22 June 2009
Excerpt of State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report 2009
Trafficking in Persons Report on Afghanistan, Iran and Tajikistan
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U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
OFFICE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
June 16, 2009
Trafficking in Persons Report 2009
AFGHANISTAN (Tier 2)
Afghanistan is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Afghan boys and girls are trafficked within the country for commercial sexual exploitation, forced marriage to settle debts or disputes, forced begging, as well as forced labor or debt bondage in brick kilns, carpet-making factories, and domestic service. Afghan children are also trafficked to Iran and Pakistan for forced labor, particularly in Pakistan’s carpet factories, and forced marriage. Boys are promised enrollment in Islamic schools in Pakistan, but instead are trafficked to camps for paramilitary training by extremist groups. Afghan women and girls are trafficked within the country and to Pakistan and Iran for commercial sexual exploitation and temporary marriages. Some Afghan men force their wives or daughters into prostitution. Afghan men are trafficked to Iran and Pakistan for forced labor and debt bondage, as well as to Greece for forced labor in the agriculture or construction sectors. Afghanistan is also a destination for women and girls from Iran, Tajikistan, and possibly China trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation. Tajik women are also believed to be trafficked through Afghanistan to Pakistan and Iran for commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficked Iranian women transit Afghanistan en route to Pakistan.
The Government of Afghanistan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Government actors continue to conflate the crimes of kidnapping and trafficking; this poor understanding of trafficking poses an impediment to targeted intervention. An undeveloped judicial and prosecutorial system, judicial delays, corruption, and weak coordination remain obstacles to effectively punishing trafficking offenses. In addition, Afghanistan punishes some victims of sex trafficking with imprisonment for adultery or prostitution, acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. Although the government lacks resources to provide comprehensive victim protection services and did not adequately punish all identified acts of trafficking, its newly instituted victim referral process, launching of victim referral centers, and passage of anti-trafficking legislation demonstrate progress in providing increased protective services for trafficking victims and punishment of their exploiters.
Recommendations for Afghanistan: Increase law enforcement activities against trafficking, including prosecutions, convictions, and imprisonment for acts of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor, including debt bondage; ensure that victims of trafficking are not punished for acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, such as prostitution or adultery; collaborate with NGOs to ensure that all children, including boys, victimized by sex and labor trafficking receive protective services; and undertake initiatives to prevent trafficking, such as instituting a public awareness campaign to warn at-risk populations of the dangers of trafficking.
Prosecution
Despite the enactment of anti-trafficking legislation, it is not clear whether the Government of Afghanistan adequately prosecuted or punished trafficking offenders over the reporting period. In July 2008, the government enacted an anti-trafficking law, the Law Countering Abduction and Human Trafficking, through presidential decree; the law prescribes penalties of life imprisonment for sex trafficking and “maximum term” imprisonment for labor trafficking, which, in practice, is between eight and 15 years. These penalties are sufficiently stringent and exceed those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. According to government records, there were no prosecutions under the new anti-trafficking legislation. The government, however, reported the convictions of 62 trafficking offenders under statutes criminalizing kidnapping and rape; sentences reportedly ranged from five to 18 years’ imprisonment. It is unknown how many cases may have been prosecuted that resulted in acquittals. As the government was unable to provide disaggregated data or specific case information, it is unclear if these offenses meet the definition of trafficking or whether they address labor trafficking offenses. The Ministry of Interior’s (MOI) six-person counter-trafficking unit made some initial arrests and investigated an unknown number of these cases. The government reported difficulty engaging Pakistani authorities for joint investigation of transnational trafficking cases. In 2008, the MOI stationed personnel at airports and border crossings to detect trafficking cases. There was no evidence that the government made any efforts to investigate, arrest, or prosecute government officials facilitating trafficking offenses despite reports of widespread complicity among national and border police.
Protection
The government’s protection of trafficking victims remained poor, but showed improvements during the reporting period. The government lacked resources to provide victims with protective services directly; NGOs operated the country’s 18 shelters and provided the vast majority of victim assistance, but some faced hardships due to threats from the local community, particularly when assisting in cases that involved so-called “honor” crimes. Serious concerns remain regarding the government’s punishment of victims of trafficking for acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. Female trafficking victims continued to be arrested and imprisoned or otherwise punished for prostitution and fleeing forced marriages. However, NGOs noted a decrease in arbitrary detentions after the late 2007 signing of a formalized referral agreement among the MOI, the Ministry of Woman’s Affairs (MOWA), and various shelters, and the opening of two government-run referral centers. Under this new procedure, police refer women victimized by violence to MOWA which, in turn, refers the women, including trafficking victims, to appropriate NGO facilities. The MOI’s referral center in Jalalabad assisted female victims of trafficking and other crimes with support from MOWA and UNIFEM. Its four MOI officers investigated cases and four MOWA paralegals provided support and legal advice to the women. A second referral center opened in April 2008 in Parwan. The government referred and transported victims to IOM and NGOs during the reporting period, but did not provide information on the number of victims assisted in this manner. An NGO reported that the police referred 23 victims and the MOWA referred four to its shelter in Kabul. The MOI referred the majority of the 40 victims assisted by IOM in 2008. There are no facilities in Afghanistan to provide shelter or specific protective services to male trafficking victims; during the reporting period, some trafficked boys were placed in government-run orphanages and a facility for juvenile criminals while their cases were being investigated. MOWA staff reportedly visited prisons during the reporting period to ensure women and girls in custody are not victims of sex crimes or sex trafficking; concrete results from these prison visits are unknown. There is no evidence that the government encouraged victims to assist in investigations of their traffickers during the reporting period. The new anti-trafficking law permits foreign victims to remain in Afghanistan for at least six months.
Prevention
During the reporting period, the Afghan government made negligible efforts to prevent human trafficking. The government did not carry out any public awareness campaigns to warn at-risk populations of the dangers of trafficking or potential traffickers of the consequences of trafficking. Ministry of Justice officials participated in a televised roundtable discussing the July 2008 anti-trafficking law. The government did not take steps to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts or forced labor during the reporting period. Afghanistan has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.
IRAN (Tier 3)
Iran is a source, transit, and destination for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude. Iranian women are trafficked internally for the purpose of forced prostitution and forced marriages. Iranian and Afghan children living in Iran are trafficked internally for the purpose of forced marriages, commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude as beggars or laborers to pay debts, provide income or support drug addiction of their families. Iranian women and girls are also trafficked to Pakistan, Turkey, Qatar, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Iraq, France, Germany, and the United Kingdom for commercial sexual exploitation. There are reports of women and girls being sold for marriage to men in Pakistan for the purpose of sexual servitude. Men and women from Pakistan migrate voluntarily or are smuggled to Iran, or through Iran, to other Gulf states, Greece, and Turkey seeking employment. Some find themselves in situations of involuntary servitude or debt bondage, including restriction movements, non-payment of wages, and physical or sexual abuse. There are reports that women from Azerbaijan and Tajikistan travel to Iran to find employment and fall victim to forced prostitution. Press reports indicate that criminal organizations play a significant role in human trafficking to and from Iran, particularly across the borders with Afghanistan and Pakistan in connection with smuggling of migrants, drugs, and arms among large flows of people. There are nearly one million Afghans living in Iran -- some as refugees, others as economic migrants -- who are vulnerable to conditions of human trafficking.
The Government of Iran does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, and is not making significant efforts to do so. Lack of access to Iran by U.S. Government officials impedes the collection of information on the country’s human trafficking problem and the government’s efforts to curb it. The government did not share information on its anti-trafficking efforts with the international community during the reporting period. For example, Iran was not among the 155 countries covered by the UN’s Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, published in February 2009. Publicly available information from NGOs, the press, international organizations, and governments nonetheless support two fundamental conclusions. First, trafficking within, to, and from Iran is extensive; and second, the authorities’ response is not sufficient to penalize offenders, protect victims, and eliminate trafficking. Indeed, some aspects of Iranian law and policy hinder efforts to combat trafficking. These include punishment of victims and legal obstacles to punishing offenders.
Recommendations for Iran: Share with the international community efforts made to investigate trafficking offenses and prosecute and punish trafficking offenders; institute a victim identification procedure to systematically identify and protect victims of trafficking, particularly from among groups such as women arrested for prostitution; and cease the punishment of victims of trafficking.
Prosecution
No reliable information was available on human trafficking investigations, prosecutions, convictions or punishments for trafficking during the past year. Iranian press reports over the year quoted a law enforcement official as stating that 7,172 people were arrested for “trafficking” from January to July 2008, although it was not clear whether this group included human smugglers, those sponsoring prostitution, victims of trafficking, or a mix of these. A 2004 law prohibits trafficking in persons by means of the threat or use of force, coercion, abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability of the victim for purposes of prostitution, removal of organs, slavery or forced marriage. Reports indicate, however, that the law has not been enforced. The Constitution or Labor Code or both prohibit forced labor and debt bondage; the prescribed penalty of a fine and up to one year imprisonment is not sufficient to deter these crimes and does not commensurate with prescribed penalties for grave crimes, such as rape. In addition, the Labor Code does not apply to work in households. The law permits temporary marriage for a fixed term (“sigheh”), after which the marriage is terminated. Some persons abuse this institution in order to coerce women into sexual exploitation; there are reports of Iranian women sold into fixed term marriages to men from Pakistan and Gulf states into forced prostitution. It was extremely difficult for women forced into sexual exploitation to obtain justice, first, because the testimony of two women is equal to that of one man, and second, because women who are victims of sexual abuse are vulnerable to being executed for adultery, defined as sexual relations outside of marriage.
Protection
There were no reported efforts by the Government of Iran to improve its protection of trafficking victims this year. The government reportedly punishes victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, for example, adultery and prostitution. There were reports that the government arrested, prosecuted, and punished several trafficking victims on charges of prostitution or adultery. It is unknown how many victims may have been subjected to punishment during the reporting period for such acts committed as a result of their trafficking experience. Foreign victims of trafficking do not have a legal alternative to removal to countries in which they may face hardship or retribution. According to a March 2009 report citing UNICEF and provincial authorities in Herat, Afghanistan, more than 1,000 Afghan children deported from Iran in 2008 faced poverty and were at risk of abuses, including human trafficking; there were no known efforts to identify trafficking victims among this group. Previous reports indicate that the government does not encourage victims to assist law enforcement authorities as they investigate and prosecute their trafficking cases.
Prevention
There were no reports of efforts by the Government of Iran to prevent trafficking during the past year, such as campaigns to raise public awareness of trafficking, to reduce demand for commercial sex acts, or to reduce demand for child sex tourism by Iranians traveling abroad. In March 2008, the Iranian government reportedly hosted and co-sponsored with an NGO, a workshop with regional participation on irregular migration, which included discussion of strategies to prevent human trafficking, protect victims, and prosecute traffickers. Iran has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.
TAJIKISTAN (TIER 2 Watch List)
Tajikistan is a source country for women trafficked to the UAE often through Kyrgyzstan and Russia, for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Some women are trafficked from Tajikistan to Russia, Turkey, Iran, and India for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Men are trafficked to Russia and, to a lesser extent, Kazakhstan for the purpose of forced labor, primarily in the construction and agricultural sectors. Children, men, and women are coerced by some local government authorities to harvest cotton. In 2008, a small number of Tajik men were trafficked to Poland for the purpose of forced labor. Boys and girls are trafficked internally for various purposes, including forced labor, forced begging, and commercial sexual exploitation.
The Government of Tajikistan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Despite these efforts, the government did not demonstrate progress in prosecuting and convicting officials complicit in trafficking and ensuring that victims have access to protection; therefore, Tajikistan is placed on Tier 2 Watch List. The government reported limited improvements in law enforcement efforts, although these efforts were overshadowed by the government’s failures to address serious and systemic problems. The most significant of these problems were the government’s failure to address trafficking corruption; poor coordination between law enforcement and security institutions with overlapping responsibilities; failure to adequately investigate allegations of security officials’ abuse of victims; and excessive reliance on the international community to conduct trafficking awareness campaigns and to ensure victims have access to assistance and protection.
The government also failed to prevent local officials from compelling men, women and children – particularly in Khatlon and Sughd regions – to pick cotton during the annual cotton harvest. For the first time in 2008, local prosecutors initiated investigations into allegations that local officials and teachers forced children to pick cotton -- although there were no convictions of officials for compelled labor during the reporting period. Forced labor in the cotton sector remained problematic because the Government of Tajikistan continued to set a fixed price for a small cadre of investors to purchase cotton from farmers. This fixed price is well below market value, making it difficult for farmers to pay workers to pick cotton. This undervaluing of labor, and consequent lack of voluntary laborers, leads local officials to compel people to participate in the cotton campaign.
Recommendations for Tajikistan: Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses, especially those involving labor trafficking, and convict and punish trafficking offenders with imprisonment; ensure better coordination between law enforcement and security institutions, particularly the State Committee on National Security; prosecute and convict government officials who participate in or facilitate trafficking in persons and ensure they serve time in prison; ensure indentified victims are not assaulted or re-victimized by government officials and ensure such allegations of assault are fully investigated and culpable offenders are prosecuted and criminally punished; provide financial or in-kind assistance to existing trafficking shelters; be directly involved in trafficking awareness campaigns, and ensure anti-trafficking information appears in government media outlets; prohibit the forced or coerced labor of children and adults in the annual cotton harvest by monitoring school and university attendance, inspecting cotton fields during the harvest, and enforcing existing laws prohibiting the use of forced labor; make efforts to improve trafficking data collection and analysis; and develop a victim identification and referral mechanism.
Prosecution
The Government of Tajikistan reported increased but limited anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts during the reporting period. Article 130.1 of the criminal code prohibits both sexual exploitation and forced labor, and prescribes penalties of 5 to 15 years’ imprisonment, which are sufficiently stringent but are lower than penalties prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. Although it was added to the criminal code in 2003, officials have not successfully used the statute to prosecute trafficking offenders. However, officials have used other criminal provisions to address trafficking related crimes, and for the first time, authorities investigated suspected labor trafficking cases. In 2008, authorities reported investigating 23 individuals suspected of trafficking, an increase from 12 trafficking investigations in 2007. The government reported 23 prosecutions in 2008, compared to 19 reported in 2007. Courts convicted 17 traffickers in 2008, up from 11 convictions reported in 2007. The government reported that no convicted traffickers received suspended sentences or were granted amnesty in 2008; sentences for those serving time in prison ranged from six months to eight years’ imprisonment. The government worked with Russian authorities to investigate two trafficking cases in 2008.
The government did not demonstrate significant efforts to address government complicity in trafficking during the reporting period. The State Committee on National Security did not vigorously investigate reports that three identified trafficking victims were sexually assaulted by its officers after they were repatriated to Tajikistan. There were unconfirmed reports that some government officials used their authority to stop trafficking investigations because of illicit ties to traffickers. Local officials in Sughd and Khatlon regions were directly involved in organizing and coercing students to participate in the annual cotton harvest and, despite widespread public reports of this forced labor, the Ministry of Labor did not deploy inspection teams to investigate them and Ministry of Education officials generally did not discipline teachers or local administrators who facilitated or directed such practices. However, after the conclusion of the harvest, government prosecutors in Khatlon investigated 12 local government officials and teachers for forcing school age and university students to pick cotton; some of the education officials were reprimanded for their actions, however no officials were convicted of criminal offenses during the reporting period.
Protection
The government demonstrated no efforts to assist trafficking victims during the reporting period. Virtually all victim assistance and protection including shelter, medical assistance, rehabilitative counseling, legal assistance, and vocational training was provided by foreign-funded shelters and NGOs; the government did not provide financial or in-kind assistance to any NGO or organization that provided victim assistance. In 2008, thirty-eight victims were provided with shelter and assistance by foreign-funded NGOs, compared to 46 victims in 2007. The government again made no efforts to develop and implement systematic victim identification procedures or a domestic mechanism to refer victims to care providers. Victims were encouraged to participate in trafficking investigations and prosecutions; however, many authorities remained untrained and unskilled on interviewing and caring for victims of trafficking. Although victims were generally not detained or punished, three female victims of sex trafficking alleged that border service officials sexually assaulted them upon their repatriation to Tajikistan.
Prevention
Tajikistan again demonstrated limited prevention efforts during the reporting period. In October 2008, the government produced and broadcast television programs informing potential labor migrants of their rights and practical considerations for the migration process. In 2008, officials instituted monitoring and licensing requirements for travel firms to help detect or investigate firms suspected of labor trafficking complicity.
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