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EDITOR IN CHIEF- ABDULLAH BIN SALIM AL SHUEILI

Forum focuses on care for human trafficking victims

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MUSCAT, NOV 5 - The main aim of the 5th annual national symposium on combating human trafficking is looking for a pathway to victim-centric approach in coordination with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC). International experts participating in the two-day forum on ‘Combating Human Trafficking: A Methodology Centered on Victim Support’, which began here on Tuesday, said the organised crime uses electronic means to commit it and the GCC countries would be targeted. They labelled it as the 21st century slavery.


As partners to the Sultanate and the National Committee for Combating Human Trafficking (NCCHT), the UNODC would like to focus on increasing the national responses to human trafficking challenge at large, said Judge Hatem Fouad Aly, Regional Director UNODC, Office for the GCC Region, UAE.


According to him, care for victims already exists through Dar al Wifaq.


“The objective is to go further by bringing in the Ministry of Labour, the Human Rights Committee, the National Committee, the Police, the Public Prosecution and the Judiciary around one table to look at the cases in addition to the Ministry of Health’s support to provide care for the victims of human trafficking cases.”


The conference, which began under the patronage of Dr Abdullah bin Mohammed al Saidi, Minister of Legal Affairs, aims at qualifying and training national cadres and capacities that can deal with various human trafficking issues.


The forum also hopes to bring out methodological recommendations that would represent the action plan for the full compliance of the UN protocol on the prevention of human trafficking.


With 66 human traffic cases recorded in Oman since 2010, Miysaa al Shibliya, an international researcher on human trafficking with the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking, Oman, said in her presentation that while in 2017 there were two cases, 2019 has seen so far 11 cases (10 exploitations and one labour case).


She said the Dar al Wifaq that


hosts the victims until the cases are cleared also need further support in addition to the Ministry of Social Development.


The United Arab Emirates and Bahrain have already established the referral mechanisms and are also sharing their practice and experiences in improving the mechanism in providing care and protection for the victims.


The biggest work has to be done on vulnerability, said Ausamah al Absi, CEO and Chairman of the National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons, Bahrain.


“All forms of vulnerability will eventually lead to trafficking. If we address vulnerability then we can prevent the crime and not just fight it,” said al Absi.


Explaining the UNODC’s partnership with the NCCHT, Judge Hatem said: “The focus includes work on prevention, detection of the crime, victim support, and criminal transposes making sure that the cases are prosecuted and offenders are punished.


“We are working very closely with the authorities of Oman on fulfilling the requirements of the protocol on human trafficking. Oman has taken genuine steps to deal with the challenge including the National Coordinating body and the national committee itself that has membership of all the stakeholders that are dealing with combating human trafficking in the country as well as caring for the victim. The perfect example is the Anti-Trafficking Law of Oman.”


He pointed out the major step was achieved through the establishment of national law, establishment of a specialised office at the Public Prosecutor General’s Office as well as the specialised task force of Royal Oman Police to handle human traffic cases.


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