Mission & Justice

Ruth Sinai; 15/6/08

Over 12 million people, including millions of children, are sold into slavery and prostitution every year, according to a U.S. State Department report published last week. The report, which is published annually, also ranks countries according to the efforts they undertake to fight the phenomenon. The list indicates that while Israel has been making such efforts, they have not been sufficient. The report accuses Israel, among others, of allowing middlemen to charge fees amounting to small fortunes for bringing foreign workers into the country. As a result, these workers find themselves caught in what is known as debt bondage - they become indebted to agents, employers, banks and the gray market. Hundreds of thousands of workers have been brought to Israel via this system over the years, thereby making hundreds of millions of dollars for their foreign and Israeli agents. Israeli manpower companies have pocketed thousands of dollars for finding workplaces for foreign workers, in violation of both Israeli and international law. Although the authorities were aware of these breaches, they did nothing - in part because some of the manpower company owners have strong political ties.

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6/6/08

Papua New Guinea is among countries that risk losing aid from the United States of America for failing to make significant efforts to eliminate human trafficking last year. This is revealed in a US State Department report released this week. The annual “Trafficking in Persons” report – which covers both forced labour as well as the sex trade – placed PNG, Fiji and Moldova along with Algeria, Cuba, Iran, Kuwait, Myanmar, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan and Syria in its bottom ranking. That classification in the report, which covers 170 countries and ranks 153 of them, means the United States could withhold aid that is not humanitarian or trade-related.

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