The USA encourages the Moldovan Government to increase its efforts to protect and assist trafficking victims, fight trafficking-related corruption, and address trafficking with even greater vigor since this is a real threat to the Moldovan people.

According to the fifth annual Trafficking in Persons Report, carried out by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons and made public by the U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, in 2005 Moldova remains in Tier Two.

“Moldova is primarily a source country for persons, particularly women and girls, trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation to the Middle East and European countries west and south of Moldova. It is also to a lesser extent a transit country to European destinations for victims trafficked from former Soviet states. Moldovan victims continued to be increasingly trafficked to Turkey, the Middle East (including the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) and Israel), and Russia (particularly minors), reads the Trafficking in Persons Report.

In conclusion, although Moldovan authorities are making significant efforts to counter this phenomenon, they did not yet fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The Moldovan Government’s efforts to assist and protect trafficking victims remained inadequate, that’s why the USA urges the Moldovan authorities to move forward in creating new legislation to comprehensively address all aspects of trafficking, and establish a working group to draft a new national Action Plan. The government should lead Moldova’s fight against trafficking rather than continuing to rely heavily on initiatives from NGOs and international organizations.

The Trafficking in Persons Report includes data about 150 states.