The Middle East and North Africa (MENA) region continues to host groups highly vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation. Migrant workers, particularly domestic workers, are known to be among those who are most at risk.

While the region is confronted by many pressing challenges – the rise of Islamic extremism, sectarian conflict and unrelenting hardships –
the massive numbers of displaced people and refugees on the move throughout MENA contribute to the extended profile of those vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.

All of these conditions together, coupled with already exceedingly precarious working conditions for millions of migrant workers described in this report, create the conditions that are described as the “perfect storm” for human trafficking. This combination of factors is precisely the reason why it is so necessary to address human trafficking and migrant protection now.