Armenia denounces Walk Free Foundation’s slavery report

PanARMENIAN.Net - Armenian Foreign Ministry said Tuesday, June 14 that the representatives of Walk Free Foundation haven't visited Armenia, nor have they cooperated with any of relevant agencies and NGOs before publishing the Global Slavery Index.

The Walk Free Foundation's Global Slavery Index 2016 showed that Armenia ranks the 119th, with some 14,100 people – about 0,47% of the population – trapped in modern slavery in 2015.

“It is thus unclear what research and methodological tools the Foundation has used when drawing conclusions on the situation in Armenia,” the Foreign Ministry told Panorama.am.

Also, the Ministry said, a preliminary study of the report suggests that the research hasn’t used mechanisms for in-depth interviews in Armenia.

“Most importantly, in the U.S. State Department’s annual report, Armenia is listed among countries with the most efficient fight against trafficking, with only 31 countries out of 188 nations also included in the 1st group,” The Ministry said.

The report suggested that over 45 million men, women and children are trapped in slavery worldwide –28% more slaves than estimated two years ago. According to the study, India had the highest number of people trapped in slavery at 18.35 million. In terms of absolute numbers, Asian countries occupy the top five for people trapped in slavery. Behind India was China (3.39 million), Pakistan (2.13 million), Bangladesh (1.53 million) and Uzbekistan (1.23 million).