Iran Seriously Countering Human Trafficking

New York, May 15, IRNA – Iran’s Envoy to the UN Gholamhossein Dehqani said that Tehran is seriously countering various forms of trafficking, including human trafficking, and will strongly deal with it. During the UN’s Wednesday morning session, he called on the international community to take effective steps to fight human trafficking. He further stressed the need for offering support for the victims of human trafficking especially women and children who are subjected to forced labor as well as sexual and trade exploitation. The Iranian envoy voiced Iran’s concern over increasing reports on cases of human trafficking which is done with the aim of trafficking human organs and tissues. He stressed that the destination countries are responsible in this regard. Dehqani urged the UN member states to pay due attention to the root causes of human trafficking and said issues like economic and social poverty, unemployment, lack of social and economic opportunities, discrimination, marginalization and the global financial crises were some of the reasons making humans vulnerable against traffickers. He stressed that the international community has to pay due attention to the issue. Elaborating on Iran’s efforts to confront this phenomenon, the ambassador pointed out that laws endorsed by Majlis set specific punishment for human trafficking. He noted that according to official reports, some 46 human trafficking gangs have been discovered and destroyed by the Iranian police during 147 operations./end