The move is seen as a concrete step the government is taking to combat human-trafficking which is often blamed to be at the centre of exploitation of migrant workers, especially women, in Bahrain. “That is a very welcome move. We are eager to see more such mechanism help in our fight against human-trafficking,” Philippine embassy case officer Ramon Nerida told the Tribune.
Bahrain has prepared a draft to prevent human-trafficking. Ministry of Labour sources said the draft law would be fully implemented soon after its ratification.
Human-trafficking remains a thorn in the rights agenda in Bahrain. Crackdowns particularly on prostitution dens have been intensified leading to the arrest of several operators. Several expatriate women found engaged in prostitution have been deported.
Embassies had also raised concerns about their underage nationals being brought here by illegal recruiters to work as housemaids. Some of them ended up as prostitutes.
A human rights activist said the authorities still needed to clarify the policing powers of the anti-human trafficking wing.
“That is a good development because we can see that Bahrain is serious in addressing the problem. But we must know the extent of the wing’s powers and how effectively it can weed out human-trafficking,” the activist said.
