Trafficking in Persons Report 2009

June 16, 2009

SERBIA (Tier 2)

Serbia is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and girls trafficked internationally and within the country for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Foreign victims are trafficked to Serbia from Eastern Europe and Central Asia through Kosovo and Macedonia. Serbia continued to serve as a transit country for victims trafficked from Bosnia, Croatia, and Slovenia and destined for Italy and other countries in Western Europe. Children, mostly Roma, continued to be trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation, forced marriage, or forced street begging. The majority of identified victims in 2008 were Serbian women and girls trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation; over half were children. There was an increase in cases of trafficking for forced labor in 2008. The Government of Serbia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.

The government increased funding for protection of victims and appointed a new National Anti-Trafficking Coordinator in November 2008, though serious concerns remained about punishment of traffickers and prosecution of complicit officials. Moreover, law enforcement data provided was incomplete. The government also has not yet developed formal procedures to adequately identify and refer potential trafficking victims, seriously hampering its ability to provide assistance and protection to victims. Serbia may be negatively assessed in the next Report if it does not address these deficiencies.

Recommendations for Serbia: Provide comprehensive data on efforts to vigorously prosecute, convict, and punish traffickers; aggressively prosecute and punish officials who facilitate trafficking; implement a standardized protocol for victim identification and referral that includes the Agency for Coordination of Protection of Victims of Trafficking and NGOs, as appropriate; provide sustained direct funding for victim protection and assistance; increase training for social workers and police to improve identification of trafficking victims; develop programs to address the increasingly growing problem of trafficking for forced labor and children who are victims of trafficking; and improve prevention efforts.

Prosecution
The Government of Serbia continued to actively investigate trafficking cases, but it did not provide evidence it adequately prosecuted, convicted and punished trafficking offenders. Trafficking suspects accused of violent crimes often continued to be freed during the pre-trial and appeal process, posing a serious risk to their victims. The criminal code for Serbia prohibits sex and labor trafficking through its article 388, which prescribes penalties of two to 10 years’ imprisonment; these are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other grave offenses, such as rape. In 2008, the government investigated and charged 94 persons with trafficking. The government did not provide comprehensive prosecution data, but reported that, in 2008, 18 trafficking offenders were convicted and sentenced to prison; 17 others were acquitted. The government did not provide information on the length of these sentences or whether any were suspended. It reported that it detained 29 trafficking suspects pending trial or investigation during 2008. At times, traffickers were not held in detention during pre-trial and appeals processes; by law, individuals convicted for trafficking are only detained during the appeals process if their sentence was greater than five years. Trials that last months or years and multiple appeals result in delays, sometimes by several years, in convicted traffickers serving their sentences. One of Serbia’s most infamous traffickers, sentenced to four years and three months by the Supreme Court in 2006, remains free. NGOs and international organizations reported anecdotally that sentences were increasing due to better education of judges. In December 2008, an individual was convicted of trafficking in persons in the District Court in Subotica, which sentenced him to 10 years in jail; this trafficker remains in jail pending appeal. The government did not demonstrate adequate punishment of officials complicit in trafficking. In a high profile case in Novi Pazar in August 2008, the government prosecuted and convicted 12 trafficking offenders, including the Deputy Public Prosecutor and two police officers. The principal trafficker in this case, a private citizen, received an eightyear sentence, though the two police officers received suspended sentences and the prosecutor was given a suspended sentence of three years and released for time served of one year. The prosecutor had sexually exploited some of the victims. There were no further developments in the 2007 case reported by the media of a police office investigated for facilitating the trafficking of a forced labor victim. The government’s refusal to cooperate with the Kosovo government hampers Serbia’s efforts to investigate and prosecute transnational trafficking.

Protection
The Government of Serbia increased efforts to protect victims but did not improve its identification procedures in 2008. While the government, with the assistance of
international organizations, trained law enforcement officials on victim identification and treatment, the government continued to lack systematic victim identification, referral, and treatment procedures and standards; trafficking cases were addressed on an ad hoc basis. The government provided three NGOs with $36,571 for victim assistance in July 2008 through the one-time sale of a special stamp. The government’s Agency of Coordination for Protection of Victims of Trafficking remained understaffed, but it received $18,501 in direct government funding, an increase compared to 2007, and also received $29,143 from the public stamp subsidy for its victim assistance funding. In 2008, the government and NGOs identified 55 trafficking victims and accommodated 20 in two NGO shelters. Identified victims generally are not detained, jailed, or otherwise penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their being trafficked; however, government officials and organizations that deal with trafficking believe that due to the lack of systematic victim identification procedures, some victims were not identified and may have been penalized for acts committed as a result of being trafficked. In February 2008, border police arrested two trafficked girls from Uzbekistan for immigration violations. Serbia’s Ombudsman learned of the case and facilitated the girls’ release from detention two weeks later. The girls declined temporary residence permits and departed Serbia at their own expense. Reportedly, their traffickers fled across the border before police were able to arrest them. According to organizations dealing with trafficking, many victims were not provided with adequate protection in court mandated by the 2006 Witness Protection Law due to the lack of court facilities that would allow victims to await court proceedings or testify in areas separated from the defendants. An NGO reported that in early 2009, one victim and her child were repeatedly threatened by the trafficker during the trial; the victim subsequently changed her testimony; she was then charged by the government with perjury and defamation. During the reporting period, six NGO-municipal multidisciplinary teams established last year to improve victim protection continued to operate.

Prevention
The Government of Serbia demonstrated some efforts to prevent trafficking in 2008. The new government appointed a new anti-trafficking national coordinator in November 2008, after the previous government left the position unfilled for many months. The government also created a ministerial-level Anti-Trafficking Council the same month. The Council and the working level Anti-Trafficking Team and Working Groups, which included NGO and international organization representatives, collaborated on a 2009-2011 national anti-trafficking action plan which the government adopted in April 2009. The Interior Minister and Justice Minister held a press conference on International Women’s Day specifically to draw attention to human trafficking. The government funded and implemented an anti-trafficking campaign that included posters displayed at airports and border crossings around the country, flyers distributed at schools and police stations, and advertisements published in the help-wanted sections of magazines. The materials were designed to warn potential victims and to ask the public to report trafficking-related activity to a police hotline. An NGO campaign targeted at potential clients of the sex trade was not funded by the government.

Izveštaj o trgovini ljudima 2009.

16. juni 2009.

SRBIJA (Nivo 2)

Srbija je izvorišna, tranzitna i odredišna zemlja za trgovinu muškarcima, ženama i devojkama kojima se trguje na lokalnom i međunarodnom nivou u cilju komercijalne seksualne eksploatacije i prisilnog rada. U Srbiju stižu strane žrtve iz istočne Evrope i centralne Azije preko Kosova i Makedonije. Srbija je i dalje tranzitna zemlja za žrtve iz Bosne, Hrvatske i Slovenije čija su odredišta Italija i druge zemlje zapadne Evrope. Decom, uglavnom romskom, i dalje se trguje u cilju seksualne eksploatacije, prisilnog braka ili prisilnog prosjačenja. Većina identifikovanih žrtava u 2008. godini bile su srpske žene i devojke kojima se trgovalo u cilju seksualne eksploatacije, a u više od polovine slučajeva u pitanju su deca. U 2008. godini primećen je povećan broj slučajeva trgovine ljudima u cilju prisilnog rada. Vlada Srbije ne pridržava se u potpunosti minimuma standarda za eliminaciju trgovine ljudima, ali ulaže znatne napore u tom pogledu.

Vlada je povećala finansijska sredstva namenjena zaštiti žrtava i u novembru 2008. imenovala novog državnog koordinatora za borbu protiv trgovine ljudima, premda i dalje postoje ozbiljni problemi u pogledu kažnjavanja trgovaca ljudima i krivičnog gonjenja zvaničnika osumnjičenih za saučesništvo u trgovini ljudima. Štaviše, policijski podaci koji postoje nisu kompletni. Vlasti, takođe, još nisu ustanovile formalne procedure za adekvatnu identifikaciju i registrovanje potencijalnih žrtava trgovine ljudima, što ozbiljno ograničava sposobnost vlasti da žrtvama pruže pomoć i zaštitu. Srbija bi mogla dobiti negativnu ocenu u sledećem izveštaju ukoliko ne reši ove nedostatke.

Preporuke za Srbiju: Obezbediti sveobuhvatne podatke o naporima da se trgovci ljudima energično krivično gone, osuđuju i kažnjavaju; odlučno krivično goniti i kažnjavati zvaničnike koji omogućavaju trgovinu ljudima; primeniti standardizovani protokol za identifikaciju i pomoć žrtvama, što uključuje Agenciju za koordinaciju zaštite žrtava trgovine ljudima i nevladine organizacije, ukoliko je potrebno; obezbediti stalno direktno finansiranje za zaštitu i pomoć žrtvama; intenzivirati obuku socijalnih radnika i policije kako bi se poboljšala identifikacija žrtava trgovine ljudima; napraviti programe za rešavanje sve većeg problema trgovine ljudima u cilju prisilnog rada, i decom žrtvama trgovine, i poboljšati rad na prevenciji.

Krivično gonjenje
Vlada Srbije nastavila je s naporima na aktivnom pokretanju istraga u slučajevima trgovine ljudima, ali nije pružila dokaze o adekvatnom krivičnom gonjenju, osuđivanju i kažnjavanju lica koja su počinila krivično delo trgovine ljudima. Osumnjičeni za trgovinu ljudima optuženi za teške zločine često su oslobađani pre početka suđenja i u toku žalbenog postupka, i kao takvi predstavljali su ozbiljnu opasnost za svoje žrtve. Član 388 Krivičnog zakona Srbije zabranjuje trgovinu ljudima u cilju seksualne i radne eksploatacije kao krivično delo i propisuje kazne od dve do deset godina zatvora; kazne su dovoljno stroge i srazmerne kaznama propisanim za druga teška krivična dela kao što je silovanje. Godine 2008. vlasti su vodile istrage i podnele krivične prijave za trgovinu ljudima protiv 94 lica. Vlasti nisu pružile sveobuhvatne podatke u vezi sa krivičnim postupkom, ali su prijavile da je 2008. za trgovinu ljudima na zatvor osuđeno 18 lica, a da je još 17 lica oslobođeno optužbi. Vlasti nisu pružile informacije o dužini trajanja izrečenih kazni niti je li neka od ovih kazni bila uslovna. Vlasti su prijavile da su pritvorile 29 lica osumnjičenih za trgovinu ljudima čija suđenja ili istrage nisu okončani tokom 2008. Osumnjičeni za trgovinu ljudima u nekim slučajevima nisu bili u pritvoru pre početka suđenja i u toku žalbenog postupka; po zakonu, lica osuđena za trgovinu ljudima pritvaraju se za vreme žalbenog postupka samo ukoliko je trajanje izrečene kazne duže od pet godina. Usled suđenja koja traju mesecima ili godinama i višestrukih žalbi, izdržavanje kazne se licima osuđenim za trgovinu ljudima odlaže u nekim slučajevima i na više godina. Jedan od najozloglašenijih srpskih trgovaca ljudima, koga je Vrhovni sud 2006. osudio na četiri godine i tri meseca, i dalje je na slobodi. Nevladine i međunarodne organizacije prijavile su da se izriču strože kazne zahvaljujući boljoj edukaciji sudija. U decembru 2008. jedno lice je osuđeno za trgovinu ljudima u Okružnom sudu u Subotici, koji mu je izrekao kaznu od deset godina zatvora; ovo lice je i dalje u zatvoru dok se ne završi žalbeni postupak. Vlasti nisu pokazale da adekvatno kažnjavaju zvaničnike koji su saučesnici u trgovini ljudima. U jednom značajnom predmetu u Novom Pazaru 2008, vlasti su podigle optužnice i osudile dvanaest trgovaca ljudima, uključujući i zamenika javnog tužioca i dva policajca. Glavni optuženi u ovom slučaju, privatno lice, osuđen je na osam godina zatvora, dok su dvojica policajaca uslovno osuđena, a tužilac je dobio uslovnu kaznu na tri godine i pušten je nakon što je u zatvoru proveo godinu dana. Tužilac je seksualno iskorištavao neke od žrtava. Nije bilo novih podataka o slučaju iz 2007. o kojem su mediji izveštavali a gde su vlasti pokrenule istragu o ulozi policajca u omogućavanju trgovine osobom koja je žrtva prisilnog rada. Odbijanje vlasti da sarađuju sa kosovskim vlastima umanjuje napore Srbije u istragama i krivičnom gonjenju u slučajevima transnacionalne trgovine ljudima.

Zaštita
Vlada Srbije je povećala napore na zaštiti žrtava, ali u 2008. nije poboljšala procedure za identifikaciju. Iako su vlasti, uz pomoć međunarodnih organizacija, obučavale policijske službenike za identifikaciju i tretman žrtava, i dalje ne postoje procedure i standardi za sistematsku identifikaciju, registrovanje i tretman žrtava; slučajevi trgovine ljudima rešavaju se ad hoc. Vlada je za tri nevladine organizacije obezbedila 36.571 dolar za pomoć žrtvama u julu 2008; novac je sakupljen zahvaljujući jednokratnoj prodaji specijalne poštanske marke. Vladina Agencija za koordinaciju zaštite žrtava trgovine ljudima i dalje nema dovoljno osoblja, ali je dobila direktna sredstva od vlade u iznosu od 18.501 dolara što je povećanje u odnosu na 2007, a takođe je za finansiranje pomoći žrtvama dobila 29.143 dolara iz subvencija od prodaje poštanskih maraka. Godine 2008. vlada i nevladine organizacije identifikovale su 55 žrtava trgovine ljudima, a 20 žrtava smestile su u dva prihvatilišta nevladinih organizacija. Identifikovane žrtve se generalno ne pritvaraju, ne zatvaraju, niti su na neki drugi način kažnjene za nezakonita dela koja su direktna posledica toga što su upravo žrtve trgovine ljudima; međutim, vladini službenici i organizacije koje se bave trgovinom ljudima smatraju da usled nedostatka procedura za sistematsku identifikaciju žrtava, neke žrtve nisu identifikovane te su možda i kažnjene za nezakonita dela koja su posledica upravo toga što su žrtve trgovine ljudima. U februaru 2008. pogranična policija uhapsila je dve uzbekistanske devojke žrtve trgovine ljudima zbog kršenja imigracionih propisa. Ombudsman Srbije saznao je za ovaj slučaj i pomogao da se dve nedelje kasnije devojke puste iz pritvora. Devojke su odbile da uzmu privremene boravišne dozvole i napustile su Srbiju o svom trošku. Njihovi trgovci su navodno pobegli preko granice pre no što je policija mogla da ih uhapsi. Prema podacima organizacija koje se bave trgovinom ljudima, mnoge žrtve ne dobijaju adekvatnu zaštitu na sudu, kako je to propisano Zakonom o zaštiti svedoka iz 2006, usled nedostatka sudskih objekata gde bi se žrtvama omogućilo da čekaju sudski postupak ili da svedoče u objektima gde bi bile odvojene od optuženih. Jedna nevladina organizacija prijavila je da je početkom 2009. jednoj žrtvi i njenom detetu trgovac ljudima za vreme suđenja neprestano pretio; žrtva je potom promenila iskaz, pa su vlasti protiv nje podigle optužnicu za lažno svedočenje i klevetu. Tokom perioda na koji se izveštaj odnosi, sa radom je nastavilo šest nevladinih opštinskih multidisciplinarnih timova osnovanih prethodne godine u cilju poboljšanja zaštite žrtava.

Prevencija
Vlada Srbije pokazala je u 2008. izvesne napore u pogledu prevencije trgovine ljudima. Nova vlada naimenovala je novog nacionalnog koordinatora za antitrafiking u novembru 2008, pošto prethodna vlada na to mesto mesecima nikog nije postavila. Vlada je istog meseca takođe ustanovila Savet za antitrafiking na ministarskom nivou. Savet i Operativni tim za antitrafiking i radne grupe, koje uključuju predstavnike nevladinih i međunarodnih organizacija, sarađivali su na nacionalnom akcionom planu za antitrafiking za period 2009-2011. koji je vlada usvojila u aprilu 2009. Ministar unutrašnih poslova i ministar pravde održali su konferenciju za štampu na Međunarodni dan žena s ciljem da se skrene pažnja na trgovinu ljudima.Vlada je finansirala i sprovela antitrafiking kampanju koja je uključila plakate istaknute na aerodromima i graničnim prelazima širom zemlje, informativni materijali su distribuirani po školama i policijskim stanicama, a reklame objavljivane u časopisima u rubrikama sa oglasima za posao. Materijali su pripremljeni da bi se upozorile potencijalne žrtve i javnost pozvala da prijavljuje aktivnosti vezane za trgovinu ljudima na dežurnu policijsku telefonsku liniju. Vlada nije finansijski pomogla kampanju jedne nevladine organizacije koja je bila usmerena na potencijalne klijente u oblasti prostitucije.

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