Tricked and Trapped: Human Trafficking in the Middle East, ‎pdf 4.1 MB

There have also been cases of animal herders, sent by their employers
out into the scorching desert heat, who are deceived not just about their
working and living conditions, but about the job itself; many believed they
were being recruited as drivers and gardeners, only to find that was not at
all their employers’ real intention. These migrant workers cannot leave their
employers, due to the kafala system, which severely constrains the mobility
of workers. Employers also prevent their employees from leaving by requiring
them to pay high fees for their release, withholding their wages as well as
personal documents.
Small and medium-sized companies and individual employers in the
construction and agricultural sectors tend to hire workers who are already
in the country but with irregular migration status, so as to avoid paying the
costs of recruitment and travel from countries of origin. Migrant workers
often find themselves in this “informal” labour market through no fault of
their own. There is a prevailing practice of kafeels (“sponsors”) recruiting
foreign workers for non-existent jobs. Such fraudulent sponsors generate
sizeable profits by auctioning off the visas of these workers to the highest
bidder, while the workers themselves are stranded in the destination country,
often in debt, with no job, and forced to look for irregular work. Private
employment agencies also profit by illegally charging fees to both workers
and employers. Ultimately, these workers are left in very precarious working
and living situations, and have limited recourse to support mechanisms and
justice. They too are constrained by the kafala system, and have difficulty
escaping exploitative situations.
Governments, social partners and other key stakeholders in the region have
shown a commitment to respond to the multiple forms and processes of
human trafficking. Most countries in the Middle East have passed specific antitrafficking
legislation, thereby providing for the prosecution of perpetrators
of the crime. Several countries have established institutions that foster
inter-ministerial coordination to combat the phenomenon. Recent training
programmes on the identification of trafficking victims have contributed to
greater awareness of the problem and how to detect and respond to it in
practice. Bilateral agreements concluded between workers’ organizations in
countries of origin and destination commit them to work together towards
the protection of migrant workers. Civil society actors have mobilized to
provide direct relief and legal support services to those in distress.
There is thus a clear and growing momentum in the fight against the crime
of human trafficking in the Middle East. At the same time, it is important
to broaden the prism through which human trafficking is seen, recognizing
the close relationship between human trafficking and labour migration, and
the role that failures in current labour migration governance systems play
in allowing human trafficking to persist in the region. The ILO’s Decent
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