Amman- The Jordanian government is considering drafting a law to combat human trafficking, primarily designed to protect rights of expatriates working in the country, Interior Minister Eid al-Fayez said on Tuesday. The move came after authorities in Indonesia reportedly banned the travel of some 40 Jordanians who had been running bureaus in Jakarta for the recruitment of domestic helpers, accusing them of human trafficking.
"Jordan rejects all forms of human trafficking, even though this concept cannot be accurately defined," al-Fayez said.
"Jordan takes all necessary measures to ensure guest workers and all visitors the utmost care and respect out of an unwavering stand that promotes and safeguards human rights," he added.
According to the minister, a panel comprising representatives from relevant Jordanian agencies will cooperate with the embassies of the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Indonesia in order to reach a common understanding on the best practices to ensure the safety of domestic helpers and protect their rights.
The Jordanian step came also in the wake of a lawsuit filed in August by relatives of 12 Nepalese, who were abducted and executed in Iraq in 2004, against the US oilfield services firm KBR and a Jordanian subcontractor, Daoud and Partners, accusing them of tricking the men into working in the war-ravaged country.
The Nepalese were allegedly recruited in Nepal to work as kitchen staff in hotels and restaurants in Amman, but once they arrived in Jordan, they were not provided with the expected job, their passports were seized and the men were forced to travel to Iraq, according to their lawyers.
The Jordanian subcontractor denied the accusations in a statement published earlier this week in the local press.
