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Bulgaria
Victims overwhelmingly were women and girls trafficked for the purposes of prostitution. Government authorities and NGO observers reported that thousands of Bulgarian women, as well as women from Romania, Moldova, Russia, Ukraine, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Georgia, were trafficked for sexual exploitation to Macedonia, Greece, Turkey, Yugoslavia (including Kosovo), Bosnia, Italy, Poland, and Western Europe. La Strada, a Netherlands-based NGO, reported that Bulgarian women constituted one of the largest groups of victims of forced prostitution in Western and Central Europe. According to NGO sources, as many as 10,000 Bulgarian women, many from the Romani community or under the age of 18, could be involved in international trafficking operations. A 2001 report from the ILO's International Program on the Elimination of Child Labor estimated the number of child prostitutes at 3,800 based on rough data from police and from skin and venereal disease clinics. There were no official ... [Read More]
Bulgaria (07/05)
As Bulgaria emerged from the throes of communism, it experienced a period of social and economic unrest that culminated in a severe economic and financial crisis in late 1996-early 1997. With the help of the international community, former Prime Minister Ivan Kostov initiated a series of reforms in 1997 that helped stabilize the country’s economy and put Bulgaria on the Euro-Atlantic path. Elections in 2001 ushered in a new government and president. In July 2001, Bulgaria’s ex-king Simeon Saxe-Coburg-Gotha became the first former monarch in post-communist Eastern Europe to become Prime Minister. The leadership in Sofia remains committed to Euro-Atlantic integration, democratic reform, and development of a market economy. Bulgaria officially became a member of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization on March 29, 2004 after depositing its instruments of treaty ratification in Washington, DC. Bulgaria signed its Accession Treaty with the European Union (EU) on April 25, 2005. With the supp ... [Read More]
Europe and Eurasia
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Releases [Read More]
Europe and Eurasia
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Releases [Read More]
Bulgaria
Bureau of Public Affairs Electronic Information and Publications Office [Read More]
Secretary Powell in Bulgaria
Secretary Powell traveled to Europe for multilateral and bilateral consultations. He departed Washington December 6 and will return on December 11. The Secretary traveled first to Sofia, Bulgaria, for an OSCE meetings on December 7. Click on image(s) below for larger version and caption. [Read More]
Bulgaria
Parliament deliberated extensively during the year on a proposed new law regulating religious organizations. The various proposals, including the final version adopted by the relevant committee, contained numerous provisions and ambiguous passages of serious potential concern, and would have given the Government a controlling role in overseeing the activities of religious groups. Final action on the draft bill was deferred pending a review and comment from the Council of Europe. The Council of Europe's commentary criticized numerous aspects of the draft law and the parliamentary term ended without a final vote on the bill (See Section IV). ... [Read More]
Europe and Eurasia
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor Releases [Read More]
Bulgaria
Section III. Societal AttitudesRelations between the major religious communities generally were amicable; however, discrimination, harassment, and general public intolerance of non-traditional religious groups (primarily newer evangelical Protestant groups) remained an intermittent problem. The number of reported incidents decreased during the period covered by this report. Strongly held suspicion of evangelical denominations among the populace is widespread and pervasive across the political spectrum and has resulted in discrimination. Often cloaked in a veneer of "patriotism," mistrust of the religious beliefs of others is common. Such mainstream public pressure for the containment of "foreign religious sects" inevitably influences policymakers. Nevertheless, human rights observers agreed that such discrimination has gradually lessened over the last 5 years as society has appeared to become more accepting of at least s ... [Read More]
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