Human Trafficking in [Saudi Arabia Street Children in [Saudi Arabia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Saudi Arabia] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Kingdom of Saudi Arabia [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] The Saudi Arabia is a destination country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of involuntary servitude and, to a lesser extent, commercial sexual exploitation. Despite strict labor laws and entry visa requirements, men and women from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam, Kenya, Nigeria, and Ethiopia voluntarily travel to Saudi Arabia as domestic servants or other low-skilled laborers, but subsequently face conditions of involuntary servitude, including restrictions on movement, withholding of passports, threats, physical or sexual abuse, and non-payment of wages. Women from Yemen, Morocco, Pakistan, Nigeria, Ethiopia, Tajikistan, and Thailand were also trafficked into Saudi Arabia for commercial sexual exploitation; others were reportedly kidnapped and forced into prostitution after running away from abusive employers. In addition, Saudi Arabia is a destination country for Nigerian, Yemeni, Pakistani, Afghan, Chadian, and Sudanese children trafficked for involuntary servitude as forced beggars and street vendors. Some Saudi nationals travel to destinations including Morocco, Egypt, Afghanistan, Pakistan, India, and Bangladesh to engage in commercial sexual exploitation. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2008 [full country report] |
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CAUTION: The following links have been culled
from the web to illuminate the situation in ***
FEATURED ARTICLES *** Guest Worker May Lose Digits, Toes After Being Tied Up in Bathroom for a Month A 25 year-old Indonesian guest
worker will have several of her fingers, toes and part of her right foot
amputated because of gangrene after being tied up for a month in a bathroom
by her Saudi sponsor. The Indonesian Embassy noted that 2,000
housemaids have been repatriated to Indonesia so far this year, with many
alleging maltreatment, nonpayment of wages or physical abuse. Saudi
Arabia and contemporary slavery American women who have married
Saudi nationals and are inside the kingdom along with their female children –
some of whom have now reached adult age – are subjected to a situation in
which another person or persons have complete control over their lives, with
all rights and attributes of "ownership." They were forcibly
abducted or kidnapped in clear violation of the laws of other countries and
court orders issued by other countries. They were removed from their country
to a country beyond the reach of law enforcement and court orders. These women – which include my
adult, American-born daughters – have been hidden away in family compounds
for years, deprived of all the choices of basic living, including religion,
choice of spouse or age of marriage. They have been denied freedom of
movement, freedom of torture, equal rights of women relating to all issues of
family rights, the right to education, the right to remedies. Many of them
are subjected to wide abuse other than slavery – mental and physical torture,
including rape. Their basic human rights in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and other instruments of international human rights law are
being sacrificed. They are kept captive with no hope
of ever escaping. Some are told that they can leave, but their children must
stay. They must choose between freedom and their children – a "Sophie's
Choice" no mother should ever have to make. I have met women who have
done just that, and others who hunger for the breath of freedom so badly that
they are contemplating doing it – such a high price to pay. ***
ARCHIVES *** Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – The
government has not taken sufficient measures to improve its performance on
trafficking issues, although it did name an official in the Ministry of
Foreign Affairs to assume responsibility for trafficking in persons. Foreign laborers', including
domestic workers', passports were often illegally retained by their employers
and can sometimes result in forced labor. Foreign nationals who have been
recruited abroad have, after their arrival in the country, been presented
with work contracts that specified lower wages and fewer benefits than
originally promised. A reportedly small number of non-citizen women were
thought to engage in prostitution, comprising a minor element of the
trafficking problem in the kingdom. SECTION 6
WORKER RIGHTS – [d]
Child beggars were reportedly often non-citizens who had been trafficked into
the country for that purpose or are Hajj or Umra over-stayers. The Ministry
of Social Affairs maintained special offices in both Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights
Practices - 2004 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – Among
the millions of foreign workers in the country, some persons, particularly
domestic workers, were defrauded by employment agencies or exploited by
employers; some workers overstay their contracts and are exploited as they
have few legal protections. Many foreign domestic servants fled work
situations that included forced confinement, beating and other physical
abuse, withholding of food, and rape. Concluding
Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) - 2001 [7] The Committee is concerned
that the broad and imprecise nature of the State party's general reservation
potentially negates many of the Convention's provisions and raises concern as
to its compatibility with the object and purpose of the Convention, as well
as the overall implementation of the Convention. Saudis
address human trafficking concerns The Saudi Human Rights Commission voiced concern over human trafficking gangs exploiting immigrants and foreigners during the pilgrimage season. Commission spokesmen Dr. Zoheir al-Harethi said people making their pilgrimage to Mecca plan to find employment but instead find themselves exploited by local gangs. Harethi said immigrants "fall prey to gangs that use them for begging and prostitution" and noted many of the exploited are children, al-Arabiya said Friday. U.S.
human trafficking report misses progress: Saudi "Examining the American
report on human trafficking, we felt that it was misleading ... It contains
descriptions, opinions and understandings that are not necessarily
true," Turky Al Sudairy, head of the government's Human Rights
Commission said in a statement published in Saudi newspapers. "While we accept that there
are some who mistreat (domestic) workers, and this is not acceptable, there
are laws that stipulate punishment and the Commission will not hesitate to
reveal practices and violations."
Around a third of Saudi Arabia's 24 million population are foreign
residents, mostly blue-collar workers from Asian countries. Over a million
work as housemaids, and reports of abuse are common. Saudi employers often
retain their passports. Sudairy said the authorities had
taken stringent measures to regulate the labor market, which he said was
subject to abuse by recruitment agencies. He said Saudi Arabia has laws to
prevent child labor. "The efforts
being exerted have not finished yet and we cannot claim such a thing,"
Sudairy said. New study shames human traffickers www.eastandard.net/archives/cl/hm_news/news.php?articleid=1143968455 Countries in the Middle East have
been named as the worst culprits of human trafficking. A new report by an international trade
unions’ umbrella organisation says Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates and Yemen are notorious
destinations for women trafficked from Kenya. Its report, ‘Trafficking in
Persons — The Eastern Africa Situation’, notes that women and children were
favourite targets for well-organised trafficking rings, which operate freely
for lack of solid laws against the vice. Saudis
deny human trafficking allegations The Saudi government has denied a
recent report released by the US Department of State ranking the kingdom as
one of the largest human traffickers in the world. Saudi Ambassador
Criticizes U.S. Human Trafficking Report Al-Faisal said Saudi Arabia has
imposed regulations to control mistreatment of servants and employees,
prosecuted those accused of mistreatment and opened shelters for victims. Key
Witness missing in CO slavery case against Homaidan Al-Turki and Sarah
Khonaizan An Indonesian woman who was kept
as a virtual slave and who was also a key witness against a Saudi Arabian
couple, Homaidan Al-Turki and his wife, Sarah Khonaizan. A modern day slavery
case where the victim was forced cook clean and was sexually abused. Saudis
Import Slaves to America It's shocking, especially for a
graduate student and owner of a religious bookstore - but not particularly
rare. Here are other examples of enslavement, all involving Saudi royals or
diplomats living in Saudi
sheik: 'Slavery is a part of Islam' A leading Saudi government cleric
and author of the country's religious curriculum believes Islam advocates
slavery. "Slavery is a part of
Islam," says Sheik Saleh Al-Fawzan, according to the independent Saudi
Information Agency, or SIA. In a
lecture recorded on tape by SIA, the sheik said, "Slavery is part of
jihad, and jihad will remain as long there is Islam." His religious books are used to teach 5
million Saudi students, both within the country and abroad, including the Guest
Worker May Lose Digits, Toes After Being Tied Up in Bathroom for a Month A 25 year-old Indonesian guest
worker will have several of her fingers, toes and part of her right foot
amputated because of gangrene after being tied up for a month in a bathroom
by her Saudi sponsor. The Indonesian
Embassy noted that 2,000 housemaids have been repatriated to Forced-Labor
Charges For Saudi Prince's Wife The wife of a Saudi prince was
arrested yesterday for allegedly forcing two Indonesian housekeepers to work
for her family at homes in Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 7 Civil Liberties: 6 Status: Not Free Human Rights
Overview by Human Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights
Worldwide U.S. Library of Congress
- Country Study Saudi
Arabia Prostitution Facts Both women had contacted Suna in
hopes of finding high paying work in Saudi Arabia, but instead were forced
into prostitution. The women were forced to travel, in a tiny compartment
below the truck's undercarriage or empty oil tank of the vehicle tanker in
the scorching sun, from one construction site to another and to offer their
sexual services. Upon arriving in the Saudi capital, they were forced to
share a five-metre-by-four-metre room with seven other girls, one of whom was
Suna's sister. They were told that they would be engaged in prostitution, not
restaurant helpers as promised, if they wanted to live. Trafficking
and forced labour of children in the United Arab Emirates continues ANSAR BURNEY TRUST RESCUES TWO MORE
'CHILD CAMEL JOCKEYS' IN UAE - . The Ansar Burney Welfare Trust International is the only human
rights organisation working since last several years practically against
slave labour in Middle East and Arab Countries to rescue the innocent
children working as child camel jockeys in very worst circumstances. It has
rescued total 318 children in this current year, 147 children on slave in UAE
and 171 children from Qatar, Bahrain, Saudi
Arabia, Muscat, Kuwait and other parts of the Arab and Middle East
countries and sent them back to Bangladesh, Pakistan, Srilanka and other
respective countries for their rehabilitation Saudi Religious Leader Calls for Slavery's Legalization Muslims, in contrast, still think the old way. Slavery still exists in a host of majority-Muslim countries (especially Sudan and Mauritania, also Saudi Arabia and Pakistan) and it is a taboo subject. To enable pious Muslims to avoid interest, an Islamic financial industry worth an estimated $150 billion has developed. The challenge ahead is clear: Muslims must emulate their fellow monotheists by modernizing their religion with regard to slavery, interest and much else. No more fighting jihad to impose Muslim rule. No more endorsement of suicide terrorism. No more second-class citizenship for non-Muslims. In Islam Unveiled I explain the
theological and legal reasons why slavery persists in some Islamic societies
— notably Mauritania and Sudan. I had a little bit of information on slavery
in Saudi Arabia in there but for reasons I don't recall it didn't make the
final draft. Still, slavery was only abolished in Saudi Arabia in 1962, and
there are numerous indications that it continues today. Women
Who Wed the Wrong Wahhabi She describes her constituents as
women who "…have married Saudi nationals who were sent to the United
States to study in our colleges and universities. Once they accompanied their
Saudi husbands back to Saudi Arabia, they soon found out that they lost all
civil rights and became prisoners. Their children fall into that same
category of slavery and are denied even the basic human rights." The
Overthrow Of The American Republic - Part 30 Point by point, I discussed the
findings of a unit of the United Nations which had documented a terrible
truth. Here it was, late in the 20th Century, I told the crowd, that Saudi
Arabia and Kuwait, according to undisputed details of the U.N. unit, each had
huge numbers of BLACK CHATTEL SLAVES. Saudi, according to the findings, had
about one hundred thousand such slaves and Kuwait about fifty thousand of the
same. Saudi
Arabia and contemporary slavery American women who have married
Saudi nationals and are inside the kingdom along with their female children –
some of whom have now reached adult age – are subjected to a situation in
which another person or persons have complete control over their lives, with
all rights and attributes of "ownership." They were forcibly
abducted or kidnapped in clear violation of the laws of other countries and
court orders issued by other countries. They were removed from their country
to a country beyond the reach of law enforcement and court orders. These women – which include my
adult, American-born daughters – have been hidden away in family compounds
for years, deprived of all the choices of basic living, including religion,
choice of spouse or age of marriage. They have been denied freedom of
movement, freedom of torture, equal rights of women relating to all issues of
family rights, the right to education, the right to remedies. Many of them
are subjected to wide abuse other than slavery – mental and physical torture,
including rape. Their basic human rights in the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights and other instruments of international human rights law are
being sacrificed. They are kept captive with no hope
of ever escaping. Some are told that they can leave, but their children must
stay. They must choose between freedom and their children – a "Sophie's
Choice" no mother should ever have to make. I have met women who have
done just that, and others who hunger for the breath of freedom so badly that
they are contemplating doing it – such a high price to pay. The
world must know about this When 29-year-old Ramani Prianka
accepted a job in Saudi Arabia, she thought it would be a pleasant way to
earn more money than she could ever make in her native Sri Lanka. After all, she would be working indoors --
as a housemaid -- for a well-to-do, educated Saudi couple. He was the manager
of a big hospital; she was the principal of a school. How tough could it be? Very tough,
Prianka quickly discovered. The house had 20 rooms and 13 bathrooms, and
Prianka, the only maid, was expected to clean every one every day. There were
nine children, and Prianka had to wash all their clothes and cook all their
food. Seven days a week, she was up at 4:30 a.m. and never got to bed before
midnight. All this for the equivalent of $26 a week. Last year, at least 2,800 Sri
Lankan housemaids ran away from their Saudi sponsors, claiming they had been
overworked, sexually abused or physically mistreated by jealous wives. They
are among the countless foreign "guest workers" in Saudi Arabia who
live and work under conditions that are sometimes compared to modern-day
slavery. Not only should the US Government
support and provide assistance to citizens held against their will; but we
should examine why we are supporting a dictatorship that is holding MILLIONS
of persons against their will. The Kingdom of Saud is guilty of imposing
virtual slavery upon the women of Saudi Arabia. Not only American service
personnel are victims; and victims they are. Americans, not allowed to have
religious observances on holy days, women not allowed to drive or dress as
they wish when leaving military bases, not alowed to be in possion of another
Holy Book, the Bible. President
Wahid: Slavery Widespread in Saudi Arabia He expressed concern that many
Saudis may treat their Indonesian servants as slaves and sexually harass
them. Many Indonesian women who have
worked abroad come home with horror stories of being raped and badly treated
by their foreign bosses. But according to Wahid, the
Indonesian media often makes inaccurate reports on what goes on in Saudi
Arabia. "The media’s descriptions
created a public perception that our women workers were raped. The situation
is not like that. The Saudi people still believe in the old Islamic teaching,
which is belief in slavery. So a woman who works for them is considered a
slave," he said. For some men in
Saudi Arabia, sexual relations with a housemaid are not considered as rape,
because they believe that such a practice is permitted by their beliefs, he
added. Wahid also stressed the Saudi
government does not believe in slavery, but the practice is still common in
society. Saudi Arabia:Open for Business In this document Amnesty
International highlights the appalling human rights record that Saudi Arabia has
had in the past, and how the international business community needs to be
aware of the direct impact that Saudi Arabia's record on human rights has on
business interests. Businesses and governments around the world have overlooked the appalling human rights record of Saudi Arabia in the past. One of the arguments being that business interests and requirements are unrelated to human rights. It is time for the international business community to open its eyes. Americans Against the Sauduction of Washington - Issue #17 US CHILD SEX SLAVES IN SAUDI ARABIA - We are continuing a limited
investigation of the nonparental abductions of US children by Saudi princes.
We have interviewed past Saud family palace domestic slaves who have been
assigned to care for child sex slaves primarily kidnapped from the US and
Northern Europe. It seems procedurally after being routinely processed by the
Saudi Arabian Government upon entry the children are immediately brought to
the respective palace where they are indoctrinated through a brainwashing
practice. The suborning technique through a system of rewards and punishments
includes US child sex slaves being given a Saudi name while their US name and
religious beliefs are expunged from their mind. If the children use their US
name or religious beliefs at any time thereafter, they are severely
reprimanded with further conditioning. In tandem, the US State Department
policy is that it refuses to investigate US child sex slaves within Middle
East unless they are given the US name of the child. - htcp. The
Plight of Foreign Workers in Saudi Arabia In November 1998 two Egyptian
servants of Saudi Prince Turki bin Abd al-Aziz tied bedsheets together and
lowered themselves from the rooms on the 29th floor of the Ramses Hilton
where they had been imprisoned, unpaid, for months. The Prince, a full
brother of King Fahd, has lived for 16 years on two floors of the five-star
Cairo hotel since his expulsion from Saudi Arabia for "embarrassing
behavior." The two servants, a butler and a cook, who were seriously
injured when they crashed onto a 24th floor balcony, made familiar claims.
They had been beaten, they had not been paid in months, and they had been
held against their will along with many other servants who were still trapped
inside. That these abuses were taking place outside Saudi Arabia was somewhat
unusual. Although less publicized, similar occurrences are more common inside
Saudi Arabia. All material used herein
reproduced under the fair use exception of 17 USC § 107 for noncommercial,
nonprofit, and educational use |
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Human Trafficking in [Saudi Arabia Street Children in [Saudi Arabia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Saudi Arabia] [other countries]