Kazakhstani men and women were trafficked internally and to the U.A.E., Azerbaijan, Turkey, Israel, Greece, Russia, and Germany and the United States for purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation.
[2] In 2008 the Government of Kazakhstan did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it made significant efforts to do so.
[6][7][8][9][10] The Kazakhstan government made significant progress in its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts over the reporting period.
The government prosecuted three corrupt police officials, including the former head of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Unit in Almaty.
The law provides that victims are not penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked; however, NGOs continued to report that some victims, as the result of not being identified by authorities, were detained in jail and prevented from leaving the country for periods ranging from a few days to several months.
In 2007, the government funded the production of approximately 3,000 booklets that were distributed by NGOs among groups vulnerable to trafficking, including people in rural areas and school children.