PROTECTION
Government efforts to assist victims remained uneven. The Program for Rescue—a team of government officials in Buenos Aires responsible for coordinating emergency victim services nationwide—reported identifying 1,509 potential human trafficking victims in 2014 compared with 1,746 potential victims in 2013. This number may include the total number of individuals encountered during anti-trafficking law enforcement raids, some of whom were likely in exploitative labor without force, fraud, or coercion. Of the potential victims, 942 were women, 564 men, and three were transgender. Authorities did not report how many of these victims were adults or children, how many were Argentine citizens or foreign nationals, or how many were exploited in sex or labor trafficking. Some federal officials had formal procedures of victim identification and assistance, but implementation of systematic procedures to identify victims among vulnerable populations varied by province. Some front-line responders had limited understanding of trafficking. Efforts to identify and assist victims of domestic servitude were weak.
Authorities did not report how many victims they provided with comprehensive services in 2014 or how much funding federal, provincial, or local governments provided for services to trafficking victims. The Program for Rescue took initial victim statements and provided emergency post-rescue care after law enforcement operations to an unspecified number of victims.The Ministry of Social Development oversaw victim services, and each province had a designated government entity responsible for coordinating victim protection at the local level. The quality and level of victim care varied by province, and most provinces lacked dedicated resources to care for trafficking victims, particularly of forced labor. Federal and provincial authorities provided an unspecified amount of funding to one NGO for services for trafficking victims. Most government or NGO shelters provided care for trafficking victims along with gender-based violence or other populations, and authorities did report how many trafficking victims were assisted at shelters or lodged in hotels in 2014. The government announced a new initiative to improve the employment prospects of forced labor victims but did not report how many trafficking victims received employment assistance in 2014. Specialized services were limited, and NGOs reported an acute need for shelter, job training, legal services, and emergency care.The 2012 anti-trafficking law required the government establish a fund for trafficking victims, but this fund was not created in 2014. A new prosecutorial office provided victims assistance during trials and referrals to government services and pro bono legal services; this included 80 potential sex trafficking victims and 97 potential labor trafficking victims in 2014. There were no reports of identified victims jailed or penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their being subjected to trafficking. Authorities did not report how many foreign victims received temporary or long- term residency as authorized by law. It was unclear whether foreign victims were fully informed of residency and assistance options before repatriation. Authorities did not identify or assist any Argentine trafficking victims abroad in 2014.

PREVENTION
The government maintained prevention efforts. Authorities passed implementing regulations for the federal council on human trafficking in January 2015, a broad working group mandated by the 2012 law to include federal government entities, provincial officials, and NGOs, but the council did not exist in 2014. The

smaller executive council on human trafficking—mandated to implement the initiatives of the federal council—launched a national anti-trafficking awareness campaign in 2014. Authorities did not issue a national anti-trafficking plan as required by law; without a plan, no specific budget allocations could be assigned to new anti-trafficking structures. Some provincial governments undertook prevention efforts. NGOs and municipal authorities continued to express concern about child sex tourism, though there were no reported investigations or prosecutions related to this crime.The government continued proactive efforts to register informal workers and employers in rural areas and investigate non- compliance with labor laws.The national anti-trafficking campaign included efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts, but authorities did not report efforts to reduce the demand for forced labor.The government provided anti-trafficking training or guidance for its diplomatic personnel. Argentine troops received anti-trafficking training prior to their deployment abroad on international  peacekeeping operations.

ARMENIA: Tier 1 
Armenia is a source and, to a lesser extent, destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex and labor trafficking. The sex and labor trafficking of Armenian women and children within the country is an increasing problem. Women and girls from Armenia are also subjected to sex trafficking in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Turkey.Women from China subjected to sex trafficking in Armenia were identified for the first time in 2014. Armenian men are subjected to forced labor in Russia and, to a lesser extent, in Turkey. Armenian women and children are vulnerable to forced begging domestically. Some children work in agriculture, construction, and service provision within the country, where they are also vulnerable to labor trafficking. Men in rural areas with little education and children staying in child care institutions remain highly vulnerable to trafficking.
The Government of Armenia fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. In 2014, Parliament approved a law establishing standard procedures for the identification, support, protection, and reintegration of suspected and identified trafficking victims across national and local government bodies, NGOs, international organizations, and civil society.The government, however, continued to lack formal victim-witness protection, and fewer victims were identified. Police successfully identified foreign victims subjected to trafficking in Armenia and referred them to care.The government maintained strong collaborative working ties with anti-trafficking NGOs, local media, donor organizations, and regional partners. Courts convicted fewer traffickers

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ARMENIA:
Improve efforts to identify victims of forced labor, including

by strengthening victim identification training for officials and empowering labor inspectors to identify victims through unannounced visits, and increasing cooperation across law enforcement entities; provide sensitivity training to judges and lawyers to improve treatment of trafficking victims; work with Russian authorities to identify Armenian forced labor victims and prosecute labor traffickers; work with NGOs to find ways to identify and assist Armenian victims in Turkey and reintegrate victims; effectively develop and implement new victim compensation mechanisms for trafficking victims; work with NGOs to improve the safety of victims and ensure their freedom of movement while receiving shelter and assistance; continue awareness-raising campaigns to rural and border communities and to children leaving child care institutions; license, regulate, and educate local employment agencies and agents so they can help prevent the forced labor of Armenians abroad; and continue robust partnerships with civil society groups.