Saudi Arabia: Victims Leave the Country without Seeking Justice
Saudi Arabia is a destination for men and women from South and East Asia and East Africa trafficked for the purpose of labor exploitation, and for children from Yemen, Afghanistan, and Africa trafficking for forced begging. Hundreds of thousands of low-skilled workers from India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Somalia, and Kenya migrate voluntarily to Saudi Arabia; some fall into conditions of involuntary servitude, suffering from physical and sexual abuse, non-payment or delayed payment of wages, the withholding of travel documents, restrictions on their freedom of movement and non-consensual contract alterations The Government of Saudi Arabia does not comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. Saudi Arabia has moved from Tier 2 to Tier 3 because of its lack of progress in anti-trafficking efforts, particularly its failure to protect victims and prosecute those guilty of involuntary servitude. Despite reports of trafficking and abuses of domestic and other unskilled workers and children, there is evidence of only one Saudi Government prosecution
of a Saudi employer for a trafficking-related offense during the reporting period. Some victims of abuse, due to procedural hurdles, choose to leave the country rather than confront their abusers in court.
They are required first to file a complaint with the police before they are allowed access to shelters. The government offers no legal aid to foreign victims and does not otherwise assist them in using the Saudi criminal justice system to bring their exploiters to justice. If a victim chooses to file a complaint, he or she is not allowed to work. The Saudi Government does, however, provide food and shelter for female workers who file complaints or run away from their employers. Criminal cases are adjudicated under Sharia law, and there is no evidence trafficking victims are accorded legal assistance before and during Sharia legal proceedings. The government should consider adopting comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation
that would punish traffickers, provide for the protection of victims, and facilitate prevention
programs. It should also collect and disseminate data on prosecution and mediation efforts, prosecute aggressively cases of physical and sexual abuse using available criminal laws, and increase its efforts to prevent and investigate the trafficking of children for forced begging.
Prosecution There is limited evidence indicating that the government has this year improved its prosecution efforts over last year. Saudi Arabia lacks laws criminalizing most trafficking offenses. Most abuses involving foreign workers are dealt with by Islamic law, royal decrees, and ministerial resolutions; few are submitted to criminal prosecution. Domestic workers, which comprise a significant portion of the foreign workforce, are excluded from protection under Saudi labor laws. Most cases involving trafficking or abuse of foreign workers are settled out of court through mediation. In 2004, there were reports of Philippine female domestic workers raped; however, there were no reports of prosecutions.
In 2004, the Ministry of Labor issued resolutions, among other things, prohibiting trading
in work visas, employing and exploiting children, and recruiting for begging. It investigated some cases of abusive employers and instituted a tracking system. To date, 30 abusive employers have been barred from hiring workers. The government provides training for police officers to recognize and handle cases of foreign worker abuse.
Protection
The Saudi Government has not improved its efforts to protect victims of trafficking but continues to operate three shelters for abused female expatriate workers in Riyadh, Jeddah, and Dammam. It also operates facilities for abandoned children, including trafficking victims, in Jeddah, Mecca, and Medina. However, the government does not provide shelter to adult male workers. There are no NGOs working with trafficking victims. The government mediates disputes and alleged abuses of foreign workers — including complaints of a criminal nature — and seeks to return victims to their home countries without adequately investigating and prosecuting crimes committed against them.
Prevention
Saudi Arabia’s limited efforts to prevent trafficking include: distributing information at embassies abroad, licensing and regulating the activities of recruitment agencies, monitoring immigration patterns and visa issuance, and promoting awareness through the media and religious authorities. The government has begun working with UNICEF and the Yemeni Government to prevent trafficking of children for begging. A plan envisioned several years ago to distribute information to foreign workers at Saudi Arabian airports upon arrival has not been implemented. Religious leaders have preached in mosques sermons about the evil of abusing employees.
Bahrain in Tier II Group
BAHRAIN (TIER 2 – WATCH LIST) Bahrain is a destination country for women and men who migrate legally from South Asia and the Philippines and — to a lesser extent — from China, Indonesia, the former Soviet Union, Morocco, and Ethiopia, but fall victim to conditions of sexual servitude, debt bondage, and other exploitative conditions that constitute involuntary servitude. The Government of Bahrain does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Bahrain is placed on Tier 2 Watch List because of the lack of evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year. Although Bahrain has developed a national plan of action and created an inter-ministerial taskforce on trafficking, these efforts were not accompanied by concrete actions to address the substantial trafficking problem it faces. During the reporting period, the government did not prosecute any person on trafficking charges, despite continued reports of foreign workers in conditions of involuntary servitude. A promised government-run shelter for trafficking victims has not opened and some prominent Bahrainis reportedly continue to illegally sell “free visas” to workers, thereby indirectly facilitating the trafficking of victims. Bahrain should develop and implement appropriate anti-trafficking measures to address these concerns.
Prosecution The Government of Bahrain did not improve its prosecution record during the reporting period. Although Bahrain lacks anti-trafficking laws to prosecute traffickers, it has ruled in favor of workers in numerous cases of abuses and non-payment of wages. The Ministry of Labor provides mediation services to resolve labor disputes. In 2004, the Ministry of Labor mediated and resolved 624 complaints and it referred 1,926 complaints to courts, though it is unknown how many, if any, of these cases are trafficking-related. Bahrain reported that it is investigating 43 employers for offenses related to abuse of “free visa” privileges to bring in foreign workers. Press reports indicate that the government arrested and deported foreign women for engaging in prostitution during the year; however, there is no evidence that the government attempted to identify potential trafficking victims among the arrested women. During the reporting period, the government shut down some manpower agencies engaged in trafficking-related offenses. Bahrain’s court system is overburdened with cases; many labor complaints languish in courts.KUWAIT
Kuwait is a destination country for men, women, and children trafficked primarily from Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Pakistan, the Philippines, and Sri Lanka for the purpose of labor exploitation. Some foreign women who migrate legally to Kuwait as domestic workers are subsequently abused by their employers or coerced into situations of debt bondage or involuntary servitude. Some domestic workers are trafficked within the country for sexual and labor exploitation. Some underage boys from South Asia, the Sudan, Yemen, and Eritrea are trafficked from neighboring Gulf States to work as camel jockeys. Victims suffer debt bondage, involuntary sexual servitude, coerced labor, verbal and physical abuse, and the withholding of their passports or other required travel documents. The Government of Kuwait does not comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. Over the last year, the government failed to take significant steps to address trafficking, particularly efforts to prosecute trafficking crimes and
protect victims. It did, however, in 2004 establish a law banning the employment of children as camel jockeys, and welcomed opportunities to cooperate with the U.S. on anti-trafficking activities.The Government of Kuwait issued public declarations against trafficking, but there is no evidence of judicial action against traffickers, despite ongoing reporting of physical and sexual abuse of domestic workers, physical abuse of laborers, and physical abuse and exploitation of trafficked child camel jockeys. Kuwait should take immediate and significant steps to stop these abuses by investigating, arresting, and prosecuting those that are criminally implicated. The government should take immediate and verifiable actions to rescue, repatriate, and reintegrate children trafficked as camel jockeys. Camel racing is not a major sport in Kuwait; therefore, the number of camel jockeys in the country is not large. Kuwait should also take steps to protect the rights of its huge domestic workforce by extending them protection under Kuwait’s labor laws or through other appropriate mechanisms Additionally, the government needs to develop and implement tools such as an anti-trafficking national plan of action, comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation, and prevention and protection measures that include broad anti-trafficking public campaigns.
Prosecution
During the reporting period, Kuwait took limited actions to investigate and prosecute traffickers. Kuwait does not have a law specifically prohibiting trafficking in persons; however, it has used existing statutes to prosecute some trafficking and related crimes. Penalties range from three to ten years imprisonment for kidnapping or inducing prostitution to capital punishment for rape. In 2004, the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor, referred more than 2,000 labor disputes — 20 percent of the total complaints received — to the Prosecutor General for review, but the final disposition of these cases is unknown. Despite a
law banning the employment and exploitation of foreign children as camel jockeys, the practice unofficially continues and there is no evidence of prosecution of these offenses. In 2004, Kuwait enacted statutes that require tracking payment of wages by employers. It also prohibited the practice of deducting three month's salary from newly arrived employees to cover recruitment expenses.However, the governmental body charged with enforcing this provision is not adequately staffed. Protection Kuwait made minimal efforts to protect trafficking victims over the last year. Domestic workers are not covered by Kuwait’s Labor Law and, as a result, lack adequate legal protections. The government continues to detain, jail, and deport trafficking victims caught violating other laws material to their trafficking (e.g. violating immigration laws). The police continued returning some victims to their abusive employers. Occasionally, the government provided limited financial aid to victims, including airfare or chartering aircraft for repatriation, but it did not provide shelter or temporary residence permits to allow victims to pursue criminal or civil complaints against abusive employers. There is no evidence that during the reporting period the government rescued and repatriated any child camel jockey trafficking victim.
Prevention
In 2004, Kuwait initiated efforts to prevent trafficking. In March 2004, the Government of Kuwait established an inter-ministerial taskforce to address problems related to expatriate manpower agencies and domestic laborers. The Ministry of Interior oversees the Immigration Intelligence Department and the Domestic Labor Administration, which license, monitor and inspect recruitment agencies that bring in foreign workers. The Kuwait Union of Domestic Labor Offices (KUDLO), an association of labor recruitment agencies, worked with the government to ensure the passage of statutes designed to prevent exploitat ion of incoming domestic workers. Additionally, in an effort to minimize labor disputes, the Union produced and distributed brochures highlighting the rights and obligations of domestic workers and employers, provided basic training and orientation to prospective employees in household work, and facilitated change of employers for some domestic workers.Egypt
Egypt is a transit country for women and girls trafficked from Eastern Europe and Russia into Israel for sexual exploitation. Some victims, primarily from sub-Saharan Africa, may also transit Egypt en route to Europe. Various sources indicate that unspecified numbers of women, particularly from Moldova, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan, are smuggled or trafficked through the Sinai desert into Israel. Some women who seek economic opportunity in Israel willingly chose to make this journey. Others are deceived or compelled to make the journey. Bedouin smugglers appear to play a key role in their travel. Once in Israel, they are sexually exploited in prostitution. According to the Government of Egypt, 154 persons, including 93 women who entered Egypt in 2004 on tourist visas, remain unaccounted for. Some Egyptian males are smuggled into Europe and are reportedly subjected to involuntary servitude.
The Government of Egypt does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Following the October 2004 terrorist attacks in the Sinai, the government increased its security vigilance in the region.The government signed a “pledge document” with Bedouin tribal leaders in the Sinai, which, among other things, elicits their cooperation to report on trafficking-related activities. The government should appoint a national coordinator to oversee its overall anti-trafficking efforts; conduct an assessment of the trafficking situation and develop a national plan of action to combat it; adopt and implement comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation; train its law enforcement personnel to identify trafficking crimes, prosecute more traffickers, and care for victims; and develop effective protection and prevention programs.
Prosecution During the reporting period, the Government of Egypt made modest efforts to prosecute trafficking cases. Egypt does not have specific anti-trafficking legislation; nonetheless, it uses other criminal codes to punish traffickers. In 2004, a criminal court in the Sinai sentenced one person to three and a half years in prison for attempting to traffic five Russian and Moldavian women into Israel. Press reports indicate that in September 2004, 13 Eastern European women were rescued after a gun battle between security forces and Bedouin traffickers. In early 2005, the Ministry of Interior established an Office of Organized Crime within the Ministry, to serve as a coordinating body for narcotics and human trafficking. The government should enhance its law enforcement collaborations with source, destination, and other transit countries in order to identify and dismantle any trafficking networks and prosecute the criminals behind them.Protection
The Government of Egypt does not have a trafficking victim protection program. However, in
instances where victims are identified, the government turns them over to their embassies for assistance. Repatriation of trafficking victims continues to be conducted on an ad hoc basis. Egypt should consider collaborating with IOM to repatriate victims. It should also develop and implement a uniform protection policy.
Prevention
The Egyptian Government does not have an anti-trafficking prevention program. However, its consular and immigration officials, at home and abroad, are instructed to be on alert for instances of illegal migration and fraudulent travel. As previously mentioned, the government signed a “pledge document” with tribal leaders in the Sinai, to elicit their cooperation in monitoring trafficking routes. Egypt should develop and implement a public awareness campaign to sensitize the general public, vulnerable groups, and government officials.Ethiopia is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Young Ethiopian women are trafficked to Djibouti and the Middle East, particularly Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates, and Saudi Arabia, for involuntary domestic labor. A small percentage are trafficked for sexual exploitation, with some women reportedly trafficked onward from Lebanon to Europe. Small numbers of men are trafficked to Saudi Arabia and the Gulf states for exploitation as low-skilled laborers. Both children and adults are trafficked internally from rural to urban areas for domestic labor and, to a lesser extent, for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor, such as street vending. The Government of Ethiopia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. To further its efforts to combat traffick-
ing, the government should put in place laws that prohibit all forms of trafficking, begin compiling comprehensive law enforcement statistics, and launch a nationwide public awareness campaign.
Prosecution
The government made progress in furthering its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts over the reporting period. Ethiopia's criminal code narrowly defines trafficking as inducing women or children to engage in prostitution, and cannot be invoked against traffickers for forced labor. Labor traffickers are
often charged with enslavement, but this does not cover deceptive or fraudulent work claims made to voluntary migrants. A penal code revision containing provisions that address these loopholes was debated and passed by the Parliament in early 2005. The new provisions will become law in May 2005. During the year, police apprehended 31 traffickers; 30 cases remain under investigation. Prosecutions are pending in 48 prior cases, and Ethiopia reached its first conviction in March 2004, sentencing a man to six months’ imprisonment for trafficking two children. In December 2004, police arrested 19 people attempting to traffic more than 200 Ethiopians through Somalia to Saudi Arabia. The victims were returned to their homes and the case is under investigation. The Ministry of Justice introduced new statistical
methods to track the outcome of arrests; comprehensive statistics have not yet been produced.
Protection
Protective services for victims greatly increased over the last year. Staff of Ethiopia's consulate in Beirut increased from two to six persons, all primarily devoted to supporting Ethiopians trafficked to Lebanon. In 2004, the government opened a consulate in Dubai for the same purpose. During the year, the Child Protection Units in each of Addis Ababa’s ten police stations monitored for situations of trafficking in persons. Police officers and counselors stationed at the Central Bus Terminal — a known transit point
for children trafficked from rural areas — rescued 210 child trafficking victims in 2004. Police officials transferred these children to local NGOs for care; 197 were reunited with their families. The Ministry of Labor provided bus transportation to home villages to 27 trafficked women returning from Yemen.
Prevention
Ethiopia’s anti-trafficking prevention efforts improved during the reporting period. In 2004, the government formed an inter-agency anti-trafficking task force that began developing a national plan for combating trafficking. The task force also formed three subcommittees for legal issues, data collection, and public awareness that analyzed existing studies on the issue and publicized relevant messages through local media. The Ministry of Education, in coordination with IOM, organized group discussions on the topic of trafficking in 200 secondary schools. The government continued its supervision of five legal labor migration firms that are required to provide pre-departure counseling on the trafficking-related risks of overseas employment. During the year, immigration officials began fully enforcing the requirement that workers traveling to the Middle East present a Ministry of
Labor-certified work contract before departing.Ghanaian women and girls are trafficked to Western Europe — principally Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands — for sexual exploitation. Some young Ghanaian women are trafficked for involuntary domestic servitude in the Middle East.
India is a source, transit, and destination country for women, men, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation. Indian men and women are trafficked into situations of involuntary servitude in countries in the Middle East and children may be forced to work as beggars or camel jockeys. Bangladeshi women and children are trafficked to India or trafficked through India en route to Pakistan and the Middle East for purposes of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labor. Nepalese women and girls are trafficked to India for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labor. India is also a growing destination for sex tourists from Europe, the United States, and other Western countries. Internal trafficking of women, men, and children for the purposes of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, bonded labor, and indentured servitude is widespread. Numerous studies show that the vast majority of females in the Indian commercial sex industry are currently victims of sexual servitude or were originally trafficked into the sex trade. India is also home to millions of victims of forced or bonded labor.
Indonesia is a source and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked internationally for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor, while the country also faces a significant internal trafficking problem. Indonesian victims are trafficked to Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, Singapore, and Australia. To a much lesser extent, Indonesia is a destination for women from the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.), Thailand, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Venezuela, Spain, and Ukraine who are trafficked for sexual exploitation. Within Indonesia, there is extensive internal trafficking primarily from rural to urban areas for commercial sexual exploitation and for other forced labor such as involuntary domestic servitude.
Iran
Trafficked through Iran to Gulf states, where they are ultimately forced to work as camel jockeys, beggars, or laborers. Afghan women and girls are trafficked to Iran for sexual exploitation, and for sexual and labor exploitation in the context of forced marriage. Internal trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation and children for forced labor also takes place. The internal trafficking of women and children is fueled by an increasing number of vulnerable groups, such as runaway women, street children, and drug addicts.
The U.S. Department of State’s lack of access to Iran prohibits the collection of full and accurate data on the country’s trafficking problem and its government’s anti-trafficking efforts. As best as can be determined from the limited information available, the Government of Iran does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. In 2004, Iran conducted a study on trafficking of women from border provinces to the Persian Gulf, passed a law against human trafficking, and signed separate Memoranda of Understanding (MOU) with Afghanistan, Turkey, IOM, and ILO. The government should develop and implement a comprehensive anti-trafficking national plan of action and appoint a national coordinator to oversee its overall anti-trafficking efforts. Iran should also take steps to enhance protection measures for trafficking victims, including ensuring that those who are punished for trafficking are not victims.
Prosecution
Iran made progress in its prosecution efforts during the reporting period. It passed a law against human trafficking. This new law, in conjunction with the prohibition against the trafficking of children, is expected to enhance Iran’s overall abilities to combat most forms of human trafficking. In addition, Iran arrested and convicted a woman and her accomplice husband for trafficking young girls and women to work in a brothel in the northern city of Qazvin. It also arrested and convicted 20 members of a human trafficking ring in the city of Bileh Savar. The Iranian Border Force (IBF) arrested over 253 Pakistanis smuggled into Iran, some of them likely trafficking victims. This action showed a lack of adequate screening of illegal immigrants to identify trafficking victims. Protection Iran’s protection measures for trafficking victims are weak. It is unclear whether the government distinguishes trafficking victims to provide them protection. The State Welfare Organization for Social Affairs reportedly assists victims and those at risk of trafficking through mobile and fixed social emergency centers. These centers provide counseling, legal services, and health care. The State Welfare Organization also manages temporary shelters for “troubled women” and facilities for young runaway girls. These facilities are available to trafficking victims as well.Prevention
During the reporting period, Iran increased its anti-trafficking prevention efforts. It improved its monitoring of the border with Afghanistan and Pakistan and held a conference on human trafficking. Iran also signed separate MOUs with IOM and ILO to enhance the capacity of its institutions and, among other things, to combat trafficking. Furthermore, Iran is reportedly planning to launch, in collaboration with IOM, public awareness campaigns against the trafficking of women and girls. The State Welfare Organization allocates modest funds to support 41 countrywide centers for street children that deliver care to thousands of children at risk for exploitation.Israel is a destination country for women trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation and men and women trafficked for the purpose of labor exploitation. Women from European and former Soviet countries are trafficked to Israel, often through Egypt, and sold to brothel operators, after which they are forced to work off debts through involuntary sexual servitude. Most trafficking victims for sexual exploitation originate from Uzbekistan, Moldova, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Ukraine — with Uzbekistan increasingly becoming the principal source country. In a new trend, traffickers in Ukraine reportedly have begun exploiting an Israeli law that allows all Jews to immigrate to Israel by providing victims with false Jewish identity documents. Most victims of trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation come from China. Foreign workers from Romania, the Philippines, Thailand, Turkey, Jordan, and former Soviet countries also come to Israel. No reliable evidence exists to indicate how many workers are trafficked. Some trafficked foreign workers suffer from non-payment of wages, threat, coercion, physical and sexual abuse, debt bondage, and restrictions on freedom of movement, including the withholding of their passports. The Government of Israel does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Trafficked workers are often categorized as illegal foreigners, unless — in rare cases — they seek legal action against their traffickers. Israel still lacks a national task force and an official coordinator for the government’s anti-trafficking efforts, as the government failed to fund such a position. A de-facto coordinator has continued to work on trafficking in persons by coordinating information and anti-trafficking initiatives between various government agencies and NGOs. The government lacks a law against trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation, although such a law was drafted in 2003 and awaits approval. The government has not established either a procedure for the systematic identification and referral of trafficking victims to places where they can seek care, or a coordinated and transparent system for the humane repatriation of victims. In 2004, Israel changed the Parliamentary Inquiry Committee on Trafficking in Persons into a Permanent Committee on Trafficking in Persons. This Committee drafted laws to enable closure of brothels, provide national health insurance to trafficking victims, grant witness protection for non-Israeli citizens and residents, and postpone the deportation of trafficking victims.
Israel showed improvement in its law enforcement response to trafficking during the reporting
period. In 2004, the government investigated 602 cases relating to trafficking for sexual exploitation, an increase from the 460 investigations it conducted in 2003; arrested 103 suspects; and handed down 28 convictions, as compared to 13 convictions in 2003. In its response to labor trafficking, the government prosecuted at least two employers for offenses such as withholding of passports and forgery. Israel has no laws against labor trafficking, but can and does use other laws in its criminal code to prosecute labor traffickers for related offenses. The Knesset is considering an anti-labor trafficking law. In 2004, courts rendered on average stiffer penalties against traffickers, but the judicial process is overburdened with cases, and delays are common. Israel charged a former labor inspector with accepting a bribe, among other charges. The government also indicted a police officer
who solicited sexual favors from a trafficking victim and threatened her with arrest and
deportation. It also investigated another officer who allegedly extorted payment from a trafficking victim. Reports also indicate that two police officers were criminally charged following complaints against them by foreign workers. Israeli police expanded their anti-trafficking collaborative efforts with the Governments of Ukraine, Bulgaria, and Russia. In addition, the police conducted an unprecedented joint anti-trafficking operation with the Government of Belarus. These efforts resulted in the arrest and indictment in Russia of a trafficking ringleader and his collaborators. An Israeli request for extradition of those indicted is still pending in the Russian Supreme Court. The government should investigate allegations that some manpower agencies facilitate trafficking into Israel. Protection
Israel’s efforts to care for victims of trafficking remained inadequate during the last year, particularly concerning victims of trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation. In 2004, Israel expanded the capacity of its only shelter to 50 beds; the shelter assisted 108 trafficking victims of sexual exploitation.
With some exceptions, only trafficking victims for sexual exploitation who agree to testify
against their traffickers are accorded protection in the shelter. Such victims are now granted visa extensions; work permits; and legal, medical, and psychological services during their stay in Israel. Most trafficking victims in prostitution who are arrested are subsequently deported, as the police do not use a systematic screening procedure to differentiate trafficking victims from violators of immigration laws. In 2004, Israel detained 904 foreign women on charges of engaging in prostitution and deported 796 of them. Those who are victims of trafficking for the purpose of labor exploitation do not receive the same level of protection as do victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation. Most labor trafficking victims who are detained are deported as illegal foreign workers.The Ramon Unit of the Border Police in 2004 interdicted and rescued 43 women who were attempting to cross the border from Egypt, 36 of whom were being trafficked into Israel for sexual exploitation. Israel also waived court fees for civil suits filed by trafficking victims, published brochures on the rights of foreign workers in English and Hebrew, issued a revised version of a brochure on detainee’s rights in 14 languages, conducted two trafficking-related workshops for inspectors, and negotiated with IOM to monitor the employment of foreign workers in Israel. Given the large number of trafficking victims for commercial sexual exploitation, Israel needs to greatly expand the capacity of its only shelter. It also needs to accord to labor trafficking victims protection services similar to those accorded to victims of trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation.
Prevention
The Israeli Government undertook new steps in the area of prevention. The government provided three training sessions for a total of 90 police officers on how to recognize, investigate, and prepare trafficking cases for prosecution. It also conducted anti-trafficking information campaigns in source countries of victims trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation by distributing brochures in Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, and Moldova. In a marked improvement of its efforts to deter and prevent trafficking for labor exploitation, the Israeli Government appointed an attorney to investigate labor law infractions, hired an ombudsman for foreign workers rights, and raised the fines for collecting illegal recruitment fees.KAZAKHSTAN (TIER 2)
Kazakhstan is a source, transit, and destination country for people trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Kazakhstani men, women, and children are trafficked to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), Turkey, Israel, South Korea, Greece, Cyprus, Russia, Syria, and Western Europe. Persons from other countries in Central Asia, particularly Uzbekistan, are trafficked through or to Kazakhstan primarily for forced labor in construction and agriculture. Internal trafficking occurs from rural to urban areas for the purposes of both sexual and labor exploitation. Small trafficking rings, employment and travel agencies, and marriage brokers are often involved in trafficking individuals out of Kazakhstan.KENYA
Kenya is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Kenyan children are internally trafficked for forced domestic servitude, street vending, agricultural labor, and sexual exploitation. Children are also trafficked to Kenya’s coastal area, where they are sexually exploited in a nascent coastal sex tourism industry catering to foreigners. Kenyan women are trafficked to the Middle East, other African nations, and Western Europe for forced domestic labor and sexual exploitation. Burundian and Rwandan children are trafficked to Kenya for sexual exploitation and unpaid domestic labor. Asian nationals, mainly Chinese women, are reportedly trafficked through Nairobi to Europe. Southeast Asian nationals are coerced into accepting circumstances of bonded and unpaid labor in Kenya’s construction and garment industries.
The Kyrgyz Republic
The Kyrgyz Republic is a source and transit country and, to a lesser degree, a destination country for persons trafficked for the purpose of labor exploitation – to Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan for agricultural labor; to Russia for labor in agriculture, industry, commerce, and construction; and to China for bonded labor. Kyrgyz women and girls are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation to the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), China, South Korea, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Thailand, and Syria Researchers in 2004 concluded that 80 percent of Kyrgyz women trafficked abroad for sexual exploitation ended up in the U.A.E. Smaller numbers of trafficking victims transited the Kyrgyz Republic from Uzbekistan and South Asia to Russia, Turkey, and Europe.
In 2004, the Kyrgyz Republic was a destination country for Uzbek women trafficked for sexual exploitation. Internal trafficking occurred from poor, rural areas to larger cities. An estimated 295,000 Kyrgyz migrant laborers work illegally in Russia, making them vulnerable to being trafficked. The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government adopted a new comprehensive anti-trafficking law in January 2005 and focused its prevention efforts on protecting migrant laborers abroad. While the government’s victim protection efforts remained lacking, it donated space for a trafficking shelter. The government should amend the Kyrgyz Criminal Code to bring its new anti-trafficking law into force and update its 2002 to 2005 Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Persons.
Prosecution The Kyrgyz Government improved its law enforcement efforts with the May 2004 creation of a dedicated anti-trafficking enforcement unit, formed from a unit previously established in June 2003. Authorities produced 31 indictments and 17 convictions for trafficking-related offenses, including recruitment for sexual or labor exploitation and marriage to underage persons. Three of these convictions fell under the Kyrgyz Republic’s 2003 amended criminal code criminalizing trafficking in persons; information on sentences in these cases was not available at the time of this report. The Kyrgyz antitrafficking law prohibits all types of trafficking with sufficiently severe penalties. Over the last year, authorities shutProsecution
The Kyrgyz Government improved its law enforcement efforts with the May 2004 creation of a dedicated anti-trafficking enforcement unit, formed from a unit previously established in June 2003.
Authorities produced 31 indictments and 17 convictions for trafficking-related offenses, including recruitment for sexual or labor exploitation and marriage to underage persons. Three of these convictions
fell under the Kyrgyz Republic’s 2003 amended criminal code criminalizing trafficking in persons; information on sentences in these cases was not available at the time of this report. The Kyrgyz antitrafficking law prohibits all types of trafficking with sufficiently severe penalties. Over the last year, authorities shut down seven recruitment agencies and investigated eight more for illegally recruiting people to work abroad. Allegations continued of corruption and perceived tolerance of trafficking by some low-level officials, though the government reported no officials prosecuted for complicity in trafficking crimes. Kyrgyz law enforcement officials established contacts in 2004 with counterparts in South Korea and the U.A.E., and pursued joint trafficking investigations with Azerbaijan and Ukraine.
Protection The Kyrgyz Government’s efforts to assist and protect trafficking victims remained inadequate during the reporting period, though NGOs reported an increase in victim referrals by law enforcement officials. In October 2004, the government donated space for a trafficking shelter in Bishkek. In January 2005, the parliament adopted a new comprehensive anti-trafficking law giving immunity from prosecution to trafficking victims who cooperate with investigators. However, this provision and other new legal guarantees for victims require corresponding changes to the criminal code, which are pending in parliament, before
they can take effect. Existing legislation provides for witness protection, but the government did not often use these measures due to resource constraints. During the reporting period, Kyrgyz diplomatic missions abroad assisted in the return of 71 Kyrgyz trafficking victims – 67 from the U.A.E. and four from Turkey. Prevention In August 2004, the government joined IOM and an NGO to distribute anti-trafficking information to labor migrants. During the reporting period, the government opened new consulates in Russia and China to better protect Kyrgyz citizens’ rights in each country. Kyrgyz officials met regularly with Kazakh local authorities and monitored Kyrgyz labor migrants’ working and living conditions
in Kazakhstan. The number of Kyrgyz citizens trafficked to Russia, Kazakhstan, and South Korea continued to decrease during the reporting period because of bilateral labor migration agreements signed with those countries in 2003 and 2004. The National Council to Combat Trafficking met regularly, and in April 2004 the government provided office space for and started paying the salaries of the Council’s two-staff-member Secretariat.
Lebanon
Lebanon is a destination country for African and Asian women trafficked into involuntary servitude as domestic servants. Many of these women are contracted as household workers; some Eastern European women are contracted as dancers in adult clubs. All of these are required by law to have bona fide work contracts and sponsors. Individuals from these groups become victims of trafficking when their rights under the contracts are denied or violated or when they find themselves victims of abuse. Some of the abuses that these workers might experience are late or nonpayment of wages, physical and sexual abuse,
lack of freedom of movement, and confiscation of their passports. Workers who run away from an abusive work environment automatically become illegal and subject to detention and deportation, because their visa is valid only as long as they are working for their sponsors. When the sponsor is the abuser and the victim has nowhere to go, the latter often ends up in a government detention facility.The Government of Lebanon does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. During 2004, Lebanon signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with two international NGOs to operate a safe house for migrant workers who are victims of abuse — including involuntary servitude — and began referring trafficking victims to the safe house. It granted IOM permission to open an office in early 2005, and it allows government-salaried social workers to accompany victims during interviews by immigration authorities. Lebanon also granted out-of-visa-status workers who were victims of abuse permission to stay up to two months to assist in the investigation of their cases and the prosecution of their abusers and implemented screening and referral procedures for trafficking cases. Lebanon needs to develop and implement a national plan of action against trafficking, appoint a national coordinator to oversee its anti- trafficking activities, prosecute and punish abusive employers using existing criminal statutes, and cease detaining and penalizing trafficking victims for running away from conditions of involuntary servitude. Prosecution During the reporting period, the Government of Lebanon took minimal steps to prosecute trafficking and related cases. Lebanon does not have specific legislation criminalizing trafficking, though it has other laws that can be used effectively to address trafficking crimes.
The Ministry of Justice and the Office of the State Prosecutor lag behind in acknowledging and actively combating trafficking. In December 2004, the Surete Generale granted amnesty and waived penalties for up to 1,700 South Asians who did not hold valid visas, thereby facilitating their return home. The Ministry of Labor closed 11 employment agencies for fraudulent practices or mistreatment of workers and took administrative actions against another 18. In addition, it adjudicated 35 contract disputes, 23 in favor of the workers. However, there is evidence that a far greater number of cases go unresolved, and workers are sometimes repatriated without receiving outstanding wages. Similarly, the government has not investigated reports of suspicious deaths of Philippine and Ethiopian domestic workers. The government has not prosecuted or punished any abusive employers, despite evidence of physical and sexual abuse of domestic workers.
Lebanon should revamp its prosecution efforts to more effectively combat trafficking.
Protection The Government of Lebanon markedly improved its efforts to protect victims of trafficking over the reporting period. As noted above, it signed a Memorandum of Understanding with international NGOs “CARITAS” and “International Catholic Migration Commission” for the opening of a safe house for trafficking victims. The government also began allowing government-salaried social workers to assist foreign workers during interrogations by immigration officials, and it granted source country embassies improved access to victim detention facilities. In 2004, the government repatriated 147 foreign workers in cooperation with NGOs and source countries.
Prevention
In 2004, the Government of Lebanon notably increased its anti-trafficking prevention activities. It produced and distributed booklets and brochures spelling out regulations governing migrant workers, including descriptions of their rights and responsibilities; produced and distributed pamphlets on trafficking to inform victims about various sources of assistance; and markedly improved its cooperation with NGOs and source country embassies in protection and repatriation efforts. Source country representatives, NGOs, academics, and volunteers formed a working group to work with the government to standardize employment contracts and to provide an arrival seminar and a pre-departure debriefing to migrant workers.