Moldovan Govt. says US praises its efforts against human trafficking

US State Department's coordinators for Moldova appreciate the efforts made by the Moldovan Government, 60 days after the US report calling to eliminate shortcomings in counteracting the traffic in human beings. The US State Department representatives are said to have made such statements at a meeting with Prime-Minister Zinaida Greceanai, Info-Prim Neo reports. Zinaida Greceanai says her Cabinet is worried about the traffic in human beings and makes efforts to diminish this scourge. As a response to the report of the State Department, the Government approved a new plan to prevent and fight traffic in human beings in 2008. The Government decided to create a Center to assist and protect victims and potential victims of trafficking. They resumed searching some officials, formerly employed by the Interior Ministry, as to possible involvement in trafficking, deputy premier Victor Stepaniuc told a sitting of the National Committee for Combating Trafficking, on July 29. According to him, the Interior Ministry is to set up a data base for the authorities unfolding activities of preventing and fighting human trafficking till September 15. According to Interior Minister Valentin Mejinschi, 352 inquests have been started in the first half of this year, 154 for human trafficking, 28 – for trafficking children, 102 – for procurement and 68 – for organizing illegal migration. Officials are searched in five inquests and namely: the director of the Agency for promoting the National Culture “Intercultura”, an employee of the Border Guards Service and three police officers. 16 international routes of trafficking humans and networks of organizing illegal migration have been discovered. The trafficking report for 2008, launched by the US State Department on June 4, placed Moldova among the countries not meeting the minimum standards to eliminate severe forms of human trafficking and not making significant efforts to meet those standards. If the actions undertaken by the Chisinau Cabinet, the coming 60 days, are positively assessed, Moldova could get classified as a country making efforts to fight human trafficking and thus may escape the danger of losing assistance from the US Government.