Child Trafficking in Albania, a growing concern
By Tamar Hahn Beni, as his family and friends call him, comes from a poor family in the south of Albania. He was trafficked at the age of 7 and spent five years in Greece begging to earn money. His family sent him to Greece not fully aware of the dangers and hardships that Beni would face. They were desperate for a way to bring more money to the family to take care of the basics such as providing enough food and clothing for everyone. Though Beni worked long hours and in lived in poor conditions, he saw little of the money he earned for himself or his family as it was taken by the woman who was exploiting him. Beni soon realized that this was not what he wanted. He had the courage to say no more and was fortunate to get help from an NGO working in the area he lived. “Child trafficking is inextricably linked with poverty, violence and exploitation, gender and ethnic discrimination, weak social protection systems, poor quality and access to basic services, restrictive migration policies, corruption and organized crime and the ‘demand’ sector in destination countries”- UNICEF Representative, Carrie Auer The NGO helped Beni return to his family and then provided support to the family so Beni could go to school where he learned how to be a barber. These days, Beni owns and operates his own barber shop. A growing trend Over the past 14 years, children like Beni estimated to be in the hundreds, and some as young as four years old, have been trafficked within Albania or across international borders for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, begging, or petty crime, among other reasons. The majority of them have suffered previous forms of violence, exploitation, abuse or neglect, and a large proportion come from economically or socially-marginalized communities. Despite the concerted efforts of the Albanian Government, international organizations and civil society to combat the phenomenon, trafficking continues to be a reality for many minors and children in Albania. A 2005 report by the Regional Clearing Point notes that in Albania, 1750 victims were identified between the years 2000 and 2004, out of which 88 per cent were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation, and over 20 per cent of those were minors. “According to the Regional Clearing Point report Albania is the country with the highest reported number of child victims of trafficking in the region, including for the purposes of forced labour, begging and delinquency,” says Carrie Auer, UNICEF’s representative in Albania. “Over the past two years, the number of children identified as living and working on the streets of Albania’s major cities - victims of exploitation and possibly internal trafficking - has visibly increased.” A government eager to bring about change The Albanian Government has made the prevention of and fight against trafficking in human beings one of its key priorities, with a focus in three main areas: (1) investigation and prosecution of trafficking offences, (2) support and protection to victims and witnesses, and (3) measures to prevent trafficking and re-trafficking. The government’s anti-trafficking action is grounded in the National Strategy for Combating Human Trafficking: Strategic Framework and National Action Plan 2005-2007, and related National Strategy to Combat Child Trafficking, both of which set out comprehensive policy frameworks for addressing the phenomenon through the pillars of prevention, protection, prosecution, assisted voluntary return and reintegration. Some specific actions the Government of Albania has taken are: ratification of the bi-lateral agreement with Greece; establishment of the Responsible Authority to coordinate the national case management and referral process; development of a database; and better management of borders. What UNICEF is doing UNICEF has been working to combat trafficking of children in Albania since 1999 and has increasingly lobbied for actors to view the phenomenon, not in isolation, but rather as a broader social protection issue. “Child trafficking is inextricably linked with poverty, violence and exploitation, gender and ethnic discrimination, weak social protection systems, poor quality and access to basic services, restrictive migration policies, corruption and organized crime and the ‘demand’ sector in destination countries,” says Auer. “All of these factors require a more systemic approach to combating the phenomenon.” Like Beni, many children are not identified as being at risk of trafficking because the protection system that would identify children and families in difficult circumstances and provide services to them, are not yet in place. Establishing a national system that can identify those in need of protection early on, assess and refer them to appropriate quality services, and provide medium and long-term follow up support, is one key element in ensuring a sustainable and effective protection response for victims of trafficking and potential victims. The UNICEF Guidelines for the Protection of Child Victims of Trafficking have served as a useful advocacy tool and reference to help inform and shape anti-trafficking policies and related standards in Albania in line with the principles and articles of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Specifically, UNICEF promoted the use of the Guidelines to inform the development of three key anti-trafficking policy documents: the National Plan of Action on the Protection of Child Victims of Trafficking, the National Referral Mechanism for Victims of Trafficking, and the Greece/Albania Bilateral Agreement on the Protection and Assistance of Child Victims of Trafficking. “Priorities for UNICEF over the next few years in the field of counter-trafficking and child protection will centre on efforts to strengthen the national child protection system in Albania by supporting implementation of policies at national, regional and local levels within the broader context of reform and decentralization,” says Auer.
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