http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10132470.html
06/15/2007 12:20 AM | By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
Manama: Bahrain, ranked by the United States among countries that are destinations for trafficking victims exposed to sexual exploitation and forced labour, on Wednesday dismissed the listing which carries the threat of financial sanctions as unjustified.
“The issue of trafficking in people is not limited in its geography. It encompasses several countries and requires concerted efforts from all segments of society and time to achieve results,” the foreign ministry said in a statement to the press.
http://archive.gulfnews.com/region/Bahrain/10132470.html
06/15/2007 12:20 AM | By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
Manama: Bahrain, ranked by the United States among countries that are destinations for trafficking victims exposed to sexual exploitation and forced labour, on Wednesday dismissed the listing which carries the threat of financial sanctions as unjustified.
“The issue of trafficking in people is not limited in its geography. It encompasses several countries and requires concerted efforts from all segments of society and time to achieve results,” the foreign ministry said in a statement to the press.
“Bahrain has the first Gulf and Arab integrated system to protect people from violence and violations and is exerting efforts to reinforce it. Bahrain also cooperates with all states and international organisations, including the UN rapporteur.”
For the ministry, trafficking in people clashes with the values and traditions of the Bahraini society and with religious ethics and social morals.
“We have set up a shelter for trafficking victims, set up a hotline and established new labour relations between employers and employees. We have also drafted a Bill against trafficking and we hope that it will be approved by parliament,” the ministry said.
In its annual “Trafficking in Persons” report, which analysed the efforts of 164 countries to combat trafficking for forced labour and prostitution, the State Department on Tuesday demoted long-time ally Bahrain from the special watch list to “Tier 3” for falling short on combating forced labour and human trafficking.
Sanctions threat
Placement on the dreaded “Tier 3” list can lead to US financial sanctions, including the withholding by the US of non-humanitarian and non-trade related foreign aid. Countries that do not receive such foreign assistance could be subject to withholding of funding for participation by government officials in educational and cultural exchange programmes. Support from the US for loans from the International Monetary Fund or the World Bank may also be withheld.
Bahrain, home to the US Fifth Fleet, was cited for “not fully complying with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and not making significant efforts to do so.”
“Bahrain made no discernible progress in preventing trafficking this year. Bahrain took the positive step of opening a shelter for female trafficking victims in November 2006, but failed to enact a comprehensive anti-trafficking law. The government also did not report any prosecutions or convictions for trafficking offences during the year, despite reports of a substantial problem of involuntary servitude and sex trafficking,” the report said.
It also noted that “foreign victims of sex trafficking receive no protection from the government, but are directly processed for deportation”.