The report refers to the Council of Europe`s GRETA report, but it does not say that the data from the GRETA report are for the 2008-2010 period, when the situation regarding the prevention of trafficking in humans was completely different in Latvia. A number of laws have been amended in Latvia since 2010 and various preventive measures have been carried out, noted Zalcmane.
Latvia is placed in Tier 2 in the 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report, which means that the state, municipal institutions and non-governmental organizations are making significant efforts in the prevention of human trafficking, said Zalcmane.
Foreign experts have also praised measures being taken in Latvia for the prevention of human trafficking, and they consider these measures successful, added Zalcmane.
Latvia has already adopted a second national program for the prevention of human trafficking, which has mobilized many state, municipal institutions and NGOs for joint work in order to eliminate human trafficking in Latvia. Work on the third program will start in 2014, said Zalcmane.
There are a few more imprecisions in the report. For instance, it mentions that victims of human trafficking also include underage persons, but, according to data available to "Shelter "Safe House"", all human trafficking victims in 2012 were adults.
As reported, the 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report asserts that the government of Latvia is making significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, although it does not yet fully comply with these standards. It notes that the government of Latvia improved its anti-trafficking efforts by developing criteria for the identification of labor trafficking victims, by improving the mechanisms to refer trafficking victims to state-funded care, and by strengthening efforts to address sham marriages. In 2012, the government increased funding for victim assistance despite government-wide budget cuts, designed improved procedures to repatriate victims of trafficking to Latvia, and investigated trafficking-related corruption cases. However, the report states that despite these important efforts, more should be done to identify trafficking victims domestically and abroad and to prosecute their traffickers.
The report includes specific recommendations for the government of Latvia to continue addressing the problem of human trafficking. These recommendations include increasing efforts to identify victims, particularly victims of labor trafficking and domestic victims, and increasing investigations and prosecutions of suspected domestic and labor trafficking offenses. The report notes that Latvia should continue implementation of its 2009-2013 National Anti-Trafficking Program.