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/UnitedArabEmirates.htm
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
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 the 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. HELP for Victims Police, Criminal Investigation ***
FEATURED ARTICLE *** Migrant Women in
the Rima Sabban, Gender Promotion Programme,
International Labour Office At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12
September 2011] [page 18] 3.1.
GENERAL CONDITIONS
- Isolation is a dominant feature of foreign female domestic worker work
environment in the 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, Woman jailed for
forcing child into sex trade Independent Online
(IOL) News, www.iol.co.za/news/world/woman-jailed-for-forcing-child-into-sex-trade-1.226224 [accessed 6 January
2011] Last week a
non-governmental organisation said there was a
growing trend in the abduction and sale of Tajik boys for sexual exploitation
abroad. The Modar organisation
said groups in the United Arab
Emirates, Turkey, Pakistan and other countries were prepared to pay as
much as $70 000 for a Tajik boy between the ages of 10 and 12. ***
ARCHIVES *** 2020 Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices: United Arab Emirates 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/
united-arab-emirates/ [accessed 29 June
2021] PROHIBITION OF
FORCED OR COMPULSORY LABOR It was relatively
common for employers to subject migrant domestic workers, and to a lesser
degree, construction and other manual labor workers, to conditions equivalent
to forced labor. Contract substitution remained a problem. Workers
experienced nonpayment of wages, unpaid overtime, failure to grant legally
required time off, withholding of passports, threats, and in some cases
psychological, physical, or sexual abuse. There were reports employers raped
or sexually assaulted foreign domestic workers. These cases rarely went to
court, and those that did led to few convictions. In a few cases physical
abuses led to death. Local newspapers reported on court cases involving violence
committed against maids and other domestic workers. In violation of the
law, employers routinely held employees’ passports, thus restricting their
freedom of movement and ability to leave the country or change jobs. In labor
camps it was common practice for passports to be kept in a central secure
location, accessible with 24 or 48 hours’ notice. In most cases individuals
reported they were able to obtain documents without difficulty when needed,
but this was not always the case. There were media reports that employees
were coerced to surrender their passports for “safekeeping” and sign
documentation that the surrender was voluntary. With domestic employees,
passport withholding frequently occurred, and enforcement against this
practice was weak. Some employers
forced foreign workers in the domestic and agricultural sectors to compensate
them for hiring expenses such as visa fees, health exams, and insurance,
which the law requires employers to pay, by withholding wages or having these
costs deducted from their contracted salary. Some employers did not pay their
employees contracted wages even after they satisfied these “debts.” There were other
reports from community leaders that employers would refuse to apply for a
residency visa for their domestic workers, rendering them undocumented and
thus vulnerable to exploitation. Although charging
workers recruitment fees was illegal, workers in both the corporate and
domestic sectors often borrowed money to pay recruiting fees in their home
countries, and as a result they spent most of their salaries trying to repay
home-country labor recruiters or lenders. These debts limited workers’
options to leave a job and sometimes trapped them in exploitive work
conditions. Freedom House
Country Report 2020 Edition freedomhouse.org/country/united-arab-emirates/freedom-world/2020 [accessed 10 May
2020] G4. DO INDIVIDUALS
ENJOY EQUALITY OF OPPORTUNITY AND FREEDOM FROM ECONOMIC EXPLOITATION? Foreign workers are
often exploited and subjected to harsh working conditions, physical abuse,
and withholding of passports with little to no access to legal recourse. A
series of ministerial decrees issued in 2015 aimed to give migrant workers more
flexibility to terminate employment under certain conditions. Foreign
household workers were not covered by those decrees or by labor laws in
general, leaving them especially vulnerable. A law adopted in 2017 guaranteed
such household workers basic protections and benefits including sick leave
and daily rest periods, though they were inferior to those in the national
labor law, and household workers would still be unable to leave their
employers without a breach of contract. Iranian islands a
torture ground for duped migrants Mohammad Jamil Khan,
Dhaka Tribune, 4 April 2015 www.dhakatribune.com/2015/apr/04/iranian-islands-torture-ground-duped-migrants [accessed 13 April
2015] www.dhakatribune.com/uncategorized/2015/04/03/iranian-islands-a-torture-ground-for-duped-migrants/ [accessed 22
February 2018] When hard-working
Bangladeshi migrants arrive in the UAE
looking for jobs, they are steered by dreams of turning their own lives
around, while they seize every opportunity before them to earn a little extra
for their loved ones back home. But that leaves
them vulnerable to exploitation by unscrupulous opportunity seekers. An Iran-based gang
of human traffickers lure the Bangladeshi men with promises of better jobs in
European countries – mostly in Turkey, Greece and Italy; but as soon as they
are smuggled out of the United Arab
Emirates, the workers are held captive in islands near the Iranian port city
of Bandar Abbas. Hideouts on the
islands – located in the 39km stretch of the Strait of Hormuz – are used to
torture the Bangladeshi expatriates, while their families back home are
contacted to demand ransom. Many of the hostages are unable to survive the
torture, and die there at the hands of their captors. 46% of absconding
maids victimised by employers Nadia Sultan, The
Gulf Today, November 01, 2010 gulftoday.ae/portal/e1b6f758-0d72-4ac6-9752-e083227a2e66.aspx [accessed 1 November
2010] While discussing
the cases that they have been involved with, Jamal said that a widow in her
twenties, identified as SSH, had been suffering from financial problems in
her country. When she saw an advertisement about a job in the UAE, she left
her two children and signed a contract that said she would be paid
Dhs5,000. When she came to the
country, she worked as a maid for a family, but was soon persuaded to abandon
her sponsor by a compatriot. The woman had told her that she would give her a
better job with double the salary. The maid ran away and found herself
involved in a gang that ran a flat for prostitution. When she tried to run
away, they beat her up and raped her. Later, she threw herself off the
balcony from the third floor and was paralyzed from her lower half and is now
being treated at a hospital. The gang was then arrested and referred to the
court. He also gave the
example of another trafficking case involving two European girls, who were
both under the age of 15. The girls had come to the country along with their
mother and their Asian stepfather, but the stepfather then sold the older
girl. The other daughter was also exploited and made to work as a prostitute.
Both girls later went to the police, who arrested the stepfather, said Jamal,
adding that the case is still ongoing. Despite this, he
noted that there has been progress towards solving the problem. Highlighting the efforts made by the
police, Jamal said that victims now seem to have more confidence in
officials, as there have more than 10 cases where women that have become
victims in such crimes have approached the police on their own. This is
despite the fact that they had entered the country illegally or had an
expired visa, he added. “Issues
related to trusting officials are problematic all around the world, but Dubai
Police has tried to ensure that victims know that the police are dealing with
the cases seriously. Human trafficking
and prostitution gang jailed Eman Al Baik, Emirates 24/7 News, October 30, 2010 www.emirates247.com/news/emirates/human-trafficking-and-prostitution-gang-jailed-2010-10-30-1.310861 [accessed 1 November
2010] A 22-year old
Kyrgyz woman arrived in the country on April 28, 2009, on a visit visa
following a promise of a pastry job for $700 by a compatriot woman who arranged
for her the visa, air ticket and accommodation. An unidentified woman received her at the
airport. When the visitor asked about the woman who had offered her the job,
she told her that she had been sold to her for $32,000. The unknown woman told her that she had to
pay back the costs in prostitution.
The unknown woman then sold her to the gang consisting of three Uzbek
women identified as NT, KS, and NA, and two Afghan men KJN and KI who raped
the victim and forced her into prostitution.
The victim was asked to please 10 men a day and if she refused her
rapist would threaten to kill her and tortured her with cigarettes and beat
her up. International
workshop on human trafficking opens Dina El Shammaa, Gulf News,
October 27, 2010 gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/international-workshop-on-human-trafficking-opens-1.702268 [accessed 6 January
2011] The UAE acknowledges
the existence of human trafficking as a problem, since the common scenario
among the majority of trafficked persons in the UAE, is that they are
promised illusionary job-positions, and end up working under conditions
against their consent (i.e. prostitution). “Human trafficking
crimes are common in economically stable countries because business is
lucrative. That’s why the UAE is under risk of attracting more human
traffickers. Not to mention that the UAE is close to the borders of countries
involved in such crimes; victims mostly arrive from South East Asia and
Africa,” the UNODC told Gulf News during the sidelines of the forum. UAE
anti-trafficking report documents progress Al Bawaba News, May 31st, 2009 www1.albawaba.com/en/news/uae-anti-trafficking-report-documents-progress [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 The News
International, www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=179371 [access date
unavailable] www.thenews.com.pk/archive/print/177838 [accessed 22
February 2018] 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 Khaleej Times, Abu Dhabi, 6
May 2009 www.thefreelibrary.com/US+Report+on+Human+Trafficking+in+UAE+a+Lie.-a0199157394 [accessed 6 January
2011] [scroll down] 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. Trafficking From
Caucasus - IOM Case Studies [PDF] International
Organization for Migration IOM, "Trafficking in Women and Children from
the Republic of Armenia: A Study" (2001) www.childtrafficking.com/Docs/iom_2001__child_women_traff.pdf [accessed 27 August
2011] publications.iom.int/system/files/pdf/trafficking_caucasus_eng.pdf [accessed 22
February 2018] Case study 3 (Victim – U.A.E.) -- "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 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 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 Three on traficking charges Salam Hafez, The
National, Mar 9, 2009 www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/three-on-traficking-charges [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 Anwar Ahmad, Khaleej Times, [accessed 6 January
2011] Incidents of human
trafficking and children being employed as camel jockeys have dropped to low
levels, according to figures from the 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 The National, 15
December 2008 – Source:
www.thenational.ae/article/20081215/NATIONAL/818203618/1138 www.uaeinteract.com/news/rss-news.asp?ID=33321 [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 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 Three women accuse
owner of the City of Hope of selling their babies Bassma Al Jandaly, Gulf News, gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/three-women-accuse-owner-of-the-city-of-hope-of-selling-their-babies-1.105897 [accessed 6 January
2011] Three young women
of different nationalities are accusing the owner of the City of Stiff penalties to
combat crime Alia Al Theeb, Gulf News, gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/stiff-penalties-to-combat-crime-1.97205 [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 Trafficking tough
to tame in rich Lin Noueihed, Reuters, www.reuters.com/article/idUSL2090616420080224 [accessed 6 January
2011] BROKEN PROMISES - Aysha's case puts a face on the figures. She was sitting outside her home in Trafficking victims
find support and solace Alia Al Theeb, Gulf News, gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/trafficking-victims-find-support-and-solace-1.219740 [accessed 6 January
2011] 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. Atul Aneja,
The Hindu, www.hindu.com/2007/12/06/stories/2007120652521500.htm [accessed 6 January
2011] [accessed 23 June 2017] Launching a new
drive against human trafficking, authorities in 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 Associated Press AP,
At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12
September 2011] "Our laws are
tougher than anyone else's in the The 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. Glen Carey in www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=amKSCFA_Fm3s&refer=home [accessed 6 January
2011] www.ign.com/boards/threads/dubais-promised-land-of-luxury-lures-women-into-sexual-slavery.250449050/ [accessed 23
February 2018] 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
Fight human
trafficking Sawsan Fikree,
Special to Gulf News, October 30, 2007 gulfnews.com/opinions/columnists/fight-human-trafficking-1.208516 [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 Bassam Za'za', Gulf News, gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/fight-against-human-trafficking-stepped-up-1.207644 [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 www.hindu.com/2007/08/24/stories/2007082459750300.htm [accessed 6 January
2011] [accessed 23 June
2017] 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 Ali Al-Shouk, 7DAYS General and Local News, -- Source:
http://www.7days.ae/en/2007/07/11/dubai-justice-was-done.html [accessed 6 January
2011] [scroll down to Wednesday
11 Jul, 2007] Two plead innocent
to human trafficking charges Bassam Za'za', Gulf News, gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/crime/two-plead-innocent-to-human-trafficking-charges-1.188627 [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 Esra'a, Mideast Youth, www.mideastyouth.com/2007/06/19/human-trafficking-from-armenia-to-dubai-uae/ [accessed 6 January
2011] Click [here] to access the article. Its URL is not displayed because of its
length [accessed 9 October
2016] when she arrived in
Private sector 'can
help combat human trafficking' Bassam Za'Za', Gulf News, gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/government/private-sector-can-help-combat-human-trafficking-1.183045 [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 Patrick Mathangani, The Standard, May 11, 2007 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12
September 2011] Countries in the A new report by an
international trade unions’ umbrella organisation
says 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 Zoi Constantine, Gulf
News, gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/general/stress-on-global-network-to-fight-human-trafficking-1.166264 [accessed 6 January
2011] A teacher in her
home country, Noora says she was tempted by the
promise of a good job and salary in 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 R. Ibragimkhalilova, Echo, 13.01.2007 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12
September 2011] Rafiga understood that
she was deceived. But as her neighbor had her passport she tried to persuade
“mama UAE : Probe begins
into Indian Human Trafficking Racket Khaleej Times, www.daijiworld.com/news/news_disp.asp?n_id=29570&n_tit=UAE+:+Probe+begins+into+Indian+Human+Trafficking+Racket [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 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 Samir Salama, Bureau Chief, Gulf News, gulfnews.com/news/gulf/uae/employment/dahi-tough-law-will-help-fight-all-other-forms-of-trafficking-1.265272 [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 Adel Arafah, Khaleej Times Online, [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 Radio Free
Europe/Radio www.hri.org/news/balkans/rferl/2006/06-02-16.rferl.html#21 [accessed 28 August
2011] [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 Country Reports - Marsha A. Freeman
& Natalie Hoover, International Women's Rights Action Watch IWRAW,
Prepared for the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against
Women, 35th Session, May 2006 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12
September 2011] 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 Kidnapped Children
Starve As Camel Jockey Slaves Peter Conradi, freedemocracy.blogspot.com/2006/02/uae-horrendous-record-of-child-slavery.html [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 Andrew Hammond,
Reuters News, www.dawn.com/news/138508/camel-jockeys-trying-to-recover-lost-childhood [accessed 13
February 2016] Both the UAE and Child camel jockeys
find hope Lucy Williamson, BBC
News, newswww.bbc.net.uk/2/hi/south_asia/4236123.stm [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 Asian Sex Gazette, www.asiansexgazette.com/asg/middle_east/middleeast02news25.htm [accessed 6 January
2011] “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.” 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 Slavery
of Children and women in Persian gulf countries Morteza Aminmansour,
Persian Journal, Jun 20, 2004 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12
September 2011] 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 Corruption is
Limiting Kazakhstan’s Efforts Against Human Trafficking Radio Free
Europe/Radio At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12
September 2011] Most citizens of Human trafficking
from Iran to Gulf Shiekhdoms [PDF] Shargh daily, May 26, 2004 www.referendum-iran.org/Docs/CSRI/CSRI-Bulletin-107-June-4.pdf [accessed 21 June
2113] [scroll down] 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 Leader of Tajik
prostitution ring jailed for selling young women to Emirates Agence France-Presse AFP, 26 April 2004 eforums.healthdev.org/read/messages?id=553 [accessed 6 January
2011] The leader of a
prostitution ring in "Over the last
four years, this criminal group transported young women to the 'Modern-Day
Slavery' Prompts Rescue Efforts Staff researcher Bobbye Pratt contributed to this report, The Washington
Post, May 2, 2004 www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61457-2004May2_4.html [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 As Many As 27
Million Worldwide Forced into Slavery Feminist News, May
31, 2002 -- Resources: Anti-Slavery International, 5/27/02; UN Wire, 5/29/02;
BBC, 5/27/02 www.feminist.org/news/newsbyte/uswirestory.asp?id=6576 [accessed 6 January
2011] 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 Hetq-online -
Investigative Journalists of Armenia At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12
September 2011] 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 Trafficking and
forced labour of children in the Middle East NGOs At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12
September 2011] 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 Arpine Haroutiunyan,
Hetq Online www.bu.edu/globalbeat/ARMENIA/arpine.html [accessed 6 January
2011] “My friend Armenuhi
deceived me” says Narine. “She promised me a
well-paid job in the 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! Human Rights Watch,
April 10, 2003 www.hrw.org/en/news/2003/04/10/saudi-arabiagcc-states-ratify-migrant-rights-treaty [accessed 6 January
2011] Human Rights Watch,
September 18, 2003 www.hrw.org/en/news/2003/09/18/dubai-migrant-workers-risk [accessed 6 January
2011] Nearly ten million
foreigners, most of them unskilled or semi-skilled migrants, work in 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 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 Sexual Exploitation
of Children on the Rise Reuters, 01/09/2003 At one time this
article had been archived and may possibly still be accessible [here] [accessed 12
September 2011] 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 Maya Noronha, The
Hoya, www.thehoya.com/miller-addresses-modern-day-slavery-1.1885685 [accessed 28 August
2011] 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 Leela Jacinto, ABC
News/International, May 15, 2002 abcnews.go.com/International/story?id=79131&page=1 [accessed 6 January
2011] When Ibrahim
Mohammad, now around 6 years old, fell off a camel in Dying to Leave Thirteen, www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/episodes/dying-to-leave/human-trafficking-worldwide/united-arab-emirates/1471/ [accessed 26
December 2010] www.pbs.org/wnet/wideangle/uncategorized/human-trafficking-worldwide-united-arab-emirates/1471/ [accessed 26
December 2010] COUNTER-TRAFFICKING
EFFORTS -
On paper, the UAE appears to be making progress in combating human
trafficking. Inspections of private companies for enforced labor and
blacklisting for violations are up; prosecutors and judges are required to
study human rights, immigration, and labor law; biometrics are used to match
work permits with permit holders. But what the UAE
says it has done to fight the use of juvenile camel jockeys conflicts
strongly with reports compiled by outside, independent organizations.
According to information presented in the 2003 U.S. Trafficking in Persons
report, UAE government officials use DNA and medical tests to test the
parenthood of those claiming supervision of child jockeys and routinely
screen visitors at entry points into the country for children entering as
jockeys. In September 2002, the government announced, to
much fanfare, a ban on jockeys younger than 15 or who weighed less than 99
lbs. First-time violators are fined $5,500. Subsequent violations can lead to
a one-year racing suspension and prison time. The UN Human Rights
Commission has noted, however, that the ban is essentially a restatement of a
23-year law that outlaws the employment of all child laborers. Prosecutions
of violators of the ban have yet to occur, notes Anti-Slavery International.
Video footage shot by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation in February
2003 showed that use of children for camel races still continues. After
showing similar footage at an international conference, the International
Labor Organization secured a visit to the UAE in late 2003 for further talks
on the problem. Statement by Mrs. Narcisa Escaler, Deputy
Director General International Organization for Migration (IOM) at the United
States - European Union Transatlantic Seminar to Prevent Trafficking in Women International
Organization for Migration IOM Statment in Lviv 1998, L'viv, www.brama.com/issues/IOM980709_lviv.html [accessed 6 January
2011] TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN - . Tatyana is 20
years old. She is from a small town in Lugansk oblast in Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) UN Convention on the
Rights of the Child, 7 June 2002 www1.umn.edu/humanrts/crc/uae2002.html [accessed 6 January
2011] [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. Human Rights
Overview Human Rights Watch www.hrw.org/middle-eastn-africa/united-arab-emirates [accessed 6 January
2011] ***
EARLIER EDITIONS OF SOME OF THE ABOVE *** Human Rights
Reports » 2005 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2005/61701.htm [accessed 11
February 2020] 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 Human Rights
Reports » 2004 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices U.S. Dept of State Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and
Labor, February 28, 2005 2009-2017.state.gov/j/drl/rls/hrrpt/2004/41734.htm [accessed 11
February 2020] 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. 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 – United Arab Emirates (UAE)",
http://gvnet.com/humantrafficking/UnitedArabEmirates.htm, [accessed
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