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U.S. Department of State 2001 Trafficking in Persons Report - Bahrain

Bahrain (Tier 3)

Bahrain is a destination country for trafficked persons. There are reports that some foreign workers are recruited for employment on the basis of fraudulent contracts and then forced into domestic servitude or sexual exploitation. Workers from the Philippines, Ethiopia, India, Russia, and Belarus have reported being forced into domestic servitude and sexual exploitation.

The Government of Bahrain does not meet the minimum standards and the Government has not yet made significant efforts to combat trafficking. The Government does not recognize that trafficking is a problem because expatriate workers travel to Bahrain voluntarily. The law does not specifically prohibit trafficking in persons; however, there are other statutes that can be used to prosecute traffickers forcing women into sexual exploitation. Labor laws do not protect foreign workers. The Government is not devoting resources to combat trafficking in persons. Victims of trafficking may seek assistance from their embassies. The Government does not provide assistance to victims. The Government has signed and ratified the following international instruments: ILO Convention 182, the Sale of Children Protocol and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children Supplementing the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.

Topics: Trafficking in persons,