Human Trafficking in [Azerbaijan Street Children in [Azerbaijan] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Azerbaijan] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the first ten years of the 21st
Century - 2000 to 2009
Azerbaijan is a source, transit, and
limited destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the
purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and children
from Azerbaijan are trafficked to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Men and boys are
trafficked to Russia for the purpose of forced labor. Men and women are also
trafficked to Iran, Pakistan, and the UAE for purposes of sexual exploitation
and forced labor. Some men are trafficked within Azerbaijan for the purpose
of forced labor and women and children are trafficked internally for forced
prostitution and forced labor, including forced begging. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in
Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country report] |
|
||
|
CAUTION: The following links have been culled
from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLES *** Azerbaijan probes child-organ traffickers The Azerbaijani government says it
is keen to crack down on child traffickers who are believed to take children
abroad and sell their organs for profit. "Under the guise of adoption,
children who are allegedly afflicted by grave diseases are taken out of
Azerbaijan, ostensibly for treatment," Mr Abbasov told the country's ANS television. "In the course of our investigations,
it has come to light that these children are used for organ transplants, but
we have no hard evidence," he said. Azeri
Trafficking Victims Face Social Rejection www.iwpr.net/?p=crs&s=f&o=347065&apc_state=henh
Esmira fell
prey to human traffickers after she confronted a group who had lured one of
her sisters. Her sister had been
tricked into an unregistered marriage with one of the traffickers, who had
abandoned her when she became pregnant.
“When [my sister] returned, she was afraid to say what had happened to
her. I found those who deceived her, but became their prey as well,” said Esmira. She told IWPR that when she
tackled the traffickers over the treatment of her sister, they forced her to
go to Turkey. Her third sister also fell into the hands of traffickers and is
still missing, she said. In Turkey, Esmira was forced to work as a prostitute with other
abducted girls and was tortured. She still remembers everything, even though
three years have passed. “They push
for what they want. If you do not obey, they torture you by beating you. They
force you to do humiliating things. They didn’t pay us anything for the work
we did,” she said. Esmira said she managed to escape with
the help of Turkish police. “One of
the workers knew a police officer. He reported the traffickers. They came to
the place we stayed in wearing plain clothes and pretending to be customers.
The traffickers were arrested right on the spot,” she said. ***
ARCHIVES *** HOTLINES for trafficking victims and shelter - 152 and 562-21-12. Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – Women and girls were trafficked internally from rural
areas to the capital for sexual exploitation, men were trafficked to Traffickers were either foreigners or ethnic
Azerbaijanis who acted in loose concert with international networks. They
approached victims directly and indirectly through friends and relatives,
usually offering to arrange employment abroad. Traffickers also used
deceptive newspaper advertisements offering false work abroad. Traffickers
reportedly used forged documents to move victims. Traffickers also used
fraudulent marriage proposals from men posing as Iranian businessmen to lure
women into prostitution in neighboring Azeri
Trafficking Victims Face Social Rejection www.iwpr.net/?p=crs&s=f&o=347065&apc_state=henh
Esmira fell
prey to human traffickers after she confronted a group who had lured one of her
sisters. Her sister had been tricked
into an unregistered marriage with one of the traffickers, who had abandoned
her when she became pregnant. “When
[my sister] returned, she was afraid to say what had happened to her. I found
those who deceived her, but became their prey as well,” said Esmira. She told IWPR that when she
tackled the traffickers over the treatment of her sister, they forced her to
go to Turkey. Her third sister also fell into the hands of traffickers and is
still missing, she said. In Turkey, Esmira was forced to work as a prostitute with other
abducted girls and was tortured. She still remembers everything, even though
three years have passed. “They push
for what they want. If you do not obey, they torture you by beating you. They
force you to do humiliating things. They didn’t pay us anything for the work
we did,” she said. Esmira said she managed to escape with
the help of Turkish police. “One of
the workers knew a police officer. He reported the traffickers. They came to
the place we stayed in wearing plain clothes and pretending to be customers.
The traffickers were arrested right on the spot,” she said. In 1st half
of 2008 Azerbaijan revealed 244 facts of human trafficking abc.az/cgi-bin/wnews_one.cgi?nid=26250&lang=eng Deputy minister for internal
affairs Vilayat Eyvaov
said that for the past six months the country registered 244 facts of
trafficking that exceeds the figure for 2007 relevant period by 106 cases. 84 criminals
engaged in human trafficking held accountable in January –March in Azerbaijan Human trafficking has been
increased by 2.4 times in comparison with last year. 84 criminals engaged in human
trafficking have been held accountable by now. Such crimes against women have
been increased by 5.1 times and half of criminals were women. Victims of Human Trafficking to Receive Compensation in Azerbaijan en.trend.az/news/society/rights/1093087.html news.trendaz.com/?show=news&newsid=1093087&lang=EN The victims of human trafficking
will receive compensation in Azerbaijan, said Azerbaijan’s Deputy Interior
Minister, Vilayat Eyvazov,
at the press-conference on 11 December. He added that a Refuge Center was
established in Baku and next year, four such centers will be established in
the regions. The victims of human trafficking will pass 15 days
rehabilitation (if necessary 30 days) here. These periods for children have
been determined depending on the heaviness of the case. Officials May Sponsor among Human Trafficking – Azerbaijani Deputy Internal Minister www.ginsc.net/main.php?option=view_article&mode=0&article=4773&lang=ge news.trendaz.com/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1092735&lang=EN Most human trafficking victims
were women aged 18 to 40 years old. The women are brought over from Middle
Asia, Russia, Ukraine and Moldova to Azerbaijan and then transported to other
countries. In 2006 and 2007 there have not
been any juveniles amongst the human trafficking victims, Eyvazov
said. There were no juvenile trafficking cases in 2004 and one was registered
in 2005. Azerbaijan’s National Coordinator to Combat Human Trafficking Reported before Parliamentarians en.trend.az/news/official/parliament/1049500.html news.trendaz.com/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1049500&lang=EN As a result of preventive and
operative measures in Azerbaijan in 2004-2006, some 689 human trafficking
incidents have been discovered and 695 people have been held criminally
responsible, the National Coordinator to Combat Human Trafficking, Deputy
Interior Minister, Vilayat Eyvazov,
stated on 19 October at the Parliament while presenting his annual report Number Of Human Trafficking Cases Increased In Azerbaijan eng.primenewsonline.com/news/130/ARTICLE/15474/2007-09-19.html Some 211 crimes linked with human
trafficking were registered in Azerbaijan in 2006. Criminal proceedings were
instituted against 107 people. Within the first six months in
2006, 187 crimes were registered, forty-four on human trafficking, 116 on
brothels, and twenty-two for luring people into prostitution. So far for 2007, criminal cases
were filed against 112 people, with seventy-two of them connected to human
trafficking. Network of Lawyers Established to Combat Human Trafficking
in Azerbaijan news.trendaz.com/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=985891&lang=EN A network of lawyers has been
established to combat human trafficking in Azerbaijan, Nazir
Guliyev, heading the Juridical Assistance Fund of
‘World of Peace’, said on 29 August.
The aim of the network is to inform the public about the problems of
human trafficking and to render assistance to its victims. Thirty-three
lawyers will work within the network.
A lack of awareness is the main cause contributing to human trafficking.
Youths are the most victims of human trafficking. Trafficking – Serious Problem for Azerbaijan www.demaz.org/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?s=001&p=0056&n=001094&g= At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] Victim of human trafficking told
how she found herself within the net of criminal elements - Rafiga
understood that she was deceived. But as her neighbor had her passport she
tried to persuade “mama Rosa” to give back her document. However, woman told
that Rafiga is her debtor as her marriage and
ticket purchase were very expensive. “I will return your passport when you
work a debt out, and you will be free”, “mama Rosa told”. Hotline
will be opened for victims of human trafficking In nearest future hot line will be
opened for victims of human trafficking In Baku, at present talks continue
with the government related to this matter. With the support of the United
States Embassy and OSCE, the International Organization for Migration (IOM)
conducted training for the future staff of a hotline and shelter for
trafficked victims. In Baku, for the trafficking victims there was allocated separate building www.ginsc.net/main.php?option=view_article&mode=0&article=1138&lang=ge www.ginsc.net/members/news_details_en.php?id=1138&sub=traffiking&stat=active In compliance with the instruction
of the Cabinet in Baku there was allocated three-floor building for
arrangement of the asylum with the purpose of ensuring safety of the victims
and proposed victims and also eye-witnesses of trafficking and deliver
psychological, medical and legal assistance to them. Russian
Crime Boss Arrested On Sex Trafficking A reputed crime boss from the former Soviet Union has
been arrested on charges he ran a brutal sex trafficking ring in The
Protection Project - Azerbaijan FACTORS THAT CONTRIBUTE TO THE
TRAFFICKING INFRASTRUCTURE - Poor social and economic conditions for women and children make
them vulnerable to trafficking. Women’s lower social status and lack of
decently paid work opportunities compel them to seek employment outside of
Azerbaijan. Furthermore, with the
collapse of the Soviet Union, the social welfare system ceased to function
effectively in Azerbaijan, thereby forcing many children onto the streets,
where they are vulnerable to exploitation. - htsccp Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 6 Civil Liberties: 5 Status: Not Free Human Rights Overview
by Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide Stop
Violence Against Women – Country Page U.S. Library of Congress
- Country Study Azerbaijan
Human Rights Report Traffickers identified by the IOM
were either foreigners or ethnic Azerbaijanis who acted in loose
international networks, probably without central coordination. Victims were
approached directly and indirectly through friends and relatives. Traffickers
also used newspaper advertisements offering false work abroad. According to
the Society for the Defense of Women's Rights, draft-age men seeking to
escape military service in 2000 were invited by local traffickers to work in
the hotel industry in Turkey, but ended up in male brothels; however, the IOM
was not aware of such reports. Another NGO reported that families of young
women had been approached by individuals claiming that visiting Iranian
businessmen had seen their daughters and wished to marry them. Following
parental permission for such marriages, the women were transported to Iran to
work as prostitutes. According to the IOM, families sometimes willingly
married their daughters to wealthy men in Iran and turned a blind eye to
their outcomes. Azerbaijan
Adopts Action Plan Against Human Trafficking The OSCE Office in Baku today
welcomed the adoption by Azerbaijan of a national action plan to co-ordinate
all efforts in the fight against human trafficking. "The events in this sphere
represent the most rapid progress anywhere, from a starting point in November
2002, when the existence of trafficking in human beings was not recognised, to the adoption of the National Action
Plan," he added. The document is
a result of the close co-operation between the Azerbaijani Government and
institutions and the international partners. It is in line with the spirit
and provisions of the OSCE documents on the prevention of trafficking in
human beings, which commit all participating States to take actions to
eradicate human trafficking. Azerbaijan
probes child-organ traffickers The Azerbaijani government says it
is keen to crack down on child traffickers who are believed to take children
abroad and sell their organs for profit. "Under the guise of adoption,
children who are allegedly afflicted by grave diseases are taken out of
Azerbaijan, ostensibly for treatment," Mr Abbasov told the country's ANS television. "In the course of our investigations,
it has come to light that these children are used for organ transplants, but
we have no hard evidence," he said. Both international and domestic
adoptions have been suspended for reasons that include an investigation of a
hospital that has possible involvement in domestic child trafficking, and
serious concerns about corruption and transparency in international
adoptions. Human trafficking in Azerbaijan www.penelopes.org/Anglais/xbreve.php3?id_article=954 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] Many victims of trafficking are
mostly taken to Turkey, Pakistan, Greece and the United Arab Emirates. At the
same time, people from Russia, Moldova, Uzbekistan and Ukraine are taken to
Azerbaijan for sex work. According to calculations, criminals can earn from
12,000 to 15,000 dollars from each person monthly. Opponents
of Human Trafficking from Transcaucasia Tour U.S.
to Share Information Nine government and police
officials from the three republics of Transcaucasia--Armenia,
Azerbaijan, and Georgia--visited UCLA January 24 as part of a 21-day set of
consultations in the United States on methods to stop trafficking in human
beings for prostitution, slave labor, and domestic slavery. Azerbaijan
braces for "thousands" of Iraqi refugees - migration official The head of the Azerbaijani centre
for legal aid to migrants, Alovsat Aliyev, has said that the country might become flooded by
thousands of Iraqi refugees in the event of a US operation against Iraq. He
told the Azerbaijani newspaper Ekho that it was
necessary to amend the migration law to curb illegal human trafficking as it
damages the country's image abroad and causes distrust in Azerbaijan. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE
RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT ARTICLES.
Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin,
"Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery - |
|||
Human Trafficking in [Azerbaijan Street Children in [Azerbaijan] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Azerbaijan] [other countries]