Human Trafficking in  [Slovenia]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Slovenia]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Slovenia]  [other countries]
 

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

Republic of Slovenia                                                                  [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Republic of Slovenia [map] is bounded by Austria (N), Hungary (NE), Croatia (SE), and Italy (W).  Ljubljana is its capital.  Slovenia, with its historical ties to Western Europe, enjoys a GDP per capita substantially higher than that of the other transitioning economies of Central Europe. In March 2004, Slovenia became the first transition country to graduate from borrower status to donor partner at the World Bank.

Slovenia is a transit, destination, and to a lesser extent a source country for men, women, and children trafficked from Ukraine, Slovakia, Romania, Moldova, Bulgaria, Colombia, the Dominican Republic, Turkey, Albania, and Montenegro for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor, including in the construction industry. In 2007, disabled men from Slovakia were trafficked to Slovenia for the purpose of forced begging. Slovenian women are trafficked within the country or to countries in Western Europe for commercial sexual exploitation. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2008 [full country report]

 

CAUTION:  The following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Slovenia.  Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

*** FEATURED ARTICLE ***

A modern slave's brutal odyssey

EX-TRAFFICKER'S STORY - One former trafficker, now working with the authorities and living at a secret address, told Slavery Today how his former gang would operate.  "Most of the time we would use professional recruiters, but at times we would kidnap women and children ourselves," he said.  "The children were taken to be sold in Italy, and the better-looking women were kept as prisoners and made to work as prostitutes.

"I have heard that sick children are sold and made into beggars.  "The healthy ones are kept and trained to work for the Mafia, to deal drugs, to murder - whatever they are capable of.  Some trafficked people have their organs removed.  "I've also heard that some children were sold for organs. This also happened with men and women, depending on the demand."

And he admitted to often using force to capture people.  "If they didn't want to be separated from their families, we'd hit them until they did what we wanted," he said.  "Generally threats are made that another family member will be murdered if orders are not obeyed."  Working in Eastern Europe, the gang would drive trafficked men into Slovenia, from where they would be transported, to look for work on places such as building sites.

 

*** ARCHIVES ***

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – Organized criminal groups, nightclub owners, and local pimps were primarily responsible for trafficking. A 2003 study by the International Organization for Migration reported that traffickers lured victims from Eastern Europe and the Balkan countries through advertisements promising high wages, offers of marriage, offers of employment as entertainers and dancers, and offers of employment without indication that it would involve the sex industry. Harsh conditions in some women's home countries also contributed to their willingness to enter into prostitution and lack of awareness that they might become trafficking victims or be subjected to severe conditions.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2004

[34] While welcoming the new Implementation of Fostering Activities Act of 2003, which provides for a more systematic regulation of fostering activities, the Committee is concerned that the mechanisms for reviewing and monitoring the placement of fostered children are not sufficient. Furthermore, the Committee is concerned at the lack of standards and regulations on adoption and of a national adoption register.

[62] While welcoming the measures taken by the State party to combat and raise awareness of the problem of trafficking in persons, including the establishment of the Interdepartmental Working Group on Combating Trafficking in Human Beings, the Committee is concerned about reports that Slovenia serves as a transit and destination country for trafficked women and girls. The Committee is also concerned that there is no specific prohibition in law of trafficking in human beings, including for the purpose of prostitution and other exploitative purposes.

Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 1   Civil Liberties: 1   Status: Free

Human Rights Overview by Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide

Stop Violence Against Women – Country Page

A modern slave's brutal odyssey

EX-TRAFFICKER'S STORY - One former trafficker, now working with the authorities and living at a secret address, told Slavery Today how his former gang would operate.  "Most of the time we would use professional recruiters, but at times we would kidnap women and children ourselves," he said.  "The children were taken to be sold in Italy, and the better-looking women were kept as prisoners and made to work as prostitutes.

"I have heard that sick children are sold and made into beggars.  "The healthy ones are kept and trained to work for the Mafia, to deal drugs, to murder - whatever they are capable of.  Some trafficked people have their organs removed.  "I've also heard that some children were sold for organs. This also happened with men and women, depending on the demand."

And he admitted to often using force to capture people.  "If they didn't want to be separated from their families, we'd hit them until they did what we wanted," he said.  "Generally threats are made that another family member will be murdered if orders are not obeyed."  Working in Eastern Europe, the gang would drive trafficked men into Slovenia, from where they would be transported, to look for work on places such as building sites.

Smuggler's Prey

Every day, scores of young women throughout the former East Bloc are lured by job offers that lead to a hellish journey of sexual slavery and violence. Despite the barrage of warnings on radio and TV, in newspapers and on billboards, desperate women continue to line up with their naiveté and applications in hand, hoping that, this time, they might just be in luck.

The route from Serbia to Italy is either overland—through Bosnia, Croatia and Slovenia—or through the Albanian seaport towns of Vlorë and Durres, where women cling to high-speed rubber dinghies charging across the Adriatic Ocean to the Italian coast.

SEECRANews 09 (IV) June 10, 2004 [DOC]

At the Meeting it was pointed out that Slovenia represents the country of origin, the country of final destination as well as the transit country in international trafficking of human beings. NGO Kljuc that was established in November 2001 is the first and the only NGO in Slovenia whose fundamental goal is to help the victims of trafficking in human beings in Slovenia. Before Kljuc was established the fight against trafficking in human beings involved only the prosecution bodies, while nobody paid attention to the victims. The main current activities of Kljuc are the following: provision of psycho-social help to the victims of trafficking, assistance with the victims` returning to their domicile country, implementation of advisory conversations on the 24-hour telephone line, encouraging the victims to co-operate with the prosecution bodies, accommodation in a “safe house” and crises intervention for the victims of trafficking.

Death of sex worker in Bosnia puts region on red alert

Popik worked as a prostitute in Bosnia as well as in Slovenia and Serbia. Her official cause of death was tuberculosis, complicated by syphilis, hepatitis C and AIDS.

The question now is, how many of these men will now come down with any - or all - of the diseases she was carrying?

State and NGO to Tackle Human Trafficking Hand in Hand

Based on the agreement, victims of human trafficking - especially non-Slovenian citizens - will be provided assistance and the guarantee that they will be treated humanely and according to legal standards. The document sets down the legal framework for the victims' stay in Slovenia, giving them internationally comparable protection and the chance to exert their rights. Cases related to organised crime will be given special attention.

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Human Trafficking in  [Slovenia]  [other countries]
Street Children in  [Slovenia]  [other countries]
Child Prostitution in  [Slovenia]  [other countries]