The government increased prevention efforts. The government continued to implement its 2022-2024 NAP for the 2018-2023 national anti-trafficking strategy but did not report its budget for prevention activities, including NAP implementation, in 2023. Whereas, in 2022, the government reported allocating 16.2 million MDL ($939,130) toward implementation. Each public authority conducted prevention activities according to its respective institutional action plan within the limits of its budget, and in cooperation with international partners, but the government did not report the amounts spent by each public authority. In general, the government was dependent on assistance from international partners and civil society for many of its support activities. The Directorate for Coordination in the Field of Human Rights and Social Dialogue monitored implementation of the NAP and ensured the activity of the Permanent Secretariat of the National Committee for Combating Trafficking in Persons, which oversaw the coordination, monitoring, and evaluation of all anti-trafficking policies. Each municipality and Gagauzia – a Turkic-speaking autonomous territorial unit – maintained an anti-trafficking territorial commission to coordinate efforts at the local level and strengthen partnerships among public institutions, non-commercial organizations, and the private sector. The commissions encompassed local elected officials, law enforcement, prosecutors, and social service providers. The government approved and began implementing a new four-year program for combating and preventing human trafficking with a particular focus on vulnerable populations and specific objectives that included training, awareness activities, and amending anti-trafficking legislation. The government conducted a study with an international organization to assess recovery services available to crime victims, including trafficking, through public and private service providers and develop recommendations for improvement. In 2023, the government conducted a national awareness campaign and information sessions on types of trafficking and assistance available for students and the general public. In collaboration with social media and technology firms, the National Investigation Inspectorate Center for Combating Cybercrimes conducted internet safety awareness campaigns. Several agencies and offices operated trafficking hotlines available in Romanian and Russian; 15 calls led to victim identification, referral to care, or a criminal investigation. The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts.
In 2023, the government adopted a new law, allowing foreign nationals of 47 non-EU countries to work in Moldova without a visa for up to 90 days, leaving workers vulnerable to illicit labor practices, including labor trafficking. MoLSP acknowledged the potential vulnerability and began working to repeal the law. Moldovan law authorized the State Labor Inspectorate (SLI), which oversaw the occupational safety and health inspections, to regulate employment agencies, recruiters, and unlicensed labor agents and required recruiters to provide transparent, legally binding contracts for prospective workers. Agencies in violation faced criminal charges for trafficking, among other penalties. In 2023, the SLI gained the authority to issue civil penalties for labor law violations without receiving permission from a court. Moldovan law prohibited agencies from charging prospective workers fees or taxes as part of the recruitment process. The law permitted collection of payment for additional services from Moldovan citizens seeking jobs abroad but forbid charges to job seekers for services performed by recruiters. To ensure the protection of Moldovan workers abroad, MoLSP maintained labor migration agreements with Israel, Bulgaria, and Germany, regulating the recruitment, employment, and transportation of those workers. Separately, in 2023, MoLSP signed a new bilateral work agreement with Israel to ensure Moldovan citizens employed in Israel’s caregiver sector would be recruited through and protected under the NEA, thus eliminating placement fees and potential debt to private agencies. To complement all the agreements, an NGO, with support from the NEA and MoLSP, maintained a specialized hotline for Moldovan workers abroad to call for trafficking-related assistance.
Under Moldovan law, the SLI conducted unannounced labor inspections – which were the country’s main mechanism to identify child labor, including forced child labor – at worksites known or suspected of human trafficking or unreported employment. The law permitted the SLI to conduct unannounced inspections regardless of whether they received a written complaint or assessed an imminent threat. The law also permitted the SLI to conduct unannounced inspections when they had suspicions or visual evidence of businesses’ involvement in child labor. In 2023, MoLSP hired and trained 20 new inspectors who began conducting inspections but did not report identifying any trafficking cases. MoLSP continued to combat corruption among inspectors, specifically inspectors’ opportunities to seek bribes, through a number of measures, such as re-writing employment requirements and increasing salaries. Furthermore, the SLI maintained an internal audit section that monitored inspectors’ activity and prevented and combated integrity risks. In cases of the worst forms of child labor, including trafficking, when inspectors identified a potential case, they immediately informed the SLI. Case managers evaluated each case within 24 hours, and then, based on complexity, a multidisciplinary team, including the CCTIP, assessed the case within 10 days. Case managers and the multidisciplinary team prepared a personalized assistance plan for victims. In 2023, authorities reported initiating 25 child labor investigations. In December 2023, the ombudsman’s office with support from an international organization published a report on the labor exploitation of children, including trafficking. In addition, the National Bureau of Statistics established a new statistical framework for measuring child labor, including forced child labor, allowing authorities to better understand the scope of child labor and trafficking. Moldova’s public procurement law banned government agencies from contracting with any person or company convicted of trafficking crimes or child labor violations in the previous five years. The Ministry of Finance continued to provide guidance on public tenders that included a mechanism to exclude any economic agent involved in trafficking or child labor.
The government made efforts to mitigate trafficking among refugees fleeing Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine by registering refugees in country and instituting a system for issuing temporary protection status, which provided access to emergency and primary medical assistance and social assistance for families with children and unaccompanied children, among other services. The government also maintained an intersectoral mechanism to identify, assist, and monitor child refugees. Additionally, in collaboration with two international organizations, the government maintained safe centers installed at border crossing points that provided children and families with essential information and services on a range of issues, including education, psycho-social support, referrals to health care, and legal support. Observers noted some border police did not conduct screening interviews to identify potential trafficking victims, and police were slow to respond to referrals of potential trafficking cases, likely due to staffing shortages. In 2023, the government committed additional resources to screening for potential victims among refugees, as well as identifying vulnerabilities to trafficking in its immigration, refugee, and asylum processes. Subsequently, authorities identified one labor trafficking victim among refugees from Ukraine, the first trafficking victim identified from that group since the start of Russia’s full-scale invasion. The identified victim received services from CAP. The government and two international organizations led a task force on the protection of refugees from trafficking. The government maintained 44 temporary placement centers for refugees throughout the country as well as local multidisciplinary mobile teams assisting in the provision of services and identification of trafficking victims. The government also continued to provide guidelines on identifying victims in the context of mixed migration flows, particularly among foreign nationals and stateless persons, and granting them access to necessary assistance and protection. In 2023, law enforcement agencies focused their efforts on campaigns to prevent and identify trafficking cases among refugees fleeing Ukraine, including distributing information flyers.
from 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report – U.S. Department of State
2024 Trafficking in Persons Report – United States Department of State
