Trafficking laws not enforced
2003-12-11 21:26
Vienna - Eastern European women and children forced into prostitution or illegal labour in the West are reluctant to seek help because of the failure of host governments to enforce laws against human trafficking, international organisations charged on Thursday.
A report, by the United Nations and the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe, said witnesses were not given enough protection to testify, while many prostitutes feared that the police were hand-in-glove with the pimps who exploited them.
"In the second part of 2002 and the beginning of 2003, the number of identified and assisted victims of trafficking was lower than during the same period a year before," it said.
"This decrease is the result of ineffective law enforcement and a lack of options for women and children who have been trafficked, rather than any actual decline in the scale of trafficking," it went on.
"At the same time, there has been no real increase in the prosecution or sentencing of traffickers. While law enforcement relies on the testimonies of the victims, it is unable to provide them with the necessary safety and support."
The report was based on a study of Albania, Bosnia, Bulgaria, Croatia, Kosovo, Macedonia, Moldova and Romania.