Azzi now is blaming MWDWs countries for human trafficking!

Following the US State Department’s report that classified Lebanon among the worst countries with an alarming number of victims of human trafficking, and after denying any such exploitation (refer to: http://bit.ly/1mcoOnY.) the Labor Minister Sajaan Azzi blamed foreign governments whose nationals work in domestic service in Lebanon for the growing human black market, stating that some of these countries never replied to his suggestions on ways to resolving the problem. Azzi appealed to countries banning the travel of their nationals to lift the ban and sign the relevant protocols regulating the work of their MWDWs. Azzi who was speaking in a press conference after meeting with consuls of the concerned countries, namely Ethiopia, Sri Lanka, the Philippine, Bangladesh, Madagascar, Indonesia and Vietnam solemnly declared: “Our struggle for human rights and our fight against human trafficking is a common cause. It is the struggle of the state, the nation, the media and everyone and it is a protest over the outdated labor law, as much as it is a dispute between the embassies and their governments who sometimes allow and sometimes ban the work of their nationals in Lebanon, he said, adding that this makes these workers potential victims of the violation of their rights.” The result of such reluctance by some governments encourages the creation of a black market between cross-border mafias active in the country of origin and in Lebanon, Azzi explained. He refuted accusations against the Lebanese Government, the Ministry of Labor and Lebanese household employers of violations of human rights. “We as a ministry have taken all precautionary measures and have issued some16 directives to safeguard the rights and dignity of women workers in the domestic service,” Azzi noted. He disclosed that since the beginning of 2016, some 24,774 Ethiopian nationals and 4069 from the Philippines have entered the country illegally. (Al Diyar, An Nahar, Al Mustaqbal, December 10, 2015)