U.S. Department of State 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report - Albania

Albania (Tier 2)

Albania is primarily a source country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Victims are trafficked to Greece and Italy, with many of these victims trafficked onward to the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Norway, Germany, and the Netherlands. Internal trafficking within Albania and re-trafficking of Albanian victims to other countries remained a problem in 2005. Reports of Roma and Egyptian children trafficked for forced labor or begging continued.

The Government of Albania does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government continued to produce successful prosecutions and convictions of traffickers, appointed a new fulltime national anti-trafficking coordinator with staff, began to implement its witness protection law for trafficking victims, and signed a bilateral anti-child-trafficking agreement with Greece. While the government demonstrated strong law enforcement efforts, overall implementation of the government's protection and prevention programs remained weak. The government should fully implement its witness protection program, encourage a greater number of victims to testify against their traffickers and make efforts to guarantee victims' safety. Comprehensive reintegration and rehabilitation services are critical to prevent the re-trafficking of Albanian citizens. The government as a whole should assume a greater leadership role in the country's anti-trafficking efforts, actively implement its National Action Plan, and vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking-related corruption at all levels of law enforcement.

Prosecution

In 2005, the Government of Albania actively continued to investigate and prosecute trafficking; it investigated 49 cases, prosecuted 51 traffickers, and convicted 54 traffickers. Albanian courts sentenced more than half of the convicted traffickers to five to 10 years, with some sentences over 10 years – significant penalties for the region. In February 2005, the government established a specialized asset forfeiture unit and thus far has obtained final judgments of forfeiture for two trafficking cases, with additional cases pending. The government failed to conduct its own specialized anti-trafficking training for police, prosecutors, judges, and other relevant law enforcement officials in 2005, but continued to cooperate closely with NGOs and international organizations on border control and various trainings. Reports of trafficking-related corruption in Albania involving government and police officials continued. The government increased its investigations of police officers for involvement in illegal border crossings, but did not find any government officials complicit in trafficking.

Protection

The government sustained its modest efforts to protect and reintegrate trafficking victims during 2005. NGOs and international organizations administered and funded the majority of services for victims; however, the government provided some facilities and personnel. In 2006, the government began using in one case a witness protection program for trafficking victims. While the government approved a national victim referral mechanism in 2005, it did not employ it during the reporting period. In 2005, Albanian police continued to informally refer victims to shelters and re-integration assistance. Police identified and referred 28 victims within the country and referred 214 victims, who were either repatriated or deported back to Albania to the Vatra Center, a leading NGO in Albania providing shelter and services to victims. The Vatra Center reported assisting 238 victims in 2005, more than half of which had been trafficked at least on one other occasion. In addition, another reintegration shelter, Different and Equal, reported assisting 23 women and girls in 2005. The government-run National Victim Referral Center temporarily housed 32 victims in 2005; many were transferred to other shelters for reintegration. In February 2006, the government signed a bilateral agreement with Greece to address child trafficking, which should assist with the return of child trafficking victims to Albania from Greece.

Prevention

The government made some progress in anti-trafficking prevention during the reporting period. In 2005, the government appointed a new, full-time, national coordinator with a dedicated staff of five. It publicly endorsed the previous government's National Action Plan for 2005-2007, though it failed to implement most of the Plan's objectives, including implementing a referral mechanism, improving witness protection, vocational training and other key reintegration efforts, specialized law enforcement training, and a targeted awareness campaign. The government took steps to increase the level of coordination with NGOs and international organizations, but relied primarily on these groups for anti-trafficking prevention and outreach to vulnerable populations and potential victims. The Ministry of Education continued to implement with IOM a project targeting 36 schools in at-risk regions, and in 2005 expanded the project to another 10 schools.