The Council of Europe’s Group of Experts on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings (GRETA) have published a new report on Armenia focusing on human trafficking victims’ access to justice and effective remedies.

The report notes that despite improved anti-trafficking legislation and amendments to the Labor Code in Armenia, there is still a need “to strengthen the provision of information to victims, improve access to legal aid and psychological assistance, facilitate access to compensation from the perpetrators, as well as to effectively investigate offences of human trafficking for all forms of exploitation and promote reintegration of victims.”

In a press release yesterday, the Council of Europe writes that 68 victims of trafficking were identified in the period 2017-2021 in Armenia and that two thirds were women and girls. 

The prevailing form of exploitation was sexual exploitation, followed by labor exploitation and forced begging. Almost all identified victims were Armenian nationals exploited inside Armenia. 

The real number of trafficking victims is probably higher, the report says, as self-identification by trafficking victims occurs only rarely due to the lack of awareness of their rights, stigma, the feeling of shame and distrust vis-à-vis the authorities.