Malaysia Just Became One Of The World's Worst Countries In Human Trafficking
Meanwhile, 2022 World Cup host Qatar has been put on watch list.
By Sadho Ram — 21 Jun 2014, 03:22 PM — Updated over 10 years ago
The US downgraded Malaysia to the lowest ranking in its Annual Human Trafficking Report, along with Thailand, Venezuela and the Gambia, putting them on the same category as Zimbabwe, North Korea and Saudi Arabia
After several years of what it says are broken promises, the U.S. government has singled out Thailand, Malaysia, Venezuela and The Gambia for taking insufficient action against human trafficking. In its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, released Friday, the U.S. State Department downgraded the four countries to Tier 3, the lowest possible ranking it gives for national responses to fighting modern day slavery.
cnn.com
The report states that Malaysia has categorically failed to comply with the most basic international requirements to prevent trafficking and protect victims within its borders
According to the report – which ranks 188 nations according to their willingness and efforts to combat trafficking, and is considered the benchmark index for global anti-trafficking commitments – trafficking victims are thought to comprise the vast majority of Malaysia's estimated two million illegal migrant labourers.
thestar.com.myThe report says there is evidence of forced labor and sex trafficking in Malaysia and Thailand. It highlights Malaysia’s problem with migrants from other Asian nations who seek work on farms, factories and construction sites only to be trapped and have their passports taken and wages withheld.
aljazeera.com
"A significant number of young foreign women are recruited ostensibly for legal work in Malaysian restaurants, hotels, and beauty salons, but are subsequently coerced into the commercial sex trade"
Many of the victims are migrants who have willingly come to Malaysia from neighbouring countries like Indonesia, Burma, Cambodia and Bangladesh, attracted by Malaysia's large supply of jobs and high regional wages, it said.
voanews.com
Additionally, “many migrant workers on agricultural plantations, at construction sites, in textile factories, and in homes as domestic workers throughout Malaysia are exploited and subjected to practices indicative of forced labor, such as restrictions on movement, deceit and fraud in wages, passport confiscation, and imposition of significant debts by recruitment agents or employers.”
slate.comMalaysia's downgrade to tier 3 is an automatic relegation after four years on the tier 2 watchlist and it's the third time in seven years that the country has sunk to the lowest ranking
Malaysia stands accused of putting the needs of business before the needs of trafficked victims in the US's 2014 Trafficking in Persons report
Image via guim.co.ukThe downgrade is likely to be seen as a considerable blow to Malaysia's image and is sure to strain diplomatic relations. Malaysia is a strategic US partner in President Barack Obama's "pivot" to the east, with the US serving as Malaysia's largest foreign investor and fourth-largest trading partner.
nytimes.com
The downgrade could spell economic sanctions and restrictions on US foreign assistance and access to institutions like the World Bank and International Monetary Fund. However, such punishments can be waived under national security considerations.
thestar.com.myWhile Malaysia has increased its preventative efforts against trafficking via public service announcements, there were fewer identifications of trafficking victims, fewer prosecutions and fewer convictions this year than in 2012, the report stated, with poor victim treatment posing a "significant impediment" to successful prosecutions.
Authorities not only failed to investigate cases brought to them by NGOs, they also failed to recognised victims or indications of trafficking, and instead treated cases as immigration violations. Some immigration officials were also accused of being involved in the smuggling of trafficking victims, yet the government did not investigate any such potential individuals or cases.
theguardian.com
"Unfortunately Malaysia's victim care regime is fundamentally flawed," said Luis CdeBaca, the ranking state department official for combating trafficking
He pointed to Malaysia's use of detention centres for people, mainly young women, identified as having been trafficked into the country for illegal purposes.
nytimes.com
"Malaysia has a strong focus on getting rid of illegal aliens rather than a progressive compassionate response to its many victims of trafficking. There has been lots of promised future action but no signs of things happening on the ground to deal with their significant problems," he said.
theguardian.com
Malaysia's deputy home minister, Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar, said earlier this year that the country was in a "very difficult position" as it knew it needed to increase trafficking victims' rights, yet it didn't want to encourage illegal migration to its borders. "If we allow these people to start working, everybody will start coming here," Wan Junaidi told reporters after a conference on human trafficking.
nytimes.com
The report is also worth considering in light of the World Cup 2014
It specifically highlights the role that trafficked labor can play in the preparations for mega-events like the World Cup and the Olympics as well as the heightened risk of sex trafficking during the events themselves.
slate.comQatar, the 2022 World Cup host whose manipulative practices toward foreign laborers have recently become a topic of international interest, was downgraded this year to the “tier 2 watch list,” the second-lowest designation. Russia, the 2018 host, was downgraded to Tier 3 last year.
theguardian.com