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Trafficking 255 illegal immigrants from Albania and
Kosovo were trafficked for prostitution during December 1997. ("British note
Albanian refugee smuggling," UPI, 7 April 1998)
More than 8,000 Albanian girls are prostituted in
Italy, and more than 30% of them are under 18 years, stressed participants
of a seminar in Tirana, Albania on the international traffic of women and
children. The main reason for this trafficking is the economic inequality
between richer countries and the poverty in Albania. The speakers asked governments
and politicians to take measures to ensure that human rights are respected.
(G.J. Koja, "8000 Albanian Girls Work as Prostitutes in Italy," HURINet –
The Human Rights Information Network, 25 July 1998)
Case
Two male traffickers who had kidnapped 2 girls, aged
14 or 15, were intercepted in Southern Albania on route to Greece. ("Two Traffickers
of Young Women Detained," Human Rights Network, 5 September 1997)
Methods and Techniques of Traffickers
Albanian mafia networks are trafficking hundreds of
illegal immigrants for prostitution from Albania and the former Yugoslavia
to England. The women are hidden in trucks at the Belgian ports of Ostend
and Zeebrugge and ferried to the British ports of Hull and Purfleet in Essex,
where they apply for political asylum. ("British note Albanian refugee smuggling,"
UPI, 7 April 1998)
Official Response and Action
A conference, "Trafficking in Albanian Women and Children:
Human Dimensions and Legal Responses" which was organized by the United States
Information Service, American Embassy Tirana, Albania was held on 17 July
1998 and attended by justice officials, non-governmental, and government officials
to emphasize the rule of law, and show that trafficking in women and children
fits into a broader criminal network. More cooperation is needed to end the
trafficking in Albanian women and children. The conference was divided into
two parts, one for officials and one for the public, and followed three themes,
"The Picture Worldwide," "The Albanian Experience," and "Responses to the
Problem." The Conference attracted considerable media attention especially
from television. ("Albania Trip Report," Global Survival Network, Edited/Distributed
by HURINet - The Human Rights Information Network, 15 September 1998)
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