Trafficking in Persons Report (2005)
RUSSIA (TIER 2 — WATCH LIST)
Released June 3, 2005
Covers the period April 2004 through March 2005
I. Introduction
II. International Best Practices
Russia is a major source of women trafficked globally for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Russia is also a significant destination and transit country for persons trafficked for sexual and labor exploitation from regional and neighboring countries into Russia, and on to the Gulf states, Europe, Asia, and North America. The ILO estimates that 20 percent of the five million illegal immigrants in Russia are victims of forced labor, which is a form of trafficking. There were reports of trafficking of children and of child sex tourism in Russia. Internal trafficking from rural to urban areas remained a problem.
The Government of Russia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Russia is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for a second consecutive year for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking, particularly in the area of victim protection and assistance. A new general witness protection program may improve care of trafficking victims who participate in an investigation or protection. While the central government sustained its commitment and recognition to address trafficking, more remains to be done. The government made particular progress in the area of enforcement, increasing investigations and prosecutions under the new amendments to the Criminal Code. It took important preliminary steps to raise awareness among law enforcement and the public through a national training program and development of a training manual. However, the government must develop mechanisms to protect Russian and foreign trafficking victims immediately, administer its new witness protection legislation, and target public awareness programs at potential victims, particularly regarding recruitment scams inherent in employment ads throughout Russia. Moreover, the government should intensify its efforts to work with the NGO community in Russia. The government should continue to actively prosecute and sentence traffickers. It should also identify and address trafficking complicity of public officials. Specialized targeted training for law enforcement is essential to ensure that police are armed with the proper investigative tools to implement anti-trafficking statutes and the new witness protection legislation.
Prosecution
The central government took visible efforts to improve Russia�s law enforcement response to trafficking over the last year with its implementation of the 2003 anti-trafficking amendments to the criminal code. In January 2005, President Putin signed additional legislative amendments to the criminal code punishing the organization of illegal entry and transit of aliens into and through Russia. Investigators increased their application of new anti-trafficking tools, but few convictions were reported. In 2004, the government investigated 26 cases under the new anti-trafficking provisions of the criminal code, eight of which were cases of labor trafficking. A total of 11 cases were successfully referred for prosecution. The government continued to bring charges against traffickers using older code provisions. In May 2004, the government convicted and sentenced two Ukrainian men to eight and ten years for trafficking in girls for sexual exploitation. Official corruption continued to facilitate and protect the operation of criminal trafficking networks. The government reported two trafficking-related corruption cases pending before the Russian courts.
In September 2004, the Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) co-sponsored a regional anti-trafficking coordination conference for specialized anti-trafficking units of law enforcement agencies of neighboring countries. The government developed an anti-trafficking training manual analyzing current laws and procedures; a field manual was under development and was shared with Russian law enforcement and neighboring countries.
The government actively cooperated in transnational law enforcement investigations with other countries. In June 2004, the Interior Minister announced the arrest of five individuals involved in a ring trafficking young women to the United States and Asia. The MVD rescued 72 victims and confiscated a large amount of criminal proceeds from the ring. In January 2005, the MVD publicly announced the creation of specialized anti-trafficking units throughout Russia. These units cooperated with Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and numerous other countries on trafficking investigations and prosecutions.
Protection
The Russian Government�s protection and assistance for victims of trafficking remained weak throughout the reporting period; however, in August 2004, it supplemented its 2003 anti-trafficking amendments with the passage of witness protection legislation, which became effective in January 2005. This well-funded legislation could potentially allow shelter and protection for trafficking victims who are witnesses in an investigation or prosecution. The statute includes rights to employment and collection of damages. Regrettably, the Duma failed to pass comprehensive victim protection, and assistance legislation needed to address the broader issues of prevention, protection and rehabilitation for foreign victims and victims not party to an investigation. As a result, the government has yet to support or establish shelters specifically for trafficking victims. While the central government did not institute a formalized screening referral process, IOM reported that the MVD solicited repatriation assistance for illegal migrants, including some trafficking victims. In addition, one regional government collaborated with an anti-trafficking NGO to develop a referral procedure for victims in Yaroslavl. While a prosecutor or investigator in a trafficking case may permit a foreign victim to remain in Russia during a pending criminal case, Russian law afforded no specific status to assist or protect foreign victims of trafficking; their involuntary deportation remained a problem. Currently, additional legislation is pending to address some of these critical deficiencies; future passage of the law, however, remained uncertain. The need to assist victims and provide them with legal status remained paramount.
Prevention
Senior government officials continued to highlight the trafficking issue in the media during the last year; they also participated in anti-trafficking seminars. In November 2004, in front of the Russian Duma and again in February 2005, the central government hosted two regional anti-trafficking conferences to develop public awareness, consider draft legislation, and encourage closer cooperation between the MVD and NGOs. The events received widespread media attention. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs placed detailed warnings on its consular affairs website for potential victims. The government did not have a formal trafficking coordination body, but coordination of anti-trafficking policies and programs took place primarily through the Duma Legislative Working Group. The Duma began drafting a comprehensive report on the nature and scope of trafficking in Russia and the means to address it.
NGOs and international organizations continued to conduct virtually all targeted prevention programs for victims; however, they reported increasingly good relations with the government and actively participated in the Duma anti-trafficking working group. Some local NGOs reported they received operational support from local officials, and many reported they provided anti-trafficking training to local government and police.