By GEOFFREY BEW
Published: 15th June 2007
A US report blacklisting Bahrain for failing to tackle human trafficking was dismissed as baseless by the Interior Ministry yesterday.
It is the second day in a row that Bahraini authorities have hit back at the report, by the US State Department.
No foreign embassy has ever complained to Bahrain about human trafficking, the Interior Ministry said in a statement released to the GDN.
It questioned the legitimacy of the report, released earlier this week, which ranked the country in a blacklist of nations accused of not doing enough to prevent human trafficking.
By GEOFFREY BEW
Published: 15th June 2007
A US report blacklisting Bahrain for failing to tackle human trafficking was dismissed as baseless by the Interior Ministry yesterday.
It is the second day in a row that Bahraini authorities have hit back at the report, by the US State Department.
No foreign embassy has ever complained to Bahrain about human trafficking, the Interior Ministry said in a statement released to the GDN.
It questioned the legitimacy of the report, released earlier this week, which ranked the country in a blacklist of nations accused of not doing enough to prevent human trafficking.
The US State Department claims Bahrain is a country whose government does not fully comply with the minimum legal standards required to tackle the problem and is not making significant efforts to do so.
But the Interior Ministry dismissed the allegations as “unacceptable” and said they should not have been made without valid evidence.
“It is shocking, especially the allegation of the lenient approach of the government of Bahrain in fighting human trafficking, despite the kingdom’s policy of welcoming human rights organisations,” it said.
“The Interior Ministry hasn’t received any complaint from embassies and it isn’t aware of violations mentioned in the report.
“The ministry is ready to open investigation about any human trafficking case and if there are evidences about violations then they should be provided to probe into the matter.
“The ministry is sure that any embassy in Bahrain wouldn’t hesitate to report such incident because of the strong ties between the government and all diplomatic missions in Bahrain.”
The statement added that while Bahrain attracted foreign workers, labour violations happen in all countries and should not be considered as human trafficking cases.
“The government does arrest groups for human trafficking violations and punish them according to laws without forgetting to co-ordinate the cases with the embassies of the suspects and victims,” it said.
The statement came the day after Foreign Ministry Assistant Under-Secretary for Co-ordination and Follow-up Dr Shaikh Abdul Aziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa, who is the chairman of an Inter-Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking, told the GDN the government was at the forefront of efforts to tackle the problem.
Bahrain was one of the 164 countries included in an annual report released by the US State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons on Tuesday.
It has been ranked among the worst offenders of human trafficking, alongside Algeria, Guinea, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan, Myanmar and Venezuela.
Last year, Bahrain was rated in the Tier 2 category based on its “significant efforts” to address trafficking and largely on future pledges, but has now been moved to Tier 3.
The report said Bahrain was a destination for men and women trafficked for the purposes of involuntary servitude and commercial sexual exploitation.
It was also criticised for failing to introduce a comprehensive anti-trafficking law.
geoff@gdn.com.bh
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