Training Course on Investigating Human Trafficking Crimes Kicks off

SANA

Jun 22, 2011

DAMASCUS, (SANA) – A training course on investigating and prosecuting human traffickers and protecting human trafficking victims kicked off on Wednesday with the participation of 300 policemen, judges, staff of Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor and lawyers.
The course was organized by the Interior Ministry in cooperation with the International Organization for Migration within the framework of capability building program.
Coordinator of the program, Hisham Tinawi, reviewed issues related to classifying and evaluating cases of trafficking humans and means of providing necessary protection for the victims according to the Interior Ministry's laws in this regard.
He added that the course focuses on a serious issue as the human trafficking has become the third illegal international trade after arms trade and drugs trade.
For his part, Professor of International Law at Damascus University Ibrahim Daraji said that even though human trafficking isn’t a prominent phenomenon in Syria, the government issued the legislative decree no. 3 for 2010 on combating this crime.
The course will deal with principles on human trafficking, investigation methods, the rights of victims and training cadres to combat such crimes.
In 2010, Syria hosted the 1st International Interpol Conference on Combating Human Trafficking with the participation of 53 Arab and foreign countries and 11 international organizations. The Conference dealt with sexual exploitation of women and children, exploitation of local and immigrant workers, and human organ trafficking.
According to the International Labor Organization, there are currently around 2.4 million victims of human trafficking, 1.2 million of them minors. The annual revenues of this crime are estimated at around USD 32 billion.
R. Raslan / H. Said