Human Trafficking in [United Arab Emirates Street Children in [United Arab Emirates] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [United Arab Emirates] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery In the first ten years of
the 21st Century - 2000 to 2009
The
United Arab Emirates (UAE) is a destination for men and women, predominantly
from South and Southeast Asia, trafficked for the purposes of labor and
commercial sexual exploitation. Migrant workers, who comprise more than 90
percent of the UAE’s private sector workforce, are
recruited from India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Indonesia,
Ethiopia, Eritrea, China, and the Philippines. Women from some of these
countries travel willingly to work as domestic servants or administrative
staff, but some are subjected to conditions indicative of forced labor,
including unlawful withholding of passports, restrictions on movement,
non-payment of wages, threats, or physical or sexual abuse. Trafficking of
domestic workers is facilitated by the fact that the normal protections
provided to workers under UAE labor law do not apply to domestic workers,
leaving them more vulnerable to abuse. Similarly, men from India, Sri Lanka,
Bangladesh, and Pakistan are drawn to the UAE for work in the construction
sector, but are often subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude and
debt bondage. - 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 the ***
FEATURED ARTICLES *** Migrant Women in the United Arab Emirates - The case of
female domestic workers [PDF] www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/gems/download/swmuae.pdf At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[page 18] 3.1. GENERAL CONDITIONS - Isolation is a dominant feature of foreign female domestic worker work environment in the United Arab Emirates. Foreign female domestic workers are isolated physically, psychologically, socially, culturally and in all aspects of human existence. However, they differ in their level of isolation. Some foreign female domestic workers live in an abusive environment of isolation. Others are able to interact socially and break through some of the physical and psychological barriers they face. Legally, once a foreign female domestic worker enters her employer’s house, she is totally under his/her control, since the employer is usually her visa sponsor. Even today, United Arab Emirates labour laws do not recognize domestics as part of the labour force. The employer bears total responsibility for his/her domestic workers and has total control over them. However, during the first three months of the contract, both the employer and the employee have the right to contact the recruiting agency in order to report problems or to seek change in the status or employment of the foreign female domestic worker. Most recruiting agencies, however, do not encourage this practice, and often hide information from the foreign female domestic worker about their rights. The immigration regulations governing the status of domestic workers and the social practices towards foreign female domestic worker in the United Arab Emirates enslave them to their employers until the duration of their contract ends. Whether one is placed with a desirable or an undesirable employer is a matter of luck. ***
ARCHIVES *** Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – The
government made significant progress toward eliminating the practice of
trafficking in young foreign boys as camel jockeys, which until March had been
a serious problem for many years. On July 5, President Khalifa
promulgated a federal law that prohibits persons below age 18 from
participating in camel races and subjects violators to imprisonment and
financial penalties. The government also worked with UNICEF, source country
embassies, and NGOs to rescue, rehabilitate, and repatriate approximately
1,034 children who had worked as camel jockeys. By year's end, an additional
39 children were in the remaining rehabilitation shelter awaiting
repatriation. During the year, there were a
number of media reports of trafficking in women and girls into the country,
especially to Law enforcement, particularly in Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices - 2004 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – There
was an increasing number of media reports during the year of trafficking in
women and girls to the country, especially to In July 2003, the Government
banned the widespread practice of sponsors forcing workers to surrender their
passports as a condition of employment. However, the practice reportedly
continued to be widespread. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2002 [40] Despite noting some efforts
by the State party, 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 and South Asia; are denied education and healthcare;
and that such involvement produces serious injuries, even fatalities. It
concurs with the ILO Committee of Experts on the Application of Conventions
and Recommendations which has previously indicated to the State party that
the employment of children as camel jockeys constitutes dangerous work under
article 3(1) of ILO Convention no. 138, concerning the minimum age for
admission to employment. UAE
anti-trafficking report documents progress www.albawaba.com/en/countries/UAE/246975
The annual report, “Combatting Human Trafficking in the UAE – 2008-09",
highlights the country’s stand on the crime, efforts to counter it, progress
made, obstacles encountered, and plans for the future. According to the report, over 20 cases
were registered last year, as opposed to 10 cases in 2007. "This
represents an 100 percent increase in registered
cases compared to 2007, suggesting that the combating process is gradually,
but surely, intensifying," the report said. The number of prosecutions and the
severity of punishments prescribed by the UAE courts also increased
significantly, the report said, adding that there were convictions in six
cases, with two people receiving life sentence. According to Minister of State for
Foreign Affairs Dr Anwar Gargash,
“The UAE firmly stands against both the exploitation of human beings. The
resolve to fight trafficking at home and abroad in collaboration with
international partners remains central to the country's anti-trafficking
strategy.” Dr. Gargash,
who is also the chairman of the anti-trafficking committee, said “The UAE
will continue to take a lead on this issue in the region and internationally,
acknowledging the existence of human trafficking as a problem that afflicts
our society, just as it does in many other countries." Human trafficking
gang busted, girl recovered www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=179371 The Federal Investigation Agency
(FIA) Sunday busted an international human trafficking gang and recovered a
girl sold to an Arab Sheikh for Rs2 million. The officials of the FIA
Peshawar were tipped off that a gang would smuggle a young girl of Lala Killay to Dubai where she
had been sold to … US Report on Human Trafficking in UAE a Lie www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=/data/theuae/2009/May/theuae_May148.xml§ion=theuae
Dr Mohammed Anwar
Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and
Chairman of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking, has dismissed
a US State Department report that the UAE has around 10,000 victims of human
trafficking as a mere lie. Speaking
at the Federal National Council (FNC) session on Tuesday, the minister said
the report has political motivation and is a reflection of the political
philosophy of the US State Department. actioncenter.polarisproject.org/the-frontlines/survivor-testimonies/38-testimonies/54-testimony-of-alina
"I met my boyfriend at my
girl-friend’s house. He had been dating me for a month already when he told
me he was going to marry me. My boyfriend told me we could earn some money
for our wedding if we went to work in Greece at his friend’s company. We would stay for three months
there to earn enough money and come back. I was extremely happy. I could not
believe all that was happening to me. He took my passport and all necessary
papers and said that he would take care of visa and travel arrangements. I
was so happy and careless that I did not even ask to see the tickets or
documents. The day of departure came. We took the plane and instead of Greece
we landed in Dubai. He took me to a hotel and said that
he was going to see his friend and would be back soon. Two hours later a man
came to take me to another hotel saying that I was his property. I could not
understand, I kept saying that it was a misunderstanding and that my friend
would come soon. I had come to Dubai for another purpose. The man told me
that my friend had sold me to him, that from now on
he would have my documents and I had to do whatever he told me to. He said
that the next day I had to move to another place and serve all the clients he
would send to me. www.thenational.ae/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20090309/NATIONAL/170892145/-1/NEWS
Police have arrested three men of
Eastern European origin on charges of human trafficking and forcing women
into prostitution. They lured women
from their own countries to the UAE with the promise of jobs in the hospitality
or retail sector, but instead held them prisoners as prostitutes in brothels
in Deira, planning to sell them on for Dh5,000
(US$1,360), a Criminal Investigation Department (CID) source said. The gang threatened to kill them if they
talked, police added. Human
Trafficking from Bangladesh Drops Drastically www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle08.asp?xfile=/data/theuae/2008/December/theuae_December508.xml§ion=theuae
Incidents of human trafficking and
children being employed as camel jockeys have dropped to low levels,
according to figures from the Bangladesh mission here. Embassy deputy head Shaid
Bakheiyar Alam said more
than 200 camel jockeys were repatriated between 2006-2007 while this year
only 10 cases were registered. The
official attributed the drop in incidents to the efforts of the UAE
government, Unicef and the mission here. EFFORTS TO COMBAT THE MENACE - Mostly children are lured with
good life and quality education promises while for the women it is for
brighter prospects. The establishment
of the National Committee for combating human trafficking in accordance with
the federal law is a bright spot in the record of the UAE which is considered
a forerunner in the field of human rights. A study conducted by the Abu Dhabi
police said as many as 10,000 human trafficking cases were registered in 2008
in the UAE, which include camel jockeys and women forced into
prostitution. The UAE returned more
than 1,000 children employed as camel jockeys to their countries of origin in
a co-ordinated effort with Unicef,
and is also involved in programmes to rehabilitate
them. Police
sting nets human traffickers www.thenational.ae/article/20081215/NATIONAL/818203618/1138
Police said they had dismantled a
network which lured women from their home countries with promises of
legitimate work, only to force them into prostitution. The gang also preyed on women who had
absconded from sponsors in Dubai, kidnapping them and forcing them into the
sex trade or selling them to the highest bidders. The woman was lured to the UAE to
work legally as a maid by one of the gang members, the police said. She was
kidnapped on arrival, imprisoned and forced into prostitution while the gang
waited to trade her to anyone who would meet their asking price. It is
unclear whether the woman would remain here or be sent back to Bangladesh. Three women accuse owner of the City of Hope of selling their babies www.gulfnews.com/nation/Society/10214471.html Three young women of different
nationalities are accusing the owner of the City of Hope shelter, Sharla Musabih, of selling
their new-born babies to families in the UAE. Stiff penalties to combat crime www.gulfnews.com/nation/Police_and_The_Courts/10204383.html Ten human trafficking cases have
been reported in the UAE, five of them are cases in which verdicts have been
issued, while others are still with the judicial authorities, a senior
official said. Major General Khamis
Mattar Al Mazeina, Dubai
Police's Deputy Commandant General, said eight of the cases were in Dubai. He
said there are no Emiratis or Arabs involved in
those cases. He pointed out that the number of cases is not a phenomenon at
all compared to other countries where such crimes are common. Trafficking tough
to tame in rich Gulf states www.reuters.com/article/idUSL2090616420080224 africa.reuters.com/world/news/usnL20906164.html BROKEN PROMISES - Aysha's
case puts a face on the figures. She
was sitting outside her home in Uzbekistan when she was approached by a woman
who showed her pictures of Dubai and promised her a job as a waitress. When she and her cousin arrived in Dubai,
their hair was cut, their eyebrows plucked and they were given skimpy clothes
to wear. They were locked up in an apartment with four other girls who were
made to work as prostitutes. On day
two, Aysha and her cousin escaped from the disco
when their boss had to go out on an urgent errand. They flagged down a taxi,
but the only English word they knew was airport. They lived in the airport toilets for two
days before being found and sent to the Uzbek consulate, which sent them to
the shelter. "The other girls
wanted to run away too but they were too afraid. I think they tried
before but were caught," Aysha said. Trafficking victims find support and solace archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/12/29/10178071.html Providing legal and psychological
support to the women and children who fall prey to human traffickers are the
goals of a section that was established lately by Dubai Police. The section that takes care of human
trafficking victims at Dubai Police's Human Rights Care Department was
established this year. LURE OF JOBS - Most of the cases the section receives
are related to women who are promised jobs here as nurses or air
hostesses. After they come here,
someone from their own nationality receives them at the airport and takes
their passports. After that, the women
are taken to hotels and forced into prostitution. Some manage to escape and contact the
section through police stations, while others suffer mental torture. Dubai declares war on human trafficking - Atul Aneja www.hindu.com/2007/12/06/stories/2007120652521500.htm Launching a new drive against
human trafficking, authorities in Dubai have busted a well entrenched
prostitution ring operating from upscale villas and apartments. The Dubai police have arrested 247 suspects,
including 170 sex workers after raiding 22 locations on December 1, said
Dubai police chief Lt. Gen. Dahi Khalfan Tamim. Most of the sex
workers were from East Asia. Earlier this year, UAE
Attorney-General Eassam Al-Humaidan
had announced that a decision had been taken to confront human traffickers
with an iron hand. He said practitioners would face a five-year jail
sentence. Besides, anyone convicted of forming a gang for this purpose would
be jailed for life. Human Rights Watch questions Guggenheim museum labor www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/11/14/america/NA-GEN-US-Guggenheim-Arab-Labor.php At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
"Our laws are tougher than
anyone else's in the The United Arab Emirates already
has issued laws addressing many of the abuses in the Human Rights Watch
report: workers' salaries and passports held back by companies, dangerous
working conditions, shady labor agents whose fees keep workers locked in debt
and labor law enforcers beholden to connected companies, not to workers. The United Arab Emirates' ruler,
Sheik Khalifa bin Zayed
Al Nahyan, also announced tough penalties, up to
life imprisonment, against trafficking in humans, which has illegally taken
domestic servants, prostitutes and even child camel race jockeys into the
country. Whitson called the changes
"cosmetic" and said the problem needed to be addressed
systemically. Dubai's Promised Land of Luxury Lures Women Into Sexual Slavery www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=amKSCFA_Fm3s&refer=home Fei Fei, a
22-year-old from China's Guangdong province, has a souvenir of her eight
months in Dubai: burns on her back and arms from cigarette butts crushed
against her skin when she refused to work as a prostitute. She eventually submitted when a criminal
gang threatened to send nude photos of her to family members. That indignity,
she said, would have been worse than selling her body. ``They take pictures of me naked in
shower,'' Fei Fei said in
broken English as she pulled up her shirt to reveal the dark red circular
marks. Soon afterward, she adopted the English name ``Lucy,'' and sold sex in
Dubai bars for 500 dirhams ($130) a trick to claw
back her freedom. archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/10/31/10163908.html ABJECT
SLAVERY -
The need of the
hour is not a blame game played out by certain media entities and individuals
who claim the moral high ground but of adopting a sensitive awareness to stop
unscrupulous traders in their tracks. Groups and individuals need to synergise to help reluctant victims shed inhibitions and
expose their tormentors. This can be achieved not only through empowerment of
non governmental organisations but also by
enlisting the help of taxi drivers to expose the city's vice dens. It is also important to be aware
of the extent we end up practising such acts,
unknowingly, by imposing unreasonable hours and endless work loads on our
household helpers. Fight against human trafficking stepped up archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/10/24/10162297.html PREVENTIVE MEASURES - The chief public prosecutor Mansour Abdullah who questioned the suspects said:
"The victims worked as housemaids before they abandoned their
sponsor. "They met S.F. who
promised to hire them and kept them in a flat. An unidentified suspect [who
is still at large] aided S.F. to confine the girls in the flat and forced
them to have sex with customers."
Abdullah said they beat and tortured the girls every time they refused
to have sex with customers. [Editor’s note: the suspects who were charged were Asian] From the arc lights of Vadapalani to dance bars of Dubai and back www.hindu.com/2007/08/24/stories/2007082459750300.htm Meenakshi was once a bubbly girl who worked
in the film studios of Chennai. After finishing her eighth year in school,
she followed in her father’s footsteps and become a junior artist in films.
Beautiful and fair, Meenakshi received a lot of
attention on the sets. Meenakshi had befriended two
middle-aged female dancers who had told her she could go to Dubai and earn a
lot of money as a dancer. They had also told her she could meet filmmakers
there whom she could impress with her dancing. Persuaded by them, Meenakshi, her eyes filled with dreams, set off for
Dubai. Less than two months later, she
returned in a wheel chair, a mere shadow of the woman she was and unable to
tell anyone what had happened to her. muhtc.blogspot.com/ www.7days.ae/showstory.php?id=54276 Dubai's top prosecutor has hailed
15-year prison sentences handed yesterday to a couple for human trafficking -
the first ever convictions for the crime in the UAE. The two Indians bought
their female victim for just dhs4,300 and forced her into prostitution before
attempting to sell her on. Two plead innocent to human trafficking charges archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/07/06/10137176.html A housemaid and a driver are
pleading innocent against the human trafficking of an Indonesian female even
though they were caught red-handed trying to sell her to a policeman. "The Indians then sold me for
Dh4,300 to T.S. and M.K. who forced me into prostitution," she said in
her statement. They used to pocket the
sex customer's money for themselves and the 29-year-old used 'to beat and
abuse me', she alleged. Meanwhile, the Public Prosecution
is currently looking into the third case of its kind. Two Indians suspects are believed to have
sold two housemaids, a 23-year-old Bangladeshi and a 33-year-old Indonesian,
for Dh9,000 and were forcing them into prostitution. Human trafficking from Armenia to Dubai, UAE www.mideastyouth.com/2007/06/19/human-trafficking-from-armenia-to-dubai-uae/ when she arrived in Private sector 'can help combat human trafficking' archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/06/05/10130140.html He said T.S. and M.K. used the
victim's poverty to subjugate and exploit her into working in the sex
industry unwillingly. "The couple bought her from an unidentified person
for Dh4,300 after she reportedly abandoned her sponsor. When she refused to
have sex with customers, she got brutally beaten by the female suspect,"
said the Attorney General. New study shames human traffickers www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143968455 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Countries in the A new report by an international
trade unions’ umbrella organisation says Kuwait,
Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates
and Yemen are notorious destinations for women trafficked from Kenya. Its report, ‘Trafficking in
Persons — The Eastern Africa Situation’, notes that women and children were favourite targets for well-organised
trafficking rings, which operate freely for lack of solid laws against the
vice. Stress on global network to fight human trafficking archive.gulfnews.com/articles/07/03/11/10110364.html A teacher in her home country, Noora says she was tempted by the promise of a good job
and salary in Dubai. It was the first time that she had ever left her home
country and her job and visa were arranged by a man she was put in contact
with by a friend from her home town. In her early 20's at the time, Noora was told to expect a representative from the school
where she was to work to collect her from the airport. Instead, she was met
by a couple who took her to their home in Sharjah
and locked her inside a room in a high-rise. "The first couple of days
were a blur. I kept asking when I was starting my job. The wife laughed and
said there is no school - that I had to work as a prostitute," she
remembers. "I was terrified and couldn't do anything. I was powerless." Trafficking – Serious Problem for Azerbaijan www.demaz.org/cgi-bin/e-cms/vis/vis.pl?s=001&p=0056&n=001094&g= At one time this article had been archived
and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Victim of human trafficking told how she found herself within the net
of criminal elements - Rafiga understood that she was deceived. But
as her neighbor had her passport she tried to persuade “mama Rosa” to give
back her document. However, woman told that Rafiga
is her debtor as her marriage and ticket purchase were very expensive. “I
will return your passport when you work a debt out, and you will be free”,
“mama Rosa told”. UAE : Probe begins into Indian Human Trafficking Racket www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=29570&n_tit=UAE+%3A+Probe+begins+into+Indian+Human+Trafficking+Racket The 54 year-old visitor identified
as A.K.S, 50, and his wife identified as M.S, were waiting for a connecting
flight to Paris when they were arrested. They were reportedly carrying fake
passports of two young boys accompanying them. The data recorded in the passports
of the two minors showed them to be the sons of the accused but upon
questioning, the couple denied being the parents, claiming they had been
asked by some people in Mumbai to hand over the children to someone in Paris. Dahi: Tough law will help fight all other forms of trafficking archive.gulfnews.com/articles/06/11/11/10081810.html He warned that thousands of people
in the country could be traffickers without them knowing it. "They are
not aware that the way they treat their domestic servants such as denying
them communication with others, toying with their salaries, as well as the
illegal tricks employed by labour companies
constitute servitude." Life term for human trafficking under new federal law www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticle.asp?xfile=data/theuae/2006/July/theuae_July355.xml§ion=theuae The Ministerial Legislative
Committee (MLC) here approved yesterday an anti-human trafficking federal
draft law. A life-imprisonment term is
to be slapped against anyone implicated in any of the crimes of human
trafficking, such as sexual exploitation, forced labour,
slavery, or any malpractices of the kind, the draft law stipulates. Kyrgyz Police Halt Flight To U.A.E. On Trafficking Suspicion www.hri.org/news/balkans/rferl/2006/06-02-16.rferl.html#21 One, a resident of Samarkand, said that she was traveling to work in a
restaurant in Dubai. But another woman, a 17-year-old from Ferghana, said that she was going to the U.A.E. to work
as a prostitute. The woman cited a lack of alternative employment
opportunities in Uzbekistan as the reasons for her decision. Country Reports - Turkmenistan iwraw.igc.org/publications/countries/turkmenistan.htm At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
ARTICLE 6 - TRAFFICKING AND
PROSTITUTION [40] -
“Because getting out of Turkmenistan is difficult,” she said, “I allowed
myself to be smuggled out of here via Iran, but I was told I would have a
good job working for an Arab family in Dubai.” After an arduous road
journey across Iran and a Gulf crossing by boat, she found herself working in
a Russian syndicate-run brothel in Dubai. “It was horrific. I
worked all night, every night, for six days, and was beaten if I refused to
perform,” she added tearfully. “I know I was stupid,” she added, “but
there’s nothing, nothing, nothing for us here.” Kidnapped Children Starve As Camel Jockey Slaves www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-1543325,00.html As many as 5,000 children, some as young as two, have been kidnapped or bought from their parents in the Indian sub-continent and Africa as part of a quest by camel trainers to gain the edge over their racing rivals. Camel Jockeys Trying To Recover Lost Childhood www.dawn.com/2005/05/10/int14.htm Both the UAE and newswww.bbc.net.uk/1/hi/world/south_asia/4236123.stm
Children from Pakistan, Bangladesh
and Sudan are still being smuggled to the United Arab Emirates to work as
camel jockeys, despite a law passed two years ago banning their use. It is not uncommon for child jockeys to
fall off and be injured while racing, and their illegal status means race
track owners are often reluctant to take them to hospital. Instead, says Ansar
Burney, the boys often arrive with broken hands or broken legs. And many, he
says, have been sodomised. Missing Girl Rescued By A Journalist www.asiansexgazette.com/asg/middle_east/middleeast02news25.htm “They forced me into
prostitution,” Priya said after she was rescued,
according to a friend. “I was beaten up several times and finally had to give
in to their demands. We were being shifted to a different flat every two
days. The customers used to pay dhs50, which the agents used to collect. It
was a real hell out there.” freedemocracy.blogspot.com/2006_02_01_archive.html#114068413222349497 UAE : HORRENDOUS RECORD OF CHILD SLAVERY
- WORK WORRIES - Sri
Lankan women are trafficked to 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 Slavery of Children and women in Persian gulf countries 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]
One of the fastest growing means
by which children are enslaved today is trafficking. Girls as young as six
are trafficked to work as maids in UAE and Saudi Arabia. Men and women and
children live and work as slaves or in slave-like conditions. The sexual
enslavement of children is part of the generation exploitation of children in
impoverished parts of the world. Corruption is Limiting Kazakhstan’s Efforts Against Human Trafficking stopvaw.org/3Jun2004.html Most citizens of Kazakhstan who
fall victim to human trafficking are sent to the United Arab Emirates, though
some have been sent to western Europe, Israel. And Saudi Arabia. Human trafficking from Iran to Gulf Shiekhdoms activistchat.com/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=2551 A group of Iranian boys and girls
will be sold in an auction today in Fojeyreh,
United Arab Emirates. At a round table discussion on human trafficking held
yesterday (at the office of) the Young Iranian Society news agency, it was
announced that the preparations for this auction were made two weeks before
by hunters of Iranian women and girls in the course of an international
exhibition… The human hunters were able to
choose 54 Iranian girls out of the 286 that were put on show in an Arab
country's booth. They were then sent to a Persian Gulf country on May 17 to
get ready for the Fojeyreh auction on May 26…. Leader of Tajik prostitution ring jailed for selling young women to Emirates eforums.healthdev.org/read/messages?id=553 The leader of a prostitution ring
in Tajikistan has been jailed for three-and-a-half years for sending young
women to the United Arab Emirates to work forcibly in the sex trade, the
trial judge told AFP Monday. Anvar Rakhmatov was arrested in
October last year in the north of this impoverished former Soviet Central
Asian republic as he was about to put three young women on a flight to Dubai.
"Over the last four years,
this criminal group transported young women to the United Arab Emirates, and
upon their arrival, took their passports and forced them to work as
prostitutes," the judge said. 'Modern-Day Slavery' Prompts Rescue Efforts www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61457-2004May2_4.html Halla forbade Muka
from bathing because "she did not want my germs in the shower," Muka wrote. Halla often slapped
her and kicked her while wearing boots and shoes. Once, Halla
noticed a scratch on the baby's nose. "She pulled a knife out of the
drawer and demonstrated pulling the knife across her throat as if to slice
it," Muka wrote. "While she was doing
this, she looked at me and said that if a scratch occurred again, she would
kill me." Halla
confiscated her passport and told her "bad people" would hurt her
if she ever left, according to Muka's statement. Muka said she imagined government officials tracking her
down. Department of Homeland Security
immigration officials were able to track the diplomat, but he had returned to
the United Arab Emirates. As Many As 27 Million Worldwide Forced into Slavery www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=6576 A Britain-based nongovernmental organization,
Anti-Slavery International, released a report Monday showing that the number
of people forced into slavery has risen to an estimated 27 million. In addition, the report showed the
trafficking of boys between to the United
Arab Emirates and other Gulf States, continued slavery in Brazil, and
inaction to free slaves in Mauritania. Police officer arrested in connection with human
trafficking archive.hetq.am/eng/society/h-0304-traff.html At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Officers continue to question women who fell victim to these two procurers. The number of Amalia Mnatsakanyan's victims keeps growing. But the trafficking in women for the United Arab Emirates continues. Trafficking and forced labour of children in the United Arab Emirates continues www.mengos.net/events/04newsevents/omanqataruaemain/children-trafficked.htm ANTI-SLAVERY INTERNATIONAL CLAIMS UAE STILL USES CHILD SLAVES AS CAMEL JOCKEYS - In 2004, Anti-Slavery International sent a photographer to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to photograph children racing and training in the Gulf state. The photographs prove that, despite the Government's repeated statements that this practice has stopped, it is still a problem. Two years ago, the Government announced that using children under 15 and lighter than 45 kilograms to race camels would be banned from 1 September 2002 and offenders punished. Two Cases of Trafficking to the Emirates www.bu.edu/globalbeat/ARMENIA/arpine.html “My friend Armenuhi
deceived me” says Narine. “She promised me a
well-paid job in the United Arab Emirates. So I went. Once I got there she
took my passport and forced me into prostitution to make money for her.” Armenuhi's brother drove Narine
to the airport, and Armenhui met Narine when she landed in the Emirates. she immediately
took her passport. Then her attitude changed dramatically. “She told me that
I had to work as a prostitute or else I could stay there and rot,” says Narine. “She said I had to give her $10,000 to get my
passport back. Saudi Arabia/GCC States: Ratify Migrant Rights Treaty! hrw.org/english/docs/2003/04/11/saudia5596.htm Saudi Arabia and the other GCC
states have a special responsibility to participate in all international
efforts to guarantee rights and justice for this vulnerable population.
Becoming parties to the migrant rights convention will signal the GCC’s willingness to help address a serious worldwide
problem. Dubai: Migrant Workers at Risk hrw.org/english/docs/2003/09/19/uae6388.htm Nearly ten million foreigners,
most of them unskilled or semi-skilled migrants, work in Gulf states.
Migrants comprise some 90 percent of the 1.7 million workers in the United
Arab Emirates, where the World Bank will hold its meetings. Despite their value to both their
home countries and the societies in which they work, many migrant workers
suffer from discrimination, exploitation and abuse. Migrants, including large
numbers of women employed as domestic servants, face intimidation and
violence, including sexual assault, at the hands of employers, supervisors,
sponsors and police and security forces. Children are especially vulnerable
to labor and sexual exploitation and denial of basic rights. "Thousands of children are
trafficked to the United Arab Emirates for use as beggars and camel
jockeys," Mungoven said. "The World Bank
can't claim to fight child labor in poor countries and then turn a blind eye
when it crosses borders." Sponsors and employers often
confiscate migrants' documents, including passports and residence permits,
restricting their freedom of movement and ability to report mistreatment.
Migrants in the Gulf states typically can't obtain an exit visa without the
approval of their sponsor or employer, sometimes placing them in situations
that amount to forced labor. Sexual Exploitation of Children on the Rise www.penelopes.org/Anglais/xbreve.php3?id_article=469 At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
Boys, sometimes as young as 5, are sent each year from Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan to Dubai and the United Arab Emirates to serve as jockeys in camel races. Boys, sometimes as young as 5, are
sent each year from Bangladesh, India, and Pakistan to Dubai and the United
Arab Emirates to serve as jockeys in camel races. Miller Addresses Modern Day Slavery www.thehoya.com/node/4151 According to Miller, the
publication of a report ranking nations based on violations of human rights
spurred progress in the battle against modern day slavery. The Office to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons reports that the United Arab
Emirates, ranked as having one of the worst records of human rights
violations, instituted border controls, prosecutions and heightened
protections for victims as a result of the report. Business Is Booming for Slave Trade abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=79131&page=1 When Ibrahim
Mohammad, now around 6 years old, fell off a camel in Dubai and fractured his
shoulder last year, he says he broke into a sobbing fit and pleaded with his
handlers not to strap him onto the back of a camel ever again. But as he well knew, no amount of
sniveling, whining or weeping could save him from the camel-racing track.
There was a lot of money at stake, there were no adults who would intercede
for him, and the skinny little Bangladeshi boy was just pushing his
luck. As a camel jockey in the United
Arab Emirates' glitzy port city, Ibrahim was just a
tiny cog in a vast, popular sports industry, and like the other 20-odd boys
in his dormitory, he was a child slave. Protests were treated with a sound
whipping with the sticks used for the camels, and then it was back to the
races for the tiny lads. Migrant Women in the United Arab Emirates - The case of
female domestic workers [PDF] www.ilo.org/public/english/employment/gems/download/swmuae.pdf At one time this article had been
archived and may possibly still be accessible [here]
[page
18] 3.1. GENERAL CONDITIONS - Isolation is a dominant feature
of foreign female domestic worker work environment in the United Arab
Emirates. Foreign female domestic workers are isolated physically, psychologically, socially, culturally and
in all aspects of human existence. However, they differ in their level of
isolation. Some foreign female domestic workers live in an abusive
environment of isolation. Others are able to interact socially and break
through some of the physical and psychological barriers they face. Legally, once a foreign female
domestic worker enters her employer’s house, she is totally under his/her
control, since the employer is usually her visa sponsor. Even today, United
Arab Emirates labour laws do not recognize
domestics as part of the labour force. The employer bears total responsibility for
his/her domestic workers and has total control over them. However, during the
first three months of the contract, both the employer and the employee have
the right to contact the recruiting agency in order to report problems or to
seek change in the status or employment of the foreign female domestic
worker. Most recruiting agencies, however, do not encourage this practice,
and often hide information from the foreign female domestic worker about
their rights. The immigration regulations governing the status of domestic
workers and the social practices towards foreign female domestic worker in
the United Arab Emirates enslave them to their employers until the duration
of their contract ends. Whether one is placed with a desirable or an
undesirable employer is a matter of luck. www.brama.com/issues/IOM980709_lviv.html TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN - . Tatyana
is 20 years old. She is from a small town in Lugansk
oblast in Eastern Ukraine. It is impossible for her to get a job there,
because most industrial facilities in town are idle. A friend of her mother
proposed her a housemaid job for a rich family in the United Arab Emirates.
She was promised a $4,000 monthly income there, while at home she could not
find a job that paid even a tiny fraction of that amount. However, when she
arrived in the UAE, she was stripped of her passport, sold to a brothel and
forced to receive clients in order to repay the fees she supposedly owed to
the owner, who bought her for $7,000. Her nightmare did not end even after
she managed to escape: she was sentenced to three years' imprisonment for
working in an underground brothel after she turned to the police for help.
Now Tatyana is eleven months into her sentence. Her
mother, who calls an IOM-sponsored telephone hotline periodically, is crying
for help. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use |
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Human Trafficking in [United Arab Emirates Street Children in [United Arab Emirates] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [United Arab Emirates] [other countries]