Bahrain's national committee to combat human trafficking is expanding its activities to take care of expatriate workers in distress, it was revealed yesterday.

The committee will make every effort to ensure expat workers are treated in Bahrain with dignity, said its chairman Shaikh Abdul Aziz bin Mubarak Al Khalifa.

'The committee has representatives from various ministries, including Interior, Labour, Justice, Information and Foreign Affairs,' he told the Gulf Daily News, our sister newspaper.

'This helps us to forward complaints from workers directly to the ministries or departments.

Cases of sponsors harassing the workers will be taken up with the Interior Ministry and non-payment of salary will be brought to the notice of the Labour Ministry, said Shaikh Abdul Aziz, who is also the Foreign Ministry assistant under-secretary.

'The committee now meets once a month,' he added.

'An awareness campaign will be strengthened with the support of the Information Ministry and will include leaflets in different languages highlighting workers' rights.

'It will also advise sponsors on how to treat their workers with dignity.'

The committee had so far received very few complaints, said Shaikh Abdul Aziz.

'One of the complaints was from the Thai Embassy relating to forced prostitution involving their nationals,' he revealed.

'Some complaints on workers being exploited were received from the Indian and Filipino embassies.

'We have taken them up with authorities for immediate action.'

Shaikh Abdul Aziz said his committee would expand its activities in the new year to help workers in distress and stop all forms of human trafficking in Bahrain.

The US State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report rated Bahrain earlier this year in the Tier 2 category based on its 'significant efforts' to address trafficking and on future pledges.

It urged Bahrain to stop deporting victims of human trafficking and set up a shelter to provide them with medical and psychological care.

The US State Department is required by law to submit an annual report each year to Congress on foreign governments' efforts to eliminate severe forms of human trafficking.

The aim is to raise global awareness as well as highlight and encourage efforts by the international community to combat the problem.-TradeArabia News Service