Human Trafficking in [Jordan Street Children in [Jordan] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Jordan] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] The Hashemite
Kingdom of Jordan, located in SW Asia [map], is bordered by Israel (W), by Syria (N), by Iraq (NE), and
by Jordan is a
destination and transit country for women and men from South and Southeast
Asia trafficked for the purpose of labor exploitation. Women from Bangladesh,
Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines migrate willingly to work as
domestic servants, but some are subjected to conditions of involuntary
servitude, including withholding of passports and other restrictions on
movement, extended working hours, non-payment of wages, threats, and physical
or sexual abuse. In addition, Chinese, Indian, Sri Lankan, and Bangladeshi
men and women face conditions of involuntary servitude in factories in
Jordan's Qualified Industrial Zones (QIZs); these workers encounter similar conditions
of forced labor, including withholding of passports, non-payment of wages,
extended working hours, lack of access to food, water, and medical care, and
physical or sexual abuse. Jordan may serve as a transit country for South and
Southeast Asian men deceptively recruited with fraudulent job offers in
Jordan but instead trafficked to work involuntarily in Iraq. - U.S. State
Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2007 [full
country report] |
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CAUTION: The following links have been
culled from the web to illuminate the situation in U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs CHILD
LABOR LAWS AND ENFORCEMENT - Compulsory labor is prohibited by the Constitution of Jordan. While the law does not specifically
prohibit forced or bonded labor by children, such practices are not known to
occur. A Jordanian law specifically
prohibits trafficking in children, and there is no indication that children
were trafficked, to, from, or within the country. Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – The law prohibits
trafficking in children; however, it does not specifically prohibit
trafficking in other persons. Other criminal statutes prohibit slavery and
indentured servitude. In October Western media reported the August 2004
killing of 12 Nepali migrant workers in In 2004 to reduce the potential
for abuse of foreign domestic workers (FDWs), the government adopted new and
stricter procedures that regulate the importation of such labor (see section
6.e.). While these changes improved the legal framework to protect FDWs, lack
of awareness among employers and employees remained a problem. The government
has undertaken a cooperative program with the UN Development Fund for Women
(UNIFEM) to raise the awareness of FDWs on the new protections afforded them.
The Ministry of Labor (MOL) regularly visits the employment agencies that
hire and import FDWs to ensure compliance with the law. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2006 [DOC] [92] The Committee regrets the lack of data on the
extent and magnitude of commercial sexual exploitation of children and
trafficking in children for exploitative purposes in the State party. It also
regrets the insufficient legal protection of boys below the age of 18 against
commercial sexual exploitation and the absence of a specific legal framework
to protect children from trafficking. [86] While noting the high number of migrant workers in
the State party, and particularly the estimated number of undocumented workers and the weak
protection against exploitation and abuse provided to them, the Committee is
concerned at the situation and vulnerability of their children residing in
Jordan. [88] The Committee commends the State party for its
cooperation with ILO/IPEC, including for signing the Memorandum of
Understanding with ILO for the implementation of IPEC Country Programme. It
welcomes the various measures taken to address the issue of child labour in
Jordan, including the 2002 amendment of the Labour Code provision on the
minimum age for employment of children working in hazardous occupations which
raised the minimum age to 18 years. Despite these positive measures, the
Committee remains concerned about the prevalence of child labour in the State
party. It notes with particular concern information that the employment of
children has steadily grown in recent years, especially in agriculture. The
Committee is further concerned that the protection provided by the Labour
Code does not apply for children working in the informal sector (for example,
in small family enterprises, agriculture and domestic labour). Combating
Trafficking for Forced Labor Purposes in the OSCE Region For example, a contract labor
agency in Bangladesh advertised work at a garment factory in Jordan. The ad
promised a 3-year contract, $425 per month, 8 hour workdays, 6 days a
week, paid overtime, free accommodations, free medical care, free food, and
no advance fees. Instead, upon arrival, workers (who were obliged to pay
exorbitant advance fees) had passports confiscated, were confined to
miserable conditions, and were prevented from leaving the factory. Months
passed without pay, food was inadequate, and sick workers were tortured.
Because most workers had borrowed money at inflated rates to get the
contracts, they were obliged through debt to stay. The sad truth is that we
find workers across the globe holding on to the thin hope that they will
eventually get paid, or that conditions will improve, because if they leave,
there is no hope that they will be able to repay the debt. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 5 Civil Liberties: 4 Status: Partly Free U.S. Library of Congress
- Country Study ARCHIVES 2001 Commercial sexual exploitation of children (CSEC) - 17 cases of rape recorded in 1999 2001 In unregulated work environments, they are subject to
abuse and exploitation 1998 Case - Rania Arafat, 21, shot by her 17-year-old brother for refusing an
arranged marriage All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use |
Human Trafficking in [Jordan Street Children in [Jordan] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Jordan] [other countries]