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Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the early
years of the 21st Century 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/report/freedom-world/2009/qatar [accessed 27 June 2012] 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 reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107
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ARTICLES. Cite this webpage as: Patt,
Prof. Martin, "Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery - |
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