The UAE formally began its fight against human trafficking in the year 2006 with the enactment of a strong anti-trafficking law, Federal Law 51286. In 2007, the UAE established the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking287. To make anti- trafficking efforts compatible with international standards and to plug any kind of loopholes in the existing laws, the UAE ratified the UN’s Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children288. To increase international cooperation in anti-trafficking efforts, the UAE ratified the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC) in May 2007289. To streamline the flow of labour workforce and to minimise the chances of any foul play, recently the UAE has entered into agreements with countries like India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, China, Thailand, and the Philippines290.
The UAE has ratified the ILO Convention No. 100 regarding equal pay for work of equal value for both men and women. This means that no employer in the UAE can discriminate between men and women where equal work is done by them. The significance of this convention from the perspective of human trafficking is that in the UAE employers of domestic workers would not be allowed to pay different wages to men and women for their
285 Ibid.
286"Initiatives to Combat Human Trafficking.Retrieved January 29, 2012, from http://www.uae-
embassy.org/uae/human-rights/human-trafficking.
287 Ibid.
288 “Combating Human Trafficking in the UAE: Annual Report 2009-10”, National Committee to Combat Human
Trafficking, Abu Dhabi, UAE, http://www.nccht.gov.ae/en/Publications/PDF/81020111102143972500.pdf, (accessed January 28, 2012).
289Dr. Anwar Mohammad Gargash, (2008), Speech at United Nations General Assembly, New York,
http://www.un.org/ga/president/62/ThematicDebates/humantrafficking/uae.pdf(accessed January 30, 2012).
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labour. Discrimination against foreign female domestic workers over payment often occurs in the UAE291. Males are paid more as compared to females, which makes them more prone to exploitation at the hands of their employers. Trafficking of women in the UAE is quite prevalent under the pretext of other categories of migration, particularly for the domestic worker292.
3.7 Conclusion
Human trafficking basically involves exploitation and constitutes a serious crime against humanity. Gradually this crime has caught the attention of the international community. It is now more than 100 years since the first international agreement against human trafficking was signed in 1904. This agreement, commonly known as the ‘White Slave Traffic Agreement’, was to prevent the trafficking of white women for prostitution, whereas the trafficking of women of other races was widely prevalent at that time. This shows the limited scope with which the international community began its fight against trafficking in persons. Another agreement to suppress white slave traffic was signed in 1910, followed by the International Convention for the Suppression of the Women and Children in 1921. The Slavery Convention was adopted in 1926 by the League of Nations. The International Labour Organization (ILO) devised the Forced Labour Convention in 1930, to suppress any kind of forced labour. The League of Nations drafted a convention in 1937 to increase international cooperation and to prevent prostitution.
The formation of the United Nations in 1948 gave a major boost to international efforts in fighting trafficking. In 1948 the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. In 1949 the UN again passed a convention for suppressing human trafficking. Under this convention provision for severe punishment for perpetrators of trafficking was made. To end discrimination against women, the UN adopted a convention in 1979 and to protect the rights of children, the Convention on the Rights of the Child was adopted in 1989.
291Sabban, R. “United Arab Emirates: Migrant Women in the United Arab Emirates”, GENPROM Working Paper
No 10, Gender Promotion Program, International Labour Office, Geneva.
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The third phase of international efforts against human trafficking began with the end of the Cold War. Now the focus shifted towards implementation of policies and procedures. In 2000, the United Nations adopted a comprehensive protocol, ‘the Palermo Protocol’, to fight human trafficking. Along with international conventions, some regional associations also adopted conventions to combat human trafficking. The most prominent among them are the American Conventions on Human Rights; the Council of Europe Convention on Action against Trafficking in Human Beings, the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights, the Arab Charter on Human Rights, and the SAARC Convention on Preventing and Combating Trafficking in Women and Children for Prostitution.
The ILO played a commendable role in improving the working conditions of labourers. Through its many conventions it asked the Member States to take initiatives in curbing the exploitation of migrant workers, children and women. The ILO took steps to prevent discrimination of workers on the bases of religion, race or sex. Through its 1973 Convention it defined the minimum working age of a child as 15 years or more. In the 1999 Convention of Worst Form of Child Labour, it called for the complete ban on the employment of children in hazardous jobs.
Considering all of these conventions, resolutions and agreements, it seems that the world is going to be a safer place to live in as far as human trafficking is concerned; however, a lot more still needs to be done at ground zero. There are loopholes in the legislation of many countries which are exploited by traffickers to escape prosecution. Corruption has increased to very alarming proportions now and it is acting as a great hindrance in effectively curbing human trafficking. Steps must also be taken to eliminate the causes of human trafficking. Factors like poverty, ignorance, and illiteracy are to be taken care of, if the international community is sufficiently serious in its intention to eliminate human trafficking from the face of the earth.
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Chapter Four: Background of the UAE
4.1 Introduction
The purpose of this chapter is to trace the emergence of the UAE as a well-recognised nation, and discuss the rapid social and economic development that is still taking place to achieve this distinction. Characteristics of the country, its demographic and education structures relevant to this thesis are then discussed, followed by an examination of the roles played by Islam and the interlinked Arab culture. This chapter also deals with the human trafficking issues and laws of the UAE. It identifies the key steps taken by the government of the UAE in combating trafficking. The prevalence of human trafficking in the Islamic world is covered in the last sub-section and the role played by Islamic laws in curbing human trafficking is also evaluated.
Politically the country has remained stable since its formation in 1971. The early 1970s saw the beginning of economic development in the UAE, which can be primarily attributed to the formation of the Federation on 2 December, 1971 and a massive increase in oil production combined with a steep rise in the prices of oil in1973293. The last few years have seen the rise of the UAE as a trailblazer for the GCC countries, acting as a centre of innovation in the Middle East294. The prevalence of an open business environment, fast- paced development, media-savvy and assertive global ambitions,are a few reasons which are responsible for the enormous development witnessed in the UAE295. The fast-paced growth has its flip side, as it has given rise to many illegal activities in the country. The opportunities created due to expansion of work have attracted many people to the UAE. Some of the people who came to work have suffered exploitation. This exploitation is the result of illegal migrant smuggling and human trafficking activities which have increased in recent years.
293Shihab, M. (2001), “Economic Development in the UAE”, United Arab Emirates a New Perspective,
http://www.uaeinteract.com/uaeint_misc/pdf/perspectives/12.pdf (accessed December 12, 2011).
294Rehman, A. A. (2010), “Dubai & Co. Global Strategies for Doing Business in the Gulf States”, Tata McGraw
Hill, New Delhi.
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The economic development witnessed in the UAE has surpassed the stages of development experienced by most of the developed countries. The transition from pre-industrial to industrial to post-industrial status occurred in most of the Western countries over a period of two centuries296, but the UAE has undergone this transition in a relatively short duration of only fifty years. The rapid development of the UAE, which was fuelled by massive oil revenues, enabled it to achieve income levels that were comparable to those of industrialised nations297. The UAE has achieved this economic development without going through the lengthy and difficult phases of saving and capital accumulation298. The economic development has created opportunities for the traffickers to exploit the peoples of poor countries by deceiving them with false promises of a good life in the UAE.
For centuries the country has served as a meeting point for businesses due to its strategic location. The far-off consumer markets situated in Africa, West Asia, the CIS countries, and Eastern Europe and even those in the neighbouring regions of the Red Sea and Gulf, which serve nearly 1.5 billion consumers, are easily connected to the UAE299.Owing to its location as an interconnection point the country also forms an important link between the international trafficking routes. It acts as the stopover for the traffickers and the government recognises the need to collaborate with source and other transit countries to effectively combat human trafficking in the UAE300.
By the end of this chapter one will have a fairly good idea about the UAE. In the subsequent sub-sections we examine in detail the various historical, geographical, social and political aspects of the UAE. Section 4.2 deals with details related to the formation of the UAE; 4.3 covers the location and area of the UAE;thehistory of the UAE is covered under section 4.4; the people, language and religion are discussed in section 4.5; climatic conditions form part of section 4.6; section 4.7 deals with the details about the population of the UAE; and finally section 4.8 covers the legal system of the country.
296Pacione, M. (2005), “City Profile Dubai”, Cities, Vol. 22, No. 3, pp. 255-265. 297Shihab (2011), Op cit.
298 Ibid.
299EeBizGuides (2010). “Doing Business in UAE: Step by step Business Formation Guide.” Retrieved January 8,
2012, fromhttp://www.eebizguides.com/.
300 “Combat Human Trafficking, United Arab Annual Report 2007”, National Committee to Combat Human
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