Disputes - international:
Argentina continues to assert its claims to the UK-administered
Falkland Islands (Islas Malvinas) and South Georgia and the South
Sandwich Islands in its constitution, forcibly occupying the
Falklands in 1982, but in 1995 agreed no longer to seek settlement
by force; territorial claim in Antarctica partially overlaps UK and
Chilean claims (see Antarctic disputes); unruly region at
convergence of Argentina-Brazil-Paraguay borders is locus of money
laundering, smuggling, arms and illegal narcotics trafficking, and
fundraising for extremist organizations; uncontested dispute between
Brazil and Uruguay over Braziliera Island in the Quarai/Cuareim
River leaves the tripoint with Argentina in question; action by the
joint boundary commission, established by Chile and Argentina in
2001, for mapping and demarcating the disputed boundary in the
Andean Southern Ice Field (Campo de Hielo Sur) remains pending
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Argentina is primarily a destination country for
women and children trafficked for sexual and labor exploitation with
most victims trafficked internally, from rural to urban areas, for
exploitation in prostitution; foreign women and children trafficked
for commercial sexual exploitation come primarily from Paraguay, but
also from Bolivia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and
Chile; Bolivians are trafficked for forced labor; Argentine women
and girls are also trafficked to neighboring countries for sexual
exploitation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Argentina failed to show evidence
of increasing efforts to combat trafficking particularly in the key
area of prosecutions; government efforts to improve interagency
anti-trafficking coordination did not achieve significant progress
in moving cases against traffickers through the judicial system; the
government made progress in other areas, by submitting
anti-trafficking legislation to Congress in August 2005 and
sensitizing provincial and municipal government officials to the
trafficking problem
Illicit drugs:
used as a transshipment country for cocaine headed for Europe; some
money-laundering activity, especially in the Tri-Border Area;
domestic consumption of drugs in urban centers is increasing
This page was last updated on 8 February, 2007
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@Armenia
Introduction Armenia
Background:
Armenia prides itself on being the first nation to formally adopt
Christianity (early 4th century). Despite periods of autonomy, over
the centuries Armenia came under the sway of various empires
including the Roman, Byzantine, Arab, Persian, and Ottoman. During
World War I in the western portion of Armenia, Ottoman Turkey
instituted a policy of forced resettlement coupled with other harsh
practices that resulted in an estimated 1 million Armenian deaths.
The eastern area of Armenia was ceded by the Ottomans to Russia in
1828; this portion declared its independence in 1918, but was
conquered by the Soviet Red Army in 1920. Armenian leaders remain
preoccupied by the long conflict with Muslim Azerbaijan over
Nagorno-Karabakh, a primarily Armenian-populated region, assigned to
Soviet Azerbaijan in the 1920s by Moscow. Armenia and Azerbaijan
began fighting over the area in 1988; the struggle escalated after
both countries attained independence from the Soviet Union in 1991.
By May 1994, when a cease-fire took hold, Armenian forces held not
only Nagorno-Karabakh but also a significant portion of Azerbaijan
proper. The economies of both sides have been hurt by their
inability to make substantial progress toward a peaceful resolution.
Turkey imposed an economic blockade on Armenia and closed the common
border because of the Armenian occupation of Nagorno-Karabakh and
surrounding areas.
Geography Armenia
Location:
Southwestern Asia, east of Turkey