Since 2000, the U.S. Department of State, in compliance with the law on “Trafficking Victims Protection”, every year assesses the efforts by different countries aimed at prevention of heavy type of human trafficking. As a result of assessment, four separate lists are made. The first list includes the countries whose governments fully comply with the minimum standards of required actions to combat trafficking. In other words, the legislation against trafficking strictly conforms to these standards, and identified cases make a large number, in the result of identification, the guilty are punished. Naturally, this does not mean that there is no trafficking in these countries, this is only an index the that the governments of these countries are consistently fighting against it.
In fact, we should note that being included in the 1st so as in the other groups not always depends on the country’s socio-economic condition, because, as you’ll see below, many developed countries are in worse shape on the fight against trafficking than the countries included in the 1st group, such as Armenia or Nicaragua. Although, of course, we cannot ignore also the impact of overall socio-economic condition on growth or reduction of trafficking. Group 2 includes countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards outlined in the fight against trafficking, nevertheless, significant actions have been and are taken to comply with these standards.
There is a middle group, the so-called “2-“, “2 observed group.” This includes the countries whose governments are making significant steps to meet the standards, but the number of heaviest types of human trafficking cases is very large or is constantly growing, or there is no evidences that the government of given country as compared with last year has taken more active and serious steps to meet these standards. The third group includes the countries whose governments do not comply with these standards, moreover, they are not showing any particular ambition, there are no significant steps made.
This year’s assessment is a hundred-page research, which begins with the remarks by the US State Secretary, John Kerry, about trafficking, where he notes that despite the fact that the during the observed year, 44 thousand people were able to survive, resulted in the following: The first, favorable group, includes 31 countries, including Armenia. It has been already the second year since our country fully complies with the identified standards and is included in this group. Naturally, as mentioned above, this does not mean that there is no trafficking in the countries included in this group, and the report illustrates some examples. For instances, for the United States, which is also naturally included in the 1st list, it is specified that in the agricultural sector, cases of forced labor or abuse of labor force by paying negligible amount are registered, especially among migrants. Among these 31 countries, except Armenia and the USA, include Western and Northern European developed countries, Australia, New Zealand, Taiwan, Canada, Chile and Nicaragua from South America, Israel and South Korea from Asia, Macedonia, Czech Republic , Slovakia, Poland, Slovenia from Central Europe. The largest group is the 2nd group, which includes 89 countries, including all of our neighbors, except Iran, that is, Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia. As well as a number of post-Soviet countries, the three Baltic countries – Tajikistan, Moldova, and Kazakhstan, from the former socialist camp – Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Hungary, Serbia, Romania, Montenegro, as well as Southern European countries – Greece, Malta, and Portugal. This group also includes Japan and Brazil. The “2nd observed group”, this year, includes 44 countries, including Belarus, Ukraine, Turkmenistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, China, Cyprus, and Lebanon. The 3rd pretty bad shape group includes 23 countries, including Russia, Iran, Syria, Uzbekistan, and mainly African and South American countries.
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Melania BARSEGHYAN
“Aravot” Daily 31.07.2014
