An Extract From the US Dept of State (Press Release)
Jan 19 2007

The Government of Armenia made some progress in its efforts to combat trafficking in persons since the release of the 2006 Report; however, key deficiencies in the government's anti-trafficking response have yet to be addressed. In July 2006 the government enacted a statute to
clarify its trafficking law and strengthen the accompanying penalties, and NGO-run shelters assisted more trafficking victims during the last six months. The government, however, neither developed nor implemented a national referral policy. It also did not aggressively sentence traffickers under its trafficking statute and it failed to investigate vigorously ongoing allegations of corruption and to prosecute officials for complicity in trafficking.

The Government of Armenia took some steps to increase awareness on victim identification by assisting in the publication of an IOM manual for Armenian consular officers stationed abroad, and it worked with a local NGO to publish a manual for its health and social workers. While the number of victims assisted by NGO shelters in Armenia almost doubled over the previous year, the rate of law enforcement referrals to these shelters remains low; out of 23 victims assisted since March 1, 2006, about one-third were referred by the government. In July 2006, the government enacted a new statute to ensure that traffickers in Armenia are convicted under trafficking statutes rather than less serious pimping statutes, which carry lower penalties. Since March 2006, the government investigated 14 trafficking cases, resulting in six convictions. All six traffickers received sentences between four and five years; the government utilized its old trafficking statute, which carries penalties lighter than those in the new trafficking statute, under a grandfathering clause because the crimes occurred before enactment of the new statute. Although the government has yet to prosecute any acts of trafficking-related complicity, in December 2006 it restructured its anti-trafficking unit in response to ongoing allegations of high-level corruption.

Published in: Official website of Audio-Video Reporters Association (http://www.antitrafficking.am/), Official translation