The US Department of State published the annual report for human traffic
in 2013, which marked a slight progress for our country.
Albania is ranked one position higher this year in the “Group 2” list. The report was presented in Washington by the Head of US Diplomacy, John Kerry.
“This is not just a report, but an appeal for action, an appeal to conscience”, declared the US Secretary of State, Kerry.
The document shows that Albania is still considered a country of destination and source for men, women and children who are trafficked for sexual abuses and forced labor to other countries, such as Greece, Italy, Macedonia, Kosovo, Belgium, Netherlands, Germany, Switzerland, Ireland and the UK.
The government does not complete all conditions for eliminating the traffic, the document says, however, considerable measures are being taken in this direction. On October 2013, a new national coordinator was appointed for the anti-human traffic. On December she undertook the initiative to establish a special task force for improving the coordination between the police, Prosecutors and judges.
The report says that the law enforcing agencies improved the approach to human traffic, by placing the victim in the center, although more work is needed as regards improving their operative efficiency in identifying the cases and bringing them to trials.
The government increased the number of identified victims, but a small number of traffic were prosecuted and convicted.
The US Department of State recommends more energetic investigations and prosecution for the traffic and for the prosecution of their authors. Albania is urged to give access to help for victims, to grant them specific support and protection, including reintegration services; to offer funds for the NGOs, shelters and other services of help, including a special fund for preventing crimes; to enlarge the joint mobile units, which are administered by civil society groups and law-enforcing agencies, for increasing the identification of victims, for training Prosecutors and judges on the latest law amends about traffic, and for training officials for protecting children.
Trafikimi, Arvizu: Congratulating the government
“We will see changes in Albania when traffickers will be convicted”
The US Ambassador to Tirana, Alexander Arvizu, held a declaration after the US annual report for the human traffic.
“Albania got good news for the report of this year, and I want to congratulate the Albanian government for this progress. It is clear for me and for the US government that the new government has taken this matter seriously, and that there are significant efforts for approaching Albania even closer to the international standards. The appointing of Mrs.Elona Gjebrea, who has been a very active activist of the civil society, before coming to government as Deputy Minister of Interior, and who has also been the national coordinator for the fight against human traffic, has apparently been a very positive step. She has shown serious and stable attention against the anti-traffic efforts, and we value this. We welcome the efforts and the attention on the human traffic, although more is needed to improve Albania’s history on this”, Arvizu declared.
Ambassador Arvizu explained during this interview for Top Channel the reasons that made possible for Albania to leave the list of countries under monitoring.
“It is very important to note for your viewers that the “Group 2” means that the government is making significant efforts, but it still doesn’t fulfill the minimal standards for eliminating traffic, as it is defined for the international law and for that of the US. The three main steps are: prosecution, defense and prevention. The most important is to investigate and prosecute the human traffic, which means punishing the traffickers. I want to really underline this, because only when traffickers are investigated and convicted, then we will start seeing a real change here in Albania. Certainly, more attention must be given to the way how victims are protected and assisted. We want to encourage the Albanian government to do more for increasing the number of victims who are identified and who need further help”, Arvizu declared.
Why the US give a special importance to the monitoring of this traffic throughout the world, by producing an annual report?
“The best answer for this question is what President Obama said some time ago. He declared that human traffic is something that should concern every person, because it is a humiliation of humanity. It should be the concern of any community, because it ruins the social time of this society. It should concern every country in the world, because it endangers the public health and encourages violence and organized crime. The President and we talk about injustice, the horror of the human traffic… a modern form of slavery”, Arvizu declared.
Minister Tahiri: Report, encouragement for progress
The Albanian Interior Minister, Saimir Tahiri, declared that the report of the US Department of State shows the efforts of the government in the fight against the human traffic.
Tahiri said that this is a good encouragement for progressing with a fast pace in the fight against traffic, and that the government must work harder for reintegrating the traffic victims and for better results.
Top Channel
