AREA ADMINISTERED BY TURKISH CYPRIOTS
The northern area of Cyprus is administered by Turkish Cypriots. In 1983, theTurkish Cypriots proclaimed the area the independent “Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus” (“TRNC”). The United States does not recognize the “TRNC,” nor does any other country exceptTurkey.The area administered by Turkish Cypriots continues to be a zone of impunity for human trafficking.The area is increasingly a destination for women from Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa who are subjected to forced prostitution in night clubs licensed and regulated by Turkish Cypriots. Nightclub owners pay significant taxes to the Turkish Cypriot administration, between eight and 12 million dollars annually according to media reports; additionally, owners pay approximately $2,000 per woman in fees to the authorities, which may present a conflict of interest and a deterrent to increased political will to combat trafficking. An NGO reported girls as young as 11 were victims of sex trafficking inside the walled city of Nicosia. Men and women are subjected to forced labor in industrial, construction, agriculture, domestic work, restaurant, and retail sectors.Victims of labor trafficking are controlled through debt bondage, threats of deportation, restriction of movement, and inhumane living and working conditions. Labor trafficking victims originate from China, Pakistan, Philippines,Turkey, Turkmenistan, and Vietnam. Women who are issued permits for domestic work are vulnerable to forced labor.An NGO reported a number of women enter the “TRNC” fromTurkey on three-month tourist or student visas and engage in prostitution in apartments in north Nicosia, Kyrenia, and Famagusta; some may be trafficking victims. Migrants, refugees, and their children are also at risk for sexual exploitation.
If the “TRNC” were assigned a formal ranking in this report, it would be Tier 3.Turkish Cypriot authorities do not fully comply

with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and are not making significant efforts to do so.The area administered by the Turkish Cypriots lacked an anti-trafficking “law.” Turkish Cypriots did not keep statistics on law enforcement efforts against trafficking offenders. The area administered by Turkish Cypriots lacked shelters for victims, and social, economic, and psychological services for victims. During the reporting period, police conducted several raids of nightclubs resulting in the arrest of possible victims of trafficking. Local observers reported authorities were complicit in facilitating trafficking and police continued to retain passports upon arrival of women working in night clubs.
An anti-trafficking amendment to the “criminal code” was tabled during the previous reporting period; however, no progress was made on enacting it during 2014. The “attorney general’s office” sentenced one “official” to nine months imprisonment for involvement in a trafficking-related case in 2013.Turkish Cypriots did not enforce the “law” stipulating nightclubs may only provide entertainment such as dance performances. Authorities did not acknowledge the existence of forced labor. There was no “law” that punished traffickers who confiscate workers’ passports or documents, change contracts, or withhold wages to subject workers to servitude. Turkish Cypriots did not provide any specialized training on how to investigate or prosecute human trafficking cases.
Turkish Cypriot authorities did not allocate funding to anti- trafficking efforts, police were not trained to identify victims, and authorities provided no protection to victims. Police confiscated victims’ passports, reportedly to protect them from abuse by nightclub owners who confiscated passports. Foreign victims who voiced discontent about the treatment they received were routinely deported. NGOs reported women preferred to keep their passports but were convinced to give them to police to avoid deportation. Victims of trafficking serving as material witnesses against a former employer were not entitled to find new employment and resided in temporary accommodation arranged by the police; experts reported women were accommodated at night clubs.The Turkish Cypriot authorities did not encourage victims to assist in prosecutions against traffickers, and all foreign victims were deported. If a victim requested to return to their home country during an interview with authorities, they were required to return to and lodge at a hotel until air tickets were purchased.Witnesses are not allowed to leave the “TRNC” pending trial and are deported at the conclusion of “legal” proceedings.
In 2014, authorities issued 1,168 hostess and barmaid six-month work permits for individuals working in approximately 40 nightclubs and two pubs operated in the north.An NGO reported authorities did not consistently document the arrival of women intending to work in nightclubs.The majority of permit holders came from Moldova, Morocco, and Ukraine, while others came from Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kyrgyzstan, Paraguay, Russia, and Uzbekistan. Women were not permitted to change location once under contract with a nightclub, and Turkish Cypriots deported 395 women who curtailed their contracts without screening for trafficking.While prostitution is illegal, female nightclub employees were required to submit to biweekly health checks for sexually transmitted infection screening, suggesting tacit approval of the prostitution industry. Victims reported bodyguards at the night clubs accompanied them to health and police checks, ensuring they did not share details of their victimization with law enforcement or doctors.Turkish Cypriots made no efforts to reduce demand for commercial sex acts or forced labor.The “law” that governed nightclubs prohibits foreign women from living at their place of

employment; however, most women lived in group dormitories adjacent to the nightclubs or in other accommodations arranged by the establishment owner. The nightclubs operated as “legal” businesses that provided revenue to the “government.” The “Nightclub Commission,” which composed police and “government officials” who regulate nightclubs, prepared brochures on employee rights and distributed them to all foreign women upon entry. They also established a hotline for trafficking victims; however, it is inadequately staffed by one operator.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TURKISH CYPRIOT AUTHORITIES:
Enact “legislation” prohibiting all forms of human trafficking; screen for human trafficking victims within nightclubs and pubs; increase transparency in the regulation of nightclubs and promote awareness among clients and the public about force, fraud, and coercion used to compel prostitution; provide funding to NGO shelters and care services for the protection of victims; investigate, prosecute, and convict officials complicit in trafficking; provide alternatives to deportation for victims of trafficking; and acknowledge and take steps to address conditions of forced labor.