Human trafficking in Qatar

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In 2009 Qatar was a transit and destination country for men and women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and, to a much lesser extent, forced prostitution. Men and women from Nepal, India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Sri Lanka, Ethiopia, Sudan, Thailand, Egypt, Syria, Jordan, and China voluntarily travelled to Qatar as laborers and domestic servants, but some subsequently faced conditions indicative of involuntary servitude. These conditions included threats of serious physical or financial harm; job switching; the withholding of pay; charging workers for benefits for which the employer is responsible; restrictions on freedom of movement, including the confiscation of passports and travel documents and the withholding of exit permits; arbitrary detention; threats of legal action and deportation; false charges; and physical, mental, and sexual abuse. In some cases, arriving migrant workers found that the terms of employment in Qatar were wholly different from those they agreed to in their home countries. Individuals employed as domestic servants were particularly vulnerable to trafficking since they are not covered under the provisions of the labor law. A small number of foreign workers transited Qatar and were forced to work on farms in Saudi Arabia. Qatar was also a destination for women who migrated and became involved in prostitution, but the extent to which these women were subjected to forced prostitution is unknown. [1] Children have been used in Qatar and other Gulf countries as camel jockies. Most children are trafficked from Africa and South Asia. This practice has ceased in most areas though. [2] [3] Workers have been forced to work in bad conditions; their salaries are sometimes withheld. [4]

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The Government of Qatar does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government took steps to implement its sponsorship law, including through the granting of an exit permit to one migrant laborer without permission from his sponsor. Although the government has not yet enacted necessary anti-trafficking legislation, during the reporting period it reaffirmed its commitment to this goal over the next year. Despite these efforts, the government did not show evidence of overall progress in prosecuting and punishing trafficking offenders and identifying victims of trafficking.

The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2" in 2017 [5] and in 2023. [6]

In 2023 the Organised Crime Index gave Qatar a score of 8 out of 10 for human trafficking, noting the country’s high reliance on foreign workers and a low level of co-operation between the government and NGOs. [7]

Prosecution (2009)

The Government of Qatar made minimal efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses during the reporting period. Qatar does not prohibit all acts of trafficking, but it criminalizes slavery under Section 321 and forced labor under Section 322 of its criminal law. The prescribed penalty for forced labor - up to six months’ imprisonment - is not sufficiently stringent. Article 297 prohibits forced or coerced prostitution, and the prostitution of a child below age 15, even if there was no compulsion or redress; the prescribed penalty is up to 15 years’ imprisonment, which is commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. The government has yet to enact a comprehensive trafficking law as anticipated during the last year, though it has reaffirmed its commitment to do so over the coming year, a commitment underscored by its ratification of the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in April 2009. The government reported the prosecution of sex trafficking offenders, but did not provide additional details. An unconfirmed report indicated four traffickers were charged with fraudulently issuing visas to workers whom they then exploited. Two were reportedly deported, and two were reportedly convicted. The government neither confirmed nor denied the existence of this case. The government-established but independent Qatar Foundation for Combating Human Trafficking (QFCHT) and the Human Rights Office of the Ministry of Interior conducted a workshop on the legal, social, and security dimensions of trafficking. Participants included police officers, Internal Security Force staff, and others. The police academy trained police officers on the identification of trafficking victims and procedures to refer victims to Qatar's trafficking shelter. QFCHT also provided training for prosecutors and judges on how to manage trafficking cases. [1]

Protection (2009)

Qatar made minimal progress in protecting victims of trafficking during the reporting period. Although health care facilities reportedly refer suspected abuse cases to the government's anti-trafficking shelter for investigation, the government lacked a systematic procedure for law enforcement to identify victims of trafficking among vulnerable populations, such as foreign workers awaiting deportation and women arrested for prostitution; as a result, victims may be punished and automatically deported without being identified as victims or offered protection. The government reported the MOI has a process by which it refers victims to the trafficking shelter; however, this process was underutilized in practice. The trafficking shelter assisted 24 individuals during the reporting period and provided them with a wide range of services, including full medical treatment and legal and job assistance. While this was an increase in the number of individuals served over the past year, it was not confirmed that all were trafficking victims. It was unknown how many of those cases were the result of law enforcement referrals. During the reporting period, the shelter assisted five victims in filing civil charges against their employers. The shelter also assisted one victim in filing criminal charges against her sponsor for sexual abuse under Articles 296 and 297. A criminal court convicted the sponsor and sentenced him to five years imprisonment. Qatar commonly fined and detained potential trafficking victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, such as immigration violations and running away from their sponsors, without determining whether the individuals were victims of trafficking. Most potential victims remain in deportation centers for weeks or months pending resolution of their cases, but some remain in centers for up to one year. This prolonged period often depends on when an employer will approve an exit visa, but it also depends on pending resolution of their cases or retaliation for seeking to recover unpaid wages or request a new sponsor. Some employers and sponsors threatened victims in an attempt to keep them from seeking legal redress. Domestic workers are not permitted to file civil suits against their employers under the labor law since they are not covered by it. Civil suits can only be filed for failure to meet the financial obligations of the sponsor toward domestic help; in practice, civil suits are rare. [1]

Qatar sometimes offered temporary relief from deportation to enable victims to testify as witnesses against their employers. However, victims were generally not permitted to leave the country if there was a pending case. The government did not routinely encourage victims to assist in trafficking investigations or consistently offer victims alternatives to removal to countries where they may face retribution or hardship. [1]

Prevention (2009)

Qatar made modest progress in preventing trafficking in persons during the reporting period. The QFCHT continued to produce and distribute informational anti-trafficking brochures and posters in several targeted languages, gave radio and television interviews, produced commercials in regional media outlets, and launched a media campaign entitled “No to Trafficking.” The QFCHT distributed a circular to all applicable departments in the Ministry of Interior and other applicable ministries in an effort to raise government awareness about the trafficking victim status of workers who willingly migrate to Qatar and are subsequently subject to forced labor. In March, Qatar hosted a two-day regional workshop meant to establish a dialogue between scholars, government officials, and stakeholders to discuss regional and international efforts to combat trafficking in persons and how to help victims. [1]

While the government made no apparent effort to amend provisions of Qatar's sponsorship law - enacted in March 2009 - to help prevent the forced labor of migrant workers, the government did start to enforce other parts of the law to the benefit of migrant workers. One provision in the sponsorship law continues to require foreign workers to request exit permits from their sponsors in order to leave Qatar. Although this may increase migrant workers’ vulnerability to forced labor, the law created a new process through which a laborer who was not granted an exit permit due to a sponsor's refusal or other circumstances could seek an exit permit by other means. While this process is burdensome, the government reported the Ministry of Interior granted two workers - one of whom was a laborer - exit permits without permission of their employers since the passage of this law. Furthermore, four individuals temporarily transferred their sponsorship without approval from their previous employer; it was unclear whether they were white-collar workers or blue-collar laborers - a group vulnerable to trafficking. While the sponsorship law criminalizes the withholding of passports, passport confiscation was still a common practice; employers often made their employees sign waivers allowing them to hold passports. Although the sponsorship law requires an employer to secure a residence card for laborers within seven days, reports indicated that this often does not happen. Migrant workers need residence cards to get access to low cost health care, to lodge complaints at the labor department, and for increased protection from abuse of the legal process by their employers. [1]

The government worked with labor attachés from South Asian countries to resolve cases of labor disputes via conflict mediation. However, Qatar restricted foreign government access to its nationals after labor concerns were raised. Qatar has a national plan of action to address trafficking in persons, but did not publicly disseminate the plan or take steps to implement it during the reporting period. The government did not undertake any public awareness campaigns aimed at reducing the demand for commercial sex acts in Qatar, but the government did utilize public awareness campaigns, involving radio, television, newspapers, and sermons at mosques, targeting citizens traveling to known child sex tourism destinations abroad. The Qatari government ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in April 2009. [1]

Kafala sponsorship and work contracts

On December 12, 2016, International labour organization (ILO), Qatar officially announced the abolition of the sponsorship system (Kafala), but the law was implemented in 2018. The decision to replace Kafala system was to improve the living conditions and protect the rights of the expatriate workers. To better the living conditions and safeguard the rights of the expatriate workers, it was decided to replace the Kafala system with an employment contract. The abolition of sponsorship system was one of the several reforms implemented to strengthen the labour market in Qatar. According to the law a migrant worker is free to exit and enter Qatar without obtaining prior permission from the employer and workers are also allowed to change their jobs without the objection certificate from their employer. [8] Qatari government also introduced minimum wage system and wage protection system which assures the basic minimum wage to the workers regardless of their nationality. [9]

In 2019, According to an Amnesty International report, With less than four years to the 2022 World Cup, Qatar’s treatment of migrant workers remains under scrutiny. Despite some reforms, such as the introduction of a minimum wage and partial changes to the Kafala system, widespread labor abuse continues. [10] Migrant workers, making up 95% of Qatar’s workforce, still face exploitation, including forced labor, unpaid wages, and restrictions on movement. [11] Domestic workers remain especially vulnerable, with limited legal protections. The slow reform process and poor enforcement of labor laws mean that significant abuses persist, keeping workers trapped in an exploitative system despite Qatar’s promises of improvement. [12]

See also

Related Research Articles

In 2008, Syria was 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 were reportedly forced into commercial sexual exploitation by Iraqi gangs or, in some cases, their families. Similarly, women from Somalia and Eastern Europe were trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. Foreign women recruited for work in Syria as cabaret dancers were not permitted to leave their work premises without permission, and they had their passports withheld - indicators of involuntary servitude. Some of these women may also have been forced into prostitution. Anecdotal evidence suggests that Syria may have been a destination for sex tourism from other countries in the region. In addition, women from Indonesia, the Philippines, Ethiopia, and Sierra Leone were 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 have been 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 did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and did 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.

The United Arab Emirates ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in January 2009.

The state of human rights in Qatar is a concern for several non-governmental organisations, such as the Human Rights Watch (HRW), which reported in 2012 that hundreds of thousands of mostly South Asian migrant workers in construction in Qatar risk serious exploitation and abuse, sometimes amounting to forced labour. Qatar is an authoritarian and de facto absolute monarchy under the House of Thani. Qatari law also does not permit the establishment of political bodies or trade unions. Awareness of human rights abuses in Qatar grew internationally after Qatar's controversial selection to stage the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

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.

Jordan ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in June 2009.

Kuwait ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in May 2006.

Lebanon ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in October 2005.

The Bahamas ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in September 2008.

Bahrain ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in June 2004.

Botswana ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in August 2002.

Oman ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in May 2005.

Iraq ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in February 2009.

Malaysia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in February 2009.

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.

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."

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.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kafala system</span> System used to monitor migrant laborers in Arab countries

The kafala system is a system that exists in many Arab countries in the Middle East, including most of the nations on the Arabian Peninsula, which involves binding migrant workers to a specific employer throughout the period of their residence in a country. The same system existed in Israel under the label "binding labour", until that country's supreme court eliminated it in 2006.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Migrant domestic workers in Lebanon</span>

Lebanon has gone through many stages in its absorption of migrant workers, both before and after the Lebanese Civil War. This development has led to multiple problems regarding integration in Lebanese society. The ambiguity of the Kafala system in Lebanon has resulted in migrant domestic workers facing many legal issues and violations to their basic human rights. The government has largely been inactive and ineffective in implementing laws to protect migrant domestic workers but has attempted to manage the situation but to little avail.

Migrant workers in the Gulf Cooperation Council region involves the prevalence of migrant workers in the Kingdom of Bahrain, the State of Kuwait, the Sultanate of Oman, the State of Qatar, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Together, these six countries form the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), established in 1981. The GCC cooperates on issues related to economy and politics, and the subject of migrant workers constitutes a substantial part of the council's collaboration. All of the GCC countries are dependent on migrant labor to bolster and stimulate economic growth and development, as the GCC countries possess an abundance of capital while the domestic labor capacity is low. Although migrant workers in the Persian Gulf region amount to no more than 10% of all migrants worldwide, they constitute a significant part of the populations of their host countries.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Qatar". Trafficking in Persons Report 2010. U.S. Department of State (June 14, 2010). PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain .
  2. ↑ "UAE defies ban on child camel jockeys". The Independent. 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  3. ↑ "US lauds Qatar law banning children as camel jockeys". gulfnews.com. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  4. ↑ "Migrant workers in Qatar left in debt after being ordered home before World Cup starts". the Guardian. 2022-09-22. Retrieved 2022-11-29.
  5. ↑ "Trafficking in Persons Report 2017: Tier Placements". www.state.gov. Archived from the original on 2017-06-28. Retrieved 2017-12-01.
  6. ↑ US Government website, Trafficking in Persons Report 2023
  7. ↑ Organised Crime Index website, Qatar: 2023
  8. ↑ "Overview of Qatar's labour reforms". www.ilo.org. 2022-04-07. Retrieved 2022-08-23.
  9. ↑ "Qatar: Significant Labor and Kafala Reforms". Human Rights Watch. 2020-09-24.
  10. ↑ "Reality Check: Migrant Workers' Rights in Qatar". Amnesty International. 2019-02-05. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  11. ↑ "FIFA: No Remedy for Qatar Migrant Worker Abuses | Human Rights Watch". 2023-11-20. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
  12. ↑ "Reality Check 2021: A year to the 2022 World Cup - The state of Migrant Worker's Rights in Qatar". Amnesty International. Retrieved 2024-10-17.
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