Austria Country Code

The numbers of Roma seeking asylum in European countries decreased from previous years, although the Czech Republic reported an increase in both Romani asylum seekers and illegal migrants from the country. The Czech and Slovak governments formed a committee in October to study increased migration and its effects. Many human rights organizations claimed that asylum seekers migrated due to the lack of available economic opportunities in the country; however, one Slovak Rom received asylum in a European Union (EU) country after successive skinhead attacks. ... [Read More]

2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Hungary

The country was primarily a transit point, but it was also a source and destination country for trafficked persons. No accurate estimate of how many trafficking victims transit through the country existed. Rough estimates by the Government and NGOs put the figure at approximately 3,000 per year. The most frequent targets were women between the ages of 13 to 27. Victims also included middle-aged women, men, and children. Women and children were trafficked for sexual exploitation primarily from countries to the east, where unemployment is higher: Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, and Bulgaria to Austria, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Switzerland, and the United States. Trafficking victims from Hungary typically were women from the country's eastern regions, where unemployment was higher. They were trafficked to Western Europe and elsewhere primarily to Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, as well as to Canada, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey. Me ... [Read More]

Hungary

The country was primarily a transit point, but it was also a source and destination country for trafficked persons. Women and children were trafficked for sexual exploitation primarily from Russia, Romania, Ukraine, Moldova, and Bulgaria to and through the country to Austria, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Switzerland, and the United States. Trafficking victims from the country typically were women from the country's eastern regions, where unemployment was high. They were trafficked to Western European countries and elsewhere, primarily to Austria, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands, as well as to Canada, Japan, Spain, Switzerland, and Turkey. Men trafficked for forced labor through the country en route to EU countries and the United States came from Iraq, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Afghanistan. There were no estimates available on the extent of the problem. ... [Read More]

Austria

The Austrian penal code contains penalties for bribery, which include a fine of up to Euro 500 (USD 625) per day for up to 360 days or up to two years imprisonment for the payer of a bribe and up to five years imprisonment for the recipient of a bribe. Under the penal code, any person who bribes a civil servant, a foreign official, or a manager of an Austrian public enterprise is subject to criminal penalties. Austria has ratified the OECD Anti-Bribery Convention, which entered into force in July 1999. Corresponding penal code legislation has been in place since summer 1998. The government has prepared draft legislation to introduce criminal responsibility for legal persons and some partnerships, and with fines of up to 15% of annual sales. After parliamentary approval, the new law should take effect later in 2005. ... [Read More]

IV. Country Narratives: Europe and Eurasia

The Norwegian Government amended its penal code in April 2003 to specifically criminalize trafficking in persons with sufficiently severe penalties. Traffickers can also be prosecuted for violation of laws forbidding pimping and slavery. Norway’s first anti-trafficking prosecution under the amended penal code is now underway. Authorities filed charges against seven persons for pimping, slavery, and trafficking in connection with a trafficking investigation in Oslo. The investigation is ongoing. Police also arrested a man in May and convicted a woman in June 2003 for trafficking-related activities under the pimping section of the penal code. The government believes organized networks control human trafficking to Norway and is working to develop better information on traffickers and their financial networks. The government’s immediate focus is to improve its ability to identify victims by mapping the nature and extent of trafficking to Norway. The Norwegian Government cooperates with oth ... [Read More]

Austria

During the Kosovo crisis, the country accepted an estimated 10,000 to 15,000 refugees. A total of 5,080 Kosovar Albanians were evacuated directly from Macedonia and admitted to Austria under cover of temporary protective status (TPS). The immigration law was modified to allow Kosovar Albanians already in the country in a variety of statuses to extend their stay. A program of assistance for Kosovar refugees, which began in April 1999, ended in July 2000. At that time, the Government decided to secure further residence rights for the approximately 1,200 Kosovar Albanians that remained in the country in a variety of statuses. In addition, residence rights were extended to those needing protection, immediate relatives of guest workers who had benefited from the original assistance program under either TPS or asylum, and Kosovars who had stayed in the country until July 2000 under either TPS or asylum--provided that one immediate family member was integrated into the labor mark ... [Read More]

Austria

There is no single law covering all forms of trafficking in persons; however, Article 217 of the Criminal Code, which describes trafficking for prostitution, is the key provision for the prosecution of traffickers. Trafficking in women for prostitution and domestic service was a problem. Article 217 refers to recruiting aliens for prostitution and covers trafficking for prostitution through deception regarding the purpose of the journey to the country or through coercion or use of force. Article 104 of the Criminal Code also deals with trafficking for the purposes of slavery. Article 104 of the Aliens Act contains criminal law provisions on alien smuggling. Article 105 of the Aliens Act prohibits the exploitation of aliens without specifically requiring demonstration of prostitution as a goal and without requiring demonstration of assistance in the illegal entry of aliens. Some NGOs have called for an expansion of the legal definition of trafficking to include explo ... [Read More]

2004 Country Report on Human Rights Practices in Austria

There were no accurate statistics on trafficked persons. However, the number of intercepted illegal immigrants, some of whom some were believed to be trafficking victims, continued to increase. In 2003, the NGO LEFOE reported that it assisted 142 victims of trafficking, down from 208 victims in 2002. The country was particularly attractive to traffickers because of its geographic location and because citizens of the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Romania, and Bulgaria did not need visas to enter the country. Most trafficked women were brought to the country with promises of unskilled jobs such as nannies or waitresses. Upon arrival, they were coerced into prostitution. According to police, there also were cases of women who knowingly entered the country to work as prostitutes, but who then, were forced into dependency akin to slavery. Most victims were in the country illegally and feared being turned into authorities and deported. Traffickers usually retained victims' official docu ... [Read More]

V. Country Narratives -- Countries A through G

Cote d’Ivoire is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Available information indicates that the overall magnitude of trafficking in Cote d’Ivoire has diminished in the past few years. Ivoirian girls are trafficked within the country for exploitation as domestic servants, street vendors, and prostitutes, and occasionally are lured to Europe where they are forced into commercial sexual exploitation after being deceived by false marriage proposals. Children from Mali, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Togo, and Benin are trafficked to Cote d’Ivoire for agricultural and domestic labor exploitation. Nigerian and Ghanaian women and children, as well as some females from Algeria, Morocco, China, and the Philippines, are trafficked to Abidjan and other large towns for sexual exploitation. Some of these women also transit Cote d’Iv ... [Read More]