Human Trafficking in [Somalia Street Children in [Somalia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Somalia] [other countries] |
Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery Somalia [ Country-by-Country
Reports ] Scope and
Magnitude. Information regarding trafficking in Somalia remains
extremely difficult to obtain or verify; however, the Somali territory is
believed to be a source, transit, and destination country for trafficked men,
women, and children. In Somali society, certain groups are traditionally
viewed as inferior and are marginalized; Somali Bantus and Midgaan are
sometimes kept in servitude to other more powerful Somali clan members as
domestics, farm laborers, and herders. During the year, the TFG and extremist
groups opposed to them reportedly conscripted children for use in armed
conflict. Armed militias purportedly internally traffic Somali women and
children for sexual exploitation and forced labor. Because of an inability to
provide care for all family members, some Somalis willingly surrender custody
of their children to people with whom they share family relations and clan
linkages; some of these children may become victims of forced labor or
commercial sexual exploitation. There are anecdotal reports of children
engaged in prostitution, but the practice is culturally proscribed and not
publicly acknowledged. Human smuggling is widespread in Somalia and there is
evidence to suggest that traffickers utilize the same networks and methods as
those used by smugglers. Dubious employment agencies are involved with or
serve as fronts for traffickers, especially to target individuals destined
for the Gulf States. Somali women are trafficked to destinations in the
Middle East, including Iraq, Lebanon, and Syria, as well as to South Africa,
for domestic labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Somali men are
trafficked into labor exploitation as herdsmen and menial workers in the Gulf
States. Somali children are reportedly trafficked to Djibouti, Malawi, and
Tanzania for commercial sexual exploitation and exploitative child labor.
Ethiopian women are trafficked through Somalia to the Middle East for forced
labor and sexual exploitation. Small numbers of Cambodian men are trafficked
to work on long range fishing boats operating off the coast of Somalia. - 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 ARTICLE *** Human Trafficking: Greed and the Trail of Death The human trafficking trade out of
Somalia is now one of the busiest, most lucrative and the most lethal in the
world. The ferocious violence and anarchy in the region has kept the scale of
profits and misery the most hidden from outside eyes. Dozens corpses are found floating
in the Arabian Sea every month, often with gunshot wounds, often with hands
tied behind their back - victims of traffickers who have jettisoned their
cargo in the most final way. ***
ARCHIVES *** U.S.
Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs INCIDENCE
AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - Children are also conscripted by armed Somali militias and used for
forced labor or sexual exploitation.
Boys as young as 14 or 15 have participated in combat and many belong
to gangs who raid indiscriminately.
Trafficking networks exist that transport children to Bur of Democracy,
Human Rights & Labor - Country
Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005 TRAFFICKING
IN PERSONS – The
pre-1991 law prohibits trafficking; however, there were reports of
trafficking during the year. The unimplemented TFC does not specifically
prohibit trafficking. Puntland was noted by human rights organizations as an
entry point for trafficking. The UNIE reported that trafficking in persons
remained rampant in Somalia and that the lack of an authority to police the
country's long coastline contributed to trafficking. Various forms of
trafficking are prohibited under the most widespread interpretations of
Shari'a and customary law, but there was no unified policing in the territory
to interdict these practices, nor any authoritative legal system within which
traffickers could be prosecuted. Somalia:
Journalist Arrested in Bossasso The National Union of Somali
Journalists (NUSOJ) is strongly condemning the arrest of Journalist Idle
Moallim in Bossasso on 5 January 2008 by the police force of Puntland
Regional State. Idle Moallim, a freelance
journalist, was arrested when the Puntland asked him several times where he
came from and what reports he prepared about Human Trafficking of people
travelling from Bossasso to the Gulf by boat. The authorities detain
him in the central detention centre in Bossasso. Human Trafficking: Greed and the Trail of Death The human trafficking trade out of
Somalia is now one of the busiest, most lucrative and the most lethal in the
world. The ferocious violence and anarchy in the region has kept the scale of
profits and misery the most hidden from outside eyes. Dozens corpses are found floating
in the Arabian Sea every month, often with gunshot wounds, often with hands
tied behind their back - victims of traffickers who have jettisoned their
cargo in the most final way. Freedom
House Country Report - Political Rights: 7 Civil Liberties: 7 Status: Not Free Human Rights Overview by Human
Rights Watch – Defending Human Rights Worldwide U.S. Library of Congress
- Country Study SUMMARY
- Extreme underdevelopment Somalis still face extreme poverty
and underdevelopment. They consistently rank among the lowest in the world on
key indicators of human development, life expectancy, per capita income,
malnutrition and infant mortality. Somalis also suffer widespread
human rights violations, including: murder, rape, looting and destruction of
property, child soldiering, kidnapping, discrimination against minorities,
torture, female genital mutilation, unlawful arrest and detention, and denial
of due process. 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 [Somalia Street Children in [Somalia] [other countries]Child Prostitution in [Somalia] [other countries]