Human trafficking in Morocco

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In 2009 Morocco was 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 were 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 were exploited for forced labor and prostitution in European and Middle Eastern countries. Young Moroccan girls from rural areas were recruited to work as child maids in cities, but often experienced non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse, and sometimes faced restrictions on movement. These practices indicate that these girls are subjected to involuntary servitude. Moroccan boys experienced forced labor as apprentices in the artisan and construction industries and in mechanic shops. A few Moroccan men and boys were 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 entered Morocco voluntarily but illegally with the assistance of smugglers; once in Morocco, some of the women were coerced into prostitution or, less frequently, forced into domestic service. Nigerian gangs, who engaged in a variety of criminal activities like human smuggling and drug trafficking, competed to control the trafficking of sub-Saharan Africans in Morocco. [1]

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In 2009 the Government of Morocco did not comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government convicted one person who subjected a 13-year-old child domestic worker to forced labor, though it continued to lack overall progress in the following areas: convicting and punishing trafficking offenders with punishments commensurate with the heinous nature of the offense; proactively identifying trafficking victims among vulnerable groups; and ensuring that foreign trafficking victims are not subject to arrest and deportation. The government also continues to conflate migrant smuggling and human 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] and 2023. [3]

The country ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in April 2011. [4]

In 2023, the Organised Crime Index gave Morocco a score of 5.5 out of 10 for human trafficking. [5]

Prosecution (2009)

The Government of Morocco made progress in investigating trafficking offenses and punishing trafficking offenders during the reporting period. Moroccan law appears to prohibit all forms of trafficking. Its Penal Code prohibits forced child labor through Article 467, forced labor through Article 10, and forced prostitution and prostitution of a minor through Articles 497–499. The Government of Morocco reports that it also employs the Immigration Law of 2003 and other statutes, such as those prohibiting kidnapping, fraud, and coercion, to prosecute trafficking offenses; however, it has not provided any information on cases tried under these laws. Penalties prescribed by these various statutes for sex trafficking offenses are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. In contrast, penalties prescribed for labor trafficking offenses appear not to be sufficiently stringent; penalties for child labor under Article 467 range from one to three years' imprisonment, while general penalties for forced labor under Article 10 are limited to fines for first-time offenders or six days' to three months' imprisonment for repeat offenders. The government took criminal action against at least one high-profile case of physical or sexual abuse of child domestic workers. In October 2009, a court convicted the wife of a judge who subjected a child domestic worker to forced labor; she was convicted of intentional assault and battery on a child under the age of 15, as well as the use of a weapon with malicious intent, and sentenced to three and a half years' imprisonment. The Ministry of Justice reported that it prosecuted 138 individuals for exploitation of a child for begging and 203 individuals for facilitating the prostitution of a child for the most recent year in which data was available; it is unclear how many, if any, of these prosecutions involved human trafficking offenses. Their sentences ranged from one month to two years' imprisonment. The government reported that it broke up 130 trafficking or smuggling rings in 2009. However, the government made no distinction between migrant smuggling and trafficking, so it was unclear how many, if any, were truly human trafficking rings. [1]

Protection (2009)

Morocco made limited progress in protecting victims of trafficking over the last year. Foreign trafficking victims are often treated as undocumented migrants, subject to arrest and deportation. Government officials continued to detain and deport large numbers of undocumented sub-Saharan migrants without taking adequate steps to identify trafficking victims among them. These detained migrants, some of whom may have been trafficking victims, were usually left at the Algerian border, often without food or water. There were reports that some were robbed, assaulted, and sexually abused by criminal gangs that operate in the area. The government did not offer legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims of trafficking to countries where they might face retribution or hardship. Morocco does not encourage victims to participate in investigations against their traffickers. Some victims reportedly testified but were subsequently deported. Sub-Saharan African women who are forced into prostitution in Morocco were not likely to report crimes for fear of being deported. NGOs provided most services to domestic victims of trafficking. Undocumented migrants - some of whom may have been trafficking victims - reportedly suffered physical abuse at the hands of Moroccan police. Government-operated Child Protection Units in Casablanca and Marrakesh offered assistance to street children and other victims of violence, abuse, and sexual exploitation, possibly including victims of trafficking. The government also operated a hotline that referred women and children who are victims of violence and sexual assault to women's groups for possible assistance. It is uncertain if any trafficking victims were identified or protected through the hotline in the reporting period. According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Moroccan diplomatic missions provided assistance to Moroccans who were trafficked abroad. [1]

Prevention (2009)

The Moroccan government made some efforts in preventing human trafficking in 2010. The government included anti-human trafficking modules in training programs for the Royal Gendarmerie, the Auxiliary Forces, and the police. In April 2009, the Ministry of Justice conducted an awareness raising course for magistrates about victim protection and working with trafficking victims who have been affected by violence or sexual exploitation. The government's labor inspectors, who were appointed as child labor focal points in each of the 45 inspector offices, received training from an international organization during the year. Authorities did not raise public awareness of the commercial sexual exploitation of children and women and did not take any reported measures to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. The Moroccan government provided birth certificates for all nationals, including children in isolated rural areas, and issued national identity cards for all citizens on their 18th birthday. All Moroccan soldiers participating in UN peacekeeping missions receive training on the issue of commercial sexual exploitation. The Moroccan government cooperated with the IOM in preparing a publicly available report that included a comprehensive overview of the government's strengths and weaknesses on trafficking issues and included recommendations for legislative and policy reforms. Morocco is not a party to the 2000 UN TIP Protocol. [1]

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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.

Libya is a transit and destination country for men and women from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. While most foreigners in Libya are economic migrants, in some cases large smuggling debts of $500–$2,000 and illegal status leave them vulnerable to various forms of coercion, resulting in cases of forced prostitution and forced labor.

Afghanistan is one of the source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Trafficking within Afghanistan is more prevalent than transnational trafficking, and the majority of victims are children. In 2005 the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission (AIHRC) reported 150 child trafficking cases to other states. Afghan boys and girls are trafficked within the country and into Iran, Pakistan and India as well as Persian gulf Arab states, where they live as slaves and are forced to prostitution and forced labor in brick kilns, carpet-making factories, and domestic service. In some cases the boys and girls were used for organ trafficking. Forced begging is a growing problem in Afghanistan; Mafia groups organize professional begging rings. Afghan boys are subjected to forced prostitution and forced labor in the drug smuggling industry in Pakistan and Iran. Afghan women and girls are subjected to forced prostitution, arranged and forced marriages—including those in which husbands force their wives into prostitution—and involuntary domestic servitude in Pakistan and Iran, and possibly India. Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) report that over the past year, increasing numbers of boys were trafficked internally. Some families knowingly sell their children for forced prostitution, including for bacha bazi - a practice combining sexual slavery and child prostitution, through which wealthy men use harems of young boys for social and sexual entertainment. Other families send their children with brokers to gain employment. Many of these children end up in forced labor, particularly in Pakistani carpet factories. NGOs indicate that families sometimes make cost-benefit analyses regarding how much debt they can incur based on their tradable family members.

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.

Barbados is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Some children in Barbados are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation in “transactional sex” wherein a third party such as a parent receives a benefit from the child's participation in sexual activity. Researchers identified patterns of transactional sex within families, most often by adult male caretakers such as step-fathers, as well as child prostitution outside the home. Women from the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Jamaica voluntarily enter Barbados as illegal migrants, and some expect to engage in prostitution. Some of these women are exploited in forced prostitution subsequent to their arrival. Some other foreign women who entered the country illegally are exploited in involuntary domestic servitude in private homes. Foreign men have been transported to Barbados for the purpose of labor exploitation in construction and other sectors. Sex traffickers, primarily organized criminals from Guyana, form partnerships with pimps and brothel owners from Trinidad and Tobago and Barbados, and lure women to Barbados with offers of legitimate work. Trafficking victims tend to enter the country through legal means, usually by air; traffickers later use force and coercion to obtain and maintain the victims' work in strip clubs, massage parlors, some private residences, and “entertainment clubs” which operate as brothels. Traffickers use methods such as threats of physical harm or deportation, debt bondage, false contracts, psychological abuse, and confinement to force victims to work in construction, the garment industry, agriculture, or private households.

Belgium is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Victims originate in Eastern Europe, Africa, East Asia, as well as Brazil and India. Some victims are smuggled through Belgium to other European countries, where they are subjected to forced labor and forced prostitution. Male victims are subjected to forced labor and exploitation in restaurants, bars, sweatshops, horticulture sites, fruit farms, construction sites, and retail shops. There were reportedly seven Belgian women subjected to forced prostitution in Luxembourg in 2009. According to a 2009 ECPAT Report, the majority of girls and children subjected to forced prostitution in Belgium originate from Balkan and CIS countries, Eastern Europe, Asia and West Africa ; some young foreign boys are exploited in prostitution in major cities in the country. Local observers also report that a large portion of children trafficked in Belgium are unaccompanied, vulnerable asylum seekers and refugees. Criminal organizations from Thailand use Thai massage parlors in Belgium, which are run by Belgian managers, to sexually exploit young Thai women. These networks are involved in human smuggling and trafficking to exploit victims economically and sexually. Belgium is not only a destination country, but also a transit country for children to be transported to other European country destinations.

Bolivia is a source country for men, women, and children who are subjected to human trafficking, specifically conditions of forced prostitution and forced labor within the country or abroad. A large number of Bolivians are found in conditions of forced labor in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Peru, Spain, and the United States in sweatshops, factories, and agriculture. Within the country, young Bolivian women and girls from rural areas are subjected to forced prostitution in urban areas. Members of indigenous communities, particularly in the Chaco region, are at risk of forced labor within the country. A significant number of Bolivian children are subjected to conditions of forced labor in mining, agriculture, and as domestic servants, and reports indicate some parents sell or rent out their children for forced labor in mining and agriculture near border areas with Peru. The country's porous borders facilitate the movement of undocumented migrants, some of whom may be trafficked. In one case, Bolivian authorities identified 26 Haitian children who were en route to Brazil for possible forced labor and forced prostitution.

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.

Tunisia is a source, destination, and possible transit country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. In 2009, one Tunisian female was rescued from forced prostitution in Lebanon. In 2008, two women were rescued from forced prostitution in Jordan and three men from forced labor in Italy. Based on limited available data, some Tunisian girls may be trafficked within the country for involuntary domestic servitude. In 2009 a Tunisian academic published a study on Tunisian domestic workers. The study, conducted in 2008, surveyed 130 domestic workers in the Greater Tunis region and found that 52 percent were under the age of 16; twenty-three percent claimed to be victims of physical violence, and 11 percent of sexual violence. Ninety-nine percent indicated they had no work contracts and the majority received salaries below the minimum wage. These conditions are indicators of possible forced labor.

Panama is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution. Although some Panamanian women and girls are found in forced prostitution in other countries in Latin America and in Europe, most Panamanian trafficking victims are exploited within the country. Although statistics were lacking, both NGOs and government officials anecdotally reported that commercial sexual exploitation of children was greater in rural areas and in the city of Colon than in Panama City. NGOs also report that some Panamanian children, mostly young girls, are subjected to involuntary domestic servitude. Weak controls along Panama's borders make the nation an easy transit point for irregular migrants, from Latin America, East Africa, and Asia, some of whom may fall victim to human trafficking.

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

In 2009, Papua New Guinea was 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 were subjected to commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude; trafficked men were forced to provide labor in logging and mining camps. Children, especially young girls from tribal areas, were most vulnerable to being pushed into commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor by members of their immediate family or tribe. Families traditionally sold 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 were often forced into domestic servitude for the husband's extended family. In more urban areas, some children from poorer families were prostituted by their parents or sold to brothels. Migrant women and teenage girls from Malaysia, Thailand, China, and the Philippines were subjected to forced prostitution, and men from China were 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.

Lesotho is a source and transit country for women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced labor and forced prostitution, and for men in forced labor. Women and children are subjected within Lesotho to involuntary domestic servitude and children, to a lesser extent, to commercial sexual exploitation. Basotho victims of transnational trafficking are most often taken to South Africa. Long-distance truck drivers offer to transport women and girls looking for legitimate employment in South Africa. En route, some of these women and girls are raped by the truck drivers, then later prostituted by the driver or an associate. Many men who migrate voluntarily to South Africa to work illegally in agriculture and mining become victims of labor trafficking. Victims work for weeks or months for no pay; just before their promised "pay day" the employers turn them over to authorities to be deported for immigration violations. Women and children are exploited in South Africa in involuntary domestic servitude and commercial sex, and some girls may still be brought to South Africa for forced marriages in remote villages. Some Basotho women who voluntarily migrate to South Africa seeking work in domestic service become victims of traffickers, who detain them in prison-like conditions and force them to engage in prostitution. Most internal and transnational traffickers operate through informal, loose associations and acquire victims from their families and neighbors. Chinese and reportedly Nigerian organized crime units, however, acquire some Basotho victims while transporting foreign victims through Lesotho to Johannesburg, where they "distribute" victims locally or move them overseas. Bathoso children who have lost at least one parent to HIV/AIDS are more vulnerable to traffickers' manipulations; older children trying to feed their siblings are most likely to be lured by a trafficker's fraudulent job offer.

Human trafficking in Brazil is an ongoing problem. Brazil is a source country for men, women, girls, and boys subjected to human trafficking, specifically forced prostitution within the country and abroad, as well as a source country for men and boys in forced labor within the country. The United States Department of Homeland Security, describes human trafficking as "the use of force, fraud, or coercion to obtain some type of labor or commercial sex act."

Burundi is a source country for children and possibly women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of involuntary domestic servitude and forced prostitution. Children and young adults may also be coerced into forced labor on plantations or small farms in southern Burundi, or to conduct informal commerce in the streets. Child labor is very common in agricultural fields where major exports, like tea and coffee, are harvested. Forced labour of children and adults is also very common in mines due to a large market for valuable stones and ores. Many trafficking victims can be found in mines in the northern area of Burundi, especially around Cibitoke. Some traffickers may be family or acquaintances of victims who, under the pretext of assisting underprivileged children with education or with false promises of lucrative jobs, subject them to forced labor, most commonly as domestic servants. While there is little evidence of large-scale child prostitution, “benevolent” older females offer vulnerable younger girls room and board within their homes, and in some cases eventually push them into prostitution to pay for living expenses; extended family members also financially profit from the commercial sexual exploitation of young relatives residing with them. It is most common for the trafficking of victims to remain internal within the country or to extend only to the surrounding countries. Male tourists from Oman and the United Arab Emirates exploit Burundian girls in prostitution. Businessmen recruit Burundian girls for commercial sexual exploitation in Rwanda, Kenya, and Uganda, and recruit boys and girls for exploitation in various types of forced labor in Tanzania. Unlike in past years, there were no reports of forced or voluntary recruitment of children into government armed forces or rebel groups during the reporting period. If the trafficking of Burundians does extend externally, it is most common for them to be sent to locations in the Middle East and Western Europe.

Djibouti is a transit and, to a lesser extent, a source and destination country for men, women, and children who are subjected to trafficking in people, specifically conditions of forced labor and forced prostitution. There is little verifiable data on the human trafficking situation in Djibouti. An estimated 150 000 voluntary economic migrants from Ethiopia and Somalia passed illegally through Djibouti en route to Yemen and other locations in the Middle East in 2022; among this group, a small number of women and girls may fall victim to involuntary domestic servitude or forced commercial sexual exploitation after reaching Djibouti City or the Ethiopia-Djibouti trucking corridor. An unknown number of migrants – men, women, and children – are subjected to conditions of forced labor and forced prostitution after reaching Yemen and other destinations in the Middle East. Djibouti's large refugee population – consisting of Somalis, Ethiopians, and Eritreans – as well as foreign street children remain vulnerable to various forms of exploitation within the country, including human trafficking. Older street children reportedly act, at times, as pimps for younger children. A small number of girls from impoverished Djiboutian families may engage in prostitution with the encouragement of family members or other people in prostitution. Members of foreign militaries stationed in Djibouti contribute to the demand for women and girls in prostitution, including trafficking victims.

Victims of human trafficking in Ecuador are generally women and children trafficked within the country from border and central highland areas to urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation, as well as for involuntary domestic servitude, forced begging, and forced labor in mines and other hazardous work. Ecuador prohibits human trafficking in its penal code, and penalties are commensurate with other serious crimes. Despite robust law enforcement efforts to combat trafficking, conviction rates remain low. The Ecuadorian government has ensured trafficking victims' access to legal, medical, psychological, and shelter services, in large part through its partnership with a network of NGOs. The government has also undertaken advertising campaigns against human trafficking, particularly child labor and child sex tourism. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017.

Egypt is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children who are subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution.

In 2009 El Salvador was a source, transit, and destination country for women and children who were subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced labor. Most victims were Salvadoran women and girls from rural areas who were forced into commercial sexual exploitation in urban areas, though some adults and children were subjected to forced labor as agricultural workers and domestic workers. The majority of foreign victims were women and children from neighboring countries, such as Honduras, Nicaragua, and the Dominican Republic, who migrated to El Salvador in response to job offers, but were subsequently forced into prostitution or domestic servitude. Trafficking offenders used fraudulent documentation to facilitate the movement of foreign victims. Salvadorans have been subjected to forced prostitution in Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, the United States, Spain, and Italy.

Women, and children from Eastern Europe, West Africa, and Asia, as well as the Caribbean and Brazil, subjected to trafficking in persons, forced prostitution and forced labor. U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 1" in 2017. Women and children, many from Africa, continued to be subjected to forced domestic servitude. Often their "employers" are diplomats who enjoy diplomatic immunity from prosecution, including those from Saudi Arabia. Reportedly men from North Africa are subjected to forced labor in the agricultural and construction sectors in southern France. The Government of France estimates that the majority of the 18,000 women in France's commercial sex trade are likely forced into prostitution. It also estimates a significant number of children in France are victims of forced prostitution, primarily from Romania, West Africa, and North Africa. Romani and other unaccompanied minors in France continued to be vulnerable to forced begging. There were reportedly six French women subjected to forced prostitution in Luxembourg in 2009.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 Country Narratives - Countries G Through M". US Department of State. 2010-06-18. Archived from the original on 2010-06-18. Retrieved 2023-02-16.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. United Nations Treaty Collection website, Chapter XVIII Penal Matters section, Section 12a, retrieved August 19, 2024
  5. Organised Crime Index website, Morocco: 2023