Human trafficking cases down in Dubai

Human trade cases recorded in Dubai declined by nearly 50 per cent in 2011 and Asian girls were the main victims last year, according to the general administration for human rights in the emirate.

The figures showed the emirate handled 16 human trade cases in 2011, involving 48 defendants and 32 female victims.

In 2010, 35 cases were recorded, involving 109 defendants and 76 female victims, the department said.

Forced prostitution topped the list of cases last year at 17 cases and Asian women were the main victims, standing at 29 against three Africans.

The report showed some of the victims were teen age girls, including one aged 15 years, all of whom were sent to the Dubai institution for women and child care.

“The decline in human trade cases last year was a result of intensified police campaigns against such crimes and the increase in awareness programmes,” the Administration’s director Colonel Mohammed Al Murr told the Dubai-based Arabic language daily Emirat Alyoum.

He said last year’s cases included only one involving an attempt to sell a child while there were no slavery cases.

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