Middle East Aggregator

The United States on Wednesday kept Gulf Arab allies Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia on a blacklist of countries trafficking in people, but removed ally Bahrain and trading partner Malaysia. Fiji, Moldova and Papua New Guinea were added to the blacklist contained in the annual report which analyzed efforts in 170 countries to combat trafficking for forced labor, prostitution, military service and other purposes. Also remaining on the "Tier 3" blacklist are Sudan, Syria, Algeria, Iran, Myanmar, and Cuba, according to the State Department's "Trafficking in Persons Report" for 2008. Bahrain and Malaysia as well as Venezuela, Uzbekistan and Equatorial Guinea were all elevated from the blacklist last year to the "Tier 2" watch list this year, according to the congressionally-mandated report. The 14 countries on the blacklist could face sanctions, including the withholding by the United States of non-humanitarian, non-trade related foreign aid. Countries that receive no such assistance would be subject to withholding of funding for government officials to participate in educational and cultural exchange programs. Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar admit men and women from Asian and African countries to work as domestic servants or other low-skilled laborers. Many subsequently "face conditions of involuntary servitude," the report said, adding that to a lesser extent, they are forced into prostitution. "For the last four years, the weak performance of several nations in the Persian Gulf has been the matter of great concern and disappointment," said State Department official Mark Lagon. Saudi Arabia is on "Tier 3," which lists the worse trafficking offenders, for the fourth time. (AFP)

Labels: GCC, Human Trafficking, Migrant Rights, U.S.

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 1:08 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

A conference in Qatar has urged Arab states to step up the fight against human trafficking, seen as widespread in the oil-rich Gulf region. Delegates called for an agreement within the framework of the Arab League "to combat human trafficking in all its forms," according to a statement issued at the close of the conference late Thursday. They urged the Riyadh-based Gulf Cooperation CouncilOil-Producers-Buying-Spree (GCC) to take the lead in boosting "coordination and cooperation among member states to enhance measures to fight human trafficking."

The two-day conference was organized by Qatar and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Delegates called for "a network to exchange information and expertise under the supervision of the Arab League," and the inclusion in school and university curricula of material on fighting the phenomenon. Five of the six GCC member states - Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia - are on a US blacklist of countries where trafficking in people is rampant. (Link)

Labels: GCC, Human Trafficking

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 7:19 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Ali Abdu, a slim boy of 14, just wants to go home to his family in the Yemeni mountains. His dream of making money in Saudi Arabia ended in a hospital bed.

"First I worked as a goatherd, then in a car-wash for three months. Then I was hit by a car and spent 29 days in hospital," he mutters. "After that I gave myself up so I could come back."

Abdu is one of thousands of children, mostly boys, who U.N. officials say are trafficked from impoverished Yemeni villages to Saudi Arabia and other rich Gulf countries to work illegally as beggars, camel jockeys, domestic servants or laborers. (Link)

Labels: Human Trafficking, Yemen

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 8:49 PM 0 Comments Links to this post

Aysha sold her wedding gold to pay traffickers $200 to find her and a cousin jobs in Dubai. A world away from her village in Uzbekistan, she was forced to work in a disco and expected to offer sex.

Beaten by her Uzbek boss when she shooed prospective clients away, she and her cousin fled and hid in airport toilets for two days, surviving on tap water.

Aysha's story reveals the dark underbelly of glitzy, fast-paced Dubai, the Gulf Arab trade and tourism hub. It also highlights a problem that bedevils many states in the region and is a bone of contention with their close ally the United States. (Link)

Labels: Human Trafficking

# posted by Mohamed Al Khalifa @ 11:31 AM 0 Comments Links to this post