A US report accuses Yemen of being a major venue for human trafficking. Nasser Arrabyee, in Sanaa, finds the reality could be even worse Yemeni Foreign Minister Abu Bakr Al-Querbi criticised and dismissed a United States report on human trafficking which claims that Yemen is one of the locations where the trafficking of women for the purpose of sexual exploitation takes place. "Yemen is an Islamic country and it is committed to international laws and conventions and it will never accept such things," Al-Querbi told reporters on Monday in the first official comment on the US Department of State June 2005 Trafficking in Persons Report issued earlier this week. The Yemeni minister demanded that the US Department of State correct its report by using updated Yemeni government information on the issue. "The Yemeni government paid attention to this phenomenon before the US did, and the information included in the US report on child trafficking was based on official reports of the Ministry of Human Rights and Ministry of Interior," the minister said. He also claimed that the Yemeni government has taken steps to combat human trafficking, arguing that it occurred as a result of "certain economic and social factors". However, some Yemeni politicians blame the government for the spread of trafficking. "The government has to comply with international laws to tackle the problem of child trafficking," a Yemeni politician said. "The US report is not new to us," said Ali Seif Hassan, chairperson of the Political Development Forum in Sanaa. "Our parliament has already issued many reports stronger than this," he said. "But the government has turned a deaf ear to this issue. So what we have to do now is to persuade our government to comply with international standards to tackle this problem." Earlier this week, the US Department of State report on human trafficking said Yemen is a country of origin for internationally trafficked children and a destination country for foreign women trafficked into it for the purpose of sexual exploitation. According to the report, Yemeni children, primarily boys, are trafficked to Saudi Arabia for exploitation as street vendors and unskilled labourers. Iraqi women have been trafficked into Yemen for the purpose of sexual exploitation, while Yemeni women and under-age girls are being trafficked internally from rural areas to cities for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The report criticised the Yemeni government for not complying with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. "Trafficking in persons is a new issue in Yemen, and the government has few resources to devote to combating trafficking," the report stated. The report, however, pointed out some progress made by the government in collaboration with UNICEF. According to UNICEF reports, 39,260 children (boys and girls) were trafficked over the last two years from Yemen to Saudi Arabia. The number is increasing 12 per cent every month. Despite this increase, the Yemeni government now utilises a new entry visa requirement for Iraqis to prevent the trafficking of Iraqi women into Yemen. It has increased the monitoring of its border with Saudi Arabia along with an agreement to establish a bilateral committee to combat child trafficking, sponsors anti-trafficking public awareness campaigns and conducts anti-trafficking training for security officials. To ensure progress, the report called for appointing a national coordinator to organise the efforts of combating human trafficking. "Yemen should build on these positive achievements by taking similar steps against trafficking for the purpose of sexual exploitation and appointing a national coordinator to oversee its overall anti-trafficking efforts, including the development of a national plan of action against trafficking," the report stressed. In spite of the fact that Yemen currently has no anti- trafficking laws, its criminal codes have allowed it to prosecute and punish some traffickers. Over the past year, Yemen has investigated 12 trafficking cases, prosecuted two alleged traffickers and produced one trafficking-related conviction. The report stated that although the government worked with UNICEF to establish reception centres for trafficked children, some children were arrested and possibly abused while in government custody. "If true, authorities should take steps to investigate the incidents, prosecute offenders and prevent future abuses. The government should build on existing programmes that attempt to prevent the re-trafficking of repatriated or rescued child victims," the report said. Member of Parliament Shawakee Al-Qadi complained that the government always fails in addressing this issue because of corruption and a lack of commitment. "In addition to corruption and a lack of seriousness on the part of the government, there is also poverty, unemployment, illiteracy and lack of awareness of the dangers of this problem," the opposition MP told Al-Ahram Weekly. Further, he confirmed that international reports are aware of only half the truth by saying "what is hidden is worse". Al- Qadi called on international organisations to positively intervene to end such "dangerous phenomenon".
