CAIRO: Egypt has failed to adequately address human trafficking, most notably with regards to the forced servitude of children, prostitution and child sex tourism, according to a recent US report.
The United States’ Department of State released its 2009 report “Trafficking in Persons, an annual summary that reviews current issues of human trafficking and includes an assessment of each country while rating its respective efforts to prevent and combat the problem.
The report marked Egypt as a serious violator with regards to trafficking in international human rights law.
Egypt’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs criticized the report. The National Coordinating Committee to Combat Human Trafficking, which is under the auspices of the ministry, is about to complete a draft law that criminalizes all forms of human trafficking, ministry spokesman Hossam Zaki said.
Trafficking can encompass a range of activities but generally entails the exchange, movement and physical and psychological entrapment of individuals. The illegal indenture of workers, prostitution and employment of child soldiers constitute human rights violations.
The situation is becoming more desperate in Egypt as it has become a source, transit and destination country, according to the report. Street children in Cairo are targets for exploitation – forced into begging or prostitution.
It is estimated that there are one million children in Egypt living on the street.
This spring in Alexandria, two individuals were charged with the kidnap and trafficking of eight street children.
Others are domestic servants for the wealthy. Current child labor laws do not protect children against working as domestic servants.
Also of concern is the prostitution of young female Sudanese refugees in Cairo nightclubs. In recent years, Sudanese gangs have become involved in the exploitation of fellow refugees.
Meanwhile, the transfer of women from Eastern Europe through Egypt to Israel has persisted. Organized, sophisticate crime networks are often responsible. The trial of a South Giza couple this spring brought to light another heinous facet of human trafficking in Egypt. In March prosecutors charged the couple with selling their three daughters into prostitution. The buyers were Gulf tourists who were charged $550 a week to own one of their girls. Transactions between men from Gulf states and the parents of young girls are not new. In the summer months Gulf tourists arrive in Egypt on holiday where they can enter into secret, or urfi (common law) marriages.
These summer marriages are undertaken without the consent of the girls being sold and constitute a form of trafficking. Despite laws against prostitution, Egyptian authorities have been accused of turning a blind-eye to such activities. Egypt is classified as a tier 2 watch-list country. There are four categories, from best to worst: tier 1, tier 2, tier 2 watch-list and tier 3.
Egypt was at tier 2 in 2006, but has since been downgraded. According the to ratings guidelines, tier 2 watch-list states have a significant or rapidly increasing number of victims of severe trafficking and are not able to provide evidence of strengthened efforts to combat such crimes, but are making some progress to meet minimum standards. The government has done little to prevent trafficking, according to the report. Laws are not consistently enforced and don t include all forms of trafficking. In some instances, the victims are punished for the crimes they commit which are directly linked to their trafficking.
There is currently no formal process of identifying, registering and assisting victims of trafficking, says the report. Egypt s National Council for Childhood and Motherhood does have a 24-hour hotline and drop-in centers. However, the hotline is for child abuse, not for trafficking victims in specific, and the drop-in centers are only open during the day.
The report recommends that Egypt reform its laws, provide more assistance to victims and undertake a public awareness campaign to alert citizens of the illegality and dangers of trafficking. While Egypt’s First Lady Suzanne Mubarak has become a vocal spokesperson against trafficking in recent years, full-fledged national initiative has not been initiated. Sherif Azer of the Egyptian Organization for Human Rights explained that the most pressing issues of human trafficking involved the transfer of persons from Somalia and Nubia to Israel. With regards to illegal migration, Azer said the government is now paying more attention to trafficking problems as a result of several dramatic, high-profile disasters involving the capsize of boats carrying Egyptians across the Mediterranean.
The coastal borders are being breached by illegal migrants hoping to find work in Europe, Azer explained. Public outrage prompted the government to take notice and cooperate with EU to curb the flow of migrants But Azer was skeptical of the government s motivations, saying they sought to do something positive to give a good impression of Egypt to the international community.
