Global Investigative Journalism Network (https://gijn.org/tag/human-trafficking/)
For our series about journalists’ favorite tools, we spoke with AP’s Martha Mendoza, who has won Pulitzer prizes for her investigations on slavery in the fishing industry, and on a civilian massacre during the Korean War. She described some of the tools and methods she uses to investigate supply chains, including those that have led to shortages in the response to the COVID-19 pandemic.
In the run-up to the 2019 Global Investigative Journalism Conference in Hamburg this September 26 to 29, we’re featuring one Global Shining Light Award finalist per day. Check out “Warmongers,” by ARIJ and Deutsche Welle.
GIJN is constantly on the lookout for the best tipsheets, reporting gudies, how-to stories, and videos, then collating and integrating it into ever-growing Resource Center. Following is a curated list of the top 10 most popular resources accessed by journalists on our site in 2018.
Español |বাংলা | العربية
Supply chains are networks between companies and their suppliers that produce and distribute a specific product. They may include providers of raw material, firms that convert the material into products, storage facilities and distribution centers, and retailers who bring the ultimate product to consumers. The products are as varied as the marketplace: clothing, electronics, vehicles, food, medicine. Probing the origins of commodities and products is a rich field for reporters. Investigations have revealed forced labor, environmental crimes, corruption and human rights abuses.
Last year Pramod Acharya traveled to Sindhupalchok in the land-locked nation of Nepal to follow up on the region’s recovery from the devastating earthquake of 2015. That’s when he stumbled across a human trafficking ring. He wrote up what he learned about covering human trafficking in South Asia — along with some tips — for GIJN.
Full guide here. العربية | বাংলা
Media Environment
The Bahraini constitution guarantees freedom of expression and the press, excluding opinions that undermine the fundamental beliefs of Islam or the “unity of the people” and those that promote “discord or sectarianism.” However, the Law of Press, Printing and Publishing of 2002 is used to restrict free speech.; Law 47/2002 includes 17 categories of offenses, three of which allow for prison sentences. The freedom of expression climate in Bahrain has changed significantly since 2011, when protests influenced by the “Arab Spring” started taking place. The Bahraini authorities responded by prosecuting journalists and critics that covered political events or reflected the voices of protesters and voices of dissent.
Full guide here. العربية
Forced labor, human trafficking and undocumented migration are prevalent across the globe. In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and wider Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region, specific and shared characteristics of labor and migration laws and practices facilitate forced labor and human trafficking. Definitions
Forced Labor. All work or service which is exacted from any person under the menace of any penalty or coercion, and for which the said person has not offered himself or herself voluntarily. The threat of penalty may include arrest or jail, refusal to pay wages, forbidding a worker from traveling freely, confiscating worker’s identity documents and withholding part of a worker’s salary as part of the repayment of a loan.
Full guide here. العربية | বাংলা
Media Environment
Freedom of speech in Kuwait is protected according to Articles 36 and 37 in the country’s constitution. However, that freedom is limited according to what is “specified by the law.”
Criticizing the Emir of Kuwait is illegal and could lead to more than five years in prison, physical abuse, extreme interrogation or badeportation. It is also illegal to publish work that insults Islam, the prophets or God. Publishing work that discusses them negatively could lead to more than a $50,000 fine and a year (or more) in prison.
Full guide here. العربية
These tips were provided by Yasin Kanade, a former Ugandan journalist deported for covering migrant worker issues in the United Arab Emirates. Media Environment
A journalist seeking to write about human trafficking in the UAE has to understand that any writing seen as contrary to the government narrative is a punishable offense. The local press law prohibits criticism of the government and ruling family, and reserves the right to censor any publication. The 2012 cybercrime law further penalizes online activities which includes information sharing, digital journalism and social media.
Full guide here. العربية
These tips were provided by a researcher on domestic workers in Saudi Arabia. Media Environment
The media environment in Saudi Arabia is repressive and freedom of speech and expression is limited. The country has repeatedly been under heavy criticism from Freedom House, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Americans for Democracy and Human Rights in Bahrain, among others. In Saudi Basic Law, there is no mention of freedom of the press, speech or expression. While the media and publications law guarantees freedom of expression, it works within the limits of Sharia law. The country does not have a freedom of information law, although a draft law has been debated in the Shura Council.
Bloggers are required to register with the Ministry of Information, and criticizing the ruling family is forbidden, as is criticizing Islam.
