The Supreme Court did not release conviction statistics before the close of the reporting period. Similar to the previous reporting period, the government took steps to limit or ban the activities of other civil society groups, including some dedicated to anti-trafficking activities. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with punishments prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. The government did not provide funding or programs for protective services dedicated to trafficking victims. Available data did not specify national origin in all cases but most victims … … Employers sometimes bribe Russian officials to avoid enforcement of penalties for engaging illegal workers. An official website of the United States government, Office of Small and Disadvantaged Business Utilization, Office of the U.S. • Create a central repository for publicly available information on investigation, prosecution, conviction, and sentencing data for trafficking cases. Women and children from Europe (predominantly Ukraine and Moldova), Southeast Asia (primarily Vietnam), Africa (particularly Nigeria), and Central Asia are victims of sex trafficking in Russia. It did not report comprehensive data on trafficking criminal cases, making it difficult to assess the adequacy or effectiveness of law enforcement efforts. There were widespread reports of abuse of World Cup stadium construction workers, many of whom were migrants from Central Asia, ranging from non-payment of wages to the death of 17 laborers in 2017. Trafficking in women for the purpose of sexual exploitation, often referred to a modem day form of slavery, is a multi-billion dollar global criminal activity. As in previous years, the government did not draft a national strategy or assign roles and responsibilities to government agencies. The government maintained minimal law enforcement efforts. Russian authorities cooperated in some international investigations involving Russian nationals subjected to trafficking abroad. Authorities did not screen other vulnerable populations, such as migrant workers or foreign women entering Russia on student visas despite evidence of their intention to work or other vulnerabilities to trafficking. Women from Russia's North Caucasus region as well as women from Central Asia residing in Russia were recruited to join ISIS through online romantic relationships and subjected to exploitation once they arrived. Official and unofficial statistics estimate there are between 5 and 12 million foreign workers in Russia, of which the government estimates 1.5 million are irregular migrants. Authorities did not routinely screen potential victims seeking assistance at these shelters for trafficking indicators; in prior years, the shelter provided medical and psychiatric aid, and referred victims to international NGOs and other homeless shelters located in many of Russia’s regions. A homeless shelter run by the Russian Orthodox Church continued to accept victims and offered them food and housing, although not medical or psychological care; the government did not provide financial support for the shelter. Russian criminal groups threaten family members in order to coerce women into prostitution in Russia and abroad. There is a lack of statistics regarding the number of mail-order brides who are abused by their husbands, which makes it difficult to assess the magnitude of the problem in the United States. According to law enforcement statistics, of these 19 identified victims, 16 were Russian and three were from unspecified Central Asian countries; five were female sex trafficking victims, one female and three males were victims of forced labor, and 10 were children, although many of these were baby-selling cases. However, inconsistent with the definition of trafficking under international law, these articles established the use of force, fraud, or coercion as aggravating factors, rather than essential elements of the crime. Although government representatives publicly stated workers were asked to leave voluntarily, it was not clear that workers were being screened for trafficking indicators or offered options to legally remain in the country. Homeless children are exploited in sex trafficking. Moreover, DPRK authorities reportedly arrested, imprisoned, subjected to forced labor, tortured, and sometimes executed repatriated trafficking victims. NGOs reported law enforcement worked with NGOs to remove victims from brothels and slave labor situation, obtain documents, and help repatriate victims from Nigeria, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. Media reported the government continued to issue new work permits. At least, that’s how much Anton Pogorelov was sold for in 2015 when he became a slave in a brick factory in Dagestan. The government did not develop or employ a formal system to guide officials in proactive identification of victims or their referral to available services. The government did not consistently provide comprehensive information on prosecution efforts, but the limited available data and media reports suggest prosecutions remained low compared with the scope of Russia’s trafficking problem. The government identified 20 trafficking victims in 2017. Law enforcement training centers provided instruction on trafficking identification. The government maintained minimal law enforcement efforts. Out of all these cases, only 38 … Russia’s 2016 Statistics: In 2016, the Global Slavery Index reported that there were more than one million human trafficking victims in Russia. An NGO reported that tens of thousands of trafficking-related cases were reported to authorities, but the government processed most under different articles, which suppressed statistics and masked the scale of the problem. The government did not have a body to monitor its anti-trafficking activities or make periodic assessments measuring its performance. It was not clear that the government screened laborers for trafficking indicators. In July 2018, local authorities worked with NGOs to remove Nigerian sex trafficking victims from their exploiters; the victims had entered Russia with promises of employment and World Cup fan identification documents from their exploiters. However, authorities routinely detained and deported potential forced labor victims without screening for signs of exploitation, and prosecuted victims forced into prostitution for prostitution offenses. Despite the lack of formal procedures, observers reported some working-level officials referred potential victims for assistance on an ad hoc basis. However, in limited instances, Moscow city police informally provided "permit letters" valid for one year to individuals the police determined were trafficking victims. Despite media reports that alleged the use of forced labor in the construction of the new Russian embassy in Panama in 2017, the government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees or contractors complicit in human trafficking offenses. While human trafficking and slavery have always been an issue in most areas of the globe, human trafficking in Russia became exacerbated with the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991. Instances of labor trafficking have been reported in the construction, manufacturing, logging, agricultural, brick factories, textile, grocery store, maritime, and domestic service industries, as well as in forced begging, waste sorting, and street sweeping. An NGO assisted approximately 125 victims in 2017. However, inconsistent with the definition of trafficking under international law, these articles established the use of force, fraud, or coercion as aggravating factors, rather than essential elements of the crime. These articles prescribed punishments of up to five years of forced labor or up to six years of imprisonment for "trade in people" and up to five years imprisonment for "use of slave labor." However, observers also noted other authorities often did not recognize foreign victims when they were unlawfully present in Russia, which resulted in the penalization of foreign victims rather than their referral to care. The “Yarovaya” package of anti-terror laws made it a crime for individuals or organizations to provide material assistance to people considered to be in Russia illegally; authorities could prosecute NGOs who assist unlawfully present victims of trafficking. Authorities conducted scheduled and unannounced audits of firms employing foreign laborers to check for violations of immigration and labor laws – with penalties in the form of revoking foreign worker permits. Workers from Russia and other countries in Europe, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia – including Vietnam and DPRK – are subjected to forced labor in Russia. The investigation of this case remained on-going. Police regularly avoided registering victims … • End all bilateral labor agreements with the DPRK that perpetuate forced labor and cease the issuance of work permits under these contracts. Global AIDS Coordinator and Global Health Diplomacy, Special Presidential Envoy for Hostage Affairs, Special Representative for Afghanistan Reconciliation, Special Representative for Syria Engagement, U.S. Security Coordinator for Israel and the Palestinian Authority, Under Secretary for Arms Control and International Security, Bureau of Arms Control, Verification and Compliance, Bureau of International Security and Nonproliferation, Under Secretary for Civilian Security, Democracy, and Human Rights, Bureau of Conflict and Stabilization Operations, Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, Bureau of International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, Bureau of Population, Refugees, and Migration, Office of International Religious Freedom, Office of the Special Envoy To Monitor and Combat Anti-Semitism, Office of the U.S. Special Coordinator for Tibetan Issues, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs, Office of the Science and Technology Adviser, Bureau of Information Resource Management, Bureau of the Comptroller and Global Financial Services, Office of Emergencies in the Diplomatic and Consular Service, Office of Management Strategy and Solutions, Bureau of International Organization Affairs, Bureau of South and Central Asian Affairs, Under Secretary for Public Diplomacy and Public Affairs. 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