Washington retire l’Algérie de la liste noire accusés de la traite des humains

[Al-khiyal]

Algeria

The Government of Algeria has not reported progress in combating trafficking in persons since the release of the 2006 Report. The government did not develop or implement a national plan of action to combat trafficking in persons. It continues to treat trafficking victims as illegal migrants. The government operates three centers for illegal migrants and victims of trafficking, but does not have a formal mechanism to identify trafficking victims systematically and refer them to protective services. As such, trafficking victims risk detention and deportation.

Algerian law includes anti-trafficking in persons punishments of fines ranging between $414-$1,414 or prison sentences of 2 to 6 months. Media and NGO reports indicate that investigations and arrests have occurred, but the government has not provided information about them. The Gendermarie Nationale established an institute of criminology in early 2006 to improve coordination of law enforcement activities against trafficking in persons.

The Government of Algeria has not instituted a public awareness campaign highlighting the rights and obligations of expatriate workers, and the consequences of abusing such workers. The government has not reported any steps to combat trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation to or through Algeria.

[Al-khiyal]

WASHINGTON, June 12, 2007 (Thomson Financial) - The US' Middle East allies Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar, as well as Malaysia were added today to a Washington blacklist of countries trafficking in people, the State Department said.

Algeria and Guinea were the other additions to the blacklist of the State Department's annual 'Trafficking in Persons Report,' which analysed efforts in about 150 countries to combat trafficking for forced labor, prostitution, military service and other purposes.

The seven countries, all of which were on a special watch list last year, join Myanmar, Cuba, Iran, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan and Venezuela in the dreaded 'Tier 3' list as the worst offenders in human trafficking.

Being on the blacklist, they could face sanctions, including withholding by the United States of non-humanitarian, non-trade related foreign aid.

Countries that receive no such foreign assistance would be subject to withholding of funding for participation by government officials in educational and cultural exchange programs.

'Defeating human trafficking is a great moral calling of our day,' Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said in the 236-page report.

'Together with our allies and friends, we will continue our efforts to bring this cruel practice to an end,' she said.

US government research shows 800,000 people are trafficked across national borders, about 80 pct of them women and girls and up to half of them minors, the State Department said.

The majority of victims are females trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation, it said.

Belize, Laos and Zimbabwe were removed from the blacklist this year.

Singapore, which had been in the Tier 1 list, was relegated to Tier 2 this year.

U.S. puts Middle East allies on human trafficking blacklist

[Al-khiyal]

U.S. Department of State Trafficking in Persons Report 2007

(.pdf file)

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UNICEF Report - Trafficking in Human Beings, especially Women and Children, in Africa

(.pdf file)

[Al-khiyal]

Un visa pour l'enfer : Une femme combat les marchands de sexe de Célhia de Lavarène

"Au Liberia, passer la nuit avec une gamine de quinze ans a un prix : 300 dollars. Guerre civile, pauvreté endémique et corruption généralisée ont favorisé le plus odieux des trafics : celui des êtres humains. Les victimes viennent du Maghreb ou des pays de l'Est, attirées par des promesses d'emplois fictifs. A l'arrivée, elles se retrouvent dans des bordels, prisonnières. J'avais déjà lutté contre la prostitution forcée en Bosnie. C'est pourquoi le chef de la mission de l'ONU au Liberia m'a sollicitée. " Parce que tu es une femme et que tu as des couilles ", a-t-il précisé. Accompagnée d'une équipe de policiers internationaux, j'ai repris un travail que je connaissais trop bien : repérages, rondes de nuit, raids et interrogatoires. Des Balkans à l'Afrique subsaharienne, les crapules sont toutes pareilles et leurs proies sont plongées dans la même détresse. Pourtant, le Liberia, c'était pire que tout ce que j'avais vu jusqu'alors. Les pourvoyeurs de " chair fraîche ", soutenus par le pouvoir en place, me narguaient. Leurs clients ? Hauts fonctionnaires libériens, diplomates, membres d'organisations humanitaires, casques bleus. Ces derniers, sûrs de leur impunité, me narguaient plus encore. Ce que j'ai vécu à Monrovia, je ne peux pas le passer sous silence. Je veux prêter ma voix à ces jeunes filles dont personne n'a jamais voulu entendre les appels à l'aide. Je veux aussi que le monde découvre la face cachée d'une mission de l'ONU dans un petit coin d'Afrique abandonné des dieux, ses procédures kafkaïennes et ses dérives. Je veux enfin qu'on sache de quoi sont capables les hommes dans un pays sans lois. Des soldats de la paix aux businessmen véreux, rares sont ceux que j'ai vus résister à la tentation."

Mardi 19 Juin 2007 -- Enfermées, séquestrées, torturées, violées, droguées, déshumanisées...puis, vendues. C’est le sort de milliers de jeunes filles et même des petites filles qu’on ramène du Maghreb et des pays de l’Est vers la Bosnie et le Liberia, entre autres. Ces dernières, attirées par des promesses d’emplois fictifs et d’un style de vie meilleur, suivront leurs bourreaux sans protester. Mais, une fois à destination, elles se retrouvent prisonnières, entassées comme une marchandise qu’on teste avant de vendre aux plus offrants. Forcées par la violence à se soumettre aux appétits les plus pervers. Une industrie criminelle qui prend de l’ampleur et qui génère des milliards de dollars de profits.

Célhia de Lavarène, journaliste française chargée par l’ONU de lutter contre le trafic des êtres humains au Liberia, s’est «frottée» à ces victimes et a sauvé certaines d’entre elles des griffes de leurs bourreaux, avec l’aide d’une équipe de policiers internationaux. «Cependant, soumises à des atrocités et à des blessures physiques et psychologiques qui les marquent à jamais, beaucoup ne survivent pas à ces traumatismes. Incapables de retrouver une vie normale, certaines se suicident alors que d’autres récidivent», révèle-t-elle dans une conférence qu’elle a animée, dimanche dernier, au centre culturel français.

L’expérience qu’elle a vécue au Liberia, elle la raconte dans un ouvrage, Un Visa pour l’enfer, publié en France. Dans ce livre, elle révèle la face cachée d’une mission de l’ONU dans un petit coin d’Afrique, mais également en Bosnie. «Je veux enfin qu’on sache de quoi sont capables les hommes dans un pays sans lois. Des soldats de la paix aux businessmen véreux, rares sont ceux que j’ai vu résister à la tentation», affirme-t-elle. Car parmi les avides de la chair fraîche, se comptent des hauts fonctionnaires, diplomates, humanitaires et onusiens...

«Je dis souvent que l’Onu est plus une machine qui fabrique la guerre que la paix...», confie-t-elle.

Selon elle, les victimes voyagent au Liberia sans passeports. Une fois arrivées à destination, elles sont enfermées dans des appartements, le temps de trouver des clients ou des acheteurs. Elles sont «louées» chacune à 300 dollars la nuit et vendues à 6 000 si la fille est vierge ou d’une beauté exceptionnelle; elles sont vendues chacune entre 2 500 et 3 000 dollars. «Au Liberia, c’est facile de s’adonner à ce genre de trafic. Mais les pays du monde entier sont complices. Il suffit qu’une seule personne décide de détourner son regard. Il y en a même qui trafiquent les extraits de naissances pour faire passer une adolescente de 15 ans pour une jeune fille de 23 ans !».

D’autres réseaux optent pour la Bosnie comme un endroit transitaire où les victimes sont gardées durant six mois. Elles seront ensuite vendues dans le monde entier. D’après la journaliste française, 50 000 Ukrainiennes et Russes activent dans le seul Etat de New York. «Ces personnes sont vendues et revendues. Une fois devenues trop vieilles ou malades du sida, leurs propriétaires les tuent ou les délaissent».

Dans sa mission au Liberia, la journaliste a pu démanteler avec son équipe deux réseaux de trafiquants des êtres humains. Les jeunes filles qui ont pu être libérées sont amenées dans un lieu sûr, elles seront interrogées puis envoyées dans leurs pays. «Généralement, on leur donne un peu d’argent pour qu’au moins, elles rentrent chez elles avec quelque chose. On ne dit rien à leurs familles dont la plupart ignorent tout. Ne pouvant raconter leur histoire, ces filles se taisent et finissent pas se suicider. C’est pour cette raison que j’ai fondé une ONG, Stop Trafficking Of People, et que j’ai écrit ce livre. Je veux prêter ma voix à ces jeunes filles dont personne n’a jamais voulu entendre les appels à l’aide.»

Un Visa pour l’enfer pour dénoncer la traite des femmes

[Al-khiyal]

WASHINGTON, October 19, 2007 (AP) — President Bush on Thursday punished two perennial adversaries — Myanmar and Cuba — for alleged "human trafficking," the forced labor and prostitution that the United States calls a modern-day form of slavery.

Bush chose not to come down hard on several other countries where the State Department found serious trafficking problems, including important Middle East allies such as Saudi Arabia. He approved partial punishment, in the form of financial sanctions, against Iran and other nations where the United States holds out hope that limited cultural or educational outreach may deter abuses.

The Bush administration also lifted the immediate threat of sanctions from two nations that had made progress in the months since the State Department issued a preliminary assessment of worldwide trafficking abuses in June.

Notably, the administration chose to change its assessment of Kuwait, a key Mideast ally, because Kuwait recently opened a long-promised shelter for abuse victims, often Asian women forced to work as virtual house slaves in the homes of wealthy Kuwaitis.

"It's a nascent effort, but we made a conclusion that Kuwait had taken steps that merited an upgrade," said Mark Lagon, head of a State Department office that compiled the annual list required by Congress.

The State Department gives countries listed as serious violators a chance to address the problems before the White House issues its findings and applies sanctions. In the case of Kuwait and equatorial Guinea, the governments made enough gains to merit an upgrade, Lagon said.

Countries on the list are subject to sanctions for not doing enough to stop the yearly flow of some 800,000 people across international borders for the sex trade and other forms of forced and indentured labor. About 80 percent of those people are female, and up to half of them are children.

The Bush administration determined that Myanmar, also known as Burma, is ineligible for U.S. aid for failing to meet the minimum standards of fighting trafficking or make significant efforts to do so. On the same grounds, Cuba's officials and employees will not be eligible for educational and cultural exchange programs.

Those are the same two countries that suffered sanctions for human trafficking last year.

Bush also declared Syria, Venezuela, North Korea and Iran in line for full sanctions.

But in each of those cases, Bush invoked his waiver authority to continue providing some U.S. aid to those countries, such as for cultural exchanges or for programs that help victims of trafficking. The White House determined that continuing the flow of money is in the national interest of the United States.

Bush waived all sanctions against eight countries: Algeria, Bahrain, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Uzbekistan — all on the same grounds that doing so would serve the United States' strategic interests with these countries.

Bush waives sanctions against Algeria for human trafficking

[Al-khiyal]

U.S. keeps Gulf allies on trafficking blacklist

WASHINGTON, June 4, 2008 (AFP) — The United States on Wednesday kept Gulf Arab allies Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Saudi Arabia on a blacklist of countries trafficking in people, but removed ally Bahrain and trading partner Malaysia.

Fiji, Moldova and Papua New Guinea were added to the blacklist contained in the annual report which analyzed efforts in 170 countries to combat trafficking for forced labor, prostitution, military service and other purposes.

Also remaining on the "Tier 3" blacklist are Sudan, Syria, Algeria, Iran, Myanmar, and Cuba, according to the State Department's "Trafficking in Persons Report" for 2008.

Bahrain and Malaysia as well as Venezuela, Uzbekistan and Equatorial Guinea were all elevated from the blacklist last year to the "Tier 2" watch list this year, according to the congressionally-mandated report.

In introducing the report, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said human trafficking "deprives people of their human rights and dignity" and "bankrolls the growth of organized crime and it undermines the rule of law."

The 14 countries on the blacklist could face sanctions, including the withholding by the United States of non-humanitarian, non-trade related foreign aid.

Countries that receive no such assistance would be subject to withholding of funding for government officials to participate in educational and cultural exchange programs.

"Fiji is a source country for children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and a destination country for a small number of women from the People's Republic of China and India trafficked for the purpose of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation," it said

"Moldova is a major source, and to a lesser extent, a transit country for women and girls trafficked for the purpose of commerical sexual exploitation," it added.

"Papua New Guinea is a country of destination for women and children from Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand and the People's Republic of China, trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation to brothels in the capital and at isolated logging and mining camps," it said.

Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar admit men and women from Asian countries - such as Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines and Indonesia - and African countries like Sudan, Kenya, Nigeria and Ethiopia to work as domestic servants or other low-skilled laborers.

Many subsequently "face conditions of involuntary servitude," the report said adding that to a lesser extent, they are forced into prostitution.

The report also cast a spotlight on several countries in the Middle East.

"For the last four years, the weak performance of several nations in the Persian Gulf has been the matter of great concern and disappointment," said Mark Lagon, Rice's senior advisor on the human trafficking problem.

Saudi Arabia is on "Tier 3," which lists the worse trafficking offenders, for the fourth time.

"As an update, I am happy to report that the United Arab Emirates and Bahrain continued to make significant improvements, notably the United Arab Emirates," Lagon told reporters. "It is a model in the region."

The report said Sudan is "a source country for men, women, and children trafficked internally for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation."

Syria is a "destination and transit country for women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor," the report said.

"A significant number of women and children in the large and expanding Iraqi refugee community in Syria are reportedly forced into commercial sexual exploitation by Iraqi gangs or, in some cases, their families," it said.

"Algeria is a transit country for men and women trafficked from sub-Saharan Africa to Europe for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude," the report said.

"Iran is a source, transit, and destination for women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude. Iranian women are trafficked internally for the purpose of forced prostitution and forced marriages to settle debts," it said.

Cuba meanwhile is mainly a "source country for women and children trafficked within the country for the purpose of commercial exploitation," with some families pushing their children into prostitution to increase income.

Myanmar is a "source country for women, children and men trafficked for the purpose of forced labor and commercial exploitation."