Armenia Girl

The second grade at Freedom 7 School of International Studies in Cocoa Beach, Florida is learning about the many types of transportation around the world, and life in other states and countries. We read the story Letters From Felix: A Little Rabbit on a World Tour, about a little girl who lost her rabbit at the airport and then the rabbit goes on an adventure around the world. While he is traveling he sends back postcards to the little girl telling her about his adventures and then she researches where he has been visiting. Since we want to learn more about other places and cannot leave the school ourselves, we decided to be like Felix and have our own stuffed animals do the traveling for us. ... [Read More]

Azerbaijan

There is no specific law prohibiting trafficking in persons; however, traffickers may be prosecuted under articles prohibiting forced prostitution and labor. Under the new criminal code, the act of forcing an individual into prostitution carries a 10 to 15 year jail term, which is a harsher sentence than in the previous code. During the year, four persons who international organizations consider to be traffickers were prosecuted under forgery laws in the criminal code. In 2000 police apprehended an individual accused of luring a young girl to the UAE for employment in the sex industry; however the case failed to go to trial. ... [Read More]

Bulgaria

On April 12, police in Sofia detained two members of Jehovah's Witnesses (including a 14-year-old girl) for proselytizing. According to the members of Jehovah's Witnesses, police warned the girl not to continue her religious activities. ...

The vast majority of children are free from societal abuse; however, some Romani children were targets of frequent skinhead violence and arbitrary police detention (see Section 1.d.); the homeless or abandoned particularly were vulnerable. For example, on August 21, a group of seven men severely kicked and beat a homeless 5-year-old girl in Sofia, breaking her right arm. There were reports that family or community members forced some minors into prostitution (see Sections 6.c. and 6.d.). Police made little effort to address these problems. Some observers believe that there continued to be a growing trend toward the use of children in prostitution, burglaries, and narcotics distribution. Trafficking in girls for the purpose of prostitution was a problem (see Sections 6.c. and 6.f.). Rough data from the police and public health officials placed the number of prostitutes working in the country under age 18 at several thousand. ... [Read More]

Introduction

Government Efforts. The Government of Iran is arresting, investigating, and prosecuting a significant number of cases involving prostitution and/or trafficking and working with Pakistan to increase border patrols to prevent cross-border trafficking of drugs and persons. Iranian law does not specifically prohibit trafficking; however, there are other statutes that are used to prosecute traffickers, including prohibiting procurement for the purpose of fornication. Over 7 months in 2002, police closed down 70 brothels. During the year, the government arrested hundreds of people for involvement in either "corruption networks" related to prostitution where young girls were trafficked abroad. No consolidated information on the total number of convictions is available, but there are cases where facilitators of prostitution rings have received sentences from 3 years to death. There have been unconfirmed reports of victims being arr ... [Read More]

Department of State Washington File: Mideast, European and Asian Students Observe American Democracy

An Afghan girl was concerned how the outcome of the U.S. election might affect further progress in her country, where the U.S. was instrumental in overthrowing the repressive Taliban regime. "Women now have the right of studying, of voting, of working," she said. "What happens in America will be very important for Afghanistan." ...

Some saw the impact of the election in global terms. "America is such a powerful nation so it [the U.S. presidential election] is important not just for America but for every country," said a girl from Armenia, a participant in the FLEX program. ... [Read More]

Europe and Eurasia

In May, U.S. funding through IOM helped create the Special Division for Combating Kidnapping, Trafficking in Persons and Racketeering under the Combating Organized Crime Department of the Ministry of Interior. The Division has dedicated five officers solely to the investigation of TIP cases. Since the establishment of this division, fourteen cases of human trafficking have been investigated and criminal proceeding instituted, as compared with none in previous years (when trafficking was prosecuted under different crimes). This funding is also linked to the successful prosecution in September of Tajikistan's first TIP trial, involving a woman who adopted a girl solely for the purpose of trafficking her to the UAE and Turkey for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The girl escaped, and the woman was charged with exploitation for prostitution, trafficking in under-aged people, organization of rape, pandering, and document fraud and sentenced to 14 years of imprisonment and property confis ... [Read More]

IV. Country Narratives: Europe and Eurasia

Azerbaijan is primarily a country of origin and transit for trafficked men, women, and children for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Azerbaijani, Russian and Central Asian women and girls were trafficked from or through the country to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), Turkey and Pakistan for sexual exploitation. Men were trafficked to Turkey and Russia for forced labor and boys were trafficked internally for begging. Women and girls, some from orphanages, were trafficked internally from rural areas to the capital city for sexual exploitation. ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

The Peoples’ Republic of China is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. A significant number of Chinese women and children are trafficked internally for forced marriage and forced labor. Chinese women are at times lured abroad with false promises of legitimate employment and then trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to destinations throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and North America, while Chinese men have been trafficked for forced labor to Europe, South America, and the Middle East. A large number of Chinese men and women are smuggled abroad at enormous personal financial cost and, upon arrival in the destination country, are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or other forms of exploitative labor to repay their debts. They often face exploitative conditions that meet t ... [Read More]