ROMANIA: Tier 2. These efforts included identifying significantly more trafficking victims, participating in twice as many international investigations, and conducting more awareness campaigns. Unfortunately, Romania remains on tier two watch list for the second consecutive year, which means the Romanian government failed to properly intensify its efforts to combat human trafficking. The 2017 US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report states that: “Romania is a destination country for a limited number of foreign trafficking victims, including sex trafficking victims from Italy and Armenia” (United States Department of State, 2017, p. 363). The process presented logistical and financial hurdles for many trafficking victims; NGOs also covered those costs. The United States is committed to using all available law enforcement resources to help Romanian authorities end the 'shame' of human trafficking, US Ambassador in Bucharest Adrian Zuckerman said on Friday.He said a US State Department report found that last year in Romania, under the former government, the efforts to combat human trafficking were diminished and called on the Romanian Parliament's leadership to work immediately with the incumbent government to adopt the necessary legislation, "to repair the damage caused by the former government, damage that encouraged offenders. [2]. Romanian women are found in prostitution rings all around Europe, and forced labor is also a problem. * Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking cases under the trafficking statute and punish convicted traffickers, including complicit officials, with significant prison sentences. IJM signed its first agreement to collaborate with the Romanian Government through the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ National Agency for Combatting Trafficking in Persons ().ANITP is responsible for national trafficking prevention efforts, coordinating support to survivors and coordinating a wide array of activities critical to anti-trafficking efforts in Romania. One of the main techniques employed by traffickers is … Alleged complicity in trafficking crimes persisted without punishment, particularly with officials exploiting minors while in the care of government-run homes or placement centers. According to some NGOs, police remained unresponsive to reports of labor trafficking, and labor inspectors lacked the competency for detecting trafficking and the legal authority for unannounced inspections to several categories of worksites. In 2019, authorities identified no foreign victims among refugees and asylum-seekers, but observers estimated there were dozens of cases. The Trafficking in Persons Report, or the TIP Report, is an annual report issued by the U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.It ranks governments based on their perceived efforts to acknowledge and combat human trafficking.. Our mission is to rescue and protect children from child trafficking and exploitation across the globe. • Amend legislation to allow for financial support to NGOs for victim services and develop and institute a formal mechanism for administering the funds. Romanian Business News - ACTMedia :: Services|About us|Contact| RSS. The media reported a transnational trafficking network used bribes and pressure to induce the police into hiring an officer to serve in the General Police Inspectorate. Perennial problems of abuse and neglect of institutionalized children, coupled with the lack of proactive identification in government facilities, left children in placement centers vulnerable to trafficking. The Romanian mafia is an intricate network, which spans across Europe, specialising in sex trafficking. Several NGOs criticized ANITP for investing too many resources in awareness campaigns and neglecting the pressing needs of victims. The law permitted foreign victims to request asylum and granted asylum-seekers the right to work after three months. DCCO continued to operate with limited staff due to provisions adopted by the previous government on the early retirement of police officers, which required 30 percent of the workforce to retire in 2018. Moreover, anti-trafficking efforts varied across the country, with some counties maintaining fewer staff and resources than other counties. Romanian men, women, and children are subjected to labor trafficking in agriculture, construction, hotels, manufacturing, and domestic service, as well as forced begging and theft in Romania and other European countries. And according to the “Trafficking in Persons” report, one-third of Romania’s trafficking victims are underage girls. Despite these shortcomings, the government issued 22,000 work permits for non-EU migrants, which put them particularly at risk for trafficking. While the government relied on NGOs to accommodate and assist victims, it did not allocate grants directly to NGOs due to legislation precluding direct funding. In 2019, the hotline received seven calls, compared with 13 in 2018, regarding potential trafficking cases, four of which DCCO investigated. The government continued to use donor funding to train police and prosecutors to organize a series of anti-trafficking training programs during the reporting period. Romania is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and women and children subjected to sex trafficking. Please contact us! Romania consistently ranks in the top three European countries for the highest number of identified victims of trafficking each year, and this program will support the government’s National Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons. ANITP managed a 24-hour hotline but only staffed an operator during regular business hours. • Revise the restitution mechanism to include minimizing court fees and increasing efforts to ensure victims receive reparation. Child protection services managed only two centers that focused specifically on child trafficking victims. In other words, they sent a clear signal to the underworld that they can do whatever they please, and it doesn't matter if they knew what they were doing or not," said Predoiu. The fight against human trafficking, as well as many other forms of transnational organized crime, is extremely difficult. As in previous years, government data did not differentiate between cases exclusively related to trafficking or cases related to other crimes, such as pandering. Romania prohibits all forms of trafficking in persons through Law No. … Illegal Arms 2. • Romania has signed United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime and its two Protocols ... the beneficiary knows that is a victim of trafficking in persons or trafficking in minors, shall be punishable by prison from 6 months to 3 years or with a fine. In other words, this situation has a culprit - it is the former PSD government. You won't be able to hide, it's over," said the US ambassador.Zuckerman called on the leadership of the Romanian Parliament to adopt, together with the government, the legislation necessary to combat this scourge. The 2018 UNODC Global Report on Trafficking in Persons is the fourth of its kind mandated by the General Assembly through the 2010 United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. • Significantly increase resources for, and the quality of, specialized victim services for children, including by training local child protection officers who work with victims and ensuring they have the necessary resources, such as funding. The government marginally increased prevention efforts. The case resulted from a 2009-2010 joint investigation with the United Kingdom (UK) into a Romanian trafficking network, which Europol considered one of the biggest in Europe; the traffickers recruited hundreds of children from poor Roma communities in the southern part of the country and exploited them in the UK in forced begging or forced theft. Many agents and sub-organizations, both in the public and private sphere are involved. From 1 February 2014, … Human trafficking became a topic of public concern in the 1990s due, in part, to the fall of the former Soviet Union, the resulting migration flows, and the increasing concern about the growth of transnational criminal organizations operating globally. As in past years, fewer than half of identified victims received assistance. Romania. Additionally, several NGOs expressed suspicion that staff working in placement centers for minors and residential centers for persons with disabilities facilitated trafficking in persons. Based on information gathered during the identification process, authorities informed victims of the services available to them, after which victims decided the services they preferred and consented to the referral process. However, the government … The National Authority for the Protection of Children’s Rights and Adoption (ANPDCA) reported that child protection services in most counties did not have the expertise and resources to offer services tailored to the special needs of trafficking victims. The extent of trafficking from the Republic of Moldova into and through Romania is unclear, though some reports suggest that traffickers operating in Romania and Moldova exploit Moldovan women and girls from Romania in operations in Europe. Sixteen searches were carried out in the UK and four in Romania, yielding cash, luxury cars and cocaine. The Minister of Justice, Catalin Predoiu, on Friday said that human trafficking and organised crime have reached an intolerable level in our country, and the former PSD (Social Democratic Party) government is responsible for this situation, for "destroying the legislation that strengthened justice" and sending a clear signal to the underworld that they could shake their heads. În this context, Secretary of State with the Interior Ministry (MAI) police quaestor Bogdan Despescu announced on Friday that since taking over the current leadership of the MAI, a number of 11 organised groups specialised in cases of sexual assault and labour exploitation were closed down, with 79 persons being detained. In 2011, Romanian authorities investigated 897 human trafficking cases, in contrast to 717 cases investigated in 2010. Trafficking in human beings and organised crime have reached an intolerable level in our country and we are here to put an end to this phenomenon. Romania demonstrated law enforcement efforts over the reporting period; however, it did not report the number of investigations, prosecutions, and convictions obtained against labor trafficking offenders. Since then, I have met regularly with the minister of justice, the minister of the interior and others. Trafficking in (Persons Report June 2003, U.S. – Department of State, Bureau of Public ... context in Romania of the 90s has favored the appearance of some social cleavages The Romanian government has shown some commitment to combat trafficking but has been criticized for failing to fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. • Revise the restitution mechanism to include minimizing court fees and increasing efforts to ensure victims receive reparation. Additionally, observers reported that a split reporting structure hindered police efficiency and coordination with investigations and prosecutions. These efforts included identifying significantly more trafficking victims, participating in twice as many international investigations, and conducting more awareness campaigns. The project „Combating trafficking in persons and sex tourism – ETTS” was co-financed by the European Commission and implemented in 4 states from Europe (Italy, Romania, Spain) and Latin America (Brasil), being under the coordination of the Municipality from Genoa, Italy. Observers also reported authorities fined persons in commercial sex, even if they were minors, without looking for trafficking indicators. Romania is a significant source of sex and labor trafficking victims throughout Europe. Additionally, the government published the names of all trial witnesses, including minors, on the internet, putting victim-witnesses at risk of retaliation. • Increase the number of police officers investigating trafficking crimes and financial investigators specializing in trafficking cases. "I am calling on the leadership of Parliament: start working immediately with the government to enact the necessary legislation to quickly prosecute these criminals, to confiscate the proceeds from human trafficking, to better protect victims and to repair the damage caused by the former government, damages which encouraged offenders. https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-trafficking-in-persons-report/romania/. As a result, overextended officers handled multiple cases simultaneously and struggled to build strong cases for prosecutors. Services for child trafficking victims remained inadequate. The National Institute for Magistrates conducted a workshop on international judicial cooperation and techniques for investigating trafficking, identification, referral, and assistance; 14 prosecutors and judges participated. Moreover, a lack of sufficient government funding for assistance and protection services endured, leaving most victims without services, susceptible to re-traumatization, and at risk of re-trafficking. 3 Romania Introduction Romania is mainly a country of origin for victims of trafficking in persons. Romania is a significant source of sex and labor trafficking victims throughout Europe. Refworld contains a vast collection of reports relating to situations in countries of origin, policy documents and positions, and documents relating to international and national legal frameworks. These penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious crimes such as rape. Consequently, NGOs claimed the actual number of victims was higher than the reported number. In July 2019, Romanian and German authorities partnered in an investigation that resulted in the arrest of four Romanian men for exploiting minors, including their own children, in commercial sex. The total number of identified trafficking victims in the period 2011-2015 was 4,622 (2011: 1,048; 2012: 1,041; • Expand efforts to train officials involved in judicial proceedings, particularly judges, on working with trafficking cases and victims, sensitivity to trafficking issues, and understanding all forms of trafficking. Trafficking in Persons Report tier placements; Country Location The Romanian mafia is an intricate network, which spans across Europe, specialising in sex trafficking. Refworld is the leading source of information necessary for taking quality decisions on refugee status. • Significantly increase anti-trafficking training for law enforcement officials on working with victims, evidence collection, and understanding psychological coercion. However, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period. Authorities in Romania and Spain have taken action against an Organised Criminal Group (OCG) suspected of human trafficking, pimping and money laundering. Of these, 33 per cent – or 848 – experienced sexual exploitation. Refworld contains a vast collection of reports relating to situations in countries of origin, policy documents and positions, and documents relating to international and national legal frameworks. From the 2018 Trafficking in Persons Report “Romania is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and women and children subjected to sex trafficking. ""We are at a time when things have to be named and acted upon. The Government of Romania does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. 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