The Cabinet on Monday approved a stern regulation against human trafficking in the Kingdom. The Cabinet, chaired by King Abdullah, Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques, also formed a committee at the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to fight human trafficking. The ministries of Interior, Foreign Affairs, Justice, Social Affairs, Culture and Information, Labor and the HRC will be represented in the committee. The prominent features of the regulation, which was recommended by the Shoura Council, are: 1. All forms of human trafficking in the Kingdom are banned. These include coercion of a person, threat, deception, deceit or abduction, misuse of position, influence or authority against a person, taking advantage of their weakness, or giving or receiving money or enticements to gain the approval a person for sexual acts, work, coercive service, begging, slavery, practices similar to slavery, organ removal or performance of medical tests on him or her. 2. The punishment for those found guilty of human trafficking will be either imprisonment for a maximum 15 years or a fine not exceeding SR1 million, or both. The punishments will be increased in the following cases: • If the crime is committed against a woman or anyone with special needs • If it is committed against a child, even without the knowledge that the victim is a child • If the victim is a spouse or one of the victim's close relatives, or if the perpetrator is a guardian or has authority over the victim • If the perpetrator is a regulations enforcement official The committee will monitor known victims of human trafficking to ensure that they are not harmed again. It will coordinate with the authorities concerned to repatriate foreign victims if they request so. The committee has the power to recommend that the victim be allowed to remain in the Kingdom, and to correct the victim's legal status, if necessary, for work in Saudi Arabia.
