Thefirstod hoc group meetingof BoliProcess Bali,27-29 Jvly2009 MALDIVES PAPER

THE HUMANTRAFFICKING G o o d a f t e r n o o nC h a i r m a n ,l a d i e sa n d g e n t l e m a n .I a m H a m i d F a t h u h u l l a , D e p u t yC o n t r o l l e ro f t h e D e p a r t m e n to f I m m i g r a t i o na n d E m i g r a t i o no f t h e M a l d i v e sF. i r s to f a l l , I w o u l d l i k e t o c o n v e ya v e r y s p e c i a tl h a n k so n b e h a l fo f the Governmentof Maldives,for invitingus to participatein this first Ad Hoc G r o u pm e e t i n go f t h e B a l i P r o c e s s . T o d a y ,I w o u l d l i k e t o h i g h l i g h ts o m e a s p e c t so f t h e U S S t a t e D e p a r t m e n t report on Traffickingin Persons,releasedrecently.Accordingto the Report, the Maldivesis primarily a destinationcountry for migrant workers from Bangladesh a n d I n d i a , a n d s o m e a r e t r a f f i c k e di n t o f o r c e d l a b o r a n d , t o a lesserextent, a destinationcountryfor women traffickedfor the purposeof c o m m e r c i asl e x u a le x p l o i t a t i o n . A t p r e s e n t ,t h e r e a r e 8 0 , 0 0 0 f o r e i g nw o r k i n gi n t h e M a l d i v e s m , a i n l yi n t h e constructionand servicesectors.Sometimes,these workers face fraudulent recruitment practices, detention, confiscation of identity and travel d o c u m e n t sd, e b t b o n d a g e ,o r g e n e r a ls l a v e - l i k ec o n d i t i o n si m p o s e db y s o m e e m p l o y e r sT, h e r e w e r e a b o u t 2 0 t h o u s a n dw o r k e r sw i t h o u t l e g a ls t a t u s ,y e t t o c o n d i t i o n so f f o r c e dl a b o r . b o t h l e g a la n d i l l e g a lw o r k e r sw e r e v u l n e r a b l e D u e t o t h e s e p r o b l e m s ,t h e G o v e r n m e n to f M a l d i v e sh a v e t a k e n s t e p s t o addressthe problem,especiallyafter the participationof in the Bali process m e e t i n gi n F e b r u a r yt h i s y e a r 2 0 0 9 . I n m o s t c a s e s ,w h a t w e h a v e f o u n d i s t h a t , p r o b l e m sr e s u l t f r o m t h e l a c k o f a w a r e n e s si n t h e p u b l i c o r i n t h e s e n d i n gc o u n t r i e sa n d b e c a u s et h i s b u s i n e s si n v o l v e sa c o n s i d e r a b lper o f i tf o r a g e n t s a n d e m p l o y e r s .T h e r e f o r et h e D e p a r t m e n to f I m m i g r a t i o n a n d

E m i g r a t i o no f t h e M a l d i v e sh a s t a k e n a s t a n d a g a i n s tt r a f f i c k i n gt o e n d t h i s modernpracticeof slavery. A l t h o u g ht h e M a l d i v e sd o e s n o t h a v e a n a n t i - h u m a nt r a f f i c k i n gl a w , t h e Governmenthas pushed up its law enforcementefforts against trafficking. The Constitutionof the Maldivesprohibitsforcedlabor and slaveryalso some laws coveringsexualoffensesand child protectioncould be usedto prosecute sex trafficking and child trafficking offenses.The sexual offenses statute Section 773 of the Rules and Procedureadopted in February 2008 set p e n a l t i e so f u p t o 1 5 y e a r si m p r i s o n m e n t . Thereforewe should find ways to get help from other organizationsto fight t h i s i s s u eo f m o d e r n - d a ys l a v e r ya n d w e h o p e t o g e t s u p p o r ta n d h e l p f r o m participatingcountriesof the Bali Processto end the exploitationof victimsof h u m a nt r a f f i c k i n gi n t h e M a l d i v e s . T R A F F I C K I N GI N M A L D I V E S 1: The forced transportation of people into Maldives, 35o/oof the populationof Maldivesis composedof migrant workers, mostly f r o m B a n g l a d e s hS, r i L a n k aa n d I n d i a . F r o mw h a t w e h a v ef o u n do u t t h r o u g h interviewingsome of these foreign workers, some of them come without knowingwhere they will be working and some were in the beliefthat there were going to Qatar or Dubai,Thereforethere is a need to createawareness amongthe job seekersof these countries. T h e M a l d i v e sh a s a n e s t i m a t e d2 0 , 0 0 0 i l l e g a lf o r e i g n e r sw h o d o o d d j o b s a c r o s st h e c o u n t r y .A s o u r i s l a n d sa r e s c a t t e r e di n t h e I n d i a n o c e a n ,i t i s difficultto locatewhere and how they are living.There were some reported cases of foreign workers suffering from conditionsof withheld pdy, poor l i v i n gc o n d i t i o n sa n d f r a u d u l e n rt e c r u i t m e n t .

2z Trafficking victims and their involvement in sex trade. Manytraffickedpersonsinto Maldivesare victimsof internationaltrafficking. A s t h e r e i s a m a r k e t i n t h e M a l d i v e ss, o m e f o r e i g nn a t i o n a lb r o u g h tw o m e n to the Maldivesfor prostitution,most of these victims are used by migrant w o r k e r si n t h e M a l d i v e sa n d t h e c a r e t a k e o r f t h e s el a d i e st a k e a l l t h e p r o f i t . T h e D e p a r t m e n to f I m m i g r a t i o na n d E m i g r a t i o nh a s r e c o r d e ds o f a r s i n c e 2 0 0 9 , 7 m a l e s a n d 1 7 w o m e n i n v o l v e di n s e x t r a d e o r p r o s t i t u t i o ni n t h e M a l d i v e sI.t i s u n c l e a ra s w h o i s t h e m a s t e r m i n db e h i n dt h i s . W e d o n o t h a v e a mechanismor a system to investigatethese.All of them who are involved i n t h i s i l l i c i t b e h a v i o ra r e f o r e i g n n a t i o n a l sa n d t h e c u r r e n t p r a c t i c ei s t o s i m p l yd e p o r tt h e m t o t h e i r c o u n t r y . In 2008 MaldivesPoliceServicesidentifiedtwo women as sex trafficking victimsand they were providedtemporaryshelterbeforerepatriatedwith the h e l p o f t h e i r d i p l o m a t i cm i s s i o n i n M a l d i v e sa n d t h e r e w a s n o c r i m i n a l prosecutionrelatedto their exploitation. 3. Contract marriage R e c e n t h e t r e n d h a s i n c r e a s e do, f B a n g l a d e s hnia t i o n a l sa n d o t h e r M u s l i m s m i g r a n tw o r k e r sf r o m o t h e r c o u n t r i e so, f f i n d i n ga M a l d i v i a nb r i d e a n d t h e n g e t t i n g m a r r i e d . T h e r e a r e n o r e s t r i c t i o n so n t h i s , a s t h e y w i l l o b t a i n a m a r r i e d v i s a a n d a l s o t h e y c a n e s t a b l i s ha b u s i n e s se a s i l y o n c e t h e y a r e m a r r i e d t o a M a l d i v i a n .T h e s a d r e a l i t y i s t h a t m o s t o f t h e B a n g l a d e s h i married visa holderswill not open a businessthat caters to Maldivians,but i n s t e a do f t h a t t h e y m o r e u s u a l l yo p e n a n e m p l o y m e n ta g e n c y a n d f i n d q u o t a st o b r i n gi n t h e i r n a t i o n a l st o t h e M a l d i v e s( d u m p i n g ) . T h e l o c a lc u s t o m so f t h e M a l d i v e si s , w h o e v e ri s a M u s l i m ,t h e y a r e e l i g i b l e to be a wife of Muslims.As every country has poverty, Maldivesalso faces t h i s i s s u e s .W h i l e p o v e r t y a n d i n e q u a l i t ya r e i m p o r t a n tf a c t o r s i n m a k i n g

c e r t a i np o p u l a t i o n sm o r e v u l n e r a b l ei,t i s s a d t h a t t h e s e a g e n c i e sb r i n gt h e i r own nationalsunder false documentsand promisesof a better pay and a better environment. S o , t h e s em a r r i a g e sa r e r e a l l yn o t a m a r r i a g e I. n s t e a d ,i t i s a m a r r i a g eb o n d that involvesa profit to both parties- husbandand wife. Eg: a

a monthly pay or salaryfor the wife and medicalsupportfor the family.

a

p s h u s b a n da n d w i f e . a b s e n c eo f a r e l a t i o n s h i a

Mostof these peopleare marriedto localwomen who are in their middleage a n d w i t h l e s so p p o r t u n i t i e s , 4: Can we do anything to minimize this huge issue We are committed to make an enormous difference in improving the conditions of expatriate workers in the Maldives and held victims of traffickingand to work towards combating human trafficking and people smuggling. To combat these new challenges,it is very important to train and educate our immigrationofficersand other relatedpersonneland we look forward to h e l pf r o m i n t e r n a t i o n aol r g a n i z a t i o nssu c h a s I . O . M .t o t r a i n o u r i m m i g r a t i o n and other law-enforcementofficers on different training programs on a c o n t i n u i n gb a s i s .A n d p a r t i c i p a t i o inn m e e t i n g ss u c h a s t h e s e w o u l d b e m o s t useful.I also believethat to move forward,it is importantto establisha focal p o i n ta s i n i t i a ls t a g e . 5. Building a new Border Control System As our current border control system has a few limitations,it is difficultto identify and to monitor both, people traffickingand illegal movementsof migrant workers. Also this system is not fit for the current situation. Therefore,the government is looking for a new system which is called

" M a l d i v e sI m m i g r a t i o ns y s t e m . " T h e c o n c e p ti s t o r e c o g n i z ea n d i d e n t i f y migrant workers from any part of the country with the help of electronic gadget which is carried by most of the law enforcementofficers.On the other hand each visa card issuedto a foreignworker'sstatus can be read by t h i s g a d g e t .T h e o t h e r u s e o f t h i s d e v i c ei s t o p r o v i d ea s s i s t a n c teo o t h e r l a w e n f o r c i n gb o d i e s ; a n d t h e i n f o r m a t i o ns t o r e d c a n b e e x c h a n g e dt o o t h e r d i p l o m a t i cm i s s i o n sf o r a n y a s s e s s m e n t . Detention centre for illegal migrant workers E a r l i e rt h i s y e a r , t h e D e p a r t m e n ot f I m m i g r a t i o np r o v i d e dt h e o p p r t u n i t yf o r i l l e g a l w o r k e r s i n t h e M a l d i v e st o r e t u r n h o m e w i t h t h e D e p a r t m e n t ' s assistanceor get registered.When workers in distress sought assistance f r o m t h e D e p a r t m e not f I m m i g r a t i o nt o g o b a c kt o t h e i r c o u n t r y ,g o v e r n m e n t l a c k e da d e q u a t er e s o u r c e st o s u p p o r t h e m . A d e t e n t i o nc e n t r e f o r i l l e g a lw o r k e r sw a s e s t a b l i s h e di n A u g u s t 2 0 0 8 , b u t many rooms need to be upgraded.Lack of capacity,lack of staff, need for t r a i n i n g t o h a n d l e d i f f i c u l t s i t u a t i o n sa n d t h e n e e d t o p r o v i d e a b e t t e r a c c o m m o d a t i n ga n d a b e t t e r e n v i r o n m e n ta r e i s u e s t h a t n e e d t o b e addressed.Also this centre can be used for arrest and removal of persons who overstaystheir entry permit. W e h o p e t h a t t h i s m e e t i n g w i l l h e l p t o r a i s e a w a r e n e s sa n d a c t i o n s c o l l e c t i v e layn d i n d i v i d u a l l w y i l l h e l pt h e v i c t i m se a c ha n d e v e r yd a y . P l e a s ej o i n M a l d i v e sa n d b e w e l c o m e di n t o t h e g r o w i n gm o v e m e n t o c o m b a t this modernform of slaverytoday! T h a n ky o u . Submitted bv: H a m i dF a t h u h u l l a D e p u t y C o n t r o l l e ro f I m m i g r a t i o n a n d E m i g r a t i o n R e p u b l i co f M a l d i v e s E m a i :l h . f a t h u h u l l a @ i m m i g r a t i o n . gm ov .