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[ Country-by-Country Reports ]
TAJIKISTAN (TIER 2 Watch List)
[Extracted from U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June 2008]
Tajikistan is a source country for women trafficked through
Kyrgyzstan and Russia to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), Turkey, and
Russia for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Women are also
reportedly trafficked to Pakistan for the purposes of sexual exploitation and
forced labor. Men are trafficked to Russia and Kazakhstan for the purpose of
forced labor, primarily in the construction and agricultural industries. Boys
and girls are trafficked internally for various purposes, including forced
labor and forced begging.
The Government of Tajikistan does not fully comply with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making
significant efforts to do so. Tajikistan is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for
its failure to provide evidence over the previous year of increasing efforts
to combat human trafficking, especially efforts to investigate, prosecute,
convict, and sentence traffickers. Despite endemic government corruption and
evidence of individual low- and mid-level officials’ complicity in
trafficking, the government did not punish any public officials for
trafficking complicity during the reporting period. Lack of capacity and poor
coordination between government institutions remained key obstacles to
effective anti-trafficking efforts; corruption remained a contributing
factor. Tajikistan made only some efforts to raise awareness about the dangers
of trafficking among its estimated one million citizens who find permanent or
seasonal work abroad, primarily in Russia and Kazakhstan. The government
approved changes to its law defining trafficking. The government continued to
improve cooperation with IOM and NGOs.
Recommendations for Tajikistan: Vigorously investigate
and prosecute both sex and labor trafficking offenses, and convict and
sentence to time in prison trafficking offenders; make efforts to improve
trafficking data collection and analysis; investigate, prosecute, and convict
government officials who participate in or facilitate trafficking in persons
and ensure that they serve some time in prison; improve technical capacity to
increase the use of trafficking-specific statutes; improve coordination
between institutions responsible for investigating and prosecuting cases;
improve public awareness efforts among permanent and seasonal workers abroad;
and develop a victim identification and referral mechanism.
Prosecution
Tajikistan
demonstrated decreased anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts during the
reporting period. Article 130.1 of the criminal code prohibits both sexual
exploitation and forced labor, and prescribes penalties of five to 15
years’ imprisonment, which are sufficiently stringent, but not
commensurate with penalties prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape.
To date, the government has not successfully prosecuted a single trafficking
case using Article 130.1, and authorities report that they generally do not
prosecute labor trafficking cases. In 2007, authorities reported 12
trafficking investigations, compared to 34 in 2006. The government reported
19 prosecutions, compared to 34 reported in 2006. Courts reported 11
convictions for 2007, compared to 52 convictions reported in 2006. The
government did not provide specific information on convicted traffickers
serving time in prison. Despite reports of some government officials
assisting traffickers by providing false passports, birth certificates, and
marriage certifi- cates, the government provided little information on
efforts to investigate or punish corrupt officials. The government worked
with some foreign governments on trafficking investigations; however, Tajik
officials did not use such cooperation to gather evidence for prosecutions in
Tajikistan. Justice officials developed legal commentaries on trafficking
statutes for use in the criminal justice system, and modules on trafficking
statutes have been integrated into the judicial training curriculum.
Protection
The
government sustained modest efforts to assist trafficking victims during the
reporting period. The Ministry of Health continued to provide some health and
social services to victims, including those assisted in two foreign-funded
shelters. The Ministry of Interior also continued to provide security and
protection for these shelters. Forty-six victims were provided with shelter
and assistance during the year. The government made no efforts to develop and
implement systematic victim identifi- cation procedures or a domestic
mechanism to refer victims to care providers. Although the government
provided no special training for diplomatic staff in Tajikistan’s
embassies and consulates abroad, Tajik embassy officials in the U.A.E.
assisted in the repatriation of 35 victims in 2007. Border guards also
assisted repatriated victims by expediting them through immigration and
customs. Victims were encouraged to participate in trafficking investigations
and prosecutions; however, social stigma and the lack of a witness protection
program significantly hindered such participation.
Prevention
Tajikistan
demonstrated very limited prevention efforts during the reporting period.
Some local government officials participated in trafficking prevention and
awareness campaigns in cooperation with NGOs and international organizations.
The government made some structural reforms to improve its ability to monitor
emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking. The government continued to
station border guards at Dushanbe’s airports and along border
checkpoints, and trained them to identify potential traffickers and victims.
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