255 illegal immigrants from Albania and Kosovo were trafficked for
prostitution during December 1997. ("British note Albanian refugee smuggling," UPI,
7 April 1998)
More than
8,000 Albanian girls are prostituted in Italy, and more than 30% of them are under 18
years, stressed participants of a seminar in Tirana, Albania on the international traffic
of women and children. The main reason for this trafficking is the economic inequality
between richer countries and the poverty in Albania. The speakers asked governments and
politicians to take measures to ensure that human rights are respected. (G.J. Koja,
"8000 Albanian Girls Work as Prostitutes in Italy," HURINet – The Human
Rights Information Network, 25 July 1998)
Case
Two male traffickers who had kidnapped 2 girls, aged 14 or 15, were intercepted in
Southern Albania on route to Greece. ("Two Traffickers of Young Women Detained,"
Human Rights Network, 5 September 1997)
Methods and Techniques of
Traffickers
Albanian mafia networks are trafficking hundreds of illegal immigrants for prostitution
from Albania and the former Yugoslavia to England. The women are hidden in trucks at the
Belgian ports of Ostend and Zeebrugge and ferried to the British ports of Hull and
Purfleet in Essex, where they apply for political asylum. ("British note Albanian
refugee smuggling," UPI, 7 April 1998)
Official Response and
Action
A conference, "Trafficking in Albanian Women and
Children: Human Dimensions and Legal Responses" which was organized by the United
States Information Service, American Embassy Tirana, Albania was held on 17 July 1998 and
attended by justice officials, non-governmental, and government officials to emphasize the
rule of law, and show that trafficking in women and children fits into a broader criminal
network. More cooperation is needed to end the trafficking in Albanian women and children.
The conference was divided into two parts, one for officials and one for the public, and
followed three themes, "The Picture Worldwide," "The Albanian
Experience," and "Responses to the Problem." The Conference attracted
considerable media attention especially from television. ("Albania Trip Report,"
Global Survival Network, Edited/Distributed by HURINet - The Human Rights Information
Network, 15 September 1998)