On Friday, the Minister of State for Foreign Affair, Dr. Anwar bin Mohammed Gargash, stressed on the need for all regional and international partners to come together to combat the issue of human trafficking. Gargash, while chairing the 45th meeting of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking (NCCHT), said that all the national and global actors need to follow an integrated approach in scaling up the anti-human trafficking activities.
The meeting also reviewed the efforts made in the past to prevent the illegal trading of human beings, like a commodity. The victims of the evil exchange include sex workers, ones forced into begging and bonded labourers.
Gargash highlighted the role played by NCCHT and its member countries in promoting the efforts made towards limiting human trafficking. The member nations have been participating in related international forums, signing MoUs as well as exchanging exper-tise to implement best practices in this field.
The meeting addressed the NCCHT’s future plans to boost cooperation among interna-tional agencies and academic institutions to develop detailed reports, research papers and extend partnerships among all sectors.
Gargash called UAE the leading nation in the region committed to fighting human traf-ficking. Since last year, the government has been able to burst many rackets, arresting about 77 suspects (up from 48 in 2017) and rescuing about 51 victims.
Gargash, who is also the chairman of the National Committee to Combat Human Traf-ficking,said that the hike in figures is ‘testament to the tireless efforts of our authori-ties’.
He added, “We would like to take the opportunity to renew the UAE’s commitment to working closely with stakeholders at national and international level to eliminate all forms of human trafficking.”
