Inter-Agency Referral System (IARS) Project for Return and Reintegration Assistance to Victims of Trafficking - Albania

Since January 2000, the IOM and ICMC offices in Albania have implemented the Inter-Agency Referral System (IARS) project for return and reintegration assistance to victims of trafficking. During the year 2000, the project provided combinations of safe shelter, medical screening, social services, return transport, and reintegration assistance to 140 trafficking victims (125 third-country nationals and 15 Albanians). As the first and only project of its kind in Albania, the implementation of the IARS project faced substantial challenges in its attempt to provide an escape route for women and girls caught in the harsh realities of Albania's trafficking networks. While those challenges still pose obstacles to full development of a return and reintegration system for Albanian trafficking victims, the IARS project has succeeded in establishing a coordinated operational response capable of assisting up to 30 third-country national trafficking victims a month. To build upon that success, the IARS project for 2001 focused on refining shelter, return and reintegration assistance activities for third-country nationals, with a separate project to be developed that would address the complexities involved in the return and reintegration of Albanian trafficking victims. Through this approach, IOM and ICMC aimed to further expand third-country national referral networks, enhance the quality of services provided, and, through research and data collection, sharpen the international community's focus on the realities and issues surrounding the trafficking of women through Albania.