Middleeast

TOPICAL RESEARCH DIGEST: HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING

Human Trafficking in the Middle East and North Africa Region

By Schuyler Dudley

The Middle East and North Africa region is not the first area to come to mind when discussing

human trafficking in the world. Yet this region certainly has human trafficking problems. To clarify,

the geographic region referred to in this essay, the Middle East, extends as far west as Mauritania, as

far south as Sudan, as far east as Oman, and as far north as Syria. This region is also known as

MENA (Middle East and North Africa), but will be referred to as the Middle East in this essay.

Discrepancies in defining the Middle East, as well as inaccurate information, can make looking for

facts and information on human trafficking in this region frustrating. This difficulty is particularly

pronounced because some Middle Eastern laws and cultures do not recognize certain forms of

human trafficking as being, in fact, trafficking. Because of this, victims of trafficking are often not

protected in the Middle East. Instead, victims of human trafficking are often punished because they

are viewed as illegal immigrants. Forms of human trafficking in the Middle East include domestic

servitude and forced labor, child trafficking for camel jockeys, and sex trafficking.

Human Trafficking as Slavery

Human trafficking is considered a contemporary form of slavery. Slavery has historical roots in

the Middle East, especially in the region bordering African states. One Middle Eastern state that has

seen extensive slave trading, both historically and in the present day, is Sudan where the African

non-Muslim population has been the target of mainly Arab slave traders. This slave trade has surged

again in recent years due to the escalating attempts by the Arab government to dominate their

southern, non-Muslim population. The use of human trafficking as a tool to control an entire

population at odds with the Sudanese government is a key issue when...