Trafficking in Persons Interim Assessment - Montenegro

[From the introductory text accompanying this report on the U.S. Department of State website: "In most cases, the Interim Assessment is intended to serve as a tool by which to gauge the anti-trafficking progress of countries that may be in danger of slipping a tier in the upcoming June 2010 TIP Report and to give them guidance on how to avoid a Tier 3 ranking. It is a tightly focused progress report, assessing the concrete actions a government has taken to address the key deficiencies highlighted in the June 2009 TIP Report. The Interim Assessment covers actions undertaken between the beginning of May – the cutoff for data covered in the June TIP Report – and November. Readers are requested to refer to the annual TIP Report for an analysis of large-scale efforts and a description of the trafficking problem in each particular country or territory."]

The Government of Montenegro has made progress to address trafficking in persons since the release of the 2009 TIP Report, but improved measures are needed to enhance the capacity of authorities to identify potential trafficking victims. The government, via its national anti-trafficking coordinator, made significant strides in improving the collection of law enforcement statistics and implementing prevention measures during the reporting period.

Since March 2009, the government initiated prosecutions in two cases involving trafficking for sexual exploitation. In one case, the court sentenced three defendants to an average of one year in prison. In the other case, the trial is ongoing. In a July 2009 new trial, the Superior Court in Podgorica sentenced three defendants to five years in prison each for human trafficking. On October 5, 2009 the defendants lodged an appeal with the Court of Appeals of Montenegro and the case is still pending. The defendants are out pending appeal.

During the reporting period, the government arrested and initiated prosecutions of 10 adults for organizing and forcing their own relatives, young Romani children, to beg. Most of the rescued children were temporarily accommodated in the Center for Children and Youth; 76 of whom were returned to their places of residence in Serbia and Bosnia and Herzegovina. The government conducted numerous anti-trafficking raids in commercial sex sites across Montenegro and questioned more than 2,000 individuals; only one sex trafficking victim was provided shelter during the reporting period, however. Although government labor inspectors visited construction sites and reportedly imposed penalties including orders to eliminate irregularities, temporary suspension of work, fines, motions for inspection oversight of employees, and misdemeanor charges for companies in violation of labor laws; there were no trafficking arrests or potential forced labor victims identified as a result of these inspections. NGOs continued to report that victim-identification practices remained inadequate. Beginning in September 2009, the government conducted and sponsored numerous public awareness activities throughout the country and actively publicized its national efforts to prevent trafficking by designating October 8 as Trafficking Day in Montenegro.