UKH Centre for Peacebuilding and Dialogue (CPD), in collaboration with SEED Foundation organised film screening of “Secret Slaves of the Middle East” film on January 25, 2024. The film addresses global human trafficking issues, particularly forced labor, and was followed by a discussion led by SEED’s Legal Coordinator and the Directorate of Combating Organised Crimes, Head of Anti-Trafficking Police Erbil, Lieutenant Colonel Sardar Yahya Fadheel.
Every year, millions of people are trafficked around the world. Human traffickers prey on individuals of all ages and backgrounds including women, men, and children; exploiting them for their own profit.
Human trafficking, Trafficking in Persons (TIP) or ‘modern slavery’ is a growing challenge in Iraq, including the Kurdistan Region of Iraq (KRI), both as a source, transit, and destination country. Forced Labor, including domestic servitude is one of the most common forms of human trafficking, both globally and here in Iraq and the KRI. Since 2014, SEED has supported 532 survivors of trafficking, among those, 346 of them are survivors of forced labor, including domestic servitude.
The film also illustrates the life of domestic workers in Lebanon, with a focus on how the violation of labor laws can impact the protection of foreign domestic workers, and how they are often trapped and prevented from leaving the country or changing their employer.
