Trafficking in children in some Arab countries has increased to varying degrees over the past few years, after being abducted from public places, whether residential areas, educational facilities, commercial centers, popular markets, hospitals, health buildings or public parks. Which can be interpreted on the basis of considerations related to the continuation of Arab armed conflicts, support for the survival of armed militias in their areas of control in the field, the pressure of regular armies on the people to prevent their neutrality in military confrontations, and criminal networks And terrorist financing of armed groups.

Function models

It should be noted that there are no official statistics for most Arab countries on the incidence of kidnapping or trafficking in children, the age groups most vulnerable to abduction, economic conditions and the nature of the social relations of families whose children are abducted, Where abduction cases are reported), and other databases required in this context.

Perhaps the "primary" indicators, which reflect the increase in trafficking in children, are mentioned by the various media and publications that are circulated on social networking sites in several Arab countries. They relate to the existence of gangs to kidnap children in some areas and rural areas, Of missing children affixed to lampposts and concrete barriers in the streets, and the increasing pattern of adoptive children and their transport across the "soft" border.

On January 8, 2018, Iraqi Interior Minister Qassim al-Araji launched a security campaign called Jaafar al-Douri, referring to the child who was kidnapped in the Cairo district of Baghdad. The campaign aimed to prosecute all the kidnappings and murders in Baghdad and in general Provinces, after the spread in the capital and a number of provinces phenomenon appears strange to the Iraqi society, is the abduction and physical abuse of children.

A series of political, security, economic and social factors, both internally and externally, explain the escalation of trafficking in children in the Arab region over the past few years, which can be addressed as follows:

The Mill of Violence:

1. Continuation of Arab armed conflicts

A major trend in the literature indicates that illegal adoption or trafficking in children is increasing in situations of internal conflicts or civil wars, whether or not they are still going on. This is evident in Lebanon, which witnessed a decade-and-a-half war (1975-1990), and its results are still present, as confirmed by the director of the Lebanese Alternatives Association, Zeina Aloucheh, in an interview with Asharq Al-Awsat on June 24, 2019 , Which has been working on this issue in recent years.

Syria has been the main transit point for the adoption of Lebanese children over the years. The issue became counter-productive after the Syrian war. Syrian children became subject to illegal adoption through trafficking in Lebanon. According to the «alternatives», citizens who adopt Lebanese children are distributed among Western countries such as France, the Netherlands, Denmark, the United States, Canada, Cyprus, and Arab countries such as Tunisia, Yemen, Algeria, Iraq, the Palestinian territories, and others.

Fuel fights

2. Support the survival of the armed militias in their areas of field control

This is true of the practices of the Houthi militias in Yemen, where some reports by the Yemeni Organization for the Suppression of Human Trafficking refer to criminal networks run by militias for human trafficking in Sana'a and Hodeidah. This may explain the rise of women's protests on 9 March 2019, following the increasing number of kidnappings of girls and children.

Kidnappings have become commonplace in militia control areas, which adopt a policy of forced conscription, as an attempt to make up for the elements they lose daily on different fronts. The motive of child abduction may be to force their parents to take part in the war alongside the militias, which has become apparent in the governorates of Amran, Al-Hajjah and Al-Mahweet.

Tax «neutrality»

3 - pressure the armies on the people to prevent their neutrality in the battles

As reflected by the Syrian army's demand for the people of the province of Suweida, south of Syria, to pay their children to serve in his forces, especially after the kidnapping of the organization «Da'ash» a number of women and children of the province in July 2018, where some analyzes indicate that the Syrian regime sought to exploit the kidnapping to put pressure on Which has tried to remain neutral in the conflict in Syria for more than eight years.

Organized gangs

4. Serious criminal networks

These networks are similar to the transnational Mafia. These networks include lawyers, doctors and social workers. They carry out systematic crimes. Some of them may be local "innovators" (non-professional gangs), especially because they consider the security services to focus on confronting extremist groups And terrorist organizations, which opens the door to individuals not belonging to criminal groups and dangerous non-registered and have no precedents to join them. Accordingly, children are transformed into a "commodity" that is trafficked, whether for forced begging, sexual exploitation or organ trafficking (either by intentional murder or by surgery to remove some of their organs). Sometimes the purpose is to ask for a ransom. Kidnapping of children may be carried out with the aim of bargaining with the abductor's family for his release in exchange for money paid to the kidnappers. This is what many incidents in various Arab countries refer to. »Will bring them money, where the children of the kidnapped child is willing to provide a large sum of money to save him.

Feeding terrorism

5. Financing terrorist operations of armed groups

This is true of the Iraqi situation. Kidnapping was one of the episodes of terrorism in 2016 and 2017. Armed groups, particularly in volatile areas like Diyala, Mosul, Basra and the outskirts of Baghdad, have sought to fund their operations by abducting children. One of the main thrusts of the flow of funding for these groups is through the so-called ransom economies.

Growing abduction

The cases of child abduction are constantly growing. Cases are being monitored in different regions within this Arab country, taking into account the absence of official statistics that reflect the indicators of ups and downs, which do not make them «phenomenon» as promoted by some, , At times, closer to the «rumors». In this context, the media spokesman of the Jordanian Public Security Directorate confirmed on March 31, 2019, that "there is no truth to rumors circulating about the abduction of children with the purpose of trafficking in members or for any other reason", reassuring citizens that no cases of Such in the kingdom.

He added: "Some have published information, photos, video clips and text messages to cases outside Jordan, showing that they took place inside the Kingdom, and that they document the abduction of children inside the Kingdom. Unfortunately, many of them are behind the redeployment, believing that they are contributing to awareness while creating fear and fear in the hearts of the people. "He added that" spreading such inaccuracies leads to the creation of public opinion, and that what is returned to all police units for the absence of any child is dealt with seriously until it is found, and that all cases dealt with by the absence of children from the homes of their relatives confirms that These absences are due to problems within the family".

Integrated policies

The face of kidnappings and trafficking in children in the Arab region requires parallel policies and a comprehensive vision that includes several axes, including the intensification of the crime of kidnapping and the formation of parliamentary or parliamentary councils as a follow-up to the crisis. The motive may be "revenge of the parents" or "rape" , As well as the involvement of some civil society institutions, national research centers and UNICEF, in undertaking further field studies of various disciplines to reduce them, particularly in terms of awareness of parents and children, to the extent possible, from Falling into a circle Hijackings that precede the trafficking circle.

Children become a "commodity" that is trafficked, whether for forced begging, sexual exploitation, or organ trafficking (either by intentional murder or by surgery to remove some of their organs). The purpose may be, in some cases, to ask for a ransom. Kidnapping of children may be carried out with the aim of bargaining with the abductor's family for his release in exchange for money paid to the kidnappers.