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/Lebanon.htm
Lebanon is a
destination for Asian and African women trafficked for the purpose of
domestic servitude, and for women from Eastern Europe and the former Soviet
Union trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Lebanese
children are trafficked within the country for the purpose of forced labor
(mostly street vending), and sexual exploitation. Women from Sri Lanka, the
Philippines, and Ethiopia who travel to Lebanon legally to work as household
servants often find themselves in conditions of forced labor through
withholding of passports, non-payment of wages, restrictions on movement,
threats, and physical or sexual assault. In some cases, employers have kept
foreign domestics confined in houses for years. - U.S. State Dept
Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009 Check
out a later country report here and possibly a full TIP Report here |
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CAUTION: The following
links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in
Lebanon. Some of these links may lead
to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No attempt has been made to validate their
authenticity or to verify 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 precursors of trafficking such as poverty and hunger. 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. ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Seeking Hemalatha -
Letter from Lebanon - Sri Lankan domestic missing in Lebanon Reem Haddad, New
Internationalist, Nov, 2002 www.newint.org/columns/letters-from/2002/11/01/hemalatha/ [accessed 17 August
2012] 'Her name is
Hemalatha Mendis,' explained one official. 'We received these photographs
this morning. We don't know for sure where she is but we believe she is being
held at the agency which brought her to the country. Hundreds of such agencies have sprung up in
Lebanon over the past few years. They bring in women from Sri Lanka, the
Philippines or Ethiopia to work as maids and are notorious for abusing the
women. Later that day I
met with Hemalatha. Her employer had described her as 'a problem' and had
wanted to return her to the agency. This prompted the agency owner to 'take
out a big stick and start beating my back, my arms and my legs,' she said. 'I
tried to cover my body but I couldn't. I was crying and my head began to throb
with pain. Once finished, the owner
turned to the employer and said: 'If you have any more problems with her just
bring her to me.' ***
ARCHIVES *** 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: Lebanon 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/lebanon/
[accessed 14 June
2021] PROHIBITION OF FORCED
OR COMPULSORY LABOR Children, foreign
workers employed as domestic workers, and other foreign workers sometimes
worked under forced labor conditions. The law criminalizes trafficking and
provides protection for domestic workers against forced labor, but domestic
work is excluded from legal protection and is therefore vulnerable to
exploitation. In violation of the law, employment agencies and employers
routinely withheld foreign workers’ passports, especially in the cases of
domestic workers, sometimes for years. According to NGOs assisting migrant
workers, in some instances employers withheld salaries for the duration of
the contract, which was usually two years. PROHIBITION OF CHILD
LABOR AND MINIMUM AGE FOR EMPLOYMENT Child labor
occurred, including in its worst forms. While up-to-date statistics on child
labor were unavailable, anecdotal evidence and the accounts of NGOs suggested
the number of child workers may have risen during the year and that more
children worked in the informal sector. UNHCR noted that commercial sexual
exploitation of refugee children continued to occur. Child labor,
including among refugee children, was predominantly concentrated in the
informal sector, including in small family enterprises, mechanical workshops,
carpentry, construction, manufacturing, industrial sites, welding,
agriculture, and fisheries. UN agencies and NGOs reported that Syrian refugee
children were vulnerable to child labor and exploitation. According to the
ILO, child labor rates have at least doubled since the Syrian refugee influx.
The ILO reported that instances of child labor strongly correlated with a
Syrian refugee presence. The ILO equally highlighted that the majority of
Syrian children involved in the worst forms of child labor–especially forced
labor–worked primarily in agriculture in the Bekaa
and Akkar regions and on the streets of major urban
areas (Beirut and Tripoli). Anecdotal evidence also indicated child labor was
prevalent within Palestinian refugee camps. Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/lebanon/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 1 May 2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Refugees and
migrant workers are especially vulnerable to exploitative working conditions
and sex trafficking. The authorities do not effectively enforce laws against
child labor, which is common among Syrian refugees, rural Lebanese, and
segments of the urban poor. Domestic workers
and migrant workers who work under the kafala
system suffer from endemic economic exploitation, with employers often
withholding wages. Employers are favored in legal cases involving migrant
workers, discouraging them from reporting this abuse. 2017 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor Office of Child
Labor, Forced Labor, and Human Trafficking, Bureau of International Labor
Affairs, US Dept of Labor, 2018 www.dol.gov/sites/default/files/documents/ilab/ChildLaborReport_Book.pdf [accessed 18 April
2019] www.dol.gov/sites/dolgov/files/ILAB/child_labor_reports/tda2017/ChildLaborReportBook.pdf [accessed 1 May
2020] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor [page 597] Child labor has
increased, and its conditions have worsened since the influx of Syrian
refugees into Lebanon, affecting Lebanese and Syrian children. (38; 39; 16)
As of January 2018, just under one million Syrian
refugees in Lebanon were registered with UNHCR, and more than half of them
were children. (40) Child labor is also prevalent in other refugee
communities in Lebanon, including the Palestinian and Iraqi communities. (41;
16) There are instances
of children being subjected to forced begging and commercial sexual exploitation,
sometimes as a result of human trafficking. (5) In particular, Syrian girls
are trafficked into Lebanon for commercial sexual exploitation under the
guise of marriage. (18; 5) Some boys are also subjected to commercial sexual
exploitation, particularly Kurdish boys from Syria and boys who work. (18;
42) Working on the streets is especially common among refugee children from
Syria, including Palestinians from Syria. (24) Syrian children are
also subjected to forced labor in agriculture. (4; 41; 16) Some Syrian
refugee children, with their families, are kept in bonded labor in
agriculture in the Bekaa Valley to pay for
makeshift dwellings provided by landowners. (3; 4; 38; 5) In 2017, the
Lebanese army evicted approximately 10,000 Syrian refugees from their
informal dwellings in Bekaa, interrupting
children’s schooling and making them more vulnerable to child labor. (43; 44;
45) UNICEF reported
that ISIS and Al Nusra recruited and used boys and
girls in Lebanon, including in Palestinian refugee camps. (16) Media reported
that Hizballah also recruited children to engage in
combat in Syria. (36) Children participated in combat, armed patrols,
military parades, and logistical support of armed leaders within Lebanon or
were trafficked to Syria for the same purposes. (16). LEBANON: Sex
trafficking remains a hidden crime Raed Rafei in
Beirut, Los Angeles Times, October 22, 2008 latimesblogs.latimes.com/babylonbeyond/2008/10/lebanon-human-t.html [accessed 17
February 2011] They are lured into
Lebanon to work as models, masseuses or dancers in nightclubs. But some of
these young Eastern European women, especially from Moldova, are sold by
criminal networks to brothels, where they are forced to work as prostitutes. Victims are afraid
to speak out, dreading retribution or stigmatization. Many simply do not know
their rights. Silence perpetuates the cycle of exploitation. Expert on Trafficking
in Persons Ends Visit to Lebanon Sigma Huda, Special
Rapporteur of the United Nations Commission on Human Rights on trafficking in
persons, especially women and children, statement to media, September 15,
2005 www.humantrafficking.org/updates/314 [accessed 17
February 2011] newsarchive.ohchr.org/EN/NewsEvents/Pages/DisplayNews.aspx?NewsID=3210&LangID=E [accessed 4 February
2018] In the course of my
mission, I have found that a significant number of human beings, women in the
majority, are trafficked into and within Lebanon. Unfortunately, their plight
seems to remain unknown to significant parts of Lebanese society, perhaps
because the victims tend to be foreign nationals or are considered to be of
low social status. Lebanon's victims of trafficking are often invisible
victims because they suffer in places that remain hidden to the public eye
such as private homes or hotel rooms. In Contempt of Fate
- From Sri Lanka to Lebanon: Sold into Slavery Beatrice Fernando,
iAbolish.com, July 19, 2005 interimagefilms.blogspot.com/2005/07/beatrice-fernando.html [accessed 17
February 2011] When Beatrice
Fernando was 23 years old, she contracted with an agency to work in Lebanon
as a housemaid, promised decent wages to provide for her son and family in
Sri Lanka. Upon arriving in Lebanon, Beatrice was sold to a wealthy Beirut
woman who beat, starved, and verbally abused her. After months of
back-breaking labor and endless torture, Beatrice escaped by the only means
available - she jumped off the fourth story balcony of her ritzy apartment. FI Organises
Grassroots Human Trafficking and Forced Labour Workshop Franciscans
International, Geneva, 25 June 2004 www.franciscansinternational.org/news/article.php?id=453 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Sr. Herminia Cruz,
FMM, a Philippine sister, has lived and worked in the Middle East for 24
years. In Lebanon, like other countries who “host” trafficked persons, human
rights violations are common occurrences. Victims frequently experience
sexual and physical abuse, confiscation of their identity documents and
confinement. “Migrant workers are
crying for help; I hope that I can give them justice through their rights
being respected. We need to coordinate more with NGOs, especially FI,” the
Franciscan sister reflected. Work Worries -
Women going abroad to work is leading to more human trafficking Lanka Business
Online, 04 Mar 2005 www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?nid=1777048731 [accessed 17
February 2011] ftp.hortondebate.com/news/women-going-abroad-to-work-is-leading-to-more-human-trafficking/1777048731 [accessed 20
September 2016] Sri Lankan women
are trafficked to Lebanon, Saudi
Arabia, Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain and Qatar, mainly as sex
workers or for forced labor. Human
Rights Overview Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org/middle-eastn-africa/lebanon [accessed 17
February 2011] ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Freedom House
Country Report 2018 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/lebanon/freedom-world/2018 [accessed 1 May 2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Refugees and
migrant workers are especially vulnerable to exploitative working conditions and
sex trafficking. The authorities do not effectively enforce laws against
child labor, which is increasingly common among Syrian refugees. 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/2005/61693.htm [accessed 9 February
2020] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS
– The country was a destination for East European and Russian women,
contracted as dancers in adult clubs. Most of these women engaged in
voluntary illegal prostitution and were at risk as targets of abuse. The country was
also a destination for women from Africa and Asia, usually contracted as
household workers. Women are required by law to have good faith work
contracts and sponsors, but often found themselves in coercive work
situations with little practical legal recourse Restrictions of
movement and withholding of passports were common practice. A small number of
exploited foreign workers won cases against their employers. Non-judicial
action resolved the majority of these cases. As a result of that process,
workers frequently were repatriated without further judicial action. A few
cases were referred to the judiciary for further action, although the
government took minimal steps to prosecute traffickers. The Department of Labor’s 2004 Findings on
the Worst Forms of Child Labor U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs, 2005 www.dol.gov/ilab/media/reports/iclp/tda2004/lebanon.htm [accessed 17
February 2011] Note:: Also check out this country’s report in the more recent edition DOL
Worst Forms of Child Labor INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - There have been reported cases of child prostitution
and other situations that amount to forced labor. Although Lebanon is a destination country
for women trafficked from Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the former Soviet
Union for the purposes of involuntary domestic servitude and prostitution,
there are no official government reports of child trafficking in the country. All
material used herein reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
for noncommercial, nonprofit, and educational use. PLEASE RESPECT COPYRIGHTS OF COMPONENT
ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery - Lebanon",
http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Lebanon.htm, [accessed <date>] |
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