UAE Human Rights Association calls for setting up strategy to eradicate human trafficking

Abu Dhabi, Feb 26, 2012 (WAM) - The UAE Human Rights Association has called on competent authorities to set up a unified strategy to eradicate all forms of human trafficking in the country. The call was made at a symposium organised by the association on the anti human trafficking under the theme: "Together for future free from human trafficking". Mohammed Al Hammadi, secretary general of the association called on the civil society to cooperate with competent authorities that tackle human trafficking crimes in order to combat the crime and activate the role of the country in the area of work contracts abroad to curb manipulation of workers. He added that the human trafficking is the third biggest illegal trade worldwide after the weapons and drugs, indicating that "it is a criminal act that takes different forms such as sexual abuse, coercive servitude, slavery, extraction of human organs and others." Al Hammadi stressed keenness of the UAE to fight the human trafficking, punish perpetrators and help the victims, citing that the UAE set up the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking in 2007. He said, according to the official reports 10 cases of human trafficking were registered in 2007, 20 cases in 2008, 43 cases in 2009, 56 cases in 2010 and 58 human trafficking cases in 2011, adding that the human trafficking still exists in 70 countries worldwide with 27 million victims of modern slavery reported in forms of coercive prostitution and compulsory servitude- about 40- 50 per cent of them are children, mostly in Asia. Al Hammadi underlined that there are no gangs of organised crime in the UAE, adding that the situation is reassuring in the country amid intense efforts to eradicate the crime and bring perpetrators to book. - Emirates News Agency, WAM