Port Deals, Dubai, PRC & Human Rights Violations

[Arrow]

Port Deals, Dubai, PRC & Human Rights Violations

CHINA (TIER 2 - WATCH LIST)

The Peoples? Republic of China is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. A significant number of Chinese women and children are trafficked internally for forced marriage and forced labor. Chinese women are at times lured abroad with false promises of legitimate employment and then trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to destinations throughout Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, and North America, while Chinese men have been trafficked for forced labor to Europe, South America, and the Middle East. A large number of Chinese men and women are smuggled abroad at enormous personal financial cost and, upon arrival in the destination country, are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or other forms of exploitative labor to repay their debts. They often face exploitative conditions that meet the definition of involuntary servitude. Women from Burma, North Korea, Russia, Vietnam, and Mongolia are trafficked to China for labor and commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage.

The Government of the People?s Republic of China does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. China?s placement on Tier 2 Watch List is due to its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking, specifically its inadequate protection for trafficking victims, particularly foreign women and P.R.C. women identified from Taiwan. There are reports of the involuntary return of North Koreans from China to North Korea, as these returnees often face serious abuses. The Chinese Government does not, as a matter of policy, fine identified trafficking victims, but it reportedly and unintentionally does fine some victims - particularly P.R.C. women and girls returning from Taiwan - who are among illegal migrants. China needs to identify these trafficking victims, and provide them with protection, rather than levying fines or other punishment on them. The government should also vigorously investigate allegations of coercive labor practices, including alleged situations of involuntary servitude and forced labor.

Prosecution

The Chinese Government continued its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts in 2004, actively arresting and prosecuting traffickers. China has a law that specifically outlaws the trafficking or kidnapping of women and coercion into prostitution. Penalties for trafficking carry sentences of up to ten years? imprisonment. "Snakeheads" or traffickers who smuggle victims overseas can be fined, have their property confiscated, be imprisoned for terms up to life, or be executed. China?s criminal code imposes the death penalty for traffickers who coerce girls under 14 into prostitution. Over the past year, the police reportedly investigated 309 trafficking gangs and arrested 5,043 suspected traffickers, referring 3,144 for prosecution. While the Chinese Government did not provide statistics on the number of convictions, media reports indicated that 36 members of a child trafficking ring were given sentences ranging from two years? imprisonment to the death penalty. There do not appear to be adequate efforts to focus law enforcement resources on the problem of forced or coercive labor that meet the definition of involuntary servitude. Several police officials, including those that reportedly profited from trafficking, were convicted of commercial sexual exploitation and issuing visas to facilitate trafficking.

Protection

During the reporting period, the Chinese Government provided an inadequate level of protection for victims of trafficking. China does not fine repatriated trafficking victims once identified, and generally categorizes them separately from illegal migrants. However, there have been reports that police have levied fines for immigration violations on trafficking victims, particularly women and girls repatriated from Taiwan. The Chinese Government also did not take measures to protect foreign women who were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriages with Chinese men. Over the past year, the Chinese Government funded programs operated by an NGO to reintegrate trafficked women into their local communities and relieve the stigma attached to trafficking victims. The Chinese Government reportedly allocated funds to provincial and local police departments to use in returning trafficking victims to their hometowns. Some government agencies also provided basic living necessities and return assistance. The Ministry of Public Security (MPS) continued to train police officers on how to handle trafficking-related crimes. The MPS reportedly eliminated special anti-trafficking police units and subsumed their duties into general law enforcement units but its national office for trafficking crimes remains in place.

Prevention

The Chinese Government expanded its efforts to raise awareness of trafficking in 2004. The government cooperated with the Vietnamese Government and UNICEF on a mass communications effort to educate people and local government leaders on trafficking. Through its law enforcement agencies and its school systems, the government continued its awareness campaigns to warn of the potential dangers of trafficking. Posters, videos and pamphlets are distributed throughout the country.

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (TIER 3)

The United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) is a destination country for women trafficked primarily from South, Southeast, and East Asia, the former Soviet Union, Iran and other Middle Eastern countries, and East Africa, for the purpose of sexual exploitation. A far smaller number of men, women, and teenage children were trafficked to the U.A.E. to work as forced laborers. Some South Asian and East African boys were trafficked into the country and forced to work as camel jockeys. Some were sold by their parents to traffickers, and others were brought into the U.A.E. by their parents. A large number of foreign women were lured into the U.A.E. under false pretenses and subsequently forced into sexual servitude, primarily by criminals of their own countries. Personal observations by U.S. Government officials and video and photographic evidence indicated the continued use of trafficked children as camel jockeys. There were instances of child camel jockey victims who were reportedly starved to make them light, abused physically and sexually, denied education and health care, and subjected to harsh living and working conditions. Some boys as young as 6 months old were reportedly kidnapped or sold to traffickers and raised to become camel jockeys. Some were injured seriously during races and training sessions, and one child died after being trampled by the camel he was riding. Some victims trafficked for labor exploitation endured harsh living and working conditions and were subjected to debt bondage, passport withholding, and physical and sexual abuse.

The U.A.E. Government does not collect statistics on persons trafficked into the country, making it difficult to assess its efforts to combat the problem. Widely varying reports, mostly from NGOs, international organizations, and source countries, estimated the number of trafficking victims in the U.A.E. to be from a few thousand to tens of thousands. Regarding foreign child camel jockeys, the U.A.E. Government estimated there were from 1,200 to 2,700 such children in the U.A.E., while a respected Pakistani human rights NGO active in the U.A.E. estimated 5,000 to 6,000. The U.A.E. Government has taken several steps that may lead to potentially positive outcomes, such as requiring children from source countries to have their own passports, and collaborating with UNICEF and source-country governments to develop a plan for documenting and safely repatriating all underage camel jockeys.

The Government of the U.A.E. does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. Despite sustained engagement from the U.S. Government, NGOs, and international organizations over the last two years, the U.A.E. Government has failed to take significant action to address its trafficking problems and to protect victims. The U.A.E. Government needs to enact and enforce a comprehensive trafficking law that criminalizes all forms of trafficking and provides for protection of trafficking victims. The government should also institute systematic screening measures to identify trafficking victims among the thousands of foreign women arrested and deported each year for involvement in prostitution. The government should take immediate steps to rescue and care for the many foreign children trafficked to the U.A.E. as camel jockeys, repatriating them through responsible channels if appropriate. The government should also take much stronger steps to investigate, prosecute, and convict those responsible for trafficking these children to the U.A.E.

Prosecution

During the reporting period, the U.A.E. made minimal efforts to prosecute traffickers. Despite the ongoing trafficking and exploitation of thousands of children as camel jockeys and women in sexual servitude, the government made insufficient efforts in 2004 to criminally prosecute and punish anyone behind these forms of trafficking. The U.A.E. Government announced in April 2005 that it would soon enact a new law banning underage camel jockeys. Currently, the U.A.E. does not have a comprehensive anti-trafficking law. The government can use various laws under its criminal codes to prosecute trafficking-related crimes effectively, but there have been only a few such cases prosecuted. In 2004, U.A.E. officials declared that the 2002 Presidential Decree against the exploitation of children as camel jockeys was legally unenforceable - effectively asserting that the U.A.E. had no legal mechanism to address this serious crime. The U.A.E.?s new law, when enacted and implemented, is expected to enable enforcement of the Decree.

In 2004, according to an NGO, immigration authorities worked with source-country NGOs, embassies, and consulates to rescue and repatriate 400 trafficked former camel jockeys to Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sudan. The government transferred the anti-trafficking portfolio from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to the Ministry of Interior - a ministry with a law enforcement authority - and created a designated anti-child trafficking unit within the Ministry of Interior. In December 2004, the government opened a rehabilitation center for the care of rescued child camel jockeys, and from December 2004 to April 2005, rescued approximately 68 children and repatriated 43 of them to their countries of origin, primarily Pakistan. However, the number of rescued and repatriated children through these efforts is insignificant compared to the huge number (estimated in the thousands) openly exploited at camel racetracks throughout the country. Furthermore, there is no evidence that the government investigated, prosecuted, and punished anyone for trafficking, abusing, and exploiting children as camel jockeys.

The U.A.E. Government?s efforts to prosecute crimes relating to trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation were equally disappointing. Despite a few arrests and prosecutions of those involved in such crimes, including travel and employment agencies that reportedly facilitate the trafficking of victims, U.A.E. law enforcement efforts during the year focused largely on the arrest, incarceration, and deportation of over 5,000 foreign women in prostitution, many of whom are likely trafficking victims. The police do not make concerted, proactive efforts to distinguish trafficking victims among women arrested for prostitution and illegal immigration; as a result, victims are punished with incarceration and deportation. Although the U.A.E. criminalized the withholding of employees? passports by employers, there is inconsistent enforcement of the law, and the practice continues to be widespread in both the private and public sectors. The government claims to have taken civil and administrative actions against hundred of employers who abused or failed to pay their domestic employees. The government does not keep data on trafficking and related investigations, arrests, and prosecutions.

Protection

The U.A.E. Government?s efforts to provide protection and assistance to victims of trafficking were minimal during the reporting period. Its efforts to protect child camel jockeys were limited to the opening of one shelter in Abu Dhabi in December 2004 and the repatriation of approximately 443 rescued child camel jockeys. Given the estimated thousands of boys being openly exploited in the country, the total number rescued and repatriated so far is small. Following increased public attention to the camel jockey situation and rescue efforts by the government, an international NGO alleged that some camel owners are hiding a large number of child victims in the desert and in neighboring countries. However, there is no evidence the government has taken action to investigate and prevent this crime. The government is also working with the Governments of Bangladesh and Pakistan to establish U.A.E. Government-funded shelters in those countries to receive and care for rescued and repatriated children.

The government?s efforts to protect and assist victims of trafficking for sexual and labor exploitation have also been minimal. U.A.E. police continue to arrest and punish trafficking victims along with others engaged in prostitution, unless the victims identify themselves as having been trafficked. The U.A.E.?s numerous foreign domestic and agricultural workers are excluded from protection under

U.A.E. labor laws and, as such, many are vulnerable to serious exploitation that constitutes involuntary servitude, a severe form of trafficking. The government does not have a shelter facility for foreign workers who are victims of involuntary servitude, but relies on housing provided by embassies, source-country NGOs, and concerned U.A.E. residents. The U.A.E. Government states it offers housing, work permits, counseling, medical care, and other necessary support for those labor victims who agree to testify against their traffickers. However, few victims reportedly benefited from these government-provided services. In 2004, the Dubai Police Human Rights Department reported assisting such victims in 18 trafficking cases. The Dubai Police also assigns Victim Assistant Coordinators to police stations to advise victims of their rights, encourage victims to testify, and provide other essential services to victims.

Prevention

The U.A.E. slightly increased its trafficking prevention efforts over the past year, particularly efforts to prevent the trafficking of children to work as camel jockeys. Prevention measures reportedly included closer screening of visa applications by U.A.E. embassies in source countries, distributing informational material directly to newly arrived foreign workers, supplying brochures to source-country embassies and consulates to warn potential victims, conducting specific anti-trafficking training for police and various government personnel, and conducting training for immigration inspectors in document fraud detection methods.

In March and April 2005, the U.A.E. Government announced a variety of measures to begin to address the country?s serious trafficking problems more effectively. The government announced in April that a new law, similar to the Presidential ban already in place but not enforced since September 2002, would be enacted soon. The law reportedly would ban jockeys under age 16 from participating in camel races and stipulate that a jockey?s weight must exceed 45 kilograms (99 pounds). At the time of this writing, the law had not been enacted. The U.A.E. Government also announced in April new procedures to facilitate the repatriation of those underage foreign camel jockeys already in the country and to prevent new ones from entering. Beginning on March 31, 2005, camel farm owners would have two months to repatriate all underage foreign camel jockeys working on their farms. After this grace period, the government would begin levying fines against anyone harboring underage camel jockeys. The government stated in March 2005 that it would enforce a new requirement that all source-country expatriate residents, including children, have their own passports. The government reportedly instructed ports of entry to ensure that no underage children enter the country for the purpose of being used as a camel jockey. It also stated that a medical committee would begin conducting tests on all jockeys as part of the pre-race handicapping. The government reported that it had identified adequate shelters in Pakistan and Bangladesh to assist underage camel jockeys who had been repatriated to those countries, and that it would provide financing to source country organizations to handle such repatriations. From October 2002 to January 2005, the U.A.E., through the use of iris recognition technology and document fraud detecting methods, prevented 26,000 potential illegal immigrants from coming into the country, some of whom were likely trafficking victims.


"There's another humanitarian crisis spreading, yet hidden from view. Each year, an estimated 800,000 to 900,000 human beings are bought, sold or forced across the world's borders. Among them are hundreds of thousands of teenage girls, and others as young as five, who fall victim to the sex trade. This commerce in human life generates billions of dollars each year -- much of which is used to finance organized crime.

There's a special evil in the abuse and exploitation of the most innocent and vulnerable. The victims of sex trade see little of life before they see the very worst of life -- an underground of brutality and lonely fear. Those who create these victims and profit from their suffering must be severely punished. Those who patronize this industry debase themselves and deepen the misery of others. And governments that tolerate this trade are tolerating a form of slavery."

Quote abovefrom statement to the United Nations General Assembly September 23, 2003, by George W. Bush, President of the United States of America

I appreciate and respect the experience of Col Murph and Scamp. I also understand completely the strategic importance of the UAE along with our voracious appetite for the cheap consumer goods coming out of China. It is no small thing for the powers that be in this country to decide against justice in order to maintain our own security and comfort. I won't be complicit in that injustice by agreeing that the UAE and China should be awarded lucrative leases to manage our ports but will rather ask that they and all nations including our own put an end to this horror of human slavery in all it's evil forms.

Consider this; why would those that do evil to the most vulnerable do right to the strong and the powerful if an opportunity comes their way to take us out?

"When you sit down to eat with a ruler, consider diligently what is before you, and put a knife to your throat, if you are a man of great appetite. Don't desire his delicacies for they are deceitful meat." Proverbs 23: 1-3

Arrow>>>>

Click on link to full pdf file report:

US Department Of State Website

[Keith_Hixson]

I have several friends that work over in that area of the world. All over that area of the world, young girls and teenagers are being smuggled and forced into prostitution. Not only China, but Thailand, Philippines, Indonesia, Malaysia, and India also have tremendous problems with the female slave trade. Human life is cheap! I don't believe the governments officially condone such action but by looking the other way and doing nothing they in reality have given their blessings to this terrible treatment of women and girls. In India they have the caste system. If you are from the lower caste (untouchables) your life means nothing and no one cares about you, not even the government. Life in Asia for women can be so very cruel. We live such a naive existence here in the U.S.A.

Those who complain about the treatment of the prisoners in Cuba really don't have a clue to how many human rights abuses take place every day through out the world and mostly to women and young girls.

Keith

[Seascamp]

Yes, of course. I did mention that there are some things that need to be vetted, and this is one of them. That picks at the whole issue of global slave trade of which Puerto Rico is not an insignificant player, with ?merchandise? end destinations inside the US. I would have thought this issue would have gone to the top of the list in the slam dunk of the UAE. I wondered if someone would take the time and get to the real issues, I should have guessed, good work Sis. The premium capture and trade areas these days is Central Europe with blue-eyed blond girls going for up to $500 thousand each, and never to be seen again, but that opp is run by former KGB thugs. Now if we think that the PRC is not using the Port of Long Beach for illicit trade, there is some bats in our bell free. They regularly blow on by any and all agreements they have made, including UN traveler protection stipulations; I have first hand experience with that one, so to think they honor or will honor any other agreements is pure folly.

There is another concern with the UAE that is also in need of vetting and we can get to that and kick it around if there is any interest. But I will do this in the spirit of sharing knowledge and not as some maniacal slam dunk of the UAE.

Scamp

makes me feel ill knowing this.

[Arrow]

Scamp,

I'm more than interested when you have the time. Also if you could comment on or bring light to the relationship between the UAE and Iran.The Chicago tribune states the UAE disagrees with our sanctions on Iran, has an unresolved dispute overthreegulf islands occupied by Iran in the early1970's. The article goes on toquoteWilliam Rugh, formerU.S. ambassador to the UAE asstating the UAE in fact fearsIran because ofit's size and military capability. But Dubai in particular maintains close ties withIran because ofDubai's large Iranian population and extensive tradeties.

Also Scamp, if youwould, I'm interested in your opinion of the stability ofthisfederation not yet 40 years old made up of seven emirates ruled by tribal sheiks.

Your time and perspective in every discussion is much appreciated by your Sis in Indian Territory.

Click on link:

Chicago Tribune

[1CAVCCO15MED]

Sis, this was very well put together. I knew some of this from watching reports on TV. They did one especially on camel jockeys. The UAE was not the only country using kidnapped boys for this. Another thing, having trust in the government of the UAE is one thing as far as the ports go. But what about the people that work for them?

[locksly]

Dubai Ports Firm Supports Israel Boycott

The parent company of a Dubai-based firm at the center of a political storm in the United States over the purchase of American ports participates in the Arab boycott against Israel, the Jerusalem Post reports.

The firm, Dubai Ports World, is seeking control over six major U.S. ports, including those in New York, Miami, Philadelphia and Baltimore. It is entirely owned by the Government of Dubai via a holding company called the Ports, Customs and Free Zone Corporation (PCZC), which consists of the Dubai Port Authority, the Dubai Customs Department and the Jebel Ali Free Zone Area.

"Yes, of course the boycott is still in place and is still enforced," Muhammad Rashid a-Din, a staff member of the Dubai Customs Department's Office for the Boycott of Israel, told the Post in a telephone interview.

"If a product contained even some components that were made in Israel, and you wanted to import it to Dubai, it would be a problem," he said.

A-Din noted that while the head office for the anti-Israel boycott sits in Damascus, he and his fellow staff members are paid employees of the Dubai Customs Department, which is a division of the PCZC, the same Dubai government-owned entity that runs Dubai Ports World.

Moreover, the Post found that the Web site for Dubai's Jebel Ali Free Zone Area, which is also part of the PCZC, advises importers that they will need to comply with the terms of the boycott.

In a section titled "Frequently Asked Questions", the site lists six documents that are required in order to clear an item through the Dubai Customs Department. One of them, called a "Certificate of Origin," "is used by customs to confirm the country of origin and needs to be seen by the office which ensures any trade boycotts are enforced," according to the website.

A-Din of the Israel boycott office confirmed that his office examines certificates of origin as a means of verifying whether a product originated in the Jewish state.

On at least three separate occasions last year, the Post said, companies were fined by the U.S. government's Office of Anti-boycott Compliance, an arm of the Commerce Department, on charges connected to boycott-related requests they had received from the Government of Dubai.

U.S. law bars firms from complying with such requests or cooperating with attempts by Arab governments to boycott Israel.

[urbsdad6]

Arrow,

Well said and researched. Now if you could find out how many of our political leaders are involved in this and help us clean house first we could be a shining example to the world. Unfortunately what is said and what is done by many of the politicians in this country are diametrically opposed. Thanks for the info, I think I'll go puke again because this issue is so very disturbing.

Doc Urb

[Jerry D]

This makes me think their might be something relating to this with the following report.

ORANJESTAD, Aruba (UPI) -- Witnesses say they saw the 18-year-old Alabama high school senior missing in Aruba since Monday with three men.

Natalie Holloway, of the Birmingham suburb of Mountain Brook, had been on the trip with 138 other Mountain Brook students and chaperones, according to WVTM-TV, in Birmingham, Ala.

Maybe she is still alive in the Mid-east as a slave in the sex industry of the middle east "white slave trade" she definitely fits the profile.

[Seascamp]

Sis?
The UAE has pulled out of the deal and it seems to be a moot point now, so maybe it?s the time for my comments. First off, let me share my perspective. Beyond Western Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand and the US, there is a whole different set of values, principals, ethics, legal systems and very functional illegal systems. This makes all mentioned a distinct minority in the world, very much so. From here it is relatively easy to look at others through our kaleidoscope and make judgment calls. But from there it?s an exercise in frustration because most business centers around the world put on a very thin veneer of ?Westernizm? but that always gives me a brain itch where I can?t scratch. Beyond the veneer, reality is quite different and where the real rubber meets the road. That being said, I have long ago adopted the practice knowing the image a country likes to project and then compare that against my direct observations, and this of necessity means ignoring US generated media hokum and local propaganda, the former more than the latter. The latter sometimes embodies an aspiration level that may be valid.

I observe how a country really treats their own people, not stupid sloganeering claims. And then how they relate to other counties and not stagy propaganda crapola. Understanding a country on their own terms; on the other side of the veneer, cuts to the chase much faster, eh, and is a heck of a lot safer to boot. Observing is one thing, but going ?native? and participating is very bad business and risky.

The Chicago tribune article is all right I suppose, but not all that representative and I question some of the stats or if in fact they accurately represented the source, maybe so maybe not, I don?t know them. To fill in some of the blanks, the UAE population is probably closer to the down side of three million, not four million. There is a large ex-patriot community there consisting of Americans, Brits, Pakistanis, Philippineos, Indians, Iranians and some Jordanians. These are infrastructure specialists that keep things going like hospitals, schools, municipal services, the oil patch, petro-chem plants, power plants, etc. I highly doubt the UAE recruits Islamic extremists or unskilled illiterates but am relatively certain they do recruit domestic assistants, and so do the ex-pats, that I do know. A ratio of three to one in terms of indigenous population vs. ex-pats may be actual in some limited areas, but not so overall. Those are Bedouin tribes and not all see a lot of good by coming in from their traditional ways and I doubt they get counted by our five star media mavens that never venture beyond Dubai let alone outside Abu Dhabi. All in all, I think that that number is an exaggeration.

Wages are high, there are no personal taxes of any kind and there is free medical and education for all. There are mobile medical and schooling facilities for the Bedouin but at last check, they resist interference in their ways, so that will take a long time to work out. Oh, the UAE is one of the few in the region whos Constitution guarantees freedom of religion. So, they are about 80% Moslem and the rest are other.

Their Armed Forces number about 50 thousand and most being Omani that are Officered by Brits, Pakistanis, Jordanians plus some local Tribal leaders. In that neck of the woods, who your friends are becomes equally important to what standing Armed Forces exist, if not more so.

More later.

Scamp