the 2022 World Cup, both issued mandatory workers’ labor rights standards for all their construction and service delivery contracts; the standards legally bind all their contractors and subcontractors to adhere to labor standards stricter than Qatari labor law. The QFPSR and the Supreme Committee have integrated the standards into all new tenders and are auditing existing contracts for upholding the standards. Some contacts reported increased scrutiny on worker accommodations and wage increases.These standards include a “no recruitment fee” policy at all stages in the recruitment process, hotlines for workers’ complaints, and independent auditing to ensure contractual compliance and that employees are paid on time.
The government routinely inspected and monitored recruitment companies and actively sought to punish companies that were found making fraudulent offers or imposing exorbitant fees in selling visas, which makes migrant workers particularly vulnerable to trafficking. Nonetheless, the government did not report how many companies were referred for prosecution or whether it achieved any convictions for those suspected of illegal visa selling; this appears to be a decrease in comparison with 40 individuals convicted, 50 companies referred for prosecution, and 26 companies referred to authorities for labor law violations the previous year. During the reporting period, MOLSA blacklisted 200 companies for breaking the provisions of the labor law, in comparison with 2000 the previous year, which remained blacklisted. Additionally, MOLSA blacklisted 14 manpower agencies in Doha and 55 manpower agencies in Nepal. Nonetheless, the government did not systematically investigate companies for the withholding of workers’ passports. Although the sponsorship law requires an employer to secure a residence card for laborers within seven days, reports indicated this sometimes did not happen; the lack of a residence card essentially renders workers illegal and affects workers’ ability to access health care or lodge complaints with authorities. The QFPSR continued to operate an anti-trafficking hotline, though it is unknown how many trafficking victims were identified through the hotline. The government did not report efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts, nor did it report efforts to prevent child sex tourism of Qataris traveling abroad.The government provided anti-trafficking training for new diplomatic personnel, but did not provide specific anti-trafficking training for its existing diplomatic personnel posted abroad.

ROMANIA:  Tier 2 
Romania is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to labor trafficking and women and children subjected to sex trafficking. Romanians represent a significant source of sex and labor trafficking victims in Western Europe (particularly the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and France) and Central and Southern Europe (particularly the Czech Republic, Hungary, and Greece). Romanian men, women, and children are subjected to labor trafficking in agriculture, construction, domestic service, hotels, and manufacturing, as well as forced begging and theft in Romania and other European countries. Romanian women and children are victims of sex trafficking in Romania and other European countries. Romanian victims of forced begging and forced criminal activities are often Romani children. Romania is a destination country for a limited number of foreign trafficking victims, including sex trafficking victims from Moldova and Poland and labor trafficking victims from Bangladesh and Serbia. Government officials have been convicted of human

trafficking crimes, and there have been reported instances of local officials  obstructing  trafficking investigations.
The Government of Romania does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.The government demonstrated strong law enforcement efforts, but issued weak or suspended sentences that did not deter traffickers or keep victims safe when traffickers were released. The government identified a large number of victims, but public and private institutions assisted only half of them.The government did not provide funding to NGOs offering victim assistance, and victims had difficulty obtaining medical services, psychological counseling, and restitution from traffickers. Some victims who had been returned to their homes by the government, instead of being placed in shelters, were subjected to trafficking again by family members.

RECOMMENDATIONS  FOR ROMANIA:
Allocate public funding for NGOs providing services to victims and provide funding to staff the new government shelter for trafficking victims; improve victim access to medical assistance and increase quality of psychological counseling; investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers, including complicit officials, and seek and obtain sentences that are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with the severity of the crime; assess safety of home environments before releasing victims to prevent re-trafficking; withhold from publication names of trafficking victims who testify in trials; consistently inform victims of their right to apply for compensation; increase efforts to proactively identify potential victims among vulnerable populations, such as undocumented migrants, foreign workers, Roma, and children involved in begging; operate the anti-trafficking hotline on evenings and weekends; and do not prosecute victims for crimes committed as a direct result of their being subjected to human trafficking.

PROSECUTION
The government made strong law enforcement efforts but obtained weak or suspended sentences that neither deterred traffickers nor kept victims safe when traffickers were released. Romania prohibits all forms of trafficking through Article 210, which prescribes penalties of three to 10 years’ imprisonment. These penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. Romanian authorities investigated 875 trafficking cases in 2014, an increase from 714 in 2013.The government prosecuted 534 defendants in 2014, similar to the 552 in 2013. Romanian courts convicted 269 traffickers in 2014, slightly more than 252 in 2013. The government did not disaggregate law enforcement statistics to demonstrate action against both sex and labor trafficking. Sixty-seven percent of convicted traffickers were sentenced to time in prison, ranging from one to 15 years’ imprisonment; this marked an increase from 2013, when 59 percent of convicted traffickers were sentenced to time in prison. However, in 2014,

courts suspended 73 prison sentences and instead levied fines against 15 traffickers.The government provided training on human trafficking laws to 200 future judges and prosecutors and trained over 3,000 professionals on human trafficking, including teachers, social workers, local government officials, priests, police, border guards, and military personnel. Nonetheless, police and judges at the local level lacked specialized training and sensitivity to human trafficking issues. The government conducted a large-scale law enforcement operation with the UK from 2012-2014 that resulted in multi-year prison sentences for several traffickers in 2014. Three government officials were convicted of labor trafficking in 2014.