Israeli sex tourists aggravate UAE's human trafficking ordeal

(Karachi) Israeli sex tourists, who arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in droves to sleep with prostitutes, have aggravated the Gulf region's human trafficking ordeal, a report published in Inside Arabia transpired. Tens of thousands of women are trafficked into the UAE’s burgeoning sex trade to fulfill the needs of tourists seeking to sleep with them.

With the influx of Israeli tourists in Dubai, the UAE has now become a global epicenter for human trafficking.

Forced into slavery

As per the report, the main victims of human trafficking hail from India, Pakistan, China, and Bangladesh. Of 90 percent country’s overall population, 10 million are foreign nationals, that is the native population and citizens are only one million.

The passports of most migrant workers who arrive at either Abu Dhabi or Dubai’s international airport are confiscated in violation of international law. It is a deliberate move by their employer to force them into slavery by denying freedom of movement in the country.

In addition, most migrants are compelled to sign employment contracts in a language they’re unable to read and thus agreeing to conditions and wages far worse and far lower than they had been promised by recruiters in their home countries.

Cruel and lethal system

Commenting on the matter, Israeli journalist Amalia Rosenblum said: “Visiting Dubai is like sitting on the sidelines to a gang rape.”

She added, “Beneath the glittering facade of a paradise in the desert lurks a cruel and lethal system of recruitment, transportation, transfer, kidnaping and defrauding of human beings – mostly women – by means of the threat of force, or the actual use of force, as well as other types of coercion.”

Reportedly, as many as 45,000 sex workers are in Dubai with most of them lured to the country on the promise of alternative employment.

Enforce labor laws

In a recent report by Americans for Democracy & Human Rights in Bahrain (ADHRB) stated, "Their traffickers will employ many tactics to force these women to work, often locking the victims in small rooms without food or water, verbally harassing, and physically beating the women until they break down and agree to meet with clients.”

The ADHRB urged the UAE and other GCC countries to abolish the kafala system of sponsorship-based employment and establish a justiciable system for migrant workers; introduce and enforce labor laws specifically for migrant workers, inclusive of domestic workers, that comply with international standards of fair labor practice and safe working conditions; and effectively eliminate all child labor, forced labor, forced prostitution, and human trafficking practices in the region.

In wake of the situation, human rights groups also called the UAE government and other global human trafficking hotspots to enforce national and international laws directed towards protecting the rights of migrant workers and to address destructive and exploitative conditions.