Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Poverty drives the unsuspecting poor into the
hands of traffickers Published reports & articles from 2000 to 2025 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Azerbaijan.htm
Azerbaijan is a source, transit, and limited destination
country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and children from
Azerbaijan are trafficked to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) for
the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Men and boys are trafficked to
Russia for the purpose of forced labor. Men and women are also trafficked to
Iran, Pakistan, and the UAE for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced
labor. Some men are trafficked within Azerbaijan for the purpose of forced
labor and women and children are trafficked internally for forced
prostitution and forced labor, including forced begging. - U.S. State Dept
Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009 Check out the
more recent 2020 country report here or an
even-more recent TIP Report here |
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in HOW TO USE THIS WEB-PAGE Students If you are looking
for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on
this page and others to see which aspects of Human Trafficking are of
particular interest to you. Would you like
to write about Forced-Labor? Debt
Bondage? Prostitution? Forced Begging? Child Soldiers? Sale of Organs? etc. On the other
hand, you might choose to include possible precursors of trafficking such as poverty.
There is a lot to the subject of Trafficking.
Scan other countries as well.
Draw comparisons between activity in adjacent countries and/or
regions. Meanwhile, check out some of
the Term-Paper resources that are available
on-line Teachers Check out some of
the Resources for Teachers attached to this
website. HELP for Victims International
Organization for Migration ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Azeri Trafficking
Victims Face Social Rejection Sabina Vaqifqizi - iwpr.net/report-news/azeri-trafficking-victims-face-social-rejection [accessed 20 January
2011] Esmira fell prey to human
traffickers after she confronted a group who had lured one of her
sisters. Her sister had been tricked
into an unregistered marriage with one of the traffickers, who had abandoned
her when she became pregnant. “When
[my sister] returned, she was afraid to say what had happened to her. I found
those who deceived her, but became their prey as well,” said Esmira. She told IWPR that
when she tackled the traffickers over the treatment of her sister, they
forced her to go to Turkey. Her third sister also fell into the hands of
traffickers and is still missing, she said.
In Turkey, Esmira was forced to work as a
prostitute with other abducted girls and was tortured. She still remembers
everything, even though three years have passed. “They push for what they want. If you do not
obey, they torture you by beating you. They force you to do humiliating
things. They didn’t pay us anything for the work we did,” she said. Esmira said she managed
to escape with the help of Turkish police.
“One of the workers knew a police officer. He reported the
traffickers. They came to the place we stayed in wearing plain clothes and
pretending to be customers. The traffickers were arrested right on the spot,”
she said. Azerbaijan probes
child-organ traffickers BBC News, 23
February, 2004 news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3513439.stm [accessed 20 January
2011] The Azerbaijani
government says it is keen to crack down on child traffickers who are
believed to take children abroad and sell their organs for profit. "Under the
guise of adoption, children who are allegedly afflicted by grave diseases are
taken out of Azerbaijan, ostensibly for treatment," Mr
Abbasov told the country's ANS television. "In the course of our investigations,
it has come to light that these children are used for organ transplants, but
we have no hard evidence," he said. ***
ARCHIVES *** HOTLINES for trafficking victims and
shelter
- 152 and 562-21-12. 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Azerbaijan U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 30 March 2021 www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/azerbaijan/
[accessed 10 May
2021] PROHIBITION OF
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR Foreign observers
made several visits to various regions of the country to observe the 2019
cotton harvest, including the Sabirabad, Saatli, Imishli, Beylagan, Agjabadi, Barda, and other districts located between Baku and the
city of Ganja. No cases of forced labor were observed during the harvest. PROHIBITION OF CHILD
LABOR AND MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT There is no legal
employment of children younger than age 15 in the country, and authorities
reported no instances of investigated child labor in legal sectors of the
economy. There were reports of children engaging in child labor, including
commercial sexual exploitation, forced begging, and agriculture. During
visits to observe the 2019 cotton harvest, foreign observers did not note any
instances of child labor. Some nongovernmental observers, however, reported
instances of rural children younger than 15 sometimes working on the family
farm or accompanying parents working as day laborers to agricultural fields. Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/azerbaijan/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 19 March
2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Legal safeguards
against exploitative working conditions are poorly enforced, and many employers
reportedly ignore them without penalty. The government has taken some steps
to combat forced labor and sex trafficking, including by prosecuting
traffickers and providing services to victims, but the problem persists,
notably among Romany children and foreign household workers. As a result of
corruption and a lack of public accountability for the allocation of
resources, the state’s oil and gas revenues tend to benefit privilege elites
rather than the general population, narrowing access to economic opportunity. 2017 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor Office of Child
Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, US Dept of Labor, 2018 www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ilab/ChildLaborReport_Book.pdf [accessed 15 April
2019] www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2017/ChildLaborReportBook.pdf [accessed 23 April
2020] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL Worst Forms of Child Labor [page 126] Although the government
has implemented programs to address child trafficking, research found little
evidence to indicate it has carried out programs to assist children working
in agriculture or on the streets. NGO-run shelters that
are tasked by the NAP with providing victim services do not receive
consistent funding from the government. Directors of these shelters note that
the unpredictable nature of funding prevents long-term planning and capacity
building of shelters. (40; 28; 29) Child victims have limited access to
facilities that offer specialized care. (29) One shelter that provides such services does not receive consistent government funding,
and most of its staff worked on a voluntary basis due to the lack of
government funding and an inability to receive foreign assistance caused by
the government’s restrictions on NGOs over the last three years. (40; 29). In 1st half of 2008
Azerbaijan revealed 244 facts of human trafficking abc.az/cgi-bin/wnews_one.cgi?nid=26250&lang=eng [accessed 20 January
2011] www.antitraf.net/home.php?mode=more&id=123&lang=en [accessed 16 January
2018] Deputy minister for
internal affairs Vilayat Eyvaov
said that for the past six months the country registered 244 facts of
trafficking that exceeds the figure for 2007 relevant period by 106 cases. 84 criminals
engaged in human trafficking held accountable in January –March in en.apa.az/news.php?id=47455 [accessed 20 January
2011] Human trafficking
has been increased by 2.4 times in comparison with last year. 84 criminals engaged
in human trafficking have been held accountable by now. Such crimes against
women have been increased by 5.1 times and half of criminals were women. Victims of Human
Trafficking to Receive Compensation in K.Zarbaliyeva, Trend News Agency,
en.trend.az/news/society/rights/1093087.html [accessed 23 April
2020] The victims of
human trafficking will receive compensation in He added that a
Refuge Center was established in Baku and next year, four such centers will
be established in the regions. The victims of human trafficking will pass 15 days
rehabilitation (if necessary 30 days) here. These periods for children have
been determined depending on the heaviness of the case. Officials May
Sponsor among Human Trafficking – Azerbaijani Deputy Internal Minister Trend News Agency,
December 12, 2007 – Source:
news.trendaz.com/index.shtml?show=news&newsid=1092735&lang=EN en.trend.az/news/society/1092735.html [accessed 23 July
2013] Most human
trafficking victims were women aged 18 to 40 years old. The women are brought
over from Middle Asia, Russia, Ukraine and Moldova to Azerbaijan and then
transported to other countries. In 2006 and 2007
there have not been any juveniles amongst the human trafficking victims, Eyvazov said. There were no juvenile trafficking cases in
2004 and one was registered in 2005. Azerbaijan’s
National Coordinator to Combat Human Trafficking Reported before
Parliamentarians I. Alizade, Trend News Agency, en.trend.az/news/official/parliament/1049500.html [accessed 20 January
2011] As a result of
preventive and operative measures in Number Of Human
Trafficking Cases Increased In Azerbaijan P.Aliyeva, Trend News Agency,
Lankaran, 19.09.2007 en.trend.az/news/society/1012702.html [accessed 20 January
2011] Some 211 crimes linked
with human trafficking were registered in Within the first
six months in 2006, 187 crimes were registered, forty-four on human
trafficking, 116 on brothels, and twenty-two for luring people into
prostitution. So far for 2007,
criminal cases were filed against 112 people, with seventy-two of them
connected to human trafficking. Network of Lawyers
Established to Combat Human Trafficking in Azerbaijan S.Ilhamgizi, Trend News Agency,
en.trend.az/news/society/985891.html [accessed 20 January
2011] A network of
lawyers has been established to combat human trafficking in Trafficking – Serious Problem for Azerbaijan R. Ibragimkhalilova, Press Review, 13.01.2007 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 3
September 2011] Victim of human trafficking
told how she found herself within the net of criminal elements - Rafiga understood that she was deceived. But as her
neighbor had her passport she tried to persuade “mama Rosa” to give back her
document. However, woman told that Rafiga is her debtor
as her marriage and ticket purchase were very expensive. “I will return your
passport when you work a debt out, and you will be free”, “mama Rosa told”. Hotline will be
opened for victims of human trafficking [ Hotline
number 152 ] Today.Az, 08 July 2006 www.today.az/view.php?id=27983 [accessed 20 January
2011] In nearest future
hot line will be opened for victims of human trafficking In Baku, at present
talks continue with the government related to this matter. With the support of
the United States Embassy and OSCE, the International Organization for
Migration (IOM) conducted training for the future staff of a hotline and
shelter for trafficked victims. In Azeri-Press Agency APA,
2006-05-08 www.ginsc.net/main.php?option=view_article&mode=0&article=1138&lang=ge [accessed 20 January
2011] In compliance with
the instruction of the Cabinet in Baku there was allocated three-floor
building for arrangement of the asylum with the purpose of ensuring safety of
the victims and proposed victims and also eye-witnesses of trafficking and
deliver psychological, medical and legal assistance to them. Russian Crime Boss
Arrested On Sex Trafficking Anthony M. DeStefano, NY Newsday, March 18, 2005 -- Source:
www.nynewsday.com/news/local/crime/nyc-rus0319,0,7146811.story?coll=nyc-manheadlines-crime www.genderberg.com/phpNuke/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=110 [accessed 3
September 2011] A
reputed crime boss from the former Soviet Union has been arrested on charges
he ran a brutal sex trafficking ring in The Protection
Project - The www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/azerbaijan.doc [accessed 2009] www.protectionproject.org/country-reports/ [accessed 22
February 2016] FACTORS THAT
CONTRIBUTE TO THE TRAFFICKING INFRASTRUCTURE - Poor social and economic conditions
for women and children make them vulnerable to trafficking. Women’s lower
social status and lack of decently paid work opportunities compel them to
seek employment outside of Azerbaijan.
Furthermore, with the collapse of the Soviet Union, the social welfare
system ceased to function effectively in Azerbaijan, thereby forcing many
children onto the streets, where they are vulnerable to exploitation. - htsccp Azerbaijan Human
Rights Report NetCent Communications -- Data
Source: US Department of State Bureau of Consular Affairs www.ncbuy.com/reference/country/humanrights.html?code=aj&sec=6f [accessed 20 January
2011] Traffickers
identified by the IOM were either foreigners or ethnic Azerbaijanis who acted
in loose international networks, probably without central coordination.
Victims were approached directly and indirectly through friends and
relatives. Traffickers also used newspaper advertisements offering false work
abroad. According to the Society for the Defense of Women's Rights, draft-age
men seeking to escape military service in 2000 were invited by local
traffickers to work in the hotel industry in Turkey, but ended up in male
brothels; however, the IOM was not aware of such reports. Another NGO
reported that families of young women had been approached by individuals
claiming that visiting Iranian businessmen had seen their daughters and
wished to marry them. Following parental permission for such marriages, the
women were transported to Iran to work as prostitutes. According to the IOM,
families sometimes willingly married their daughters to wealthy men in Iran
and turned a blind eye to their outcomes. Organization for
Security and Co-operation in [accessed 23 July
2013] The OSCE Office in "The events in
this sphere represent the most rapid progress anywhere, from a starting point
in November 2002, when the existence of trafficking in human beings was not recognised, to the adoption of the National Action
Plan," he added. The document is
a result of the close co-operation between the Azerbaijani Government and
institutions and the international partners. It is in line with the spirit
and provisions of the OSCE documents on the prevention of trafficking in
human beings, which commit all participating States to take actions to
eradicate human trafficking. Adoption -
Azerbaijan Alert ! Ministry of Children
and Family Development, lukespencer954.wordpress.com/2013/01/31/azerbaijan-alert/ [accessed 20 January
2011] Both international
and domestic adoptions have been suspended for reasons that include an investigation
of a hospital that has possible involvement in domestic child trafficking,
and serious concerns about corruption and transparency in international
adoptions. Traffickers
identified by the IOM were either foreigners or ethnic Azerbaijanis who acted
in loose international networks, probably without central coordination.
Victims were approached directly and indirectly through friends and
relatives. Traffickers also used newspaper advertisements offering false work
abroad. According to the Society for the Defense of Women’s Rights, draft-age
men seeking to escape military service in 2000 were invited by local
traffickers to work in the hotel industry in Turkey, but ended up in male
brothels; however, the IOM was not aware of such reports. Another NGO
reported that families of young women had been approached by individuals
claiming that visiting Iranian businessmen had seen their daughters and
wished to marry them. Following parental permission for such marriages, the
women were transported to Iran to work as prostitutes. According to the IOM,
families sometimes willingly married their daughters to wealthy men in Iran
and turned a blind eye to their outcomes. Human trafficking
in Azerbaijan The PUSH Journal,
30/04/2004 At one time this article
had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 3
September 2011] Many victims of
trafficking are mostly taken to Opponents of Human
Trafficking from Transcaucasia Tour Gohar Grigorian,
UCLA International Institute, 2/11/2003 web.international.ucla.edu/burkle/article/3122 [accessed 30 August
2014] Nine government and
police officials from the three republics of Transcaucasia-- Source: Ekho, At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 3
September 2011] The head of the
Azerbaijani centre for legal aid to migrants, Alovsat Aliyev, has said that
the country might become flooded by thousands of Iraqi refugees in the event
of a Human Rights
Overview Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org/europecentral-asia/azerbaijan [accessed 20 January
2011] ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Freedom House
Country Report - Political Rights: 7 Civil Liberties: 5 Status: Not Free 2018 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/azerbaijan/freedom-world/2018 [accessed 23 April
2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Domestic violence
remains a problem, and Azerbaijan is a source, transit point, and destination
for forced labor and sex trafficking. Roma children are particularly
susceptible to forced labor, including by being forced to work in restaurants
or as roadside vendors, or to engage in forced begging. The government has
taken some efforts to combat trafficking, including by prosecuting
traffickers and providing services to victims. 2017 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, 20 April 2018 www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2017/eur/277141.htm [accessed 12 March
2019] www.state.gov/reports/2017-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/azerbaijan/ [accessed 24 June
2019] PROHIBITION OF
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR During the year
there were reports that some schools were closed to allow Ministry of
Education employees and students outside of the capital to participate in the
autumn cotton harvest. Migrant workers were at times subjected to conditions
of forced labor in the construction industry. Forced begging by children was
a problem, and forced domestic servitude was an emerging problem. Men and
boys at times were subjected to conditions of forced labor within the
country, for example, in construction (see section 7.c.). The Ministry of
Internal Affairs reported it identified five cases of forced labor in the
first nine months of the year. During the year the antitrafficking
department in the Ministry of Internal Affairs inspected construction and
agricultural sector sites but did not identify any victims of labor
trafficking. Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61637.htm [accessed 4 February
2020] TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS
– Women and girls were trafficked internally from rural areas to the capital
for sexual exploitation, men were trafficked to Traffickers
were either foreigners or ethnic Azerbaijanis who acted in loose concert with
international networks. They approached victims directly and indirectly
through friends and relatives, usually offering to arrange employment abroad.
Traffickers also used deceptive newspaper advertisements offering false work
abroad. Traffickers reportedly used forged documents to move victims.
Traffickers also used fraudulent marriage proposals from men posing as
Iranian businessmen to lure women into prostitution in neighboring All
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