A man in Lebanon has been arrested after violating human trafficking laws and advertising a woman for sale on Facebook.

Wael Jerro was arrested by the General Security agency, the top intelligence agency in Lebanon, after he advertised a Nigerian domestic worker online. He advertised Busari Peace on a Facebook page called “Buy and Sell in Lebanon” alongside a photo of the 30-year-old's passport. He'd attempted to sell her for $1,000. The site is usually used to sell everyday miscellaneous items.

"Domestic worker of African citizenship (Nigerian) for sale with a new residency and full legal papers," Jerro posted in Arabic, according to Al Jazeera.

Wael Jerro (@WaelJerro) claims to be a graduate from @AOULebanon. Your education becomes meaningless and useless the moment you engage in racist dehumanizing practices like this. Domestic workers are not commodities! #AbolishKafala
#ThisisLebanon
pic.twitter.com/8BD6xxF05c

— This Is Lebanon (@ThisIsLebanonLB) April 20, 2020

After learning of the case, Nigerian officials requested the incident be investigated by Lebanese officials. According to Abike Dabiri-Erewa, the chairman of the Nigerians in Diaspora Commission, an investigation has begun and Peace is with the Nigerian Mission in Beirut, reports Punch.

Breaking news on Trafficked Nigerian girl for sale on Facebook by a Lebanese !The Lebenese Government just announced the arrest of Mr. WAEL JERRO for onward prosecution against criminal sales of a human, a young Nigerian girl

— Abike Dabiri-Erewa (@abikedabiri) April 23, 2020

Update on Nigerian girl put up for sale by a Lebanese, Wael Jerro on Facebook. She has been rescued and safely with officials of the Nigerian Mission in Beirut . Thanks ⁦ ⁦@cbngov_akin1⁩ . for bringing the matter to our attention. More updates later ⁦@Ayourb⁩ pic.twitter.com/4hPrmZ6rqm

— Abike Dabiri-Erewa (@abikedabiri) April 28, 2020

"The government is very angry," said Julie Okah-Donli, director-general of the National Agency for the Prohibition of Trafficking in Persons. "The Lebanese government should prosecute him and rescue other girls that have been sold or [are] about to be sold into slavery."

Justice Minister Marie-Claude Najem instructed the judiciary to follow up on the case, which led to the arrest. According to Najem, the case represented a "blatant violation of human dignity.”

The country’s minister of labor issued a statement saying anyone who advertises the sale of a person online would be prosecuted.

The Facebook post has since been deleted, according to PM News Nigeria.

About 250,000 migrant domestic workers live in Lebanon, Al Jazeera reported. According to General Security, two domestic workers die every week. The country’s kafala system legally bonds domestic workers to their employers. Lebanon's former labor minister, Camille Abousleiman, has likened the system to "modern-day slavery.”

Lebanon's Ministry of Labour is working to improve conditions for migrant domestic workers, but many believe the system needs to be abolished in order for the abuse to stop.

"Adopting a revised contract which addresses shortcomings is undoubtedly a step forward, but it's not enough," Diala Haidar, a Lebanon campaigner at Amnesty International, told Al Jazeera. "The Lebanese labor law explicitly excludes domestic workers from labor protections enjoyed by other workers such as minimum wage, overtime pay, compensation for unfair dismissal, and social security. The labor law needs to be amended to recognize domestic workers as workers and grant them full labor protections.”

In March, the Lebanese government held a national consultation on the kafala system, according to Amnesty International. The two-day consultation was held in Beirut by the International Labour Organization in collaboration with Lebanon’s Ministry of Labour and was focused on improving working conditions for migrant workers.

“For decades, successive Lebanese governments have turned a blind eye to the abuses that migrant domestic workers suffer in their place of employment,” said Heba Morayef, Amnesty International’s MENA regional director. “ The situation is particularly precarious for domestic workers as kafala enables serious abuses to be committed against them. The Lebanese government must seize this opportunity to urgently reform the kafala system, and take this step towards improving migrant workers’ lives.”

Earlier this year, a Ghanian domestic worker was found dead in Lebanon after allegedly facing abuse from her employer. Faustina Tay begged for help just hours before her death, as Blavity previously reported. An investigation was launched against her former employer.

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