*Karachi – Israeli sex tourists, who arrived in the United Arab Emirates(UAE) in droves to sleep with prostitutes, have aggravated the Gulfregion’s human trafficking ordeal, a report published in InsideArabiatranspired. Tens of thousands of women are trafficked into the UAE’sburgeoning sex trade to fulfill the needs of tourists seeking to sleep withthem.*
With the influx of Israeli tourists in Dubai, the UAE has now become aglobal epicenter for human trafficking.
*Forced into slavery*
As per the report, the main victims of human trafficking hail from India,Pakistan, China, and Bangladesh. Of 90 percent country’s overallpopulation, 10 million are foreign nationals, that is the native populationand citizens are only one million.
The passports of most migrant workers who arrive at either Abu Dhabi orDubai’s international airport are confiscated in violation of internationallaw. It is a deliberate move by their employer to force them into slaveryby denying freedom of movement in the country.
In addition, most migrants are compelled to sign employment contracts in alanguage they’re unable to read and thus agreeing to conditions and wagesfar worse and far lower than they had been promised by recruiters in theirhome countries.
*Cruel and lethal system*
Commenting on the matter, Israeli journalist Amalia Rosenblum said:“Visiting Dubai is like sitting on the sidelines to a gang rape.”
She added, “Beneath the glittering facade of a paradise in the desert lurksa cruel and lethal system of recruitment, transportation, transfer,kidnaping and defrauding of human beings – mostly women – by means of thethreat of force, or the actual use of force, as well as other types ofcoercion.”
Reportedly, as many as 45,000 sex workers are in Dubai with most of themlured to the country on the promise of alternative employment.
*Enforce labor laws*
In a recent report by Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain(ADHRB) stated, “Their traffickers will employ many tactics to force thesewomen to work, often locking the victims in small rooms without food orwater, verbally harassing, and physically beating the women until theybreak down and agree to meet with clients.”
The ADHRB urged the UAE and other GCC countries to abolish the kafalasystem of sponsorship-based employment and establish a justiciable systemfor migrant workers; introduce and enforce labor laws specifically formigrant workers, inclusive of domestic workers, that comply withinternational standards of fair labor practice and safe working conditions;and effectively eliminate all child labor, forced labor, forcedprostitution, and human trafficking practices in the region.
In wake of the situation, human rights groups also called the UAEgovernment and other global human trafficking hotspots to enforce nationaland international laws directed towards protecting the rights of migrantworkers and to address destructive and exploitative conditions.