UAE has made substantial progress in fighting human trafficking: UAE official

Abu Dhabi, April 12, 2012 (WAM) - The UAE has gone a long way in translating its objectives of combating trafficking in human persons into a tangible reality in a short span of time, a senior UAE official has stressed. Dr. Abdul Rahim Al Awadi, Assistant Foreign Minister for Legal Affairs, affirmed during a meeting with visiting United Nations Special Rapporteur on trafficking in persons, especially women and children, Joy Ngozi Ezeilo, that the UAE had joined the United Nations Convention against transnational organised crime (UNTOC) and its Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. Ezeilo is undertaking her first official country visit to the UAE from 11 to 17 April, to examine the situation of trafficked individuals and the impact of anti-trafficking measures in the country. He noted that the UAE had also issued Federal Law No (51) of 2006 on combating human trafficking, the first legislation of its kind in the Arab World. He told the UN envoy that the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking, which was established in 2007, is aggressively implementing a four-part anti-trafficking plan, designed to prevent the crime, enforce the law and provide necessary support to victims. He referred to the generous donation of US$15 million offered by His Highness General Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi and Deputy Supreme Commander of the UAE Armed Forces, to the United Nations Global Initiative to Fight Human Trafficking (UN.GIFT). The UAE official added that the UAE had also joined the Group of Friends United against Human Trafficking, a 20 member informal, voluntary and open-ended association created to help reinvigorate and consolidate the global fight against trafficking in persons. Over the elapsed two years, the UAE welcomed the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance, and UN special Rapporteur on the Sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography. Reports of both UN rapporteurs were positive on UAE efforts to uphold, respect and protect human rights. - Emirates News Agency, WAM