The most pervasive crime in the region is found to be human tr4fficking, which includes modern sl4very and organ tr4fficking, as well as human smūggling — the illegal entry, transit or residence of migrants (by land, sea or air) by an organized criminal group for the purposes of a financial or material benefit.

Three Arab countries — Libya, Yemen and the UAE — are ranked among the five worst countries in the world for human tr4fficking. Syria and Iraq are both rated as the third-worst countries globally for human smuggling. According to the index, in Libya “Smuggling is generally associated with high levels of violence and high death rates. The state has little control over the entire territory and many state officials reportedly benefit from the profits of migrant smuggling.”

Regarding the UAE, the index notes that “In combination with the continuation of the sponsorship (Kafala) system and a failure of the government of the UAE to meet the minimum standards for combating tr4fficking and smuggling, the demand for cheap labour enables both human smuggling and tr4fficking on a relatively large scale.”

https://www.fairobserver.com/region/middle_east_north_africa/hugh-miles-global-organized-crime-index-2021-middle-east-north-africa-news-66578/