U.S. Department of State 2001 Trafficking in Persons Report - Lebanon

Lebanon (Tier 3)

Lebanon is a destination country for internationally trafficked persons, primarily women. Women from Ethiopia travel to Lebanon, in the belief that they will work as domestics and have reported being forced into domestic servitude and sexual exploitation. Women from the New Independent States (specifically Russia, Ukraine, and Moldova) have reported being forced into sexual exploitation.

The Government of Lebanon does not meet the minimum standards and has not yet made significant efforts to combat trafficking in persons. Trafficking in persons is not perceived by the Government to be a problem in Lebanon. There are no laws that specifically prohibit trafficking in persons, slavery, or exploitation, although the law prohibits unlicensed prostitution. The Government has not signed or ratified ILO Convention 182, the Sale of Children Protocol, the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime or the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons. Labor violations and other mistreatment against third country nationals working as domestics, some of whom are reportedly trafficking victims, occur on a wide scale. Third country nationals are excluded from the Labor Code and therefore are not afforded legal protection. The Government does not provide assistance to victims of trafficking or to NGO's.