Human Trafficking in [Qatar Street Children in [Qatar] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Qatar] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the first
ten years of the 21st Century
- 2000 to 2009
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 *** Qatar
studies new law to tackle human trafficking Qatar has a population of 800,000,
the majority of whom are expatriate low-income workers in the energy and
construction sectors. Indian nationals
represent the largest foreign community, followed by Filipinos and Nepalese.
The three communities together total more than 400,000 people, according to
unofficial estimates provided by the diplomatic missions here. 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 www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/Display_news.asp?section=Local_News&subsection=Qatar+News&month=March2009&file=Local_News200903165377.xml
The Qatar Foundation for Combating
Human Trafficking (QFCHT) has set up hotlines - 4669888 & 5643388 - for
receiving complaints from victims of human trafficking. Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 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) - 2001 [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. Qatar
studies new law to tackle human trafficking Qatar has a population of 800,000,
the majority of whom are expatriate low-income workers in the energy and
construction sectors. Indian nationals
represent the largest foreign community, followed by Filipinos and Nepalese.
The three communities together total more than 400,000 people, according to
unofficial estimates provided by the diplomatic missions here. 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 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. Qatar's
lawmakers strive to combat trafficking There are no statistics about the
number of people who fall victim to traffickers in Qatar. However, Sigma Huda, UN Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in Persons,
said as the Gulf country relied mainly on foreign workers, the problem of
people falling victim to unscrupulous recruitment agencies and sponsors was
particularly serious. "We are
concerned in particular for female domestic migrant workers, the most
disadvantaged as they remain excluded from the protection of the current labour legislation." 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. Qatar 'not
fully following rules to eliminate human trafficking' 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 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 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 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 Both the UAE and UAE : HORRENDOUS RECORD OF CHILD SLAVERY - WORK WORRIES - 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. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 6 Civil Liberties: 5 Status: Not Free Human Rights Overview
by Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide U.S. Library of Congress
- Country Study Qatar to use
robots in camel races Qatar is set to substitute robots
for jockeys in camel races, a favorite sport in the oil-rich Gulf region
which has faced widespread criticism over the use of child jockeys from the
Indian subcontinent. But the sport's supremo in Doha insists Qatar never abused child camel
jockeys in the first place and that the plan to use "robot-jockeys"
within the coming year was not in response to protests by human rights
groups. 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. Qatar bans
child jockeys in camel races Qatar said Wednesday it was
banning the use of children as jockeys in camel races, a favorite sport in
the oil-rich Gulf region that has been widely criticised
over the use of children brought from southern Asia. 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 www.iranian.ws/cgi-bin/iran_news/exec/view.cgi/2/2675 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
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 www.ecpat.net/eng/Ecpat_inter/IRC/newsdesk_articles.asp?SCID=1424 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] Bangladeshi boys are also
trafficked into the UAE and The Young Slaves of Camel Racing - Riding for Their Lives [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 www.ansarburney.com/news6.htm#10 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
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 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use |
Human Trafficking in [Qatar Street Children in [Qatar] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Qatar] [other countries]