SE European countries jointly combat human trafficking _English_Xinhua

www.chinaview.cn 2010-01-11 16:55:47

by Marcela Ganea

BUCHAREST, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- A 30-second spot on the LCDs of Bucharest buses shows a handsome young man holding a gorgeous young girl's hand, smiling and sweetly promising her a prosperous future abroad. The message is that the seemingly romantic scene conceals traps of human trafficking.

A caption at the end of the spot -- "Human Trafficking Hides Behind A Friendly Face" -- serves to warn people about the dangers of modern slavery in the 21st century.

In the wake of the political change in Eastern Europe at the end of the1980s, trafficking in people was on the sharp rise in the region. South Eastern European countries have joined hands to crack down on human trafficking, bringing to justice many perpetrators and providing assistance to victims.

Romania has played a leading role in fighting people trafficking. The country's Interior Ministry has signed a trilateral protocol with the U.S. Agency for International Development and the United Nations Development Program, with a view to publicizing and implementing the U.S.-financed "Manual of good practices in combating Trafficking in Human Beings."

Romania, both a source and a transit country for human trafficking, passed the Law on Combating Trafficking in Persons in2004. It has also set up the National Agency against people trafficking.

The country has established a nationally centralized data base regarding victims and their background, carried out cooperation through holding regular meetings of the Inter-ministerial Working Group, launched anti-trafficking campaigns and set up a toll-free hot line.

These measures have resulted in the gradual dismantling of trafficking networks. The number of people falling victim to human trafficking dropped by 25.4 percent in 2008 compared with a year earlier.

In Romania's southern neighbor Bulgaria, also a source and transit country, victims are trafficked from the Middle East, Ukraine, Moldova and Romania through Bulgaria to Germany, Belgium, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Norway, the Czech Republic, Poland, Greece and Turkey. About 15 percent of the human trafficking victims in the country are children.

Also in 2004, Bulgaria passed the Law on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings and set up the National and Regional Anti-trafficking Commission under the country's Council of Ministers.

Bulgaria, actively involved in European cooperation in fighting human trafficking, has been implementing a project dubbed "Reducing the number of Romanian and Bulgarian victims trafficked into Spain and Italy."

The project involves the Bulgarian National Anti-trafficking Commission and relevant agencies from Romania, Italy, Spain and Britain.

Moldova, a country of origin for years, passed its first law on prevention and combating people trafficking in October 2005.

La Strada, one of Moldovan NGOs, said Balkan countries were no longer the trafficking destinations, which are now in the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, Lebanon and Russia.

In its 2008 Report on Trafficking in Human Beings, the U.S. Embassy in Chisinau said the Moldovan government has hired social workers to work with victims, and developed a pilot project in this regard.

Hungary and Serbia are considered as countries less affected by the trafficking problems in the region.

Hungary adopted a national strategy of community crime prevention in 2003, with fighting human trafficking as a priority at international level.

A National Center for Crime Prevention has also been set up within the Ministry of Interior. Cooperation with foreign countries and joint training in the border areas have been enhanced.

Serbia is currently a partner in the joint anti-trafficking regional and international programs sponsored by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the Southeast European Cooperative Initiative, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe and the international missions in Kosovo, as well as the Interpol and the Europol.
Editor: Wang Guanqun
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SE European countries jointly combat human trafficking _English_Xinhua