tation; Argentine women and
girls are also trafficked to neighboring countries, Mexico, and
Western Europe for sexual exploitation; a significant number of
Bolivians, Peruvians, and Paraguayans are trafficked into the
country for forced labor in sweatshops, agriculture, and as domestic
servants
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - despite some progress, Argentina
remains on the Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year for
its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat human
trafficking, particularly in terms of providing adequate assistance
to victims and curbing official complicity with trafficking
activity, especially on the provincial and local levels; the
Argentine Congress has demonstrated progress by enacting much-needed
and first-ever federal anti-trafficking legislation (2008)

Illicit drugs:

a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe; some
money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area; law
enforcement corruption; a source for precursor chemicals; increasing
domestic consumption of drugs in urban centers, especially cocaine
base and synthetic drugs

This page was last updated on 18 December, 2008

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@Armenia

Introduction
Armenia

Background:

Armenia prides itself on being the first nation to formally adopt
Christianity (early 4th century). Despite periods of autonomy, over
the centuries Armenia came under the sway of various empires
including the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman. During
World War I in the western portion of Armenia, Ottoman Turkey
instituted a policy of forced resettlement coupled with other harsh
practices that resulted in an estimated 1 million Armenian deaths.
The eastern area of Armenia was ceded by the Ottomans to Russia in
1828; this portion declared its independence in 1918, but was
conquered by the Soviet Red Army in 1920. Armenian leaders remain
preoccupied by the long conflict with Muslim Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated region, assigned to
Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan
began fighting over the area in 1988; the struggle escalated after
both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces held not
only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of Azerbaijan
proper. The economies