By REBECCA TORR

8th October 2006

A United Nations (UN) Special Rapporteur will be visiting Bahrain next month to investigate human trafficking.

Bangladesh human rights lawyer Sigma Huda will meet government officials, non-government organisations, shelter home representatives and survivors, to assess the prevalence of trafficking in Bahrain and see what legal and social assistance is available.

Ms Huda will investigate various forms of trafficking including prostitution, forced labour, sexual slavery and bonded labour.

"I'm very pleased the government of Bahrain extended this invitation to me to see if trafficking is going on among migrant workers," Ms Huda told the GDN by telephone from the UK yesterday.

"The main objective is that a lot of migrant workers go to Gulf states and the government is very keen to see people coming into the country don't get exploited.

"Bahrain is a small island and secluded, there is just a causeway into Saudi Arabia, so we would like to see if Bahrain is a stepping stone for trafficking because there is a trafficking problem in the Gulf region.

"They may not be coming into the country illegally straightaway. They may have come for work and then end up being exploited through prostitution or forced labour.

"There are many chances for exploitation and we would like to assist the government and see what measures they are taking."

The women's rights activist said she wanted to ensure that workers could move from one country to another without being exploited.

She said migrant workers were vulnerable to exploitation and a common scenario was being employed for a decent sounding job, only to find on arrival that they have actually been hired as a slave or a prostitute.

"People come out for different purposes and find themselves in difficult positions," said Ms Huda, who has been working in human rights for the past 30 years and combating human trafficking for more than 20.

"In many Gulf states, as soon as they go into the country their passport stays with the employer, so if they get in a bad situation and try to leave it will be illegal."

Ms Huda will be in Bahrain for three or four days at the beginning of next month and will later visit Oman and Qatar.

The lawyer was appointed by the UN Commission on Human Rights to focus on human rights aspects of victims of trafficking, especially women and children.

She has fought against sexual exploitation and trafficking, particularly of women and girls, from Bangladesh to India. In recognition of her work, she was appointed to the National Council for Women in Development, the highest national body for women's development in Bangladesh.

Ms Huda is a board member of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, Asia-Pacific, Bangladesh Women Lawyer's Association founder and president, and Institute for Law and Development founder secretary.

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