(Amira Agarib)
12 April 2011, 6:49 AM
12 April 2011, 6:49 AM
The Dubai Police will soon launch a hotline for reporting human trafficking crimes.
Announcing this on Monday, Lt-General Dhahi Khalfan Tamim, Commander-in-Chief of the Dubai Police, also urged the media to play an active in combating the transnational crime.
He was speaking on the first day of the second annual Forum for Combating Human Trafficking Crimes on the theme ‘Media and Human Trafficking’ in Dubai. It was attended by Dr Anwar Mohammed Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs and Minister of State for Federal National Council Affairs and Chairman of the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking (NCCHT).
Officials of the Ministry of Interior, police and prosecution, and representatives of organisations like Awqaf, Dubai Foundation for Women and Children and women’s shelters are also attending the forum.
“The local media should be active partners in highlighting the efforts exerted by the UAE to combat human trafficking to counter the issues raised by the foreign media,” he said.
The police’s Human Trafficking Monitoring Centre, which was set up two years ago, will launch the hotline for the public to report any suspected human trafficking activities.
The UAE’s Constitution prohibits slavery and it is the first country in the Arab world to issue an anti-human trafficking law, which was in 2006, Lt-Gen Dhahi Khalfan said. Human trafficking crimes have increased worldwide due to the global financial crisis, he added.
Dr Anwar Gargash said the NCCHT has completed five years. “The UAE also gives special care to the human trafficking victims. We have established four shelters that give high standard of care to the victims. The Dubai Foundation for Women and Children also runs shelters under the supervision of the UAE Red Crescent,” he said.
The UAE signed international pacts with the UN in 2009 and tied up with organisations such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) in this regard.
He said, “The first step to address the problem of human trafficking is to admit that it exists. After that, we should take gradual measures to reduce it.
“The media should consider certain standards when raising human trafficking issues. They should be balanced and they should not create a feeling of horror or exaggerate the human trafficking situation in the UAE as these types of crimes are natural in all societies.”
Batti Al Falasi, Director of Media Security at Dubai Police, said the emirate’s police are dealing transparently with the media and give them the needful information on the spot. “But we would guide the media persons to make them understand what we want from them,” he said.
He, however, praised the role of media in highlighting the issue.
He said that the police studies for last year showed that 34 per cent of the human trafficking victims in the UAE were over 19 years and 18 per cent below 18 and that 58 per cent of them had only primary school education.
He said the number of victims in Dubai in 2010 was 66. The total number of human trafficking cases and victims across the UAE will be released by the NCCHT in a month. Several speakers and delegates at the forum slammed the media, saying they are only after profit and do not fulfil their social responsibility.
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