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Manama: Bahrain has been elevated from the blacklist of human trafficking countries to the "Tier 2" watch list, but needs to do more to halt abuse of vulnerable immigrants, a US state department report has said.
"During the year, Bahrain made progress in law enforcement against trafficking crimes. In January, Bahrain enacted a comprehensive law prohibiting all forms of trafficking in persons and prescribing standard penalties ranging from three to 15 years' imprisonment. The government also established a specialised unit within the Ministry of Interior to investigate trafficking crimes, particularly sex trafficking, in November," the congressionally-mandated report said.
"Nonetheless, the government did not report any arrests, prosecutions, convictions, or punishments for trafficking offences under the anti-trafficking law or other available statutes.
The law against withholding workers' passports was not enforced effectively, and the practice remained widespread," according to the seventh annual report on Trafficking In Persons released on Wednesday by US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Sanctions
Bahrain was last year placed on the blacklist of countries subject to possible sanctions for not doing enough to stop the yearly flow of thousands of people across international borders for the sex trade and other forms of forced labour.
However, the report this year said that Bahrain also "initiated a campaign to prevent the selling of blank work permits and continued to distribute multilingual brochures on workers' rights and resources to incoming workers."
"Between April 2007 and February 2008, the government-run shelter for victims of trafficking offered legal assistance to 45 foreign workers, the majority of whom made allegations of physical abuse by their employers," the report said.
However, it added that "the majority of victims continued to seek shelter at their embassies or through NGOs providing victim protection services."
The report urged the Bahraini authorities to "institute and apply formal procedures to identify and refer victims of trafficking to protective services and ensure that victims of trafficking are not punished for acts committed as a result of being trafficked, such as illegal migration or prostitution."
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