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

An official from the NGO KAFA went even further, arguing that some
migrant workers pay double fees, to recruitment agencies in both origin
and destination countries, thereby increasing their debt and thus their
vulnerability. 20 According to the UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking, when
recruitment agencies do not respect these rules they implicate themselves in
the crime of trafficking: “The employment agent himself can be considered
a trafficker if s/he knows or turns a blind eye to the fact that the employer
is recruiting the worker for the purpose of exploitation, but is deceiving the
worker about this intention.” 21
PEAs in countries of origin are also known to facilitate the travel of migrants
even when their own governments have issued bans on deployment of
domestic workers because of recurring human rights violations against
domestic workers in the countries of destination. 22 Most of the time, these
irregular travel arrangements are organized by unlicensed agencies that
operate outside governments’ regulatory schemes. However, some licensed
agencies have also been involved in circumventing the bans, even though
their legal status makes it more difficult for them to exploit regulatory
gaps. These deployment bans are imposed unilaterally by governments
of countries of origin and thus are not legally binding in destination
countries. 23 Many bans currently apply to countries throughout the region.
An official of the General Directorate of General Security (GDGS) at
Beirut International Airport explained that if the migrant worker has a
valid tourist or work visa upon arrival, the immigration official will allow
the person to enter Lebanon, irrespective of whether a deployment ban is
in place in the country of origin. 24 Similar practices occur across the region.
20
Interview with an official from KAFA, Lebanon, 21 Sep. 2011. KAFA (Enough)
Violence and Exploitation in Lebanon established in 2005, is a Lebanese non-profit,
non-political, non-confessional civil society organization committed to the achievement
of gender equality and non-discrimination, and the advancement of the human rights
of women and children.
21
S. Huda: Report of the Special Rapporteur on the human rights aspects of the victims
of trafficking in persons, especially women and children: Mission to Lebanon, E/
CN.4/2006/62/Add. 3, 20 Feb. 2006, p. 9.
22
“Deployment” in this context refers to the despatch of nationals to another country
for work.
23
For an example of recent ban imposed by Nepal, see BBC News: “Nepal women
banned from Middle East over exploitation”, Aug. 2012, http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/
world-asia-19196245 [accessed 27 Sep. 2012].
24
Interview with an official from the GDGS at Beirut Rafic Hariri International
Airport, Lebanon, 26 Sep. 2011.
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