BRAMA, September 5, 2001, 1 am ET

Kosovo Anti-Trafficking Report
IOM Press Briefing Notes

IOM Pristina has published a new anti-trafficking report based on a sample of 200 women assisted by IOM since February 2000. It provides a detailed socio-economic profile of the victims and gives up-to-date information on the methods used by traffickers, on the trafficking process and on the appalling living and working conditions experienced by the victims.

The report states that 60% of the women assisted by IOM came from Moldova, 19.5% from Romania, 10% from Ukraine, 7 % from Bulgaria, 2% from Kosovo, 1% from Albania and 0.5% from Russia. On the socio-economic profile of the victims, the report reveals that the average age of the women is 21.

Some 14.5% came from their country's capital city, 45% came from urban areas, and 39% from rural areas. Only 14% attended high school and 2% went to university.

Nearly two thirds of the victims were single when they were lured into trafficking, but almost 42% have children. The report also found that 24% of the victims had experienced physical abuse or rape in the past.

Almost 85% of the victims were pushed into searching for work because of poverty and lack of job prospects. Some 72% were lured abroad under false promises of a job and almost 9% were kidnapped. In almost 50% of the cases, the recruiter was a woman and in 44% of cases, the victim knew the person who tricked them into accepting a phoney job abroad.

The report shows that some 47% of the women assisted by IOM left their home country without a passport and that the victims were bought and sold 3 to 6 times on their journey to Kosovo. Their "commercial" value in Kosovo varied from 1,500 to 5,000 DM.

The report sheds light on the working conditions experienced by the victims, with 56% reporting beatings and 55% saying they had been sexually abused by the traffickers. Only 13.5% said that they received regular payment for their work.

The report says that almost 60% of the victims were rescued during police raids on bars and night-clubs. Another 33% managed to escape and seek help from the authorities and IOM.

IOM PUBLICATION - The Human Rights of Migrants - This new IOM report has been compiled to promote further debate and research on the issues of migration and human rights. This book includes a discussion of the challenges in the next decade for the recognition and extension of the human rights of migrants and a summary of applicable international human rights instruments. This report can be ordered on line at: http://www.iom.int/iom/Publications/books_studies_surveys.htm

Tuesday 4 September 2001

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