According to Artur Sakunts, the Government neither Struggles against Trafficking, nor Promotes it
00:00, July 1, 2011 | Press Release
“The methods of struggling against sexual abuse of women and men, applied by our government, are irrelevant to the situation, and this is obvious”, states human rights activist Artur Sakunts while referring to the report released by the US Department of State on June 27.
It should be noted that based on the studies of the Government’s work and press disseminations, the fifth annual report of the US Department of State on trafficking in Armenia states that the RA Government does not fully qualify for minimum trafficking elimination standards and as a result Armenia has taken second group.
According to Artur Sakunts, the Government’s consistency regarding trade of people is, mildly put, unsatisfactory, “When it comes to the identification of conscripts and their return, or if there are legislative amendments concerning the exemption of military service avoiders from liability through monetary compensation, they act efficiently. Whereas, no legislative initiations are undertaken and no public steps are taken regarding struggle against sexual abuse of women and men. No public attention is given to this issue”, estimates the human rights activist over the Government’s actions targeted against trafficking. According to Sakunts, many of the Government’s resolutions promote the increase of trafficking rates.
“A state of migration services encourages migration. We do not have a guarantee that our co-patriots, who leave for Russia through such agencies, will not become trafficking victims”, notes Artur Sakunts. The human rights defender also justifies the provision of the U.S. report, pursuant to which, there has been a dramatic decline in the indicators of the identification of trafficking cases and punishment of the guilty. “The policeman, who was dismissed for his participation in sexual harassment, restored his service in RA Police in the future. This testifies that insufficient significance is given to this issue”, states Arthur Sakunts.
This crucially important issue is raised only by NGOs.