Human trafficking in Brunei

Last updated

In 2009 Brunei was a destination, and to a lesser extent, a source and transit country for men and women who were subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Men and women from Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Pakistan, India, Bangladesh, China, and Thailand migrated to Brunei for domestic or other low-skilled labor but sometimes faced conditions of involuntary servitude upon arrival. There were over 88,000 migrant workers in Brunei, some of whom faced debt bondage, non-payment of wages, passport confiscation, confinement to the home, and contract switching - factors that may contribute to trafficking. There were credible reports of nationals from South Asian countries subjected to nonpayment of wages and debt bondage in Brunei for up to two years to pay back foreign recruitment agents. Some of the 25,000 female domestic workers in Brunei were required to work exceptionally long hours without being granted a day for rest, creating an environment consistent with involuntary servitude. There are reports of women forced into prostitution in Brunei, and reports that women arrested for prostitution attest to having been victims of trafficking. Brunei is a transit country for trafficking victims in Malaysia, including Filipinas, who are brought to Brunei for work permit re-authorization before being returned to Malaysia. [1]

Contents

In 2009 the Government of Brunei did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. While the government had laws to prosecute trafficking, it had never prosecuted a trafficking case. The government did not proactively identify any trafficking victims during 2010, nor did it develop or implement formal procedures to identify victims of trafficking. [1]

The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017. [2] The country was moved to a ‘Tier 2 watch list’ by 2023, [3] and to ‘Tier 3’ status in 2024. [4]

Brunei ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in March 2020. [5] In the same year they also ratified the ASEAN Convention Against Trafficking in Persons (ACTIP). [6]

In 2023, the Organised Crime Index gave Brunei a score of 5 out of 10 for human trafficking, noting that nobody had been prosecuted since 2019. [7]

Sex trafficking

Citizen and foreign women and girls are sex trafficked in Brunei. [8] [9] [10] [11] According to the 2020 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, thousands of minors are trafficked in Brunei each year and subjected to domestic slavery or sexual exploitation. [12]

Prosecution (2009)

The government made no discernible anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts during 2010. The Government of Brunei prohibits sex and labor trafficking through its Trafficking and Smuggling Persons Order of 2004; however, there has never been a prosecution or conviction under this order. The 2004 Order prescribes punishments of up to 30 years’ imprisonment, which is sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious offenses. Bruneian authorities did not investigate or prosecute any trafficking cases during 2009. The Department of Labor investigated labor disputes from foreign workers, including job switching, salary deductions for recruitment fees, salary based on false promises, and high recruitment fees paid by the prospective employee, although it did not identify any instances of trafficking among these cases. Labor disputes by foreign workers are usually tried under the Labor Act, which carries administrative penalties. Although government regulations prohibit wage deductions by agencies or sponsors and mandate that employees receive their full salaries, some foreign workers continued to pay high fees to overseas recruitment agents to obtain work in Brunei, leaving them vulnerable to debt bondage. Authorities continue to rely on victims coming forward or being identified by foreign embassies, and do not proactively identify trafficking cases among vulnerable groups. During 2009, there were 127 complaints by foreign workers against employers who failed to pay salaries involving 34 companies and 26 employers. Eleven companies and 13 employers settled through reconciliation and arbitration, while the remaining cases remain under investigation. [1]

Protection (2009)

Brunei did not demonstrate significant efforts to identify and protect trafficking victims during 2009. Brunei does not have a proactive system to formally identify victims of trafficking among vulnerable groups, such as foreign workers and foreign women and children in prostitution. The government did not report identifying any trafficking victims in the past year. The government did not provide centrally coordinated training for its officials on identifying trafficking victims. While the Brunei police reported running a workshop on identifying victims for members of its anti-vice unit, the victim identification measures employed by the unit do not appear to be effective. The government does not provide shelter or rehabilitative services to trafficking victims. One foreign mission reported 20 suspected trafficking cases of women forced into prostitution in Malaysia and traveling to Brunei to obtain work visa reentry permits. Brunei authorities were informed when the Filipino victims were entering the country, and allowed the victims to enter Brunei without proper documentation to assist in their escape from their traffickers. The victims’ embassy provided shelter and repatriation assistance to the victims. The Brunei government did not, however, apprehend the suspected traffickers involved or conduct a criminal investigation. While immigration authorities actively identified and charged violators of immigration law, there were no cases reported of authorities identifying and assisting trafficking victims among immigration violators during 2009. As there may have been trafficking victims among these immigration violators, some may have been penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their being trafficked. Although it is illegal for employers in Brunei to withhold wages of their domestic workers for more than 10 days, some families are known to withhold wages to compensate for recruitment fees they are charged and as a tool with which to control workers. There are no NGO's or international organizations in Brunei that provide support to trafficking victims, though the embassies of several source countries provide shelter, mediation, and immigration assistance to their nationals. The government does not provide legal alternatives to the removal of victims to countries where they may face hardship or retribution. [1]

Prevention (2009)

The Brunei government demonstrated limited prevention efforts during the reporting period. The government did not conduct any public awareness campaigns on trafficking. Officials participated in several regional training programs on trafficking. The government provides arrival briefings for foreign workers and runs a telephone hotline for worker complaints. There were no measures taken to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. [1]

International response

Since 2022, Brunei has been demoted to the bottom rung of the United States government's human trafficking assessment, citing insufficient measures to aid migrant workers and prevent trafficking. [13]

The U.S. State Department stated in its 2023 annual trafficking report that Brunei does not completely achieve the minimal requirements for the eradication of trafficking and is "not making significant efforts to do so. [14]

It also emphasised the country's lack of trafficking convictions, saying Brunei continues to "detain, deport, and charge potential victims for crimes without employing a victim-centered approach. [15]

See also

Related Research Articles

According to the U.S. Government's Trafficking in Person's (TIP) Report, Singapore is a destination country for foreign victims trafficked for the purpose of labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Over the years, victims of trafficking in Singapore have come from many countries throughout Asia such as India, Thailand, the People's Republic of China, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Cambodia, Vietnam, Burma and Malaysia. Many of these people travel to Singapore voluntarily for work in different industries such as construction, manufacturing, or commercial sex. The use of deception about working conditions, debt bondage, the unlawful confiscation of travel documents, confinement and/or physical or sexual abuse is utilized by traffickers to force victims into involuntary servitude. The U.S. TIP Report also notes a small quantity of Singaporeans engaging in and/or promoting child sex tourism abroad. The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in Tier 1 in 2020.

Syria is a destination and transit country for women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. A significant number of women and children in the large and expanding Iraqi refugee community in Syria are reportedly forced into commercial sexual exploitation by Iraqi gangs or, in some cases, their families. Similarly, women from Somalia and Eastern Europe are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. Foreign women recruited for work in Syria as cabaret dancers are not permitted to leave their work premises without permission, and they have their passports withheld—indicators of involuntary servitude. Some of these women may also be forced into prostitution. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Syria may be a destination for sex tourism from other countries in the region. In addition, women from Indonesia, the Philippines, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone are recruited for work in Syria as domestic servants, but some face conditions of involuntary servitude, including long hours, non-payment of wages, withholding of passports, restrictions on movement, threats, and physical or sexual abuse. Syria may also be a transit point for Iraqi women and girls trafficked to Kuwait, the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.), and Lebanon for forced prostitution. The Government of Syria does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. Syria again failed to report any law enforcement efforts to punish trafficking offenses over the last year. In addition, the government did not offer protection services to victims of trafficking and may have arrested, prosecuted, or deported some victims for prostitution or immigration violations.

Taiwan is primarily a destination for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. It is also a source of women trafficked to Japan, Australia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Women and girls from the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.) and Southeast Asian countries are trafficked to Taiwan through fraudulent marriages, deceptive employment offers, and illegal smuggling for sexual exploitation and forced labor. Many trafficking victims are workers from rural areas of Vietnam, Thailand, Indonesia, and the Philippines, employed through recruitment agencies and brokers to perform low skilled work in Taiwan’s construction, fishing, and manufacturing industries, or to work as domestic servants. Such workers are often charged high job placement and service fees, up to $14,000, resulting in substantial debt that labor brokers or employers use as a tool for involuntary servitude. Many foreign workers remain vulnerable to trafficking because legal protections, oversight by authorities and enforcement efforts are inadequate.

The United Arab Emirates is a destination country for men and women that are mostly trafficked for the purposes of labor and prostitution. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017.

Vietnam is primarily a source country for women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women and children are trafficked to the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C), Cambodia, Thailand, the Republic of Korea, Malaysia, Taiwan, and Macau for sexual exploitation. Vietnamese women are trafficked to the P.R.C., Taiwan, and the Republic of Korea via fraudulent or misrepresented marriages for commercial exploitation or forced labor. Vietnam is also a source country for men and women who migrate willingly and legally for work in the construction, fishing, or manufacturing sectors in Malaysia, Taiwan, P.R.C., Thailand, and the Middle East but subsequently face conditions of forced labor or debt bondage. Vietnam is a destination country for Cambodian children trafficked to urban centers for forced labor or commercial sexual exploitation. Vietnam has an internal trafficking problem with women and children from rural areas trafficked to urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Vietnam is increasingly a destination for child sex tourism, with perpetrators from Japan, the Republic of Korea, the P.R.C., Taiwan, the UK, Australia, Europe, and the U.S. In 2007, an Australian non-governmental organization (NGO) uncovered 80 cases of commercial sexual exploitation of children by foreign tourists in the Sa Pa tourist area of Vietnam alone.

The Hong Kong Special Administrative Region (HKSAR) of the People's Republic of China is a destination and transit territory for men and women trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor.

Indonesia is a source, transit, and destination country for women, children, and men trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. The greatest threat of trafficking facing Indonesian men and women is that posed by conditions of forced labor and debt bondage in more developed Asian countries and the Middle East.

Kuwait is a destination and transit country for men and women for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Men and women migrate willingly from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, and the Philippines to work as domestic servants or low-skilled laborers. Upon arrival, however, some are subsequently subjected to conditions of forced labor, such as restrictions on movement, unlawful withholding of passports, non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse. In addition, some women are forced into commercial sexual exploitation; for example, some female domestic workers are forced into prostitution after running away from abusive employers or after being deceived with promises of jobs in different sectors. Kuwait is also a transit country for South and East Asian workers recruited by Kuwaiti labor recruitment agencies for low-skilled work in Iraq; some of these workers are deceived as to the true location and nature of this work, while others willingly transit to Iraq through Kuwait, but subsequently endure conditions of involuntary servitude in Iraq. Some Kuwaiti nationals reportedly travel to destinations including Morocco, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh to engage in commercial sex acts.

Lebanon is a destination for Asian and African women trafficked for the purpose of domestic servitude, and for Eastern European and Syrian women trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Lebanese children are trafficked within the country for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor in the metal works, construction, and agriculture sectors. Women from Sri Lanka, the Philippines, and Ethiopia migrate to Lebanon legally, but often find themselves in conditions of forced labor, through unlawful withholding of passports, non-payment of wages, restrictions on movement, threats, and physical or sexual assault. During the armed conflict in July 2006, Sri Lankan domestic workers reported being restricted from leaving the country by their employers. Eastern European and Syrian women come to Lebanon on "artiste" visas, but some become victims of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation when they are subjected to coercive acts such as unlawful withholding of passports, restrictions on movement, threats, and physical assault. Since the refugee crisis in Syria, the sex trade and trafficking of Syrian girls and women has increased in Lebanon.

Antigua and Barbuda is a destination country for a small number of women from Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and the Dominican Republic subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution. To a lesser extent, it is reportedly also a destination country for women subjected to involuntary domestic servitude in private homes. Business people from the Dominican Republic and Antiguan citizens acting as pimps and brothel owners subject foreign women to forced prostitution primarily in four illegal brothels that operate in Antigua as well as in private residences that operate as brothels. Some of these foreign women voluntarily migrate to Antigua to engage in prostitution but are subsequently subjected to force or coercion and become victims of sex trafficking. After their arrival, brothel managers confiscate their passports and threaten the victims with deportation until they repay the brothel owner for travel and other expenses they were not aware they had incurred. Some other foreign victims of sex trafficking enter the country legally with work permits as “entertainers” then are subsequently forced to engage in prostitution.

The Bahamas is a destination country for men and some women from Haiti and other Caribbean countries who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor, and, to a lesser extent, women from Jamaica and other countries who are in forced prostitution. Haitian trafficking victims are most likely to migrate to The Bahamas voluntarily, but subsequently be subjected to forced labor in agriculture, domestic service, or forced prostitution. Some employers coerce migrant workers – legal and illegal – to work longer hours, at lower pay, and in conditions not permitted under local labor law by changing the terms of employment contracts, withholding travel documents, refusing transportation back home, threatening to withdraw the employer-specific and employer-held permits, or threatening to have the employee deported through other means. Traffickers reportedly lure Jamaican and other foreign women to the Bahamas with offers of employment in the tourism and entertainment fields and subject the women to forced prostitution after their arrival. The Ministry of Education is investigating allegations that some high school girls in Eleuthera may be involved in a prostitution ring. This report is the only indication that Bahamian citizens may be victims of human trafficking.

Bangladesh is a source and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. A significant share of Bangladesh's trafficking victims are men recruited for work overseas with fraudulent employment offers who are subsequently exploited under conditions of forced labor or debt bondage. It also includes the trafficking of children – both boys and girls – within Bangladesh for commercial sexual exploitation, bonded labor, and forced labor. Some children are sold into bondage by their parents, while others are induced into labor or commercial sexual exploitation through fraud and physical coercion. Women and children from Bangladesh are also trafficked.

Botswana is a source and destination country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Parents in poor rural communities sometimes send their children to work for wealthier families as domestics in cities or as herders at remote cattle posts, where some of these children are vulnerable to forced labor. Batswana girls are exploited in prostitution within the country, including in bars and by truck drivers along major highways; it does not appear, however, that organized pimping of children occurs. In the past, women reported being forced into commercial sexual exploitation at some safari lodges, but there were no similar reports during this reporting period. Residents in Botswana most susceptible to trafficking are illegal immigrants from Zimbabwe, unemployed men and women, those living in rural poverty, agricultural workers, and children orphaned by HIV/AIDS. Some women from Zimbabwe who voluntarily, but illegally, migrate to Botswana to seek employment are subsequently subjected by their employers to involuntary domestic servitude. Botswana families which employ Zimbabwean women as domestic workers at times do so without proper work permits, do not pay adequate wages, and restrict or control the movement of their employees by holding their passports or threatening to have them deported back to Zimbabwe.

Rwanda is a source and, to a lesser extent, destination country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Rwandan girls are exploited in involuntary domestic servitude within the country; some of these children experience physical or sexual abuse within their employer's household. Older females offer vulnerable younger girls room and board, eventually pushing them into prostitution to pay for their keep. In limited cases, this trafficking is facilitated by women who supply females to clients or by loosely organized prostitution networks, some operating in secondary schools and universities. Rwandan children are also trafficked to Uganda, Tanzania, and other countries in the region for forced agricultural labor, commercial sexual exploitation, and domestic servitude, sometimes after being recruited by peers. In Rwanda there have been reports of isolated cases involving child trafficking victims from neighboring countries. Unlike in past years, there was no indication in 2009 that the National Congress for the Defence of the People (CNDP) duped or recruited Congolese men and boys from Rwanda-based refugee camps, as well as Rwandans from nearby towns, into forced labor and soldiering in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Palau is a transit and destination country for an undetermined, but relatively small, number of women from countries in the Asia-Pacific region who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and, to a lesser extent, men from the Philippines, China, and Bangladesh who are in conditions of forced labor. Some employers recruit foreign men and women to work in Palau through fraudulent representation of contract terms and conditions of employment. These foreign workers willingly migrate to Palau for jobs in domestic service, agriculture, or construction but are subsequently coerced to work in situations significantly different from what their contracts stipulated – excessive hours without pay, threats of physical or financial harm, confiscation of their travel documents, and the withholding of salary payments are used as tools of coercion to obtain and maintain their compelled service. Some women migrate to Palau expecting to work as waitresses or clerks, but are subsequently forced into prostitution in karaoke bars and massage parlors. Non-citizens are officially excluded from the minimum wage law making them vulnerable to involuntary servitude and debt bondage.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human trafficking in Papua New Guinea</span>

Papua New Guinea is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Women and children are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude; trafficked men are forced to provide labor in logging and mining camps. Children, especially young girls from tribal areas, are most vulnerable to being pushed into commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor by members of their immediate family or tribe. Families traditionally sell girls into forced marriages to settle their debts, leaving them vulnerable to involuntary domestic servitude, and tribal leaders trade the exploitative labor and service of girls and women for guns and political advantage. Young girls sold into marriage are often forced into domestic servitude for the husband's extended family. In more urban areas, some children from poorer families are prostituted by their parents or sold to brothels. Migrant women and teenage girls from Malaysia, Thailand, China, and the Philippines are subjected to forced prostitution, and men from China are transported to the country for forced labor.

Iraq is both a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Iraqi women and girls, some as young as 11 years old, are subjected to conditions of human trafficking within the country and in Egypt, Lebanon, Jordan, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Qatar, and possibly Saudi Arabia for forced prostitution and sexual exploitation within households.

Malaysia is a destination and a source and transit country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced prostitution and for men, women, and children who are in conditions of forced labour.

The Maldives is primarily a destination country for migrant workers from Bangladesh, and, to a lesser extent, India, some of whom are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor. Some women are also subjected to forced prostitution. An unknown number of the 110,000 foreign workers currently working in the Maldives – primarily in the construction and service sectors – face fraudulent recruitment practices, confiscation of identity and travel documents, withholding or non-payment of wages, or debt bondage. Thirty thousand of these workers do not have legal status in the country, though both legal and illegal workers were vulnerable to conditions of forced labor. Diplomatic sources estimate that half of the 35,000 Bangladeshis in the Maldives went there illegally and that most of these workers are probably victims of trafficking. Migrant workers pay $1,000 to $4,000 in recruitment fees in order to migrate to the Maldives; such high recruitment costs increase workers’ vulnerability to forced labor, as concluded in a recent ILO report.

Morocco is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Children are trafficked within the country from rural areas to urban centers to work as maids or laborers, or for commercial sexual exploitation. Moroccan men, women, and children are exploited for forced labor and prostitution in European and Middle Eastern countries. Young Moroccan girls from rural areas are recruited to work as child maids in cities, but often experience non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse, and sometimes face restrictions on movement. These practices indicate that these girls are subjected to involuntary servitude. Moroccan boys experience forced labor as apprentices in the artisan and construction industries and in mechanic shops. A few Moroccan men and boys are lured to Europe by fraudulent job offers, and are subsequently forced to sell drugs. In addition, men and women from sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and the Philippines enter Morocco voluntarily but illegally with the assistance of smugglers; once in Morocco, some of the women are coerced into prostitution or, less frequently, forced into domestic service. Nigerian gangs, who engage in a variety of criminal activities like human smuggling and drug trafficking, compete to control the trafficking of sub-Saharan Africans in Morocco.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 Country Narratives - Countries A Through F". US Department of State. 2010-06-17. Archived from the original on 2010-06-17. Retrieved 2023-02-11.PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  2. ↑ "Trafficking in Persons Report 2017: Tier Placements". www.state.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  3. ↑ US Government website, Trafficking in Persons Report 2023
  4. ↑ Voice of America website, US moves Brunei, Sudan to blacklist on human trafficking report, article dated June 24, 2024
  5. ↑ United Nations Treaty Collection website, Chapter XVIII Penal Matters section, Section 12a, retrieved August 19, 2024
  6. ↑ ASEAN website, ASEAN Multi-Sectoral Work Plan Against Trafficking in Persons 2023-2028, article dated August 21, 2023
  7. ↑ Organised Crime Index website, Brunei: 2023
  8. ↑ "2019 Trafficking in Persons Report: Brunei". U.S. Department of State. 2019.
  9. ↑ "Brunei intensifying efforts to better detect human trafficking cases". Asia News. August 27, 2018.
  10. ↑ "Society has key role in fighting human trafficking". Borneo Bulletin. August 25, 2018. Archived from the original on August 25, 2018. Retrieved May 1, 2020.
  11. ↑ "Three Thais jailed, face caning for forcing a 17-year-old girl into prostitution in Brunei". The Nation Thailand. April 7, 2016.
  12. ↑ UN Website, Regional overviews 2022
  13. ↑ Bandial, Ain (2022-07-23). "US adds Brunei to human trafficking blacklist; govt says report contains 'significant misrepresentations'". The Scoop. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  14. ↑ "US Adds Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei to Human Trafficking Blacklist". thediplomat.com. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
  15. ↑ "Brunei committee disappointed at TIP downgrade » Borneo Bulletin Online". Brunei committee disappointed at TIP downgrade. 2022-07-23. Retrieved 2023-08-31.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.