The government  in January 2008 created provisions for the offering of  a six-month residency permit and reflection period to  foreign victims; none of the 118 presumed foreign victims  identified during the reporting period requested this  permit. Presumed domestic victims were entitled to a  30-day reflection period in the domestic shelter before  taking part in a formal interview process with a trained  trafficking specialist. The government provided some  reintegration support through its 27 Centers for Social  Welfare. These centers assisted seven victims in 2008.
NGOs and international experts reported some problems  with the government's identification process, resulting in  possible misidentification of potential trafficking victims  by local authorities.
Prevention
The government collaborated with NGOs and the  international community in its trafficking prevention  efforts, and in December 2008 drafted a National Action  Plan for the years 2009-2012. It did not provide any direct  financial support for NGOs conducting anti-trafficking
prevention activities during the reporting period, but  continued to provide significant in-kind support. In  May 2008, the government conducted a nationwide  survey to determine the public's level of awareness  about trafficking. Based on the findings, it conductednine public roundtables throughout the country. The  government included mandatory training in its primary  and secondary school curriculum to prevent trafficking.

In December 2008, the National Commission organizeda national anti-trafficking week. The Commission set  up booths in over a dozen cities throughout Macedonia  to distribute anti-trafficking materials, and high-level  officials spoke out about trafficking. In January 2009, the  National Commission published an annual report on its  anti-trafficking efforts. The government did not fund or  initiate any awareness campaigns to reduce demand for  forced labor or commercial sex in 2008; however, it used  some IOM-funded materials aimed at demand during its  anti-trafficking week. 

Η ΕΚΘΕΣΗ ΓΙΑ ΤΗΝ ΕΛΛΑΔΑ

GREECE (Tier 2)
Greece is a destination and transit country for women and  children trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation  and for men and children trafficked for the purpose for forced labor. Women and teenage girls were trafficked  from Bulgaria, Romania, Albania, other parts of Eastern  Europe and the Balkans, Nigeria, and Brazil into forced  prostitution and forced labor. One NGO reported that  there were many teenage male sex trafficking victims  from Afghanistan and sub-Saharan Africa in Greece.
Victims of trafficking for labor exploitation originated  primarily from Albania, Romania, Moldova, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh and most were forced  to work in the agriculture or construction sectors. Child  labor trafficking victims were subjected to forced begging  and forced to engage in petty crimes. Some victims are   found among the approximately 1,000 unaccompanied  minors who enter Greece yearly. Several NGOs reported
anecdotal evidence that Roma women and children  were trafficked within Greece. There was also anecdotal  evidence of trafficking in the domestic service sector.

The Government of Greece does not fully comply with the  minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;  however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The  government increased overall funding toward victim  protection, and specialized anti-trafficking police  demonstrated strong law enforcement efforts, but the  government lacked sufficient progress in punishing  trafficking offenders, proactively identifying victims,providing reliable shelter facilities for trafficking victims,  and specifically targeting domestic audiences with  prevention campaigns.

Recommendations for Greece: Ensure that convicted  trafficking offenders receive adequate punishments  that deter exploitation of additional victims; vigorously  investigate and prosecute offenses of officials complicit  in trafficking; improve tracking of anti-trafficking law
enforcement data to include information on sentences  served; continue victim identification and assistance  training for officials most likely to encounter labor and  sex trafficking victims; encourage the sustainability of  funding for anti-trafficking NGOs; ensure specialized  protection for potential child victims; ensure potential  victims are offered options for care and immigration
relief available under Greek law; and strengthen public  awareness campaigns targeted to a Greek audience,  including potential clients of the sex trade and  beneficiaries of forced labor.
Prosecution  Greece's specialized anti-trafficking police officers  demonstrated strong law enforcement efforts, but  concerns over inadequate punishment of trafficking  offenders, including officials complicit in trafficking,  remained. Greek law 3064, adopted in 2002, prohibits
trafficking for both sexual exploitation and forced labor,and prescribes imprisonment of up to 10 years and a fine  of $14,000 to $70,000. These penalties are sufficiently  stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for  other grave crimes. Many trafficking-related statistics,  such as the total number of trafficking prosecutions  and suspended sentences of convicted trafficking  offenders, were unavailable. According to available  data, law enforcement arrests of suspected trafficking  offenders increased from 121 in 2007 to 162 in 2008.
Police conducted 37 sex trafficking investigations, two  labor trafficking investigations and one investigation  of trafficking for the removal of human organs. The  government reported 21 convictions of trafficking  offenders, 17 acquittals, and 41 ongoing prosecutions  during 2008. Sentences for the 21 convicted offenders  ranged from one year to almost 17 years' imprisonment,  and many sentences also included fines, though many  convicted trafficking offenders continued to be released  pending lengthy appeals processes. Greek courts,  especially at the appeals level, often give convicted  trafficking offenders suspended sentences. Several  former government officials, including an ex-mayor  charged with trafficking complicity in 2005, were given  suspended sentences during the year. Three police officers  allegedly involved in the rape of a victim while she was in  police custody in 2006 remained on bail while awaiting  prosecution on charges of breach of duty, abuse of  authority, repeated rape, and complicity in rape. During  the last year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs completed  investigations of several officials suspected of involvement  in a trafficking network but found no evidence of  trafficking complicity.

Protection

The government demonstrated uneven efforts to  improve victim protection during the reporting period.  Inadequate measures to identify trafficking victims  and provide appropriate shelter were the government's  greatest limitations in combating human trafficking,  according to local observers. The government trafficking  shelter in Athens closed for several months and later  re-opened during the reporting period. The government GUATEMALA  145increased funding specifically directed toward assistance  for trafficking victims by 32 percent, but delays in  government funding of anti-trafficking NGOs hindered their effectiveness and as a result two NGO trafficking  shelters closed down. The government encouraged  trafficking victims to participate in investigations or  prosecutions of trafficking offenders through a law that  provides for a 30-day reflection period, but according to  NGOs, authorities did not always provide the reflection  period in practice. The government provided trafficking  victims who assisted the government in prosecutions  with temporary, renewable residence permits and access  to social services and healthcare after the government  certified victim status. It provided inconsistent access  to longer term shelter options for victims through  intermittent funding to NGOs. Health officials providing  care to people in Greece's regulated sex trade lacked  sufficient training on victim identification and protection  of trafficking victims. In 2008, Human Rights Watch,  UNHCR, the Council of Europe's Commissioner for  Human Rights, and multiple domestic NGOs criticized  Greece for failing to ensure that victim identification
procedures were used by border police, the coast  guard, and the vice squad. Greece's specialized antitrafficking  police exhibited adequate victim identification  procedures, though NGOs noted that trafficking victims  were far more likely to be first encountered by personnel
of other Greek law enforcement agencies that did not  have the same skill in identifying victims. Anti-trafficking  police made efforts to address this problem through  training and dissemination of awareness materials for  border and vice squad authorities. Officials identified 78
trafficking victims in 2008, compared to 100 identified  in 2007. NGOs and international organizations reported  assisting at least 657 victims in 2008. NGOs reported  excellent cooperation with the specialized anti-trafficking  police unit and lauded a memorandum of cooperation  between the government and NGOs, but potential  victims remained vulnerable to arrest for unlawful acts  committed as a direct result of being trafficked. The  Greek government in 2008 ratified a child repatriation  agreement with Albania that had been drafted in 2004,  but implementation has been slow. The government  has few special protections in place for child victims of  trafficking; when identified, they were often sheltered  in orphanages or detention centers that did not have  specialized facilities for trafficking victims.
Prevention
The government conducted general anti-trafficking  awareness campaigns during the reporting period but  insufficiently targeted potential clients of the sex trade  or beneficiaries of forced labor in Greece. The Ministry  of Foreign Affairs (MFA) funded several prevention  initiatives, including a hotline for potential victims and  an extensive joint campaign with UNICEF focused on  global child trafficking. The government also funded the  production of public awareness posters and information cards printed in multiple languages alerting potential  victims to government resources. In 2008, the MFA  created a new working-level task force on combating
trafficking to complement the high-level Inter-ministerial  Task Force on Human Trafficking. The government funded  training and seminars on trafficking awareness for various  government officials. Greek law has extraterritorial  coverage for child sex tourism. The Greek government
gave its peacekeeping troops explicit anti-trafficking  training before deploying them abroad. Greece has not  ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.