Human Trafficking in [Qatar Street Children in [Qatar] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Qatar] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the early
years of the 21st Century - 2000 to 2010 gvnet.com/humantrafficking/Qatar.htm
Qatar is a transit and destination country for men and
women trafficked for the purposes of involuntary servitude and, to a lesser
extent, commercial sexual exploitation. Men and women from India, Pakistan,
Bangladesh, Nepal, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia,
Sudan, Thailand, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and China voluntarily travel to Qatar
as laborers and domestic servants, but some subsequently face conditions
indicative of involuntary servitude. These conditions include threats of serious
harm, including financial harm; job switching; withholding of pay; charging
workers for benefits for which the employer is responsible; restrictions on
freedom of movement, including the confiscation of passports and travel
documents and the withholding of exit permits; arbitrary detention; threats
of legal action and deportation; false charges; and physical, mental and
sexual abuse. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2009 [full country report] |
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CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Qatar. 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. ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Barbara Bibbo', Gulf News, June
12, 2007 gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/qatar-studies-new-law-to-tackle-human-trafficking-1.183920 [accessed 19 December 2010] Qatar and Gulf immigration and
labour policies require that migrants work under local sponsors, a measure
which Qatari Prime Minister Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Bin Jabr Al Thani just two weeks
ago compared to a form of slavery raising concerns in the local business
community. ***
ARCHIVES *** Hotline set up to combat human trafficking – 466-9888
& 564-3388 Peninsula News Paper , March 16, 2009 www.iloveqatar.net/forum/read.php?28,6566,6566 [accessed 19 December 2010] The Qatar Foundation for Combating
Human Trafficking (QFCHT) has set up hotlines - 4669888 & 5643388 - for
receiving complaints from victims of human trafficking. 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 www.state.gov/g/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61697.htm [accessed 19 December 2010] TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – Young
boys were trafficked into the country to serve as jockeys in camel races
early in the year. However, on July 28, Law No. 22, banning the transport,
employment, training, and involvement of children under the age of 18 in
camel races, came into force. According to Article 4, anyone who violates the
law faces 3 to 10 years imprisonment and a fine ranging between $13,000
(47,320 riyals) and $55,000 (200,200 riyals). Between the months of June and
August, the government repatriated approximately 200 children jockeys to Men and women were trafficked into
situations of coerced labor. Legislation guiding the sponsorship of
expatriate labors has created conditions constituting forced labor or
slavery. The country also was a destination
for women and girls who traveled to the country to work as domestic servants.
Two embassies reported that a total of 600 of their nationals had been forced
into domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of
the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, 12 October 2001 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/qatar2001.html [accessed 19 December 2010] [57]. The Committee is seriously
concerned at the hazardous situation of children involved in camel racing. In
particular, it is concerned that sometimes very young children are involved;
are trafficked, particularly from Africa (i.e. the Sudan) and South Asia; and
are denied education and health care; and that such involvement produces
serious injuries, even fatalities. Barbara Bibbo', Gulf News, June
12, 2007 gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/qatar-studies-new-law-to-tackle-human-trafficking-1.183920 [accessed 19 December 2010] Qatar and Gulf immigration and
labour policies require that migrants work under local sponsors, a measure
which Qatari Prime Minister Shaikh Hamad Bin Jasem Bin Jabr Al Thani just two weeks
ago compared to a form of slavery raising concerns in the local business
community. Qatar recruitment is human trafficking - says Legal Centre Gilbert Boyefio, The Statesman,
24/02/2007 www.thestatesmanonline.com/pages/news_detail.php?newsid=2619§ion=1 [accessed 19 December 2010] After the arrival of the first
batch of Ghanaians to the oil-rich Qatar three months ago, several
disgruntled workers complained of conditions there, resulting in a Government
fact-finding mission to investigate the allegations. Workers claimed that housing and food was
poor, that they had not been paid and that their passports had been taken
from them by their employers. Barbara Bibbo', Gulf News,
November 14, 2006 gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/qatar-s-lawmakers-strive-to-combat-trafficking-1.265544 [accessed 19 December 2010] There are no statistics about the
number of people who fall victim to traffickers in Workshop on human trafficking Peninsula News Paper www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section= Local_News&subsection= [access date unavailable] The Office combating human
trafficking jointly with the human rights department at the Ministry of
Interior is organising a workshop on "legal,
social and security aspects of human trafficking" a
the Marriott hotel from today. Barbara Bibbo', Gulf News, June
7, 2006 gulfnews.com/news/gulf/qatar/qatar-not-fully-following-rules-to-eliminate-human-trafficking-1.239904 [accessed 19 December 2010] It said the government did not
prosecute anyone on trafficking charges, despite reports of widespread
exploitation of foreign domestic workers.
Qatar also lacks a screening mechanism to distinguish trafficking
victims from illegal immigrants, it said.
"Although it does not have a specific anti-trafficking law, other
criminal laws could be applied to combat trafficking, including laws against
forced labour. Awareness drive against human trafficking from Thursday Peninsula News Paper, May 2006 archive.thepeninsulaqatar.com/component/content/article/349-qatar-newsarchive/29244.html [accessed 19 December 2010] The Qatari House for Lodging and
Human Care (QHLHC) will soon establish hotlines to receive complaints from
victims of human trafficking, she said. "We will set up five lines and
complaints in any language can be made." QHLHC provides shelter for victims of human trafficking Peninsula News Paper, 08 May 2006 archive.thepeninsulaqatar.com/component/content/article/349-qatar-newsarchive/30812.html [accessed 19 December 2010] Finding the victims of human
trafficking is only the first part of the challenge for the 'Qatari House for
Lodging and Human Care' (QHLHC) a care centre that provides a safe shelter. New rehabilitation center for abuse victims Peninsula News Paper, 5 September 2005 www.smc.org.ph/amnews/amn050915/middleast/qatar050915.htm [accessed 19 December 2010] New rehabilitation center for abuse victims - A rehabilitation center has recently been established by the newly formed human rights department for victims of human trafficking, women forced into prostitution, abused domestic workers and children. The center will provide psychological counseling and rehabilitation to abuse victims, especially domestic workers and children, whose cases have been filed with the police or those referred by official bodies, such as the interior ministry, the National Human Rights Committee, the labor department, etc. Camel Jockeys Trying To Recover Lost Childhood Andrew Hammond, Reuters News, 10/05/2005 archives.dawn.com/2005/05/10/int14.htm [accessed 25 April 2012] Both the UAE and 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] Sri Lankan women are trafficked to
Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 6 Civil Liberties: 5 Status: Not Free 2009 Edition www.freedomhouse.org/template.cfm?page=22&year=2009&country=7687 [accessed 19 December 2010] Human Rights Overview Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org/middle-eastn-africa/qatar [accessed 19 December 2010] Library of Congress Call Number DS247.A13 P47 1994 lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/qatoc.html [accessed 19 December 2010] Faisal Baatoutn, Middle East
Online, www.middle-east-online.com/english/?id=11612 [accessed 19 December 2010] The US State Department and human
rights groups have raised the alarm over the exploitation of children by
traffickers who pay impoverished parents a paltry sum or simply resort to
kidnapping their victims. The
children, mostly from Bangladesh, Sri Lanka or Pakistan, are then smuggled
into the oil-rich Gulf states. They
are often starved by employers to keep them light and maximize their racing
potential. Mounting camels three times their height, the children - some as
young as six - face the risk of being thrown off or trampled. Daily Times, www.worldsindhi.org/relatedpress/30decem04.html [accessed 19 December 2010] It did not specify the age under
which children would be excluded from the sport, but a Qatari official said
earlier this year that a bill was being drafted that would ban hiring people
under 18. Slavery of Children and women in Morteza Aminmansour,
Persian Journal, Jun 20, 2004 At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 10 September 2011] Exact number of victims is
impossible to obtain, but according to an official source in UAE, there has
been increase in the number of teen-age girls in prostitution (forced to work
from The Daily Star, with Agence
France-Presse AFP, 16 June 2004 www.thedailystar.net/2004/06/16/d4061601044.htm [accessed 10 September 2011] Bangladeshi boys are also
trafficked into the UAE and The Young Slaves of Camel Racing - Riding for Their Lives James Ridgeway, Nation, Mar 5, 2002 www.villagevoice.com/2002-03-05/news/nation/#slaves [accessed 19 December 2010] [scroll down] To read the reports, you would
think you'd stumbled on some Mad Max film set. There stand the camels, all
lined up in the starting gate, track stretching before them, tense crowds
gathered round. Lashed atop the rear of each racing camel, just behind the
hump, is the jockey, crop in hand. The
camera zooms in on the rider. Wait a moment! This is not an experienced
athlete, but a small boy. He looks about five years old. Eyes wide with fright,
he is fastened to the beast with Velcro. Ansar Burney Trust rescues two more
'Child Camel Jockeys' in UAE At one time this article had been archived and may
possibly still be accessible [here]
[accessed 10 September 2011] The Ansar
Burney Welfare Trust International is the only human rights organisation working since last several years practically
against slave labour in All material used herein
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Cite this webpage as: Patt, Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking
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Human Trafficking in [Qatar Street Children in [Qatar] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Qatar] [other countries]