28 November 2013, Male';Minister of Foreign Affairs H. E. Ms. Dunya Maumoon has welcomed the announcement made by the Department of Immigration and Emigration regarding the issue of some Maldivian employers withholding passports of foreign workers.
The Foreign Minister said that the strict measures that the Immigration Department is to enforce, would be a positive step forward in Government's efforts to curb difficulties faced by migrant workers in the country. The Minister emphasized that some migrant workers in the Maldives face substandard working conditions and are vulnerable targets for human trafficking in the Maldives.
Minister Dunya also stressed on the need to strengthen the legal framework together with strong intelligence sharing and border control mechanism to prevent human trafficking. It is the Government's hope that the Bill aimed at criminalizing human trafficking would be passed by the Parliament soon.
ENDS.