The U.S. Department of State published the report on Human Trafficking for 2022 on Thursday, which includes assessments for approximately 190 countries worldwide.
The report categorizes countries into three tiers. Tier 1 includes countries and territories whose governments fully meet the minimum required standards. Tier 2 includes countries and territories whose governments do not fully meet the minimum standards but are making significant efforts to do so. Tier 3 includes countries that do not fully meet the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.
Albania and Kosovo continue to be ranked in Tier 2.
Albania
According to the 2023 report, the Albanian government did not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.
The government demonstrated an overall increase in efforts compared to the previous year, taking into account the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity. Therefore, Albania remains in Tier 2.
Among efforts were increased investigations of suspected traffickers and the adoption of new procedures to identify trafficking victims in irregular migration flows.
The State Department mentioned the establishment of four centers providing psychosocial support, legal aid, and family assistance, as well as the signing of cooperation agreements with higher education institutions to expand legal aid for victims.
“However, the government did not meet minimum standards in several key areas. The government did not prosecute any traffickers and identified fewer victims. The government continued to inconsistently implement screening procedures for vulnerable populations, especially migrants, asylum seekers, Roma and Balkan-Egyptian communities, and children, and mobile identification units continued to lack sufficient funding and personnel,” the report states.
Additionally, the government lacked resources for victim reintegration efforts, coordinating bodies against trafficking did not hold meetings, and the government-provided hotline remained non-functional.
Kosovo
According to the report, the government of Kosovo did not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.
The government demonstrated an overall increase in efforts compared to the previous year, taking into account the potential impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity. Therefore, Kosovo remains in Tier 2.
Among efforts were increased criminal prosecutions and convictions of a greater number of traffickers.
The government created guidelines for healthcare workers to identify potential victims and translated brochures into Ukrainian and Russian languages to inform victims about their rights and available services.
Coordinating bodies against trafficking held regular meetings, and the government developed and approved the National Anti-Trafficking Strategy for 2022-2026.
“However, the government did not fully meet minimum standards in several key areas. Courts continued to issue lenient sentences for the majority of convicted traffickers, which were below the minimum penalties foreseen by trafficking laws. The penal code classified the forced begging of children by parents as neglect or parental abuse rather than trafficking, and due to inadequate procedures for identifying cases of forced begging, authorities likely inappropriately deported some unidentified trafficking victims without referring them to relevant services,” the report states.
Additionally, the government reduced funding for NGO-run shelters, and hotline operators lacked the responsiveness to understand and respond to trafficking-related calls, especially those involving potential cases of forced child begging.
