Print and electronic media reported on Saturday on the United State Department’s Trafficking in Persons Report 2020. As per the same document, the Government of Albania does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.
“The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period; therefore Albania remained on Tier 2. These efforts included sentencing convicted traffickers to significant prison terms, identifying more victims, and providing robust training for relevant officials.
The government, in cooperation with civil society, also set up the Advisory Board of Victims of Trafficking, consisting of three survivors, and increased victim assistance in criminal proceedings by establishing the Development Centre for Criminal Justice for Minors and hiring additional victim assistance coordinators. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. The government convicted five traffickers in both 2018 and 2019, the lowest number of convictions since 2014. The government lacked screening efforts for vulnerable populations—particularly migrants, asylum-seekers, individuals in commercial sex, and children—and authorities did not consistently participate in mobile victim identification units.
The government continued to delay funding for NGO-run shelters, and social services lacked resources for long-term care and reintegration efforts, particularly for child victims and victims with children,” the report’s executive summary reads.
Financuar Nga Bashkimi Europian
