example, sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, or the removal of organs” (Inter-Ministerial Liaison Committee, 2009, p. 2). The plan also touches on concerns mentioned by Ezeilo, such as abuses under the Industrial Training Program and Technical Internship Program, and the government’s tendency to focus its anti-trafficking efforts on women and sexual exploitation while largely ignoring other forms of trafficking that affect men, women, boys, and girls. Although mention of the latter in the plan is a positive step, there is no specific discussion of how it will deal with these issues. The plan states only that male victims may be identified in the cases of trafficking in persons for the purpose of labor exploitation of non-Japanese workers and that the government will consider establishing protection policies for male victims (Inter-Ministerial Liaison Committee, 2009). Thus far this has not occurred. Revisions such as those to the Immigration Control Act are certainly an excellent first step, though whether these changes will be properly enforced remains to be seen.
CHAPTER 3
United Arab Emirates
The company has all our passports. We can’t afford to leave. I went to a manager here and complained, and she said if you don’t like it here, you can go home.
—DEBT BONDAGE VICTIM IN DUBAI
With a booming economy, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—made up of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah, and Fujairah—has become an attractive destination for foreigners, who constitute over 80 percent of the UAE population. UAE nationals make up 18 percent of the population, Asians 65 percent, Arab expatriates 13 percent, and Europeans 4 percent (Caplin, 2009). Migrants account for more than 90 percent of the UAE’s private-sector workforce (U.S. Department of State, 2010). According to Dr. Anwar Mohammed Al Gargash, the minister of state for foreign affairs and chair of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking, the UAE has shown its commitment to combat human trafficking not only by endorsing international human rights agreements that focus on the rights of women and children but also by taking “a number of political and legislative measures” (UAE Interact, 2008). Regardless, the prevalent issue of labor trafficking remains mostly overlooked and unenforced. While all forms of trafficking are prohibited under Federal Law No. 51, the labor laws do not adequately safeguard domestic-service workers from forced labor. Additionally, without formal procedures for identifying potential victims among vulnerable populations, sex-trafficking and forced-labor victims continue to be arrested and punished for crimes associated with their trafficking experience such as prostitution or immigration violations (UAE Interact, 2008; U.S. Department of State, 2008, 2010).
THE UAE AS A DESTINATION
As many as 1.2 million persons from India live in the UAE. At least half of this population is made up of migrant workers. Along with Indian nationals, thousands of persons are recruited from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand for domestic labor or to participate in the construction industry in the UAE (U.S. Department of State, 2008, 2010). Common abuses that these workers face are unpaid wages, debt bondage from recruitment fees, confiscation of passports, hazardous working conditions, and physical abuse (HRW, 2009). In the laborers’ home countries, recruiters offer good wages and low-cost living in the UAE. In order to pay the large fees of up to $4,100 the workers often borrow money from family members, sell personal property, and take out loans from moneylenders, who often charge high interest rates. One labor camp supervisor in Abu Dhabi reveals a crooked system of brokers and agents that swindle large sums of money from Thai workers: “The Thais here mostly paid agents 50,000 baht
CHAPTER 3
United Arab Emirates
The company has all our passports. We can’t afford to leave. I went to a manager here and complained, and she said if you don’t like it here, you can go home.
—DEBT BONDAGE VICTIM IN DUBAI
With a booming economy, the United Arab Emirates (UAE)—made up of seven emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai, Sharjah, Ajman, Umm Al-Quwain, Ras al-Khaimah, and Fujairah—has become an attractive destination for foreigners, who constitute over 80 percent of the UAE population. UAE nationals make up 18 percent of the population, Asians 65 percent, Arab expatriates 13 percent, and Europeans 4 percent (Caplin, 2009). Migrants account for more than 90 percent of the UAE’s private-sector workforce (U.S. Department of State, 2010). According to Dr. Anwar Mohammed Al Gargash, the minister of state for foreign affairs and chair of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking, the UAE has shown its commitment to combat human trafficking not only by endorsing international human rights agreements that focus on the rights of women and children but also by taking “a number of political and legislative measures” (UAE Interact, 2008). Regardless, the prevalent issue of labor trafficking remains mostly overlooked and unenforced. While all forms of trafficking are prohibited under Federal Law No. 51, the labor laws do not adequately safeguard domestic-service workers from forced labor. Additionally, without formal procedures for identifying potential victims among vulnerable populations, sex-trafficking and forced-labor victims continue to be arrested and punished for crimes associated with their trafficking experience such as prostitution or immigration violations (UAE Interact, 2008; U.S. Department of State, 2008, 2010).
THE UAE AS A DESTINATION
As many as 1.2 million persons from India live in the UAE. At least half of this population is made up of migrant workers. Along with Indian nationals, thousands of persons are recruited from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, China, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Indonesia, Iran, Korea, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Thailand for domestic labor or to participate in the construction industry in the UAE (U.S. Department of State, 2008, 2010). Common abuses that these workers face are unpaid wages, debt bondage from recruitment fees, confiscation of passports, hazardous working conditions, and physical abuse (HRW, 2009). In the laborers’ home countries, recruiters offer good wages and low-cost living in the UAE. In order to pay the large fees of up to $4,100 the workers often borrow money from family members, sell personal property, and take out loans from moneylenders, who often charge high interest rates. One labor camp supervisor in Abu Dhabi reveals a crooked system of brokers and agents that swindle large sums of money from Thai workers: “The Thais here mostly paid agents 50,000 baht
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