The struggle for freedom, social justice and equality, the fight against oppression, exploitation, poverty and discrimination are at the heart of the democratic and independent Arab trade union movement, ITUC said in an announcement. Based on the rejection of all forms of colonialism, racism, sectarianism and terrorism, the Democratic and Independent Arab trade union movement seeks to unify all its force to fight for trade union rights, for the establishment of genuine social dialogue in the Arab countries, for the creation of decent jobs, in particular for young people, as well as for the defence of the rights of migrant workers and those in the informal economy. The struggle for women’s rights, which are particularly repressed in the Arab region, and for a more equitable participation of women within trade unions is equally a fundamental priority on the agenda of the democratic and independent Arab trade union movement.

The founding organisations have adopted provisional internal rules, and conferred on the representative of the ITUC secretariat the responsibility to submit the adopted documents to the next meeting of the ITUC General Council.

The ITUC represents 175 million workers in 156 countries and territories and has 315 national affiliates.

Based on more than 650 interviews conducted over a two-year period in Jordan Lebanon, Kuwait and the United Arab Emirates, the study Tricked and Trapped: Human Trafficking in the Middle East sheds light on the situation of trafficked adult workers in the Middle East, the complex processes by which they are ‘tricked and trapped’ into forced labour and sexual exploitation, and the constraints that prevent them from leaving.

It also examines the responses to human trafficking recently put in place by governments, employers’ and workers’ organizations and other stakeholders and provides regional policymakers with recommendations to help them effectively counter the phenomenon.

The Middle East hosts millions of migrant workers, who in some cases exceed the number of national workers substantially. In Qatar, for example, 94 per cent of workers are migrants, while in Saudi Arabia that figure is over 50 per cent. In Jordan and Lebanon migrants also make up a significant part of the workforce, particularly in the construction and domestic work sectors.

“Labor migration in this part of the world is unique in terms of its sheer scale and its exponential growth in recent years,” says Beate Andrees, Head of the ILO’s Special Action Programme to Combat Forced Labour. “The challenge is how to put in place safeguards in both origin and destination countries to prevent the exploitation and abuse of these workers.”

Although data is scarce, the ILO estimates that there are 600,000 forced labor victims in the Middle East.

The report singles out the Kafala (sponsorship) system – which governs the lives of most migrant workers in the Mashreq and GCC countries – as “inherently problematic” because it creates an unequal power dynamic between the employer and the worker.

It points to deficits in labour law coverage that “reinforce underlying vulnerabilities of migrant workers” as well as significant gaps in national legislation that “restrict the ability of migrant workers to organize, to terminate their employment contracts and to change employers.”

It notes that the lack of inspection procedures maintains the “isolation of domestic workers in private homes” and heightens their vulnerability to exploitation. It also highlights the “real” risks of detention and deportation for workers who are coerced into sex work in the entertainment industry.

Reforming the Kafala system would significantly improve labor migration governance in this regard.

The report proposes empowering ministries of labor to oversee recruitment processes, to handle complaints by migrants and employers, and to verify allegations of mistreatment and respond accordingly as a viable alternative to the Kafala.

It highlights the need to extend legal coverage and equal rights to all categories of workers, revise standard employment contracts, end wage discrimination, improve recruitment systems, strengthen legislative frameworks, and enhance labor inspection.

“Canada is pleased to assist Jordan in meeting this challenge. Today, I am pleased to announce we are making available more than $13 million in bilateral aid to help Jordan deal with the immediate and pressing humanitarian and security needs brought on by the Syria crisis,” Foreign Affairs minister said in a statement.

“Jordan has consistently demonstrated a leadership role in the pursuit of a just and lasting peace in the Middle East, and it continues to lead in the face of the ongoing crisis in Syria. Jordan’s generosity in hosting an influx of Syrian refugees is a model for all. Some 2,000 desperate Syrians arrive in Jordan daily. Accepting them is not without sacrifice or risk domestically. It is done in the finest tradition of promoting human dignity,” he added.

Canada had previously already given Jordan $11.5 million to help with the influx.

Thousands of refugees have poured into Jordan during the past two years, exerting further pressure on Jordan’s already weak economy.

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird made the announcement from Amman, where he met with Jordanian officials to discuss the two countries’ strong bilateral relationship, and ways to strengthen it further.  They also discussed the crisis raging in neighbouring Syria, and Jordan’s important contribution to the humanitarian response.

“Canada’s close and important relationship with Jordan is further enhanced by today’s inauguration of Canada’s new embassy building here in Amman. It was an honour to be able to do this alongside my Jordanian counterpart, Nasser Judeh. He is a dear friend and a true partner in this region.

Baird is on a 12-day tour of the Middle East, which will also include stops in Qatar, Bahrain and Israel.

Prior to the crisis in Syria, more than 90% of medicines were locally produced.

Since then, the effects of economic sanctions, currency fluctuations, difficulty in the availability of hard currency and an increase in operational costs have negatively affected the production of medicines and pharmaceutical products.

The escalation of clashes has resulted in substantial damages to the pharmaceutical plants located in Rural Aleppo and Rural Damascus, where 90% of the country’s plants are based.

Many of the plants have reportedly been destroyed or are closed because the workers cannot access their work place.

As a result, local production of medicines has been reduced by 90%.

Additionally, the main government storage for imported medicines, which included most of the required needs for the first quarter of 2013, has been destroyed.

Assessments by  WHO indicate that insulin, oxygen, anesthetics, serums and intravenous fluids are no longer available inside Syria to meet needs, with health facilities and local pharmacies increasingly unable to provide medicines, particularly those for the continuous treatment of chronic diseases.

Until recently, WHO had been unable to assess the extent of damage to public health due to the lack of a reference pharmaceutical list assessed and validated by experts on the basis of WHO’s Essential Drug List.

To overcome this obstacle, health experts from Syria and pharmaceutical experts and health professionals from WHO and Jordan met in Amman to address critical shortages in medicines and medical supplies inside Syria, resulting in an updated Essential Medicines List for the entire country.

Reflecting disease profiles, current gaps and critical needs, the list is an essential tool for enhancing the effectiveness of the international community’s emergency health response by enabling projection and quantification of essential medicine requirements and the development of standard procurement procedures.

WHO has evaluated the needs for the next 12 months in terms of essential medicines, medical supplies, medical consumables and anti-cancer medicines and estimated that these will require a minimum of US$900 million.

A list of the most urgently-needed and life-saving items has also been developed, containing 168 items (92 urgently needed essential medicines, 33 cancer medicines and 43 consumables) and estimated to require US$ 467 million for 2013.

WHO calls on the international community for urgent support to cover these critical gaps in essential medicines inside Syria.

“All settlement construction – whether on private Palestinian land or elsewhere in occupied Palestinian territory – is contrary to international law,” said a statement issued by the office of the UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process, Robert Serry.

According to media reports, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu ordered the construction of the new units hours after the parliament rejected a bill to legalize settlement outposts. Serry said the announcement is “deeply troubling” and reiterated his recent warning to the Security Council that “if the parties do not grasp the current opportunity, they should realize the implication is not merely slowing progress toward a two-State solution. Instead, we could be moving down the path toward a one-State reality, which would also move us further away from regional peace in the spirit of the Arab Peace Initiative.”

Meanwhile, the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) released a study in conjunction with the Applied Research Institute Jerusalem (ARIJ), describing the detrimental impact of the West Bank Barrier on the environment and Palestinian refugees.

The study targeted over 170 communities that have been directly affected as well as farmers owning land behind the Barrier. Land degradation, severe flooding and destruction of water sources are cited among the most devastating consequences of the Barrier, along with reductions in livestock due to limited grazing space, which significantly affect people’s livelihoods.

“The research presented today demonstrates once more that the Barrier not only has a devastating impact on Palestine refugees’ livelihoods, but also on the surrounding environment,” said the West Bank director of UNRWA operations, Felipe Sanchez.

The Israelis and the Palestinians have yet to resume direct negotiations since talks stalled in September 2010 after Israel refused to extend its freeze on settlement activity in the occupied Palestinian territory.

Negotiators from both sides began preparatory talks at the start of January in Amman, under the facilitation of King Abdullah II of Jordan and that country’s Foreign Minister, Nasser Judeh, with a view to a resumption of direct talks.

The airline conducts flights twice a week between El Arish, a city on Egypt’s Sinai peninsula adjacent to the border with Gaza, and Marka airbase, located outside Jordan’s capital Amman, according to Reuters. This means that Gaza residents will no longer have to make the 250-mile (350 kilometers) trip to Cairo to travel by plane.

On Sunday, Palestinian Airlines carried 27 passengers on a flight that could have taken 35 minutes had it taken a direct route over Israel, but instead took twice that amount of time as it does not have permission to cross Israeli airspace, according to Reuters.

Founded in 1995, Palestinian Airlines once conducted flights from Gaza’s Yasser Arafat International Airport to different destinations in the Middle East. But it was forced to suspend operations from Gaza after Israel imposed restrictions on the airport and bombing it in 2001.

The restrictions accompanied an Israeli troop withdrawal from Gaza in 2005 and intensified with the capture of an Israeli soldier by Gaza militants (Hamas) a year later and since Hamas assumed power in Gaza in 2007.

Until last year, the vast majority of Gaza’s 1.7 million residents were locked inside the territory, in part because Egypt went along with Israel which kept its Rafah border terminal with Gaza closed., according to Reuters. But with Mubarak’s ouster last year, Gazans have gradually been allowed to enter Egypt to reach El Arish. After the ouster of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak last year, Rafah gradually reopened and Gazans are now able to travel, though restrictions remain.

Flights to Jeddah are planned to start as soon as next week, if Saudi permission came through.Plans are also being made to serve pilgrims as the annual Hajj in Saudi Arabia, according to menafn.