Tricked and Trapped: Human Trafficking in the Middle East, â€Žpdf 4.1 MB

More documents

Recommendations

Info

processes by which migrant workers are recruited, 23 will also be of paramount importance in a comprehensive counter-trafficking strategy. Government policy-makers and other key stakeholders should use the useful principles and guidelines on human trafficking developed by the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) as a basis for practical, rightsbased policy guidance on the prevention of trafficking and the protection of victims of trafficking. 24 1.3. REVIEW OF THE LITERATURE ON THE MIDDLE EAST The Middle East is home to an estimated 25 million of migrant workers. 25 Labour migration in the region has been influenced by trade, wars, tourism and the discovery of oil. It is distinguished by its scale (in respect of both its absolute size and its exponential growth, at rates far beyond the global average) and by its ‘South–South’ nature. 26 The most attractive destinations are the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries, which have been going through a societal transformation in the wake of their emergence as economically prosperous nations. In these capital-rich economies, the rapid construction and development of infrastructure enabled by revenues from the dominant oil industry has relied on the use of short-term labour immigration. 27 A recent study on labour market characteristics and trends in the Gulf estimated there were 14 million migrant workers working in the GCC states between 1975 and 2010, which equates to 70 per cent of the total labour force. 28 The composition of the foreign labour force in the region appears to be increasingly mixed, with migrant workers originating mostly in Asia and Africa. According to recent data, the proportion of migrant workers 23 The authors have decided to use the term “migrant worker” in accordance with international standards. The term has been defined in art. 2 of the International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of all Migrant Workers and Members of Their Families (1990) as referring “to a person who is to be engaged, is engaged or has been engaged in a remunerated activity in a State of which he or she is not a national”. It is nonetheless important to note that the GCC countries prefer to use the term “temporary contract labour”. 24 OHCHR: Recommended principles and guidelines on human rights and human trafficking, text presented to the Economic and Social Council as an addendum to the report of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (E/2002/68/Add. 1). 25 Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, A Conceptual Framework for Integrating Migration into Development Planning in the ESCWA Region, Technical Paper 4, October 2010. 26 Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, A Conceptual Framework for Integrating Migration into Development Planning in the ESCWA Region, Technical Paper 4, October 2010. 27 M. Baldwin-Edwards: “Labour immigration and labour markets in the GCC countries: National patterns and trends”, research paper, Kuwait Programme on Development, Governance and Globalisation in the Gulf States, London School of Economics Department of Governance, pp. 7–8. The GCC countries are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates. Yemen holds observer status at the GCC. 28 Z. Tzannatos: “Youth employment in the GCC states: Is it the youth (and schools), employment (and migrants) or the Gulf (and oil)?”, research paper presented at the 2012 Gulf Research Meeting of the Gulf Research Centre, Cambridge, 11–14 July 2012. 25
in the labour force of the GCC countries ranges from 50 per cent in Saudi Arabia to 94 per cent in Qatar. 29 It is also estimated that there are over 2 million migrant domestic workers in the Middle East. 30 In order to manage this large influx of migrant workers, countries in the region rely on the kafala or sponsorship system, which is based on historical principles of hospitality governing the treatment and protection of foreign guests. Over time this has become formalized in the various national legal frameworks that determine the terms of residence and employment for migrant workers, and today the kafala system governs the lives of most migrant workers in the Mashreq and GCC countries. 31 Under the kafala system employers are kafeels (sponsors), who determine their demand for labour and meet it either by direct recruitment or through intermediaries, such as private employment agencies (PEAs). A migrant worker’s immigration status is thus specifically tied to an individual sponsor for their contract period. 32 Such workers are thereby rendered more vulnerable by the lack of autonomy in relation to their employers. 33 The ILO Committee of Experts has noted that the kafala system in certain countries in the Middle East may be conducive to the exaction of forced labour and has requested that the governments concerned protect migrant workers from abusive practices. 34 Countries in the region are discussing the merits and constraints associated with the kafala, and some have sought to reform the system. The Government of Bahrain was the first to do so, when in 2009 it relaxed a critical constraint of the kafala, allowing migrant workers to change employers without seeking the consent of their current employer. Later, the Government stipulated in Law No. 15 of 2011 that the migrant worker must serve one year with the first employer before being legally entitled to move to another. 35 29 Baldwin-Edwards: “Labour immigration and labour markets in the GCC countries”, p. 8. 30 ILO: Global and regional estimates on domestic workers, Domestic Work Policy Brief 4, 27 May 2011, pp. 7–8. 31 N. McGeehan: “Trafficking in persons or state sanctioned exploitation? The false narrative of migrant workers in the United Arab Emirates”, in Immigration, Asylum and Nationality Law (2012, Vol. 26, No. 1), pp. 29–30. Following the regional classification used by the ILO, the Arab Mashreq covers Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, the Occupied Palestinian Territory and the Syrian Arab Republic. 32 Migrant Forum Asia: Policy Brief No. 2: Reform of the kafala (sponsorship system) (Quezon City, 2012), p. 1. 33 ILO: Giving globalization a human face: General survey on the fundamental Conventions concerning rights at work in light of the ILO Declaration on Social Justice for a Fair Globalization, 2008, Report III(1B), International Labour Conference, 101st Session, Geneva, 2012, pp. 126–27. 34 Ibid. 35 Bahrain, Ministry of Labour, Decision No. 79 regarding the mobility of foreign employees from one employer to another, 2009, art. 2: “In line with clause b of article 25 from decree No. 19 for 2006 with regards to the regulation of the Labour Market, 26
Page 1 and 2: In collaboration with TRICKED AND T
Page 3 and 4: Copyright © International Labour O
Page 5 and 6: officials, worker and employer repr
Page 7 and 8: 3.3.2. Recruitment 101 3.3.3. Work
Page 9 and 10: MoJ MoL MWPS MoSAL NCCHT NCT NGO NH
Page 11 and 12: LIST OF TABLES Table 2.1. Dimension
Page 13 and 14: The realization of this research pr
Page 15 and 16: In an effort to fill gaps in unders
Page 17 and 18: There have also been cases of anima
Page 20 and 21: CHAPTER 1: FRAMING THE ISSUE 1.1. D
Page 22 and 23: People trafficked for any of the ex
Page 24 and 25: 1.2. GLOBAL DEBATES ON HUMAN TRAFFI
Page 28 and 29: Concerted efforts have been made to
Page 30 and 31: documented abuses against domestic
Page 32 and 33: CHAPTER 2: METHODOLOGY 2.1. RESEARC
Page 34 and 35: Table 2.1. Dimensions of forced lab
Page 36 and 37: Table 2.4. Indicators of impossibil
Page 38 and 39: 2.2. OVERVIEW OF DATA COLLECTED In
Page 40: Having said that, the Middle East i
Page 43 and 44: individuals who voluntarily agree t
Page 45 and 46: 3.1.2. Recruitment of domestic work
Page 47 and 48: domestic worker explained, “many
Page 49 and 50: An official from the NGO KAFA went
Page 51 and 52: Another Filipina explained the supp
Page 53 and 54: In Jordan, an official from Tamkeen
Page 55 and 56: workers supported by the NGO report
Page 57 and 58: on the balcony. When it got cold, I
Page 59 and 60: 3.1.4. Impossibility of leaving Wor
Page 61 and 62: Legally, the domestic worker has li
Page 63 and 64: embassy three times to make an emer
Page 65 and 66: given that it is not easy for a mig
Page 67 and 68: Analysis of the information provide
Page 69 and 70: country, or whose relatives are dec
Page 71 and 72: 3.2.2. Recruitment Recruitment of d
Page 73 and 74: to provide sexual services. Most of
Page 75 and 76: The research team was unable to int
Page 77 and 78:
Box 3.9. A press report of traffick
Page 79 and 80:
explained that in 2010 there were b
Page 81 and 82:
There are conflicting views over th
Page 83 and 84:
one nightclub owner in Amman. 144 T
Page 85 and 86:
2011, three minors and three adult
Page 87 and 88:
Many reports confirm the interlinka
Page 89 and 90:
Some claim that the situation of ar
Page 91 and 92:
finish working, especially Tunisian
Page 93 and 94:
Investigations carried out by the I
Page 95 and 96:
Detention of women accused of prost
Page 97 and 98:
Lack of any economic and social alt
Page 99 and 100:
3.3. OTHER ECONOMIC ACTIVITIES 3.3.
Page 101 and 102:
Table 3.3. Overview of four process
Page 103 and 104:
Indeed, many of those interviewed w
Page 105 and 106:
workers, often requiring them to ta
Page 107 and 108:
not suitable for the position so th
Page 109 and 110:
The case of seafarers Stories emerg
Page 111 and 112:
personnel from the ports to offshor
Page 113 and 114:
of destination often happen through
Page 115 and 116:
and we will find him a new job”.
Page 117 and 118:
Degrading living and working condit
Page 119 and 120:
Ministerial Decree 1186 (2010) was
Page 121 and 122:
Retention of personal documents Lac
Page 124 and 125:
CHAPTER 4: REGIONAL RESPONSES TO HU
Page 126 and 127:
In Lebanon, the Government ratified
Page 128 and 129:
trafficking efforts in the seven em
Page 130 and 131:
stipulating that employers must giv
Page 132 and 133:
In Kuwait, in the absence of a spec
Page 134 and 135:
4.1.5. Prosecution of human traffic
Page 136 and 137:
Box 4.1. Ending the use of child ca
Page 138 and 139:
4.2. STRENGTHENING THE INSTITUTIONA
Page 140 and 141:
order management officers at the ai
Page 142 and 143:
government action has, however, bee
Page 144 and 145:
Box 4.3. Ending forced labour in th
Page 146 and 147:
among migrant workers and no protoc
Page 148 and 149:
to the needs of their citizens. The
Page 150 and 151:
Dialogue in 2008 to promote a colla
Page 152 and 153:
CHAPTER 5: A WAY FORWARD Comprehens
Page 154 and 155:
to legally terminate a contract aft
Page 156 and 157:
5.3.2. Taking measures to reduce vu
Page 158 and 159:
attention also needs to be given to
Page 160 and 161:
with new skills, which will make it
Page 162 and 163:
ANNEX: LIST OF STATES PARTIES TO KE
Page 164 and 165:
BIBLIOGRAPHY National legislation B
Page 166 and 167:
Lebanon Labour Code, 1946. Law on E
Page 168 and 169:
International Convention on the Pro
Page 170 and 171:
The Economist. 2010. “Little bett
Page 172 and 173:
—. 2006. Multilateral Framework o
Page 174 and 175:
—. 2011b. Qatar’s ambitions for
Page 176 and 177:
—. 2010. The international legal
Page 178 and 179:
Transient Workers Count Two. 2012.
Page 180:
This regional study sheds light on
show all

Tricked and Trapped: Human Trafficking in the Middle East, â€Žpdf 4.1 MB

Create successful ePaper yourself

Delete template?

Save as template?