Protecting the Rights of Trafficked Women in the United Arab Emirates: A Review of the United Arab Emirates Federal Law 51
Ayesha Shahid, PhD & Humaid Al-Bannai, PhD | September 24 | 10:30-11:00 AM
Topic: Research, Legal | Knowledge Level: Advanced
Trafficking in persons is an intractable crime that involves commercial sexual exploitation, servitude, violence, and forced labour. The state policies in many countries address trafficking as an issue of border control and global organized crime, but not as a human rights violation of the trafficked persons. The United Arab Emirates (UAE), is a tier 2 transit and destination country for women and young girls from Eastern Europe, Asia, and East Africa, trafficked for the purposes of labour and forced commercial sexual exploitation. UAE’s Federal Law No. 51 to combat trafficking marked a pivotal moment for the UAE, as it was a law specifically designed to address trafficking on its territory. The objective of this socio-legal study is to provide an in-depth analysis of the UAE’s anti trafficking Federal Law 51 and to address the gaps in providing protection to trafficking victims in the light of UAE’s international and regional human rights obligations. This socio-legal study draws on human rights-based approach and Islamic perspectives on slavery to address the question: To what extent has the UAE’s Federal Law 51 been able to provide protection to victims of sex trafficking in UAE? The research concludes that a comprehensive and holistic approach is needed to create a balance between the crime control approach and the human rights-based approach to ensure that international, regional, and domestic legal and social guarantees to protect victims’ rights are effectively put in place in the UAE’s Federal Law 51.
Presentation Objectives:
· Provide an overview of the trafficking of women to UAE for commercial sexual exploitation
· Identify strengths and weaknesses of the Federal Law 51
· Propose changes and recommendations to the UAE’s Federal Law 51 as a way forward for the protection and rehabilitation of trafficked victims