|
Cyprus is a destination country for women who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution as well as women and men who are in forced labor. Women identified as sex trafficking victims in Cyprus originated from Moldova, Ukraine, Bulgaria, the Philippines, Morocco, and Hungary. A large number of Romanian nationals were subjected to forced labor in the country in 2009. Sex trafficking occurs within venues used by Cyprus’ commercial sex industry, including cabarets, bars, pubs, and massage parlors disguised as private apartments located throughout the country. Groups vulnerable to forced labor include domestic workers, asylum seekers, and foreign migrants working in the farming and agricultural sectors. According to a 2008 EU Thematic Study on Child Trafficking for Cyprus, some children within migrant and Roma communities may be vulnerable to trafficking.〔 The Government of Cyprus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government drafted and passed a new National Action Plan and convicted an increased number of traffickers in 2009. However, during the reporting period, the government identified fewer sex trafficking victims, failed to consistently provide financial and social support services to trafficking victims and did not effectively address trafficking-related complicity, which local observers report is hampering the government’s anti-trafficking efforts.〔"Cyprus". (''Trafficking in Persons Report 2010'' ). U.S. Department of State (June 14, 2010). 〕 ==Prosecution== Cyprus made some progress in its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts in 2009 by convicting an increased number of traffickers; however, overall sentences for trafficking-related offenses remained inadequate. Cyprus prohibits both sex and labor trafficking through Law 87 (I)/2007, which also contains protection measures for victims. Although the penalties prescribed for sex trafficking range up to 20 years’ imprisonment, these penalties are not commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape, for which the maximum sentence is life in prison. During the reporting period, police investigated 57 persons in 17 suspected trafficking cases, compared with 70 persons in 29 suspected trafficking cases in 2008. Of the 17 trafficking cases, eight were sent to court, seven are still under investigation, and two were “otherwise disposed of.” The government convicted ten sex trafficking offenders in 2009, compared with one in 2008, and courts handed down harsher penalties for some traffickers. Sentences ranged from a $4,400 fine to four years in prison. Local observers reported, however, that the Attorney General’s Office downgraded trafficking cases and sometimes tried anti-trafficking cases in lower courts, which are less equipped to deal with serious offenses.〔 In November 2009, police arrested and charged three suspects for subjecting 110 Romanians to forced labor R U S conditions, mostly in the construction sector; the ringleader reportedly used debt bondage and hired enforcers to control the workers who were forced to live in converted shipping containers in an isolated industrial area near Nicosia. Cypriot police actively investigated the case with law enforcement counterparts in Romania; however, a district court released the main suspect after rejecting a fourth request by police for his detention. In 2009, police conducted 95 anti-trafficking raids and 20 undercover operations on establishments suspected of trafficking. Stakeholders reported that police inspected significantly fewer cabarets in 2009. The Department of Labor (DOL) is responsible for inspecting work premises associated with the new “performing artist” work permits; however, no DOL inspectors work after-hours, when “performing artists” are most subject to exploitation in cabarets.〔 The government in 2009 added an additional member to its four-person police anti-trafficking unit; NGOs, however, report that the police still lack sufficient investigative resources to vigorously combat trafficking throughout the island. In 2008, the police presented a report to the House Human Rights Committee stating, according to local media, that traffickers “have influence on government officials, which makes the arrest and prosecution of traffickers more difficult.”〔 A pending complicity investigation from 2008 involving four police officers who allegedly patronized a cabaret has yet to be concluded. In 2007, the government transferred a police officer out of his unit for allegedly raping a trafficking victim; the court determined that the main witnesses in the case were unreliable, and then the prosecution against the officer was dropped.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア(Wikipedia)』 ■ウィキペディアで「Human trafficking in Cyprus」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
|