UAE discusses human trafficking

The UAE participated in the fourth meeting of the joint committee of experts and representatives of Arab justice and interior ministries, tasked with developing a pan-Arab protocol on combating human trafficking, with a focus on women and children.

Advisor at the Iraqi Ministry of Justice, Dr. Widad Al Qabsi, chaired the meeting during which the committee discussed the protocol that complements a pan-Arab agreement on combating cross-border organised crime.

Counselor and Attorney-General at the Prosecutor-General's office, Sultan Ibrahim Al Juwai'ed, led the UAE's delegation to the meeting held at the League of Arab States. Dr. Mohammed Al Mur and Salim Al Tunaiji, representatives of the Ministry of Interior, and Badriya Al Baloushi, representative of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking (NCCHT), were members of the delegation.

Al Juwai'ed said the two-day meeting was devoted to discussing remarks made by some Arab states over the proposed protocol. The committee endorsed some of the remarks, he added.

He underlined the importance of the protocol and the agreement for combating human trafficking crimes and protecting victims, women and children in particular, in all spheres, through aggravated punishment, finding various ways of countering the crime as well as intra-Arab cooperation.

He stressed that the UAE was at the forefront of the fight against human trafficking and issued a law to combat human trafficking in 2005 and amended it in 2015. The law, he noted, reflects the UAE's efforts in fighting this crime, protecting victims and witnesses and giving privileges to victims. He further noted that the UAE cooperates with other states and that the NCCHT is exerting efforts at the domestic, regional and international levels to fight the crime.

Dr. Widad Al Qabsi, chair of the meeting, stated that the meeting of the pan-Arab committee for developing a pan-Arab protocol on combating trafficking in persons discussed remarks from Sudan, Morocco, Egypt, Jordan and Tunisia proposing changes to the wording of the protocol.

She explained that these remarks were endorsed in line with the agreement.

Follow Emirates 24|7 on Google News.