Bahrain participates in UN anti-human trafficking meeting

The Kingdom of Bahrain stressed the importance of enhancing cooperation between member states and UN agencies and bodies related to the fight against trafficking in persons, including the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the International Labour Organisation, through the sharing of information, analysis and prosecution of trafficking offenses and achieving justice for all victims.

During the speech of Bahrain's Permanent Representative to the UN, Ambassador Jamal Fares Al-Ruwaie, at the High Level Meeting of the United Nations General Assembly on the Evaluation of the United Nations Global Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons, held on 27-28 September 2017, in which he stated that the Kingdom of Bahrain has welcomed the adoption of the Declaration Policy on the implementation of the United Nations Global Plan of Action against Trafficking in Persons, which constitutes an important step in the collective response to the phenomenon of trafficking in persons in all of its different dimensions.

The Permanent Representative stressed the need to enhance public awareness on the importance of combating all forms of human trafficking, pointing out that Bahrain was one of the first countries to support the call for action to put an end to forced labour, modern slavery and trafficking in people.

The Permanent Representative reviewed the Kingdom's record of ratifying relevant international conventions, notably the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized Crime, the Palermo Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children, the Anti-Human Trafficking Act and the establishment of the National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons, as well as the launch of the national referral system for the victims of these heinous crimes, which is the first of its kind in the region.

In his speech, Ambassador Al-Ruwaie reflected upon the negative impact of armed conflicts around the world on exacerbating the problem of human trafficking, and on the importance of properly resolving conflicts as an essential tool for the preservation of human rights and effective reduction of trafficking crimes.

Source: BNA