The Regional Director of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Office of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Hatem Ali praised the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's efforts, in the field of combating trafficking in persons and the reforms implemented within this framework, at the legal and institutional levels. In a press statement, Ali affirmed that these efforts contributed to improving the Kingdom's ranking, in the United Nations' assessment as well as other countries, with regard to combating trafficking in persons, reflected in the recently released US State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report. Saudi efforts to combat human trafficking were acknowledged by the United States as the Kingdom's ranking was upgraded from "Tier 3" to "Tier 2 Watch List" in an annual report prepared by the US State Department. The report, globally recognized as the most comprehensive analysis of country-specific anti-trafficking responses, lauded improvements in the Kingdom's inter-ministerial coordination, greater transparency, and data-sharing, and "significantly increased" numbers of prosecutions and convictions under the Kingdom's anti-trafficking law. The recent progress on anti-trafficking measures has been spearheaded by the National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking (NCCHT), a multi-entity body that brings together key ministries and authorities in the fight against trafficking and is supported through partnerships with international organizations, such as the International Organization for Migration (IOM) and UNODC. The IOM, a global intergovernmental organization in the field of migration that works closely with governments and other partners, had on Friday lauded Saudi Arabia's anti-trafficking efforts that were acknowledged by the United States. In a press statement, the IOM said: "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has received an improved ranking in the US State Department's Trafficking in Person's report. The opening remarks of the report, which now holds the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at Tier 2 Watchlist, recognized ‘significant efforts' and ‘greater transparency' in the government's response to Trafficking in Persons." The IOM and the Saudi government reignited a previously Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2016, through the launch of a program with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to address trafficking response, in January 2020. The program hosts an ambitious series of activities, focused on the prevention of trafficking and the protection of those affected by the crime. Simultaneously, the HRC is working with the UNODC to strengthen the prosecution response. "The TiP report represents a global standard for a response to trafficking in persons, and the improvement of the ranking of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a recognition of the concerted efforts the government has made this year, to improve its response structure. "IOM is glad to be a key partner in the efforts and expects to build on recent momentum for years to come," Carmela Godeau, IOM regional director for the Middle East and North Africa, said on hearing of the improved ranking within the TiP Report. — SPA
