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Syria poorly ranked among nations in the trafficking in persons
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but showing signs of improvement
Catherine Parker-Sweatt- Al Thara
19-6-2010
On June 14, 2010, the United States Department of State revealed its 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP), the most comprehensive nation-by-nation report on the state of human trafficking and law prevention efforts around the world. In its tenth edition, this year's Report marks the decade anniversary of the U.N.'s adoption of the Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons worldwide (also known as the TIP Protocol).
This year's Report is of particular import because it the first time ever that the United States has included itself in the study issued by the U.S. Dept. of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. In particular, the Report remarks upon the "feminization of migration" or the growing trend in the trafficking and exodus of women, particularly from Southeast Asia, from their home countries abroad. An estimated 1.8 of every 1000 global citizens are estimated to be persons trafficked in violation of the Palermo Protocol.
The TIP Report ranks governments according to a "3P Paradigm" on their efforts to prosecute human trafficking violators, protect victims of such abuse, and prevent further human trafficking violations. Human trafficking is strictly defined as sex trafficking, forced labor, bonded labor, involuntary servitude, forced child labor, or the use of child soldiers. A Tier 1 rating indicates that a government is in full compliance with the provisions enumerated by the TVPA (Trafficking Victims Protection Act), a United States legislation on human trafficking and the Palermo (TIP) Protocol . A Tier 2 rating indicates less than full compliance with these mandates but an appreciable government effort in enforcement and prevention. A Tier 2 rating made with reservations is labeled a Watch List ranking; this indicates a growing number of trafficked persons and government failure to provide evidence of increased persecution within the ranked country. A Tier 3 rating indicates minimal effort to combat human trafficking. These ratings do not indicate the prevalence of incidents of human trafficking within a given country, only the extent of a government's effort to combat trafficking.
Nations in the Middle East had low rankings overall, with no country achieving a Tier 1 ranking. Syria achieved a Tier 2 Watch List ranking, an improvement upon its Tier 3 ranking last year. The TIP Report attributes the improved rankings to Syria's adoption of Legislative Decree no. 3. issued in January 2010 by President Al-Assad, which enumerates criminal penalties for parties found guilty in the trafficking of persons. The founding of a new shelter for trafficked women in Aleppo in January along with the drafting of a plan to increase prevention efforts nationwide also contributed to Syria's improved ranking in 2010. Still, Syria is far from meeting the expectations of the Palermo Protocol, which it signed and ratified in 2000, because it shows no evidence of increased investigation of human trafficking activity or training to law enforcement officials to identify violations.
The TIP Report highlights the trafficking of persons, especially women and children, into Syria and their subsequent coercion into forced labor and prostitution as chief sources of concern. Of particular note is the growing trend in the recruitment of women from Indonesia, the Phillipines, Somalia, and Ethiopia to work as domestic servants and their subsequent subjection to involuntary service. The Report claims that this occurs when labor recruitment agencies or household employers change contracts and confiscate passports upon the workers’ arrival from their home countries into Syria. The Report warns that women of Eastern European descent, especially from Russia and Ukraine, along with Somalian, Morrocan, and Iraqi refugee women are at high risk for being employed as "cabaret dancers" and then forced into prostitution. The abandonment of Iraqi refugee children at the border and their subsequent trafficking into Syria is also cause for alert. The Report also cites Syria as the home of a growing child sex tourism industry which it claims are supported by the demands of clientele from the region, particularly of Saudi Arabian and Kuwaiti origin. The widespread instances of this form of trafficking, however, remain to be determined. In addition, Syria is identified as a transit country for peoples being trafficked to Lebanon, Europe, and the Gulf region.
The TIP Report claims that Syria's record of prosecuting violations does not meet the Palermo Protocol’s demands for systematic prosecution. While the Legislative Decree no. 3 institutes seven years minimal punishment for sex trafficking violators with fines and shorter sentences for other parties knowingly involved, the TIP Report recommends greater enforcement measures to improve the efficacy of Decree no. 3. and a clarification of human trafficking within national legislation. The Report also recommends that the Syrian government provide training to immigration officials and police officers on how to identify trafficking incidences, launch an awareness campaign to inform people about human trafficking, and designate a trafficking-specific official body to facilitate coordination between governmental ministries, NGOS, law enforcement officials, and international organizations.
The Report commends Syria for making modest progress in line with the Palermo Protocol’s recommendations for protecting people affected by human trafficking. The TIP Report recognizes Syria’s increased partnerships with NGOs to help identify victimized women and protect them in shelters in Damascus and Aleppo as a source of improvement. However, the Report cites the government's general failure to recommend women to shelters, instead committing them to detention centers to be returned to their home countries without legal alternative as a source of concern, because women often face hardship and even retribution when this occurs. The Report claims that most referrals made to shelters were made at the insistence of NGOS, not governmental parties.
Syria's 2 Watch List rating also reflects its visible efforts to prevent further instances of human trafficking. In early 2010, Syria began drafting plans to prevent the trafficking of persons by agencies employing domestic workers and other labor enterprises. The Report commends surprise inspections of public and private sector businesses carried out by the Syrian ministry of labor to ensure no children under the age of 15 were employed, but recommends the publishing of these findings. Lastly, the Report believes that the March 2009 Decree no. 27 which institutes stricter regulations for agencies which employ foreign domestic workers and the December 2009 Decree no. 108 which institutes the revocation of agency's licenses if they employ domestic workers under the age of eighteen are signs of Syria's efforts to prevent human trafficking. However, the Report also notes that the government took no specific action to prevent commercial sex activities except for minor prosecutions of brothel owners and clientele.
Overall, the TIP rankings acknowledge Syria’s increased attempts to prevent and prosecute human trafficking, but believes that the trafficking of persons in prostitution and as domestic laborers, combined with limited evidence of increased law enforcement and victim protection are cause for its position as a Tier 2 Watch List nation.
Other nations in the region’s Trafficking in Persons ratings are as follows: Bahrain, 2; Cyprus, 2; Egypt, 2; Iran, 3; Iraq, 2WL (Watch List); Jordan, 2; Lebanon, 2WL; Oman, 2; Qatar, 2WL; Saudi Arabia, 3; Turkey, 2; United Arab Emirates, 2; and Yemen, 2WL.
Thara E- Magazine No. 238 ,19/6/2010
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