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US State Department: â€œThe Government of Azerbaijan is making significant efforts to eliminate trafficking in personsâ€

17 June 2009 11:22 (UTC +04:00)

Baku. Victoria Dementyeva â€“ APA. â€œThe Government of Azerbaijan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do soâ€, said US State Department in Trafficking in Persons Report 2009. The State Department said despite these overall efforts, the government did not show evidence of progress in investigating, prosecuting, convicting, and punishing trafficking offenders, including complicit persons. â€œAlthough the government made modest improvements, victim identification and access to victim assistance remained limited during the reporting period. The government adopted a new national action plan on trafficking in February 2009; however, it did not allocate funding to implement the programs and policies in the plan, and funding for anti-trafficking efforts remained low and inconsistent throughout the reporting periodâ€, the report said.

Azerbaijan remains as a transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the
purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor, said the State Department. â€œWomen and children from Azerbaijan are trafficked to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Men and boys are trafficked to Russia for the purpose of forced labor. Some men are trafficked within Azerbaijan for the purpose of forced labor and women and children are trafficked internally for forced prostitution and forced labor, including forced begging. Azerbaijan serves as a transit country for victims trafficked from Moldova, Uzbekistan, and Kazakhstan to Turkey and the UAE for commercial sexual exploitation. A small number of men and women from Ukraine, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Russia were trafficked to Azerbaijan for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitationâ€, the report said.

â€œIn 2008, NGOs and law enforcement identified 121 victims; the government-funded
shelter assisted 55 of these victims, up from 29 in 2007â€, it said.

â€œThe government improved its prevention efforts during the reporting period. The government conducted a general trafficking-awareness campaign, advertising in
both newspapers and on television. The government also funded and produced a documentary, in part, about sex trafficking called â€œProtect Me,â€ which aired on several
television stations during the reporting period. The government-funded trafficking hotline appeared more effective and identified at least eight trafficking victims during the reporting periodâ€.

The State Department made some recommendations for Azerbaijan to strengthen anti-trafficking efforts. It recommended to increase law enforcement efforts to prosecute and convict traffickers; to coordinate anti-trafficking efforts; to improve victim assistance and protection for child victims of trafficking; to provide initial assistance to domestic victims without requiring them to file a formal complaint with police and etc.