Human Trafficking in [Jordan Street Children in [Jordan] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Jordan] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] The Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan, located in SW Asia [map], is bordered by Israel (W), by Syria (N), by Iraq (NE), and
by Jordan is a
destination and transit country for women and men from South and Southeast
Asia trafficked for the purpose of forced labor. Jordan is also a destination
for women from Eastern Europe and Morocco for prostitution; there were no
reports that any of these women were trafficked for sexual exploitation.
Women from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines migrate
willingly to work as domestic servants, but some are subjected to conditions
of forced labor, including unlawful withholding of passports, restrictions on
movement, non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse.
Trafficking of domestic workers is facilitated by the fact that the normal
protections provided to workers under Jordanian labor law do not apply either
to domestic or agricultural laborers, leaving them highly vulnerable to abuse
by exploitative employers. In response to a high rate of abuse of Filipina
domestic workers by employers in Jordan, the Government of the Philippines
instituted a ban on additional Filipina workers migrating to Jordan for
domestic work during the reporting period. In addition, some Chinese,
Bangladeshi, Indian, Sri Lankan, and Vietnamese men and women have
encountered conditions similar to forced labor in several factories in
Jordan’s Qualifying Industrial Zones (QIZs), including unlawful withholding
of passports; non-payment of wages; and physical abuse. In past years, Jordan
was a transit country for South and Southeast Asian men deceptively recruited
with fraudulent job offers in Jordan, but instead trafficked to work
involuntarily in Iraq. There have been no substantiated reports of this,
however, during this reporting period. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in
Persons Report, June, 2008 [full country report] |
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CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Embassies
urge greater policing of agencies that traffic migrant workers Since 1996, the Philippine government
limits employment of nationals within Jordan to specific employers; members
of the Royal family, senior government employees, members of diplomatic
missions and UN personnel. However,
workers circumvent these restrictions by falsifying their travel status and
end up working in private homes without regulation or protection. Because so many choose or are tricked into
unregulated work environments, they are subject to abuse and exploitation. ***
ARCHIVES *** U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs CHILD
LABOR LAWS AND ENFORCEMENT - Compulsory labor is prohibited by the Constitution of Jordan. While the law does not specifically
prohibit forced or bonded labor by children, such practices are not known to
occur. A Jordanian law specifically
prohibits trafficking in children, and there is no indication that children
were trafficked, to, from, or within the country. Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – The law
prohibits trafficking in children; however, it does not specifically prohibit
trafficking in other persons. Other criminal statutes prohibit slavery and
indentured servitude. In October Western media reported the August 2004
killing of 12 Nepali migrant workers in In 2004 to reduce the potential
for abuse of foreign domestic workers (FDWs), the government adopted new and
stricter procedures that regulate the importation of such labor (see section
6.e.). While these changes improved the legal framework to protect FDWs, lack
of awareness among employers and employees remained a problem. The government
has undertaken a cooperative program with the UN Development Fund for Women
(UNIFEM) to raise the awareness of FDWs on the new protections afforded them.
The Ministry of Labor (MOL) regularly visits the employment agencies that
hire and import FDWs to ensure compliance with the law. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2006 [DOC] [92] The Committee regrets the lack of data on the extent
and magnitude of commercial sexual exploitation of children and trafficking
in children for exploitative purposes in the State party. It also regrets the
insufficient legal protection of boys below the age of 18 against commercial
sexual exploitation and the absence of a specific legal framework to protect
children from trafficking. [86] While noting the high number of migrant workers in
the State party, and particularly the estimated number of undocumented workers and the weak
protection against exploitation and abuse provided to them, the Committee is
concerned at the situation and vulnerability of their children residing in
Jordan. [88] The Committee commends the State party for its
cooperation with ILO/IPEC, including for signing the Memorandum of
Understanding with ILO for the implementation of IPEC Country Programme. It
welcomes the various measures taken to address the issue of child labour in
Jordan, including the 2002 amendment of the Labour Code provision on the
minimum age for employment of children working in hazardous occupations which
raised the minimum age to 18 years. Despite these positive measures, the
Committee remains concerned about the prevalence of child labour in the State
party. It notes with particular concern information that the employment of
children has steadily grown in recent years, especially in agriculture. The
Committee is further concerned that the protection provided by the Labour
Code does not apply for children working in the informal sector (for example,
in small family enterprises, agriculture and domestic labour). Combating
Trafficking for Forced Labor Purposes in the OSCE Region For example, a contract labor
agency in Bangladesh advertised work at a garment factory in Jordan. The ad
promised a 3-year contract, $425 per month, 8 hour workdays, 6 days a
week, paid overtime, free accommodations, free medical care, free food, and
no advance fees. Instead, upon arrival, workers (who were obliged to pay exorbitant
advance fees) had passports confiscated, were confined to miserable
conditions, and were prevented from leaving the factory. Months passed
without pay, food was inadequate, and sick workers were tortured. Because
most workers had borrowed money at inflated rates to get the contracts, they
were obliged through debt to stay. The sad truth is that we find workers
across the globe holding on to the thin hope that they will eventually get
paid, or that conditions will improve, because if they leave, there is no
hope that they will be able to repay the debt. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 5 Civil Liberties: 4 Status: Partly Free U.S. Library of Congress
- Country Study Commercial
sexual exploitation of children - Middle East/North Africa region FORM AND PREVALENCE OF CSEC IN THE
REGION - Early
marriage is common in some of the countries of the region. This
practice is considered to increase children’s vulnerability to CSEC because
it legitimizes early sexual activity. Between 1995 and 2000, a United Nations
Population Fund report on young married women between the ages of 15 and 19
showed that, of this age group … in Jordan 9 per cent of girls aged 15-19 are
married (legal age of marriage is 17 Embassies
urge greater policing of agencies that traffic migrant workers Since 1996, the Philippine
government limits employment of nationals within Jordan to specific
employers; members of the Royal family, senior government employees, members
of diplomatic missions and UN personnel.
However, workers circumvent these restrictions by falsifying their
travel status and end up working in private homes without regulation or
protection. Because so many choose or
are tricked into unregulated work environments, they are subject to abuse and
exploitation. Coalition Against
Trafficking in Women - Jordan ORGANIZED AND INSTITUTIONALIZED SEXUAL
EXPLOITATION AND VIOLENCE CASE - Rania Arafat, 21, was shot four times in the
back of the head by her 17-year-old brother for refusing an arranged marriage
to her cousin and eloping with her boyfriend, and thereby bringing shame on
the family. ("Dishonor, Then Death," World Press Review, February
1998). All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use |
Human Trafficking in [Jordan Street Children in [Jordan] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Jordan] [other countries]