In its Tenth Annual Trafficking in Persons Report, the U.S. State Department list Armenia as a source country for women subjected to trafficking in persons, specificalyy forced prostitution, and a source and destination country for women in forced labor. In part the Armenia country profile reads: Armenia is a source country for women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution, a source and destination country for women in forced labor, and a source country for men in forced labor.

Women from Armenia are subjected to sex trafficking in the UAE and Turkey. 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 conditions of forced labor and Armenian women and girls are subjected to forced prostitution within the country. Women from Russia are subjected to conditions of 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 January 2010, the government enacted legislation that increased the minimum penalty for convicted trafficking offenders to five years’ imprisonment, allowed for the confiscation of assets from convicted trafficking offenders, and exempted trafficking victims from criminal prosecution for crimes committed as a direct result ofbeing trafficked. While the government did not provide funding for victim assistance in 2009, in March 2010 it allocated approximately $15,000 to an NGO-run shelter for facility rent. The government continued to implement its national trafficking victim referral mechanism and nearly doubled the number of victims it identified compared with the previous year. The government demonstrated modest progress in combating government officials’ complicity in trafficking; however, more should be done to prosecute suspected officials.