Compass – Oman

The Labor House Center for Studies and Research issued a report on the occasion of the International Day to Combat Trafficking in Persons, which falls on the 30th of July each year.

The Labor House said that the United Nations General Assembly approved the International Day Against Trafficking in Persons in 2013, because this crime represents a serious and flagrant violation of human rights, affecting thousands of men, women and children who fall prey to traffickers, and no country in the world is exempt from this The phenomenon and its effects, whether it is a country of origin, a transit point or a destination for the victims.

According to the report published by the center today, Saturday, “It is noticeable on the data available in Jordan on human trafficking crimes that they indicate that cases of exploitation of non-Jordanians in labor constitute the largest volume among other forms of human trafficking, at a time when Jordan has not yet ratified the international convention. To protect the rights of migrant workers and their families of 1990.

It is also noted at the same time that the rate of prosecution of human trafficking cases is considered low due to the lack of clarity of legislation related to this crime, especially the law to prevent human trafficking and the definition of the crime of human trafficking, which impedes victims’ access to justice and causes impunity for perpetrators, evidenced by the high number of Cases of violations of the rights of domestic workers compared to other sectors of work on the need to develop new, more effective mechanisms to protect this category.

The report added, “The recorded numbers of human trafficking cases for the various work sectors are small compared to the size of these sectors and the number of workers expected to be subjected to violations, especially non-Jordanian workers in the sectors of domestic labor, agriculture, cleaning and knitting. Certainly, these numbers do not necessarily reflect the true size of the violations committed in these sectors. sectors, especially since part of these violations are committed in the labor-sending countries by collecting large sums of money from the worker in exchange for providing him with a job opportunity, and in some cases he is deluded that he will work in another country with a profession and wage other than the profession and the real wage.”

“Which requires, first, the establishment of an accurate and unified database for expatriate workers, and the development of a clear national framework that defines the powers and responsibilities of both official and non-official bodies concerned in particular with measures to prevent and protect against the violation of their rights, and to take effective measures to control and punish illegal intermediaries who work on their exploitation and employment. illegally,” according to the report’s recommendations.

He added, “It is not possible to deny the efforts made in recent years, which contributed to ranking Jordan within the second level in the global indicators to address human trafficking, as it is one of the countries that are making efforts to address this problem, although it is still among the countries that do not meet the minimum standards.” We cannot deny the improvement that occurred at the legislative level with the issuance of the Law Amending the Human Trafficking Law No. (10) of 2021, which included the inclusion of organized beggary within the concept of the crime of human trafficking, and stopping the prosecution of victims and those affected by human trafficking crimes from Before the Public Prosecution, in addition to the establishment of the “Human Trafficking Victims Assistance Fund”, which is dedicated to providing legal assistance to victims and those affected by crimes of human trafficking, which would enhance legal protection against manifestations of exploitation, including the exploitation of children in the crime of beggary.

He added, “However, this does not deny that there are still many problems in prosecuting perpetrators of human trafficking crimes, including the length of litigation, the lack of clarity in the definition of the crime of human trafficking, which is an obstacle to the victims’ access to justice in accordance with international human rights standards, and the promise to put an end to the violations that Domestic workers are exposed to it, especially the deprivation of wages, the confiscation of their freedom, the delay in paying wages, in addition to the problem of the sponsorship system represented by the inability of the worker to change his workplace without the approval of the sponsor.

He pointed out that “there is still a lot that can be done at the legislative level. In the labor law, there is much that can be done to improve working conditions, in particular conducting a comprehensive review of the regulations and instructions related to expatriate workers in accordance with the law and international labor standards, and to ensure that any defect is addressed. In implementing and limiting violations, improving inspection mechanisms and limiting violations, as well as reviewing and developing approved work contracts on this basis, setting special conditions and rules for overtime and overtime wages to ensure that workers obtain their legal rights in them, an upper limit for the number of permitted overtime hours, and the abolition of discrimination. In the minimum wages between Jordanian and non-Jordanian workers, and the development of a clear mechanism for workers to submit and follow up complaints, including activating the complaints hotline around the clock, activating the accountability of the employer in cases of non-renewal of work and residence permits for his workers and not fining the worker any amounts in these cases or taking measures rights such as deportation, guaranteeing the worker’s freedom to move from one employer to another, canceling the requirement for the worker to obtain the employer’s approval to leave the country, and issuing the system of agricultural workers.

He added that “despite the issuance of the 2012 system of shelters for victims of human trafficking based on this law to help them psychologically and socially rehabilitate, the process of establishing specialized shelters in accordance with international standards is still stumbling and inactive.”

He stressed that “the tasks of the National Committee for the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons must be reconsidered in the manner that separates its tasks from the tasks of the bodies represented in it, and the tasks and responsibilities of these bodies must be defined, and the relations and responsibilities between official bodies and civil society organizations must be clarified in a manner that does not conflict with them.” The roles of the two parties, and the involvement of effective representatives of civil society organizations in the National Committee for the Prevention of Human Trafficking and its work, and for the committee to work with the concerned authorities to address distortions in legislation, mechanisms and procedures.