VZCZCXYZ1718
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHKB #0182/01 0630851
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 030851Z MAR 08
FM AMEMBASSY BAKU
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 4839

UNCLAS BAKU 000182 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPARTMENT FOR G/TIP; G; INL; DRL; PRM; AND EUR/CARC 
DEPARTMENT PLEASE PASS USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM PREF ELAB KCRM KWMN KFRD SMIG AJ
SUBJECT: AZERBAIJAN: EIGHTH ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS REPORT 
 
REF: 07 STATE 02731 
 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED - NOT FOR INTERNET DISTRIBUTION. 
 
¶1. (U) Paragraph 4 below provides Embassy Baku's submission on the 
status of action the GOAJ has taken to combat human trafficking. 
Answers are keyed to questions in reftel. 
 
¶2. (SBU) Summary:  Anti-TIP efforts in the Republic of Azerbaijan 
are conducted under the direction of the Deputy Minister of Internal 
Affairs (MIA), Vilayet Eyvazov, who serves s the National 
Coordinator for the Fight AgainstTrafficking in Persons and the 
Anti-TIP Unit which was created in August 2006 and operates under 
the national coordinator's direction within the MIA.  While the GOAJ 
has improved the infrastructure to combat TIP in the past year there 
is still work to be done for real reform.  A lack of a national 
referral mechanism and open channels of communication and 
cooperation between NGOs and the GOAJ is limiting the opportunity to 
improve the GOAJ's efforts to combat TIP.  Lack of TIP training for 
prosecutors, judges and law-enforcement officials and treatment of 
victims in courtroom settings is also hampering anti-trafficking 
efforts. End Summary. 
 
OVERVIEW OF CURRENT CONDITIONS 
------------------------------ 
 
¶3. (SBU) The Embassy met with international organizations, domestic 
non-governmental organizations (NGOs), and GOAJ officials to discuss 
TIP throughout the course of the reporting period.  While accurate 
statistics on trafficking in Azerbaijan do not exist, more 
information is becoming available as the issue gains attention from 
international organizations, local NGOs, and the GOAJ. 
 
In early January the much-anticipated national TIP-hotline was 
opened and is now accessible toll-free both within Azerbaijan and 
internationally. The hotline is currently understaffed with only one 
full time operator hired but there are plans to hire an additional 
three operators plus a pool of qualified applicants to deal with 
attrition.  Operators will be women who have participated in special 
training and who have passed a background investigation.  The 
hotline is located in a residential building still under major 
construction and lacking heat and running water.  No other 
apartments appeared to be occupied and there were telephone and 
electrical wires running across the ceiling of the outside hallway. 
OSCE provided the equipment for the hotline. 
 
The TIP victims' shelter which opened in October 2006 is now fully 
renovated and operational.  There were 29 victims who used the 
shelter during the reporting period.  The shelter is operated by a 
local NGO that receives funding from the GOAJ.  There is widespread 
belief among local NGOs and IOs that the director of the shelter and 
the NGO are close to the GOAJ and not fully independent.  As 
reported by OSCE and ILO, salaries for shelter staff are 
inadequate. 
 
Despite improvements in the infrastructure to fight trafficking in 
persons, other barriers still exist that are preventing further 
progress.  Most notable is the lack of a national referral mechanism 
to assist law enforcement agencies and first line responders to 
effectively identify and provide quality care to trafficking 
victims.  Despite claims by the GOAJ that there will be a national 
referral mechanism issued as part of the new national TIP action 
plan as soon as March or April 2008, most IOs and NGOs doubt this 
timeline and there has been little involvement by these groups 
during the drafting process.  It should be noted that many domestic 
NGOs have received extensive TIP training on a national referral 
mechanism through USG and IO funding in 2006 but they have done 
little in this area mostly due to their inability to work together. 
As of the date of this report, there have been no concrete steps 
towards implementing a national referral mechanism by the GOAJ. 
 
Another key area of concern is prosecution efforts by the GOAJ. 
IO's noted a lack of training for prosecutors and judges on handling 
TIP cases and their lack of understanding of the issue as two areas 
that need to be addressed.  OSCE monitored some TIP trials and 
described judges' intolerance toward victims and in one case 
observed a judge insulting the victim (both during court proceedings 
and in the corridor afterwards).  According to the director of one 
domestic NGO, courts are the biggest obstacle in Azerbaijan, 
explaining that cases rarely get decided in favor of the victim, due 
to judicial bias, corruption and cases being badly prosecuted. She 
reported that cases may begin as TIP but then are referred to 
another Department where the victims are treated and prosecuted as 
criminals. 
 
The overall lack of public awareness regarding TIP is also a 
problem.  The GOAJ has not organized enough prevention programs; 
specifically, programs that target potential trafficking victims and 
also those who fuel the demand for sexual and forced labor 
exploitation.  Part of the national action plan should include 
definitive steps towards raising the awareness of the public to TIP 
with additional resources and programs targeted to high risk 
groups. 
 
Finally, it should be noted that although there were several 
training courses given by other international organizations in 
Azerbaijan, the USG through its implementers was not able to 
directly provide any training to law enforcement.  This was due 
primarily to previous concerns over possible human rights violations 
by members of the MIA anti-trafficking unit, as the unit previously 
was part of the MIA's Organized Crime Unit.   This issue should be 
resolved by spring 2008 and we hope to have a broad range of 
training in the upcoming reporting ccle.  This training should 
provide the basic skils sets needed for Azerbaijan to run an 
effectiveanti-trafficking program. 
 
 
BEGIN TEXT OF THE REPORT: 
------------------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) A. Azerbaijan is primarily a country of origin and transit. 
 There are no accurate or reliable numbers available to show the 
true extent of the problem but according to the GOAJ, 101 victims of 
trafficking were identified in 2007 (100 women, 1 man, no children). 
 IOM reported that most victims were from Azerbaijan with the rest 
coming from Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.  According to the 
GOAJ and to several local NGOs, the Azerbaijani exclave of 
Nakhchivan has become a transit point for women trafficked to 
Turkey.  A Nakhchivan-based NGO reported that Nakhchivan is also 
sometimes used as a transit point for victims trafficked to Iran 
although other NGOs based in Nakhchivan reported that there was a 
decrease in TIP cases in the region which they attributed to a 
combination of GOAJ intervention and the movement of TIP activity 
deeper undergound.  It should be noted that there was no reliable 
information regarding trafficking to, from, or through the 
Azerbaijani territory currently occupied by Armenian forces, 
including Nagorno-Karabakh.  The GOAJ does not exercise control over 
this territory. 
 
 
According to the GOAJ, Azerbaijani victims were trafficked primarily 
by air to the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Iran, Pakistan, India, 
and Russia.  IOM assisted 11 victims in 2007 and the countries of 
origination for victims in order of prevalence were Russia, 
Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan and the countries of destination in order 
of prevalence were Turkey, UAE, India, Pakistan and Iran.  IOM did 
not provide exact numbers of victims for each country.  According to 
GOAJ statistics, in 2007, all TIP victims were for sexual 
exploitation, none for forced labor.  Local non-governmental 
organizations believe that these numbers are not accurate and that 
trafficking of men for labor is a growing problem.  Local NGO's 
believe that lack of specific training for Anti-TIP investigators is 
the reason that no cases of forced labor were reported. 
 
 
The primary source of information on trafficking is the Anti-TIP 
unit which maintains an analytical section within the unit for 
storing and reporting this information.  Other sources of 
information include the OSCE, IOM and ILO with smaller contributions 
from local NGO's.  As stated above, the true extent of the problem 
is unknown and all data is considered inaccurate or incomplete. 
Rumors persist that some GOAJ officials are complicit in trafficking 
crimes but no concrete proof exists and the GOAJ denies that this 
occurs. 
 
It is difficult to identify vulnerable populations due to the 
overall lack of information on TIP crimes; however, it is believed 
that most victims are women who are lured abroad for better economic 
conditions, including those who knowingly agree to work in the sex 
industry.  Local NGOs reported that traffickers are increasingly 
using the prospect of marriage to lure victims.  This is often 
through religious marriages, which mostly occurs in Azerbaijan's 
southern regions.  In spite of GOAJ and NGO attention to the matter, 
religious and early marriages remain a taboo topic and no concrete 
information is available. 
 
Women continue to be the group at the highest risk for trafficking 
based on the statistics provided by the GOAJ with a growing concern 
that men are being targeted for exploitation of labor both within 
Azerbaijan and also to neighboring countries.  There is no reliable 
source of information to indicate that refugees, orphans and other 
groups of economically disadvantaged people are at risk but members 
of civil society are concerned that these groups are being targeted 
with little effort by the GOAJ to prevent this. 
 
--B. International organizations report that this year there seems 
to be an increase of news articles pertaining to the arrest of 
traffickers with stories appearing every one to three days.  This is 
in contrast to 2006 when there was very little information reported. 
 The IO's doubt the credibility of these reports and suggest that 
this is either quota filling by the GOAJ or prostitution cases 
reported as trafficking crimes.  According to the GOAJ, there were 
300 people arrested for crimes relating to sexual exploitation, of 
which 85 people identified as traffickers.  Since the last reporting 
date there have been 88 TIP criminal cases initiated with 75 cases 
referred to the court system.  The remaining cases are still in the 
investigative stage.  During the year the GOAJ identified 33 
unorganized crime groups and 8 organized crime groups conducting 
human trafficking operations in Azerbaijan.  Three of these 
organized crime groups are believed to be exclusively formed for the 
purpose of human trafficking.  The GOAJ believes that there are no 
foreigner traffickers operating in Azerbaijan but it is impossible 
to verify the veracity of that statement.  The GOAJ believes that 
most traffickers are individuals who are familiar with their victim 
or victims and use deception or false promises to lure them overseas 
for sexual exploitation.  The overall majority of traffickers are 
women.  The GOAJ believes this is due to increased awareness by 
criminal organizations who understand that women criminals (or 
specifically, pregnant women and women with children) often receive 
lighter sentences.  It is believed that a combination of false 
documents and bribing officials (in particular border guards) are 
the primary vehicles to move victims out of the country. 
 
--C. In 2006 a national coordinator for the fight against 
trafficking in persons was created along with a separate Anti-TIP 
unit also formed to combat human trafficking in Azerbaijan.  Both 
the national coordinator and Anti-TIP unit are under the authority 
of the MIA.  There is also a national government TIP working group 
that includes the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of National 
Security, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Youth and Sports, 
Ministry of Culture and Tourism, Ministry of Education, Ministry of 
Justice, Ministry of Labor and Social Protection, Ministry of 
Health, the Prosecutor General's Office, the State Committee for 
Family, Women 
and Children's Issues, the State Border Services and the State 
Customs Committee.  The National Coordinator, who is also a deputy 
minister in the MIA, chairs this working group and also has the lead 
for all TIP activities in Azerbaijan. 
 
 
--D. Despite a dramatic increase in national revenues as a result of 
Azerbaijan's energy resources, the GOAJ has not yet allocated 
sufficient money to effectively deal with this issue.  Money has 
been spent on improving the infrastructure for agencies combating 
TIP including a new office building for the Anti-TIP unit, the 
renovation of the victims' shelter, and the recent opening of the 
TIP hotline but training and salaries for employees remains 
inadequate.  IOs agree that a serious problem with the GOAJ TIP 
efforts is the low salaries of Anti-TIP employees which are 
considered inadequate.  Corruption continues to be a problem 
throughout Azerbaijan including within the government.  While there 
is no concrete evidence that shows GOAJ officials involved in human 
trafficking, the low salaries of these officials increases the 
likelihood of bribery or other form of corruption.  Regarding 
victims assistance, the GOAJ provides for a one time payment to 
trafficking victims of forty dollars which is a small amount based 
on the cost of living in Azerbaijan. 
 
--E. The GOAJ periodically provides statistics and updates on 
anti-TIP efforts to the USG and other international partners however 
detailed reports including information on individual cases are not 
available.  The Anti-TIP Unit conducts weekly meetings with section 
heads and the analytical section prepares weekly, monthly and 
quarterly reports to assist with data review.  The GOAJ claims to 
conduct annual performance evaluations of its investigators however 
the lack of clarity with their responses suggests otherwise.  All 
assessment information is disseminated by the national coordinator 
who provides press releases and interviews highlighting anti-TIP 
efforts.  It should be noted that these assessments are rarely 
critical or offer areas for improvement. 
 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
-------------------------------------------- 
--A. In June 2005 the GOAJ adopted the Law on the Fight Against 
Trafficking in Persons (amended in January 2006), and in October 
2005 adopted relevant criminal code amendments to establish 
penalties for the crimes outlined in the law.  The law was written 
in close consultation with the international community and as such, 
meets international standards and covers a plethora of TIP 
circumstances.  The law itself bans trafficking for the purposes of 
human exploitation, which includes a broad range of activities 
including sexual exploitation, forced labor, slavery, recruitment 
for unlawful activity, etc.  The law makes no distinction that the 
activity must involve crossing international borders. The law also 
sets out an ambitious program thatrelevant authorities within the 
GOAJ must undertae in order to investigate, prosecute, and prevent 
trafficking, as well as provisions for victim protection and 
rehabilitation. 
Prior to the law's passage and adoption of criminal code amendments, 
traffickers were convicted under the country's laws that covered 
trafficking-related crimes.  Outside of the law specifically 
criminalizing TIP, traffickers may be prosecuted under articles 
prohibiting slavery, rape, forced prostitution, sexual coercion, 
operation of brothels, the trade and transit of minors, and 
involvement of minors under the age of 16 in sexual coercion, 
prostitution or other obscene acts, and travel document forgery. 
Taken together, these laws encompass the full scope of possible 
trafficking activities. 
 
The above represents a full inventory of trafficking laws in 
Azerbaijan, with the relevant penalties described below.  The 2005 
TIP legislation included, for the first time, the possibility of 
confiscation of property.  While roughly equivalent to a civil 
forfeiture law, this provision is included in the criminal code. 
 
In February 2008, as a result of the national TIP working group's 
recommendation, the Cabinet of Ministers approved the order on 
"Rules for Immediate and Unconditional Referral to Ant-TIP Unit." 
This order requires that all relevan law enforcement agencies must 
refer traffickingcases to the Anti-TIP unit and that this unit has 
sole jurisdiction over the investigation of these cases including 
traffickers and victims.  Since enactment of this decree there has 
been one case referred from the city of Ganja located in the western 
part of the country. 
 
--B. The criminal code amendments passed by Parliament in October 
2005 established the following penalties for "human trafficking" 
without distinction as to the type of human trafficking: 
 
-- Trafficking of one human being is punishable by five to ten 
years' imprisonment and confiscation of property. 
 
-- Trafficking of more than one person, committed repeatedly, or 
with various special circumstances is punishable by eight to 12 
years' imprisonment with confiscation of property. 
 
-- Trafficking that results in the death of a victim or other grave 
results due to negligence is punishable by ten to 15 years 
imprisonment with confiscation of property. 
 
The criminal code also outlines penalties for dissemination of 
con fi dent ial information about a TIP victim, which is a fine of 100 
to 500 times the "nominal fiscal unit," equal to 1 new manat or 
approximately USD 1.19, (the average monthly salary is approximately 
USD 140); up to 240 hours of community service; or up to one year of 
correctional labor.  Should the same act be committed by a person 
using his or her official status, the fine is increased to 500 to 
1,000 times the average monthly salary; one year of correctional 
labor; or up to six months' imprisonment.  If the same actions 
include grave results, the punishment is one to five years' 
imprisonment. 
 
In 2007, according to the GOAJ, 85 people were punished under the 
law on trafficking in persons for sexual exploitation.  Of these, 16 
were given house arrest or other form of travel restriction, 15 
received suspended sentences, 6 were required to pay a fine as 
punishment and 11 received delayed sentences due to a current 
medical or other temporary condition.  The remaining received jail 
sentences ranging from one year up to ten years for a repeat 
offender. 
 
--C. Trafficking for labor exploitation, like other forms of 
trafficking, is punishable as "human trafficking" under the criminal 
code, with penalties as described above.  While labor recruiters in 
labor source countries are convicted under the article on "human 
trafficking," employers and labor agents who confiscate workers' 
passports and keep workers in a state of service are convicted under 
a separate article on forced labor.  This is punishable by up to two 
years of correctional work or imprisonment, unless it is organized 
and carried out by a group, in which case the law would consider it 
an aggravating circumstance and increase the punishment to three to 
five years of imprisonment.  As mentioned above, there were no cases 
of trafficking for labor exploitation reported by the GOAJ. 
 
--D. Under the criminal code provisions, traffickers prosecuted for 
sexual violence (which can include rape, compulsion to prostitution, 
compulsory sterilization or commitment against persons of other 
actions connected to sexual violence) may receive a jail sentence of 
ten to 15 years or life imprisonment.  Rape itself is punishable by 
four to 15 years.  Violent actions of a sexual nature carry a 
sentence of three to eight years, or up to 15 if the victim is a 
minor, dies, or contracts HIV.  Coercion into sexual actions is 
punishable by a fine, corrective works, or imprisonment up to three 
years.  The more punitive charges are in line with the penalties for 
sex trafficking. 
 
--E. Prostitution is illegal in Azerbaijan.  The activities of a 
prostitute, brothel owner/operator, pimp, and enforcer are all 
criminalized and the laws are enforced.  The actions of clients are 
not criminalized. 
 
--F.  During 2007, the GOAJ reported that it opened 88 criminal 
cases related to trafficking in persons.  Thirteen cases were still 
under investigation at year's end.  Out of the remaining 75 cases, 
all were sent to the courts for prosecution.  As mentioned above, 16 
traffickers received house arrest or restricted freedom sentences, 
15 received suspended sentences, 6 were fined, and the remaining 
received sentences from 1-10 years.  All cases were for trafficking 
for sexual exploitation and the majority was women traffickers.  As 
of the draft of this report the GOAJ had provided the figures for 
number of women and men traffickers but they confirmed that for the 
most part they were women.  There were 101 victims in 2007: 100 
women, 1 man and no children. 
 
There is no data available or provided that shows if the traffickers 
are serving their full sentence or if they are being released early. 
 In general there seems to be less information about prosecutions 
than about investigations, mostly due to the relative small amount 
of specialized training for prosecutors and judges and the lack of a 
concentrated effort for prosecution of traffickers. 
 
--G. The majority of TIP training in 2007 was provided through 
funding from the USG and international organizations.  The GOAJ 
provided funding for officials to attend international conferences 
and trainings throughout the year.  In 2007 GOAJ officials attended 
trainings and seminars in New York, Minsk, Warsaw, Istanbul, Tbilisi 
and Chisinau with a 20 day TIP training in Baku organized and funded 
by OSCE.  No details were provided on what type of training was 
provided at each event.  The GOAJ has stated that the goal is to 
provide training to the operational staff working on TIP issues 
whenever possible.  For the OSCE training all operational staff of 
the Anti-TIP unit attended and received TIP training pertaining to 
investigative techniques and identification of victims. The GOAJ has 
incorporated TIP-specific training into its regular courses for 
police units and prosecutors throughout the country although local 
NGOs and IOs point out that trafficking in persons is taught at the 
police academy as part of the human rights training cadets receive. 
The GOAJ provides and briefs its officers and prosecutors on the NAP 
and relevant legislation. 
 
--H. The GOAJ has signed bilateral extradition agreements with 
Turkey, Pakistan and UAE.  According to the GOAJ there are currently 
seven Azerbaijani citizens awaiting extradition back to Azerbaijan. 
Additionally, the GOAJ has provided information to Interpol on 29 
Azerbaijani citizens for their arrest for trafficking crimes. 
During 2007, in cooperation with the governments of Uzbekistan, 
Ukraine and Georgia the GOAJ was able to identify and prosecute a 
criminal group consisting of eight people that were operating a 
trafficking ring in all these countries. 
 
--I. As mentioned above, the GOAJ is currently working with UAE to 
extradite seven Azerbaijani citizens and has agreements in place 
with several other countries.  An additional six Azerbaijani 
nationals were extradited from foreign countries last year.  In 
principal, the GOAJ allows for the extradition of Azerbaijani 
nationals to other countries where the crime was committed however 
the GOAJ has said they have no prior experience with this situation. 
 According to their procedures they consider the place of 
origination for trafficking is the jurisdiction under which 
traffickers should be prosecuted meaning if an Azerbaijani citizen 
committed a crime in a different country and returned to Azerbaijan 
the GOAJ would extradite that person if there was an extradition 
agreement in place. 
 
--J., K. There is no evidence of GOAJ involvement in or tolerance of 
trafficking on a local or institutional level.  However, we suspect 
that low-level civil servants, local law-enforcement officers, and 
border guards may accept bribes in exchange for turning a blind eye 
to migrant smuggling and possible trafficking activities. 
High-ranking government officials are rumored to own some of the 
saunas and restaurants in Baku and in the regions where prostitutes 
work, but we have no evidence of the officials' investment or direct 
involvement in these businesses, nor do we know whether prostitutes 
working in those establishments are in fact trafficking victims.  No 
government officials have been prosecuted for trafficking or 
trafficking-related corruption. 
 
--L. This paragraph does not apply to Azerbaijan. 
 
--M. There is no evidence of child sex tourism in Azerbaijan. 
 
PROTECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
------------------------------------ 
--A. The Law on Trafficking passed in 2005 provides for relief from 
deportation for victims for up to one year.  If a victim cooperates 
in the investigation, the victim is entitled to stay until the court 
case is completed.  A victim can also apply to the relevant 
government authorities for immigrant status. 
 
--B. In October 2006, the GOAJ opened a permanent shelter for TIP 
Victims which is now fully renovated and operational. The shelter 
has the capacity to handle 45 people at one time and provides access 
to legal, medical, and psychological services for TIP victims. 
Families of underage TIP victims can also be housed in the shelter. 
In 2007 there were 29 victims who were referred to the shelter and 
agreed to stay there.  The shelter is run by a local NGO closely 
associated with the GOAJ and which primarily receives funding from 
the GOAJ.  There are limited medical facilities on site but the 
shelter has an agreement with a nearby hospital to treat victims in 
need of medical attention.  The GOAJ also arranges legal, medical 
and psychological assistance to victims if the victim requests it. 
Local NGOs report that many victims prefer to seek shelter through 
friends or other NGOs that are viewed as more independent from the 
GOAJ.  There are no exact numbers or data to show the extent of this 
housing method.  According to the GOAJ, the Ministry of Labor and 
Social Protection is developing rehabilitation centers in the 
outlying regions of Azerbaijan to assist victims with acquiring job 
skills and future employment. 
 
The GOAJ recently opened an NGO-led National TIP hotline; however 
the hotline is understaffed and lacks standard operating procedures 
for working with trafficking victims.  Additionally, the hotline 
number is the same as a city area code and the hotline receives many 
inadvertent calls as a result.  The GOAJ has promised to correct 
this situation.  There has been little advertisement of this hotline 
but the GOAJ has stated that once the hotline is officially opened 
(currently planned for the first half of March 2008) and more staff 
is hired they will increase the public outreach efforts.  Like the 
shelter, the hotline is run by an NGO that receives the bulk of its 
funding from the GOAJ and is considered by many to be very close to 
the government. 
 
--C. The GOAJ has created a trafficking victims fund through the 
Ministry of Social Protection and Labor and money is also received 
from the Refugee and Internally Displaced Persons State Committee to 
assist with food and clothing.  According to the GOAJ, trafficking 
victims receive a one time payment equivalent to $40 for relocation 
assistance.  As stated above, the GOAJ provides funding to the NGOs 
that operate the shelter and hotline.  According to the GOAJ, these 
NGOs work with a total of eight NGOs at the shelter and hotline but 
it was unclear if the GOAJ funds these other NGOs.  There is no way 
to determine or estimate the exact dollar amount of government 
assistance however, as mentioned previously, the salaries of the NGO 
employees are considered inadequate. 
 
--D. The NAP and the accompanying TIP legislation includes training 
for NGO groups, police specialists, and other government officials 
in how to recognize trafficking and provide assistance to trafficked 
victims although many officials still lack the necessary training 
and skills to perform this function effectively.  There remains no 
national referral mechanism nor central program in place to transfer 
victims who are detained or held in protective custody by law 
enforcement agencies to civil society institutions or NGOs who 
specialize in providing this care.  IOM reported that they assisted 
eleven victims in 2007 but they were not referred by the GOAJ.  Of 
the 29 victims placed in the shelter all were referred by the GOAJ. 
 
 
--E. This paragraph does not apply to Azerbaijan. 
 
--F. The Embassy has received no reports of trafficking victims 
being jailed.  The GOAJ reported that former victims of trafficking 
have been convicted for involving others in prostitution, but we 
have no evidence that victims of trafficking have been prosecuted 
for violations of the law because of their actions while being 
trafficked. 
 
--G. Trafficking victims rarely file civil suits or seek legal 
action against the traffickers, but there are no legal restrictions 
on their ability to do so.  There are no restrictions on a witness' 
actions during a court case.  Once the victims' assistance shelter 
procedures are fully in place, there will be a standardized process 
for obtaining testimony from victims and asking permission to use 
their testimony in court.  The TIP law permits a victim to gain 
employment elsewhere if he or she is a witness in a case against a 
trafficker; it also permits a victim to remain in the country if he 
or she wishes.  The TIP law also provides for a victim restitution 
program.  According to the GOAJ eleven victims received compensation 
from the traffickers as part of the criminal proceedings.  One 
victim reportedly received $2500 and another received $6000 as 
compensation damages.  There was no information regarding the other 
nine victims. 
--H. The GOAJ is unable at this time to provide special protection 
for victims and witnesses beyond providing short-term protective 
custody. The MIA, and specifically vetted officers of a specific 
division of the SPATS, provides security for victims housed in the 
shelter.  No victims were assisted by direct government funded 
programs.  Twenty nine victims received assistance from 
non-government programs via the shelter. 
 
--I. In 2007, the GOAJ reported that the MIA conducted TIP-related 
training for employees of the Police Academy, the Ministry of 
Justice's Legal Education Center, and the Prosecutor General's 
Office's Education Center.  According to the GOAJ, state officials 
also participated in TIP-related training in New York, Minsk, 
Warsaw, Istanbul, Tbilisi and Chisinau plus a 20 day TIP training in 
Baku organized and funded by OSCE. 
 
Under the GOAJ's TIP legislation, embassies and consulates are 
instructed to provide quickly the necessary documentation for 
victims abroad to return to Azeraijan.  There were no instances of 
embassies or cnsulates providing assistance to trafficking victis 
during the reporting period. 
 
--J. The GOAJ provides medical assistance and shelter to repatriated 
victims at the TIP victims' assistance shelter.  Victims of 
trafficking are entitled to financial compensation under the TIP 
law. 
 
--K.  IOM conducts substantive research on the trafficking problem 
in Azerbaijan and also works directly with victims although the lack 
of a dedicated staff member to TIP has hindered their ability to 
address this issue.  The USG, IOM, ILO and OSCE provide guidance and 
conduct anti-TIP programs.  ILO organized a workshop regarding 
drafting and implementing a national action plan that was attended 
by local NGOs, IOs and GOAJ officials from the relevant agencies 
including the national coordinator for the fight against TIP.  ILO 
has also created a steering committee for their Anti-TIP program 
consisting of members from these same organizations.  There are a 
number of domestic 
NGOs that also deal with the problem of trafficking, including Clean 
World, the Women's Crisis Center, the Center for Legal Assistance to 
Migrants, Symmetry, the Forum of Azerbaijan NGOs on Migration 
(FANGOM, a network of 35 NGOs), and the Azerbaijan Children's Union. 
 There are also several regional NGOs that concentrate on 
trafficking programming.  These NGOs serve primarily as contact 
points for at-risk populations and engage in some information 
campaigns about the dangers of trafficking.  Two of these 
organizations also informally shelter local and foreign trafficking 
victims.  The Center for Legal Assistance to Migrants provides free 
legal services to trafficking victims and works with other NGOs to 
coordinate services.  The Women's Crisis Center operates a crisis 
hotline and provides free legal, psychological, and medical 
services. 
 
 
PREVENTION 
---------- 
 
--A. The GOAJ acknowledges that TIP occurs in Azerbaijan and 
consistently states its commitment privately and publicly to 
developing more effective activities and policies to combat TIP to 
prevent the development of a large-scale problem. 
 
--B. The GOAJ claims to work with 30 NGOs and arranges quarterly 
meetings with NGOs located in the regions.  According to the 
national coordinator, the GOAJ does not work with five NGOs due to 
the claims by government officials that the directors of these NGOs 
were seeking personal gain.  The GOAJ also claims to work with civil 
society groups to arrange informational sessions in schools and 
other public places.  In the past year, TIP pamphlets were published 
and distributed in the regions and staff members of the Anti-TIP 
group are scheduled to appear on talk shows to raise public 
awareness and understanding.  There doesn't appear to be a 
coordinated national advertisement campaign about this issue, 
however, and overall public awareness of this issue is very low. 
 
--C. The GOAJ takes the lead on Anti-TIP efforts. However, relations 
with NGOs, IOs and other civil society organizations are mixed.  The 
GOAJ has shown a willingness to cooperate on training programs with 
IO's and the USG as well as providing access to statistical data 
however access to Anti-TIP staff and detailed information on 
individual cases is difficult.  Meetings with Anti-TIP unit staff 
require written approval from the national coordinator and despite 
promises to provide information on individual trafficking 
investigations none have been provided as of the date of this 
report.  The GOAJ claims to work with over 30 NGOs and to have 
organized a meeting in April 2007 with 21 NGOs working on TIP in 
Azerbaijan.  However, local NGOs and IOs have stated that they often 
are not included in GOAJ decisions nor are their suggestions 
elicited by the GOAJ.  There is the belief among domestic NGOs and 
IOs that the government cooperates more with friendly NGOs and keeps 
at a distance those they consider to be opposition organizations. 
There was a credible report of the GOAJ refusing to attend TIP 
training because one of the presenters was considered to be a member 
of such an opposition organization. 
 
--D.  The GOAJ has continued efforts to enhance active monitoring of 
its borders and its international airports, and increased training 
for immigration personnel.  The MIA works with the State Border 
Services and the State Customs Committee to track passengers flying 
in and out of Baku's Heydar Aliyev International Airport in order to 
identify potential traffickers and trafficking victims, and to 
monitor seaports and land crossings. 
 
--E.  The GOAJ, through the mechanism adopted in the 2004 National 
Action Plan, coordinates communication between various government 
bodies and international institutions.  The multi-agency task force 
is headed by the National TIP Coordinator, who is also a Deputy 
Minister of Internal Affairs.  The task force is composed of 
department heads from the Ministries of Justice, National Security, 
Labor and Social Welfare, Youth and Sport, Culture and Tourism, 
Economic Development, and Health, as well as the Prosecutor 
General's Office, the President's Office, the State Border Service, 
and the State Customs Committee.  The National Coordinator serves as 
the single point of contact for anti-TIP efforts. 
 
Under the 2004 legislation on combating corruption, the GOAJ 
established the Anti-Corruption Commission led by the President's 
Chief of Staff, which includes other members of the President's 
Office, the Ministry of Internal Affairs, Ministry of National 
Security, Parliament, the Constitutional Court, the Prosecutor 
General's Office, and the Ministry of Justice.  The Anti-Corruption 
Commission submits annual reports to the President, Parliament, and 
the Constitutional Court. 
 
As stated above, the Cabinet of Ministers approved a decree on the 
referral of trafficking cases by all law enforcement agencies to the 
MIA's Anti-TIP unit and establishes that this unit will have sole 
jurisdiction on the investigation of these cases.  This decree was 
enacted at the request and suggestion of the national TIP working 
group. 
 
--F.  The current National Action Plan (NAP) to address TIP, which 
was adopted in 2004 expired in December 2007.  According to GOAJ 
officials there is a draft NAP that is in the process of being 
approved by the government and they expect this new NAP to go into 
effect sometime in March 2008.  According to IOs and local NGOs 
there has been less cooperation with the GOAJ during this process. 
Most agree that this is a result of the GOAJ's confidence in their 
ability to draft a NAP without assistance. 
 
--G. The GOAJ has attempted to reduce the demand for commercial sex 
acts primarily through law enforcement methods, targeting brothels, 
hotels and saunas for sting operations to identify and arrest those 
involved in prostitution or other illegal sexual activities.  The 
GOAJ reported that in 2007, 300 people were arrested and charged 
with crimes relating to sexual exploitation.  There is no evidence 
that the GOAJ is conducting a public outreach campaign that 
specifically targets potential clients or victims of the sex trade. 
 
 
¶5. Post's TIP point of contact is Scott Whitmore, 994-12-498-0335, 
Email: whitmoresl@state.gov.  Post estimates that it has devoted 
approximately 60 hours of officer and FSN time to preparing this 
report. 
 
 
DERSE