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Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

Poverty drives the unsuspecting poor into the hands of traffickers

Published reports & articles from 2000 to 2025                                       gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Brunei.htm

State of Brunei Darussalam

Brunei has a small well-to-do economy that encompasses a mixture of foreign and domestic entrepreneurship, government regulation, welfare measures, and village tradition.

The government provides for all medical services and free education through the university level and subsidizes rice and housing.

Plans for the future include upgrading the labor force, reducing unemployment, strengthening the banking and tourist sectors, increasing agricultural production, and, in general, further widening the economic base beyond oil and gas.  [The World Factbook, U.S.C.I.A. 2009]

Description: Description: Brunei

Brunei is a destination country for men and women trafficked for the purpose of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Brunei is mainly a destination country for men and women recruited from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and Thailand for domestic or low-skilled labor. A limited number of the 88,000 foreign workers in Brunei face poor labor conditions that amount to involuntary servitude.   - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009   Check out a later country report here or a full TIP Report here

 

 

CAUTION:  The following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Brunei Darussalam.  Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false.  No attempt has been made to verify their authenticity or to validate their content.

HOW TO USE THIS WEB-PAGE

Students

If you are looking for material to use in a term-paper, you are advised to scan the postings on this page and others to see which aspects of Human Trafficking are of particular interest to you.  Would you like to write about Forced-Labor?  Debt Bondage? Prostitution? Forced Begging? Child Soldiers? Sale of Organs? etc.  On the other hand, you might choose to include possible precursors of trafficking such as poverty. There is a lot to the subject of Trafficking.  Scan other countries as well.  Draw comparisons between activity in adjacent countries and/or regions.  Meanwhile, check out some of the Term-Paper resources that are available on-line.

Teachers

Check out some of the Resources for Teachers attached to this website.

HELP for Victims

 

Police Department
2661334
Country code: 673-

 

*** FEATURED ARTICLE ***

No Human Trafficking Cases In Brunei: US State Department

Rosli Abidin Yahya, Borneo Bulletin, Bandar Seri Begawan , March 11, 2006

www.accessmylibrary.com/article-1G1-143195075/brunei-no-human-trafficking.html

[accessed 1 September 2011]

Since February last year, the Labour Department has brought cases directly against employers who did not pay their workers. Formerly, such cases were brought by the Attorney General's Office and took much longer to prosecute. In March last year a military, officer was tined approximately $4,000 (B$6,668) or a jail sentence in default for not paying his maid for more than 23 months.

Further mentioned in the annual report was the government's intervention in labour disputes. Supporting this was when in September approximately 300 garment factory workers protested publicly over unpaid salaries of up to 6 months.

Employers have been warned that they would be prosecuted if they defaulted on workers' salary payments or paid them late.

In September the government filed charges for non-payment of wages against the board of directors of the factory that employed the garment workers; among the accused was a former cabinet minister.

 

*** ARCHIVES ***

Bangladesh asks Brunei to deport suspects in human trafficking ring

Malay Mail, 5 October 2019

www.malaymail.com/news/world/2019/10/05/bangladesh-asks-brunei-to-deport-suspects-in-human-trafficking-ring/1797346

[accessed 12 October 2019]

Bangladesh's top diplomat in Brunei said he had received repeated complaints from workers who had paid thousands of US dollars to be taken to the wealthy South-east Asian nation on the promise of jobs that never materialised.   “They keep bringing more people even though there are no jobs,” Bangladesh's High Commissioner to Brunei Mahmud Hussain told the Thomson Reuters Foundation.

Bangladeshis were being charged about US$4,000 by agents who either failed to get them any work at all or made them work for very low pay, Hussain said.  Hannan Sikdar, 22, sold his family's land to raise the US$3,500 that he paid a broker in Bangladesh for a job in Brunei.   “I was told that I would earn so much that I would be able to send 25,000 takas ($300) back home every month,” Sikdar said from Brunei by phone.   After reaching Brunei, Sikdar went to work for a week, then was told not to come again. The agent told him he would have to find a new job himself and threatened to have him deported unless he handed over a portion of his monthly salary.

2020 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices: Brunei

U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 30 March 2021

www.state.gov/reports/2020-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/brunei/

[accessed 13 May 2021]

PROHIBITION OF FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR

Some of the approximately 100,000 foreign migrant workers in the country faced involuntary servitude, debt bondage, nonpayment of wages, passport confiscation, abusive employers, or confinement to the home. Although it is illegal for employers to withhold wages, some employers, notably of domestic and construction workers, did so to recoup labor broker or recruitment fees or to compel continued service.

Although the government forbade wage deductions by employers to repay in-country agencies or sponsors and mandated that employees receive their full salaries, many migrant workers arrived in debt bondage to actors outside the country. Bangladeshi media reports indicated that widespread fraud in work visa issuance made many migrant workers–particularly an estimated 20,000 Bangladeshi nationals working mostly in the construction industry–vulnerable to exploitation and trafficking.

PROHIBITION OF CHILD LABOR AND MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT

Various laws prohibit the employment of children younger than 16. Parental consent and approval by the Labor Commission are required in order for those younger than 18 to work. Female workers younger than 18 may not work at night or on offshore oil platforms.

The Department of Labor, which is part of the Ministry of Home Affairs, effectively enforced child labor laws. Penalties for child labor violations include a fine, imprisonment, or both, and were commensurate with those for analogous serious crimes, such as kidnapping.

.

Freedom House Country Report

2020 Edition

freedomhouse.org/country/brunei/freedom-world/2020

[accessed 24 April 2020]

G4. DO INDIVIDUALS ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION?

There is no private-sector minimum wage in Brunei. Labor inspections are frequent, but are often aimed at identifying undocumented migrant workers. Migrants who come to Brunei to serve as household workers are often coerced into involuntary servitude or debt bondage, and can be subject to varying forms of abuse. Workers who overstay visas are regularly imprisoned and, in some cases, caned.

According to the US State Department’s 2019 Trafficking in Persons Report, Brunei has made little progress in fighting human trafficking over the previous year. The State Department noted that no prosecutions took place during the reporting period, while victims are at risk of prosecution and deportation. The government operates a shelter for women and boys who are trafficked, but adult males do not receive shelter or services.

.Philippine Embassy In Brunei Saves Two Filipinas From Human Trafficking

News Release, Philippine Consulate General in New York, 08 September 2004

www.pcgny.net/news/news287.htm

[accessed 24 January 2011]

Secretary of Foreign Affairs Alberto G. Romulo commended the  Philippine Embassy in Brunei Darussalam for its collaborative efforts with the Philippine Embassy in Kuala Lumpur and the Brunei Immigration authorities that led to the rescue of two Filipina workers who were victims of human trafficking and forced to become sex workers.     The two Filipinas were later repatriated to the Philippines through the efforts of the Embassy.

In her report to the DFA, Philippine Ambassador to Brunei Virginia H. Benavidez said that the official statements issued by the women at the Philippine Embassy in Brunei showed that they were beguiled by a certain Loida Jose with business address in Kamias, Quezon City, to work as waitresses in Brunei. Supposedly these two victims would earn P40,000 each. Instead they discovered upon arrival that they were to work as guest relations officers (GROs) at the Fun Pub and Crossroads Club, which are reputed to be sex dens in Labuan.  “By the time we took custody of the two Filipina victims, they have been working as prostitutes for more than a month,” Ambassador Benavidez reported.

Stateless And Vulnerable To Human Trafficking In Thailand [PDF]

Vital Voices Global Partnership, June 2007

www.humantrafficking.org/uploads/publications/Vital_Voices_Stateless_and_Vulnerable_to_Human_Trafficking_in_Thailand.pdf

[accessed 21 July 2013]

[page 28]  V RECOMMENDATIONS TO THE INTERNATIONAL COMMUNITY - In order to reduce the impact of statelessness on non-citizens, opening up access to education and healthcare services to children and permitting some forms of legitimate labor to those awaiting proof of citizenship would eliminate the link between statelessness and human trafficking. In Brunei, many ethnic Chinese do not have the right to citizenship. As in Thailand, without access to citizenship these stateless people in Brunei do not have access to subsidized healthcare services and other government-provided services. While the stateless individuals suffer from some of the same problems faced in Thailand, Brunei offers free education to "stateless persons and permanent residents."146 By providing education, Brunei relieves one of the problems for its stateless people that make them vulnerable to exploitation.

Human Trafficking Cases Increased

Sun Star, 2008/01/08

– Source: www.sunstar.com.ph/static/gen/2008/01/08/news/human.trafficking.cases.increased.html

traffickingproject.blogspot.com/2008/03/trafficking-challenges-in-philippines.html

[accessed 19 January 2011]

Sheila, Valerie and Bridget (not their real names), who hailed from poor families here, have set their sights to as far as Manila, Brunei, and Japan for employment to alleviate the plight of their respective families.  However, instead of working as domestic helpers, they ended up as prostitutes. Their recruiters vanished like thin smokes in the air.

Coalition Against Trafficking in Women - Brunei

Coalition Against Trafficking in Women

www.catwinternational.org/factbook/Brunei.php

[accessed 24 January 2011]

CASE - Prince Jefri Bolkiah of Brunei, brother to the Sultan of Brunei, was sued for US$90 million by a former Miss USA. Shannon Marketic claimed that she and six other women were held as virtual prisoners for 32 days and told they were expected to engage in sexual activity at all-night parties. A U.S. District Judge ruled that Prince Jefri was protected under the Foreign Sovereign Immunity Act and cannot be sued in the United States.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC)

UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 3 October 2003

www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/bruneidarussalam2003.htm

[accessed 24 January 2011]

[14] The Committee is concerned that insufficient efforts have been made to involve civil society in the full implementation of the Convention and in the reporting process

[18] The Committee is concerned at the existing lack of systematic and comprehensive collection of disaggregated data for all areas covered by the Convention and in relation to all groups of children in order to monitor and evaluate progress achieved and assess the impact of policies adopted with respect to children.

[20] The Committee is aware of the measures undertaken to promote widespread awareness of the principles and provisions of the Convention and welcomes the translation of the Convention into Malay, but is of the opinion that these measures are not sufficient and need to be strengthened by providing the necessary resources.  In this respect, the Committee is concerned at the lack of a systematic plan to introduce training and raise awareness among professional groups working for and with children.

[41] The Committee welcomes the enactment of the Islamic Adoption of the Children’s Order 2001 and Adoption of Children Order 2001, which both came into force on 26 March 2001 but remains concerned that the State party has not ratified the 1993 Hague Convention on Protection of Children and Cooperation in Respect of Inter-country Adoption.

[57] The Committee recommends that the State party ratify the Optional Protocols to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography, and on the involvement of children in armed conflict.

The Protection Project - Brunei Darussalam [DOC]

The Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS), The Johns Hopkins University

www.protectionproject.org/human_rights_reports/report_documents/brunei.doc

[Last accessed 2009]

FORMS OF TRAFFICKING - Asian women end up as sex slaves in Brunei Darussalam after being falsely promised employment as housemaids.  For instance, the Philippine Embassy there recently assisted in the repatriation of two Filipina victims who were lured to Brunei Darussalam with false promises of jobs as guest relations officers or restaurant helpers but were instead forced into prostitution upon their arrival.  Indonesian babies are sold to buyers from Brunei Darussalam, Malaysia, and other countries.  Young people from Brunei Darussalam and several other countries in southeastern Asia are reportedly trafficked to Australia using student visas; in reality, however, they rarely attend any classes but instead are forced by their traffickers to sell drugs or to engage in prostitution.

*** EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE ***

Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 6   Civil Liberties: 5   Status: Not Free

2018 Edition

freedomhouse.org/country/brunei/freedom-world/2018

[accessed 24 April 2020]

G4. DO INDIVIDUALS ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? 2 / 4

There is no private-sector minimum wage in Brunei. Labor inspections are frequent, but are often aimed at identifying undocumented migrant workers.

Migrants who come to Brunei to serve as household workers are often coerced into involuntary servitude or debt bondage, and can be subject to varying forms of abuse. Workers who overstay visas are regularly imprisoned and, in some cases, caned.

According to the US State Department’s 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report, Brunei made its first trafficking conviction in four years during the reporting period. However, authorities still struggle to confront trafficking; for example, the report cited instances in which trafficking victims, particularly foreign victims, were themselves charged with crimes, or were fined.

2017 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, 20 April 2018

www.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2017/eap/277067.htm

[accessed 17 March 2019]

www.state.gov/reports/2017-country-reports-on-human-rights-practices/brunei/

[accessed 25 June 2019]

PROHIBITION OF FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR

Some of the approximately 100,000 foreign migrant workers in the country faced involuntary servitude, debt bondage, nonpayment of wages, passport confiscation, abusive employers, and/or confinement to the home. Female migrant workers, who comprised most of the domestic workers in the country, were particularly vulnerable to forced labor. Although it is illegal for employers to withhold wages from domestic workers, some employers, notably domestic and construction workers, did so to recoup labor broker or recruitment fees or to compel continued service by workers. Foreign workers could take legal action against employers for nonpayment of wages, usually done outside of court, and were often, but not always, successful.

Human Rights Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices

U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, March 8, 2006

2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61602.htm

[accessed 7 February 2020]

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – The country has been a destination for a small number of persons trafficked for sexual exploitation from China and within the region. There were very few identifiable cases of trafficking, and the majority of women who entered the country as sex workers were considered to have done so voluntarily. Immigration, labor, and religious regulations that criminalize prostitution also served to deter trafficking. There were reports of foreign household laborers who worked under harsh conditions and whose freedom of movement was restricted.

SECTION 6 WORKER RIGHTS – [e] At least 100 thousand foreign persons worked in the country. There were reports of foreign maids and other domestic workers who worked exceptionally long hours, did not have a rest day, and had their liberty severely restricted. There also were isolated reports of employers who beat domestic employees or did not provide them with adequate food. The government prosecuted some cases; employers found guilty of abuses typically were fined and asked to compensate the victim.

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