Day: June 28, 2011

Maldives remains on US State Department’s human trafficking watch list for second year

The Maldives remains on the US State Department’s Tier 2 Watch List for human trafficking, a list signifying an increasing number of victims and little evidence of increased efforts to tackle the problem.

The report comes days after the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) was called to temporarily take over the front line work of the Immigration Department and Human Resources Ministry pending an investigation into corruption and falsification of work permits.

Migrant workers from Bangladesh and to a lesser extent, India, are being subjected to forced labour in the Maldives, primarily in the construction and service sectors, while women and girls are also being subjected to sex trafficking, the report said.

An unknown number of the up to 110,000 foreign workers in the country – a third of the population – “face conditions indicative of forced labor: fraudulent recruitment practices, confiscation of identity and travel documents, withholding or nonpayment of wages, or debt bondage,” the report noted, adding that 30,000 workers had no legal status in the country.

Bangladeshi nationals were especially vulnerable to labour trafficking, the report stated, citing “diplomatic sources” as claiming that half the Bangladeshi workers in the country had arrived illegally, having paid between US$1000 and US$4000 in ‘recruitment fees’.

“In addition to Bangladeshis and Indians, some migrants from Sri Lanka, Pakistan, and Nepal reportedly experienced recruitment fraud before arriving in the Maldives,” the report noted.

“Trafficking offenders in the Maldives usually fall into three groups: families that subject domestic servants to forced labor; employment agents who bring low-skilled migrant workers to the Maldives under false terms of employment and upon payment of high fees for purposes of forced labor; and employers who subject the migrants to conditions of forced labor upon arrival,” the report revealed.

The State Department reiterated claims from the Human Rights Commission of the Maldives (HRCM) that female migrant workers were also being trapped by employers who were using threats and intimidation to prevent them from leaving.

More commonly, “Recruitment agents collude with employers and agents in the Maldives to facilitate fraudulent recruitment and forced labor of migrant workers.”

Domestic trafficking was also observed, whereby “some underage Maldivian children are transported to Male’ from other islands for forced domestic service, and a small number sexually abused by the families with whom they stayed. This is a corruption of the widely acknowledged practice where families send Maldivian children to live with a host family in Male for educational purposes.”

The US State Department’s report was critical of the Maldives for human trafficking enforcement in the country over the reporting period, and noted that it had not investigated or prosecuted any trafficking-related offences despite the scale of the problem.

“The government did not investigate or prosecute any labor trafficking cases, but is reportedly investigating two child prostitution cases,” it noted.

It was especially critical of the government’s treatment of those found to be victims of trafficking: “The Maldivian government did not ensure that victims of trafficking received access to necessary assistance during the reporting period. The government did not develop or implement formal procedures for proactively identifying victims, and did not identify any specific cases of trafficking. The Maldives did not provide access to services such as shelter, counseling, medical care, or legal aid to foreign or Maldivian victims of trafficking. The government did not conduct any anti-trafficking or educational campaigns, nor did it take any measures to reduce demand for forced labor within the country.”

The report noted that the Maldives’ general policy for dealing with trafficking victims “was to deport them.”

“Authorities did not encourage victims to participate in the investigation or prosecution of trafficking offenders. Due to a lack of comprehensive victim identification procedures, the Maldives may not have ensured that expatriates subjected to forced labor and prostitution were not inappropriately incarcerated, fined, or otherwise penalised for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.”

The report also observed that while the Maldivian Constitution outlawed forced labour and slavery, a person legally married to a minor was exempt from the heavy penalties of the Child Sexual Abuse Act passed in 2009, and that “none of the offences specified in the legislation, including child prostitution, would be considered a crime.”

Positives

The report did highlight the ratification by cabinet by a Human Trafficking Plan in February 2011, but observed that this had no law enforcement component, and failed to distinguish people smuggling from trafficking.

Furthermore, a blacklist of 16 employment agencies and private companies by the Labour Relations Authority (LRA) showed no sign of being enforce.

A “rapid assessment” on human trafficking commissioned by HRCM in 2010 had not been finalised, the State Department report observed.

The report urged the government to develop procedures whereby government officials could identify victims of trafficking, and provide them with access to services for victims – particularly translators. It also urged greater efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offences.

The final recommendation was “take steps to ensure that employers and labor brokers are not abusing labor recruitment or sponsorship processes in order to subject migrant workers to forced labor” – one that appears to have been preempted by this week’s corruption probe of Immigration Department and Human Resources Ministry.

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Parliament cancelled over fight for control of committees

Tomorrow’s sitting of parliament has been cancelled to allow political parties to resolve a protracted dispute over the composition of standing committees, following the defection of two opposition MPs to the ruling Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) several weeks ago.

After adjourning today’s sitting twice to continue discussions with parliamentary group leaders, Speaker Abdulla Shahid announced the cancelation of both today and Wednesday’s sittings shortly after 1:00pm to grant an additional day for the parties to reach a compromise.

If the talks were to end unsuccessfully, said Shahid, the matter would be brought to the floor for a final decision when parliament sittings resume on Monday.

Parliamentary committees, which reviews approved legislation and exercises oversight over the executive and independent institutions, have not been functioning since the beginning of the current session.

The dispute has centred on which party would control voting majorities of powerful committees such as the ‘241’ (National Security) Committee, Economics Committee and Public Accounts Committees (PAC), all of which are presently chaired by opposition MPs.

Under article 170 of the Majlis rules of procedure that stipulates proportional representation, MDP are assured five out of 11 seats in the committees (45 percent) and four for DRP-PA (39 percent) while the two remaining slots must be filled by either Independents or MPs of minority opposition parties Dhivehi Qaumee Party (DQP) and Jumhooree Party (JP).

Eight Independent MPs and four minority opposition MPs together account for 16 percent, posing a dilemma in dividing two seats among them.

At a press conference yesterday, MP Ibrahim ‘Ibu’ Mohamed Solih, newly-elected parliamentary group leader of the MDP, explained that the ruling party’s share of parliament (up from 39 percent to 45 percent) should be reflected in the committees.

The MDP MP for Hinnavaru revealed that the party was ready to accept a compromise of “six committees for us and the other six to the DRP-PA (Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party-People’s Alliance coalition),” adding that MDP was willing to leave the position of deputy chair of MDP-majority committees to the DRP-PA.

DRP Leader Ahmed Thasmeen Ali meanwhile told newspaper Haveeru that the opposition would require half the seats of the Security Services Committee and the PAC in particular.

The embattled opposition leader argued that the opposition could not hold the government accountable should it lose control of committees designed to watch over executive functions, suggesting that the talks had stalled over this point of contention.

Thasmeen said that the crux of the problem was the fact that neither the MDP nor opposition parties controlled a clear majority of 39 seats in parliament.

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Military mans immigration during departmental and ministerial corruption probe

Immigration Controller Abdulla Shahid has confirmed that corruption of the work permit system is a major focus of an ongoing investigation into the Immigration Department and Human Resources Ministry.

Front-line staff at both immigration and the area of the ministry handling employment have been sent home, and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) has taken over their duties.

President Mohamed Nasheed has said the police investigation – which has already resulted in several arrests of suspected traffickers – is expected to take two weeks. Afterwards, staff will be invited to return to work, the President’s Office said in a statement.

Shahid told Minivan News today that people had been found to be attempting to enter the country with falsified permits.

“We believe we have 40,000 illegal immigrants, and we know two departments are involved: Immigration and the Human Resources Ministry,” he said.

“Something has gone wrong in one of these departments, and we are going to find out what it is.”

The Immigration Department’s records for expatriates working in the country show 21,000 people unaccounted for in records held by the Human Resources Ministry, he said, a discrepancy representing six percent of the country’s entire population.

Shahid acknowledged that the relationship between the Human Resources Ministry and the Immigration Department prior to the MNDF’s intervention had been “strained”, and that there was no shared IT system linking the records of both.

“We know there are a lot of loopholes and minor things that have been overlooked,” he said. “For example, 10 days ago an immigration officer was arrested after collecting a deposit which disappeared from the system the next day.”

Shahid said he expected the police investigation would discover “a lot of things.” A report will be presented to the President on conclusion of the two weeks.

The investigation, he said, was a very time-consuming task “involving a lot of data.” In the mean time, he acknowledged there had been some delays at the airport and “hiccups” as the MNDF took over immigration duties.

“We did some orientation for them, but this is not a permanent situation,” he emphasised.

Shahid dismissed the idea that tourists arriving at the airport would be intimidated by the sight of the military.

“They work uniforms of the MNDF are very similar to the immigration uniforms,” he said.

Nexbis upgrade

The government last year signed a contract with mobile security technology vendor Nexbis whereby the immigration system would be upgraded to include biometric identification of work visa applicants, reducing the reliance on potentially-forged documentation.

The upgrade was stalled when the Anti-Corruption Commission (ACC) expressed concerns about the deal. Cabinet has since requested the Immigration Department review the project, and if necessary, renegotiate.

“We will enter negotiations soon – we can’t agree with the figures [in the contract],” Shahid said. “The ACC has from the very beginning said it is wrong.”

“The contract says we will charge arriving and departing passengers US$2 – this year we expect a million foreigners, so that is US$4 million. Then for every work permit card we issue we pay Nexbis US$15 – currently we charge Rf50 (US$4). At present rates of arrival that US$5.5 million per year.

“The Nexbis contract is a 20 year contract – which means the total cost to the country at present-day arrivals is US$110 million. If you calculate the increased percentage of arrivals over the 20 years, it’s more like US$200 million.”

Such a deal was, Shahid said, “The worst possible thing we could do to border control. Sri Lanka’s system cost US$2.2 million to install and develop. We could get a luxury system [installed] for US$4 million. Why should the Maldivian government spend US$200 million over 20 years, when it’s highly unusual for an IT contract to last more than five? I will never agree to this – the contract should never have been signed.”

The ACC had “a lot of grounds” to investigate the deal, he suggested, adding that as the project involved imposing a tax, approval was also required from parliament prior to signing.

Nexbis shares fell 6.3 percent on the back of the ACC’s original announcement. The company subsequently issued a statement claiming that speculation over corruption was “politically motivated” and had “wrought irreparable damage to Nexbis’ reputation and brand name”, and revealed its intention to take legal action.

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Letter on lack of child care facilities

I totally agree on the importance of women’s contribution to our economy and our job market.

So, let me share my experience. I have noticed that the practiced rules and procedures for employees do not encourage women to work.

If one looks at a working woman who requires no-pay leave for a short intensive course, leaving behind her young child with an expatriate baby-sitter, it’s not a difficult thing. But if a woman requests no-pay leave due to a problem with her child – for instance, if it is suffering from being severely underweight and no one is available at home to take care of the child, she has no choice other than to resign from her job. This means the existing rules and procedures for employees are encouraging the importing of a baby-sitter for each and every woman working in this country.

I think this is a serious issue that has to be addressed without any delay. Why has a concept like day care centres not been set up? I have noticed there is a Hulhumale’ ferry service for those living in Hulhumale’ to go to Male’ for their work. Also there is now a bus service between Hulhumale’ jetty and various locations of Hulhumale’.

I take interest in the issues, hidden and untold, and I thought I would try to bring this important issue to all concerned to comment on.

Regards

Mohamed Saeed

All letters are the sole view of the author and do not reflect the editorial policy of Minivan News. If you would like to write a letter, please submit it to [email protected]

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Health authorities focus on mosquito controls as hospital confirms infant dengue fatality

Male’s Indira Gandhi Memorial Hospital (IGMH) has confirmed that a nine-month old child died today from dengue fever as health officials look to combat further spread of the virus through attempts to control mosquito numbers.

Hospital spokesperson Zeenath Ali confirmed that the child was pronounced dead at 12:27am after being admitted with suspected dengue fever two days earlier.  Ali added that she was unable to give any further details of the specific strain of the virus that the child was thought to have suffered from or any additional details about the death without the consent of the infant’s family.

According to figures supplied by the Male’ Health Services Corporation Limited, a total of 59 people have been admitted to hospital between June 1 and June 20 this year suffering from the virus. Of these cases, six were admitted on suspicion of catching dengue fever, 50 were hospitalised with the dengue hemorrhagic variant of the virus and three others were diagnosed with dengue shock syndrome – where blood pressure drops so low that organs cannot function properly. Over the same period, 25 people were diagnosed by the hospital of having dengue fever and were treated as outpatients.

Early symptoms of virus are said to include fever, joint paint and a distinctive rash and headache, although it can be difficult to distinguish from the milder Chikungunya disease which can last for up to five days. However, even healthy adults can be left immobile by dengue for several weeks while the disease runs its course.

More than 300 cases of dengue fever in the Maldives were reported during the first two months of 2011, compared with 737 cases and two fatalities reported over the course of last year. While many of these cases were reported in Male’, most of the fatalities have been islanders, with the more serious cases thought to have disproportionately affected children.

Amidst these concerns, health authorities in the country have claimed that they are committed to a programme of working to control mosquito populations to try and combat the spread of the virus, particularly in island areas.

Geela Ali, Permanent Secretary for the Health Ministry, told Minivan News that while officials had not received any official reports of recent fatalities linked to dengue as of yesterday, there was concern in the ministry about outbreaks of the virus across the country of late.

Ali claimed that under present government health strategies, clinicians were being put at the forefront of efforts to try and provide local people with the best means to prevent potential infection of the virus, particularly in its more prominent forms like the type 1 strain.

“The main challenge is working with clinicians to pass on case management strategies to local clinics,” she said. “One of things we are trying to do is control [mosquito populations] and we are consulting with local councils and even the media in trying to do this.”

According to Ali, the hones for trying to combat dengue in the country remained on encouraging the public to locate and destroy mosquito breeding areas as to reduce incidences of the virus as effectively as possible.

While accepting that additional chemical spraying around various islands was one possibility being considered by the government  to stem the problem, she added this was strictly to be used only after clean ups of breeding grounds particularly on private property had taken place to ensure long-term effectiveness.

Earlier this year, the Centre for Community Health and Disease Control (CCHDC) and the Maldives National Defence Force (MNDF) conducted spraying of mosquito breeding sites in Male’ and the surrounding islands, but reported difficulty obtaining access to residential and construction sites.

Virus management

Back in April, Minivan News reported that health experts believed fears over a growing number of dengue fatalities was potentially related to lapses in managing the disease, particularly due to the high turnover of foreign doctors on islands.

Dr Ahmed Jamsheed, a former head of the CCHDC, observed that January and February 2011 had seen higher instances of suspected dengue shock syndrome occurring in the country.

“Our initial theory was that this was a new strain of dengue,” he said. “There are four different strains, and strains one and three have been most prevalent. We took samples and sent them abroad but I had left the office by the time the results came back. I’m told out of the samples we sent a few tested positive for dengue one, which means no new strain.”

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Climate change and “practical” development among talking points as Gayoom visits Bangladesh

Former President Maumoon Abdul Gayoom has called on members of the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC) to be more realistic in their aims for collaborative development during a visit to Bangladesh this week.

Gayoom, who was invited to the country by the University of Science and Technology of Chittagong (USTC) to attend a convocation scheduled for tomorrow (June 29), was reported to have asked SAARC leaders to be “practical” and outline more achievable developments in the region, according to the local Daily Star newspaper.

While unaware of the exact purpose of Gayoom’s visit, which has included meeting Bangladeshi Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, parliamentary supporters of the former president claimed that the apparent statesman-like nature of his comments did not signify a return to active politics beyond attempts to try and settle divides within the Dhivehi Rayyithunge Party (DRP) that he helped found.

Outside of the domestic political sphere, the 73-year old former head of state has this week been speaking to local media about his own concerns on the importance of addressing issues like climate change and higher education, along with outlining what he perceives as the main challenges facing SAARC nations.

Gayoom said he believed that technical limitations and issues of resources had set SAARC members back in the “very high goals” set by each nation, though he said he believed the organisation had not failed in its plans and had great potential – particularly from regional enterprise.

“There must be more cooperation among the private sector of the SAARC countries,” the Daily Star quoted him as saying.

A spokesperson for President Mohamed Nasheed, who in 2008 successfully unseated Gayoom after 30 years in power during the country’s first ever democratic general elections, was not available for comment at the time of going to press on the visit.

Gayoom retired from active politics in early 2010, appointing  MP Ahmed Thasmeen Ali as leader of the country’s main opposition party.

The former president remains a divisive figure in Maldivian life and politics following 30 years of autocratic rule that has inspired fierce support and criticism in equal measure depending  on individual political persuasion in the country.

However, MP DRP Ahmed Mahlouf, who along with Gayoom has been linked to the factional Z-DRP movement that now opposes incumbent party leader Thasmeen, said the former president remained a popular figure among SAARC member states for his work in the field of regional development.

“He has done a lot for the region and I wouldn’t be surprised if SAARC leaders praise him for his efforts,” he said.

Despite his reputation, Mahlouf said that the visit to Bangladesh should not be seen as an indication that Gayoom would run for president in 2013, adding that the former president had shown no interest to change his mind on retiring from front line politics.

“[Gayoom] has not really been commenting much on the current government despite concerns he has.  Right now he is working to try his best and solve disputes within the DRP, something Thasmeen is trying to prevent,” he claimed.

“I would like to see him form a new party under his own image.”

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