The annual report of the UAE’s National Committee to Combat Human Trafficking has said that there were 16 cases of human trafficking, involving 28 victims, last year.
Ten of the 16 cases included “sexual exploitation,” said the report.
Courts have issued sentences in seven of the cases, while nine more verdicts are expected this year, said the committee.
Two suspects out of the seven found guilty of human trafficking in 2017 were given life sentences, it added.
“The UAE is committed to the promotion and protection of human rights and to continue to combat the crime of human trafficking,” Dr. Anwar Gargash, Minister of State for Foreign Affairs, who is also chairman of the committee, said in a press conference in Abu Dhabi Thursday.
In September 2017, the UAE declared, during a high-level meeting organized by the United Nations General Assembly in New York, that it will provide US$100,000 to the United Nations Voluntary Trust Fund for Victims of Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children.
Gargash told the conference that the UAE has launched an official campaign to combat human trafficking by issuing Federal Law No. 51 of 2006 as amended under Federal Law No. 01 of 2015 to provide better guarantees for victims.
He stressed that the committee’s strategy is based on five pillars - prevention, legal action, punishment, protecting victims and promoting international cooperation.
Gargash said it was important to raise awareness among those who are most vulnerable to human trafficking by educating them about their rights and how to approach official authorities.
Over 71 programs, which have benefited more than 5,939 people, have been implemented in the UAE, he added.
