Oman is a destination and transit country for men and women, primarily from South Asia and East Africa, subjected to forced labor and, to a lesser extent, sex trafficking. Most migrants travel willingly and legally to Oman with the expectation of employment in domestic service or as workers in the country’s construction, agriculture, and service sectors; some are subsequently subjected to forced labor. Labor source-country officials report domestic workers seeking assistance experience excessive working hours, passport confiscation, and physical and mental abuse. Unscrupulous labor recruitment agencies and their sub-agents in South Asia, and labor brokers in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Oman, and Iran deceive some workers into accepting work that constitutes forced labor. Many agencies provide false contracts with fictitious employers or wages and charge workers high recruitment fees at usurious rates of interest, leaving workers vulnerable to trafficking. Some Omani employers obtain foreign domestic workers at the porous border crossing between Buraimi, Oman and Al Ain, UAE. Employers typically secure a labor permit for domestic workers to legally work in Oman; however, some female domestic workers often leave Emirati families and are not aware they are being taken to Oman for domestic work, rendering them further vulnerable to exploitation. Women working in Oman as domestic workers from countries without a diplomatic presence in Oman, such as Ethiopia and Vietnam, are especially vulnerable to forced labor. Government sources previously noted domestic workers who run away from their employers are also susceptible to forced prostitution. Male Pakistani laborers and other workers from India, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and East Asia transit Oman en route to the UAE; some of these migrant workers are exploited in situations of forced labor upon reaching their destination. Oman is a destination and transit country for women from Asia, Eastern Europe, and Africa who are forced into prostitution, typically by nationals of their own countries.
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