Discover all statistics and data on Human trafficking now on statista.com! The offer of US$ 500 for her help in bringing back merchandise to sell in the Russian Federation seemed lucrative. • Allocate funding to state bodies and anti-trafficking NGOs to provide specialized assistance and rehabilitative care to victims. The Russian Red Cross continued to operate a hotline, which primarily served labor migrants and did not identify any victims of trafficking among its callers. In America, Russian offenders of human trafficking have been arrested and Russian human traffickers have been spreading to China as well, not to mention bringing foreign people into Russia to involve them in it. In limited instances, Moscow city police informally provided “permit letters” valid for one year to individuals the police determined were trafficking victims. The business is booming, but it is important to have conversations about the links between mail-order brides and human trafficking. • Implement a formal policy to ensure identified trafficking victims are not punished or deported for unlawful acts their traffickers compelled them to commit. Human trafficking. During the 2018 World Cup, Russia relaxed its visa requirements, allowing visa-free entry for all Fan ID holders to enter and exit Russia without a visa through December 31, 2018. Authorities did not report assisting any victims and lacked a process for the identification of victims and their referral to care. Further, the government's efforts to exert pressure on NGOs through the implementation of restrictive laws also targeted those providing protective services for trafficking victims; the government criminally charged and investigated one NGO working on trafficking issues, although charges were eventually dropped. The government did not provide funding or programs for protective services dedicated to trafficking victims. This article has multiple issues. The government maintained minimal law enforcement efforts. Labor trafficking remains the predominant human trafficking problem within Russia, accelerating in the context of Russia’s significant increase in labor migration. (Learn how and when to remove these template messages) This article is based partially or entirely on public domain works of the U.S. government, and thus may require cleanup. Despite the lack of significant efforts, the government took some steps to address trafficking, including by removing officials who may have been complicit in forced labor, facilitating the return of Russian children from Iraq and Syria, and identifying some victims, including foreign nationals. Russian criminal groups threaten family members in order to coerce women into prostitution in Russia and abroad. Types of Human Trafficking & Forms of Exploitation 21 1.1.3. Workers from Russia and other countries in Europe, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia – including Vietnam and DPRK – are subjected to forced labor in Russia. The government maintained minimal law enforcement efforts. Routes, Organisers, and Human Trafficking Victims 23 1.2. Media reports and publicly available data revealed some details on trafficking cases investigated and prosecuted during the reporting period, although the limited number of cases reported did not constitute an adequate law enforcement response compared to the scale of trafficking in Russia. The government did not have a body to monitor its anti-trafficking activities or make periodic assessments measuring its performance. Authorities reportedly covered repatriation costs on a case-by-case basis. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Media reports indicated Russia had begun to repatriate the first wave of laborers whose permits had expired. Despite credible reports of slave-like conditions of North Koreans working in Russia, the Russian government did not report any investigations into those conditions. NGOs reported an increase in the number sex trafficking victims from Africa in 2017 and predicted the number of Africans subjected to trafficking in Russia could increase during soccer tournaments and as the Libyan route to Europe becomes more treacherous. Although labor trafficking remains the predominant human trafficking problem within Russia, sex trafficking continued. Trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation, often referred to a modem day form of slavery, is a multi-billion dollar global criminal activity. In July 2017, Russia provided in-kind support for an OSCE conference focusing on the role of public-private partnerships in the fight against human trafficking; however, the event focused on the global scope of the problem rather than the challenges in Russia. The government did not develop or employ a formal system to guide officials in proactive identification of victims or their referral to available services. Despite the lack of formal procedures, observers reported some working-level officials referred potential victims for assistance on an ad hoc basis. Global AIDS Coordinator and Global Health Diplomacy, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Special Representative for Syria Engagement, U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Office of International Religious Freedom, Office of the Special Envoy To Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, Office of the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Office of the Science and Technology Adviser, Bureau of Information Resource Management, Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, Office of Emergencies in the Diplomatic and Consular Service, Office of Management Strategy and Solutions, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. As in previous years, the government did not draft a national strategy or assign roles and responsibilities to government agencies. At-Risk Groups 32 1.3. NGOs reported a significant number of cases go unreported due to the lack of a formal referral mechanism, victims' fears, and the lack of government assistance to victims. The government continued to operate regional migration centers where migrants could obtain work permits directly from the government; however, the permits contained large upfront fees and sometimes required multiple time-consuming trips to the center to obtain. A February 2016 agreement between Russia and DPRK enabled Russian authorities to deport North Koreans residing “illegally” in Russia, possibly even for those with refugee status; this may increase the risk of labor trafficking for North Koreans working under the state-to-state agreement. Authorities did not screen other vulnerable populations, such as migrant workers or foreign women entering Russia on student visas despite evidence of their intention to work or other vulnerabilities to trafficking. It did not report comprehensive data on trafficking criminal cases, making it difficult to assess the adequacy or effectiveness of law enforcement efforts. Corruption and official complicity remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action during the year. Employers sometimes bribe Russian officials to avoid enforcement of penalties for engaging illegal workers. Spain is for the most part a destination for victims, mainly from Eastern Europe (mainly Romania), Africa (mainly Nigeria), Asia (mainly China) and South America (mainly Paraguay), as well as for transit to other destinations, chiefly European countries such as France and the United Kingdom. Authorities did not routinely screen potential victims seeking assistance at these shelters for trafficking indicators; in prior years, the shelter provided medical and psychiatric aid, and referred victims to international NGOs and other homeless shelters located in many of Russia’s regions. Frequently, authorities criminally charged victims with prostitution or unlawful presence in country. The National Human Trafficking Hotline maintains one of the most extensive data sets on the issue of human trafficking in the United States. Sex trafficking occurs in brothels, hotels, and saunas, among other locations. The Supreme Court did not release conviction statistics before the close of the reporting period. Moreover, DPRK authorities reportedly arrested, imprisoned, subjected to forced labor, tortured, and sometimes executed repatriated trafficking victims. The DPRK sends approximately 20,000 North Korean citizens to Russia annually for work in a variety of sectors, notably including logging in Russia's Far East and construction of the 2018 World Cup Stadiums – with 30,000 to 40,000 North Korean citizens believed to be present in Russia; reportedly many of these North Korean citizens are subjected to conditions of forced labor. There were two media reports of government-compelled labor of civil servants for snow removal; in one of them the government decided to investigate the issue. Despite the lack of formal procedures, observers reported some working-level officials referred potential victims for assistance on an ad hoc basis. Although labor trafficking remains the predominant human trafficking problem within Russia, sex trafficking is increasing. The ILO Committee of Experts noted its deep concern in 2016 that some provisions of the Russian criminal code, which included compulsory labor as possible punishment, are worded broadly enough to lend themselves to application as a means of punishment for the expression of views opposed to the government. Russia did not have a national action plan, nor was there a designated lead agency to coordinate anti-trafficking measures; legislation that would implement such a framework continued to languish at the highest levels within the presidential administration. … Women and children from Europe (predominantly Ukraine and Moldova), Southeast Asia (primarily Vietnam), Africa (particularly Nigeria), and Central Asia are victims of sex trafficking in Russia. In January 2018, local authorities worked with NGOs to free victims from a factory, obtain travel documents and raise funds to help repatriate Uzbek victims. Since then, Russia has not introduced any further anti-trafficking laws, whereas all 14 other former Soviet Republics have passed a total of more than 100 human trafficking laws. Anton is one of 794,000 people living in conditions of modern slavery in the Russian Federation today. According to law enforcement statistics, of these 19 identified victims, 16 were Russian and three were from unspecified Central Asian countries; five were female sex trafficking victims, one female and three males were victims of forced labor, and 10 were children, although many of these were baby-selling cases. The government made no efforts to develop public awareness of forced labor or sex trafficking and provided no funds to NGOs to carry out prevention and awareness campaigns. Human trafficking: Irina's story. In February 2019, the government agreed to allow the Kyrgyz Republic Ombudsman to appoint five special representatives in Russia to monitor for violations of human rights of Kyrgyz citizens, including trafficking. The article gives law enforcement statistics on the issue, law and practice developments on human trafficking and the gains that the Russian law enforcement agency has acquired in the fight against human trafficking. While the letters offered no official status to the migrants, they allowed victims to remain in the Moscow region without risk of deportation or prosecution while police investigated their trafficking case. There were no reports of victims assisted in these shelters in 2018. The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts or forced labor. The government published sentencing information for 2018 that included for article 127.1, three paroles, 11 prison terms, one compulsory labor, and one fine; and for article 127.2, five prison terms and one parole. Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. The investigation of this case remained on-going. Main Forms of Trafficking in the Russian Federation 33 1.3.1. There are reports of Russian citizens facing forced labor abroad. Swedish prosecutors have charged a group of 24 Russians and Swedes with human trafficking, pimping and buying sex from nine Russian women, the AFP news agency reports. The "Yarovaya" package of anti-terror laws made it a crime for individuals or organizations to provide material assistance to people considered to be in Russia illegally. Out of all these cases, only 38 … • Screen for trafficking indicators before deporting migrants, including from the DPRK. However, observers also noted other authorities often did not recognize foreign victims when they were unlawfully present in Russia, which resulted in the penalization of foreign victims rather than their referral to care. While human trafficking and slavery have always been an issue in most areas of the globe, human trafficking in Russia became exacerbated with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. According to law enforcement statistics, of these 61 identified victims, 41 were female sex trafficking victims, four males were victims of forced labor, and 16 were children, although many of these were likely baby-selling cases not considered to be trafficking without the purpose of exploitation in sex trafficking or forced labor. This article first appeared on the Atlantic Council site.. Ukraine remains one of Europe's most notorious sources of human trafficking. These reports contain human trafficking by country statistics, allowing me to rank top 12 countries. 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