Saudi Arabia ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol in July 2007.

Background in 2021

With respect to human trafficking, Saudi Arabia was designated, together with Italy, Japan, Turkey, United Arab Emirates, Uruguay, Germany, Greece, Croatia, Israel, Iceland, Norway, and Angola, as a Tier 2 country by the United States Department of State in its 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report required by the Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000 on which this article was originally based. Tier 2 countries are "countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards". The 2021 report showed some effort by the Kingdom to address the problems, but continued to classify the Kingdom as a Tier 2 country.

The U.S. State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons placed the country in "Tier 2 Watchlist" in 2017 and upgraded it to "Tier 2" in 2021.</blockquote>

The country remained at Tier 2 in 2023.

Saudi Arabia is historically a known destination for men and women from South East Asia and East Africa trafficked for the purpose of labor exploitation, and for children from Yemen, Afghanistan, and Africa for forced begging. Hundreds of thousands of low-skilled workers from Pakistan, India, Indonesia, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Eritrea and Kenya migrate voluntarily to Saudi Arabia; some fall into conditions of involuntary servitude, suffering from physical and sexual abuse, non-payment or delayed payment of wages, the withholding of travel documents, restrictions on their freedom of movement and non-consensual contract alterations. Amnesty International reported that migrant workers "who travelled to Saudi Arabia to work on the Riyadh Metro project were forced to pay exorbitant recruitment fees, worked in dangerous heat and earned pitiful wages during a decade of serious abuse".

Prosecution of abusive Saudi Arabian employers

According to the 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report, the government maintained law enforcement efforts. The 2009 anti-trafficking law criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed punishments of up to 15 years’ imprisonment, a fine or both; penalties increased under aggravating circumstances, including trafficking committed by an organized criminal group or against a woman, child, or person with disabilities. These penalties were sufficiently stringent; however, by allowing for a fine in lieu of imprisonment, the penalties for sex trafficking were not commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes such as kidnapping, false imprisonment, or sexual abuse. By the end of 2022, 30 abusive employers had been barred from hiring workers. The government provides training for police officers to recognize and handle cases of foreign worker abuse.

Protection

The Saudi Ministry of Human Resources and Social Development operated shelters across the country for vulnerable populations and abuse victims, and it reported the government allocated approximately $6.67 million to specifically support trafficking victims during the year. The ministry operated shelters for child victims of forced begging in Mecca, Jeddah, Dammam, Medina, Qassim, and Abha, in addition to welfare centers for vulnerable female domestic workers and trafficking victims in 13 locations throughout the Kingdom. Each shelter provided accommodation, social services, health care, psychological counseling, education, and legal assistance. The Saudi government offered these services to all 173 victims it referred to care during 2022. Diplomats from labor-source countries had regular access to their nationals residing in government-run shelters and reported conditions and quality of services in the shelters varied slightly across the Kingdom but were overall satisfactory and safe. Some embassies and consulates—including those of Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Nigeria, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, and Uganda - also operated shelters for their respective nationals. Foreign diplomats noted that Saudi officials frequently left potential trafficking victims at their respective embassies rather than referring them to Saudi shelters and noted that Saudi government shelters accepted only female domestic workers. The government did not have shelters to accommodate male victims or females from other employment sectors.

See also

  • Human rights in Saudi Arabia
  • Slavery in Saudi Arabia

References

  • Adapted from the United States Department of State publication, "Trafficking in Persons Report 2005"
  • Trafficking in Persons Report 2006
  • Trafficking in Persons Report 2007
  • Trafficking in Persons Report 2008
  • "Man was convicted of sexual assaults on housekeeper" Rocky Mountain News September 1, 2006
  • U.S. Code, Title 18, Chapter 77 Peonage and Slavery
  • "Slave-holding and Terror Links in Colorado"
  • Sri Lankan Maids in Saudi Arabia
  • 2010 State Department report