“Armenia is a source country for women and girls subjected to sex trafficking, as well as a source and destination country for women subjected to forced labor, and a source country for men subjected to forced labor. Women and girls from Armenia are subjected to sex trafficking in Germany, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey, Trafficking in Persons report on Armenia reads, U.S. State Department reports.

“Armenian men and women are subjected to forced labor in Russia, while Armenian women are subjected to forced labor in Turkey. Armenian boys are subjected to forced labor and Armenian women and girls are found in sex trafficking within the country. Women from Russia are subjected to forced labor in Armenia.”

“The Government of Armenia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. In 2010, the government provided partial funding for an NGO-run shelter for victims of trafficking and pursued partnerships with NGOs to provide training to hundreds of officials. The government continued to ensure that all convicted traffickers were appropriately sentenced and that those sentences were enforced. In March 2011, the government enacted amendments to the Criminal Code that further strengthened its anti-trafficking statutes. However, of particular concern was a precipitous drop in the number of victims identified during the year, as well as the absence of investigations of forced labor offenses.”

“The Armenian government demonstrated some progress in its law enforcement efforts against human trafficking during the reporting period. Armenia prohibits both sex trafficking and labor trafficking through Articles 132 and 132-2 of its Criminal Code, which prescribe penalties of five to 15 years’ imprisonment – penalties that are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. In amendments to the Criminal Code in March 2011, Armenia strengthened its anti-trafficking statutes.”

“Although NGOs reported improved attitudes toward victims by judges, they also reported that the rights of child witnesses were not always protected during trial and police did not consistently alert NGOs when victims were identified.”

“The Government of Armenia demonstrated modest progress in its efforts to identify and provide protection to victims of trafficking during the reporting period. The government officially identified 19 new sex trafficking victims in 2010 and referred 12 of them to NGOs for assistance, compared with 60 victims of trafficking identified and 22 referred to NGOs in 2009.”

“No victims of forced labor or foreign victims of international trafficking were identified by the government in 2010. Foreign-funded NGOs assisted 16 new victims during 2010,” the report reads.