Pandemic puts migrant worker population at higher risk of exploitation: ADM

The Association for Democracy in the Maldives (ADM), on Friday, released a statement highlighting the plight of several thousand migrant workers living in Maldives.

On the 21st of July 2020, the Chief of Defence Force reported to the Parliament that there were 179,964 registered expatriate workers in the country, of which more than 66,000 were undocumented. These figures indicate that number of migrant workers living in the island nation amount to nearly half of the Maldives’ local population.

Extending greetings and well wishes to all migrants in the country on the occasion of the International Migrants Day (December 18), ADM called on the leadership and public to recognise and celebrate the contribution of migrant workers to the Maldivian economy.

“We mark International Migrants Day this year at a critical juncture at which COVID-19 pandemic has put the migrant worker population at a heightened risk of exploitation and rights violations”, reads the statement.

“We call on the Government of Maldives enforce stringent anti-human trafficking measures and to shut down human trafficking rings operating under the guise of labor recruitment agencies.”

ADM then added, “These measures, we believe, must extend to investigate corrupt businesses and individuals, including government officials at the Department of Immigration and Emigration and the Ministry of Economic Development, who illicitly benefit from this illegal trade”.

The statement also made reference to the July 2020 protests at Bodufinolhu resort, where expatriate workers protested over six months of unpaid wages and barred 13 local staff from leaving the island. Maldives Police Service arrested 19 individuals amid the operation in an attempt to de-escalate the hostage situation.

“Too many migrant workers remain shackled and forced to work at construction sites similar to that of B. Bodufinolhu, languishing at the mercy of business tycoons and affluent politicians in the Maldives”, pointed out ADM.

Such incidents occur, they say, whilst “those complicit, including big businesses mostly in the construction sector, continue to generate exorbitant profits at the exploitation of migrant workers.”

“We call on the State to withdraw trumped-up criminal charges against 19 migrant workers arrested at the B. Bodufinolhu incident, without delay.”

Noting that Maldives has been on the US State Department’s Human Trafficking Watchlist since 2018 for failure to meet the minimum requirements to prevent human trafficking, ADM drew attention to the continued deterioration of human rights afforded to migrant workers in the country.

The U.S. State Department’s 2019 'Trafficking in Persons' report also identifies Maldives as a sex trafficking destination for women and children, while men are subjected to forced labour in the country’s booming construction and service sectors.

Quoting a Maldives’ government investigation in 2011, which estimated that the human trafficking industry of Maldives raked in over MVR 1.9 billion annually, ADM criticised authorities for failing to “institute appropriate systematic reforms in combatting human trafficking in the country”.

ADM also expressed its concern over the government’s portrayal of efforts made by migrant workers in the pursuit of their fundamental rights as a challenge to Maldives’ sovereignty and national security, stating that “in the context of historical and systematic abuse and neglect of migrant workers, we believe that the real threat to national security will stem from the echoing of xenophobic attitudes and the lack of empathy on the part of state actors”.

In particular, the organisation called on the government to address the following:

- To regularly disclose information regarding mass repatriation of migrant workers in the spirit of openness, transparency and respect for human rights standards.

- To investigate and hold to account the big businesses responsible for the illegal trafficking and neglect of thousands of migrant workers and draw attention to the grave injustice to taxpayers in having to finance the repatriation cost of undocumented migrant workers.

- To protect the rights of migrant workers and to put an end to ongoing and unchecked systematic abuse.

- To ensure the justice system sets up permanent arrangements through which migrant workers are afforded translation services in their native languages.

An expression of hope, “that through kindness and tolerance, we may be able to respect and uphold the rights of the migrant workers—one of the most vulnerable groups in our communities” ended ADM’s statement.

The migrant worker situation

This year, till date, over 7000 migrant workers were repatriated to their home countries. Nevertheless, questions as to whether the repatriates were paid due wages and compensation before departure or even consented to being sent back, remain largely unanswered.

Across the year, various protests led by expatriate workers were observed in a number islands including the capital city region, amid renewed concerns from rights groups as well as the general public, over the continued exploitation of expatriate workers in Maldives.

Violations include withholding of wages, human trafficking, poor living conditions, and other human rights violations. Further, the aforementioned low quality of life has cemented the disproportionate effect had by Maldives' ongoing COVID-19 outbreak on its vast migrant population.

Maldives Parliament, in early December, commenced debates over several amendments proposed to the country’s Anti-Human Trafficking Act.

The most notable amendment in the bill seeks to broaden the legal definition of human trafficking to distinctly include exploitation of expatriate workers for undue advantages.

Speaking at the third cycle of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) held at Geneva, Switzerland in November, Minister of Economics Fayyaz Ismail asserted at the UPR that rights will be ensured for all expatriate workers in Maldives.

On July 30, the government announced the implementation of a 'National Anti-Human Trafficking Action Plan 2020–2022', which will be carried out in accordance with the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (UNTOC).

However, at the UPR virtual gathering, Fayyaz admitted to various challenges in implementing the action plan, adding that Maldives had to further work on punishing perpetrators of human trafficking.

Speaking for the voiceless

Registered in the Maldives on 13 August 2020, ADM is dedicated to the protection and promotion of human rights and democracy in the Maldives.

Association for Democracy consists of a small team of experienced human rights defenders and have a collective experience of several years in the field working with grassroots and at the policy level.

The organisation’s current work is organized into three different programs; the Yameen and Rilwan Foundation, the Justice Institute and a Gender Empowerment Platform.

ADM launched its activities shortly after its establishment this year and is presently conducting a series of online workshop series called the Oevaru Forum, whilst also running an awareness-based social media messaging campaign.