MISCEPY

US keeps Gulf allies on trafficking blacklist

Agence France-Presse
WASHINGTON - The United States on Wednesday kept Gulf Arab allies Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia on a blacklist of countries trafficking in people, but removed ally Bahrain and trading partner Malaysia.
Fiji, Moldova and Papua New Guinea were added to the blacklist contained in the annual report which analyzed efforts in 170 countries to combat trafficking for forced labor, prostitution, military service and other purposes.
Also remaining on the "Tier 3" blacklist are Sudan, Syria, Algeria, Iran, Myanmar, and Cuba, according to the State Department's "Trafficking in Persons Report" for 2008.
Bahrain and Malaysia as well as Venezuela, Uzbekistan and Equatorial Guinea were all elevated from the blacklist last year to the "Tier 2" watch list this year, according to the congressionally-mandated report.
In introducing the report, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said human trafficking "deprives people of their human rights and dignity" and "bankrolls the growth of organized crime and it undermines the rule of law."
The 14 countries on the blacklist could face sanctions, including the withholding by the United States of non-humanitarian, non-trade related foreign aid.
Countries that receive no such assistance would be subject to withholding of funding for government officials to participate in educational and cultural exchange programs.
"Fiji is a source country for children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and a destination country for a small number of women from the People's Republic of China and India trafficked for the purpose of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation," it said
"Moldova is a major source, and to a lesser extent, a transit country for women and girls trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation," it added.
"Papua New Guinea is a country of destination for women and children from Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and the People's Republic of China, trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation to brothels in the capital and at isolated logging and mining camps," it said.
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar admit men and women from Asian countries -- such as Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Indonesia -- and African countries like Sudan, Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia to work as domestic servants or other low-skilled laborers.
Many subsequently "face conditions of involuntary servitude," the report said adding that to a lesser extent, they are forced into prostitution.
The report also cast a spotlight on several countries in the Middle East.
"For the last four years, the weak performance of several nations in the Persian Gulf has been the matter of great concern and disappointment," said Mark Lagon, Rice's senior advisor on the human trafficking problem.
Saudi Arabia is on "Tier 3," which lists the worse trafficking offenders, for the fourth time.
"As an update, I am happy to report that the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain continued to make significant improvements, notably the United Arab Emirates," Lagon told reporters. "It is a model in the region."
The report said Sudan is "a source country for men, women, and children trafficked internally for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation."
Syria is a "destination and transit country for women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor," the report said.
"A significant number of women and children in the large and expanding Iraqi refugee community in Syria are reportedly forced into commercial sexual exploitation by Iraqi gangs or, in some cases, their families," it said.
"Algeria is a transit country for men and women trafficked from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude," the report said.
"Iran is a source, transit, and destination for women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude. Iranian women are trafficked internally for the purpose of forced prostitution and forced marriages to settle debts," it said.
Cuba meanwhile is mainly a "source country for women and children trafficked within the country for the purpose of commercial exploitation," with some families pushing their children into prostitution to increase income.
Myanmar is a "source country for women, children and men trafficked for the purpose of forced labor and commercial exploitation."