Romanian Govt Does Not Meet Minimum Standards For Elimination Of Human Trafficking– USA Report

"The Government of Romania does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking," says the report published Monday, before adding that the Government "is making significant efforts to do so."

"Although more than half of the victims identified in 2009 were victims of forced labor, the government was again unable to report significant efforts to address labor trafficking; specifically, the government did not disaggregate labor trafficking law enforcement statistics from sex trafficking statistics and thus was unable to report the number of labor trafficking investigations, prosecutions, and convictions, or the number of labor victims assisted by the government during the reporting period," says the document, which is relevant to 2009.

The US's State Department takes note of the March 2009 reorganization of Romania's main anti-trafficking body, the National Agency against the Trafficking of Persons (ANITP), which was placed under the management of the National Police Inspectorate, a subordinate of the Ministry of Interior.

"Experts reported that the reorganization of [ANITP] had a significant, negative impact on victim assistance during the year. Specifically, the government was much less cooperative with anti-trafficking NGOs and it allocated no federal funding for NGOs to provide victim services and conduct anti-trafficking prevention programs," the document says.

According to the State Department, around 30 anti-trafficking NGOs "either closed or changed their focus to issues other than human trafficking" in order to continue to receive state funding.

"Some of these NGOs provided critical victim assistance including shelter, counseling, vocational training, and other rehabilitative care for victims. The number of victims who received government-funded assistance significantly decreased for another consecutive year, and the government identified significantly fewer victims compared with the previous reporting period. NGOs and international organizations reported that the reorganization of ANITP has left Romania without a true national agency to provide direction to other ministries with anti-trafficking responsibilities," says the report.

The document also points out that the Government of Romania "significantly decreased its efforts to protect and assist victims of trafficking during the reporting period."

"In 2009, the government provided no funding for anti-trafficking and victim-service NGOs, compared with $270,000 provided to four NGOs in 2008. This lack of government funding caused a significant decrease in the number of victims assisted by both government agencies and NGOs," the report says.

The State Department also notes that, in 2009, "the government identified 780 victims - including at least 416 identified victims of forced labor and at least 320 identified victims of forced prostitution, a significant decrease from 1,240 victims identified in 2008." According to the cited source, "of the victims identified in 2009, 176 were children, trafficked for both forced labor and prostitution."

"The government did not undertake proactive measures to identify potential victims among populations vulnerable to trafficking, including illegal migrant detention centers. No foreign victims were identified by the government or NGOs in 2009. Although the government continued to operate nine shelters for victims of trafficking, their quality varied and many victims preferred to go to NGO-operated shelters," the report says.

According to the State Department, local authorities "were tasked with providing victims access to various types of assistance; however, the national government provided local governments with no funding, training, or guidance, and the capacity of local governments to address human trafficking was virtually nonexistent during the reporting period."

The report also states that victims were encouraged to take part in trafficking investigations and prosecutions of the traffickers involved in their own cases: "158 victims served as witnesses in 2009, a significant decrease from 1,053 victims who assisted law enforcement in 2008." According to the law, "foreign victims were eligible to benefit from a 90-day reflection period to remain in the country and decide whether they would like to cooperate in a criminal proceeding; however in practice, no foreign victims used this reflection period. The law permits foreign victims to request a temporary residence permit and remain in the country until completion of the trafficking investigation and prosecution; in 2009, no foreign victims applied for and received temporary residence permits," the document says.

"While the rights of victims were generally respected and identified victims were not punished for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, some judges continued to be disrespectful toward female victims of sex trafficking which discouraged victims from participating in trafficking cases," says the document.

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