Torture in [Bosnia and Herzegovina] [other countries]Human Trafficking in [Bosnia and Herzegovina Street Children in [Bosnia and Herzegovina] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Bosnia and Herzegovina] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the early years
of the 21st Century gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Bosnia-Herzegovina.htm
Bosnia and Herzegovina is
primarily a source for women and girls trafficked within the country for
commercial sexual exploitation, though it is also a destination and transit
country for women and girls trafficked to Western Europe for the same
purpose. Some victims from Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, Iraq, and
Russia are trafficked into Bosnia and Herzegovina via Serbia or Montenegro
for commercial sexual exploitation. Internal trafficking continued to
increase in 2008, as the majority of identified victims were Bosnian, and
more than half of them were children. There were reports that some girls,
particularly Roma, were trafficked for the purpose of forced marriage.
Reports of Roma children trafficked for forced labor continued. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in
Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country
report] |
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CAUTION: The following links
have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Trafficking of Women and Girls to A Submission for the
United Nations Committee on the Rights of the Child from the Human Rights
Watch Children’s Rights Division, 2002 www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.39/Bosnia_HRW_ngo_report.doc [accessed 23 January 2011] I was sold in
Bosnia. The owner told me that he paid 2000 KM [convertible
marks-€1,025/U.S.$925] for each of seven girls. My movement was restricted
completely. I could not go anywhere. In Dubrave village, Tuzla municipality,
at the Harl[e]y Davidson nightclub, one [local policeman] was very often in
the club. I recognized him in the photo showed to me by the local police for
Crime Department Tuzla. I was beaten very often if I refused "to
work." Very often we were hungry. Every time we were threatened to be
sold to Serbia.... Kevin [an American] paid 3,000 Deutschmarks
[€1,538/U.S.$1,388] for me. ***
ARCHIVES *** The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/bosnia-herzegovina.htm [accessed 23 January 2011] INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - The prostitution and trafficking of girls to, from,
and within the country continues to be a problem. Reports indicate that there are growing
numbers of minors, primarily girls ages 14 to 18 years, who are trafficked
from less economically developed Eastern Bosnia to more economically
developed Western Bosnia and externally to Eastern and Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61640.htm [accessed 23 January 2011] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– The country was a destination, transit point, and, to a lesser extent,
country of origin for women, girls, and, in a few cases, teenage boys
trafficked for sexual exploitation. During the year, Romani children were
trafficked into and within the country for forced labor. The country was also
a transit point for Chinese nationals being trafficked for forced labor;
illegal Chinese immigrants generally remained in the country for short
periods before continuing to destinations in Over 90 percent of
trafficked women in the country came from Victims reported
working in conditions akin to slavery, with little or no financial support.
In some cases, traffickers paid victims some wages so that they could send
money home to their families. Traffickers coerced victims to remain in these
situations through intimidation, verbal threats, seizure of passports,
withholding of food and medical care, and physical and sexual assault. To
keep victims in the country legally, traffickers also made victims apply for
asylum since, as asylum seekers, they were entitled to remain in the country
until their claims could be adjudicated. Concluding Observations of the Committee on
the Rights of the Child, BiH UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 3
June 2005 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/bosnia2005.html [accessed 23 January 2011] [69] While the Committee
welcomes some positive developments in the prosecution of those responsible
for serious crimes against women and girls in the context of trafficking and
forced prostitution, as well as the adoption by the Council of Ministers of a
National Plan of Action to combat trafficking in 2001, it is concerned that a
growing number of children under 18, especially adolescents girls, are still
being trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The Committee is
further concerned that the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the sale of
children, child prostitution and child pornography has not been adequately
addressed within the criminal justice systems. Survivor Testimonies Jeff Edwards, "The Sex Factory",
The Mirror ,19 May 2002 jammedtruestories.blogspot.com/2008/09/eleni-trafficked-in-bosnia.html [accessed 23 January 2011] TESTIMONY OF ELENI - Eleni, 25,
didn't know the friend who wrote inviting her to work as a waitress was now a
prostitute. Once at the Bosnian restaurant her new owner told her she had
been bought for 900 DEM and had to repay him by having sex with his
customers. When she refused she was beaten until she couldn't walk for days
but was still forced to have sex. She said: "My
owner told me 'You are lying down anyway so you can still work for me.'"
After two months she was sold on to a man who held a pistol to her head when
she threatened to go to police. Eleni was moved to a remote house after
corrupt police tipped off her owner that Interpol was looking for her. He
raped her several times then passed her to a third owner as she had become
"too dangerous." She said: "I was a slave. I was no more than
a piece of meat." The State of the World's Human Rights - Amnesty International Report 2007 archive.amnesty.org/report2007/eng/Regions/Europe-and-Central-Asia/Bosnia-Herzegovina/default.htm [accessed 23 January 2011] Violence against
women - In June the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women expressed concern that BiH remained a country of origin, transit and
destination in the trafficking in women, and that victims of sexual violence
during the 1992-1995 war suffered additional disadvantages as both female
heads of households and IDPs. NGOs Work To Eradicate Human Trafficking,
Help Victims presszoom.com/story_134115.html [accessed 24 January 2011] U.S.-funded
nongovernmental organizations around the world are working to prevent human
trafficking, provide resources to victims and arrest and prosecute child-sex
offenders. From Africa to Europe to Asia, initiatives are raising worldwide
awareness of the illegal practice of human trafficking. PROVIDING
RESOURCES FOR VICTIMS - In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the NGO Vasa Prava provides
free legal assistance to victims of human trafficking. Founded in 1996,
the organization runs 16 permanent offices and 50 mobile units, staffed by 80
employees. It has assisted more than 400,000 Bosnians. Attorneys
from Vasa Prava are available to domestic victims from the time they arrive
at a shelter, and they arrange residency permits and asylum applications for
foreign victims. Victims assisted by
Vasa Prava are more likely to testify against their traffickers in criminal
proceedings, and their testimony has led to the conviction of several
notorious traffickers and organized crime rings. 71 victims of human trafficking reported in
Bosnia and Herzegovina for 2006 www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n114371 [Last access date unavailable] For 2006 71 victims
of human trafficking were registered in Bosnia and Herzegovina, 31 of whom
were locals, 22 from Serbia and Montenegro, six from Moldova, four from
Ukraine, three from Croatia, two from Bulgaria and one from each of
Switzerland, Russia and Romania, Radio-Television of the Republika Srpska
(RTRS) reported. Increasing Number Of Bosnian Women Fall
Victim To Trafficking Hina News Line, 19 March 2007 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 4 September 2011] The number of
victims of human trafficking on territory of Bosnia-Herzegovina has been
falling over recent years, but the share of female citizens of
Bosnia-Herzegovina falling victim to this crime is on the rise, Bosnian state
co-ordinator of efforts aimed at countering human trafficking said earlier
this week. Sentences for those
found guilty of human trafficking in Bosnia vary in length from prison terms
of one year to 15 years. According to
Radovanovic, judges more frequently resort to milder sentences. So far only
once the sentence of 14 years has been delivered for this crime. Balkans Urged To Curb Trafficking Imogen Foulkes, BBC News, news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4397497.stm [accessed 23 January 2011] Countries in Child Sex Trafficking Study By CU-Boulder
Sociologist Reveals Misperceptions [accessed 28 August 2012] Unprecedented
research into child sex trafficking in the post-war nation of
Bosnia-Herzegovina suggests that public perceptions of the problem and some
kinds of intervention efforts around the globe may be misguided, according to
a "People often
think that all child sex traffickers kidnap their victims, but in many cases
the children end up funneled into the system by their own families because of
extreme poverty," according to assistant Professor AnnJanette Rosga.
"Sometimes the children leave home voluntarily because of abuse or other
harmful conditions." - htsccp Freedom House
Country Report - Political Rights: 4 Civil Liberties: 3 Status: Partly Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/report/freedom-world/2009/bosnia-and-herzegovina [accessed 26 June 2012] Human Rights
Overview Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org/europecentral-asia/bosnia-and-herzegovina [accessed 23 January 2011] Stop Violence Against Women – Country Page Duska Andric-Ruzicic, BiH National VAW
Monitor, The Advocates for Human Rights, 15 November 2006 stopvaw.org/bosnia_and_herzegovina.html [accessed 23 January 2011] Library of Congress Call Number DR1214 .Y83
1992 lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/yutoc.html [accessed 23 January 2011] Sex slavery is a worldwide disgrace Katie Kelberlau, At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 4 September 2011] Trafficking in Human Beings in Transition and Post-Conflict Countries [PDF] Alja Klopcic, Human Security Perspectives,
Volume 1 (2004) Issue 1 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 4 September 2011] A. PUSH FACTORS - As demonstrated
above, the majority of women and children are very of-ten helped to cross the
borders by people whom they trust and are subsequently traded to traffickers.
As the female trafficking agents are easily trusted, the potential victims
should be warned about the trap they can fall into, especially if they live
with potential traffickers in the same local communities. Amnesty International Report 2004 - Amnesty
International, 26 May 2004 www.unhcr.org/refworld/country,,AMNESTY,ANNUALREPORT,BIH,,40b5a1ee14,0.html [accessed 18 February
2013] TRAFFICKING
IN WOMEN AND GIRLS
- Some positive developments were noted in the prosecution of those
responsible for serious human rights abuses against women and girls in the
context of trafficking and forced prostitution. In March the owner of a local
nightclub was found guilty of enslavement and sentenced. The case marked the
first conviction in the Federation for enslavement; those tried in
trafficking cases had previously always been charged with the lesser offence
of procurement. In May, five Bosnian Serb men were handed over to the custody
of the State Court, which started an investigation into their alleged
involvement in the trafficking of women and girls who had been forced to
engage in prostitution in a chain of nightclubs in Prijedor. Bosnia and Herzegovina : Traffickers Walk
Free Human Rights Watch, November 25, 2002 www.hrw.org/en/news/2002/11/25/bosnia-and-herzegovina-traffickers-walk-free [accessed 23 January 2011] According to Human
Rights Watch, traffickers who have forced thousands of women and girls into
prostitution in Trafficking of Women and Girls to A Submission for the United Nations
Committee on the Rights of the Child from the Human Rights Watch Children’s
Rights Division, 2002 www.crin.org/docs/resources/treaties/crc.39/Bosnia_HRW_ngo_report.doc [accessed 23 January 2011] I was sold in Hopes Betrayed: Trafficking of Women and
Girls to Post-Conflict Human Rights Watch Reports, Volume 14 No. 9
(D), November 2002 www.hrw.org/legacy/reports/2002/bosnia/ [accessed 23 January 2011] EXECUTIVE SUMMARY - According to
experts of nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) and the United Nations
Mission in Trafficking in Women and Girls in Human Rights Watch, June 14, 2004 www.hrw.org/english/docs/2004/06/14/bosher8815.htm [accessed 23 January 2011] Human Rights Watch
submitted a number of requests to the Bosnia: The United Nations, human
trafficking and prostitution Tony Robson, World Socialist Web Site, 21
August 2002 www.wsws.org/articles/2002/aug2002/bosn-a21.shtml [accessed 23 January 2011] There is mounting
evidence that the United Nations has carried out a cover-up of the role
played by its personnel in human trafficking and prostitution in Bosnia—a
trade that has grown astronomically since the establishment of the Western
protectorate seven years ago. Teenagers 'used for sex by UN in Stewart Payne, Telegraph, 25/04/2002 At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 4 September 2011] A human rights
investigator who claims she was sacked for exposing the sexual abuse of Bosnian
women by her United Nations colleagues, told a tribunal yesterday that girls
as young as 15 were offered for sex.
Kathryn Bolkovac, 41, said women were forced to dance naked in Bosnian
bars frequented by UN police officers. Bosnia: Landmark Verdicts for Rape,
Torture, and Sexual Enslavement Human Rights Watch, Feb 22, 2001 www.hrw.org/en/news/2001/02/22/bosnia-landmark-verdicts-rape-torture-and-sexual-enslavement [accessed 23 January 2011] These cases marked
the first time in history that an international tribunal brought charges
solely for crimes of sexual violence against women. The decision also marked
the first time that the ICTY found rape and enslavement as crimes against
humanity. The eight-month long trial included testimony of sixty-three
witnesses, including sixteen victims of rape held for months in sexual
slavery and subjected to multiple gang rapes by the defendants and others.
The Tribunal found that the defendants had enslaved six of the women. Most
importantly, although two of the women were sold as chattel by Radomir Kovac
for 500 Deutsch Marks each, the Tribunal found that enslavement of the women
did not necessarily require the buying or selling of a human being. BRAMA, November 16, 2000 www.brama.com/news/press/001116trafficking.html [accessed 23 January 2011] According to the All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
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ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery –
Bosnia-Herzegovina", http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/ Bosnia-Herzegovina.htm,
[accessed <date>] |
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Torture in [Bosnia and Herzegovina] [other countries]Human Trafficking in [Bosnia and Herzegovina Street Children in [Bosnia and Herzegovina] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Bosnia and Herzegovina] [other countries]