Professor Elena Maksimova, “Criminal And

Criminal and Criminological Aspects of Trafficking in Human Beings and Other Crimes Related to the Foreigner’s Illegal status in the Republic of Macedonia S Elena Maksimova, Assistant professor, University Goce Delcev – Stip [email protected] About the migration crisis and Macedonia • Different profiles and needs. • Smuggled migrants - subjected to various abuses by organized criminal structures • Danger of irregular migrants to become victims of physical violence, threats, unlawful deprivation of liberty, fraud, robbery and extortion Mixed migration • Do not file criminal charges - to avoid further detentions on the territory of Macedonia flows - affecting the • Migrants - easily become victims - if they face entire region from violent smugglers and are unable / unwilling 2015 onwards, to seek protection from the state institutions Macedonia mainly • Emotional and physical traumas - exposed to transit country human rights abuses ed. by Elena Maksimova, Copyright 2020 - 2 All rights are reserved Macedonia – part of the Balkan - route Almost one million refugees/migrants in period 2015 and 2016 EU principle of "open borders“- most refugees and migrants used the country's territory for transit to Western and Northern Europe. March 2016, change in EU policies - closure of borders along the Balkan route transit of refugees/migrants continued through illegal routes - increased risk of violation of the freedoms and rights Crisis situation along the southern border with Greece and the northern border with Serbia -August 2015 for a period of one month, extended five times. The final decision on declaring a crisis situation was valid up to 31 December 2018. Assembly extented the deadline for dealing ed. by Elena Maksimova, Copyright 2020 - 3 with the crisis situation until 30 June 2019All rights are reserved Trafficking in human beings vis-à-vis smuggling migrants fluid boundary Trafficking in human Trafficking with Smuggling migrants beings minors Age of the victim Over 18 Under 18 Irrelevant Mental element Intent Intent Intent Material element • Act - recruitment, • Act - recruitment, • Act - providing transport, transfer, transport, transfer, illegal entry buying, selling, buying, selling, • Purpose: finantial or harboring victims or harboring victims or other material reception of person reception of person benefit • Means – threat, use • Means – threat, use of force, abduction, of force, abduction, fraud, abuse of fraud, abuse of position, weakness, position, weakness, physical or mental physical or mental disability disability • exploitative purpose • exploitative purpose – different – different Consent of the victim Irrelevant Irrelevant The smuggled person is consent to the smuggling Transnationality Is not required Is not required Is required involvement in a Not necessaryed. by Elena Maksimova,Not Copyrightnecessary 2020 - Not necessary 4 criminal organization All rights are reserved Legal, illegal or no border crossing Illegal border crossing Legal or illegal documents Profitable Business Illegal (false or stolen) Documents taken documents involving Repeated exploitation human beings Voluntary Restricted movement, control Criminal Commodity: Commodity : and individual networks? a service, movement Crime against INDIVIDUAL Crime against the STATE ed. by Elena Maksimova, Copyright 2020 - Smuggling migrants5 Human trafficking All rights are reserved In which ways smuggled migrants can become victims of trafficking and ed. by Elena Maksimova, Copyright 2020 - exploitation 6 All rights are reserved Criminological aspects of human trafficking and smuggling migrants in time of the crisis „Many trafficking cases start with people eager to migrate but with no other option than to rely on someone who they believe will facilitate their irregular migration into a better life“ ed. by Elena Maksimova, Copyright 2020 - 7 All rights are reserved About the perpetrators organized crime groups with local logistical support includes members of criminal groups from refugee and migrant countries of origin cooperating with members of the police Strong logistic is used - changing trucks and passenger vehicles or vans, use of rental vehicles, frequent change of license plates or license plates of others vehicles use modern communication and surveillance equipment Most smugglers are adult males, but women involved ed. by Elena Maksimova, Copyright 2020 - 8 All rights are reserved main Criminal groups organizer interested in s smuggling migrants transport have a vertical organizer s structure with a clearly defined role for each members members мembers members member of the group: outlaw perfor /robbe mer r cleane r transp orter, ed. by Elena Maksimova, Copyright 2020 - 9 All rights are reserved Example: An organized channel for smuggling of migrants was cut off, which included 21 people, including a police officer from Stip. The organized group for smuggling of migrants was established in May 2018, and committed the crime continuously until February 2019. According to the prosecution, they also cooperated with members of a criminal group from Greece. Migrants were coming from Afghanistan, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Iraq and other countries in the Middle East, and the perpetrators charged between 150 and 300 euros per person. ed. by Elena Maksimova, Copyright 2020 - 10 All rights are reserved Macedonia About the victims (Serbia too): identification and referral of Proper presumed victim trafficking victims identificatio is problematic 2016: RM n is crucial “Indicators for Initial/Preliminary Identification of risk groups: Presumed and Potential woman and girls who travel Victims of Trafficking in alone, Human Beings in the pregnant women who travel Context of Mixed alone, Migration Flows unaccompanied and separated chldren, adults who travel alone and elderly and disabled people who travel ed. by Elena Maksimova, Copyright 2020 - alone 11 All rights are reserved Profiling victims of smuggling or trafficking • most common • Afghanistan, • 2016 – 2019 irregular Pakistan, Syria, unaccompanied migrants Origin Iraq, Iran and children and a Gender transiting Morocco. smaller number through the • Asia and Africa of pregnant territory of women, Macedonia in • almost no the period 2016- groups Vulnerable elderly people 2019 are adult or persons with males disabilities Key indicators: - debt (extortion of additional funds, threatening to hurt the other members of the families if they do not pay the amounts they ask for), - sexual and psychological harassment (specifically of women and uncompanied children) ed. by Elena Maksimova, Copyright 2020 - 12 All rights are reserved first-level identification immediately upon initial contact. via either an official or informal Outside reception facilities - border crossing, carried out by an authorised officer of a state trained professionals from the institution, a representative of Ministry of Interior, Border Police a civil society or international representatives, Ministry of organisation, or a Macedonian Labour and Social Policy (MLSP) citizen. representatives (social workers) or the responsible personnel of the transit centres or the Centre for Asylum Seekers. Identification and referral procedures Formal identification of vulnerable categories of people, is conducted either by the MLSP Centres for Social Work or The protection and trained professionals from the Border Police Directorate at the Ministry of rehabilitation of victims of Interior. trafficking is coordinated by The formal identification of trafficking the Office of the NRM, within cases among these vulnerable groups, is the MLSP, in collaboration conducted by the Unit for Combating Human Trafficking and Smuggling of with Centres for Social Work Migrants within Ministry of Interior or and NGOs. the Office of the NRM/Centre for Social Work. ed. by Elena Maksimova, Copyright 2020 - 13 All rights are reserved Fact: On the day of closing the borders, on the territory of Macedonia in the reception- transit centers and in their immediate vicinity there were a total of 1,024 refugees. Almost all of them were at high risk of becoming victims of migrant smuggling, and many of them had multiple risk factors to become victims of human trafficking ed. by Elena Maksimova, Copyright 2020 - 14 All rights are reserved About the ways and routes main ways: • migrants are hiding in vehicles traveling in the legal border traffic. avoiding Migrants have been found hidden marked and in car seats and truck tires. And border also the smugglers are transporting crossings; migrants on foot across the 'green border' belts. • using false documents (by replacing fraud of the the image in a passport or replacing representati it several pages of the same) - аbuse ves of the of tourist or other legal visas, false border stamps, using stolen passports and control incomplete visas etc Once they cross the border - escorted to a safe house or other place where wait before ed. by Elena Maksimova, Copyright 2020 - 15 being taken to the next part of their Alljourney rights are reserved Main routes: Border with Greece: Reception and transit center Vinojug, Gevgelija, next to the border with Greece headed to the Tabanovce reception and transit center crossing the border with Serbia near the village Miratovac. In most cases, headed to the village Horgos in northeastern Serbia crossed the border with Hungary or (sometimes) with Croatia. Travel by bus, train, taxi or walk – muddy sections. "Green border" Routes for smuggling migrants from Greece to Macedonia - village Moin, west

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