Finding ways to combat the trade in people in the Middle East and North Africa was among the main concerns of delegates at a major conference on human trafficking held in Damascus over the past week. The Kingdom's Ministry of Justice also participated in the first International Police (Interpol) conference. The ministry's delegation was headed by the minister's adviser and spokesman, Dr. Abdullah Bin Hamad Al-Sadaan. Al-Sadaan presented a paper on human trafficking from a justice and legislative perspective, in which he discussed human trafficking in terms of international, regional and bilateral conventions; and anti-human trafficking laws in Gulf countries. He also outlined the Kingdom's experience in combating the crime. The conference recommended that a plan be prepared to combat human trafficking in the Middle East and North Africa, in cooperation with the Interpol General Secretariat and Interpol National Central Bureau in Damascus. This should include regional coordination and cooperation to survey the best practices in the region. The plan should be presented at the Interpol Global Conference on Combating Human Trafficking in 2011. The conference delegates also discussed international cooperation and information sharing between countries and interested international and regional organizations. This was considered to be a key basis for combating trafficking in human beings. Participants also recommended that international and regional organizations and civil institutions organize training and awareness programs for law enforcement personnel on how to deal with such crimes. It also recommended that Interpol build a database of stolen and lost passports to help counter human trafficking networks. In addition, delegates called for a central international database of human trafficking crimes to be set up at the Interpol General Secretariat to enhance coordination between Interpol, the United Nations and other international and regional organizations. A total of 40 countries and 10 international organizations participated in the event. Delegates discussed topics including sexual exploitation of women and children, exploitation of foreign workers and trafficking in human organs.
