Posted on 12-5-2004
Trafficked Have Human Rights
"We were his property he said. By buying us, he had the
right to beat us,
rape us, starve us, and force us to have sex with clients."
"Even when it
was cold weather I had to wear thin dresses... - was forced
by the boss to
serve international soldiers and police officers."
Testimonies of trafficked women and girls.
Despite some positive measures, trafficking of women and girls
remains a
disgraceful human rights abuse in Kosovo. The international
community is
responsible for the growth of a sex-industry based on the abuse
of
trafficked women, said Amnesty International at a press conference
revealing the result of its research into the trafficking of
women and
girls in Kosovo.
"Women and girls are sold into slavery. They are threatened,
beaten, raped
and effectively imprisoned by their owners. With clients including
international police and troops, the girls and women are often
too afraid
to escape and the authorities are failing to help them,"
said Amnesty
International.
The report, "So does that mean I have rights?" Protecting
the human rights
of women and girls trafficked for forced prostitution in Kosovo,
reveals
that trafficked women and girls are exposed to a series of human
rights
abuses, including abduction, deprivation of liberty and denial
of freedom
of movement, torture and ill-treatment, including psychological
threats,
beatings and rape.
Young women and girls, often vulnerable because of economic
deprivation or
for having already been physically abused, are easy targets.
They dream of
a better life which the traffickers use when they offer them
"work" in the
West. Instead of getting a proper job the women and girls find
themselves
trapped, enslaved, forced into prostitution.
According to reports the number of establishments in Kosovo
where
trafficked women and girls may be exploited has increased from
18 in 1999
to over 200 in 2003. At the same time, the number of prosecutions
for
trafficking offences remains low.
"Having escaped one set of human rights abuses, trafficked
women and girls
are subjected to a second set of violations at the hands of
traffickers.
If they manage to get away, they are often subjected to a third
set of
violations, this time by the authorities," Amnesty International
said.
Despite some positive measures by the authorities to combat
trafficking in
Kosovo, trafficked women and girls are often still treated as
criminals -
prosecuted for being unlawfully in Kosovo, or charged with prostitution
following raids by UNMIK police. When arrested, the women and
girls are
not given the basic rights guaranteed to all detainees. They
are not
informed about their rights, they are not allowed access to
a lawyer and
girls are often interviewed without a legal guardian present.
Amnesty International found that the UN Interim Mission in Kosovo
(UNMIK),
the NATO-led international military force in Kosovo (KFOR),
and the
Provisional Institutions of Self-Government in Kosovo (PISG)
have failed
to protect and respect the human rights of these women and girls.
Members of the international community are estimated to constitute
20 per
cent of the people using trafficked women and girls and they
generate a
significant part of the industry's income.
"It is outrageous that the very same people who are there
to protect these
women and girls are using their position and exploiting them
instead - and
they are getting away with it. It has devastating effects on
these girls'
and women's lives," said Amnesty International.
Amnesty International is particularly concerned that girls under
18 make
up between 15 and 20 per cent of the women working in bars.
They are
suspected of having been trafficked for forced prostitution.
Instead of
removing these girls, registered by UNMIK, they are left in
the bars,
subject to further human rights abuses, including being raped
and beaten.
Although trafficked women and girls are able to receive assistance
from
local NGOs and international organizations, Amnesty International
is
concerned that UNMIK have failed to implement an administrative
directive
that would guarantee them access to redress and reparation.
The
organization also reports that few women receive the long-term
protection
they need, such as witness protection for those prepared to
testify in
proceedings against their traffickers.
"Trafficking of women and girls in Kosovo and other post-conflict
situations will never end as long as the perpetrators go free
and as long
as civilian and military personnel are allowed to commit human
rights
violations with impunity," said the organization.
Amnesty International calls on the Kosovo authorities, including
UNMIK and
PISG, to implement measures to end the trafficking of women
and girls to,
from and within Kosovo for forced prostitution. The authorities
should
also ensure that measures are taken to protect victims of trafficking,
and
to afford them the right to redress and reparation for the human
rights
abuses they have suffered.
The organization also called on the UN and NATO to implement
measures to
ensure that any members of military and civilian peacekeeping
forces
suspected of criminal offences associated with trafficking are
brought to
justice.
Trafficking of persons, in particular women and girls, in situations
that
amount to enslavement is included among the most serious crimes
in the
Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).
For the full report visit:
http://web.amnesty.org/library/Index/ENGEUR700102004
Amnesty International is running a global campaign to end violence
against
women. For more information and news related to the campaign
"Stop
violence against women" visit: http://news.amnesty.org/mav/actforwomen
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