DUBAI // Gulf states were urged on Tuesday to form a coalition to track, investigate and prosecute human traffickers.
“The most important thing is more cooperation between all countries and especially in the GCC,” said Maj Mansoor Al Shamsi, head of the Dubai Police anti-human trafficking and crimes unit.
“There are already laws and regulations but there is not enough cooperation globally so this is needed internationally and in the Arab world.”
He was speaking at training workshop attended by about 40 judges, prosecutors, enforcement officials and labour inspectors organised by the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights and the Dubai Foundation for Women and Children.
The workshop aims to build knowledge among officials so they can help trafficking victims to understand their rights to protection. Officials stressed the need for closer ties to standardise mechanisms to compensate victims and effectively deal with trafficking networks.
Since traffickers and victims often originate from the same country it is additionally difficult for UAE authorities to pursue the crimes.
“Many victims are from Eastern Europe and East Asian countries and there is a need for more cooperation and coordination with these and other countries,” Maj Al Shamsi said.
“What is different now compared to before is that officers are more trained to spot human trafficking cases,” Maj Al Shamsi said.
Contributing to a draft manual with details on the laws to protect victims and creating a regional database to boost cooperation are among the objectives of the workshop, which ends on Thursday.
“By building capacity we will learn about other country’s experiences,” said Afra Al Basti, director general of the DFWAC.
“Our efforts will never stop because you’re facing this mafia and this mafia is every day finding a way, they are using the internet and using different resources. Whenever law enforcement puts their hand on them they change.”
The UAE’s tough anti-trafficking laws have worked to reduce cases, authorities said.
Under a 2006 federal law, traffickers face from 10 years to the maximum penalty of life imprisonment if the crime is committed through deceit, the use of force, threat of murder or bodily harm, or involves physical or psychological torture.
“The main purpose is to build cooperation and coalition between different parties especially in the GCC and we’re also looking for a referral mechanism that can help all these countries combat human trafficking,” said Ms Al Basti.
“The GCC must have a mechanism to unify rules, regulations, training. Community awareness is most important when people understand what human trafficking actually is and how these vulnerable girls or women provide sex services to others. They will understand this is not a normal life and they are being pushed to get money out of it. Training for police staff is also important so they understand the sensitivity of human trafficking cases.”
The foundation recently announced a 75 per cent decline in the number of victims in the first half of the year compared to the same period last year.
Eighteen foreign victims were sheltered by the DFWAC until August this year. Three victims, aged 21 to 26, who were abused sexually, physically, verbally and emotionally were referred by the Dubai Police in the first half of the year. They had been promised jobs in beauty salons and as baby sitters.
“The UAE is a country that is serious about dealing with this issue and we are sure of long-lasting cooperation,” said Obaid Ahmed Obaid, director of the United Nations Centre for training and documentation in human rights.
“The aim of this training is to zoom into victims’ rights mainly to have effective recourse to internal justice, compensation and coherent international cooperation to address some issues.”
The biggest challenge the UN faced was the low numbers prosecuted, he said.
“We have too many victims and we hardly have any culpable persons or persons that have been held responsible which makes situation a lot more precarious. That’s why we think we need to develop more capacity to develop skills to deal with this demanding human tragedy.”
rtalwar@thenational.ae
Understand What Black Is
The Last Poets
(Studio Rockers)
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
Other ways to buy used products in the UAE
UAE insurance firm Al Wathba National Insurance Company (AWNIC) last year launched an e-commerce website with a facility enabling users to buy car wrecks.
Bidders and potential buyers register on the online salvage car auction portal to view vehicles, review condition reports, or arrange physical surveys, and then start bidding for motors they plan to restore or harvest for parts.
Physical salvage car auctions are a common method for insurers around the world to move on heavily damaged vehicles, but AWNIC is one of the few UAE insurers to offer such services online.
For cars and less sizeable items such as bicycles and furniture, Dubizzle is arguably the best-known marketplace for pre-loved.
Founded in 2005, in recent years it has been joined by a plethora of Facebook community pages for shifting used goods, including Abu Dhabi Marketplace, Flea Market UAE and Arabian Ranches Souq Market while sites such as The Luxury Closet and Riot deal largely in second-hand fashion.
At the high-end of the pre-used spectrum, resellers such as Timepiece360.ae, WatchBox Middle East and Watches Market Dubai deal in authenticated second-hand luxury timepieces from brands such as Rolex, Hublot and Tag Heuer, with a warranty.
The Brutalist
Director: Brady Corbet
Stars: Adrien Brody, Felicity Jones, Guy Pearce, Joe Alwyn
Rating: 3.5/5
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Akeed
Based: Muscat
Launch year: 2018
Number of employees: 40
Sector: Online food delivery
Funding: Raised $3.2m since inception
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The lowdown
Badla
Rating: 2.5/5
Produced by: Red Chillies, Azure Entertainment
Director: Sujoy Ghosh
Cast: Amitabh Bachchan, Taapsee Pannu, Amrita Singh, Tony Luke
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
Nepotism is the name of the game
Salman Khan’s father, Salim Khan, is one of Bollywood’s most legendary screenwriters. Through his partnership with co-writer Javed Akhtar, Salim is credited with having paved the path for the Indian film industry’s blockbuster format in the 1970s. Something his son now rules the roost of. More importantly, the Salim-Javed duo also created the persona of the “angry young man” for Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan in the 1970s, reflecting the angst of the average Indian. In choosing to be the ordinary man’s “hero” as opposed to a thespian in new Bollywood, Salman Khan remains tightly linked to his father’s oeuvre. Thanks dad.
'Laal Kaptaan'
Director: Navdeep Singh
Stars: Saif Ali Khan, Manav Vij, Deepak Dobriyal, Zoya Hussain
Rating: 2/5
Bharat
Director: Ali Abbas Zafar
Starring: Salman Khan, Katrina Kaif, Sunil Grover
Rating: 2.5 out of 5 stars
SERIE A FIXTURES
Saturday (UAE kick-off times)
Atalanta v Juventus (6pm)
AC Milan v Napoli (9pm)
Torino v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Sunday
Bologna v Parma (3.30pm)
Sassuolo v Lazio (6pm)
Roma v Brescia (6pm)
Verona v Fiorentina (6pm)
Sampdoria v Udinese (9pm)
Lecce v Cagliari (11.45pm)
Monday
SPAL v Genoa (11.45pm)
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
Sweet%20Tooth
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Getting there
Flydubai flies direct from Dubai to Tbilisi from Dh1,025 return including taxes
Things Heard & Seen
Directed by: Shari Springer Berman, Robert Pulcini
Starring: Amanda Seyfried, James Norton
2/5
Common%20symptoms%20of%20MS
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The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
