ALBANIA WOMENS ISSUES

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)........

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)

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)

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)

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