Vigorously investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms. * Train judges at all levels of the judiciary to take the severity of trafficking into account when issuing sentences. * Proactively identify victims among vulnerable populations, including migrants, refugees, asylum-seekers, and agricultural workers. * Allocate sufficient resources to enable police to effectively investigate all trafficking crimes and SWS to refer all potential victims to protection services in a timely manner. * Allocate sufficient resources for victim protection and reduce delays in providing victim assistance, including access to health care, rental disbursements, and financial assistance. * Increase training for government personnel, particularly SWS officials, on victim identification, assistance, and referral. * Reduce delays in court proceedings. * Strengthen the capacity of the Labor Inspectorate to identify and refer victims of forced labor. * Improve victim-centered investigations and prosecutions and implement witness protection measures when necessary. * Train judges on restitution in criminal cases, establish procedures to seize assets from traffickers, and create effective methods to allocate restitution in a timely manner. * Inform all identified victims of their right to pursue compensation and encourage them to do so.

The government maintained anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts. Laws 117(I)/2019 and 60(I)/2014 criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed penalties up to 25 years’ imprisonment for offenses involving an adult victim and up to life imprisonment for offenses involving a child victim. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with regard to sex trafficking, commensurate with those for grave crimes, such as rape. Police investigated 12 cases involving 13 suspects (seven cases with seven suspects for sex trafficking and five cases with five suspects for labor trafficking), compared with 11 cases with 24 suspects in 2022. The government initiated prosecution of seven defendants (four for sex trafficking, one for labor trafficking, and two for unspecified forms of trafficking), compared 12 prosecutions initiated in 2022. The government continued to prosecute 50 defendants from previous years. The government convicted six traffickers (four for sex trafficking and two for labor trafficking), compared with four convictions in 2022. A judge issued a sex trafficker six years’ imprisonment but, similar to previous years, most judges issued suspended sentences, including three year suspended sentences to three sex traffickers and two labor traffickers. For the first time, the government convicted one perpetrator for “receiving services from a victim of trafficking” and sentenced the perpetrator to three years’ imprisonment. The government did not report any new investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking crimes. In March 2023, the government convicted a former contractor for the Ministry of Education for subjecting four female athletes to sex trafficking and sentenced the trafficker to eight years’ imprisonment.

The Ministry of Justice and Public Order maintained the ATU, which conducted proactive investigations and used special investigative techniques. However, observers continued to report inadequate staffing and growing responsibilities outside the ATU’s mandate, which limited the number of proactive investigations. For example, the ATU spent much of its time helping victims with issues under the mandate of SWS, including assisting victims with administrative forms, applying for jobs on their behalf, and supporting victims with addiction recovery. The Cyprus Police, SWS, and the Labor Inspectorate signed a Memorandum of Cooperation to conduct joint law enforcement operations for trafficking on farms, factories, hotels, bars, and massage parlors. GRETA and the OSCE reported prosecutors relied heavily on victim and witness testimonies, and the government often did not provide or seek corroborating evidence. The government did not consistently ensure the continued inclusion of victim testimony after foreign national victims and witnesses returned to their countries of origin, at times hindering successful prosecutions. Court proceedings often lasted up to three years; however, the government maintained internal instructions to prosecutors to prioritize and expedite trafficking cases. The government maintained institutionalized training programs at the Cyprus Police Academy and Academy of the Attorney General’s Office that trained police officers and prosecutors, including new recruits and immigration officers, on trafficking issues. The ATU also trained police officers, social workers, and labor inspectors on various anti-trafficking issues. The ATU conducted joint investigations with British, German, Romanian, and EUROPOL authorities.

The government maintained victim protection efforts. The government identified 31 victims, compared with 32 victims in 2022. Of the 31 victims, traffickers exploited eight victims in sex trafficking, 17 victims in labor trafficking, and six victims in unspecified forms of trafficking; 14 were women, 13 were men, and four were boys; and 24 were foreign national victims. A multidisciplinary NRM provided SOPs for identifying and referring victims to services, including an operational manual, written guidance for first responders, and guidelines to specifically address child victims. The police conducted proactive identification efforts, including in apartments, pubs, and agricultural establishments; but GRETA and other observers reported the ATU lacked sufficient resources to effectively investigate all referrals of potential victims, particularly among the increasing number of asylum-seekers. The NRM required first responders to conduct preliminary identification of potential victims and refer potential victims to SWS. SWS officers provided potential victims with information and notified the ATU, which officially identified victims based on a manual and guidelines. The ATU interviewed 192potential victims referred by SWS, compared with 126 potential victims in 2022. SWS established the “Unit for Managing Human Trafficking” in October 2023 to coordinate the identification and referral process and act as the point of contact for government services. However, despite the additional staff, SWS continued to respond slowly to some referrals of potential victims and failed to refer all potential victims to the ATU for official identification procedures. SWS maintained officers dedicated to assisting newly arrived asylum-seekers and implementing a screening system, including screening for trafficking indicators. SWS maintained an on-call officer outside typical working hours and on weekends to provide emergency accommodation and financial support to potential victims, but SWS continued to respond slowly or did not respond at all for requests to assist potential victims after working hours or on weekends. The government trained SWS officers on various victim protection efforts.

The law entitled officially identified victims to psycho-social care, health care, translation and interpretation services, education, vocational training, and financial assistance. The government also provided full support to potential victims until ATU completed the identification process; the government provided support to 106 official and potential victims in 2023. Once the ATU officially identified a victim, SWS evaluated the needs of victims and referred them to the appropriate government agencies and NGOs for assistance. SWS operated a specialized shelter for female sex trafficking victims with the capacity to accommodate 15 victims; the SWS-run shelter accommodated 16 victims (16 in 2022). Victims could stay for one month or longer, as appropriate, in the shelter for a “reflection period.” The SWS-run shelter allowed adult victims to leave the shelter voluntarily after an assessment conducted by the ATU. The government allocated €216,000 ($238,670) to operate the SWS-run shelter in addition to staff salaries, a significant decrease compared with €389,000 ($429,830) in 2022. GRETA and NGOs reported “a high standard of accommodation” in the SWS-run shelter, including living conditions, protections, and reintegration programs, but the SWS-run shelter lacked recreational and educational activities for victims. The government allocated a weekly cash allowance of €25 ($28) for victims staying at the SWS-run shelter and also provided an assistance package worth €1,306 ($1,440) for pregnant victims, which included childcare products until the child was two years old. SWS hired a psychologist and social worker to provide services to trafficking victims, including longer-term support.

The government maintained a memorandum of cooperation with an NGO to manage transitional housing for female sex trafficking victims, which accommodated sex trafficking victims searching for permanent residence after leaving the government-run shelter, and provide longer-term accommodation for female victims in apartments. The government also partnered with an NGO to provide apartments for male victims. The government allocated €201,000 ($222,100) to the two NGOs providing shelter and accommodations, compared with €110,000 ($121,550) in 2022. However, one NGO-run shelter reported gradually closing its shelter in 2023 because the government did not refer any new victims to its shelter. The government provided a rent subsidy and a monthly allowance for all victims, but victims faced obstacles in securing adequate accommodation because of increasing housing costs and greater demand for low-cost housing. The government allocated €171,454 ($189,450) for rent allowances and financial assistance to trafficking victims through a public benefit scheme known as Guaranteed Minimum Income, compared with €297,645 ($328,890) in 2022. The government continued to prioritize public benefit applications from trafficking victims over all other beneficiaries, but observers continued to report long delays, and victims waited several months to receive benefits with no retroactive payments. SWS provided emergency financial assistance to victims facing delays in receiving monthly allowances, but the amount was insufficient to cover basic necessities. The government allocated €33,000 ($36,460) for emergency rent and assistance to cover urgent needs, compared with €19,430 ($21,470) in 2022. The government continued to fund an NGO-run children’s house to provide education, placement into foster homes, and specialized medical and psycho-social care for child victims of sexual abuse and exploitation, including trafficking. Victims could access free health care at public hospitals but did not have access to the General Healthcare System, which allowed free access to participating private-sector health care providers. Employment counselors trained to handle sensitive cases sought suitable employment for each victim, and benefits for victims did not discontinue until a SWS officer and an employment counselor examined each case; however, observers reported some victims did not receive SWS support in finding employment.

The government maintained a referral system and trained authorities to identify potential victims among people in detention facilities. The government repatriated or granted residence permits and work authorization to foreign national victims, including those who decided after their reflection period not to voluntarily participate in investigations. The government granted 52 adults a residence and work permit and one child a residence permit (36 in 2022) and repatriated two foreign national victims. However, in November 2020, the Ministry of Interior (MOI) informed a foreign labor trafficking victim – identified in 2015 – that his residence and work permits would not be renewed and he would be processed for repatriation because of the absence of a criminal court case against his traffickers. Prosecutors reportedly declined to prosecute his case because of a lack of corroborating evidence. As a result, police arrested and detained the trafficking victim in March 2021. After the international community inquired about the case, authorities released the victim in the same month, although his residence and work permits were still pending. As of 2023, the victim relocated to Canada after he was unsuccessful in obtaining employment or residence permits. Observers reported the SWS responded slowly to requests for renewing residence and work permits. Specialized personnel in the ATU, including a forensic psychologist, conducted interviews with victims before taking an official statement. Twelve victims voluntarily participated in law enforcement investigations in 2023, the same number as in 2022. Police permitted victims to leave Cyprus and return for trial after assessing potential risks and travel costs. In 2023, the ATU and SWS arranged for one victim to return to testify and provided accommodation and travel expenses for a victim’s family member to emotionally support the victim. However, victims and witnesses often left the country and did not return before trial because of long delays, hindering prosecution efforts. Police officers escorted victims to court proceedings, and the law allowed courts to hold closed-door trials, provide a partition to separate victims from their traffickers, provide remote testimony, and use video-recorded testimonies for children. The government reported victims testified virtually from another court in one trial to avoid contact with the defendant and prevent re-traumatization. Authorities provided victims’ family members living abroad protection measures from intimidation and retaliation by arranging travel to Cyprus through diplomatic channels. The law allowed restitution through criminal cases and compensation through civil suits, but judges have never issued restitution, and authorities only approved two applications to date from victims for legal aid to pursue compensation (none in 2023).

The government slightly increased prevention efforts. The Multidisciplinary Coordinating Group (MCG) to combat trafficking, composed of relevant government agencies and NGOs, implemented and monitored anti-trafficking efforts; the MCG met three times (twice in 2022). The government drafted and adopted the 2023-2026 NAP. The MCG continued to conduct awareness campaigns targeting victims and potential victims through flyers and posters written in 10 languages. The ATU maintained an anti-trafficking hotline and an online platform to report trafficking-related information; the hotline did not receive any trafficking-related calls (eight in 2022). The government conducted an awareness campaign targeting the public and vulnerable populations on indicators of trafficking and advertised the hotline number in government offices, police stations, airports, and NGO premises. In 2020, the ombudsman produced two public reports on the government’s anti-trafficking policies in response to civil society concerns. One report concluded government services did not fully implement provisions of the victim protection law because authorities did not renew the residence permits of victims exploited abroad; civil society members filed a complaint stating authorities had not fully implemented the ombudsman’s recommendations. NGOs reported the government had not issued the recommended residence permits by the end of the reporting period. The law required employment agencies hire workers with employment permits and prohibited withholding payment, confiscating passports, and charging workers for job searches, placement, and maintenance of employment; the Ministry of Labor revoked the licenses of 21 agencies for failure to provide requested documentation (18 revoked licenses and one fined for fraud in 2022). The MOI maintained contract requirements for employment of domestic workers and defined the process by which the employee or the employer could terminate the contract. In addition, the contract set a €309 ($340) minimum monthly salary for domestic workers and required employers to be responsible for accommodations, medical insurance, meals, visa fees, travel expenses, and a repatriation ticket. The MOI maintained a higher minimum monthly salary for workers from the Philippines and Sri Lanka at €400 ($440) and €350 ($390), respectively.  The government made efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts, including by criminalizing the demand and purchase of commercial sex from a trafficking victim; the government convicted one perpetrator for “receiving services from a victim of trafficking” for the first time.

As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Cyprus. Foreign victims identified in Cyprus in 2023 were from Bangladesh, Cameroon, Cote d’Ivoire, Greece, India, Nepal, Nigeria, the Philippines, and Russia. In previous years, victims were also from Cameroon, the People’s Republic of China, Czech Republic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Egypt, Ethiopia, Moldova, Romania, Sri Lanka, Syria, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, and Vietnam. Traffickers subject women, primarily from Eastern Europe, South and Southeast Asia, and sub-Saharan Africa, to sex trafficking. Sex trafficking occurs in private apartments and hotels, on the street, and in bars, pubs, coffee shops, massage parlors, and cabarets known for the availability of commercial sex. Traffickers exploit short-term tourist visas available to Ukrainians and Russians to recruit young women for sex trafficking in bars and private establishments and recruit some female sex trafficking victims with false promises of marriage or work as barmaids or hostesses. Traffickers subject foreign migrant workers – primarily from North Africa but also from South and Southeast Asia – to forced labor in agriculture. Employment agencies recruit and exploit migrant workers who enter the country on short-term work permits in labor trafficking; after the permits expire, traffickers use debt-based coercion, threats, and withholding of wages and documents to further exploit migrant workers. Domestic workers from India, Nepal, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka are particularly vulnerable to trafficking. Traffickers subject asylum-seekers from Southeast Asia and Africa to forced labor in agriculture and domestic servitude. Unaccompanied children, children of migrants, Roma, and asylum-seekers are especially vulnerable to sex trafficking and forced labor. Romani children are vulnerable to forced begging. Traffickers force Cypriots addicted to drugs and young women with disabilities to commit criminal offenses, such as distributing illegal substances and committing welfare benefits fraud.

The northern area of Cyprus is administered by Turkish Cypriots. In 1983, the Turkish 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 except Türkiye. In March 2020, “Parliament” amended the “TRNC Criminal Code” to include trafficking. Turkish Cypriot representatives did not investigate, prosecute, or convict any traffickers in 2023. Turkish Cypriot representatives did not identify any trafficking victims and provided no victim protection, including shelter, psycho-social support, and financial or legal assistance. Turkish Cypriot representatives did not allocate funding or implement prevention efforts to combat trafficking.

The “Nightclubs and Similar Places of Entertainment Law of 2000” stipulated nightclubs may only provide entertainment such as dance performances, but Turkish Cypriot representatives rarely enforced this “law.” Turkish Cypriot representatives reported 28 nightclubs in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots employed 743 women during the reported period (1,353 in 2022), and observers continued to report the nightclubs acted as brothels that commonly forced women into sex trafficking. Turkish Cypriot representatives confiscated passports of foreign national women working in nightclubs and issued them hostess visas upon entry into the area administered by Turkish Cypriots. Turkish Cypriot representatives did not permit women to change employers once under contract with a nightclub and routinely deported victims who voiced discontent about their treatment; Turkish Cypriot representatives deported 805 women after curtailing their contracts (11 in 2022). The “law” prohibited living off the earnings of “prostitution” or encouraging “prostitution”, but nightclub bodyguards accompanied female nightclub employees to their weekly health checks for sexually transmitted infections, ensuring the women did not share details about potential exploitation in commercial sex with police or doctors to facilitate continued illegal activity. The “law” that governed nightclubs prohibited foreign women from living at their place of employment; however, most women lived in dormitories adjacent to the nightclubs or in other accommodations arranged by the owner. Observers reported nightclub owners and bodyguards blackmailed victims, made death threats, forced victims to use drugs, and prevented victims from receiving any medical assistance. The “Nightclub Commission,” composed of police and “government officials” who regulated nightclubs, met monthly and made recommendations to the “Ministry of Interior” regarding operating licenses, changes to employee quotas, and the need for intervention at a particular establishment. However, in practice, inspections focused on the sanitation of kitchens and interviews with women working in nightclubs always took place in front of nightclub bodyguards or staff, preventing women from speaking freely. Nightclubs provided a source of tax revenue for Turkish Cypriot representatives with media reports in 2015 estimating nightclub owners paid between 20 and 30 million Turkish lira ($675,970 and $1,014,000) in taxes annually, presenting a conflict of interest and a deterrent to combat trafficking. In addition, observers alleged complicit Turkish Cypriot representatives were involved in organized criminal groups associated with nightclubs and that some representatives maintained connections with nightclub managers, owners, and operators, which further stymied efforts to address concerns.

Turkish Cypriot representatives issued 1,038 six-month hostess and barmaid “work permits” for individuals working in nightclubs and pubs, compared with 1,353 in 2022. Observers reported nightclub owners hired female college students to bypass the cap on the number of employees legally permitted in each club and to avoid taxes and monitoring. Turkish Cypriot representatives reported permit holders came from Belarus, Iran, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Morocco, Russia, Tajikistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan. In previous years, permit holder also came from Algeria, Azerbaijan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Colombia, Cuba, Egypt, Georgia, Germany, Kenya, Lebanon, Romania, Tunisia, and Venezuela. Turkish Cypriot representatives have not provided the number of “work permits” issued to domestic workers since 2018 (3,143). Turkish Cypriot representatives did provide victim-witness assistance to encourage potential victims to voluntarily assist in criminal justice proceedings against traffickers and deported all potential victims. The “law” allowed compensation through civil suits, but experts reported the process was extremely difficult because of insufficient victim assistance, particularly legal assistance. Turkish Cypriot representatives did not have a NAP and did not conduct any awareness campaigns or research on trafficking. Turkish Cypriot representatives did not enforce labor “laws,” and observers reported Turkish Cypriot representatives made little effort to investigate employers and recruitment agencies charging recruitment fees, confiscating passports, or withholding salaries, which were common practices. The “Social Services Department” in the “Ministry of Labor” continued to run a hotline for social service complaints, which included trafficking. However, it was not always operational and was inadequately staffed, and experts reported trafficking victims were afraid to call the hotline because they believed it was linked to Turkish Cypriot representatives. NGO-run hotlines reported 21 trafficking-related calls, compared to 13 trafficking-related calls in 2021.

As reported over the past five years, human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots. Traffickers exploit women from Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa in sex trafficking in nightclubs licensed and regulated by Turkish Cypriot representatives. Traffickers exploit men and women in forced labor in the industrial, construction, agriculture, domestic work, restaurant, and retail sectors. Traffickers control forced labor victims through debt-based coercion, threats of deportation, restriction of movement, and inhumane living and working conditions. Labor trafficking victims originate from Eastern Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Central Asia, and South and Southeast Asia. Migrants, especially those who cross into the area administered by Turkish Cypriots after their work permits in the Republic of Cyprus have expired, are vulnerable to labor trafficking. Romani children and Turkish seasonal workers and their families are also vulnerable to labor exploitation and trafficking.

Thirty percent of the total population in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots are foreign university students, particularly from sub-Saharan Africa, South and Central Asia, and the Middle East. Turkish Cypriot-funded and for-profit universities pay unregulated agents and recruitment agencies up to €1,000 ($1,100) for each successfully recruited student. Agents and recruitment agencies deceive foreign students with false promises of scholarships, free housing, and employment. Unlicensed moneylenders issue loans to students and confiscate their passports as guarantees, increasing their vulnerability to trafficking to pay off debts. Traffickers force female students into sex trafficking in apartments and male students into forced labor or coerce students to commit crimes such as transporting or selling drugs. Local business owners deceive newly arrived students into working in nightclubs, casinos, hotels, and other places of employment under inhumane working conditions with little or no pay. Migrants, asylum-seekers, LGBTQI+ persons, and refugees and their children are also at risk for sex trafficking.