MACEDONIA: INTERIM TIP ASSESSMENT

UNCLAS SKOPJE 000701

SIPDIS

EUR/PGI, G-ACBLANK, G/TIP

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM KWMN PGOV PREL SMIG MK
SUBJECT: MACEDONIA: INTERIM TIP ASSESSMENT

REF: SECSTATE 109254


1. Summary: Macedonia has continued to make significant progress
throughout its entire TIP prevention agenda. The continued
strengthening of Macedonia's legislative framework has resulted in
improved victim protection and assistance and made the government a
bigger stakeholder in the country's shelters. Macedonia has
proactively worked to broaden the implementation of its new standard
operating procedures nationwide. Improved legislation and
sentencing guidelines have resulted in substantially increased jail
time for traffickers and the government has sought to develop a
clearer picture of TIP awareness among the public. /End Summary/


2. The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (MOL) has begun assuming
responsibility for some of the services provided in the NGO run
shelters. Proposed amendments to the laws for social welfare and the
protection of children will result in additional funding and support
from the MOL for the country's TIP victim shelters. These
amendments will also create a legal basis for the establishment of
the first entirely government-run shelter. The Parliament is
expected to pass the amendments by the end of the year. A new law
allows for the court to appoint a legal guardian to represent and
protect the rights of child victims of trafficking crimes. The
court has utilized the law in several cases this year where parents
were either complicit in the crime or refused to cooperate with the
investigation. Funds have been secured to build additional offices
in 19 of the country's 27 social welfare centers specifically for
victims; this will provide a friendlier environment for child
victims, discrete entrances to protect victims' identities and a
private atmosphere for law enforcement interviews. The social
welfare centers are first responders in many TIP related crimes;
identifying victims and initiating the national victim referral
mechanism. A national TIP victims' database linking the social
welfare centers, MOL and Ministry of the Interior (MOI) has also
been created to improve victim tracking and identification.


3. The MOL has conducted three national seminars this year with the
social welfare centers and other key municipal and national level
TIP prevention officials designed specifically to achieve a broader
implementation of the new SOPs at municipal levels. The MOL has
also provided continuous TIP-related training to the individual
social welfare offices, with a new training on helping victims to
overcome trauma planned to start in December. Officials
investigating trafficking crimes have respected the new reflection
period for foreign trafficking victims, but all the foreign victims
this year have either immediately cooperated with the investigation
or asked to be returned to their country, according to the MOI.


4. Under the new sentencing guidelines, jail times for trafficking
and smuggling crimes have increased substantially. Average
sentences this year for trafficking related crimes have increased by
nine months compared to the previous three years. For smuggling
related crimes, average sentences have almost doubled, increasing by
fifteen months compared to the previous three years. Previously,
most trafficking crimes against minors were prosecuted under forced
prostitution laws which carried a minimum sentence of only six
months. Earlier this year, Macedonia amended its law on trafficking
to specifically address trafficking crimes against minors. Now
these crimes must be prosecuted under the new legislation which
carries a minimum sentence of eight years. Five people have been
sentenced under the new legislation so far this year. The
streamlining of trafficking related crimes to a single court at the
end of last year has resulted in significantly reduced trial times
and more consistently firm sentencing.


5. In a case which was only in the early stages of prosecution when
the TIP report was released earlier this year, involving 5 policemen
and one Ministry of Justice official, all 6 officials were
ultimately found guilty and sentenced in accordance with law,
demonstrating Macedonia's commitment to prosecuting TIP related
corruption. Police dismantled a major international human smuggling
ring on November 4. Throughout the investigation, which began in
July, Macedonian law enforcement officials worked closely with law
enforcement in Serbia and Albania to uncover a human smuggling
network that had been transporting migrants from China and Indonesia
to Belgrade by plane, then through Macedonia by car to Greece.
Eighteen arrests have been made, including 15 Macedonian citizens,
and 64 migrants smuggled by the criminal network were discovered in
Macedonia. The investigation illustrates Macedonia's elevated focus
on stopping wider organized trafficking and smuggling networks.


6. From May to August this year the MOI conducted a nationwide TIP
survey to gauge the public's overall awareness of TIP related crime
in Macedonia. The survey exposed weaknesses in previous TIP
awareness campaigns and enabled the government to better identify
high risk communities for future TIP prevention activities. Special
awareness and victim identification trainings are now being
conducted in many of those communities as a result. The survey
results also triggered the MOL to create a series of seminars to
train the media on its roles and responsibilities in combating TIP.
The MOI is planning to hold an Anti-Trafficking Week before the end
of the year. Events will include all the national stakeholders in
TIP prevention and feature debates, seminars and forums on current
and future activities for TIP prevention in Macedonia. The MOI also
hopes to have the country's new action plan for TIP prevention
approved in time to release it to the public as part of the
Anti-Trafficking Week.

REEKER