ABU DHABI, 20 May 2008 — According to a report released yesterday by the National Committee on Combating Human Trafficking in the United Arab Emirates, the country dealt with 10 cases of human trafficking that resulted in five convictions in 2007.
“The UAE is firm against the exploitation of human beings for any purposes and against the coercive, illegal and inhumane treatment of any individual,” said UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash, who is also the head of the Human Trafficking Committee.
The report lauds the 10 cases and five convictions under Federal Law 51, enacted in November 2006, the first time the UAE officially recognized human trafficking as a national crime through the implementation of a criminal statute. The suspects were sentenced to between three and 10 years.
The report did not provide an official estimate for the number of victims of human trafficking.
However, the report did acknowledge that the majority of the victims of this crime are lured by false job descriptions only to discover upon arrival that the jobs they end up receiving differ greatly from the jobs and wages described to them.
The report also pointed out that these victims are often left traumatized by their experience and fearful of seeking help from the authorities.
“The UAE is not ashamed to admit that the problem of trafficking afflicts this country as it does many other countries,” said Gargash. “It would be wrong, however, if immediate action is not taken once the crime is recognized, and the UAE is therefore pursuing an active and result-orientated strategy that aims to achieve an immediate impact.”
The minister added that UAE police are being trained to identify situations where workers appear to be exploited.
