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Bahrain is a destination country for men and women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution. Men and women from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Ethiopia, and Eritrea migrate voluntarily to Bahrain to work as domestic workers or as unskilled laborers in the construction and service industries. Some, however, face conditions of forced labor after arriving in Bahrain, through use of such practices as unlawful withholding of passports, restrictions on movement, contract substitution, non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse. A study by the Bahrain Government’s Labor Market Regulatory Authority (LMRA) found that 65 percent of migrant workers had not seen their employment contract, and that 89 percent were unaware of their terms of employment upon arrival in Bahrain. Many labor recruitment agencies in Bahrain and source countries require workers to pay high recruitment fees – a practice that makes workers highly vulnerable to forced labor once in Bahrain. The LMRA study found that 70 percent of foreign workers borrowed money or sold property in their home countries in order to secure a job in Bahrain. Some Bahraini employers illegally charge workers exorbitant fees to remain in Bahrain working for third-party employers (under the “free visa” arrangement). The LMRA estimates that approximately 10 percent of migrant workers were in Bahrain under illegal “free visa” arrangements – a practice that can contribute to debt bondage – while the Bahrain Chamber of Commerce and Industry puts the figure at 25 percent. Women from Thailand, the Philippines, Morocco, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon, Russia, China, Vietnam and Eastern European States are subjected to forced prostitution in Bahrain.〔"Bahrain". (''Trafficking in Persons Report 2010'' ). U.S. Department of State (June 14, 2010). 〕 The Government of Bahrain does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government reported its second and third prosecutions under its anti-trafficking statute, and continued to educate potential trafficking victims on their rights. However, the government did not show evidence of progress in providing protective services to victims or prosecuting offenses related to labor trafficking, the most prevalent form of trafficking in Bahrain.〔 ==Prosecution== The Government of Bahrain made some progress in conducting anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts during the year. The 2008 Law to Combat Trafficking in Persons prohibits all forms of trafficking in persons and prescribes penalties ranging from three to 15 years’ imprisonment, which are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. The Bahrain government reported two new prosecutions and one new investigation under the anti-trafficking law in the reporting period; all three of these cases involved sex trafficking. One of the prosecutions involved a Bahraini employee of the Ministry of Interior and a Thai national accused of trafficking Asian women into prostitution. The other involved a Bahraini and a Russian national accused of trafficking Russian women. Furthermore, two Bahraini nationals were sentenced to life imprisonment in April and October 2009 for murdering their Indonesian and Ethiopian housemaids, respectively; the government reported that these cases contained elements of human trafficking. The government did not criminally prosecute any employers or labor agents for forced labor of migrant laborers, including domestic workers.〔 There is some indication that government officials may be involved in human trafficking. NGOs and laborers assert that Bahraini officials provide Bahrainis with authorization to sponsor more expatriate workers than they could reasonably employ, and that in their private capacities, some officials illegally engage in “free visa” arrangements and withhold employees’ passports and salaries. The Royal Police Academy provided new police recruits with specific instruction on identifying trafficking victims during the reporting period. In addition, 29 law enforcement officers participated in a three-day trafficking-related investigations course run by International Organization for Migration (IOM), one of several anti-trafficking programs run by IOM in partnership with the Government of Bahrain. In early 2010, the Government of Bahrain centralized all trafficking-related prosecutions within the office of the Chief Prosecutor for the Manama district.〔 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Human trafficking in Bahrain」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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