The ministry of interior held a press conference Tuesday, 02.03.10 to announce new efforts the government is taking to fight human trafficking in the kingdom.

According to Justice Minister Ayman Odeh there have been 11 reported issues in 2009.

Most victims come from an Asian background such as the Philippines, China, Sri Lanka and Indonesia. Many of their passports are being withheld by their employers and promised wages not paid.

Cases are known where foreigners were forced to work 14 to 18 hours a day. Other abusive labor conditions include beatings, sexual harassment and attacks, preventing workers from leaving the worksite at any time and denying medical care.

According to Human Rights Watch Southeast Asian migrants working in Jordan’s Qualified Industrial Zones or as domestic workers and Arab migrants working in construction and agriculture have been abused.

The Philippines took action in the beginning of 2008 and reacted on the increased number of complaints with stopping its citizens from going to Jordan as domestic workers. Indonesia arrested 40 Jordanians in the same year on charges of trafficking in humans there.

The kingdoms Ministry of Interior recognized the need of closing the legal loophole and passed a law against human trafficking. Penalties up to 2,000 JD menace employers who “use any worker in a forced way, or through threat, deception, or coercion, including by keeping his travel document,” the Amman Center for Human Rights reported.

To enhance their vision of freeing Jordan from human trafficking, the government wants to take national strategic steps of prevention, protection, prosecution and partnership.

In particular, this means to prevent more cases through training labor inspectors on anti-trafficking. Furthermore the protection of victims plays an important role in restoring their rights. Officials spoke about sheltering them in a safe way and granting a work permit until they return home or go to a country that is willing to receive them.

The third point, prosecution, shall frighten off employers involved in human trafficking by punishing detected cases.

Finally, a new strategy to cooperate on regional and national level and create communication channels between the involved bodies is meant to improve partnership.