Bahrain maintains Tier 1 status in US TIP report

Bahrain maintained its Tier 1 status in the US State Department’s 2019 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report in recognition of the Government’s labour market reforms programme. Bahrain, the first country in the region to achieve Tier 1 status, is now recognised as being fully compliant with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking.

The 2019 report recognised the Kingdom’s achievements in mitigating the trafficking of people and combating forced labour. The report exemplifies Bahrain’s far-reaching labour market initiatives, which include the introduction of the groundbreaking ‘Flexible Work Permit’ - a permit enabling undocumented workers to work without a sponsor in any full or part-time job for a renewable two-year period.

The Flexible Work Permit won praise from the International Organisation for Migration and the UN Human Rights Council as a model example of an effective labour market reform.